Karachi calling

ZoneAsia-Pk

Urban violence has become a permanent affliction in Karachi. Anyone explaining the roots of this violence to you would say ‘it’s complicated’ – and that is indeed an accurate summary of the bloodshed that erupts across the city in random spurts. The plague of violence in Pakistan’s biggest city and commercial hub is multifaceted. From ethnic strife to gang wars to politically motivated crimes to just petty theft – Karachi has it all. Where does it start? And more importantly, where would it end?

This is strange because less merely 25 years, Karachi was the land of opportunity in Pakistan. Once the capital of the country, this economic hub bustled with life and activity with little thought spared to the horrors awaiting citizens a few years down the road. Fast forward to 2012, Karachi faces (in the words of Bilal Baloch) feeble security, over-population, poor public transportation and housing, weak law and order, abuse of public services by the wealthy and powerful, illegal land-grabbing and squatter settlements, pollution so pervasive that it contaminates food and water for all, ethnic divisions, sectarian divisions, meager education; in short, institutional inadequacies on a grand scale. At the same time, it is this city that allows unbridled port access to NATO, fishermen and businessmen. The city has seen the likes of Alexander the Great, Sir Charles Napier, Muhammad Bin Qasim, poets, authors, bloggers and artists. The City of Lights continues to function under such paradoxical circumstances, with violent bloodshed in one corner of the city and celebrations in another.

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HO HUM

By: Salman Azeem
ZoneAsia-Pk

The dictionary explains ‘ho hum’ as being an ‘expression of tediousness or boredom’. Ho Hum, therefore, best describes the state of minds in Pakistan. There was a time several months ago when the media, political aspirants and others created the hype of an imminent change of government. Media debates and writings ranged over various possibilities. Politicians in the opposition ran around trying to forge alliances and hurl derogatory epithets at others. An activist judiciary was seen as the torch bearer of change and the ‘establishment’ was seen as being in support of the judiciary and the secret behind the scenes manipulator. Each new event whether on the streets of Karachi or Baluchistan or in FATA or Punjab was seen as another nail in the governments’ coffin. Lurid details of corruption, mismanagement and cronyism were being shouted from rooftops.

This is no longer the case now. The politicians in the opposition are running around like headless chickens – outwitted and out maneuvered. The media continues its diatribes but these are accepted and no longer make waves or even ripples – they are seen for what they are, ploys for revenue generation from advertisements. The judiciary is independent and going about its business with some cracks visible – no one expects miracles. The establishment has been accepted as having broken from the past and is seen as a bystander with its work cut out. Scams and scandals surface and disappear into investigations and court procedures. Lawlessness is being accepted as kidnappings, murders, random killings, bombings and street rage become a fact of life – not even making headlines any more. Bizarre incidents like the Davis killings and the Taseer-Bhatti murders provoke rage that peters out into despair. The government continues to function and the country gets run somehow. Economic decline, rising prices, increasing poverty and joblessness are topics for discussion because there is nothing else to discuss. Life goes on and the name of the game is acceptance and compromise. No one is excited anymore – not even by the 2013 elections.

No longer is the nation waiting for a savior to come galloping on a white horse. No one is expecting the strategic ally – the US or the much touted Friends of Pakistan to work a miracle in Pakistan. If anything the suspicion about US intentions has reached a crescendo. Reality has kicked in. The reality is that this elected government is going to complete its tenure – its accomplishments are being slowly seen from between all its warts. Political shenanigans are exposing people as never before. No one has so far said anything profound, strategic or visionary – the future looks dreary. There is grudging acceptance of the fact that the country has weathered difficult situations – some of Tsunami strength and held its own. Dire predictions continue to be made but they lack conviction and those making them lack credibility. The ‘establishments’ hands-off policy is being accepted as reality and even the pronouncements by the US fail to create a dent. This is a classic case of a game having been played to the finish leaving everyone exhausted – no one is crying foul and if someone is then there is no listener.

The time has come to move on. The media needs to revamp with meaty futuristic debates. The political scene needs new faces below thinking brains. The US needs to rethink strategy to change its image in public opinion. The ‘establishment’, the bureaucracy and the judiciary need to deliver – to the people. Those in power need to see the snowball that might roll on despair turned into rage to gain size, momentum and power before.

We forget, Azadi is not a fixed term

During the current agitation, Farooq Abdullah was heard remarking impatiently on TV: “I don’t know what these Kashmiris want!” Both Farooq and his narcissistic son Omar have failed to understand the aspirations of Kashmiris. Not surprisingly, whenever the National Conference is in power in Jammu & Kashmir, we see the rage of Kashmiris spill onto the streets – something that works to the advantage of Pakistan. The current joke is that Pakistan has decided to dispense with ISI’s services because Omar does the job better.

