Open letter to PM

June 30, 2002

Rajya Sabha MP wants to contribute Rs. 1 crore towards Gujarat relief

June 16, 2002
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Prime Minister of India
New Delhi.

Dear Prime Minister
Having visited Gujarat and being in touch with the distressing situation there, I intend to contribute a sum of Rs. 1 crore from my allocation under "Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme" (MPLADS) for relief and rehabilitation of the victims of the recent communal violence in that state. I may be permitted to do so.

Under MPLADS every MP is entitled to an allocation of Rs. 2 crore per year for development works in his constituency or state. However, the Rules were relaxed to permit allocation by MPs under MPLADS for the victims of the Gujarat earthquake last year and of the Orissa cyclone in the year before. Similar relaxation may now be permitted for the benefit of the victims of the recent Gujarat holocaust.

If the rules are relaxed most MPs would like to utilise a substantial part of their allocation under MPLADS for this noble purpose. A contribution by a large number of Parliamentarians will motivate the people of the country to also contribute for this worthy cause.

I also urge you to kindly issue an appeal to all our countrymen to donate generously for this cause on the same lines of the appeals issued by you at the time of the Gujarat earthquake and the Orissa cyclone.

The above becomes necessary since the state government has not yet taken effective steps in this matter. The recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission including those relating to relief and rehabilitation are not being implemented effectively.

May I, therefore, request you to direct the state government to take the following measures urgently:

i) The compensation for the damaged/burnt/destroyed houses should be paid as per the norms adopted for the earthquake victims;

ii) The compensation for Ghat Vakhri (compensation for burnt/looted household articles) should be a minimum of Rs.20,000.

iii) Immediate allotment of house sites to enable the victims to relocate themselves with honour and dignity.

iv) Involving housing finance institutions like HUDCO, NHB, CANFIN Homes, LIC etc. to advance loans liberally with minimum paperwork and at nominal interest rates. The repayment period should be spread over a period of 20 years and it should begin after three years from the date of construction of the house.

With personal regards,

EDUARDO FALEIRO

MP, Rajya Sabha

Editors: As we go to press, Faleiro who has just returned from a tour to Turkey, told CC that all that he has so far got from the PMO in response to his letter is a formal acknowledgement. Meanwhile, a number of party leaders and MPs whom CC spoke to supported Faleiro’s initiative, especially in view of the fact that neither the governments in New Delhi and Gujarat, nor India Inc. have been particularly forthcoming in providing succour to the survivors of the genocide in Gujarat. Many felt that a substantial contribution from parliamentarians, would provide the badly needed emotional balm, apart from relief and rehabilitation in physical terms.

"It’s a very good idea and we should all support it," said the independent Rajya Sabha MP, Kuldip Nayar, adding that such a step would be a most welcome departure in parliament history. The problem in Gujarat is so colossal that what the government has done so far is a mere drop in the ocean, he said. "I am sure a lot of MPs will like to contribute to this effort once a decision is taken in this regard," he added. Stating that not all MPs might be willing to contribute Rs 1 crore out of the funds at their disposal, even Rs. 10 lakh per MP (5 per cent of the funds at their disposal), the contribution from 850 MPs from the two houses could add up to a substantial Rs. 85 crore.

"The BJP will not be enthusiastic about such and idea. It could work only if party leaders take it up seriously with the government," said an MP from the Samajwadi Party, adding that he would gladly push the case within his own party if the Congress top brass took a lead in the matter.

"It is definitely a good idea and we will certainly pursue the matter," Sitaram Yechuri, CPI(M) politburo member told CC when contacted for his response.

Meanwhile, not content with a mere acknowledgement of his earlier letter to the PM, Faleiro intends to follow up his earlier letter with a fresh missive arguing that his suggestion should be acted upon especially considering that a substantial amount of the MPLADS funds remains unutilised by many MPs.

Archived from Communalism Combat, July 2002 Year 8 No. 79, Cover Story 5

Is secularism good for business?

June 30, 2002

Cyrus Guzder

I hope the organisers of the CII Gujarat Annual Day function will excuse me for apparently ex-ceeding my brief by directly ad-dressing the causes and consequences of the current civil disturbances in Gujarat. However, I propose to break with our customary practice of being politically correct in the belief that I am still being faithful to the CII’s outlook to business life which is modern, liberal, tolerant and caring of people.

Business As Usual – Soon?

"The business of business is business", said Milton Friedman, the celebrated American free market economist. Most businessmen all over the world would, at first thought, agree with him. So why are we, a collection of businessmen, meeting today to discuss among other things, such distinctly "non–business" themes such as Secularism?

The answer lies partly in the implied other half of Friedman’s statement, that: "the business of government is government."

So, if government governs well, business should be free to concentrate on business.

Another great American thinker, Peter Drucker said while referring to the huge role that business plays in a healthy society. "It is the social responsibility of business to make a profit." Meaning, thereby, that businesses must remain profitable, if they are to continue to employ people, create wealth and enrich societies in the many ways that they do.

But what happens, when governments don’t govern? Or, they mis–govern?

They can misgovern by errors of commission; for example, by persecuting a section of their citizens, as is happening in Zimbabwe or Iraq; or by errors of omission, by failing to govern, by failing to maintain law and order, and by failing to provide to citizens their fundamental rights to life and to work.

And when there is such a failure of government leading to disruption in civil life; the striking of terror among labourers, shopkeepers, teachers, judges; the closure of markets; an exodus of people who are consumers of the products we make and services we offer — then is it sensible, indeed is it even ethical, for business to say: "our business is only business…" and then to bury their heads in the sand and debris of the rubble created by almost four weeks of unlawful and barbaric behaviour? Because, when labour flees and markets close and consumers stop buying, what future do our businesses have?

In my view, we have no alternative — if we are concerned for the future well–being of industry and trade in Gujarat — to pause for a moment’s reflection on the causes and consequences of the events of the last four weeks.

It will be a sad mistake, I believe, for us to indulge in wishful thinking that riots and civil commotion are just a part of our life, they come and go like the occasional hurricane off the coast of Florida, that the damage will be repaired, (courtesy government grants and Insurance claims), and soon we’ll be back to "business as usual." Because, what we are experiencing in Gujarat are not mere riots; nor will all the damage be repaired; nor will business bounce back. Gujarat has been wounded deeply this time, it is still bleeding, and as we shall see, the seeds are being sown for still worse to come.

Who does Gujarat belong to?

Your famous poet and social historian Narmadashankar Lalshankar (who died in 1886) is remembered for his great poem "Jay Jay Garvi Gujarat", in which he celebrated all those cultural icons which provided a sense of identity to all who lived in Gujarat. In asking "who does Gujarat belong to?" he listed all the castes, communities, religions, sects; then says, not just these, because Gujarat does not belong to any particular group; he continues, that Gujarat belongs to all those who speak Gujarati; and then, not satisfied, goes on to say that Gujarat also belongs to non–Hindus, the Parsis, Muslims and the non– ‘savarna’ communities. Narmad believed passionately that, around such a cultural imagination — truly secular in spirit — a sense of belonging could be forged for the Gujarati people.

Narmad followed a great Jain tradition of compassion and tolerance; and Gandhi followed Narmad, converting a whole nation to espouse the idea of ‘ahimsa’. So what has brought this great tradition, in this great state, to a point where a recent documentary title sums up the present situation: "Genocide in the land of Gandhi?"

