[mukto-mona] Indian Muslim Educational Reform: Halting Efforts

Indian Muslim Educational Reform: Halting Efforts

Yoginder Sikand

The reform of Muslim education, in particular bridging
the gap between 'religious' and 'worldly' knowledge,
has been one of the main focuses of the efforts of a
range of South Asian Muslim reformists and revivalists
over the past century and more. Although bitterly
critiqued by sections of the traditionalist ulema for
some of his views, including what they saw as his
obsession with political power, Syed Abul Ala Maududi,
founder of the Jamaat-e Islami, was one of the most
forceful advocates of Muslim educational reform. This
aspect of his work is often overlooked in analyses of
his life. He wrote extensively on the subject, arguing
that Islam did not countenance any division between
'religion' and 'this world', including in the realm of
knowledge and education. This made him critical of
both the traditional madrasa system, which provided
little or no space for 'modern' subjects, as well as
of the Western-oriented 'modern' education system,
which had no room for religion. This was one crucial
reason for the fierce opposition that he faced both
from sections of the traditionalist ulema as well as
from 'modernist' Muslim quarters.

Following Maududi, the Jamaat-e Islami of India, with
branches in almost every Indian state, has played a
key, if somewhat limited, role in the reform of Indian
Muslim education. Its educational work is supervised
by an Education Committee, set up in 1990.
'Admittedly', says Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmad, Secretary of
the Committee, 'we have not done as much work as we
should have, but you must also understand that Indian
Muslims and their organizations have been forced to
focus most of their energies on protection of Muslim
lives, properties, institutions and identity all these
years, because of which education has not received the
attention that it deserves'.

Ahmad explains to me the educational philosophy of the
Jamaat. 'Since Islam covers every aspect of a
believer's life, all subjects must be understood and
studied in the light of Islam, inspired by faith in
God and consciousness of one's accountability to God
in the life after death. In this way, Islam opposes
the radical dualism that some people have constructed
to divide religious and worldly knowledge. All
subjects are Islamic and can be legitimately pursued
provided they fulfill God's purposes.' 'Further', he
adds, 'our religious leaders must know what is
happening in the world around them if they are to
provide the community with proper leadership. Hence,
they, too, must learn the various different subjects,
albeit in a suitably Islamised manner'.

In terms of institution-building, the Jamaat has
registered few notable successes, however. Its first
initiative in this regard, the Darsgah-e Islami in
Rampur, a town in northern Uttar Pradesh, which it
intended to be a model institution combining Islamic
and 'modern' education, has, almost half a century
after it was founded, not progressed beyond being a
lackluster, mediocre junior Hindi-medium high school.
The Jamaat runs a few more such schools on its own,
particularly in Kerala, but now, instead of setting up
and administering educational institutions itself, it
encourages its activists and sympathizers to do so on
their own, all of them being governed by a broad
common policy framework. 'People today are so heavily
influenced by the dominant system, so reluctant to
accept anything other than the regular, western-style
schooling, that we have been unable to achieve much in
terms of setting up our own educational institutions,
except at the lower levels, of the sort that Maulana
Maududi envisioned', Ahmad rues. That might be true to
some extent, of course, but the argument does not take
into account the sheer apathy and a distinct lack of
professionalism that characterizes the management
boards of many Muslim educational institutions.

Today, the Jamaat's educational work is largely
focused on producing textbooks for use in a fairly
sizeable number of Muslim schools across the country,
not all of them associated with the Jamaat. Most of
these, estimated by Ahmad at around 150, are located
in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, home to the largest
concentration of Muslims in India. Of these only a few
are traditional madrasas, the rest being regular
schools and a few madrasas that follow the Jamaat's
understanding of Islam. Ahmad tells me that so far the
Jamaat has prepared and published textbooks for a
range of subjects, including 'modern' ones, that
reflect its ideology, till the sixth grade. These are
mostly in Urdu, although its Islamic Studies texts
have been translated and published in English and
Hindi as well. He admits, though, that these books
have not been updated for almost twenty years now.

Interestingly, many of the Urdu- and English-medium
schools that use Jamaat textbooks also use books
published by the Government's National Council for
Educational Research and Training (NCERT). Ahmad
stresses that, as citizens of India, Muslims have as
much right to benefit from the Government's various
educational schemes as other communities, but laments
that this is not so in practice, for a variety of
reasons. 'It's wrong to say that the Government does
not want to do anything at all for Muslim education',
he stresses, but at the same time he argues that
various programmes announced by the Government of
India for Muslim educational development have often
been scuttled by reluctant state governments and
bureaucrats.

One area that Ahmad feels the urgent need for reform
is in how different communities, their beliefs and
histories are depicted in textbooks. He points out
that biases against Muslims are quite common in a
range of textbooks prescribed and used in schools in
numerous states. This is an issue that, he says, the
Government must address. He tells me that the
Karnataka unit of the Jamaat did a survey of
anti-Muslim stereotypes in textbooks in the state, and
that it was successful in getting the state government
to rectify it. He refers to a similar study, conducted
some two decades ago by the Uttar Pradesh Dini Talimi
Council, which also includes numerous Jamaat
activists. 'The same sort of surveys should be done
for all the other states', he advises, but when I
suggest that perhaps Jamaat activists in the different
states take upon themselves this task I receive no
reply but a gentle nod accompanied with a faint smile.

