Friday, October 3, 2008

[mukto-mona] Fwd: Orissa Riots/Article/Indian Express

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <Angana@aol.com>
Date: 2008/10/4
Subject: Orissa Riots/Article/Indian Express
To: undisclosed-recipients

The Sangh Parivar's plans for Orissa are on track
by Angana Chatterji

Indian Express, 4 October 2008
It's still religion, stupid

The riots in Kandhamal district, Orissa, in August and the ongoing violence targeted Christians in 310 villages, with 4,104 homes torched. More than 18,000 were injured and 50,000 displaced. A month after, homes continued to burn in Raikia, Tikabali, Tumudibandha, and Daringbadi. Some of these were houses of Christians residing in relief shelters, burnt by Hindu extremists as retaliation for the Christian refusal to 'reconvert' to Hinduism. On September 28, three bodies, including of a woman, were uncovered from Badasalunki river in Kandhamal.

The Government of Orissa systematically diminished the extent of suffering, damage, and dislocation borne by Christian communities in August-September 2008, as in December 2007, and denied the dangerous extent of communalism in Orissa. Both to the Supreme Court and the Central government, and to civil society in general, the Orissa government failed to explain how it would tackle the emergency in the state.
In the aftermath of August 2008, many Christians abandoned Kandhamal district, departing for Beherampur and Bhubaneswar in Orissa, and other states like Maharashtra, Goa, and Kerala. The police repeatedly refused to lodge FIRs that Christian communities sought to file, and made no provisions for witness protection for those willing to file charges.

Prima facie, their inaction suggested fear (of Hindutva workers) and complicity (with the Sangh Parivar) within police and district administration personnel in shielding Sangh Parivar activists. Discounting the evidence, police did not arrest prominent Hindutva leaders complicit in the August violence, stating that such action would generate further turmoil. While in Kashmir, state forces placed leaders of the self-determination movement under house-arrest in the largely peaceful protests of August 2008, in Jammu and Orissa, Hindutva leaders were not restrained as they called for vigilante terror.

On September 28 , Orissa CM Naveen Patnaik announced a 'peace package' responding to the demands of, in particular, Hinduised Adivasis. No reciprocal 'peace package' was announced for Christian communities. The Orissa government progressively presented the discourse on the Kandhamal crisis as an issue between adivasis (Kondh, Kui) and Dalits (Pana)/Dalit Christians, premised on land disputes and conversions to Christianity, trying to divert focus from the leadership and responsibility of Hindutva organisations in orchestrating the violence. The government's figures dispute their allegations of escalation in Christian conversions, as Christians in Orissa numbered 8,97,861 in 2001, just 2.4 per cent of the state's population, as per the Census(2001); and the Christian population in Kandhamal district... was recorded as 1,17,950 to 5,27,757 Hindus. Land issues in Kandhamal, as in most Adivasi and Dalit areas in Orissa, remain unresolved, fraught with the inequities of history. Yet, in Kandhamal, it is the communalisation of this issue via Hindutva's use of certain Kondh and Kui Adivasi communities, and the refusal to grant Dalit, including Pana converts to Christianity access to affirmative action, that cultivates injustices and nurtures acrimonies. These conditions enable the Hindu right to conscript adivasis for its activities, and generate divisiveness between adivasis, Dalits, and Christians.

Funding for hate, from across India and the world, continues to incentivise the Sangh Parivar. Governmental regulations focus on Christian and Islamic groups, and neglect to monitor Hindu 'charities' that operate as sectarian organisations. A recent article by Soumitro Das in the Hindustan Times explained that, as opposed to the lack of scrutiny on funding of Hindutva-affiliated organisations, monies received by Christian organisations are monitored via stringent provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 1976. In the annual report on foreign contributions, Das clarified, 'There are also no records of mass conversions'. That is not the case with Sangh organisations, which have undertaken extensive coercive conversions to Hinduism in Orissa, with the intent to communalise, violating conversion laws. The following Sangh-affiliates, registered charities in the US, allocated sizeable amounts of money under 'programme services', disproportionately directed to Hindutva-affiliated groups in India. Per 2006 tax records, Ekal Vidyalaya allocated more than two million dollars to India, India Development Relief Fund (IDRF) allocated 1.6 million USD, and Sewa International USA allocated 284,800 dollars. Other organisations channelled funds for the Sangh Parivar to Orissa via groups located in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and elsewhere. All together, substantial money continues to be accumulated from upper caste/landed communities in Orissa.

The events of August and September 2008 are evidence of the Hindutva's cadre's state of preparedness. The composition of the rioters attests to the mass of the organisation, and the precision of execution points to premeditated forethought and groundwork. The Sangh Parivar's plans for Orissa are on track.