Young blood Anger explodes on the streets

During my trip to Kashmir as part of Manushi’s factfinding team, I was pleasantly surprised to find that even at the height of estrangement from the Indian establishment, the most respected political figure in Kashmir is neither a separatist leader nor a Pakistani general but former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Barring the minority of die-hard pro-Pakistani elements, people across the entire political spectrum, including a significant section of moderate separatists, say openly that if only Vajpayee had stayed in power, he would have steered the country towards a permanent solution to the Kashmir problem.

Muzaffar Hussain Baig of the PDP was not too far off the mark when he declared in a public meeting that if Vajpayee were to contest from any constituency in Kashmir, he would have won hands down. The special affection for Vajpayee is in part due to the reason that he presided over one of the two cleanest elections in our parliamentary democracy. In 2002, Vajpayee made sure neither the Central nor the state government dirtied their hands by tampering with ballot boxes, thus ensuring one of the most credible elections in Kashmir, despite Pakistan-inspired militants unleashing violence and even murdering candidates to enforce a boycott.

Even though the PDP was a coalition partner of the Congress during Vajpayee’s tenure, the Centre yielded unprecedented political space to the state government in addition to supporting its various ‘healing touch’ measures. He let the PDP take new political initiatives and define its agenda rather than be a Delhi Durbar puppet.

Vajpayee did not depend on intelligence agencies to define his political agenda and roadmap for Kashmir. He engaged with the entire cross-section of political opinion, including the separatists, and gave ordinary people hope that his government was ready to take concrete steps to resolve the Kashmir issue through honest dialogue. His declaration that ‘insaniyat ka dayara’ (the domain of humanity) was higher than all other mandates created an unprecedented wave of enthusiasm and hope. This does not mean that Kashmiris expected him to bypass the Constitution. It only indicates Vajpayee’s willingness to acknowledge that most previous governments had too often trampled upon human rights.

It is indeed tragic that there is no one in the BJP with the sagacity to build on the goodwill created by Vajpayee. Instead most current BJP leaders are prone to issuing thoughtless jingoistic statements to prove their nationalist credentials without making any attempt to have direct contact with the people.

Similarly, one hears people remember former Prime Minister Morarji Desai as the respect-worthy face of Indian democracy even though he is all but forgotten in the rest of the country. Kashmiris remember him with warmth and gratitude for letting them have their first taste of free and fair elections in 1977. This was because the Janata Party came to power after defeating Indira Gandhi, who had built a highly authoritarian, centralised power structure in her desire to rule all of India from her imperial durbar. Morarji put his foot down against managing or rigging elections, making Kashmiris feel part of the post-Emergency democratic upsurge.

Another hero for Kashmiris is former Chief Election Commissioner JM Lyngdoh because he personally oversaw the 2002 poll. George Fernandes is a respected name because even as defence minister he did not indulge in jingoistic politics and reached out to Kashmiri people even at the height of the secessionist movement in the Valley. Likewise, former President APJ Abdul Kalam cut through a security cordon and mingled freely with the people, establishing very warm rapport with the younger generation, especially students. He had no difficulty in getting thousands of Kashmiri students join him in singing the national anthem.

These names are evidence that the majority of Kashmiris want the same freedom as we do. When they find their democratic aspirations crushed through brute force and devious Delhi Durbar games, with puppet chief ministers allowed to loot and plunder the state’s resources without any instruments of accountability available to citizens, they do get desperate. Frustration and disillusionment with Indian democracy are the most valuable assets for Pakistan in its proxy war.

By ignoring the cry for azadi, the central government has offered a golden opportunity to Pakistan to fish in troubled waters. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has himself witnessed how the constituency for secession from Indian can be made to shrink or expand depending on how responsive or ham-handed the governments in the state and at the Centre are in responding to people’s legitimate grievances and aspirations.

When their elected representatives prove capable of providing a responsive administration, especially security of life and property along with efficiency in delivery of basic civic amenities, people start demanding IITs, IIMs and stadia, aspire to become ‘Indian Idols’ and show eagerness in the vibrancy of Indian democracy.

For example, people have clamoured for the Right to Information Act to be made applicable to Kashmir. But when they are saddled with a callous, dysfunctional and corrupt government which uses the brute might of the Indian State to crush their democratic rights, they are bound to feel estranged from Indian democracy, especially if the Central government seems to back the brute actions of the state government.