Ahmad is all for madrasa students to have at least a
basic exposure to 'modern' subjects. 'Without this,
how can they effectively lead the community? How can
they properly interpret Islam? How can they
effectively explain to others what Islam is all about?
How can they meet the many challenges that we are
today faced with? How can they rebut allegations
against Islam?', he asks. A litany of questions, and
Ahmad's simple recipe is to let madrasas reform on
their own, without any external pressure or coercion,
including by the state. But, he adds, hopes for change
have been greatly dampened by the mounting, and
misplaced, propaganda against the madrasas, unfairly
branding them as 'dens of terror'. This has forced
many of them to become even more defensive and insular
and to fear that any suggestions for change might well
represent a sinister hidden agenda.

To counter widespread misconceptions about madrasas,
Ahmad suggests that madrasas interact with people of
other faiths who live in their vicinity and even to
invite them inside. 'Much misunderstanding about Islam
and Muslims owes simply to lack of interaction between
the communities', he says. He cites a personal
example. He was once traveling in a train, and a
co-passenger, a Hindu woman, asked him, 'Why do
Muslims take the name of the Emperor Akbar in the
azan, when they recite Allahu Akbar?'. He explained to
her that this was not the case, telling her the actual
meaning of the word which she had confused for the
Mughal potentate. And that, he says, 'made the woman
happy'.

'The point is', Ahmad continues, 'that Muslims in
general, and not just the ulema alone, have to have
more close and positive social interaction with others
so that we can explain to them what Islam and Muslims
actually are. And not just verbal interaction, but we
must also seek to help others, no matter what their
religion, when they are suffering and are in pain,
just as we would like them to help us too'. 'After
all', he concludes our hour-long discussion, 'isn't
that what real education is also about?'.

Sukhia Sab Sansar Khaye Aur Soye
Dukhia Das Kabir Jagey Aur Roye


The world is 'happy', eating and sleeping
The forlorn Kabir Das is awake and weeping

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Re: [mukto-mona] Aparthib's quantum analogy and racial discrimination.