Angana Chatterji is associate professor of anthropology at California Institute of Integral Studies and author of the forthcoming book: 'Violent Gods: Hindu Nationalism in India's Present, Narratives from Orissa'...
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[mukto-mona] NYTimes, 4th Oct 2008--Meena Story

The New York Times

October 4, 2008

Hindu-Muslim Family's Choice of Cremation Arouses Anger

By ANNE BARNARD

Friends and family remember Shafayet Reja as an affectionate young man who stayed up late to write poetry, danced exuberantly at weddings and explored the faiths of his father and mother with an openheartedness that led him to declare on his Facebook page, "I never get tired of learning the new things that life has to offer."

But within hours of his death on Sept. 10 after a car accident, his memory — in fact, his very body — had become the object of a tug-of-war over religious freedom and obligation. It began when his mother, who was raised Hindu, and his father, who is Muslim, decided to have his body cremated in the Hindu tradition, rather than burying him in a shroud, as Islam prescribes.

His parents, Mina and Farhad Reja, say a small group of Muslims who do not understand their approach to religion are trying to intimidate them over the most private of family choices. "This is America," Mrs. Reja said. "This is a family decision."

The couple say that people accosted them at their son's funeral, that an angry crowd threatened to boycott a shopping center they own in Jackson Heights, Queens, and that on Sept. 13, two men they know threatened to bomb and burn down the building.

The men they accused in a complaint filed with the police — one is a doctor and the father of a close friend of Shafayet Reja, the other a Bangladeshi business leader — say that they made no threats and deny that they have called for a boycott. They say they and others simply expressed their concern about what they see as a deep violation of their religion and of the wishes of the son, who, according to some of his college friends, had recently chosen Islam as his sole religion.

The Police Department's hate crimes unit is investigating whether the threats took place, whether they would constitute aggravated harassment, and whether they qualify as bias crimes, which carry tougher penalties, a spokesman for the department said. No charges have been filed.

What is not in doubt is that the episode is a source of consternation, from the Queens neighborhoods where Mr. Reja's parents live and work to their native Bangladesh, one of the world's most populous Muslim countries, where it has been national news.

The dispute has especially swept up several bustling blocks in Jackson Heights, where dozens of businesses are Bengali. It had business owners on edge during the busy shopping season before this week's Id al-Fitr festival. The festival marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and brings throngs of shoppers to dine and to buy jewelry and sparkling traditional dresses.

The neighborhood is a place where business rivalries and family arguments often intersect with disputes over Bangladesh politics, especially in the case of Mrs. Reja, a prominent property owner and outspoken advocate of the rights of Bangladesh's religious minorities. Her 1999 self-published book, "God on Trial," angered some Muslims in the neighborhood with its critique of Islamic fundamentalism.

The cremation dispute goes to the heart of a debate among Muslims in America about what makes someone a Muslim — to some of the critics, the fact that Shafayet Reja listed Islam as his religion on Facebook is enough — and how to reconcile this country's freedom of religion with what some Muslims see as a communal obligation to uphold religious observance.

But to the family, the dispute is a frightening imposition that they say violates their civil rights.

"We have freedom of religion, and we have the Constitution," said the Rejas' son Mishal, 19, who studies at Washington University in St. Louis. "Why would they bother us? It's none of their business. Even if he was the most hard-core Muslim."

To some Muslims, the fact that Shafayet Reja prayed and attended mosques trumps his family's wishes.

"It was the community's business because the community knew he was a Muslim," said Junnun Choudhury, secretary of the Jamaica Muslim Center, one of several mosques around the city whose worshipers came to the funeral to plead with the family. "It is our job to bury him in the Muslim way."

Neither he nor any other mosque leader has been accused of making threats, and there have been no further protests.

Abu Zafar Mahmood, an adviser to the Jackson Heights Bangladeshi Business Association, said he was disturbed by the cremation but was urging people not to confront Mrs. Reja. "It would be harmful," he said. "We have a multicultural community."

Mrs. Reja said she brought up her children by attending both Hindu temples and Muslim mosques. "Humanism is what I taught my children," she said. "I want to see my son as a perfect human being, and not as a perfect religious person."

Whether or not her son was beginning to move closer to Islam is another thread in the tangle of hurt feelings and disagreements.

Shafayet Reja, 22, graduated from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 2007. He was living with his parents in Richmond Hill, studying to be a licensed insurance broker.

He was also spending a lot of time at the Long Island home of Dr. Khondeker Masud Rahman — who was eventually accused of threatening his parents — and Dr. Rahman's daughter, Farah, a friend from Stony Brook.

Farah Rahman said that he had begun praying more often and talking to Dr. Rahman about Islam, and that he had quarreled with his mother, saying she blamed the religion unfairly for the mistakes of some of its followers. He had even, she said in an interview, mentioned that he wanted a Muslim burial. His family members and childhood friends say he would have wanted his mother to choose.