The constituency for secession in Kashmir shrinks or expands depending on how governments act

IF OMAR had any emotional connect with his people, he would not have felt elated at Rahul Gandhi’s open and unconditional support to his regime. He should have known that any politician who tries to ride roughshod over his own people simply because he enjoys the patronage of Delhi Durbar becomes a hate symbol. The timing of the statement – on the eve of the Parliamentary delegation to Kashmir – was even more damaging because it sought to undermine the very credibility of the high-powered team. It has been interpreted in Kashmir as an attempt to influence the team since it is headed by three senior-most ministers of the UPA government. This has confirmed fears that the Delhi Durbar will only support puppet chief ministers in Kashmir, no matter how disastrous they are for the state and for India.

The delegation’s visit has proved a total flop for other reasons as well. It was not structured to enable the MPs to meet ordinary people, to listen to their grievances, to see for themselves the havoc being caused by Omar’s callous draconian rule. It turned out to be a flying touchand- go visit. It was ritualism at its worst.

In order to rekindle hope in Kashmir, a select group of senior MPs should have spent several days in the Valley and held public hearings, meeting a varied crosssection of ordinary citizens as well as professional organisations, students as well as businessmen. Instead, they met a select group of politicians behind closed doors. Many important Kashmiri politicians boycotted the meeting. The state government enforced such a severe curfew that no one could stir out of their homes. The National Conference handpicked some of its own men, briefed them on what to say and ferried them in government vehicles, parading them as the voice of Kashmir. Even grassroot Congress leaders and workers were denied the opportunity to meet the delegation.

The Deputy Commissioner was put in charge of screening those who put in requests to meet the MPs. They were told to fax the text of what they wanted to say to the delegation. Given the shoot-at-sight orders and a deadly curfew, how could people access fax?

And yet some brave ones persevered. They phoned their friends in Delhi and other parts of India to send faxes on their behalf. Many such people had the CID come visiting in a brazen attempt to intimidate them into silence. The very attempt to impose strict censorship through the office of the Deputy Commissioner shows what desperate measures Omar is capable of adopting in order to survive as Chief Minister. In the process he is ensuring that he cannot function as CM.

Most people outside the Valley don’t know that Omar forced all government offices to remain closed for nearly three months by denying government employees curfew passes. He is afraid if they join duty they might start demonstrating against him in the office complex itself. Any time the separatists give a call for hartaal, Omar extends his government’s support by imposing a very strict curfew. Those few journalists or others who manage to get curfew passes often face the wrath of the J&K Police that does not hesitate to tear up the passes in their faces. I personally witnessed people being booked under PSA and other sections of IPC and locked up in police stations for daring to defy curfew.

At a time when both the state and the Central government appear to be trampling on the constitutional rights of Kashmiris with brute force, leading to daily deaths of young men, women and children, for the Prime Minister to announce his willingness to talk to only those who abjure violence and declare allegiance to the Constitution amounts to rubbing salt in people’s wounds. Instead of setting this pre-condition, let the PM first demonstrate through concrete example that the Government of India cares for and knows how to safeguard the constitutional rights of its citizens. If this can be done, an enduring solution to the vexed Kashmir problem will follow effortlessly.

If not, the Congress high command will have to bear the ignominy of furthering the political agenda of Pakistan in Kashmir.

MADHU KISHWAR remembers Indian leaders who have won the Valley’s confidence in the past

C.B.I (Concocting Bizarre Interpretations) In Shopian

By Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal
28 May, 2010 Countercurrents.org

JAMMU, April 10: ‘If you can’t convince someone, you confuse them.’ That was American president Harry S. Truman half a century ago. But right now, this is precisely how the government response to the Shopian rapes and murders (of May 29, 2009) and the campaign for justice that followed can be summed up.

From the very beginning the government response, to one of the biggest controversies ever in the history of Kashmir, has not been marked by consistency. The official investigating agencies – right from the Special Investigation Team of the Jammu and Kashmir Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have been busier spreading canards of lies, spinning rumours and using media as a tool to leak misinformation, rather than clearing the cobwebs.

The CBI report, based on its investigations, is in striking contrast to the Justice Muzaffar Jan Commission report, which despite its limitations and flaws, did indict the police personnel for tampering evidence and deemed it not just dereliction of duty but rather a deliberate calculated move. The CBI, which has cracked its whip on everybody – from the doctors to the lawyers active in the campaign for justice – has been too kind to the police personnel and given them a clean chit.

India Tightens its Stranglehold on Bangladesh

by Sajjad Shaukat and Usman Khalid

The colonization by India of Bangladesh is now in its final phase as the Indian puppet Prime Minister – Hasina Wazed – is complying with India’s orders unafraid of the military or the judiciary

The colonization by India of Bangladesh is now in its final phase as the Indian puppet Prime Minister Hasina Wazed – is complying with India’s orders unafraid of the military or the judiciary. The military has been restrained in performing its statutory role to safeguard the national interest as RAW demonstrated its hold on the country in the Peelkhana massacre of Army officers and rapes of their wives by BDR personnel in which Awami League ministers were complicit; the Prime Minister herself gave the rebels three days of time to surrender – time enough for murderers and rapists to escape and some of them even to go abroad while the government spokesmen were creating a smoke screen blaming the Islamists for the massacre. No wonder the senior officers of the military are afraid they might be dismissed or murdered by RAW agents if they are suspected to be patriots unafraid of India.