IRT: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto- mona/message/48029

JitenDa, looks like there is still a problem when you say, "In case of orbital electron, the electrostatic force is balanced by the centrifugal force (mv2/r), and there is no net force acting on the orbital electron along its tangential path." O.K. No tangential component of the force. You already have said that. What about radial component? Is that zero? That means no net force? Centripetal force is provided by the elctrostatic force. But who supplies the centrifugal force to beat the centripetal force? Answer is: nobody. Centrifugal force is a fictitious force. It cannot neutralize a real force. So it is the centripetal force furnished by the electrostaic force that keeps the electron busy revolving around the nucleus. Regards. -Subimal    __._,_.___ ***************************************** Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm ***************************************** Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf ***************************************** MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona. ***************************************** Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm ***************************************** Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm ***************************************** Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona  http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/ ***************************************** MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm ***************************************** German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/ Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm ***************************************** Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona: http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm **************************************************** VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/ **************************************************** "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".                -Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190 Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe __,_._,___ [mukto-mona] Islam's Women Scholars Islam's Women Scholars By Yoginder Sikand One indicator of the development of a society is its female literacy rate and, related to this, the number of its female scholars. On both these fronts, India's Muslims are among the lowest of all the communities in the country. This unfortunate fact provides a basis for negative stereotyping of the community, particularly in matters related to inter-gender relations. This, however, is ironical, given that Islam is one of the few religions to have declared education to be a duty binding on all its followers, men as well as women. The irony is further heightened by the fact that early Islamic history provides examples of numerous Muslim women scholars who made valuable contributions to the intellectual life of their communities. That little known story is precisely what an Urdu book I recently read with avid interest is all about. Penned by a Pakistani alim, Maulana Syeed Ghulam Mustafa Bukhari Aqeel, the book, titled 'Muslim Khawatin Ki Ilmi Khidmat' ('The Intellectual Contributions of Muslim Women') contains vignettes about scores of early Muslim women scholars, who could serve as major sources of inspiration to Muslims, including Muslim women, today if only they were more widely known, a task that the Maulana takes upon himself. Many of these early Muslim women scholars were experts in various Islamic sciences, in contrast to today's case where we have few, if any, such female scholars. The book refers to Ibn Hajar Asqalani as writing that the early centuries of Islam record more than 1500 female scholars of Hadith, traditions attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, including several wives of the Prophet and his companions as well as women in succeeding generations. Many of these were also narrators of Hadith reports. Fatima bint Qais is said to have had long debates with the caliph Umar on an issue related to fiqh, and, so the book says, the majority of the ulema gave preference to her view. Similarly, the noted historian Khateeb Baghdadi mentions 32 famous female scholars of his times, and one of them, Karina Bint Ahmad Maruzia, taught him the collection of Hadith by Imam Bukhari. Likewise, the noted Muhaddith Imam Zahri described Umra Bint Abdur Rahman, a woman brought up by Hazrat Ayesha, as 'an unending sea of knowledge'. Several of these women scholars had male students, something quite inconceivable for many Muslims today. Thus, Ayesha Bint Sad bin Al-Waqas, a scholar of Hadith, had a large number of students, including the great Imam Malik. Imam Shafi, so the book tells us, would attend the lectures of Hazrat Nafisa, grand-daughter of Imam Husain. The Abbasid Caliph Malik Marwan would sometimes attend the lectures of a woman scholar Sahima Bint Yahya al-Osabia. Other women wrote books on religious and other subjects, many of which, unfortunately, have been now lost. Fatima Nishapuri wrote a tafsir or commentary on the Quran; Zainab Bint Usman bin Muhammad authored several books on fiqh; Razia, sister of al-Hakim of Andalusia, wrote extensively on History and Geography; Aisha Khas, a noted calligrapher and musician, translated several books from Sanskrit and Greek and so on. The book also mentions several Indian Muslim families from royal families who were accomplished authors, mainly in the fields of Sufism, history and royal biography. In this early period of Islamic history, numerous women founded madrasas, including some specifically for Muslim women. Thus, says the book, the first madrasa, as separate from a mosque as a centre for education, was founded by a woman, Fatima Bint Muhammad al-Fahari, in Morocco in the mid-ninth century. The enormous structure of the madrasa could accommodate some thirty thousand worshippers praying together. Other notable women founders of madrasas in this period included Maryam Bint Yaqub, who established a girls' madrasa in Seville, where besides the Islamic sciences, subjects like Philosophy, History, Geography, Mathematics, Astronomy and various crafts were taught; Bint Qazi Shihabuddin al-Tabari, whose madrasa catered to orphans; Tazkira Rabai Khatun's madrasa in Egypt for poor girls; a school for training women in martial arts set up by Geti Ada Begum, daughter of Murad Khan, ruler of Zabulistan; and the Dar ul-Zubaida, a madrasa built on the spot of the Dar ul-Arqam, the place outside Mecca where the Prophet would himself teach his followers, built by Talib ul-Zaman Habshia, a female slave of the Abbasid Caliph Nasirbillah. These early Muslim women show how Islam, as they and the men who supported their endeavours understood it, positively facilitated women's scholarship and intellectual pursuit. In a context as in India today, where the number of female Islamic scholars is negligible and even books on Islam and women are still written almost wholly by men and are often shaped by patriarchal prejudices, these women provide numerous lessons that we could well profit from. Sukhia Sab Sansar Khaye Aur Soye Dukhia Das Kabir Jagey Aur Roye The world is 'happy', eating and sleeping The forlorn Kabir Das is awake and weeping ------------------------------------ ***************************************** Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm ***************************************** Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf ***************************************** MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona. ***************************************** Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm ***************************************** Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm ***************************************** Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/ ***************************************** MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm ***************************************** German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/ Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm ***************************************** Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona: http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm **************************************************** VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/ **************************************************** "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it". -Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:mukto-mona-digest@yahoogroups.com mailto:mukto-mona-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: mukto-mona-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ [mukto-mona] Terrorism-India The news, apparently innocent, will encourage arms-dealers and some bureaucrats. Terrorism-poverty link is more important. 'Development', Polish economist Jan Pajetska wrote in the early 1970s, is a condition for 'disarmanent'. So-called security pundit wrote in ToI that disarmament is arm-chair theorisation.   