The Forum Gazette Vol. 2 No. 2 January 20-February 5, 1987

Page 1

vol. 2 No. 2

New Delhi 20 January - 5 February 1987

Rupee!iTwo

Ex-Judges Establish Human Rights Tribunal Concern Over Undemocratic Laws, Violations by State Gazelle News Service path breaking event took place on 10th January, 1987 when the Indian Peoples Human Rights Commloolon was inaugurated at New Delhi's Press Club. Five of the Commission 's founding members were present on the occasion : Prof. A.R. Desai, Prof. Ramila Thapar, Mr. V.M. Tar· kunde and Mr Bhagwan Dass. The other members of the Commission are Mr. Asghar Ali Engineer, Mr. Shyam Benegal, Mr. Om Puri, Mr Samar Sen and Mahasweta Devi .

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The first act uf the Co mmis· sian has been to set up the Indian People" Human Rights Tribunal, consisting of forme r judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts. The Commis· sion will receive petitions and complaints conceming violation of human right s by the State, cnnduct preliminary investiga· tion and Ihen forward them to the Tribunal. The Tribunal, a high powered non·govemment body, will include: V.R. Krishna Iyer, fomler judge of the Supreme Court (Chair· man of the Tribunali P.S. Poti, former Chief .Justice, Gujarat High Court, T.V . Mehta, former Chief Justice, Himachal Pradesh High Court, BJ. Dewan, former Chief Justice, Andhra Pradesh High Court, Shanna Sarkar, fo r· mer judge of Calcutta High Court, Hanhar Mohapatra, for· mer judge of Orissa High CoU/1, Jyotinnoy Nag, fornler judge of Calculla High Cou rt, D.P. Desai. former judge of Gujarat High Court, and CJ.R. Paul fanner judge of Madras High Ccurt.

'Ibe iIrol issue thaI the Tribunal will take up will be the legalily of the police liring at ArwaI In BU.ar on the 19th of April, 1986. A large number of landless and poor peasants were ldIIed In the I1ring but the BIhar State Govemment

has 80 far not ordered a judi· cial enquiry Into the Incident. Sri P.S. Poti, Sri T.U. Mehta and Sri Shann. Sarkar will inquire Into this IncidenL The dates of the sittings will be

announced in due course. Expanse of Government Lawlessness In his inaugural remarks, Prof. AR. Desai explained that the commission had been fanned in response to the "growing expanse of government lawlessness" Mr. V.M. Tarkunde point· ed out that when human rights were violated by the State itself, there was no body or investiga t· ing agen cy to go in to such via· lations. "As people begin to understand and demand their rights, Sta te te rrorism was bound to grow", warned th e form er judge of th e Bombay High Court . Prof. Romila Tltapar of Jawa· har Lal Nehru University said that in a democracy it was t:!ssential to have watchdog in5titutions just as it was important to buil d up a moral authority in • the larger public interest. Also see story on p age 14.

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Mail Censorship The President Bnd the PM. A mBtter 01 returning censored /ettere. Look out for B Special Report In the next Issue

Cease Fire, Hold Talks, Restore Politics Khalistan Not The Issue Unique Delhi Dialogue on Punjab Gazelle News Service hi le the goveT11ment in Delhi contin ues to gape vacan tly at Punjab, and the Punjab government itself persists with playi ng a suppuca· tory role vis-a-vis the centre, a group of citizens in Delhi went ahead with organising a break· through round table dialogue on the crisis in the troubled state. The round table meeting held on Thursday January 15 at the India International Cen tre was spearheaded by Dr. I.K. Gujral of the Punjab Group.

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The meeting la full report of which is carried on page 8·91 was one of the most unique to be held since the Punjab ctisis went into flames with the anny assault on the Golden Temple in June 1984. Its uniqueness lay in the fact that it was able to get

individuals and groups from a broad spectrum of viewpoints to sit around the same table for

a full day to excbange views without being uncontrollably in· tolerant of one another's point of view.

Wide Range A wide range of opinion from the Congress·\ to the Damadami Taksal was represented at the round table, which included members of the CPI, CPM, Janata, BJP, the Uni ted Akali Dal, both factions of the Akali Dal. re tired senior civi l servants, retired police and mil · itary officers, serving editors of

major newspapers, academics and members of leading civil liberties organisations. Unanimous Call Inder Gulrlll: S"","'lIl1dlng II break through dllliogue.