The judiciary of Bangladesh has shown that it will also obey India’s wishes as a Supreme Court Bench, which had two Hindu members, upheld the death sentences awarded to the patriotic young officers who over-threw the government of Sheikh Mujib on 15 August 1975. (Sheikh Mujib is seen as a traitor worse than Mir Jaffer who also became the ruler of Bengal as reward for cooperating with the enemy – the British). The courts ignored the fact that these officers had acted as commanders of their units and should have been tried by a court martial. They also ignored the law of ‘double jeopardy’ as the case of these officers had been considered and they had been given pardon and immunity from prosecution by a constitutional amendment. Hasina Administration has shown its obsequiousness to Indian interests also by handing over ULFA leaders to India even though there is no extradition treaty between India and Bangladesh.

With the Armed Forces and the Judiciary so intimidated ‘new realities’ are being created quick and fast to prevent any future government of Bangladesh to be able to say ‘no’ to anything that India asks. The construction of Tipaimukh Dam is one; more agreements and contracts to tie Bangladesh to India are in the pipeline. It is once again time that the armed forces rise to guard national interests: 1) hold an impartial inquiry into Peelkhana massacre and the role of RAW and the Awami League in it; 2) declare the trial of the officers who carried out the coup d’état in Bangladesh on 15 August 1975 to be unlawful being in violation of the principle of ‘double jeopardy’: 3) hold the Awami League Government to account for handing over ULFA leaders to India: 4) take the case of Tipaimukh Dam to the UN and the ICJ.

Unlike the past wars, which were fought with tanks and guns, war today is carried out by subversion and imposition of puppet rulers. Bangladesh is one country created entirely by clandestine operations by RAW with military force being used in the final stages in 1971. When the people of Bangladesh realised that their alleged redeemer – Sheikh Mujib – had been an Indian agent, they rose in rebellion against him. He was gunned down in a popular coup d’état carried out by young officers, none above the rank of Major, on 15 August 1975. Sadly for Bangladesh, India saw the popular coup d’etat as its defeat and it has been engaged in reversing it impact ever since. There was counter coup d’état led by Major General Khalid Musharraf in November the same year. The troops believed India was behind the new coup. They reacted spontaneously en masse, lynched Khalid Musharraf, and restored General Zia ur Rehman (who had been removed by Khalid Mushharaf) as the COAS. Zia ruled Bangladesh effectively for a decade – some of the time as a dictator and most of the time as an elected President – until he was himself assassinated by military officers in Chittagong. Today, the daughter of one slain President Sheikh Mujib – Hasina Wazed – is the leader of the ruling Awami League and Begum Khaleda Zia, wife of the other slain President Zia ur Rehman, is the leader of the opposition.

Both ladies have won elections twice and served as Prime Ministers but neither has been able to shake off the legacy of blood that hangs over Bangladesh. Support or intervention by the military is still the only means by which a government secures legitimacy. Bangladesh was liberated by a ‘liberation war’ fought primarily by deserters from the Pakistan Army. East Pakistani soldiers killed their erstwhile comrades from West Pakistan; there was no mutiny. just murders. Yet this is called ‘War of Liberation. It was fratricide cleverly conceived by India to make the secession of Bangladesh irreversible. The officers’ who carried out the coup d’état on 15 August 1975 were all ‘freedom fighters’ who had served in the Pakistan Army with distinction. They were led to believe that it was right for them to fight their erstwhile comrades for they represented ‘oppressive rule of West Pakistan’. Imagine how they felt when they found that the self proclaimed father of the nation was in cahoots with Indian Intelligence to bring about the defeat of Pakistan’s armed forces and destruction of their country the movement for which was started by the Muslims of Bengal. They, not the politicians who collaborated with the enemy and were in Calcutta or West Pakistan for the duration of the war, were the liberators of Bangladesh. If it was right for them to fight allegedly oppressive rule by West Pakistan they had much more reason and duty to rid the country of a traitor masquerading as a leader under the shadow of Indian guns. If ever there was a coup d’état that was for the good of the state this was one.

The shadow of India has loomed large during the rule of both ladies. When RAW has control over the levers of power, the Awami League wins; when RAW sees Indian rule to be widely resented, it allows the BNP to win. The military has been the power behind the throne under both the ladies. The military officers, because of their role and statutory obligations, are patriotic and look at India with mixture of fear, disdain and apprehension. That disturbs India because its civilian puppet is always uneasy in power and not able to deliver. What India wants is Hindus or its collaborators in key places. India has now set about doing just that.

Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) are civil armed forces – organised and equipped like the infantry, commanded by military officers on secondment from the Army, but paid by the scales of the police because their role is that of border police. There is a relationship of tension between the BDR and the Army. BDR is in closer contact with civil administration as it is deployed and used to reinforce the police without reference to the Army HQ. Credit should be given to India that it created and exploited the situation for soldiers to murder their own officers thus sowing such fear and suspicion that the entire edifice of discipline crumbled. Today the officers in the armed forces officers court the favour of India for their promotions and appointments even survival. Bangladesh pays the salaries of the members of the armed forces but it is India that controls it. The organisation that is the symbol as well as the custodian of the sovereignty of the state does not work for the state but its hostile neighbour. Even the states inside India enjoy more autonomy than Bangladesh. That country is controlled from Delhi but has no representative there. The Indian High Commissioner is the viceroy of India in its colony Bangladesh.

The judiciary is the custodian of peoples’ rights – life, liberty and livelihood. Until recently, it had a good record. But it has been under pressure to execute the death sentences awarded by a kangaroo court that was especially composed to ensure it would over-ride all legitimate objections. The universal ‘law of double jeopardy’ that disallows any one to be tried for the same offence more than once has been blatantly ignored. These officers had been given pardon which was authenticated by a constitutional amendment. It was the right for the parliament to do because these officers had not acted for any personal reason or benefit but in the interest of the state. The high judiciary withheld the go ahead on executions for good reasons of public good. After the BDR massacre, the Awami League felt confident that it could get away with the executions as the public feels so unprotected by the institutions of the state that the government can literally get away with murder.

India’s plan for the construction of the Tipaimukh Dam has been made public as the puppet rulers of Bangladesh are expected to stay mute in the face of such diabolical Indian excesses. Built on River Barak, the dam is part of its most dangerous scheme against the economy of Bangladesh. Those who felt that having an Indian puppet as a ruler provided some protection against the worst excesses of India have been disabused of the illogical belief. India started it bloodless war against Bangladesh when it constructed the Farakka Barrage on the Indian side of the Ganges River to stop flow of water to Bangladesh. Despite the protest of Dhaka, Indian rulers used various delaying tactics to avoid resolving the issue. Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) met many a times to settle the issue, but could not produce any positive results. In April 1975, India assured that it would not operate feeder canal until a final agreement was reached between New Delhi and Dhaka on sharing of Ganges water. Bangladesh was assured of 40,000 cusecs during the dry season.

After the assassination of Sheik Mujib’s, India exploited the situation and diverted all of the 40,000 cusecs of water. The matter was brought to the attention of UN General Assembly, which on November 26, 1976 adopted a resolution directing the parties to arrive at a fair and expeditious settlement. On November 5, 1977 the Ganges Waters Agreement was signed, assuring 34,500 cusecs for Bangladesh. But the JRC statistics shows that Bangladesh did not get her due share. After Sheikh Hasina was first elected Prime Minister, she visited India and signed a treaty with her counterpart Deve Gowda on December 12, 1996. The treaty stipulated that below a certain flow rate, India and Bangladesh will each share half of the water. But New Delhi has continued to violate the treaty by using more than its share of the water of the river. The JRC report of March 9, 2009 revealed that from 1999 to 2009, India intermittently reduced the water flow to Bangladesh.

A study conducted in the US by Bridge and Husain, identified Farakka as the root cause behind arsenic poisoning of groundwater in Bangladesh. While cries of anguish over Farakka Barrage remained unheeded, the proposed construction of Tipaimukh Dam in the neighbouring Manipur state is another Indian water-bomb. The Tipaimukh multipurpose hydel project on Barak River is located about 200 km upstream of the border of Bangladesh. A Bangladesh delegation led by Abdur Razzaq, chairman of the standing committee of the parliament on water resources, held a meeting with Indian Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde. He was told that the “Tipaimukh project is not an irrigation project or a water diversion scheme; it is a hydel project and in no way will harm Bangladesh’s interest.” In fact, just as in the case of Farakka, India is lying in trying to satisfy Dhaka by false assurances.

Tipaimukh Dam would affect the already precarious livelihood of millions making them internally displaced persons. In the light of New Delhi’s record over agreements on Farakka Barrage, Bangladesh cannot trust any new promise. If India wants to meet energy needs of its people, it can better do so through nuclear power plants. But India appears determined to build the Tipaimukh Dam as part of its effort to tighten its stranglehold over Bangladesh. Tempers are rising in Bangladesh as India does not appear to care that its lackeys (Awami League) is the ruling party in Bangladesh. It is evident that role of lackeys is not to obtain concessions from India but to give in to every thing India seeks without even a whimper in protest and suppressing public protests instead.