India one of the most terror-hit places on earth: US report by Uttara Choudhury 2 May 08 (http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1162347) India's fight against terrorism hostage to legal system and lack of well-trained cops NEW YORK: There were more than 2,300 people who were killed by terrorists in India last year making it one of the most terror-hit places in the world, the US state department said in its annual terrorism report released on Wednesday. In comparison, 1,335 people died in neighbouring Pakistan, while in Afghanistan the number of attacks rose 16%, killing 1,966 people. About 43% of terrorist attacks occurred in Iraq, taking the lives of 13,600 people. In a grim reminder that terrorism stalks the world, the US report estimated over 22,000 people were killed by terrorists around the world in 2007, 8% more than in 2006, although the overall number of attacks fell. The bloodiest terrorist strikes in India were carried out by Muslim suicide bombers in Jammu and Kashmir, Naxalites and Maoists in eastern and central India and separatists in the north-eastern states. The US National Counterterrorism Centre which helped compile the report noted that there was a drop in militant activity along the heavily militarised Line of Control and credited Pakistan with clamping down on cross-border terrorism in the summer of 2007. However, the report warns that Pakistani-based militant group, Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), still plans lethal attacks across India. The report pinned India's rough battle with terrorism on an "overburdened" legal system and lack of well-trained police officers. "The Indian government's counter-terrorism efforts remained hampered by outdated and overburdened law enforcement and legal systems. The Indian court system was slow, laborious, and prone to corruption; terrorism trials can take years to complete," said the report. It added that India's police force was "poorly staffed, lacked training" and was "ill-equipped to combat terrorism effectively." In May last year, the Indian government acknowledged that the level of infiltration across the LoC had dropped, but said that militants had in some case "shifted routes" to enter India through its borders with Bangladesh and Nepal. The report warned that the US and its friends face the "greatest terrorist threat" from a revamped al-Qaeda using a new safe haven in Pakistan to increase attacks. "Numerous senior al-Qaeda operatives have been captured or killed, but al-Qaeda leaders continued to plot attacks and to cultivate stronger operational connections that radiated outward from Pakistan to affiliates throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe," warned the report blaming a cease-fire the Pakistani government reached with tribal leaders last year for the resurgence. uttara.choudhury@gmail.com __._,_.___ ***************************************** Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm ***************************************** Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf ***************************************** MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona. ***************************************** Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm ***************************************** Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm ***************************************** Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona  http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/ ***************************************** MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm ***************************************** German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/ Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm ***************************************** Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona: http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm **************************************************** VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/ **************************************************** "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".                -Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190 Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe __,_._,___ [mukto-mona] Judges behave like tyrants   Judges are public servants, not bosses by V.R. Krishna Iyer (http://www.hindu.com/2008/05/02/stories/2008050253041100.htm) Contrary to what the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court recently said, the Right to Information Act does cover 'constitutional authorities.' Absolute power and egregious error will be totally incompatible, even when the matter involves the judiciary. Justices of the court are no higher than great Homer who, as Lord Byron put it, sometimes nods off. The 'robed brethren' on the High Bench do sometimes blink. Perhaps it is a rare occurrence, but this is what happened when the Chief Justice of India, the country's highest judicial functionary, claimed that the Chief Justice is not a 'public servant' but a 'constitutional authority.' It may be true. But every judge is oath-bound to dispense public justice "without fear or favour, affection or ill-will." Public justice is public service, and obviously judges are public servants. The Right to Information Act, therefore, does cover 'constitutional authorities', contrary to what the Chief Justice said. His absolutist obiter, coming as it does from a legal luminary for whom I have high regard, is bizarre and it is a faux pas. Unfortunately, he has, in my legal perception, slipped into an accidental innocence of jurisprudence. This may, however, be justly overlooked, having regard to the heavy burden he bears. He has to manage the court, handle a load of judicial work, frequently make ceremonial journeys, give erudite speeches and interviews, and bear the tremendous strain involved in selecting higher judicial personnel. Under public pressure or out of vanity, judges often undertake a tremendous amount of non-judicial work, sacrificing valuable time so necessary to study dockets, hear prolix and logomachic arguments, and write (although some of them do not do that) judgments laying down the law of the land. Considering this onerous background, we must forsake criticism of occasional forensic failings. Grave goof-up How else can one explain a grave goof-up, made unwittingly, in his saying that judges are not public servants but 'constitutional authorities'? The latter are, in simple semantics, a higher category of public functionaries. They are a finer, nobler group of public servants, democratically more accountable and qualitatively more liable than others to furnish information to the people about themselves and their functions, if it is relevant to the public interest. All important constitutional authorities, such as Judges, Ministers, the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Accountant General, the Election Commissioner, and the Speaker of the Legislature, are a fortiori public servants with superior and more profound obligations. These are not two antithetical categories but are, in public law, of the same class. My candid constitutional camera perceives both as owing public duties and being liable to pay penalties for any failures — subject to the limitations laid down by law. The great judge Jerome Frank, in his book Courts on Trial, said he had little patience with, or respect for, the view that it is dangerous to tell the public unpalatable truths about the judiciary. He wrote: "I am unable to conceive… that in a democracy, it can ever be unwise to acquaint the public with the truth about the workings of any branch of government. It is wholly undemocratic to treat the public as children who are unable to accept the inescapable shortcomings of man-made institutions… The best way to bring about the elimination of those shortcomings of our judicial system which are capable of being eliminated is to have all our citizens informed as to how that system now functions. It is a mistake, therefore, to try to establish and maintain, through ignorance, public esteem for our courts." Democratic instrumentality I stand solidly for a judiciary that is a democratic instrumentality, not an occult class of divinity. David Pannick, QC, observed: "We need judges who are trained for the job, whose conduct can be freely criticised and is subject to investigation by a Judicial Performance Commission; judges who abandon wigs, gowns and unnecessary linguistic legalisms; judges who welcome rather than shun publicity for their activities." Information about judges' wealth, other activities and even private doings, if they affect judicial duties, cannot be kept secret. To cite David Pannick again: "The judiciary is not the 'least dangerous branch' of government… They send people to prison and decide the scope and application of all manner of rights and duties with important consequences for individuals and for society. Because the judiciary has such a central role in the government of society, we should (in the words of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes), wash…. with cynical acid this aspect of public life. Unless and until we treat judges as fallible human beings whose official conduct is subject to the same critical analysis as that of other organs of government, judges will remain members of a priesthood who have great powers over the rest of the community, but who are otherwise isolated from them and misunderstood by them, to their mutual disadvantage." Let us not confuse between the papacy and the judiciary. Judges, like