The meeting gave a unanim· ous call for a cease fire or moratorium to the government

and a ll groups involved in via· le nt incidents in Punjab. It also called for a restoration of the stalled political dialogue in the Punjab during the proposed 3 mo nt h moralOrium from Republic Day onwards. All the participants at the meeting agreed that it was not only possible, but also desirable, for political talks to be initiated with all parties and groups concerned wi th the crisis, barring those based across the international border. As regards the question of secession, the overwhelming opinion around the table was that to a large extent the 'demand ' for Khallstan was more cry of anger and allenation than a general desire for political seperation from the • rest of the counlly.


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_M_ema_·_W_a_re_h_____________________ Gazel~

The Call of the Republic AN ANALYSIS OF HOW THE PRESS HAS IGNORED THE FACTS, MISUNDERSTOOD THE PROBLEM AND FOCUSSED ON THE WRONG ISSUE, CONCERNING THE SO-CALLED 'BOYCOTT' OF REPUBLIC DAY Premlnder Singh The public generally remained cool. Nobody would have noti· ced the absence of a few thou· sand muslims at the Republic Day Para de and since the Presi· de nt hadn 't bothered to call us to his party there was no way we co uld 'not participa te ' in the fes tivi ties. Hut the Press was seriously afflicted by h)'steria and jingoistic fervour - spe· cially editors, colu mnists and political commentators. So were muslim intellectuals and politicians. Their collective wisdom can be briefly simplified, summa· rised and 'unpompified' as follows. • Our Republic has been insu· lted - what do you expect from Ihe Muslims anyway? • Muslims betler behave or some Hindus may get anSlY and retaliaie. • Shahabuddin is communal, anti-national and ambitious. 'Send him packing'. ~ Why doesn 't the Janata Party do something? Chandra Shek· har is too tolerant of his pro· tege. He better watch it him· self if the Jal'ata Party is to win elections. • Let's not cry over spilt milk. We .11 know that no govern· ment can win an election on

Muslim votes.

Republic Insulted "Muslims have every right to protest". but those wbo would conver1 this right into a chal· lenge to • revered national symbol are indulging in mischief ". please ignore this call. Pro· test a day before if you wi ll ; protest a day later if you must. Protest against the government, if you want. But do not protest against the nation ' " this is not only extremely dangerous but positively anti national .. , has everyo ne lost all sense of balance all respect for the coun· try . " . Islam does not teach treachery to the nation . ... The

:The FOrum

Gazette ;\11 Ekta Trust Publication Pallel o(ColIslll l itl~ Editors Justice \ '. fI . Krishna I~'CI" I.K. Gujral. Madhu Kishwjlr. Khushwant Singh •. Iaya .I<lilly, Rajni Kodlari , Amrik Sin&ll , Kuldip Nayar ChaimJao, Board of editors Lt. Gen. Jagjit Sin b..... Aurora !refd.) Managing Editor Balj;. Malik Editors Ha rii Malik, G.S. Sandhu, A.S. Narang,

Associate Editor AVIar Singh Judge Circulation IL Col. Manohar Singh lreld.)

Business Manager Jatinder Kaur LaD Ediroriai (Campi OtIice 4 Bhagwan Das Road New OeIhi-llOOOl. Phone:~O, ~

'Ih: 315220 HULK FOR GAZBTTB

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20 Jen.-5 Feb. 1987

The first 3 weeks of this year witnessed an outbreak of patriotism not seen in India since the Chinese war in 1962. The cause of this virulent outbreak was a caU given by the All India Babari Masjid Conference from New Delhi to the Muslims "not to participate in or associate themselves with the observance of the Republic Day on 26th January, 1987, except those individuals who are on official duty!' (Declaration of 22nd December) Convened by Janata Party Me mber of Parliament Syed Shahabuddin the conferen ce e xpressed its "deep sense of anguish a nd regret at the continued occupation of the historic Babari Masjid, Ayodhya, since 23rd Dece mber 1949 a nd the regular pe rfo r mance ofPuja and Darshan in the Masjid itself since 1st Febr uary '86". Indian Union Muslim League is indulging in subterfuge the dispute it now says must be resolved by August 15. In other words another national day has been converted into a deadline. The first challenge was both to the co nstitution and the Repub· li c, next time will these gen tle· men reject our freedom itself? ". it is time for all of us to stand up and make it very clear that no one has a right to threaten the ideological basis of the Modern India n State". we would appeal to the muslims to fly the flag proudly on Republic Day (Telegraph (TELl 25 & 31 Dec. '86, 6 &. I t Jan '871.

persisting \vith the call. It could provide the anti·muslim elements among the Hindus one more argume nt in support of the ir' attitude" ITimes of Indial (TOI 3, 10 &, 14 JANI. "Ii' is for the Muslims to firm ly reject these cyn.'cal efforts arousing communal passions for in the final analYSiS, they can only provide further ammun i· tion to Hindu communalists"

