President Narayanan Greets Pakistan President Musharraf 

President Musharraf’s Visit To India

Peace & Harmony News

Peace & Harmony Organizations

Children

Conferences

Events

Women

REPORTS & ANALYSES

(For a copy send a blank email to pritamr@open.org with its subject as the UPPERCASE word in the article title)

Afghanistan

REGICIDE And After, Kanak Mani Dixit

Pakistan

MOVING Forward In South Asia, By Stephen Cohen, The Brookings Institute

Sri Lanka

Now We SHALL Speak: Muslim Women Must be in Control, By S S Hameed
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INDIAN PRESIDENT NARAYANAN GREETS PAKISTAN PRESIDENT MUSHARRAF 06.21.01

President Narayanan wrote, 

"I extend my best wishes on your assumption of office of President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

"India has always desired to establish a relationship of peace,friendship and cooperation with Pakistan. It is our hope that your visit to India next month as President of Pakistan will move India-Pakistan relations in positive and constructive directions.

"Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration."

PRESIDENT MUSHARRAF’S VISIT TO INDIA

*Army chief confident on outcome of Indo-Pak talks: PTI. S Padmanabhan Monday said he, like all Indians, looks forward to a positive outcome.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jun/11army.htm

*Kashmir's main political separatist alliance June 10 announced Sunday a temporary suspension of all strikes and rallies until after a key summit between Indian and Pakistan leaders. The All Party Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference (APHC) said it "does not wish that the forthcoming India-Pakistan summit talks on Kashmir should be disturbed or derailed in any way," Hurriyat spokesman Abdul Rashid said. KGN News kashmir_news@yahoo.com

*Musharraf seeks to change history. The Pakistan chief executive said in Islamabad on Friday that he would seek to make a "new beginning" with India in summit talks next month. http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jun/15pak2.htm

*Summit to be held in Agra. General Musharraf will be arriving in Delhi on July 14 and be in India till July 16. He will also visit Ajmer. 

http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jun/19inpak.htm

*Check rhetoric, Musharraf tells Vajpayee. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee telephoned him this morning to discuss the details of his India visit from July 14 to 16. http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jun/20pak4.htm

*Service chiefs will welcome Gen Musharraf. During Vajpayee's high-profile bus journey to Pakistan, General Musharraf was believed to have refused to come to Lahore to avoid having to salute the Indian prime minister.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jun/25inpak3.htm

*Vajpayee, Musharraf to interact on five occasions. The first interaction between the two leaders will be during the ceremonial reception for Musharraf at Rashtrapati Bhavan on July 14. 

http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jun/26inpak7.htm

*We think essay competition is a good idea: Tarun Vijay RSS mouthpiece Panchajanya and Pakistani daily Jung have jointly invited readers from both
countries to suggest an agenda for the forthcoming Indo-Pak summit.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jun/26inpak2.htm

*Musharraf's cousin extends Lucknow invitation. General Musharraf's wife, Begum Sahba, had expressed her desire to visit Lucknow in the Pakistani daily, Jung. http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jun/26inpak3.htm

PEACE & HARMONY NEWS

*A group of 15 PAKISTANI CHILDREN from Islamabad and Lahore, aged between five and 12, came to Chandigarh to stage a play, according to a June 5 report by Gajinder Singh published in The Telegraph. Indian children also were a part of the cast of the play. Aptly called Border-Border, the play was a joint effort of Beston Foundation, Mohali, and Ajoka Theatre of Lahore. 

Clueless why relations between India and their country are not friendly, but they were there to do their bit to help improve ties, before Pervez Musharraf arrives in India for talks with Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

"What happened in 1947 is history. We have to look at the future and our children are our future" said Madeeha Gauhar, artistic director of Ajoka and a noted stage personality, who accompanied the team from Pakistan.. It is amazing how children of both countries meeting for the first time have struck a rapport that seems years old. The bond existing between the peoples of the two countries can be gauged by the way Pakistani and Indian children are rehearsing for the play. Visitors cannot make out who is Pakistani and who is Indian. We are similar in every respect and must work for peace," she added.

Beston Foundation's creative development assistant director Pragati Gandhi said the play aims at striking a bond between the peoples of the two countries. "The play is about two families with children, one Pakistani and the other Indian, going to a picnic on the border. It is a fun play and deals with how the children react when told that those on the other side are different." "The play is a small gesture on our part to bring the people of the two countries closer to each other. We intend to reciprocate the gesture that our Pakistani friends have made by bringing their children here to act in a joint play," she said.