It may be best, though distasteful, to confront certain facts directly. The more openly we speak about these, the more likely we are to be able to deal with them:

The horrific incident at Godhra was a crime against humanity and it is to be utterly condemned. Its culprits need to be found, tried and dealt with in the most severe way that our laws provide, including if necessary with the death penalty. In the words of Professor Bandukwala, "Whoever committed that crime was surely one of the worst enemies of the Muslims."
The civil disorder in Ahmedabad, as it escalated into a combination of looting, arson and attacks on people, quickly revealed one clear pattern: that the maximum number of atrocities were committed against Muslims and Dalits.
The vernacular press in Gujarat played a highly regrettable role in the run up to, and during, the disturbances. Many Muslim establishments bearing non-Muslim names, were specifically listed by these papers; and all of these were subsequently torched to cinders:
An amazing de–humanisation could be seen in the behaviour of those on the streets. Most were young in age — in their twenties or less. To hear 12 and 15–year–old boys screaming for rape and murder, reflects a brutalisation that is difficult to comprehend in a land that was the breeding ground of ‘ahimsa’. A new and disturbing trend is now to hear women also expressing themselves in support of brutal retribution.
As the genocide spread from Ahmedabad to other cities and the countryside, a systematic attempt could be seen to target and destroy the economic base of the Muslim community.

A Riot… or Genocide?

Let us reflect on two dimensions of this tragedy. First, the specific targeting of the Muslim sectors of employment and commerce does not hurt Muslims alone. It requires no great intelligence to understand that they are a part of the larger economic chain in the Gujarat economy. So attacking Muslim traders, shops, establishments, factories — deals a blow to the economy of Gujarat, and hurts the larger community as well.

Second, the notion that a ‘kriya’ (action) gives rise naturally to a ‘pratikriya’ (reaction) needs to be firmly dismissed as being both fallacious and dangerous. We’ve heard this time and again in the history of mankind, as a justification for violent and aggressive behaviour. Again, to hear this from a leader in the land of Mahatma Gandhi leads one to wonder how a non–violent doctrine which once united the whole of India, has degenerated so rapidly into an alibi for not being able to — or not being willing to — maintain law and order.

Likewise, leaders of the Shiv Sena in Bombay, when threatened with a suit for damages by the owners of a fine private hospital in Thane that was recently set on fire by Sena activists, (because their leader died in that hospital after sustaining injuries in a car crash) pleaded that the rioters be excused, because they were "naturally" emotionally upset by the death of their leader.

If it was your charitable trust that had set up and was running this fine hospital and now it had to be shut down because it was destroyed beyond repairs, how valid would you find this argument?

Consider the arithmetic of the situation:

Fifty–six ‘kar sevaks’ are killed (let it be repeated) in an utterly condemnable atrocity.
As a ‘natural’ reaction, somewhere between 600 innocents, that too in another city, are killed; and then hundreds more are burnt or butchered in the other towns and villages in Gujarat.
So, if the government does nothing to swiftly punish the perpetrators of Godhra, Ahmedabad and the killings elsewhere, they, and we the public that elects our governments, have accepted (or condoned) the principle that, 18 innocent lives are fair retribution for each kar–sevak killed.
What if this chain of reasoning is carried one step further? For the thousand people now dead, would it be a "natural" emotional counter–reaction, in the ratio of 18:1, for 18,000 more innocents to be slaughtered? You cannot fault the logic, or the arithmetic?
Therefore, the citizens of this state — and particularly we businessmen — must do everything we can to refute this utterly dangerous proposition, that an act of violence can lead naturally to a counter–action of violence. It is nothing but a self–serving political argument, which if given greater currency, will surely wreak terrible damage on the economy of Gujarat and of India.

Who Loses?

Earlier, I had said that we can no longer contemplate the recent events as a passing storm and expect that soon it should be business as usual.

In today’s economy, it can no longer be so.

Workers can vote with their feet. Much good labour may desert the State, adding to poverty and unemployment in Gujarat and other states.
The poorest, daily–rated worker always suffers the most in a riot. There are more Hindu daily rated workers than Muslims in most of our cities, so the majority community — at the lowest level of subsistence — is also dealt an economic blow.
For every one person killed in riots, a dozen more may lose their breadwinner and hundreds more become homeless. What do we gain by impoverishing our consumers?
Economies need stability and confidence in their future to attract investment. The flight of capital from this State cannot be counted at this moment; but in a while, it will be evident. It is safe to predict that hundreds of crores of investment will be turned away over the next few years, if normalcy doesn’t return NOW. Is this a price that the citizens of this State should pay in the long run, so that a few leaders may have the temporary satisfaction of "teaching some people a lesson."
Finally, (staying only with the economic arguments) Indian business and industry, for ten years, have never lost an opportunity to berate the government at the Centre for not doing enough to help Indian industry become globally competitive. Yet, what happened in Gujarat, without industry (except for CII) raising its voice, will directly result in Gujarat becoming less competitive in future.

Its access to a good workforce, experienced managers and Indian and foreign investment is already being undermined. We know that already British Gas (due to invest $500 m in the State) the foreign strategic partners of Maroli Port, McDonalds, Samsung, LG, and a host of others are openly discussing a review of their investments in Gujarat.

Are We A Secular State?

Thanks to much confusion in the way we use English, we seem to have lost our understanding over the last 50 years of the correct meaning of the word ‘secular’. (It is interesting that there is no equivalent word for ‘secular’ in Indian languages!) The English word has always been used in contra–distinction to the word ‘religious’. While a purist definition would actually imply ‘anti–religious’, the generally accepted meaning the world over, is that a secular state is one where the State remains indifferent to, and neutral between, the religious beliefs and practices of its citizens. In short, the separation of Religion from the State.

The Constituent Assembly debates on the subject were heated, with many attempts to propose the concept of equal support for all religions, an idea contained in the phrase ‘sarva dharma samabhava’ — a phrase now so misused and confounding in its practical application, that it ought to be given a holiday. This should stop our political leaders from rushing around the country, at your and my expense, worshipping at shrines of whichever religions are politically expedient for them.

Dr. Rasheeduddin Khan, former Director of the Indian Institute of Federal Studies, has often being quoted on his well-accepted definition of secularism:

"… the secular character of the State is exhibited when it remains distant from, and distinct from, religion–dominated politics. In pursuit of State activities, it should show a respectful indifference to religion and keep a vigilant distance from political communalism.

"… the State in India is not a federation of religions; nor an aggregation of religious communities. It is an association of citizens – free and equal – irrespective of caste, colour, sex, language, region or status. A modern State is based on a Constitution… therefore a secular State should act as a secular State, no less and no more."

In short, a society is secular when any individual can go about his business confident that no one will harm him on the basis of his religion. Religion belongs to the home, the family, the temple or church or mosque — but not in public life.

Why have we found it so difficult to operate secular forms of governance in India? Let us state some more unpalatable truths.

Pre–modern India was very communal. If it was a Hindu State, there was no equality before the law, no equality of citizenship. It depended on your caste; even punishment depended on your caste. If it was a Muslim State, all others were second–class citizens. It is only in modern India that some concept of equality before the law is surfacing.

Yet, in the 1970s, Indira Gandhi brazenly undermined this spirit by building her vote–bank of Kshatriyas, Harijans, Adivasis and Muslims, known as KHAM. Even now, when a major political leader in Bihar aggressively attempts to unite Yadavs and Muslims, we don’t bat an eyelid. With over 35% of Gujarat’s population consisting of Patels, Banias and Brahmins, is it surprising that caste politics is still in full play?

If we are failing as a secular State, it is because equality before the law is not being practised. Unless we try to remove caste and religion from public life, secularism is going to be very difficult to uphold.

Can We Teach Minorities A Lesson?

Consider another set of numbers.

The population of Muslims in India is approximately 120 million. If they were a nation on their own, with a population of that size they would be ranked the 9th largest nation in the world! Does it make sense to threaten a war against such a large community in our midst, with slogans such as "go to Pakistan – or the Kabrastan?"

The moment people begin to believe such slogans, seeds of deep insecurity will be sown in a vast population dispersed across every part of our country, cities and villages. Should such a community turn hostile, then in today’s world of advanced weaponry and suicide bombers, it is not difficult to envisage the majority community being subject to immense threat and risk, that may endure for generations.

Omkar Goswami, CII’s chief economist, in a recent article, quoted a few lines from a poem (‘Remorse for Intemperate Speech’) by YB Yeats:

"Out of Ireland we have come.

Great hatred, little room

Maimed us at the start

I carry in my mother’s womb

A fanatic heart."