. Muslims Better Behave

muslim grievances without farm· ing communal passions". .... It is clear that Mr . Shahabuddin stands isolated from the national political mainstream. The choice before the Janata National executive is clear. It will only discredit itself if it fails to send Mr. Shahabud· din packing".ITOI Jan 141. Arun Shourie (IE Jan 231 not only de·nationalises him but de· personalises him as well. He is changed from a proper noun to a common plural "". And for Shahabuddins it It he calli has been doubly successful; it has helped them further their claim to speak on behalf of the mus· lims ". and (rousedl the ir'C of the increasingly assertive sec· tions among Hindus " , a reaction that fortifies th e leadership of the Shahabuddins ". by boy· cotting the Republic Day they wan t Muslims .. , qua Muslims to announce that to them, reli· gion is 'more important than anything else'. The latter ternl is .urely comprehensive enough to incl ude the coun try". Is this the same Arun Shouriel the ex·crusader for truth and justice?

"The refusal of even some muslims to participate in an occasion which celebrates the country's unity will only lend MONTHLY credibility to thsoe who accuse JOURNAL OF them of not being a part of the /' RESEARCH OOCUMEN,'AT10N national mainstream .. , for if a AND section of muslims believes that OEFERENCE its religious identity is in peril, a section of Hindus increasi ngly IStatesman 7 Jan!. feel s that it has been taken [or Shahabuddin Is A Trallor; granted and is uniting in milSend Him Packing ilant organisations ... what the He is "The worst culprit in pedlars of dangerou s sectarian· Janata Party Do Something ism are after is a dubious politi· this sordid affair ... the a uthor cal objective. (THEY ARE ONLY and chief protagonist of, th e ''The Janata par1y is in a NOMINALLY LOYAL TO THIS boycott plan. Mr. Shahabuddin's quandry. Although the or-ganisa· COUNTRY" (Italics minel (Indian conduct should dispe l all iIIu· tion lives pemlanen tly in a state Expr'Css IIEI 3, 10 &, 14 JANI. sions abo ut his being vaguely of crisis, and to that extent th is The musiim leaders .. , an~ secular or only mildly commu· is just one more manifestation ei ther guilty of utter indiffer· nal. The kind of politicians he of its poli tical incoherence (itl is ence to na tional sentiments or has associated h imself with and left wi th no other alternative are wi lfully engaging in dangel'- the very language he has used except to expel its' former gene· ous brinkmanship ... (thisl entire· ". make it plain th at Mr. Shaha· ""I secretary an d one time pro· ly gratituous boycott call can buddin prefers the company of tege of Mr. Chandra Shekhar. give a fillip to the anti·muslim communalists such as Mr. Ibra· Mr. Shahabuddin has evidently sentiment among certain ele- him Su laiman Sait to secular decided that he has extrac ted ments . . . "nothing is gained bj' politics or an effort to redress whatever he could from a secu· ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;:;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;_;;;;;'

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Matter of Facts 1. Ram .Ianam Bhoomi is a Chabutra (platformI 17' x '21'. 2. About a hundred paces away is the Masj id built by Bab· ar's Gov,ernor Mir B.qui in 1528. 3, No historical reference exists about either the precise spot of Ramchandraji's birth or the exis· tence of any temple on this site. 4. In 1885 the Mahan t of the Chabutra was refu sed permi s' sion by the local authorities to construct a temple on the Cha·· butra. His appeals to Sub Judge, IFaizabadl Hari Kishan as well as to the district court were dismissed. 5. A railing was constructed

separating the Chabutra from the masj id to prevent commu· nal trouble. 6. In 1949 a violent an ti mus· lim mob occu pied th e masjid and installed stat ues of Sri Ra m Chandra. A stay was gra nt ed but the statues remained inside and a lock was put on the mas· jid preventing muslim worship that had been going on for over 400 years. 7. On Jan 25, 1986 a Hindu advocat e of Faizabad filed a n appeal asking for permission for the Hindus to worship - not on the Chabutra but in the masjid, 8. One week later on Feb 1

Dis trict Judge IFaizabadl K.M. Pandey gave permission to reo open the Masjid and all ow Hind u worship. No t only is this one of the fas test decisions in Indian juri sprudence but it bro ke all possible legal norms, including the fac t that a 37 year old stay order was vacated \\; thout hearing any individual muslim or the Sunni Wakf board tha' owns the Masjid. The consequences are truly frightening. "A historic mosque built more than 450 years ago has thus been converted into a Hindu temple, in free India by a • judicial writ".