Ministers, Governors, Presidents, Speakers and a host of other functionaries, are constitutional authorities. And, most emphatically, they are public servants, not absolutist bosses with vast political power but above democratic accountability. They should have functional transparency and be fundamentally incorruptible. Indeed, judges must be free from graft, nepotism, abuse of power, and arrogance. They should be the paradigm of clean personal life, open and accessible custodians of public justice and paragons of moral excellence and humanist simplicity, sans consumerist craving and greed to grab. They are a higher cadre with a more sublime calibre. Trustees of judicial power In short, justices wear robes on oath under the Constitution as trustees par excellence of judicial power, of course within their legal jurisdiction and constitutional jurisprudence. The Supreme Court, in a ruling of the Constitution Bench in K. Veeraswami vs. Union of India (1991 SCC P-655), held that the expression 'public servant', used in the Prevention of Corruption Act, is undoubtedly wide enough to denote every judge, including judges of the High Court and the Supreme Court. Judges are under the law, not above it. Your public life, and even private life to the extent it influences your judicial role, should be accountable and transparent to the public. A plea of secrecy is sinister allergy. Democracy is a disaster if the President, the Speaker, the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice hide their wealth and dealings from the scrutiny of 'We, the People of India', the sovereign of the nation. To err is human and to forgive is divine. Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan is a fine citizen, a sublime soul, a versatile jurist, a graceful instance of dignity and refinement. If I have erred in disagreeing with his disclaimer of judges being public servants, he will forgive me. But judges certainly are not divine. The Indian judiciary must accept Frankfurter, that frank and superlative U.S. Judge who wrote: "Judges as persons, or courts as institutions, are entitled to no greater immunity from criticism than other persons or institutions. Just because the holders of judicial office are identified with the interests of justice they may forget their common human frailties and fallibilities. There have sometimes been martinets upon the bench as there have also been pompous wielders of authority who have used the paraphernalia of power in support of what they called their dignity. Therefore judges must be kept mindful of their limitations and of their ultimate public responsibility by a vigorous stream of criticism expressed with candor however blunt." Our judges shall remain awake and alert and accept the Preamble to the Constitution that makes clear that this republic is 'socialist, secular, democratic.' We meanwhile need a judicial appointments and performance commission of supreme stature, its members selected from among the highest judicial, political and public-spirited wonders of popular confidence. This is essential to ensure that the finest and most independent members of the fraternity would exercise judicial power, and that they would be held in the highest esteem by the enlightened wisdom of the people of India. This desideratum demands a diamond-hard constitutional code that covers every dimension of judicial performance. __._,_.___ ***************************************** Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm ***************************************** Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf ***************************************** MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona. ***************************************** Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm ***************************************** Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm ***************************************** Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona  http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/ ***************************************** MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm ***************************************** German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/ Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm ***************************************** Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona: http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm **************************************************** VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/ **************************************************** "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".                -Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190 Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe __,_._,___ [ALOCHONA] TOTAL MILITARY RULE OR NATIONAL GOVERNMENT? TOTAL MILITARY RULE OR NATIONAL GOVERNMENT? :Political options are limited for CG After concluding pre-dialogue talks, the interim government is now set to initiate formal dialogue with the political parties. However, the dialogue, likely to begin by the second week of this month, possibly will be unpleasant for the two major political parties -- Awami League and BNP -- who have set a pre condition for the release of their respective party chief, Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia, for joining the dialogue. Five advisers of the Caretaker Government (CG) who were involved in the pre-dialogue talks have submitted their report to Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahme stating the position of political parties. Bangladesh Awami League also submitted to the head of the CG a huge compilation of 2.5 million signatures demanding release of party president Sheikh Hasina. Awami League also organised token hunger strike programmes to press home its demands. On the other hand, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Monday called on the military-controlled CG to release BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and Awami League president Sheikh Hasina to ensure their participation in the formal dialogues in order to make the talks between the CG and the political parties meaningful. AL leaders also demanded creation of congenial atmosphere and confidence building measures for holding a fruitful dialogue. Meanwhile, BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar accused the Election Commission of designing a plan to hold farcical elections. He also mentioned that "the dialogue was simply a drama...a part of their blueprint. An adviser says the election will be held without the two leaders... He is absolutely right as per their plan. They are conspiring to hold a farcical election and elect people of their choice". BNP already demanded the resignation of the chief and two other commissioners of the Election Commission. While appearing before the court in a graft case, detained Awami League President Sheikh Hasina said she would not quit politics on anyone's dictates. "Everyone in the present CG that wants to keep me off from politics by filing cases must remember that I won't give up politics on anyone's instructions, she said. At this stage, the options to the CG appears limited -- either to release the two top ladies and discard the minus-two plan, go ahead with the programme to hold elections without the participation of BNP and Awami League or create divisions and splinter groups both in BNP and Awami League to ensure their participation in the polls and show a credible election. According to available information, the government is unwilling to accept the first option of releasing Hasina and Khaleda now. There may be a negotiation to set them free under certain terms and conditions. Conditions may be created to let them go out of the country and not to allow them to take part in elections. However, the most suitable option for the present regime may be to hold elections with the participation of loyalists like HM Ershad of Jatiya Party, Professor Badruddoza Chowdhury of Bikalpa Dhara and Dr Kamal Hossain of Gano Forum. Newly floated parties like LDP of Dr Ferdous Quoreshi, Kalyan Party of Maj. Gen. (retired) Ibrahim and some Islami groups. Fearing trouble during the future polls, some loyalists have asked the CG to hold elections under emergency rules and magistracy power to the military officials during the polls. The newly appointed US Ambassador to Bangladesh, however, spoke against polls under Emergency Rules. Finding no other suitable option, the government may go for some contingency plan like imposition of either a complete military rule or a military-backed national government in case of violent resistance from the political parties. Although the outgoing British High Commissioner made it clear that Britain would not support any military intervention in Bangladesh, it is not necessary to keep confidence in it because he was once of those foreign envoys who were instrumental in engineering the present CG. He, however, said that it would be a shame that if BNP and Awami League do not participate in the forthcoming polls http://www.weeklyholiday.net/front.html#04 Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. __._,_.___ [Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.] To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe __,_._,___ [mukto-mona] Fw. Why General Musharraf Must Go By ROEDAD KHAN TR>