The Sangh Parivar may derive satisfaction from pulling Muslim minorities down a peg or two; but the appalling consequences of their actions will be to breed a whole new generation of terrorists both in their own fold and among the communities of Muslim and Dalit victims. Imagine an "intifada" type situation permeating the cities of India, where will the Hindus then turn? Especially when all the international goodwill we have recently built up will vanish and we shall be regarded as not different from our neighbours across our northwestern borders.

Is it not, therefore, our duty as educated, secular and modern thinking Indians, to roundly condemn their hateful and suicidal slogans? Should we not be putting every pressure on government to clamp down sharply on the distribution of pamphlets spreading virulent nonsense about minorities?

Minority Rights… or Human Rights?

One lesson of history is worth remembering: that a society that turns against other minorities, soon ends up by turning on its own. Consider, too, that our nation is replete with minorities — not just Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis and others; but most strikingly, Hindus have the largest minorities of all! Indeed, who or what is the Hindu majority? What happened to Brahmin superiority in Tamil Nadu? What’s happening to upper castes as the lower castes form coalitions? Is the numerical superiority of Dalits in several states fully appreciated? Adivasis are now organising and striking back. Indeed going back a little in time, have we forgotten that over half the Mughal elite that ran the Mughal administration were Rajputs?

The issue for all of us in CII is not to sweep these embarrassing caste – political issues under the carpet; but to take a clear stand with governments that we do not believe in an India segmented by caste. We don’t make our soap, shoes, TVs, cycles and pharmaceuticals for this caste or that. And, we would wish to recruit our work force from all communities based on competence and productivity.

It’s high time we spoke up for industry and commerce and declared that we don’t believe in religious rights or minority rights, but only in human rights.

Business Can & Must Act

For these economic reasons alone – and without even touching on the more fundamental ethical, social and cultural issues — we have a duty to take an unequivocal, public position in advocating at least the following:

The government of the state — on its own or seeking whatever assistance if needs — must ensure the maintenance of law and order throughout the state, in an impartial and non–partisan manner.
Extraordinary efforts must be made, swiftly, to bring to book the culprits of Godhra; and to identify the key leaders of the riots and the genocide that ensued. Special courts or judicial procedures should be put in place to accomplish this.
If the government is tardy in its response, every support and assistance must be given to the Citizens’ Public Inquiry Commissions that may have to be set up, chaired by eminent retired judges, to carry out independent investigations and place their findings before the public. (This was done in Mumbai after the 1992/93 riots and only then did the true facts of what happened emerge, thus permitting charges to be framed against the culprits.)

If the government attempts to obstruct such efforts, we must publicly resist them. Once the opportunity to book culprits is lost, the seeds of new terrorism will be sown.

We should extend unqualified support to the rehabilitation programmes under formulation by CII’s Gujarat chapter; and those already being run by voluntary organisations; offering finance and human resources.
We should accord the highest priority, in the plans of CII, to build back business confidence and restore economic activity in the state.
CII should ask to become involved in planning projects relating to upgradation of services and infrastructure in the Walled City of Ahmedabad, where living conditions have remained conducive, over decades, to eruption of disturbances at regular intervals.
In the longer term, CII should endorse and lend support to the creation of Mohalla Committees (along the lines of those in Mumbai, Bhiwandi and Vadodara) to create more "Ram–Rahim tekdas."
CII should join the voices against politically motivated transfers by government, of upright and capable civil servants and police officers. CII has a vested interest in ensuring that administration remains in clean and competent hands.
If we don’t have the time to do voluntary work ourselves, can we enable our womenfolk — (behind every manager stands a great woman) — to spend time with voluntary organisations to pacify the disconsolate and render relief to the thousands of victims in relief camps?
Above all, we shall have to stop being a silent constituency and gather courage — as Deepak Parikh of HDFC did yesterday — to speak up for upholding the secular values in our Constitution.

We should condemn fundamentalist leaders of all religions. Bhindranwale never spoke for all Sikhs; neither the Imam Bukhari nor Shahabuddin speak for all Muslims; nor do Ashok Singhal or Uma Bharti speak for all Hindus.

Show the Way:

With tens of thousands of Muslims huddled in relief camps, and with government reluctant to reach out to them as they should, can we, as individuals, make any difference?

I’d like to close by quoting Professor Bandukwala, who barely escaped with his life from Vadodara while his house and library were gutted by the mobs. In a recent talk at Bombay, full of compassion and wisdom, he recalled a fable of Tagore, about a man on the shore watching the sun set over the sea.

The sun proclaimed "Now, darkness will descend, and you will be lost." The humble man, who was with his family and friends lit a small candle and said, "this is no sun, but it will give us light enough to find our way."

Thank you.

(We have reproduced above the full text of his address at the CII Gujarat Annual Day, Ahmedabad, 30 March 2002)

Archived from Communalism Combat, July 2002 Year 8 No. 79, Forum

Jackals of war

June 30, 2002

While ostensibly promoting peace in the subcontinent, the US and the UK

are making billion–dollar arms deals on the side

As tensions between In dia and Pakistan began building late last year, high level delegations from the US and Britain flew in and out of New Delhi and Karachi, lobbying for peace. It turns out that is not all they were lobbying for. With the scent of blood in the air, the arms jackals have poured into South Asia, sometimes in the suits of leading government officials.

When British Prime Minister Tony Blair visited India in January, ostensibly it was to calm troubled waters. But according to Indian defense minister George Fernandes, Blair was also pushing a $1.43 billion deal for India to purchase 66 Hawk fighter–bombers, made by Britain’s BAE Systems.

The Hawk deal — temporarily on hold while the parties haggle over the price tag — is part of a drive by British arms manufacturers to make a killing from the crisis. London is also selling the Indians Jaguar bombers capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as tanks, artillery, anti–aircraft guns, small arms and ammunition.

The British are not alone in this seamy business. In February, Gen. Richard Myers, chair of the US joint chiefs of staff, went to New Delhi to officially remove the US ban on arms sales to India imposed in 1998, following the latter’s nuclear weapons tests. Shortly thereafter, the US arms maker Raytheon closed a $146 million deal to sell the Indians counter-artillery radar. The US has approved 20 other defense agreements, including submarine combat systems, helicopter spare parts, and a contract for General Electric to build engines for India’s multi–million dollar Light Combat Aircraft project.

"We are still at the dating stage," says Bad Botwin, director of strategic analysis for the US department of commerce, "but we like what we see."

US technology is also slipping through the backdoor via arms agreements between Israel and India. New Delhi is buying the $1 billion Phalcon airborne radar, which is based on the US AWAC system, and is negotiating to buy the Arrow anti–missile system jointly developed by the US and Israel. Boeing makes 52 percent of the Arrow’s components. "India realises it needs to be as close to the US and Israeli technology as possible if it is to modernise its armed forces," Indian defense analyst PR Chari told the Financial Times.

Buyer and seller are roughly matched in scale. India is one of the biggest arms markets in the world, with an annual budget of $14 billion. The US is the world’s number one arms dealer with $18.6 billion in arms sales last year.

But is pouring massive amounts of sophisticated arms into what is undeniably the most dangerous flashpoint on the globe a good idea? It has certainly scared the Pakistanis. "We are alarmed by India’s relentless pursuit and acquisition of defense equipment that is far beyond India’s genuine needs," said Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman, Aziz Ahmed Khan.

With 35 percent of its budget already devoted to the military, Pakistan is certainly in no position to match the Indian arms buying spree. But as Pakistan falls further and further behind in the conventional sphere, the Pakistanis have made it clear that they will counterbalance that weakness with nuclear weapons.

India has rationalised its military build-up as part of a "war on terrorism," and has successfully hung a "Muslim extremist" label on Pakistan. But people should keep in mind that the present Indian government has an extremist streak of its own. In the recent inter–communal riots that saw more than 1,000 people killed, the ruling BJP Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee blamed the violence on Muslims, who he claimed "do not want to live with others." Narendra Modi, local BJP leader in Gujarat, epicentre for the riots, said the anger of Hindus was "understandable."