lar platform, including a seat in the Lok Sabha, and has no further use for ttje Janata Party" IStatesman 7 Jan.l. " It is a little mtriguing that the Janata Party leadership seems always to develop cold feet in acti ng against an erring Mr. Shahabuddin, although his emergence as a m uslim com· munal leader has often com· promised his party's larger interests" ". Can it be that in order to strengthen his personal hold on the muslim masses, he is willing to jeopardise their posi· tion in Indian Society? The nation can do without such self appointed crusaders. (HT 5 &. 13 Jan .1. "Mill1Y Janata leaders had been sharply critical of the late Indira Gandhi for not taking timely action agai nst Jamail Singh Bhindranwale and there· by allowing th e Punjab si tuation to get out of hand. What do they have to say about Syed Shahabuddin?" liE Jan 141. Surely the Editor of the Indian Express couldn 't already have forgotten that it was the same Mrs. Gandhi who built up the Sant' and tried to use him to destabilise the Akali dominated Ministly in Punjab in the eight· ies. And while Bhindrdnwale was imposing a justice of his own, Shahabuddin is merely asking for it.. ., "Sincerely and in a spiJit of Iratemal co-existence and mutual goodwill appeals to th e Hindu community not to be mi sled by the propaganda of the chauvinist elements, try t'll appreciate the agony and mear. sure the bittemess generated by forcible occupa tion of a historic place of worship, and in the interests of the nation persuade, even pressurise the intransigien t elements to restore the Babri Masjid to the Muslim commun· ity" (22 Dec. Declarationl.

No Crying OYer Split Milk But "One thing that is obvious is that the status quo ante can· not be restored. The small platfOim has become a major centre of Hindu pilgrimage as would be evident from the number of people who were crushed to death (501 in the mel ee on Nov. 9, 1986, Like cow slaughter this issue has come to arouse the deepest emotions amongst the Hindus, A continuo ing agitation by the muslims can only strengthen these emo· tions." (TO! 10 Jan!. "The Babari Masjid Committee is coming into conmct with th e most deeply held religious sen· ti ments of the Hindus. No governmen t that must face an electi on in likely to take a stand that will alienate large numbers of Hind us to sec ure the votes of the muslims,"

What Was Left Out Eve n more important · than what- was said was what was left out. Wi th the single excel" tion of Nikhil Chakravarty (TOI Continued on page 4 col 5


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Brahmpura: CRPF Harassed Non-Sikhs Also REPORT OF THE ENQUIRY COMMITTEE APPOINTED BY THE INDIAN MINORITIES & DALIT FRONT Despite an attempt by the C.R.P. Force to terrarise the residents of village Brahmpura, at mid-night of December 27, 1986, the villagers looked deliant and charged with emotion when they took part in a massive gathering at Brahampur3, on January 7. It will be recalled that the para-military men went on the rampage in a delayed action response to nab a proclainled terrorist. The incident itself, widely reported in the press led to a demand for the withdrawal of the CRPF from Punjab.

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r. Sudarshan Singh, a warder in the Central Jail, Amritsar, another resident of Brahampura, was also beaten in his house and his identity card tom to pieces. Mr. Sudarshan Singh described how hi s brothel'-i n-Iaw, Mr. Gurmit Singh, a lance naik in the army. who had come to visil him was

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y father was bea ten mercilessly. The humi· li ation was unberable for the old man and he died a day after the incident" said Mr. Jagjit Singh, an educated lamler of the vi llage. Mr. Jagjil Singh abou t 40,

is a heart patient whereas his father Mr. Gurdit Singh Shah at th e age of65 was hale and hearty.

r. Gurcharan Singh's house which is on the outskirts of the village was the first to be raided by the furiOlls C.RP.F. men. After breaking open his dOOl', they shot dead the dog which barked at them. The raiding party dragged GurchaJ'an Singh out 01 his bed and asked him the whereabouts of Dtahma Singh IAvlar Singh Srahmal, the Man they were after. They started bealing Gurcharar. Singh right and len with rille bulls when he iold them Iha! he knew nol who Bra hm a Singh was. Joginder Singh, Gureha,,"n. son, was also taken to task when he !li ed 10 , save his father. Mrs. Gurcharan Singh was also manhandled when she cried for help. The EnquilY Commitlee could see the signs of beating on the body of ~tr. Gu,'charan Singh even on january 7.

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down and trampled over i!. "They shou ted at us" said Buta Singh, "Jaan ehahie to Brahma Singh IAvlar Singh Brahmal ko pesh karo," Ilf you want to save your life, then produce Avlar Singh Brahmal.

Suhagwanti, an old women, wife of the village shopkeeper Mr. Mukand La! a Hindu was also mal-treated by the C.R.P.F. men. Her husband

became unconscious when the gate of their house was broken. Suhagwanti i. a hilter

woman today and complains against the brutal behaviour of the C.H.P.F. She told the

enquiry committee that their family had been living in the village s ince ages and had n ever been threatened by the Sikh •. They had faith in the Sikhs of the village.