On Sept. 2, Shafayet Reja broke the daily Ramadan fast with friends at Stony Brook's Muslim Students Association. Afterward, Farah Rahman was in the car behind his when he lost control on a wet road. He was hospitalized, and died on Sept. 10 without regaining consciousness.

When word spread that the family would hold both Muslim and Hindu rites for their son and then have him cremated, the Rahmans and others were upset. Father and daughter both asked the family to give him a Muslim burial. They said the conversations were polite; the Rejas said they were hostile.

Several dozen people, including the imams of the Jamaica Muslim Center and other mosques, came to the funeral home in Richmond Hill on Sept. 12, to attend the Muslim rite and express objections to the cremation. The Rejas say people crowded around them to press their case as they wept beside their son's body. "I was having my last moment with my son," Mrs. Reja said. "What gave them the guts to do that?"

The funeral staff called the police in part because the Rejas feared the crowd would try to block the hearse going to the crematorium. Mishal Reja stood in the door of the funeral home, asked the group to leave the family in peace, and promised he would try to get the cremation canceled — just to get them to leave, he said. The crowd dispersed peacefully.

Later that day, Dr. Rahman, an anesthesiologist at Elmhurst Hospital Center in Jackson Heights, spoke to a group of people breaking the daily Ramadan fast at a restaurant across the street from the family's Bangladesh Plaza mall.

According to the Rejas, and a report in a local Bengali-language newspaper, he called for a boycott of the mall and for shop owners there to stop paying rent, though he denied that in an interview.

Afterward, some of the people from the restaurant gathered outside the mall, waving their sandals in an insulting gesture and threatening to boycott the mall, according to two men who run shops there, who did not want to be quoted by name for fear of damaging business relationships. One said that at least one person in the crowd threatened to burn the building.

In the crowd, according to the merchants, was the secretary of the Jackson Heights Bangladeshi Business Association, Zakaria Masud. Mr. Masud, too, denied calling for a boycott, but said that protesting the cremation was "a social obligation and a religious obligation."

The next day, Mina Reja held a press conference at the mall, at which she denounced the critics and asked for privacy.

Afterward, according to complaints the Rejas made to the police, Dr. Rahman told Mishal Reja, "We will bomb your building," and Giash Ahmed, a real estate broker and former Republican candidate for state senator, told Farhad Reja it would be burned.

Dr. Rahman and Mr. Ahmed said in interviews that they never threatened anyone and were not even at the mall that day. Mr. Ahmed said Mrs. Reja's decision was her business.

Dr. Rahman said expressions of anger at Mrs. Reja should wait: "She should have a time of healing." He accused her of orchestrating the scandal and fabricating the threat.

Meanwhile, under the neon signs and rainbow lights of Bangladesh Plaza, shopkeepers worry that a boycott even by part of the community will hurt their holiday business.

"Why should they involve people who are not involved? How will we survive?" one of the shop owners said. Another said of the cremation: "It's a family matter. The parents, they decide."

Toby Lyles contributed research.

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[ALOCHONA] Tata Motors shifts Nano plant after land fight

Tata Motors shifts Nano plant after land fight

KOLKATA (Reuters) - Tata Motors Ltd will move the factory for its low-cost Nano car out of West Bengal state after violent protests by farmers who lost land forced it to stop construction, Chairman Ratan Tata said on Friday."Taking all things into account, mainly the wellbeing of our employees, the safety of our contractors and in fact our vendors also, we've taken the very regretful decision to move the Nano project out of West Bengal," Tata said.He made the announcement after meeting state Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in Kolkata.

Tata Motors, the country's top vehicle maker, had already started looking for other sites at which to build the Nano, which it had originally said it hoped to launch this month.

"We will have to make the best of the deadline that we have," Tata said. "We are going to do everything possible to come close to the deadline we had established."

Tata said the firm had not decided where to build the Nano but was examining offers of sites from three or four states.

"We hope we would be able to find a location that has a congenial environment," he said. "All these issues we will announce in the next few days when we have a clearer picture."

The Nano is expected to be priced at just above 100,000 rupees ($2,130) and has been billed as the world's cheapest car.

The company, India's third-biggest carmaker, had planned to make 250,000 cars at the Singur plant in West Bengal initially, later increasing capacity to 350,000 units.

Trouble began after the communist state government acquired farmland for the factory using a colonial-era law which allows land to be taken over cheaply.Work on the plant was nearly complete when farmers, backed by the state's main opposition party, Trinamool Congress, stepped up their protests, saying they had been forced off their land without adequate compensation.

INDUSTRY-FARMER STANDOFF

The dispute, which followed similar protests in other states, reflects a larger standoff between industry and farmers unwilling to surrender land in a country where two-thirds of the population depend on agriculture for a living.