*For 16 college and university STUDENTS FROM ACROSS PAKISTAN, the journey to India led to a new understanding - of a people they were given to believe were hostile, and a culture they had considered alien. After nine days in India, they return with sweet memories of interaction with their Indian peers, and a deepening feeling that it is high time India and Pakistan buried 50 years of mutual suspicion and hostility, according to a report entitled "Transcending Boundaries: Pak Students Cement Ties With India" by Varghese K George in June 12 issue of Tehelka.com. "We came with an open mind. 
And it was a fulfilling experience," one of them said. "India is much greener than we thought," another chips in. From seemingly trivial things - like how would parents respond if children opt for love marriages - to more serious issues like resolving the Kashmir crisis, these students held intense interactions with both students and activists in Delhi. At the end of the day, they find "so much in common between both of us". And this, they feel, will nurture better understanding between the people of both 
countries. They realise that boundaries may be artificial, but they are for real. This 
was a trip that helped them transcend boundaries and explore the myth 
called India.

*Musharraf conveyed his best wishes to Prime Minister Vajpayee ahead of his impending knee surgery. http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jun/06pak.htm

*Bangladesh agree to demarcate border. The contentious 13 km strip in Assam in the Kareemgunj sector (Dumabari) also figured in the talks between the countries. http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jun/12tara.htm

*Delhi, Dhaka sign pact to end border row. The joint working groups set up to study the problem will submit their reports by April 2002 after which the final round of discussions will be held to resolve the problem. 

http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jun/13bang.htm

*NSCN (IM) agrees to extend ceasefire in Nagaland. The decision to extend the ceasefire was taken at a two-day meeting between NSCN (IM) leader T Muivah and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's special emissary K Padmanabhiah in Bangkok. http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jun/14nscn.htm

*Pakistan cuts defence budget by Rs 2 billion This is the first time Islamabad has slashed defence spending. In real terms, the cut could be worth Rs 3.50 billion.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jun/18pak2.htm

*Narayanan greets Musharraf: PTI. This is the first message sent to Gen Musharraf by anyone from the Government of India. 

http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jun/21pak3.htm

*Musharraf may announce MFN status for India. 

http://www.rediff.com/money/2001/jun/22pak.htm

*Ahmedabad rath yatra is scene of communal harmony. Many Muslims had kept a fast, praying for peaceful passage of the yatra, while others had made arrangements to welcome it along its route.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jun/23yatra.htm

*Sirs, why not arms control? 'The self-destructive arms race is detrimental. Pakistan has been the first to blink. In the not too distant future the Indian economy also will not be able to sustain the massive expenditure,' says
Admiral (retd) J G Nadkarni. http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jun/25nad.htm

*India, Pak planning joint ODI series. BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele said Zimbabwe and the West Indies could be the other teams in a quadrangular event next year. http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2001/jun/26lele.htm

*At about the same time when the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will be engaging General Parvez Musharraf in a diplomatic exercise in New Delhi, a team of 10 GIRL STUDENTS and three teachers, inclduing the Principal Hajra Ahmed, of Khaldunia School, Islamabad, will be visiting Lucknow between 11th and 17th July, 2001, on the invitation of Sachchi-Muchchi, the children's magazine brought out by Asha from Lucknow. As may be recalled this magazine is dedicated to promoting friendship between children of India and Pakistan and includes articles and poems written from children from both sides of the border.

The group from Pakistan would visit various schools in Lucknow and go excursion tours in the city, every afternoon. Each evening there will be cultural programmes organized by various groups in Lucknow for them and on the last evening these children will themselves perform on the stage together with local students. The children from Pakistan are going to stay in the homes of local families where they'll get to share cultural experiences and make long term friendships.

The programme is being coordinated by Arundhati Dhuru (ashain@sancharnet.in) and the Sachchi-Muchchi editor Bobby Ramakant (bobbyramakant@hotmail.com)

PEACE & HARMONY ORGANIZATIONS

*Pakistanis for Peace and Alternative Development

On Open Letter to General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee

2 July 2001

Dear Sirs,

Pakistanis for Peace and Alternative Development (PPAD) is a world-wide network of Pakistanis, dedicated to working in the interest of peace, social justice and enlightened humanism in Pakistan, South Asia, and around the world.