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encounter with the C. R.P.F. Mr. Jawahar La\, another Hindu resident of the village was with the Sarpanch of the village w hen he heard Avlar Singh Brahma on the loud-speaker it was about 9.30 p .m. S. Daljit Singh. sarpanch of the village advised Jawaharla l to sleep in his house that nigh!. At about 10.30 or 10.45 the doors were broken open and armed C.R.P.F. men started beating everyone in ihe house. Mr. Jawaharlal disclosed his iden tity an d pleaded with the C. R.P.F. men not to bea t the Sarpanch, an old noble soul. But no t on ly was he !lawaharlall bea ten ,vith rifle bullS, he was also dubbed a traitor for t!)'ing to defend "Ihose who ki ll ed Hindus. Mr. lawaharlal explained that there was no communal tension in

used foul words against Guru Gran th Sahib but also fired at the Holy Book. The Sarpanch then lost his temper and asked them to kill him instead of insulting his Guru in his presence. An angry CRP man fired but missed him. S. Daljit Singh told the Enquiry Commillee in the presence of many other villagers that five women were raped Ihat night by ' the C.RP.F. men and many young girls were molested. The story of rape and molestation was also con firmed by a few ladies who didn 't wish to be identified in the press. Avlar Singh Brahma accompanied by hi s two associates ca me to the hou se of Gurdial Singh, a t abo ut 9. 15 p.m . on Dec. 27 and asked him and his brot her Bhag Singh to instal the

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hey beat us "ith rifle butts and aboui ~E'nty

persons were maue to sit in the 'verandah ' in the chilly night withou t any walm clothing. All were d ragged out of lhei~ beds at 1l in Ihe night and were not allowed to wear proper clothes" said Mr. Buta Singh. .

Mr. Buta Singh'. uncle

is an inspector in the 66th Battalion of C.R.P.F. He .h"wed hi. uncle's photograph in unifor m but to no avad. The C.H.P.F. men told BUIa Singh tha i his un.;!e Aji! Singh may be an Insp-"clor but they were s ure tha t all Sikhs were

terrorists. While corroborating the version given by Mr. Bu la Singh, Mr. Gulbagh Singh told his woefu l tale to the enqu iry commitl ee. Mr. Gulbagh Singh, himself a constable in Ihe C. R.P.F. had come on leave and showed hi s identity card 10 the C,R.P.F. men conducting the search in the village but it didn 't serve any purpose. "They threw down my identity card and started bealing me with rifle bu lls. They also charged me with trai ning the villagers in the use of arms and helping the telTOrist s", said Mr. Gulbagh Singh.

1. Prof. Dsrshan Singh Ragi, the Akal Takht Jathedar, addressing the gathering at Brshmpura 2. Dal/It Singh - Sarpanch of Brahmpura 3. Father of Avtar Singh Brahma who provoked the CRP at B,ahmpura 4. A view of the protest gathering at Brahmpura ,

sleeping in his !'Oom. Bu t the C.R.P.F. men not only gave him a severe beating but also shollted at him that he had no business to be in the village. Mr. Gurmil Singh, swearing by his GUI'U, pleaded that he had come to enqui re about th e welfare of hi s sister Mrs. Surdarshan Singh. The C.R.P.F. men abu sed th e Sikh Gurus fo!' hav· ing created a problem fo r the country. They said all SikhGurus were also terrorists. One of them picked from the mantl e piece a photograph of Guru Gobind Singh and th rew it

When qu esti oned h ow Brahma provoked the C. R.P.F. men. on Ihe vill age loud speaker a nd brought havoc to the village. she said. that the boy didn 't say a nything un pleasa nl; rathel' he asked the CRPF men not to harass the ,;Uagel's because of him. Jagj it Singh said tha t Avlar Singh Brahma kept on repea ling hi s own name on the loud-speaker for abo ut 15 minutes. challenging the CR PF men to arrest him. He also advised all the villagers not to open th eir doors as at any moment there cou ld be an

the village and all the three Hindu I" milics of the village felt very sale. He blamed the C. R.P.F. fo r creating com mu nal tension and misbehaving with the ,;\Iage people. Mr. Dalj it Singh, the Sarpanch, was made to accompany the C. RP.F. men to the gU l'dwara as the security perso nnel thought the a nnouncements had been made from there. The C.R.P.F. people, u si ng abusive lan~ua~e, searched the gurdwara with their shoes on. When the Sarpanch protested against the saCrilege of Guru Granth Sahib. they not only

loud-speaker. They obeyed his comma nd and Brahma then addres sed the villagers on the mi cro-phone. He advised the Hindu shop-keepers not to sell cigarett es and bidis in futu re. He warned the C. RP.F. stat io ned in the Girls School in the village to desist from harassing people on the pretext of arres ting him. He a lso warned th e police that if atrocities on the vi llagers were not stopped, they wou ld be taught a lesson. He intimidated the soldiers by Continued on page 5 coi l