The state government then offered compensation which some farmers, backed by Trinamool, rejected as inadequate. Others said they had not agreed to sell their land and demanded the state government return about 400 acres (162 ha)."This is what happens when you seize land, when you use force," said Becharam Manna, a leader of Singur's protesting farmers. "Blame the state government for the Tata decision."

Cost overruns caused by delays at Singur, where Tata Motors has invested about $350 million, had already raised the cost of producing the Nano, which was unveiled to a rousing reception in January and sent rivals scrambling for their own versions.Eventual demand for the Nano is expected to be about one million units, Tata has said.

Analysts say the market has factored in the extra costs, but the firm's share price may fall on Monday because of generally gloomy investor sentiment."What has not been priced in yet is if they manage to get a better deal from some other state government," V.K. Sharma, head of research at Anagram Stock Broking, told Reuters.

Tata Motor's New York-listed shares were down 0.4 percent at $7.23 at 1500 GMT. Before the news, the firm's shares listed in Mumbai had closed 2.5 percent down at 330.70 rupees in a weak market.

(Additional reporting by C.J. Kuncheria and Devidutta Tripathy)

http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-35787720081003?sp=true

Tata abandons cheapest car plant

Work at the West Bengal plant was suspended in August

India's Tata group has abandoned plans to build the world's cheapest car in the eastern state of West Bengal.

Tata group chief Ratan Tata said: "We have little choice but to move out of Bengal. We cannot run a factory with police around all the time."

He was speaking after protests in a row over land acquired from local farmers.

The car, the Nano, is expected to cost about 100,000 rupees ($2,130). It was due to be launched in October and will be ready "this year", Mr Tata said.

We will have to make the best of the deadline that we have

Tata group chief Ratan Tata

The BBC's Subir Bhuamik in Calcutta says the company is initially expected to produce several thousand Nanos this year at other sites in India.

It had planned to make 250,000 cars a year at the Singur plant in West Bengal, rising to 350,000.

A number of other car firms also plan vehicles to compete with the Nano but have not yet begun production. The dispute in West Bengal highlights a wider problem between India's growing industry - which needs land - and its farmers who are unwilling to give it up.

'Offers'

Work at Tata's Singur plant has been suspended since the end of August following protests led by the state's opposition Trinamul Congress party.

Exclusive look at the Tata Nano

Mr Tata said the Nano will be built "within this year but I can't tell you where".

"We are going to do everything possible to come close to the deadline we had established," he told journalists in Calcutta.

"We have got offers from several Indian states but we have not yet finalised where to produce the Nano... All these issues we will announce in the next few days when we have a clearer picture."

Mr Tata said his group would still consider West Bengal as an investment destination in future. I value the considerable intellectual resources this state has, but something will have to change here," he said. He was speaking after meeting the West Bengal chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya and his colleagues. "This is a black day for Bengal. We will have so much more difficulty getting investments now," said the state's industry minister, Nirupam Sen.

Compensation

The West Bengal government acquired 1,000 acres of land for the Nano project two years ago. More than 10,000 farmers accepted compensation for their land, but just over 2,000 of them refused and demanded land be returned.

During the protests Tata's engineers and workers were attacked, prompting the group to stop work. Our correspondent says the Bengal governor then intervened and tried to mediate a deal between the government and the opposition but that did not work. The plant was seen as a key part of industrialisation efforts in what is one of India's least developed states.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7651119.stm

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[ALOCHONA] Fw: RE: Fakhruddin Ahmed's interview with Time

--- On Fri, 10/3/08, Zoglul Husain <zoglul@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:

Thank you for the excerpts of interview of Fakhruddin Ahmed, who was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly and spoke with World Editor Bobby Ghosh of the Time (in partnership with CNN), as reported by Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty.

What Fakhruddin Ahmed, Chief Adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh, dished out in the interview is a pack of untruths, quite blatant and brazen, as the Hamid Karzais, the Nouri al-Malikis, the Pervez Musharrafs and the Mir Jafars always do.

It is the evil US-Israel-India axis, which engineered the violent conflict ('logi-boitha'), political blockade and turmoil, prior to the so-called one-eleven 2007, in order to frighten the people in accepting the present military-controlled interim government, the harbinger of which was the then US ambassador Harry K Thomas, who in 2005, informed the allies and operatives of the evil axis of the impending advent of a 'Third Force' i.e.., the present military-controlled interim government.

The objective of the evil axis is to subjugate Bangladesh and plunder it, especially India's objective being reducing Bangladesh to a vassal state with the future aim of annexing it as a dependent state. The geo-political strategic and economic interests of the evil axis, in relation to the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, China, Russia, etc., make it imperative for them to try and subjugate Bangladesh and control the Bay of Bengal, while India has a host of additional economic and strategic interests in Bangladesh. And all these machinations of the imperialists, the hegemonists and their lackeys like Fakhruddin Ahmed are absolutely and totally against the interests of the people of Bangladesh.