The whole world in general and the people of Pakistan and India in particular are anxiously looking up to you for leadership and statesmanship. They expect you to take some bold and farsighted initiatives to spare South Asia the scourge of a potential nuclear war, grinding, abject poverty and mounting frenzy of religious and nationalist extremism. 

This you can achieve only by interacting with each other in a spirit of reconciliation, accommodation and sincerity when you meet on 14-16 July in India to discuss those outstanding disputes and conflicts that have plagued relations between the two countries since they attained independence in mid-August 1947.

Indeed it would be tragic if this opportunity were wasted through the usual employment of diplomatic manoeuvres, zero-sum tactics and other shows of vanity and power. The people of Pakistan and India have had enough of such antics and now expect you to act resolutely but generously.

The Kashmir dispute will undoubtedly be one of the central topics for discussion and negotiation. It is imperative that it is not treated as one about ownership of territory alone. We urge you to consider all options rationally and in a spirit of accommodation. It is our firm conviction that no solution can be found through resort to cross-border terrorism, limited war along the Line of Control or something as foolish and destructive as an all-out-war between the armed forces of the two states.

Most other regions of the world have decided to bury old nationalist dreams in favour of greater prosperity through trade, cooperative ventures and free exchange of cultural and educational experiences. Borders drenched in blood only a few decades earlier are now positive symbols of national identity. The most apt example is present-day West Europe.

The legacy of our elders  the various sufis, gurus, sants and sages  is indeed rich in humanist attitudes, ideas and ideals. There is of course the tradition of hatred, bigotry and cruelty deeply rooted in our past, too. We have to make a choice for now and for tomorrow and thereafter. Shall our present and future generations hold the olive branch or the gun when they interact with one another? Nobody can give a more reliable answer to this question than you and your governments.

Yours truly,

1. Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed Coordinator, PPAD, (Associate Professor), Department of Political Science, Stockholm University, S-106 91 Stockholm, SWEDEN 

Ishtiaq.Ahmed@statsvet.su.se

Members of the PPAD Committee (in alphabetical order)

2. Prof. Susan Mussarat Akram (Law), USA

3. Dr. Ghazala Anwar (Islamic Theology), New Zealand

4. Group Captain Cecil  Chaudhry, SJ, SBt. Pakistan Air Force (Retd), Principal, St. Anthony's High School, Lahore, Pakistan.

5. Nazeer Chaudhry (Business and Human Rights) USA.

6. Dr Maqsood Choudary (Political Science), USA

7. Prof. Hassan Gardezi, Professor Emeritus (Sociology), Sault Ate Marie, Ontario, Canada.

8.  Faisal A. Gilani (Sustainable Development), Pakistan

9. Prof. Dr. Bilal Hashmi, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus (Sociology), Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA. 99004 (USA).

10. Owais Hasin (Architect) Karachi, Pakistan

11. Dr. Inayatullah (Human Rights), Islamabad, Pakistan.

12. Ayyub Malik (Architect), UK

13. Dr Babar Mumtaz (Reader), UK)

14. Dr A. H. Nayyar (Physics), Pakistan.

15. Aamir Riaz (Athor and Publisher), Lahore, Pakistan.

16. Dr. Ahmed Shibli (Science and Technology), UK

*Pakistan-India  Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy, 11-Temple Road, Lahore  (Pakistan), Tel: 042-7357926, Fax: 042-7223455   Via South Asia 

Lahore, May 31:  "The Pakistan-India Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy

(PIPFPD) welcomes the invitation by government of India to General Pervez Musharaf, the Chief Executive of Pakistan, to visit India for unconditional Talks and  urges both the leaders to show statesmanship and utilize this opportunity to resolve the long outstanding issues and conflicts which are bleeding our ountries and impoverishing our people.  PIPFPD has for several years urged the governments of the two countries to hold such a dialogue, essential for reducing tensions between the two neighbours, along with strengthening democratic institutions in both the countries and creating the condition for talks on the substantive issues including Kashmir. However, we regret that this offer has been accompanied by formal resumption of combat offensive in Kashmir and an end to the so-called cease-fire, because the main victim of such offensives have been the Non-combatant civilians. We wish to reiterate that Kashmir is not merely a territorial dispute to be resolved between India and Pakistan but it concerns the lives and aspirations of people of Kashmir living on both sides of the LOC. Neither India nor Pakistan can represent the people of Kashmir. Therefore, it is our conviction that unless the principal party to the dispute are included in the dialogue, there can never be a just and democratic peace in the sub-continent."