Honour Killings In Haryana

By Kavita Krishnan

“Only whores choose their own partners…. Recently an educated couple married against the samaj’s (community’s) wishes in Jhajjar. We hail the panchayat’s decision to execute them…The government cannot protect this atyachar (immoral behaviour)…. (The law of the land) is the root of all problems… That’s your Constitution, ours is different.” - Mahendra Singh Tikait, farmers’ leader of Western UP

“Yahan izzatdar woh hain jo ladki ko marte hain (Those who kill their girls are respected here)” – a teacher in rural Haryana

”Khap leaders are keepers of Jat tradition” – Justice (retd) Devi Singh Teotia, a former judge of the Punjab & Haryana HC, active member of the Sarv Khap Panchayat, demanding legalising of the khaap panchayats

Mahendra Singh Tikait’s outrageous and offensive remarks once again raise the question: why do the khaap panchayats of Haryana and Western UP which open issue ‘death sentences’ for couples who defy their caste-diktats on love and marriage, enjoy impunity?

In the context of such executions, Congress MP from Rohtak Deepender Hooda (whom the Congress proudly counts among its contingent of ‘young MPs’) had expressed sympathy for the “sentiments and local customs of khaap panchayats.” Will the Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh tell us why leaders of their party endorse such “sentiments” that mock the constitution and openly call for lynching?

Tikait says women who choose their own partners are ‘whores’. The ‘dishonour’ of ‘whoring’, in his eyes, does not lie, it seems, in the act of buying sexual services. After all, men in the same region openly buy their wives (as reproductive machines) from other states, because women are in short supply due to female foeticide. The ‘dishonour’ according to him lies primarily in women choosing their own partners. This choice threatens the structures of property and land, and with it, the very edifice of the feudal order.

Tikait’s words are all the more unfortunate coming from a representative of the farmers’ movement. One caution, however. The Times of India story that carried Tikait’s statements, described the farmers’ leader in stereotypical terms as “squatting on his haunches…dhoti-clad…bare-chested…”. The suggestion seems to be that it is only in the “backward” rural, lower-class hinterland that such views on women exist. The question is: isn’t Ashok Todi prosperous, ‘modern’ and upper class? What about US-educated Deepender Hooda? And are not men who are dhoti-class, bare-chested and squat on haunches capable of being progressive? The likes of Tikait may offer the more juicy sound-bytes and makes an easier target for the corporate media. We in the women’s movement, however, can’t lose sight of the fact that educated and well off fathers and brothers are quite as culpable in policing their daughters’ and sisters’ sexuality. Murders in the name of ‘honour’ have land and property as a sub-text, and they do not happen only in ‘uncivilised’ hinterlands but often enough in elite sections of cities.

Home Minister P Chidambaram has rejected the need for a special law to deal with the Haryana killings, saying they should be dealt with as murders.

The killings and lynchings themselves may be murders. The question is: is it legal to justify and call for such killings, as the khaap panchayats do, as Tikait does? Does our existing law permit any individual or institution to issue diktats on adults’ choice of marriage partners, and declare ‘death sentences’ for those who defy these caste-imposed diktats? If it is indeed illegal to issue such diktats and death sentences, why does neither Home Ministry nor the State Government of Haryana take any action against those who issue them?

Sati and dowry killings are also murders, but we have specific laws to recognise them. Can murders which are openly justified – even by leaders from Chidambaram’s own party, as well as their allies like Tikait – in the name of social tradition be dealt with in the same way as ordinary murders?

If the Central Government and State Governments refuse to invoke existing laws to punish those who openly flout the Constitution and call for such killings; if the existing laws do not even allow the National Crime Records Bureau to document or assess the actual numbers of such killings (since they’re all lumped together as murders), then surely we need a specific law that

• declares it illegal for any group or individual, be they khaap panchayats or Sangh outfits or parents like D P Yadav or Ashok Todi to coerce adults in matters of marriage;
• spells out punishments for diktats and death sentences issued by khaap panchayats, and also for Tikait-type justifications of such ‘executions’;
• that spells out punishments for concerned police and administration authorities who fail to protect couples and take preventive action against those who issue death sentences
• that spells out punishments for parents who falsely accuse women of being ‘minors’ so as to separate them from husbands and have them locked up in Nari Niketans

Kavita Krishnan is the Secretary, All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA),
kavitakrish73@gmail.com

India: Illegal detention of 11 year old girl in Manipur must be investigated

Amnesty International

Amnesty International is calling for the government of India to launch an independent investigation into allegations that an 11 year old girl was illegally detained by police in the state of Manipur to force her parents – suspected of links with local armed opposition groups to give themselves up.