Through a sham election, under emergency rules and the bayonets, the evil axis is endeavouring now to replace a military-controlled unelected government by a military-controlled 'elected' government and to establish a controlled 'democracy' such as Ayub Khan's 'basic democracy'. In the so-called made-to-order election, many of the candidates will not be allowed to stand, and those who will be allowed to stand will have to be subservient to them, or 'else (!!)'. Hasina and Khaleda have in reality been gagged, with Tarek both gagged and banished at least for three years and Joy not allowed to go to Bangladesh. It is not certain whether Khaleda and Hasina will be allowed to stand in the election. It is not certain whether the election will be held at all, and if it is held, as promised by the evil axis to the world, under what terms and conditions. So much for free, fair, credible and acceptable election and so much for level playing field! And so much for a corruption-free citadel of democracy!!

It is true, all the plans of the interim government have failed so far, but the evil axis has not moved an inch from their objectives of subjugating and plundering Bangladesh. During the last 20 months, the economy of Bangladesh has fallen back at least ten years to the glee of of our enemies, corruption increased two and a half times (according to Professor Abul Barakat), High Court never has been so trampled, ACC and EC never so dictated, and with the people suffering a transform from frying pan to fire.

We must therefore unite and resist, non-violently and politically, unless compelled otherwise. The people have already been doing that quite effectively, though passively, forcing the government to be on the reverse gear. So, whatever these Fakhruddin Ahmeds say or do, the people will resist. The people will never compromise their independence and sovereignty and they will always carry on their struggle for economic, social and cultural emancipation until victory. It is the people, not the Fakhruddin Ahmeds, who will in the end be victorious!

Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2008 18:28:28 -0700
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Subject:

Q&A: Bangladesh's Leader Fakhruddin Ahmed

Thursday, Sep. 25, 2008

Fakhruddin Ahmed of Bangladesh

Timothy A. Clary / AFP / Getty

The announcement of a general election in Bangladesh often signals the start of a season of political violence between the country's two main parties. So there was trepidation in Dhaka last week when Fakhruddin Ahmed, who heads a "caretaker" government, announced that elections would be held on Dec 18.

The caretaker government was installed by the military in January, 2007, after the last round of pre-election violence between Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party and opposition leader Sheikh Hasina's Awami League. That election was suspended, and Ahmed, a former central banker with a reputation for clean hands, was appointed to run the country with wide-ranging emergency powers. Despite his ambiguous title of "chief adviser" to the government, Ahmed has effectively been Prime Minister.

Shortly after taking his new job, he told TIME that his priorities were to clean up the notoriously venal political culture, and to implement reforms that would ensure fair elections.. His administration brought criminal and corruption charges against scores of prominent politicians, and arrested both Zia and Hasin

It also launched an ambitious voter-registration program. Throughout this process, Ahmed has promised that his government would hold elections in December. But many Bangladeshis worry that in his haste to stage the poll, he has undermined the anti-corruption drive: Zia and Hasina have been released on bail, to ensure that their parties participate in the polls. The fear, now, is that whoever wins the election will simply roll back Ahmed's reforms, returning Bangladesh to politics as usual.

In New York for the United Nations General Assembly, Ahmed spoke with World Editor Bobby Ghosh. Excerpts:

TIME: Why elections now?

Ahmed: Soon after I took over as chief adviser, I announced that we would hand over to the next elected government as soon as the Election Commission had completed a proper voter-registration process. We've also done some institutional reforms — in the Election Commission, the Anticorruption Commission and other areas — to establish good governance. We've set up a national human rights commission, passed the Right to Information Act, strengthened local governments.

Are you now confident that these reforms are irreversible?

I feel quite confident, because these reforms were demanded by the civil society, and by the political parties. I do hope that the next government and the governments thereafter will strengthen these reforms.

And yet you're now going into an election with exactly same people standing for office, the same parties that have been tainted by charges of corruption and whose governance has been discredited.

Right from Day 1, we have been saying that the anticorruption cases will be tried under normal laws of the land and everyone will be allowed due process under the law. [Zia and Hasina] have been released on bail by the courts. One of the reforms we did was making the courts totally independent from the executive branch. Basically the process will continue under the next government.

Will Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina be allowed to stand for the elections?

Well, that will depend on the Election Commission... The law under which elections will be held stipulates certain conditions for anyone to submit a nomination. Anyone who satisfies these conditions is eligible.

Can there be an election without them?

I really don't want to speculate on that.

The parties are now asking you to withdraw the government's emergency powers.