20 Jan.-5 Feb. 1987

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Computers and Human Rights A.G. Noorani

ndia is mindlessly racing into the computer age with little public awareness , of even the concept of 'computer crimes', In the US computers have created a veritable national data bank containing substantial personal infonnation about most Americans, The Office of Technology Assessment prepared for the US Congress a 15Z-page report recommending legislation to protect the citizen's privacy and for resolution of conflicts that were bound to increase as government agencies tumed to computerised record surveillance, The report was prepared at the request of the Senate Govemmental Affairs Committee and the House Judiciary Committee, More than a decade ago Congress rejected the idea of a National Oata Centre containing computer records in one place. But what has come into being is what Los Angeles Times called a "de fa cto national data base" crea ted from "hundreds of separate computerised record systems that ca n be reached over tele phone lines by computers vir tually anywhere in the coun try", Comput erised files that are open to electronic inspection by govern me nt agencies "range

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from federal tax records to social security files, from state drivers' licence records to private bank account statements". It is possible for the US govemment, by searching out infonnation through a variety of these computerised data banks, to prepare electronic dossiers on millions of citizens. In welfare and law enforcement programmes computerised information is widely used, It is difficult for a citizen to know lal whether and what files concerning him exist and where, Ibl whether the information in the computerised files is accurate, and (cl whether the information acquired and stored by one agency is being used by another for a different purpose, In 1974 the US Congress enacted the Privacy Ac t which provides some safeguards, But a lot has happe ned since to render th em inadequate , The A'l'erican Civil Liberties Union set up a Privacy and Technology Project, Its Director, Jerry Bennan, has pointed ou t the dangers unde rlying the present sys tem as exposed in the Co ngressional Report : "If Congress tried to introduce a Bill to establish a cen tral tile nil every citizen, it would go down to defeat. but this rcp0l1 shows

that what couldn't be done frontally has happened incrementally", How many Indians are aware of this creeping danger? Few indeed, In 1976 a Committee of Experts was set up by the Department of Electronics under the chainnanship of Maj-Gen lretd l a Balasubramanian. It recom mended guidelines for "physical security in a computer environment", On August 12, a national symposium on "Security of Computerised Infonnation " at Madras recommended to the government of India that it should "reconsider" these guidelines in view of the changed circumstances and bring rorward legislation to protect data privacy, It also recommended that a committee be establish ed to study the whole gamut of com:Juter crimes and sugges appropriate remedial measures aga inst them, A hooklet published bv the UN en titled "Human Right's and Scientific and Technological Developments" co ntains a ~tlml11arv of the main points of the slli· dies prepa red by the UN secretary-general on some aspects of th e problem. One of them is the "uses of electmn ics wh ich may clttpct the Iighl s of the person

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20 Jen.-5 Feb. 1987

and the limits which should be placed on such uses in a democratic society. " The UN study recommends protecti ve legislation embodying proper safeguards, The barest minimum is that, first , "only the perso nal infonnation strictly necessary for the purposes of the respective system should be collec ted ", Secondly, "the individual should be notified that infonnalion is being gathered about him and his agreement sho uld be obtained before the information is stored". The exception is infomlation gathered and compiled by agencies concerned with national security and law and order and other such bodies as may be specified by law, "subject to appropriate safegurds for human rights", On September 3, 1985, Subhas Kirpekar of The Times of India re ported that our PM "is taking keen interest in selling up a computerised data bank for nearly 600 Congress MPs in both Houses of Parliament. 1\\10 of the five computers have already arrived, A lengthy profonna to be filled in by party MPs has been already circuclated", Gandhi asked members to submit the forms by the end of September, Subhas Kirpekar 's report quoted extracts from a backgrounder circulated with the questionnaire and set out the details of the nature of the infonnation sought, On September 4, The Times of India sharply attacked the move in an editorial entitled "Computer Watch", It remarked 'The computer is going to be the Big Brother in the coming years, And like the infamous Big Brother in Stalinist Russia it will be fed by those who hate those over whom they are keeping a vigil ", On September 9 Kirpekar reported, once again, that the Congress1I1 MLAs and MLCs will also be asked to come under "computer watch". But the PM had underestimated the resourcefulness of the animal who becomes a Congress1I1 legislator, The very instinct for self-preservation which makes him servile also impels him to evade a fiat which might one day lead to his undoing, On February 9, Indian E~pl'ess carried a report by P' Haman whi ch said that th e PM 's plans had gone <IINT)' "thanks to the non-cooperation from his followers", Thus "without the full li sts, the computer technicians could not start the process of programming so far", It onl \' remain s 10 add that on March 16, Indiall £xpmss Magazine. camed an article bv P Raman listing the sordi d deeds of Congress-fII men, "Corn puler el1'Ol' has been compounded by the I1e\V leaders' ineffectiveness in dea ling ",,;th such incidents, if some prominent examples are all.\1hing to go by", he remarked, Information is not knowledge and cleve. ness is miles apart from judgement. In this whole affa ir th e human rights aspect was completely, but charac teristically, overlooked, •