The BJP is closely tied to the RSS, a shadowy Hindu extremist group associated with the assassination of India’s founder, Mahatma Gandhi. The RSS runs more than 20,000 private schools in India to pursue its goal of "Hindutva" or creating an all-Hindu society. The RSS, and its close ally, the World Hindu Council, led the inter-communal riots that destroyed the Babri mosque at Ayodhya in 1992 and led to tens of thousands of deaths across India, the vast bulk of them Muslims. The present home minister (now also dy. prime minister), LK Advani, led the movement to destroy the mosque and build a temple to Hindu god Ram in its place.

In short, this is not as simple as "civilised good guys" vs. "terrorist bad guys."

The solution to reducing tensions in South Asia is not more weapons, but a serious international effort to resolve the 55–year–old standoff between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. Reducing that complex business to black and white "end terrorism" formulas, and feeding an arms race on the sub–continent, could end up getting an awful lot of people killed.

(Courtesy: San Francisco Examiner, June 28,2002)

Archived from Communalism Combat, July 2002 Year 8 No. 79, Special Report

Male order

June 30, 2002

Liberal Muslims, men and women, must condemn the male chauvinism of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board

There are at least two good reasons why liberal Muslims, men and women, must demand that the All India Muslim Personal Law Board can retain the acronym, AIMPLB, but change its name to All India Male Privileging Laws Board. Firstly, it should be evident to any one with even a little knowledge of Islam that while pretending to defend the Shariah, or the Islamic way of life, all that this assorted body of Muslim clerics actually does is to protect the privileges of Muslim males.

One has only to do a quick comparison with laws governing family relations — marriage, polygamy, divorce, maintenance and custody — prevailing in most Muslim majority countries, including those that call themselves Islamic to realise how shockingly anti–women India’s Muslim personal laws are. (That the separate personal laws for all religious communities in India discriminate against women does not concern us here.)

Secondly, just as the Hindutva–inspired Dharam Sansad gives a bad name to the very religion it claims to represent, the AIMPLB gives Muslims and Islam a bad name. It publicly proclaims and defends social practices that millions and millions of Indian Muslims would find too abhorrent to even contemplate.

Take, for example, the decision of the AIMPLB at its recent conclave in Hyderabad to challenge the Child Marriages Restraint Act, 1929, which stipulates 18 years as being the minimum marriageable age for a girl. The moulvis say that the Shariah says marriage is permitted the moment a girl or a boy attains puberty. So they now propose taking a case before the Supreme Court of India to argue that Indian Muslims be kept out of the purview of the law against child marriages!

(It is the same worthies, remember, who in the ’80s had raised a nationwide storm forcing the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to bring in a new legislation putting Muslims out of the purview of section 295 of the Criminal Procedure Code — Shah Bano case).

To appreciate what this demand amounts to in practice, please note that for a variety of reasons, in recent decades the age at which girls attain puberty has been going down. So it is no longer unusual for a girl to start menstruating when she is barely 10 or 11. Now imagine a situation where, heaven forbid, the Supreme Court or some future government concedes the outrageous demand of the male privileges board. The moment this happens, an aged Muslim male would be at perfect liberty to marry a girl child since there is nothing either in the secular laws of India or the shariah that puts a ceiling on the age gap between a man and a woman (or girl) of marriageable age.

So what happens if a 70–year–old Muslim husband gains the ‘blissful’ company of an 11–year–old wife? In the best possible scenario, as in the case of the repugnant practice of instant talaaq, moulvi sahebs compelled to condemn it as "socially repugnant" will nonetheless have to defend it as "theologically unexceptionable." But the rest of the modern world has a different word with which to describe such a relationship — paedophilia!

The wise men from the All India Male Privileging Laws Board may not know or couldn’t care less that paedophilia is today considered one of the worst forms of child abuse and there is a growing worldwide movement against this obnoxious practice. Campaigns have been launched against paedophiles from the West who are shamefully exploiting the poverty in developing countries to satisfy their sexual lust, the hapless child’s welfare be damned. But once the ‘Islamic paradise’ the Indian mullahs dream of prevails in India, western paedophiles need only fly to India convert to Islam and, hey presto, acquire a 10–year–old wife!

My God–fearing sister Nikhat, a housewife, expresses outrage when I ask her what she thinks of the ulema’s latest agenda. Irfan Khan (24) lives in Malavni, a large colony of mostly lower middle–class Muslims in Malad in Mumbai. He cannot think of a single Muslim marriage he has attended over the years where the girl getting married was a minor.

"These moulvis are mad. Who listens to them in any case?" says Irfan. Well, Varsha Bhosle, does. To this saffro sister, who obviously has serious problems with Islam and with Muslims, the Hyderabad conclave served up a delicious headline for her weekly column in rediff.com on a platter: ‘Paedophilia and the Muslim Board’.

For the last 10 years, the maulanas on the Board have doggedly stonewalled an elementary demand from Muslim women: their endorsement of a model nikaahnama that is entirely within Islamic principles and which, if popularised, could give a lot of succour to Muslim women. Amongst other things, it would put a check on the obnoxious instant talaaq practice.

It is time Muslim men and women realised that the AIMPLB, which hides behind the shariah, is a bastion of male privileges. To expect deliverance from these misogynists who have nothing but chadar and chardiwari to offer Muslim women (the Hyderabad meet also proclaimed purdah to be part of a Muslim woman’s ‘Islamic’ identity) is naivete to say the least. To go no further than the experiences of the past 15 years, it is clear that the courts of secular India remain the only forum from which Muslim women can expect some justice.

Archived from Communalism Combat, July 2002, Year 8 No. 79, Comment

Human face

June 30, 2002

An army regiment stationed in the Valley takes a group of young Kashmiri girls and boys on a Bharat Darshan

This is a story to prove, if such proof is necessary, that our gallant men in uniform facing untold hardships in J&K against a faceless, professional, armed and highly motivated foe have a very human side as well. It happened in Mumbai recently, was generally ignored by our media and so passed unnoticed.

The battalion concerned, now serving in the Uri sector, belongs to the Maratha Light Infantry, one of the oldest regiments of the Indian Army, raised in Bombay Fort in 1768. Its jawans were/are drawn from the erstwhile Bombay Presidency and now from the state of Maharashtra. By a quirk of fate there have always been two battalions of this regiment located in this extremely sensitive sector of the Valley. This writer had the experience of serving in this very sector in 1948 with the then J&K militia (95 per cent Kashmiri Muslims), and again in 1969–72 (he was the commanding general in the Valley during the 1971 War). Post retirement, he has visited the area on four occasions. As a result, most of the villages in and around Uri are etched firmly in his mind.

Understandably, he was pleasantly surprised to learn that a group of 30 Kashmiri Muslim children from Uri, boys and girls, between the ages of 6 and 16, were visiting Mumbai and would this old Kashmir hand make it convenient to meet with them? The visit was being sponsored by the battalion of his very own regiment located in the Uri sector duly supported by the formation he once commanded, the ‘Dagger’ Division.

Arrangements had been made for the group to visit Delhi, the Taj at Agra, Mumbai and Pune. The group was to be accompanied by Mohd Hussain, an elderly teacher from the area and Asai Begum, a very youthful and attractive young lady teacher from Lagamma village en route to Uri, major R Chowdhury whose wife joined him en route, a subedar and three jawans from the sponsoring battalion. Each child was provided with a very attractive tracksuit sporting the unit’s crest of the hunting horn, and baseball caps with the divisional sign of the Dagger.

The regimental network worked throughout providing transport, accommodation, and food. In Mumbai, for instance, there is no unit from the regiment located here, but Lt Col Balwan Singh who belongs to the same battalion happens to be posted in the local HQ in Mumbai. And it was through his initiative that the very excellent arrangements were made for the Mumbai and Pune legs of the10-day tour, exclusive of travel time.

While in Mumbai, the group was able to tour South Mumbai, see a ‘real’ submarine, visit the aircraft carrier INS Viraat, spend a delightful afternoon at Essel World and, the high point of the Mumbai visit, to meet and interact with our Bollywood film star, Hrithik Roshan. For the Pune leg, the group, inter alia, visited the National Defence Academy, the Bombay Engineering Group at Khadki and the Snake Park.