I'll refer you to the municipal elections that took place in early August. We relaxed the emergency rules to allow for normal election campaigning. We haven't heard any complaint from any of the candidates.

But they are asking for the emergency measures to be withdrawn now.

Yes, but we are explaining that there is no reason elections can't be held — free, fair, credible elections — with relaxed emergency rules.

Emergency was declared in 2007 because of certain circumstances — violence in the streets, chaos. But that is not the case right now.

Yes, there has not been any disruption of normal economic activities during the past 20 months. But we'd like this to continue until the election. Please remember that one of the problems with the election process has been that money and muscle power were used in the past; in order to retain control over that, I think the emergency rules will help...

When TIME last spoke with you in March 2007, you had begun an anticorruption campaign. Tell me about how that has gone.

It's gone well. Quite a good number of people have been convicted by the courts. Cases against others are continuing in the course of law.

How many people have been convicted?

Probably about 70 people... 75 people. But the anticorruption strategy also has expanded to include preventive measures. So we are building up a campaign against corruption through the independent Anticorruption Council. I believe that this kind of comprehensive approach ultimately will make corruption feature less and less in our daily lives.

But if politicians under corruption charges come back to power in the elections... you can see how people may think it's all been wasted.

I don't think so. As I said, a good number has been convicted. Yes, some of those accused are released on bail and that has been done through due process of law.

We're talking about the two former prime ministers of the country.

Yes, but they are still facing trial.

The fear is that whichever party is elected will use the power to have all the charges against its own leadership dropped...

I think it's a question of whether we are going back to the [old] system. There have been major changes in the system. Institutions have been strengthened, and these institutions have gotten support from society at large. I think everybody hopes that will continue.

What will be the role of the military once the elections have been held?

Well the military has a role that is defined for them. They can always come in aid of civil administration: that's also provided for in our laws.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1844509,00.html

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[mukto-mona] Hindu Rashtra our aim: Bajrang Dal chief

http://www.hindu.com/2008/10/02/stories/2008100261401200.htm

National
Hindu Rashtra our aim: Bajrang Dal chief

Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI: Bajrang Dal chief Prakash Sharma has admitted that Bhupinder Singh, one of the two men who died in an explosion while bombs were assembled in a private hostel in Kanpur on August 24, was a "former activist." But "he left the Dal several years ago. The Dal cannot be held responsible for his actions," Mr. Sharma told The Hindu here on Wednesday

When the Bajrang Dal was set up in 1984 as the youth arm of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Mr. Sharma was made its Kanpur unit convener. At that time, it was "active only in a few districts of Uttar Pradesh. Today it has some 13 lakh activists spread across most of the States and our aim is to cover every district of the country," said Mr. Sharma, who had just returned from a visit to Kanpur.

On August 24, the police found at the site of the bomb explosion at Rajeev Nagar "11 country-made pistols, explosives, seven timers, batteries and gelatin sticks," according to reports quoting Kanpur Inspector-General S.S. Singh. No further breakthrough has been made.

"Yes, Bhupinder Singh was one of us, but I do not know Rajeev Mishra, who also died in that explosion," Mr. Sharma said.

"Statement a mistake"

The Bajrang Dal chief denied that his organisation was involved in the violence against Christians in Kandhamal district of Orissa or in Mangalore and elsewhere in Karnataka, although the Karnataka unit chief Mahendra Kumar, had issued a statement accepting its role.

Mr. Sharma dismissed that statement as a "mistake." "How can you say Hindus are involved? How can you be sure Christians are not killing each other? I know of two Christians who set fire to a church in Orissa."

Senior VHP leader Giriraj Kishore, who was present at the interview, said: "There was bound to be reaction when Lakshmanananda [VHP activist] was murdered. After all, he was working in that area."

Mr. Sharma said although the BJP was a coalition partner in the Orissa government "the murderers" of Lakshmanananda had not been caught. "The government has done nothing to catch the culprits."

Mr. Sharma listed the tasks before the Dal as "seva" (service of the people) and "suraksha" (protection). Its volunteers were given tough physical training to help them protect themselves and the people. He insisted that they were not trained in firearms, and were trained only in "aiming with air guns for which we run regular camps."

The larger aim of the Dal, Mr. Sharma said, was "to establish a Hindu Rashtra.

"Stop conversion"

As for the minorities, Mr. Sharma said, "they can live in a Hindu Rashtra. We do not say do not go to mosques or churches. But conversion must be stopped … We have re-converted to Hinduism through the ghar vapasi (home-coming) programme about 10,000-15,000 people since I became Bajrang Dal convener in 2002."

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Mr Sharma offered a novel theory about Christians burning their own churches down which reminds me personally of the Islamic theories that do the rounds blaming Islamic atrocities on their victims also.