The Call of The Republic

Continued from page 2 col 5 11 Janl not one joumalist mentioned the background to the case, The Telegraph 25 Dec, says "we accept thai the muslims have a case on the Babari Masjid issue and an extremely good one" The H,T, 113 Janl Concedes "In our view the Babari Masjid action romminee does have a legitimate case when it claims that the decision to reopen for worship the adjoining piece of land (claimed to be Shri Rama's birthplacel .. ' while keeping the mosque itself closed is discriminatory" (HT doesn't know that the mosque has been made into a templeJ. But Sunday (25 to 31 Janl does a cover story without once mentioning that the Chabutra is an area distinct from the mosque, In fact the opposite, "By an order of the district judge, the gates of the Ram Janam BhoonU or Babari Masjid were thrown open for Hindus to offer worship to Rama's portrait placed in the mosque's inner sanctum", Or that the muslims have worshipped in that mosque for over 400 years and that the communalism that exists has been provoked by the Hindus condoned by the Govemrnent of UP, with the Central Govt, as an apathetic collaborator, Not only 'Sunday' but the entire National Press has failed both its readers and the country in not the true dimension

Prem Bhatia (Tribune 10 sums up the confusion - both his and that of the press, "The controversy over the Babari Masjid arose over a dispute about ownership between two religious communities involving deep sentiments which had no relevance to a national festival", That is not true_ The dispute arose because a district court passed an arbitraJy, unjust and partisan order, The State Govemment condoned the illegality, the Central Govemment pretends to be a helpless spectator, and the press hounds the wrong communalists. No it is not a dispute between two religious comm unities, It is a dispute about justice, About truth, About fair play, whether major or minority, About the abuse of the law and the violation of the constitution in order to win eJections and stay in power. "Muslim India shall survive the loss of the Babari Masjid" said Syed Shahabuddin (Muslim India March '861, ' "But - ShaD the India ofGandhi and Nehru Sun1ve? Shall the democratic survive? Shall the rule of law survive? Men in power, History shall no forgive you for your short sightedness for your silence, for your apathy, for your insensitivity." •


·

_O_~_TIm_' __ es_____________________

The imposing structure that as the focal point of milling crowds radiating in differen t directions is the police thalli) of Paharganj. Lei me begi n my slory here since olhe""se all slories end here.

SC"ICS

A few yards away from Ihe thana lives a family. Bul if a family doesn 't have a name of its own, il will be like Paharganj wilhoul a thana. So let's name Ihem. Call Ihem Sandhu's family, Sardar Gurusharan Singh Sandhu 's family. He came 10 scllie here in the forties. No, not d uri ng the pa rtitio n. But seven years before it. And nol from Plinjab eilher bll l from Dallo ngunj Bihar. As New Delhi slalion developed, Ihe lane became a busy Ihoroughfare. All kinds of Ihings are served 10 all kinds of visitors here. Lodges {cheap sir cheap, jusl das rupayya for one nighll, dhablJas where dressed chickens are hung like criminals in medieval limes, sighlseei ng buses wilh opaque glass panes, charas, ganja, liquor and, of course women. In this flourishing business flourished our Sandhu. Bul le i us be fair 10 him. He WilS never involved in liq uor, drugs and wo men. He l'espects bOlh hi s religion, an d Ihe law of Ihe la nd. A piolls man engaged in re ligious activi ti es, it is ru mou red tha t he even became a consensus candidate ror the Gurudwar-d Prabhandak Commi li ce in the fifties. In course of