Admiral L.  Ramdas, Chairperson India Chapter 

A. Rehman Chairperson Pakistan Chapter 

*Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (India) Via Praful Bidwai praful@del3.vsnl.net.in

The Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace plans to release the following statement on the occasion of the forthcoming Musharraf-Vajpayee parley in July. 

"Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (India) CNDP heartily welcomes the forthcoming, long-overdue, meeting between Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari

Vajpayee and Pakistan Chief Executive Pervez Musharraf.  Millions of peace-loving citizens in both countries have placed high hopes in their talks. These can be fulfilled only if they reach agreements in good faith on a number of issues. Such agreements must go beyond mere transparency and confidence building of the feeble, limited kind attempted in the Lahore accords of 1999.

On the nuclear and missile issues, in particular, it is imperative that India and Pakistan make a bold departure by defusing their rivalry. Developments since the Pokhran-II and Chagai tests of May 1998 have highlighted the volatility of the India-Pakistan relationship and its grave potential for a nuclear conflagration. There is a danger that a conventional conflict between them could escalate to the nuclear plane. 

Both India and Pakistan must return to the global nuclear disarmament agenda, rather than seek legitimisation and enhancement of their nuclear-weapons status. It is vital that the fire-break between testing and induction/deployment of nuclear weapons be maintained. 

Hence there must be a COMPLETE FREEZE on nuclear weapons and missile development, and decommissioning of preparations in this regard. Consequently, the National Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and demands the following immediate measures as the very minimum needed to fulfil the expectations of the peace-loving people of both countries:

1. No nuclear weaponisation. No further development of nuclear weapons designs or related technologies. 

2. No stockpiling or reprocessing of plutonium or enriched uranium.

3. No missile test flights.

4. No deployment of short or medium-range missiles, and other nuclear weapon delivery systems.

5. A bilateral test ban, without conditions and qualifications. Dismantling of test sites including Pokhran and Chagai.

6. No preparations for staging a nuclear war, including military exercises with a nuclear scenario/environment. No offensive or provocative military exercises. No nuclear posturing or threats, even indirect ones. Full prior information to the other side before conducting conventional military exercises.

7. No further development of command, control, communication and intelligence systems pertaining to nuclear weaponisation.

8. All the above measures preparatory to a decommissioning of nuclear weapons and missiles by both sides. A no-first-use pledge by both sides until such decommissioning is achieved. 

9. Strengthening confidence-building measures. This would include activation of hot-lines and other modes of regular communication and consultation between the Directors-General of Military Operations on both sides.

10. Immediate negotiations on verification and compliance with all of the above measures.

11. A joint declaration against the Missile Defence plans announced by the US, and a joint call for the removal of its hypocritical sanctions imposed upon both India and Pakistan.

12. A joint appeal to all nuclear weapons states to implement the World Court-endorsed obligation of all humankind for the total regional and global elimination of nuclear weapons."

*I.B.A.D.A.T., 24 W. Jinnah Ave, Islamabad, Pakistan. Contact person: Isa Daudpota

Pakistan & India As Buddies Via South Asia Citizens Wire www.mnet.fr/aiindex

Leaders of South Asia may delay the reconciliation and friendship among their people, but it will come! If the great people of this region are to survive honorably, it will come. All the more reason to speed up the rapprochement and for the Indo-Pak leaders to become real heroes in the process.

To loosen up for the mid-July Musharraf-Vajpai meeting, try dreaming a bit. Imagine a joint South Asian cricket team, just as they have in the West Indies! This seems outlandish, but the great Caribbean cricketers do it. Think of a common market for this region. [Europeans fought for 500 years but now have a Union. Let's get over our's in 50.] Think of students from Pakistan going South, rather than North, to study information technology and many areas of science and technology. We could have the incomparable Lata Mangeshkar in Pakistan and the Indians can get Abida Parveen to sing down there whenever they wish. Our agriculturists could learn from each other's mistakes and be able to put a strong joint front against the Neem and Banaspati patent robbers who wish to deprive us of our traditional resources. Now try some peaceful dreaming by yourself…

Yes, the big stumbling block is Kashmir - both the Pakistani and Indian parts. For a while, in the heat of July, let's think of Kashmiris as just humans wishing to lead peaceful lives. Forget that they are Hindus, Sikhs, Christians or Muslims. Let them be free to live as they wish, and don't covet them and their land. If division is necessary let that happen too. Do that soon - in July. Don't spend years around roundtables getting fat on conference food.

*Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party, Head Office: 4, V. P. House, Rafi Marg, New Delhi-1, Ph.: 3711194, 3718304 Fax : 011-3711194, E. Mail: jkashmir@vsnl.com, Website www.thevoiceofmillions.com

Sudhmahadev Declaration, 8th June, 2001

Nearly 7000 volunteers of social and political groups participated in the 'Three-Day Awareness Camp' organised by JKNPP from 4th to 6th June, 2001 at Sudhmahadev, 124 kms away from Jammu. Seventy-three Sarpanches and 351 Panches from Udhampur, Kathua and Doda participated in the camp, besides youth and ST and SC, NGOs. A Sudhmahadev Declaration was adopted unanimously, which pledged to maintain secular and democratic character at all costs and defeat all forms of fundamentalism and terrorism, whether imported or local in the larger interests of the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the nation.

The Declaration welcomed the dialogue between the two Heads of India and Pakistan to seek peaceful resolution of Jammu and Kashmir, as was envisaged in Clause 6 of the Shimla Agreement, but said that it stands for the reunification o the entire state as it existed on August 16, 1947, with a determination to reorganise it in order to protect, preserve and enhance lasting peace in the region.

*CIEDS COLLECTIVE, BANGALORE. TEL; 5278628/5296191, Via South Asia Citizens Web http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex

On June 9, CIEDS COLLECTIVE South Asian Borders, initiated a lecture series to examine and analyze the historical, cultural and political problem of living with borders in South Asia. The initiative was undertaken in the context of increasing anxiety caused by migrant refugees, border skirmishes and the aftermath of the Kargil conflict. 

The organizers believe that that this anxiety was deeply tied to the drive for a monolithic, inflexible and well defined national culture and state. They saw the demand for cultural nationalism, ethnophobic responses to refugees and migrants from other south Asian countries, the frequent discovery of Pakistani Intelligence presence in parts of India far away from any national  border, massively reinforce the demand for this unified national consciousness  and state.

In this series of lectures, they plan to introduce into the  public certain crucial elements such as 1) the fundamentally altered nature of war and territorial conflict in the 20th century; 2) the role of international business and economy in wars; 3) the matter of  public information and the survival of democratic culture. 

*Pakistan-India Peoples Forum For Peace and  Democracy, The Other Media, B-14 (Second  Floor) Gulmohar Park,  New  Delhi-110049. Tel:  +991-11-  6163830. Fax: +  91-11-  619804; WEST BENGAL CHAPTER, 21-A, HAJI  MD. MOHSIN SQUARE, CALCUTTA - 700 016, TEL: 244 4876

West Bengal Chapter of Pakistan-India Peoples Forum For Peace and Democracy, organized a talk on Reflections from the women movements of  Pakistan and the  role of the women movements in conflict resolution by Nighat Said Khan on June 9 at Jibanananda  Sabhagriha in Bangla Academy, Calcutta. Khan is a founding member of Women's Action Forum, Pakistan, runs the ASR Feminist Resource Centre and is the Dean of the ASR Institute of Women's Studies in Lahore. She has written and edited several books and articles on feminism and political economy. 

BOOKS

*Breaking BARRIERS-Liberation of Dialogue and Dialogue of Liberation (Inter-religious Dialogue), By Anthoniraj Thumma, ISPCK, New Delhi, 2000, Pp 130, Rs.95. Review Yoginder Sikand, Via South Asia Citizens Wire, www.mnet.fr/aiindex

What Thumma pleads for, then, is a liberation of traditional forms of theology that are divorced from concern with the struggle for social justice. What he also aims at, at the same time, is a liberation theology, that transforms the religious quest from being an escape from the problems of the world in an elusive search for personal salvation into a potent force for critiquing oppressive structures and practices and for establishing a more just social order. While Thumma's arguments are framed principally in relation to the writings of the Indian Protestant Christian theologian  Raimundo Pannikkar, the insights he offers have a broader relevance for all religious traditions as Sender (For the full review send a blank email to pritamr@open.org with BOOK BARRIERS as its subject.