[ALOCHONA] Arab Times Kuwait - Bangladesh protests ‘expulsion’ remarks

 Venality of politicians not restricted to Bangladesh. Or is Kuwait an exceptional nation.

Bangladesh protests 'expulsion' remarks 

KUWAIT CITY:

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/client/pagesdetails.asp?nid=16180&ccid=9#

 

The Embassy of the People's Republic of Bangladesh expresses its deep concern regarding the news on the expulsion of Bangladesh workers (published in the Arab Times on April 29, 2008). The remark made by an individual seems to be irresponsible and ill motivated, said the embassy Tuesday in a press statement. "Bangladesh and Kuwait have excellent bilateral relations. The contribution Bangladeshis to making a modern Kuwait and their participation in the Liberation War of Kuwait is also well known to everyone. If any Bangladeshi national commits any crime, the law-enforcing agency of the State of Kuwait may take necessary measures. But it is unfortunate to know that an individual is blaming the whole Bangladeshi community and making un-necessary sweeping remarks, which are creating confusion among the Bangladeshi community. "The embassy expresses its strong protest against the remarks made by such individual."

 

Bangladeshi worker protests threaten labour market in Kuwait

Staff Correspondent

New Age

http://www.newagebd.com/front.html#17

 

Protests by Bangladeshi workers complaining of non-payment of salaries and inhumane working conditions in Kuwait have threatened the employment prospects of the country in the oil-rich Gulf nation as a radical Islamist politician, contesting next month's election, has urged the interior minister to expel all the Bangladeshi workers.

  

The Kuwaiti politician's demand might jeopardise further employment of Bangladeshis as the Arab nation has only recently lifted a ban on recruiting them and allowing them to transfer work visas.

  

The Kuwait Times on April 29 quoted Mohammad Hayef Al-Mutairi — general secretary of the Ummah Principles Alliance, a hard-line Islamist party — as saying that the interior minister should immediately expel Bangladeshi workers because they constitute a risk to the country.

  

The same paper, in its April 30 issue, reported that the Bangladesh embassy in Kuwait on April 29 issued a strong protest against Al-Mutairi's statement.

  

Md Nurul Islam, charge d'affaires of the Bangladesh mission in Kuwait, said, 'It is unfortunate to hear that an individual is blaming the whole Bangladeshi community and making unnecessarily sweeping remarks.'

  

'If any Bangladeshi national commits any crime, the law enforcing agency of Kuwait may take the necessary legal measures,' he added.

  

In his statement Al-Mutairi said that Bangladeshi nationals were behind the rising crime rate, and were responsible for murders, abductions and immoral crimes.

  

'Enough is enough. What these workers have been doing has exceeded the limit and threatens dire consequences for the country,' he added.

  

'Bangladeshi workers represent a serious danger to the country's security and its noble values. The interior minister should issue an immediate and brave decision to expel those (Bangladeshi) workers,' said the Islamist politician.

  

On Sunday, more than 300 Bangladeshi cleaners staged a sit-in before the Ministry of Education's headquarters to protest against non-payment of wages.

  

The workers, who work mostly for schools, were protesting as they have not received their meagre salaries — of no more than KD 25 per month — for more than five months. A few of them haven't received their salaries for the last 10 months.

  

An official at the Ministry of Education said the ministry is seeking to transfer their residencies to the ministry so that they could receive their salaries directly from the ministry.

  

The protesters blamed the company that recruited them for not caring about their living conditions, as nearly twenty persons are crammed in one room.

  

Some 2,00,000 Bangladeshis work in Kuwait, mostly as cleaners and in other low-paid jobs.