I met the group at the small office of the Leslie Sawhney Programme in Army and Navy Building. In they trooped, looking very smart in their tracksuits. They were all beaming as they gathered in the tightly packed office. They were introduced to Ms Sheila Masani who, fortunately was present in the office, Mr SV Raju of Freedom First and Mr Arvind Deshpande of the programme. The staff of the office and curious onlookers were thrilled to meet this group.

After welcoming them, ‘Chacha General’ recalled his days in Uri and rattled off names of some of the villages that he still remembered — like Lagamma, Chandanwari, Mandir Buniyar, Silicot, Chamkot, Kamalkot among others — much to the joy of these young people who were happy to know that their villages were remembered by this Old General, in downtown Mumbai.

Mohd Hussain, the venerable teacher, recalled that he too knew Rajah Muzaffar, the MLA from Chandanwari. Asai Begum was asked whether ‘akroot giri’ (walnut kernels) were still sold in the small Lagamma wayside bazaar. Yes, was her response. Had the Bailey Bridge launched not too long ago across the Jhelum by our engineers made a difference to their lives? Certainly, they responded, as it cut short a 10–mile walk along the north bank from their villages across the Jhelum to Uri and Baramulla.

Even their produce of the succulent ‘bagooghoshas’ (Bartlett pears) and walnut kernels could now get to Baramulla and beyond in a better condition. And what about the Markhor (Ovis Ammon) and Baloo (Himalayan Brown Bear)? Were they still found on the Chotta Kazinag Range? Yes, was the response.

And how did they like Mumbai? Many of them had never seen the sea before; in fact very few of them had even been beyond Baramulla. They expressed their joy at being able to see a ‘live’ submarine and visit the aircraft carrier INS Viraat. And what about Essel World? Oh, they had such fun there, never having experienced anything like it in the Valley.

And what was their most memorable experience of Mumbai? They were struck at its size, the thousands of people going about their business without a care in the world, the friendly smiles that they received, and the total absence of any tension. They enjoyed their visit to Haji Ali and realised how secular India is. But the high point was their interaction with their favourite actor Hrithik Roshan, as never ever did they think that they would meet India’s heart–throb in person.

I asked some of the older boys whether they would like to join the armed forces of India and the response was a loud affirmative. I advised them to have a careful look when they visited the NDA in Pune.

And would they like to ask me any questions? The spokesperson was a lively young girl, very confident, who said yes she did. "Uncle, why don’t you come and live in Kashmir?" asked this vivacious girl. This is perhaps the most effective rebuttal of the allegations of the armed forces being human rights violators.

I mentioned this incident to Dr Farooq Abdullah during his recent visit to Mumbai and he was immensely pleased to hear about it. There were repeated requests for a group photograph to be taken in which the staff of the office insisted that it be included.

While bidding farewell to Mrs Masani, they expressed a desire to see the famous Hindi movie Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham. Unfortunately, there was not enough time in Mumbai to do so. But this did not deter Mrs Masani from calling up a contact in Pune and arranging complimentary passes for the whole party. She insisted that though they had left the building, a message was sent across to Pune that the mission had been accomplished and please would they collect the tickets from the designated individual.

Later reports confirmed that they were able to see the film, a fitting finale to this memorable tour. The feedback from Uri is that they are now looking forward to the promised visit of Chacha General to his old haunts in the Valley. Hopefully, this promise will be executed when the weather improves.

To conclude this tale two points need to be stressed. The first is, would the parents of these 30 children, especially their daughters, have permitted them to undertake such a yatra all the way to Pune and back under the arrangements of this "hated" Indian Army?

And with war clouds looming dark in the Kashmir skies, of parting with their children? Most unlikely.

The local impression that this visit made can best be judged from a telephone call received from a simple peon of the Leslie Sawhney Programme who enquired when could he expect to receive a copy of the group photograph taken with the children. Need more be said?

The moral of this tale is clear. Whereas there is bound to be the odd rotten banana in a bunch, jawans of our armed forces have a very human side to their character. Full marks to those units and formations of our armed forces in J&K for sponsoring such visits of impressionable minds without gaining any brownie points for doing so. May this good work continue.

The commonly held view for which our ‘security forces’ are constantly sniped at is that they are violators of human rights in J&K. It is unfortunate that this generic term willy- nilly includes the regular army deployed in that state since October 1947. These sanctimonious ‘snipers’ seem to forget the frustrations our troops are subjected to in the thankless and frustrating task of dealing with terrorists. In the bargain, many innocent Muslim, Hindu and Sikh lives are lost for which, invariably, the security forces are blamed.

Archived from Communalism Combat, July 2002 Year 8 No. 79, Breaking Barriers

Target: Bangla minorities

June 30, 2002

Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh were the target of widespread violence before during and after the general elections in October last year, in the Bangla Nationalist Party and Jamaat–e–Islami led alliance’s successful bid to grab power. Perceived as supporters of the ‘pro–minority’ Awami League, a large number of Bangla Hindus were killed, women raped and their property looted or destroyed, leading to their distress migration to India. Independent human rights groups, women’s organisations, other civil society actors and much of the press did a commendable job in highlighting atrocities against the country’s minorities. But the chief beneficiary of minority votes, the Awami League, was content to shed crocodile tears only after the orgy of loot, killing and rape was over. (See CC, December 2001, cover story).

A fresh round of violence in recent months indicates that the minorities of Bangladesh are being targeted with a vengeance yet again. In early April, a report in the Far Eastern Economic Review described the country under the new political dispensation as a "cocoon of terror." As was only to be expected, the Review report was accused of being ‘biased’ and ‘prejudiced.’ But within days of the ban on the April 4, 2002 issue of the magazine, a Buddhist monk and a Hindu priest were killed in their monastery at Hingala (Raozan PS, Chittagong district) and a temple at Manikchhari (Khagrachari district) respectively. Yet another Buddhist monk, also in the Raozan area survived only because locals came to his rescue.

Following a field investigation and interviews with victims, Rabindra Ghosh, an advocate and the Dhaka-based country co–ordinator of the global organisation Human Rights Congress of Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) reported gang rape of Hindu women and torture of men in Palagram village in Chittagong district in separate incidents on May 8 and May 14. In the assault on the night of May 14 by an armed group whom the victims described as "Islamic terrorists". "After they raped the women of the household (Hore family), miscreants threatened to slaughter the head of the household if all the belongings are not given. About 40,000 Taka worth jewellery and cash were stored in a steel Almery which was pushed upon Mr. Hore (72) until he agreed to hand over the belongings to the miscreants," says Ghosh’s report (www.hrcbm.org).

In an earlier incident on May 8 in the same village, an armed group of about 25–30 miscreants mercilessly thrashed Shri Pradiwpananda Brahmachari, principal of the local ashram, some of the miscreants gang–raped two young girls (aged 12 and 16) of the local Dey family and severely beat up their mother. "I asked them why they did not report this to local police, they flatly told me if they have done so justice will not be attained, miscreants will never be arrested instead, they will be subject to more torture and perhaps brutal slaughtering," Ghosh reported. The report also said that in what appears to be a new trend, several orphanages being run by and for members from the minority communities are being targeted.

Following a second field investigation and video–taped interviews with victims and police officials in Satkhira district on June 21 and 22, Ghosh has documented serious incidents of persecution of Hindu families. In one of these incidents, a local MP from the ruling BNP party, Md. Habibur Islam Habib is charged with terrorising a Chatterjee family in a brazen attempt to force her to leave the country and grab the substantial land they own. In the second incident at village Fatepur, about 14 kms from Satkhira town, Muslem Ali Gazi, a local Jamaat–e–Islami leader is accused of torturing a local Sadar family. "The mother and son of the Sadar family were unclothed and dragged out of their house tied up with rope and beaten up on the way to the torture cell of the accused Jamaat–e–Islami leader".