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[mukto-mona] for ur reading pleasure - A Dangerous Cash Crop

A Dangerous Cash Crop
Written by Sankar Ray 3 October 08
(http://asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1461&Itemid=203)
Eastern India is a new haven for the terrorist-sponsored narcotics trade

For the poverty-stricken peoples of the districts of Nadia and
Murshidabad in India's West Bengal, illicit money-spinning crops of
marijuana and opium poppies are seen as a much-needed financial
lifeline. But this is no mere local problem, with terrorist
organisations rather than local narcotics barons being seen as pulling
the strings behind the scenes.

Analysts and intelligence experts say Bangladesh is the latest
breeding ground for terror groups such as Al-Qaeda, and narcotics
farming along the Indo-Bangla border is the reason.

There, poppy or marijuana strips grow discreetly inside small low-sucrose
sugarcane plantations. Growers allocate a hidden portion of the
plantations – and paddy plots in Nadia – and the rogue crops appear a
lucrative "way out" for the poor cultivators.

Still in the early stages, it is feared these rural belts of Nadia and
Murshidabad are being turned into pockets of influence for
heroin-dealing terrorists, according to federal intelligence agency
sources.

It may appear odd to students of political science and sociology, but
there are those that claim the quiet promotion of the cultivation of
these crops must receive at least implicit consent from India's
largest Leftist formation, the Communist Party of India, which has
governed this state uninterrupted for the last three decades.

Acreages of these "exotic wild grasses" have grown steadily over the
last fifteen years in the rural blocks of Hanskhali, Karimpur,
Nakashipara, Krishnaganj and Chapra of Nadia. However they were almost
routed in the village council polls a few months ago by the
combination of the Indian National Congress, India's largest and
oldest political entity
and its split-away regional opposition party Trinamool Congress
(grassroots Congress).

In Murshidabad, where Muslims account for 56 per cent of a population
stricken with endemic poverty and malnutrition, intelligence reports
cite poppy cultivation at Chandipur, Charpakia, Tiktipara and
Laskarpur villages between the Jangipur and Lalgola rural blocks.
Given the abject conditions, it is hardly surprising the people could
be lured by the temptation of the illicit cash crop. However, local
leaders of two major political parties, INC and CPI(M), have turned a
blind eye, with some even accusing influential political leaders of
being on the drug mafia's payroll.

"Opium poppy seeds, grown very insignificantly, were used exclusively
for medication or medicinal purposes until the 1980s and there was no
cause for concern, but now we have no option other than to discourage
the cultivation of opium or ganja," said a senior official at the
secretariat of the chief medical officer of health in Nadia.

Last year, the state and federal criminal intelligence agencies,
functioning under the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) seized about 5,000
kilograms of marijuana in the two districts, according to official
data, valued at US$48 million on the international market. The haul of
opium and heroin by the NCB in Murshidabad was estimated at 7.6 kg and
3.2 kg respectively, roughly valued at US$1.2 billion.

Given the lucrative rewards, it's hardly surprising the narcotics
mafia has made deep inroads inside the state police network, and
tip-offs prior to NCB raids are common. K Shankar, chief of the NCB's
eastern India headquarters, said: "We sit down with district police
superintendents the moment we get any information about opium or ganja
cultivation and immediately chalk out plans for raids. By hook or by
crook, we shall prevent the farming and trade of narcotics. If our
people are found working as informers for the mafia, we are determined
to punish them."

Senior figures in the federal Intelligence network are growing
increasingly worried that this local problem is deeply linked with
various terrorist outfits, most linked to Al-Qaeda or the Taliban.
"Our concern is deeper as the phenomenal growth of narco-farming and
trade is taking place in West Bengal, under the Left Front (Communist
Party) rule," said an officer of federal intelligence who wished to
remain anonymous.

A new feature of the narco-mafia and their micro-empire is the
hierarchical structure of drug overlords. One of the top figures,
Tarasankar Giri, is Hindu, not Muslim. Giri's racket was smashed last
year when two intelligence officers commissioned by the NCB seized 1.5
kg of heroin.

------------------------------------

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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

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Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf

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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.

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Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm

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Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm

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Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/

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MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari
http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm

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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

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[ALOCHONA] Win a Chance to Meet Arnob and Friends!

Win a Chance to Meet Arnob and Friends!

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Featured Video:

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DRISHTIPAT is delighted to present ARNOB and friends in a rare performance on October 18, 2008 at one of Washington's finest performance venues, the Historic Synagogue at Sixth and I. This concert is part of the 'Unheard Voices World Tour', organized to raise funds for DRISHTIPAT's humanitarian projects.

"Timeless", "The most talented musician from Bangladesh", "Spell binding live performance" are some of the phrases used to describe ARNOB's performance. He is a star of the Bangladeshi pop scene, whose innovative blend of traditional instruments, themes and rhythms with contemporary arrangements and harmonies are truly groundbreaking. Add to this the jazz-based interpretations of his collaborator Andrew Morris on soprano sax and you have an extraordinary treat in store.