 

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[ALOCHONA] Our Bangladesh

Please watch this and send some comments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsZNArPB1Ug
 

Md.Mahmudur Rahman
Uppsala University

Sweden
0046704422705

----- Original Message ----
From: Isha Khan <bd_mailer@yahoo.com>
To: khabor@yahoogroups.com; rehman.mohammad@gmail.com; alochona@yahoogroups.com; mbimunshi@gmail.com; dhakamails@yahoogroups.com; notun_bangladesh@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, May 1, 2008 11:30:15 AM
Subject: [ALOCHONA] Restoring Democracy in Bangladesh

Restoring Democracy in Bangladesh

Asia Report N°151
28 April 2008

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Bangladesh is under military rule again for the third time in as many decades. Although the caretaker government (CTG) insists its plans to stamp out corruption and hold general elections by December 2008 are on track, its achievements have been patchy, and relations with the major political parties are acrimonious. Efforts to sideline the two prime ministers of the post-1990 democratic period have faltered (though both are in jail), and the government has become bogged down in its attempts to clean up corruption and reshape democratic politics. Even if elections are held on schedule, there is no guarantee reforms will be sustainable. If they are delayed, the risk of confrontation between the parties and the army-backed government will grow. There is an urgent need for all sides to negotiate a peaceful and sustainable return to democracy.

The army's intervention on 11 January 2007 was widely welcomed for preventing a slide into extensive violence. Activists of the opposition Awami League had stepped up street protests against efforts by the outgoing Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led government to rig elections. Clashes had led to some 50 deaths by the end of 2006, and there was no compromise in sight. The CTG, headed by technocrats but controlled by the military, quickly ended street violence and raised hopes of political change, promising to tackle the corruption, nepotism and infighting that had crippled fifteen years of elected governments. It used wide-ranging emergency powers and argued that the exceptional situation, not envisaged by the constitution, legitimised its extended tenure and ambitious program. Its goals attracted support from key international backers.

Some progress is evident. The creation of a new electoral roll, with photographic voter identity cards, is underway; the government has begun to separate the judiciary from the executive; and it has reconstituted the Election and Public Service Commissions – essential preliminaries to more extensive reforms of the electoral system and the bureaucracy. Its anti-corruption drive has targeted powerful politicians and their protégés. Debilitating hartals (general strikes) that sapped business confidence and disrupted daily life have been banned.

However, despite some continued support from civil society and the international community, the government's honeymoon is over. There is now fear the government is undermining the very democratic institutions it set out to rescue. In its first year in power, the government made some 440,000 arrests ostensibly linked to its anti-corruption drive, creating a climate of fear in the country. Its poor handling of the economy and natural disasters has aggravated underlying scepticism over its real intentions. The continued state of emergency and efforts to undermine popular politicians and split their parties have left many questioning its sincerity. Former Prime Ministers Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina weathered clumsy attempts to force them into exile. They are both under detention facing corruption charges but still dominate their parties, and their popularity may get a boost if their prosecutions are seen as unfair.

The Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), the military intelligence agency and the engine of military government, has been careful to avoid being front and centre, but serving and retired officers have been placed in critical positions, from the Election Commission to the National Coordination Committee heading the anti-corruption drive. Senior officers assert that the army has no desire to get its hands dirty and would rather stay out of politics altogether. They remember the messy collapse of past military regimes and are concerned about their and their army's international reputation and peacekeeping role. Still, there have been persistent signals that the army would like to institutionalise a degree of continuing influence after elections. In any event, it will have difficulty extricating itself from politics with its prestige intact, unless it can negotiate a graceful exit strategy with the parties.

There is an immediate need for dialogue between the government and the main parties. Any viable roadmap for elections and a smooth return to democracy has to be agreed by all major actors. The first step must be to address mistrust between the two sides, as well as the acrimonious relations between the Awami League and BNP. Ideally, a new consensus would not only cover how to hold elections but also develop commitments on post-election behaviour (including sustaining institutional reforms and anti-corruption measures) and democratic functioning (including safeguarding human rights and political pluralism).

Failure to negotiate would invite confrontation. Student unrest in August 2007 showed how quickly frustration with military rule can boil over. Two floods, a devastating cyclone and rising food prices have left many Bangladeshis hungry and the CTG struggling to assert that the politicians it imprisoned on corruption charges would be equally unable to handle the food crisis. If the government cannot bring the politicians along to help it cope with soaring food prices, the parties are likely to channel popular discontent into street protests. This would carry the immediate risk of violent clashes; it would also increase the advantage militant Islamists are already quietly taking from the situation.

International actors who have too placidly accepted the government's rationale and supported its agenda should recognise that the priority is to maintain pressure for timely and credible elections. They should also be prepared to act as a possible guarantor to facilitate a delicate transfer of power and to support a longer-term program of sustainable reforms to put the country's democracy back on track.

RECOMMENDATIONS

To the Caretaker Government (CTG) and the Military:

1.  Lift the state of emergency, including complete cancellation of the Emergency Power Rules (EPR), at least two months ahead of any elections to create conditions conducive for free and fair contests.

2.  Carry out the following steps ahead of elections:

(a)  immediately rescind the emergency ban on all political party activity and freedom of association, as well as press restrictions, and repeal Section 16(2) of the EPR granting immunity from prosecution to the Joint Forces;

(b)  continue good faith efforts to adhere to the election roadmap for parliamentary elections by the end of 2008 at the latest, by setting a specific election date and keeping in mind Islamic holidays to ensure full participation;

(c)  begin discussions immediately with the main political parties on core political issues not addressed in talks between those parties and the Election Commission;

(d)  refrain from using coercive measures to induce and expedite political party reforms and allow sufficient time for party leaders to build support for internal reforms at all levels; and

(e)  desist from anti-corruption arrests without warrants or sufficient evidence.