And on July 1, the HRCBM website sent out an action alert, stating that Ghosh, an advocate at the apex court, was abused and attacked by some pro–BNP advocates "with the help of some terrorists" inside the Supreme Court’s Bar Association Hall at Dhaka while a meeting was in progress. The video–tapes and other documentary evidence collected by him during the Satkhira investigation were also snatched away from him.

Meanwhile, newspapers have reported that fanatics from the border township of Haluaghat have been inciting Muslims over the public address system to kill local Christians to avenge the massacre of Palestinians in Israel.At a meeting of the Aid Bangladesh Consortium in March, the donor countries had warned that they would be forced to suspend aid to the country unless the rapidly deteriorating law and order situation is brought under control. But the continuing targeting of Hindus, Christians and Buddhists in different parts of the country since then leave little room for optimism.

Archived from Communalism Combat, July 2002 Year 8 No. 79, Neighbours 1

To Abba, with love…

June 30, 2002

On May 10, Kaifi Azmi, poet, activist, lyricist, communist, breathed his last. For a fitting tribute to this ‘last pillar’ of Urdu poetry, ‘the last among the revolutionary poets’, we could think of none better than his daughter who has never needed to look further than Abba’s soul–stirring nazms, ‘Makaan’, ‘Aurat’ and ‘Bahroopni’ to inspire her struggles for the urban poor, gender justice and communal amity

He was always different, a fact that didn’t sit too easily on my young shoulders. He didn’t go to ‘office’ or wear the normal trousers and shirt like other ‘respectable’ fathers but chose to wear a white cotton kurta–pyjama 24 hours of the day. He did not speak English and worse still, I didn’t call him ‘Daddy’ like other children, but some strange sounding ‘Abba’! I learned very quickly to avoid referring to him in front of my school friends and lied that he did some vague ‘business’! Imagine letting my school friends know that he was a poet. What on earth did that mean — a euphemism for someone who did no work?

Being my parent’s child was for me, unconventional in every way. My school required that both parents speak English. Since neither Abba nor mummy did, I faked my entry into school. Sultana Jafri, Ali Sardar Jafri’s wife, pretended to be my mother and Munish Narayan Saxena, a friend of Abba’s, pretended to be my father.

Once in the 10th Std, my vice principal called me and said that she’d heard my father at a recent mushaira and he looked quite different from the gentleman who had come in the morning for Parents’ Day! Understandably I went completely blue in the face and said: "Oh, he’s been suffering from typhoid and has lost a lot of weight, you know… and made up some sort of story to save my skin!

It was no longer possible to keep Abba in the closet. He had started writing lyrics for films and one day a friend of mine said that her father had read my father’s name in the newspaper. That did it! I owned him up at once! Of all the 40 children in my class, only my father’s name had appeared in the newspaper! I perceived his being "different" as a virtue for the first time. I need no longer feel apologetic about his wearing a kurta–pyjama!

In fact, I even brought out the black doll he had bought me. I didn’t want it when he first gave it to me. I wanted a blonde doll with blue eyes, like all the others had in my class. But he explained, in that quiet gentle way of his, that black was beautiful, too, and I must learn to be proud of my doll. It didn’t make sense to my 7–year–old mind but I had accepted him as ‘weird’ in any case and so I quietly hid the doll.

Three years later, I pulled it out as proof that I was a ‘different’ daughter of a ‘different’ father! In fact, I now displayed it with such new found confidence that instead of being sniggered at by my classmates, I became an object of envy! That was the first lesson he taught me, of turning what is perceived as a disadvantage into a scoring point.

The atmosphere at home was completely bohemian. Till I was 9–years–old we lived at Red Flat Hall of the communist party. Each comrade’s family had just one room; the bathroom and lavatory were common. Being party members had re–defined the husband–wife relationship of the whole group. Most wives were working and it became the responsibility of whichever parent was at home, to look after the child. My mother was touring quite a lot with Prithvi Theatres and in her absence Abba would feed, bath and look after both my brother Baba and me, as a matter of course.

In the beginning mummy had to take up a job because all the money Abba earned was handed over to the communist party. He was allowed to keep only Rs. 40 per month which was hardly enough for a family of four. But later when we were monetarily better off and had moved to Janki Kutir, mummy continued to work, in the theatre because she loved being an actress.

Once, she was to participate in the Maharashtra State Competition in the title role of ‘Puglee’. She was completely consumed by the part and would suddenly, without warning, launch into her lines in front of the dhobhi, cook etc. I was convinced she’d gone mad and started weeping with fright. Abba dropped his work and took me for a long walk on the beach. He explained that mummy had very little time to rehearse her part and that as family it was our duty to make it possible for her to rehearse her lines as many times as she needed to or else she wouldn’t win the competition — all this to a 9 year old child. It made me feel very adult and very included. To this day, whenever my mother is acting in a new play or new film, my father sits up with her and rehearses her cues.

She participates in his life equally; at a price of course! She fell in love with him because he was a poet. However, she learned soon enough that a poet is essentially a man of the people and she would have to share him with his countless admirers (a large number of them female!) and friends. When I was about 9–years–old, I remember an evening at a big industrialist’s home. His wife, a typical socialite, announced in a rather flirtatious manner, "Kaifi Saheb my usual farmaish — the Do Nigahon Ka something, something – you know folks, Kaifi Saheb has written this ‘nazm’ in praise of me"… And Abba, without batting an eyelid, started reciting this poem which was in fact written for my mother.

I got completely hysterical and started screaming that the poem was written for my mother and not for this stupid woman. A deathly silence prevailed and my mother said, "Hush child, hush." She took me into a corner and said that I wasn’t to take such things to heart – after all ‘Abba’ was a poet and such were his ways; he didn’t seriously mean that the poem was written for this lady etc. I would hear nothing of it. Needless to say, that was a poem Kaifi Azmi could never use again and that woman still hates me!

Amongst his female friends Begum Akhtar was my favourite. She would sometimes stay with us as a houseguest. In fact Josh Malihabadi, Firaq Gorakhpuri and Faiz Ahmed Faiz would stay with us, too, despite there being no separate guest room, not even an attached bathroom. Luxury was never the central concern of these artists; they preferred the warmth of our tiny home to the 5–star comforts available to them.

I was fascinated by these mehfils at home. I would sit up in rapt attention, not even half understanding what they recited, but excited nevertheless. Their beautiful words fell like music on my young ears. I found the atmosphere fascinating — the steady flow of conversation, the tinkering of glasses, the smoke-filled room. I was never rushed off to bed; in fact I was encouraged to hang around, provided I took the responsibility for getting up in time for school the next day. It made me feel very grown up and included.

Soon I started attending mushairas — Sahir Ludhianvi was popular, Ali Sardar Jafri greatly respected, but Kaifi Azmi had a different magic. He was always amongst the last to recite — his deeply resonant voice pulsating with vigour, drama and power. Baba and I used to be fast asleep on the stage, behind the gao–takiyas and would invariably wake up to the thunderous applause that resonated each time his name was announced.

I never saw him either surprised or flattered by the applause. In fact, to my mother’s despair, he would never come home and tell her how the mushaira went. A non–committal ‘theek tha’ was all she could extract from him. Years later when I was about eighteen, I remember prodding him to tell me which ‘nazm’ he had recited and what the audience response was like. My mother said briefly, "Don’t even try, he’s not going to tell you. Over the years I have trained myself to bury my curiosity in a newspaper when Kaifi comes back from a mushaira."

I would have none of that — I sat across Abba’s chest and tickled him pink till he said, "Only small people indulge in self-praise; the day I do badly, rest assured I’ll come and tell you."

He has never treated his work as special. Even when he came back from a song recording, he never brought the cassette back home. A far cry from young lyricists today, who subject all their guests to their latest song, goading them to say, ‘wah-wah’! He never actually puts pen to paper till the night of the deadline. Then there is a furious cleaning of drawers, numerous letters that get replied to, a number of inconsequential things that get attended to. I’m sure the creative process is occurring simultaneous to the radio blaring, children laughing, children’s friends over, ‘taash’ going on in the house.