Bidyarani Devi Salam was taken from her home by security forces on the morning of 14 August and held in police custody for five days. Her illegal detention triggered hundreds of protestors to take to the streets and call for her release.

Local human rights organizations have demanded that legal action be taken against the police for illegally detaining Bidyarani Devi Salam. They have alleged that the police kidnapped the girl to make her parents – who were suspected for helping local armed opposition groups – give themselves up.

“A minor being targeted by armed forces to justify their action against armed opposition groups is a shameful act and should not be tolerated under any circumstance, ” said Madhu Malhotra Deputy Program Director Asia Pacific Amnesty International.

Bidyarani Devi Salam was released and handed over to relatives on Thursday, after police had arrested her parents, on suspicion of helping the Manipur People’s Liberation Army.

The police maintain that they had taken the girl for medical treatment after she fainted during their visit to her house to search for her parents. However, the police could not explain why she was not sent to a children’s home or to a hospital for treatment.

This is the second time in a month that Manipur has come under sharp focus for gross violations of human rights. On 23 July, Manipur police and security forces shot dead a 27-year-old unarmed former insurgent, Chungkam Sanjit, and a pregnant woman bystander in the main market of Manipur.

Manipur chief minister, Ibobi Singh, has ordered a judicial inquiry into the 23 July killings and suspended six policemen. However, the policemen are yet to be formally charged with murder. A court has given the state government until 25 August to file formal charges

On 4 and 5 August, police detained seven human rights activists including three women after they led protestors to the state governor’s residence, seeking the dismissal of the policemen for the murders and the filing of formal charges against them.

“Instead of taking legal action against the security forces committing gross human rights violations the state has chosen to punish local activists for peacefully raising their voices to seek justice, ” said Madhu Malhotra

Manipur has witnessed recurrent protests against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958, which gives immunity to security and paramilitary forces in conflict with armed opposition groups.

Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have repeatedly demanded the repeal of this legislation which went against India’s international obligations to protect human rights.

India ‘has 153 tainted new MPs’

At least 153 of the newly-elected MPs in India have criminal cases pending against them, according to a study by civil society groups.

Groups working on electoral reforms say the opposition BJP has the highest number of tainted MPs at 43 while the Congress party is number two with 41.

The group has written letters to senior Congress party leaders with an appeal to keep these MPs out of the cabinet.

Corruption and criminalisation of politics are major issues in India.

India is in the process of forming a new government.

Elections were held in April and May and a Congress party-led coalition is due to take power in the next few days.

‘Declining’

“There are now 153 MPs with criminal charges and 74 of them with serious criminal charges,” Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch, a civil society alliance working for clean politics and accountable governance, said in a press release.

The study said the opposition BJP has most MPs with pending criminal cases at 43 – out of which 19 MPs have serious criminal cases against them.

The Congress party has 41 MPs with criminal cases – out of which 12 MPs have serious charges against them, it added.

The study said a comparison of top 10 MPs with criminal records in 2004 and 2009 elections indicated that number of candidates with very serious criminal backgrounds had declined.

“Several heavy weight candidates with a criminal background have been rejected by voters. In fact, top five MPs with criminal cases from the 2004 Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) have been rejected by voters.”

But, what remains worrying is that many of the MPs are charged with serious criminal offences, including murder and gang war.

“It would be appropriate that none of the newly elected MPs with criminal cases pending against them be made ministers in the new government,” the campaigners say in letters addressed to Manmohan Singh, widely tipped to return as the prime minister, Congress party President Sonia Gandhi and her son, Rahul Gandhi.

“In addition, it would be in the interests of setting an example, it would be nice if MPs with criminal cases pending against them are not made parliamentary secretaries or be nominated to any of the parliamentary committees.”

Indian election rules do not prevent those charged with criminal cases from standing for electoral offices, they only bar those who have been convicted.

And considering India’s slow judicial system, convictions often take years – even decades – to come.

BD rifles mutiny, an Indian conspiracy

Sultan M Hali

As soon as Awami League (AL) came to occupy the seat of government in Dhaka, a macabre plot was hatched with Indian complicity to teach the BD Army a lesson. The gruesome event of mutiny in Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) killing their Commanding General and many others including officers’ families and children came as a rude shock. As per media reports the dreadful event took place on differences over pay and perk between Army and Bangladesh Rifles. The Jawans of BDR also complained about corruption of Army Officers who come to BDR for a short tenure and indulge in corrupt practices. The question is that causes as reported through media are not commensurate with the magnitude of the criminal activity that took place in the BDR. The saner elements of the society are skeptical about the real causes leading to mass scale mutiny in a disciplined force of BDR. Across the board investigation to unearth the facts is imperative to punish those responsible for such a gory drama and to avert such future happening in the BD Armed Forces.