3.  Disavow the "minus two" policy as part of the political reform process, and in regard to the trials of Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia:

(a)  refrain from interfering and allow them to be held in open court;

(b)  conduct them before the general election;

(c)  ensure they are speedy and verdicts are delivered in time for the accused to stand for late 2008 parliamentary election if found innocent; and

(d)  respect the High Court or High Court of Appeal's verdicts.

4.  Identify and encourage non-partisan national observers to monitor all elections outlined in the roadmap and invite international election observation missions to monitor elections, in consultation with the parties.

To the Parties:

5.  Demonstrate a willingness to reciprocate goodwill gestures by the CTG (such as removal of the ban on party activity) by promoting internal party democracy, rejecting those convicted in corruption cases as candidates and forging consensus on an election code of conduct.

6.  Promote internal party democracy by:

(a)  holding regular elections for all leadership posts at all party levels;

(b)  rewarding committed and effective party workers with greater opportunities to rise through the ranks, including running for office, gaining access to funds and other resources for their candidacies and winning promotions to important committees;

(c)  selecting candidates to stand for elections who enjoy the confidence of their local party workers; and

(d)  determining a quota, in consultation with the Election Commission, for ensuring women's representation at all levels.

7.  Do not boycott the elections, and if they are deemed free and fair by credible observers, accept the results.

To Both the CTG and the Parties:

8.  Seek to ensure a smooth transition to democracy and a credible parliamentary election by December 2008 by entering into a dialogue, with a clearly defined agenda from the start, that aims broadly to:

(a)  achieve a common minimum commitment on sustaining institutional reforms such as the independence of the judiciary, maintaining a non-partisan public service commission and refraining from political interference in police and army promotions and assignments;

(b)  agree on how to ratify actions of the CTG, whether by approving ordinances (which might mean amending current ordinances to make them more acceptable), by a constitutional amendment or by other means;

(c)  ensure a smooth transfer of power after elections, with safeguards against retaliatory prosecutions, demotions or transfers of CTG officials and military officers for administering routine ministerial, government and security functions and formulating and implementing institutional reforms such as the Anti-Corruption Commission, Public Service Commission, judicial and other reforms necessary for strengthening democratic functioning, but without foregoing the state's responsibility under domestic and international law to investigate and prosecute civilian and military officials who have ordered, condoned or directly participated in human rights abuses to enforce the state of emergency;

(d)  consider mechanisms for institutionalising pluralism and empowering opposition voices in parliament such as creating a bicameral legislature; repealing Article 70 of the constitution, which imposes rigid party discipline in the parliament; and ensuring meaningful bipartisan participation in parliamentary committees and working groups; and

(e)  intensify efforts by the next government to: reduce space for radicalism, cooperate in dismantling terrorist groups and tackle any linkages between violent extremists and state institutions, political parties and politicians, and members of the business community, as well as between violent extremists and organised crime or other sources of domestic and international funding.

9.  Include in any agreement a common reiteration of commitment to all fundamental rights, including concrete promises for action in areas such as extrajudicial killings, torture and illegal detention, and protection of minority rights, women's rights and refugee rights.

10.  Hold, upon conclusion of the talks, several roundtable discussions with a wide range of civil society organisations in the six division capitals so as to forge a broader national charter for post-election governance and respect for human rights.

To the International Community, especially Australia, Canada, the European Union, Germany, India, Japan, the UK, UN and U.S.:

11.  Maintain pressure on the CTG to hold timely and credible elections, as well as technical support for the electoral process and unity in public and private messages to the main political actors.

12.  Consider official visits to Bangladesh in the upcoming months at foreign minister or under-secretary- general level to remind the CTG that its legitimacy depends on meeting its elections target, and the army that its international reputation rests on assisting a smooth transfer of power and remaining outside of politics, and ensure that senior visitors also meet with leaders of the main political parties.

13.  Encourage strongly an inclusive dialogue both between the CTG and parties and among the parties, stand ready to assist the resumption of talks if they breakdown and give public support to any agreement reached.

14.  Support non-partisan national election monitoring mechanisms, prepare to send electoral observation missions and agree on benchmarks for credible elections, which likely should include:

(a)  participation by all major parties;

(b)  lifting of the state of emergency at least two months before the elections, including the end of all restrictions on fundamental rights;

(c)  minimal pre-election violence; and

(d)  minimal candidate and voter intimidation by either the CTG, the military or the parties.

15.  Emphasise to the CTG its responsibility to uphold both domestic and international human rights standards, including investigating and holding to account past and present human rights abuses, particularly those committed by the security services, and be prepared to offer technical and financial assistance to Bangladesh's human rights commission.

Dhaka/Brussels, 28 April 2008

http://www.crisisgr oup.org/home/ index.cfm? id=5408&l=1

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