The family is never expected to hush up because he is writing — in fact the door of his study is always open so he can keep in touch with the outside world as well. I once changed the position of his desk away from the door because I felt he needed greater privacy. Mummy protested he would hate it. Came evening time and predictably Abba had made her change it back to the original position.

He writes only with a Mont Blanc pen and has a huge collection of them. Every now and again, he takes them all out, looks at them lovingly and then puts them back under lock and key. When a friend of mine presented me one, Abba pinched it although he possessed three identical ones and wrote my friend a ‘cute’ letter giving reasons why the pen was safer with him than with me!

He is very fond of good food and cannot eat a meal without ‘gosht’. He’s hugely ‘superior’ about being a UPite and will not condescend to eat Hyderabadi food, even though mummy has tried to cajole him over the 52 years they’ve been married! Each time we eat khatti dal, a separate arhar ki dal is cooked for him. And woe betide the person who unmindfully picks up the khatti dal ka spoon to serve him his arhar ki dal!

There is much that he and Javed have in common — both have a strong sense of propriety, are extremely takkaluf-pasand and cannot brook mediocrity. Both are hugely political animals. I used to deliberately stay away from politics and pride myself on not reading the newspaper as a reaction against all the politics that were discussed constantly in the house. But when I got involved with Javed and heard him and Abba have their discussions, (I used to listen from a distance) I gradually started taking a deeper interest. In discovering Javed I was rediscovering Abba, getting in touch once again with Urdu poetry and passionate politics, realizing how deep into my father’s ways, my roots were.

When I opened my eyes to the world, the first colour I saw was red. My parents were living at the Red Flag Hall and a huge red flag used to greet visitors at the entrance. It was only later that I realized that red was the colour of the worker, of revolution. My childhood was spent travelling with my mother’s Prithvi Theatre on one hand, and mazdoor–kisan meetings in Madanpura with my father. There used to be red banners everywhere, a lot of naare-bazi and a lot of protest poetry. As a child I was only interested in these rallies because the mazdoors pampered me.

Imperceptibly however, my roots were catching soil. Today when I’m at a demonstration, participating in a padyatra or in a hunger strike, it is merely an extension of what I saw happening as a child. On the fourth day of my hunger strike years ago in Mumbai for the housing rights of slum dwellers, my blood pressure started falling and my mother was beside herself with fear. But Abba, who was in Patna, sent me a telegram saying, ‘Best of luck, comrade!’

Again, on the eve of leaving for a padyatra for communal harmony from Delhi to Meerut years ago, I went to say good–bye to the family. I was nervous and uncertain. I had been amply warned that it was very dangerous for an actress to be roaming the streets of UP — my clothes would be ripped off, stones would be thrown, etc. The whole family was reflecting the tension.

Mummy, Baba, his wife Tanvi and Javed were all hovering around me but not saying a word. I walked into Abba’s room and hugged him from behind. He pulled me up in front of him and said, "Arre, is my brave daughter getting scared? Go, nothing will happen to you." His eyes were completely fearless. It was as though a fresh burst of oxygen had been pumped into my blood–stream. Needless to add, the padyatra was a big success. It was yet another instance of my having relied on his judgement and passing the test with flying colours.

As a father, I have always taken Abba for granted, but as a poet I continue to be overwhelmed by his work. I cannot claim to know or even understand all his work but I find his poetry striking for its strong imagery, its sheer power and its broadness of vision. His most personal problem transcends itself in a much larger vision so that his struggle no longer remains his own, but becomes the struggle of all human beings. Whether its my work with slum dwellers or women or against communalism, there’s always a nazm of Abba’s to guide me, to inspire me to carry on the struggle. Thus ‘Makaan’, ‘Aurat’ and ‘Bahroopni’ have become the pillars on which rests my work.

He is one of the few who has practiced what he preaches. There is no dichotomy between word and action. I have grown up believing that merely good intentions are not enough — you have to translate them into action.

It is impossible to arrive at any understanding of Kaifi Azmi, unless you include his work for Mijwan, the tiny village in Azamgarh where he was born and has now decided to spend the rest of his life. Abba, who had left Mijwan in his teens, returned briefly to it when he married mummy and had his first child (a son who died at the age of one). Soon after partition his family migrated to Pakistan one by one and he felt his roots in Mijwan had been severed forever.

However, in 1973, upon partially recovering from his brain haemorrhage, his left side still severely damaged, he started chanting the name ‘Mijwan’ with such persistence that my mother was forced to take him there. It turned out to be an amazing trip for him. He realized that Mijwan was and would always remain the place where he belonged. The house he was born in was occupied by various distant cousins and it would have been unfair to throw them out (the communist theory of the tiller owning the land).

(The people of Mijwan will for long remember Kaifi Azmi for the total transformation that he brought into their life in a short span of 15-20 years. While there was nothing before, the village today has a pucca approach road, electricity and telephone connections, a school and a computer centre for girls and a junior college).

…and grief

(June 10, 2002 )

I look out of the window from Abba’s room. The sky is blue, the grass green, flowers in bloom. I turn back to look inside the room. Books lined neatly on the shelves. His spectacles, writing pad, Mont Blanc pen lie in wait for pen to be put to paper and new verse to flow… Everything is the way it was… but Abba is not there…

Anees Jung, in a letter of condolence to me writes, "I know what the loss of a parent means Shabana. I also know one never loses a parent. In a strange, mystical way they become closer in death, for their spirit no longer trapped in frail frame becomes all pervasive and surrounds us like the air we breathe." Comforting words no doubt but all I feel is insurmountable grief.

Abba was not only my father; he was my friend, my mentor, my guru. In the last few months of his illness, as he lay in the ICU with tubes down his stomach, throat and neck, he could not speak and yet we managed to communicate. He would raise his eyebrow, squeeze my hand, indicate with his eyes and I would understand. In the same way that I understand what our granddaughter Shakya wants, although she is not yet able to speak. Abba in any case was given to long silences. He spoke both through his words and through his silences…

He fell silent much before the tubes were physically put to him. The Gujarat carnage shattered him. I would watch him as he looked at television coverage, face frozen in pain. With tears streaming down my eyes I asked, "Don’t you feel frustrated and defeated as you see the mindless killings, the hateful revenge, man killing man in the name of religion?’’

He wiped my tears and said quietly, "When one is working for change, one should bring into that expectation the possibility that the change may not occur in one’s lifetime and yet one must carry on working towards it."

It was his faith, his belief in the innate goodness of man that kept him going through the darkest of times.

‘Pyar ka jashn nai tarah manana hoga/ Gam kisi dil mein sahi gam ko bhulana hoga’ (‘New ways must be found to celebrate love/Grief in whosever’s heart must be overcome).

In wiping the tears of the victims of the Gujarat carnage and thousands of others who have fallen prey to communal riots, in wiping the tears of slum dwellers constantly displaced by mindless government policies, in wiping the tears of all marginalised sections of society, particularly women, would I have also paid tribute to my father, a giant amongst men?

‘Koi to sood chukaye, koi to zimma le/Us inquilab ka jo aaj tak udhaar sa hai’ (‘If only some one would repay the loan, assume responsibility/for the revolution that until now appears like a debt’).

You envelope me like the air I breathe Abba. I promise to turn my personal loss into an armour like you have always done, and carry on with the work you left behind.

You are watching over us, aren’t you?

Archived from Communalism Combat, July 2002 Year 8 No. 79, Tribute

Gang-rape in Pakistan

June 30, 2002

Why the Meerwala Jatoi panchayat thought they would get away with it

Why did the members of the Meerwala Jatoi Panchayat (Council) pass their abominable decree that a young woman be raped in revenge for a crime allegedly committed by her younger brother — and what made them think they would get away with it? For this is what would have happened, had the news not made it to a local newspaper, from where it was picked up nationwide, and then worldwide, causing widespread outrage.