*Energy-efficient buildings in India www.teriin.org/pub/books/eebuild.htm Via humanscape@vsnl.net

Accelerated urbanisation imposes immense pressure on the dwindling energy sources and fragile ecosystems. Yet, the resource crunch confronting energy supplies can be alleviated if we design and develop future buildings by incorporating sound concepts of energy efficiency and sustainability. Covering 41 projects from India’s various climatic zones, this book provides thorough insights into the context, techniques, and benefits of energy-efficient buildings.

The projects highlight design responses to varied climatic conditions, appropriate materials and construction methods, implementation of energy- efficient systems, and effective utilization of renewable energy to reduce pressure on grid power. 

CHILDREN

*Child workers in India

Children shouldn't work, it's as simple as that. But millions of boys and girls in the country are employed. How many, you ask? According to the Census of 1991, over 14 million of them. http://www.indiatogether.org/dyk/childlabor.htm

* Specific laws to combat child abuse demanded in Pakistan, DAWN May 2, 2001, Via INRFVVP@LISTSERV.LOUISVILLE.EDU

KARACHI, May 1: Speakers at a workshop highlighted the issue of sexual abuse of children and demanded framing of specific laws to combat the menace. They were addressing the 11-day human resource development training workshop on psychosocial and medical services for sexually abused and exploited children and youth organised jointly by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid.

CONFERENCES

*August 10-12, Burnaby, B.C.: SOUTH ASIAN DIASPORA: International Conference on Secularism, Democracy & Social Justice at Simon Fraser University, main campus. Some of the South Asian personalities who have accepted our invitation to participate include Bangladesh’s prominent writer, poet, social activist Farhad Mazhar, Pakistan’s well known Physical Scientist Dr. Parvez Hoodhboy, J&K Federation of Civil Society Organization’s Dr. Hamida Bano, editor, Kashmir Monitor’s editor Zafar Meraj, Kathmandu-based South Asian Forum for Human Rights’s Tapan Bose, Vice Chancellor at a Kerala university Dr. K. N. Panikkar, Delhi University’s Dr. Manoranjan Mohanty, and Dr. Bidyut Mohanty from New Delhi-based Women's Studies Centre and Institute of Social Sciences. More info from Hari Sharma, Coordinator, International South Asia Forum sharma@sfu.ca

EVENTS

*August, 4-6, New Delhi, India: CONVENTION AGAINST COMMUNALISATION OF EDUCATION, Constitution Club, Rafi Marg. Within barely three years of coming to power the Bharatiya Janata Party led coalition at the Centre has pushed through so many changes in the fields of education, social science research and culture, that it poses a threat of unprecedented magnitude to the unity and the integrity of the country. SAHMAT is organising this convention "in order to join the battle for the Indian mind in right earnest." More info from SHABNAM HASHMI, SAHMAT, 8, VITHALBHAI PATEL HOUSE, RAFI MARG, NEW DELHI-110001, TEL- 3711276/ 3351424, E-MAIL sahmat@vsnl.com or 

shabhashmi@hotmail.com

WOMEN

*Arresting female infanticide Via humanscape@vsnl.net

How is the girl child killed? The dai (midwife) demonstrates. "The child is held at the waist then snapped backwards and forwards. The spinal cord breaks. I have seen at least 100 cases." Yet in a place where unwanted infant girls are being aborted or killed, local residents are now adopting them. But efforts of Adithi in Bihar and its partner organisation, Shakti Vardhini, hope for more. They run training programmes for dais and support them to refuse the bidding of those who command them to kill girl babies. 

*Laws against women harassment urged: KU seminar. Dawn May 1, 2001, Via 

INRFVVP@LISTSERV.LOUISVILLE.EDU

KARACHI, April 30: Speakers at the seminar 'Harassment of Women at Workplace', organized by the Karachi University's Centre of Excellence for Women Studies, in collaboration with Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid, demanded that specific laws relating to various types of harassment be formulated and law enforcers be sensitized about the issues. 

For more information please visit ACHA's website <www.asiapeace.org>, or contact us by email at <pritamr@open.org> or by telephone at 503.393.6944, or 503.251.0070. The website has been designed and is maintained by Dr. Ingrid H. Shafer.