Although the government of Bangladesh is investigating the whole episode yet there is a need for the government of BD to see through the designs of their real enemy India who want the newly elected AL government to accept their demands including transit route facilities and joint task force etc. The fact of the matter is that India wants to plunder Bangladesh’s wealth at any cost. While AL of Sheikh Hasina Wajid is pro-Indian political party of Bangladesh, Indian spy masters want to inflict maximum damage on the Armed Forces of Bangladesh creating fear in the minds of officers to understand Indian messages while guarding their national interests. It appears to be a deliberate Indian scheme to sponsor the mutiny and killing of BDR officers while cleverly insinuating against ISI of Pakistan as a cover story. The unfortunate saga which unfolded in Dhaka sounds out of place that a group of soldiers could reach the threshold of frustration over pecuniary matters resulting in savage butchery of officers, women and innocent children. Reports have surfaced now about mutineer’s communications with across the border further cementing the speculations that this was too well planned an operation to be handled by junior cadre alone. Bangladesh has paid a heavy price to resist the Indian hegemonic designs in the region. The secrets about the recent conspiratorial mutiny are gradually being unfolded. Many links have already been unearthed and after joining them together the conspiracy theory is now being believed by almost everyone as a reality. The most horrifying aspect is that all links leads to the Government involvement the PM in particular along with some of Sheikh Hasina’s confidants. It is now largely believed that the revolt was not a spontaneous one among the ranks and files but a small group of 20/25 individuals were carefully organized over a period of time to spearhead the sad episode taking the advantage of some petty grudges of the ranks and files.

The group had been organized under direct supervision of PM’s Defense Advisor General Tareq Siddiqui (Retd), the brother in law of Sheikh Hasina, who after retirement has been picked up as Defense Advisor to the PM with the status of a full minister. Under him the following persons worked to organize the group of the agent provocateurs. 1. Sahara Khatun the Home Minister 2. Mirza Azam presently whip of the ruling party 3. Jahangir Kabir Nanak ex- President of Jubo League now State Minister of Local Govt. He is a ruthless person who was charged for corruption, extortion, arson and cold-blooded murders by the last army-backed interim Govt. of Fakhruddin. 4. MD. Tawheed (a long time close friend of Nanak) appointed as the Deputy Assistant Director in BDR along with three other persons in different posts by the Home Ministry. 5. ADV. Quamrullslam 6. Sheikh Fazle Nur Taposh(son of Sheikh Fazlul Haq Moni, nephew of Mujib killed in encounter on 15th Aug revolution 1975) 7. Hasan Mohamed DG RAB 8. Nasim khan appointed by the present Govt. as DMP Commissioner. 9. Nur Mohammad newly appointed IGP.

The mutiny commenced at 10 am and surprisingly by 12 noon Hasina sent Nanak to BDR HQ at Pilkhana as her emissary where the Home Minister joined with Nanak to bring a delegation of the mutineers headed by MD. Tawheed for a negotiated settlement of the crisis refusing permission to the armed forces to act at the very onset of the mutiny. The delegation arrived at PM’s residence escorted by Nanak, Sahara Khatun, IGP and DMP Commissioner like VIPs and just handed over their hand scribbled demands to Hassina and returned triumphantly with a general amnesty from her. Nanak, Sahara Khatun escorted back the delegation to BDR HQ. Within a few minutes Sahara khatun’s car left the HQ with three covered faced co passengers mysteriously for unknown destination. After the departure of Sahara Khatun the Home Minister Nanak also left the place in a hurry. There after IGP was ordered to send police inside to collect the dead bodies littering all over the compound. Injured were sent to hospitals. On the 2nd of March Hasina visited the Army Headquarters to address about 2000 officers who came from all over the country to pay homage to the martyrs and take part in the burial ceremony.

There she could feel the heat of anger and quickly left the place cutting short her address. She was terribly nervous and scared to face the angry young officers. The message that she carried back was that she could no longer trust BD armed forces nether she could earn respect from them. Under such situation before it is too late she decided to hasten the hidden agenda to allow foreign forces to come in to tame and establish full control over the BD armed forces, intelligence agencies and all other law enforcing forces under the pretext of restructuring, modernization etc.

Accordingly just after her visit to the Dhaka Cantt she convened an urgent session of Parliament to discuss the present crisis facing the nation. In her speech she openly sought all out help and assistance from America, Britain, UN and other agencies to come in to restructure and reorganize the untrustworthy armed forces and all other law enforcing forces of Bangladesh including intelligence agencies fighting against terror. However, the fact remains that such a national betrayal is just to secure herself and her Govt in power being dependent on the forces of the foreign masters. A wishful thinking indeed! It is simply another classical proof of that golden saying “we read history but not learn anything from it and thus history repeats itself.”