Come celebrate the 400^th anniversary of DHAKA city with us!

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[mukto-mona] Statement by Dr. Prajnalankar Bhikkhu

Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP)
1st Session, 1-3 October 2008
United Nations Office, Geneva

Statement by Prajnalankar Bhikkhu, Peace Campaign Group
Agenda Item: 4 – Study on Lessons learned and Challenges to achieve the Implementation of the Right of Indigenous Peoples to Education

Mr. Chairperson, thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak on the agenda item 4.

Mr. Chairperson, in many countries, the idea of 'right to education' is not a new one. I think states have done a lot in terms of formulation and implementation of policy, programs, and funds for
realization of this right, and international bodies, like the EMRIP, do not require calling upon states to do more for it. But the right deserves to be addressed with utmost care when we attach it with indigenous peoples. We have to bear in mind that indigenous peoples are different from the mainstreams. They are a distinct identity and culture. In order to promote and protect this distinctiveness states require taking special legislative, administrative and budgetary
measures to ensure that indigenous peoples have the scope to learn in their own mother tongue in local and national educational institutes. UN agencies, like UNESCO, may provide technical and financial support to indigenous educational institutes in this respect.

We have to keep it in mind that right to education is not isolated from other rights of the indigenous peoples. This right cannot be realized without recognition of indigenous peoples as "indigenous peoples". Expert Mechanism may advise the Human Rights Council to call upon States to ratify and implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

While I recognize the importance of education in promoting and protecting the rights of the indigenous peoples, I think Expert Mechanism should prioritize pressing concerns of indigenous peoples such as Human Rights, because there are states like Bangladesh where indigenous peoples do not even enjoy the fundamental rights and freedoms and become victims of daily human rights violations. These concerns demand immediate action on the part of the Human Right Council, and the Expert Mechanism should bring this kind of situation to the attention of the Human Right Council.

Thank you, Mr. Chairperson, for your kind attention.

===============================================

Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
1st Session 1-3 Oct 2008, Geneva
Statement by: Prajnalankar Bhikkhu, Peace Campaign Group

Mr. Chairperson,
I on behalf of our organization, Peace Campaign Group, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you and your colleagues on being elected as members of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Dear Govt. delegates, and indigenous sisters and brothers.
Mr. Chairman, In the process of reforms in the UN system, one of the instruments on the rights of indigenous peoples emerged is the Expert Mechanism. This instrument is a big achievement for IPs and is of great importance in terms of promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples.
As an indigenous person and activist you have the direct experience with difficult situation of many indigenous peoples around the world.
So I trust that your leadership and expertise and experience will effectively able to address the human rights violations indigenous peoples confront in their countries. While I recognize the importance of education in promoting and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples, I think Expert Mechanism should prioritize pressing concerns such as human rights, because there are states like Bangladesh where indigenous peoples do not even enjoy the fundamental rights and freedoms and become victims of daily human rights violations. These concerns demand immediate action on the part of the HRC. And the Expert Mechanism should draw the
attention of the HRC to this type of situation.

Mr. Chairman, few years ago we did not have any idea about IPs and their rights. Today we have a Declaration and other instruments on their rights. Expert Mechanism through HRC should ask states to ratify and respect the Declaration and other instruments. Because, in the present international system, it is the state's political will that matters much in implementing these instruments.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, I think UPR is an excellent instrument. EMRIP must exercise its influence over this process to make the state under this process more accountable to the HRC. Because it's a moment when you can put pressure on the state concerned.

Thank you for your kind attention.

* * *
Peace Campaign Group (PCG)
RZ-I-91/211, West Sagarpur, New Delhi-110046, India
Tel: + 91-11-2 539 8383
Telefax: + 91-11-2 539 4277
E-mail: pcgoffice@yahoo.co.in, pcgonline@gmail.com

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Friday, October 3, 2008

[mukto-mona] Fwd: Orissa Riots/Article/Indian Express

[mukto-mona] NYTimes, 4th Oct 2008--Meena Story

Hindu-Muslim Family's Choice of Cremation Arouses Anger

[ALOCHONA] Tata Motors shifts Nano plant after land fight

Tata abandons cheapest car plant

[ALOCHONA] Fw: RE: Fakhruddin Ahmed's interview with Time

Q&A: Bangladesh's Leader Fakhruddin Ahmed

[mukto-mona] Hindu Rashtra our aim: Bajrang Dal chief

[mukto-mona] for ur reading pleasure - A Dangerous Cash Crop

[ALOCHONA] Win a Chance to Meet Arnob and Friends!

[mukto-mona] Statement by Dr. Prajnalankar Bhikkhu

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