Firstly, the council of tribal elders which passed this ‘decree’ obviously felt secure in the knowledge that the government would take no action against it. Jirgas or panchayats (assembly of tribal elders) are allowed to operate not only in the tribal areas where they have some sort of legal sanction (and where the ‘sentences’ passed have included execution, flogging, burning down of houses, and fines), but also in settled areas where they obviously function outside the law. Even these jirgas have begun to pass sentences like public flogging, besides settling property disputes and other matters. Last July, a jirga in village Johke Sharif, district Thatta, pronounced that the sister of a minor boy who had accidentally shot dead his friend, should be given to the dead boy’s father. The fact that the girl was also a minor drew no attention from the government.

It is no coincidence that the rise of religious extremism over the last couple of decades (encouraged by successive governments for the sake of political expediency) has received the greatest support from the tribal areas. In many cases, the punishments awarded by tribal jirgas are assumed to also have religious sanction, even if they have nothing to do with Islam and are rooted in tribal traditions and customs.

Secondly, the Panchayat’s decree that the ‘punishment’ be carried out by four men resonates of the aberrations in the Pakistani law that were introduced by General Ziaul Haq in his attempts to ‘Islamise’ the country. The Zina laws (Hudood Ordinance) introduced in 1979 require the presence of four witnesses to the act of rape or adultery before the crime can be established. The confusion in people’s minds about what is allowed in Islam and what is not; has only been exacerbated by politicizing religion and the severity of these so–called Islamic laws.

The Zina laws obliterate the distinction between adultery and rape and criminalize a private offence, adultery (sexual relations between two consenting adults not married to each other), while making rape a matter for private complaint, in which the onus of proof lies on the victim.

Even the Federal Shariat Court has questioned the religious nature of the so–called Islamic punishments imposed on the penal system during Zia’s time. In 1981, the punishment of stoning to death was challenged as being un–Islamic, and was in fact removed. The decision was later reversed under political pressure. The demand to review these laws continues to be made, not just by civil society and rights groups.

The government-constituted, high powered Commission of Inquiry for Women in its report of 1997 "is convinced that all the Hudood laws were conceived and drafted in haste. They are not in conformity with Islam." These laws have "only resulted in gross miscarriages of justice and operate against the underprivileged sections of society. Their detrimental effect outweighs any advantage they may have. They contribute towards the exploitation of women not only by imprisoning them but also by exposing them to the brutality of the police and unscrupulous elements of society."

Prominent writer Zahida Hina reinforces this argument in a recent column noting that these amendments have given dacoits, landlords, tribal chiefs and their protégés, and unscrupulous elements in the police force, the freedom to dishonour women without fear of punishment. (‘Jan ki Aman’, Jang, Karachi, July 10, 2002).

Girls as young as thirteen complaining of rape are instead found guilty of adultery (zina), as the medical reports find evidence of sexual intercourse, and declare them as being ‘used to such activity’ – as in the case of the young Kohli girl who was raped in Hyderabad recently by an elected
councillor.

As illegal as jirga sentences are the fatwas (diktats) that incite violence. Yet, how many clerics have been booked under the law for such incitements? None – except Hafiz Abdul Latif, Pesh Imam of the Jaranwala mosque who on July 5, 2002, issued a ‘fatwa’ against Faraz Javed, who had objected to the Pesh Imam making a political sermon while leading the Friday prayers. Javed was saved from being lynched by his American citizenship. The police moved swiftly to arrest those who had besieged his house, proving that where the state wills it, it can be effective.

Less lucky was Zahid Shah, a mentally challenged young man in Chak Jhumra village, who was accused of blasphemy by a cleric and stoned to death by an enraged mob.

Clerics issuing such fatwas have been emboldened by the amendments to the ‘blasphemy laws’ of the Pakistan Penal Code, particularly since the life imprisonment option in Section 295–C of the PPC lapsed in 1991, leaving a mandatory punishment of death for those convicted under it. Before 1980, when the PPC began being amended by General Zia to include sterner punishments for religious offences, only four or five cases were registered for such offences. Since then, the severity of the new laws has "provided a handle to the unscrupulous to settle their own scores," notes the HRCP.

Thirdly, women in this society are largely considered as lesser beings, at the same time family property and repositories of the family honour; rape for revenge is a common phenomenon, particularly in the southern Punjab and upper Sindh region.

Over the years, violence against women has increased in number of incidents —-in the form of ‘honour killings’ and other forms of brutalities and also worsened in its form. In the first week of July 02 alone, several cases were reported: the burning with acid of a young woman, resulting in the loss of one of her eyes as well as injuries to her suckling infant, at a remote village near Layyah in the Punjab; the rape of the young peasant girl in Hyderabad mentioned above; the stripping naked and parading of two women in a Khairpur village…

Last year, more cases of mutilation, acid burning and other heinous crimes, including incidents of ‘stove burnings’, domestic violence and rape, were reported than before, while every second woman in the country suffered some form of violence, in the form of verbal, physical or sexual abuse, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (State of Human Rights in Pakistan, 2001). HRCP estimates that in the year 2001, one woman was raped every sixth hour in the Punjab, and a woman gang–raped every fourth day.

Where is the outrage for all this violence against women, which so many in this society condone in one way or another? Certainly the self-appointed custodians of our morality are noticeably silent on the matter, which only encourages this mindset illustrated so clearly by the Meerwala case.

Lastly, the complacency of the Meerwala Jatoi panchayat stemmed also from the social system: the family of the raped woman is poor and ‘low caste’ (Tattlas). The rape of Mukhtaran Bibi appears to be part of an attempt to cover up yet another heinous crime, the sexual assault on Abdul Shakoor, her young brother who is between eleven and fourteen years old, by three members of the Mastoi clan on June 22. After the culprits realised that he was not going to hide the incident, they took him to their kinsman, Abdul Khaliq, to seek his help. Khaliq was already trying to pressurize his neighbour, Ghulam Farid (Shakoor and Mukhtaran’s father) to give up his two acres of land. "He confined the boy to a room of his house and also pushed his 25 year old sister, Naseem, inside…After locking the door, he ran to inform the tribesmen than he had found the boy engaged in a sexual act with the woman". (Sadiq Jafri, ‘The land of shame’, The News on Sunday, Encore, July 7, 2002).

When he went to the police to get his son freed, Ghulam Farid’s poverty and low social status again came into play. Instead of filing a case against the kidnappers/sodomisers, the police took young Shakoor into custody and demanded money for his release.

What followed next also started out routinely. A panchayat was gathered by Khaliq. It would have been normal, if illegal, for such a council to decree that a woman from Ghulam Farid’s family approach them to seek mercy for the accused boy. Or even that Farid give a daughter in marriage to the Mastoi family. Instead, the jirga pronounced the sentence of ‘rape for honour’ on the eldest daughter of Ghulam Farid – who was falsely assured by some members of the panchayat that the ‘sentence’ would not be carried out.

These issues must be addressed in order to go beyond the outrage and breast-beating that has followed this horrific incident. Stoning, flogging or hanging the culprits to death in public in order to ‘set an example’ as many, including the victims, have suggested, will only amount to amputating a diseased limb while allowing the illness to continue festering within the body. Such punishments were administered during Ziaul Haq’s time, when the screams of the convict were amplified for the watching crowd. The result was only to further brutalise society and contribute to a culture of violence. The culprits must be punished, but in accordance with law – and the affected family must be tended to with sensitivity and care, not made to sit on the ground outside the court waiting for hours for their case to be heard, as is currently happening.

As for Mukhtaran Bibi, the compensatory cheque of five lakh rupees may go a long way towards easing her family’s financial hardships, but compared to what they have undergone, it is an insult. The barrage of high profile visitors who have ensured media coverage for their visits has not been able to prevent the family facing the brunt of the pressure even now. They feel so threatened that they have left their own house and gone to live elsewhere.

The government must take action against illegal rulings, whether these are made by tribal chiefs or religious leaders. It must ensure that no one takes the law into their own hands, pass or execute ‘sentences’. And, finally, it needs to ensure that its functionaries will no longer participate in such activities.

Archived from Communalism Combat, July 2002 Year 8 No. 79, Neighbours 2

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