~m ___________________________ GazeLtc

single incident destroyed the cl'edibility of the Governmen t's dlive to restore peace through police action in Punjab, and fru strated its attempt to isolate the terrori sts from th~ ordinary Sikhs. From then onwards more and more Sikhs have become convinced, rightly or wrongly, that in the name of restoring orger, a small war is being waged against their youth. The Brahmapura episode cannot have failed to deepen this conviction, It is not en tirely a coin· cidence that the rate of terrorist killings in Punjab has gone up sharply in the last one mo nth, as indeed it did after the Dera Baba Nanak incident described above. Thus, It is not merely our concern for upholding the rule of law but also a deep foreboding about the future of Punjab that prompts us to urge the Central Govemment riot to allow the offenders In the Brahmapura incident to get off scot free. Both political theory and practice followed In other countries endorses the >lew that there should be a special body of administrative law to deal with infractions committed by oiliclaIs of the State In the course of their duty. But In india, as things stand, there Is no such corpus of law. As a result, every policemen, jawsn or ta>: collector Is above the law. From every point of >lew, therefore, the right course of action for the Centre Is to institute an Inquiry Into what happened In Brahmapura and to take 8evere action against anyone found gouty. [Bmphasis added). •

rOnly the names and location s have been changed l

C.V. Subbarao lime, as they say for everyt hing which they ca nnot to ascri be to anything else. he sired three sons. Two of them grew lip to become part ners in business. The family has now divCl'Sified into timber tradi ng across the lane. II was the thi rd son, Cho tll as they call him, who became a problem fo r the family as he refused to join Ihe business. Graduating in commerce lrom Kha lsa Co!lege, he developed hi s own queer ideas abollt life a nd living. Quite an interesting character our Chot u was and is. In fac t he wo uld have become a hero of our story, but for Pahargun j than• . Anyhow he went off in search of 'service', the nondescript term that describes everything ot her than business in the linguaf.... nca of Pahargu nj. Finally he settled as a small accountan t in a big firm at Lucknow. II was there, way back in the seventi es, that our young man fe lLi n love vvith his "",lik 's daughter. That's all light si nce love is permissa' hi e both in law and in re ligion . But then the girl was a Muslim. So there began a bailie myal that almost threatened to tum into a typical Hindi film scenario. Our Chotu nearly lost hi s job. But he co nverted to Islam

and gained the girl. But lost hi s tamily. For Sandhu chucked him out for renounci ng the fam· i1y l'eligion. But a few ycars later passions cooled and he was . accepted back in the family. Blood they say is th icker than religion. Sandhu however imposed the condi tion; Chotu co uld not bring his ,vife home. So he often commut ed between Lucknow and New Delhi. between Shah· nawaz Khan and Mahinder Singh Sandhu. He li ved like that until recen tly w hen the West Asian fortune of his wifc's mama in tervened othClwise. An engineer in a con tractor's co mpany in Saudi Arabia, the old man managed to create a vacancy lor 3n accountant. A. job in the Gulf, or at least th e illusion of it, is part of Ihe Islamic existence that Cho w ca me to accept . So he readily jumped a t it, and came to Delh i to make a passport in his name. The nam e of course by now was 5hahnawaz Khan. But meanwhil e Oelhi changed and vvith it the thalla a l Pahar· gunj too, at leas t technologica lly. No more rit ual raids on small time drug peddlers and endless traffi c jams. It's now wan ted terrorists and mind less

The Hindustan Times Says It All ~T here is mountIng I Government refuses to The Hindustan Times dence that a good hold impartial undoctored editorial (Saturday JanevJ-

enquiries into such incidents. As a result even the authority of the elected government in the state eroded, as does its credibiJity with the people.

CRPF Harassed Non-Sikhs Also Continued from page 3 col 5 shouting full-throatedly : "O ! C. R.P.F. men ! Your Son-i n-law is now present in the village; if you have ihe courage, you may arrest him." Mr. Bhag Singh told the Enquiry Commillee that Avtar Singh Bra~ma kept · o n repea ting the warning for about fifteen minut es and shot a few' rounds in the air. fie then asked him IBhag Singhl to prepare a cup of tea for them . After tea he shou ted again on the loudspeaker that his men had taken positions a t every tum of the village lane and they would fight a real battle with the C.R.P.F. men if they came to arrest him. He repeated the warning to the villagers to keep their doors closed to avoid any mishap. According to Mr. Bhag Singh, Avtar Singh Brahma and his associates left the village at about 9.35 p.m . whereas the C. R.P.F. me n struck the village only after 10.30 p.m . The committee was informed

hold a Press conference and apologise to the people of Punjab for what had happened in Brahmapura. The Centre, too, apparently felt that some action was n ece~sal)' because it su's pended the local commandant of the CRPF, and allowed the CRPF con tingent to be with drawn from the village. But needless to say that this is no substitute for a proper inquiry into what happened and the punishment to those who were guilty of excesses whether against women, property or religion. As matter stands, the Central Government's inaction cannot fail to increase the alienation of the Sikhs in Punjab. Only fou r months ago, 10 persons returning from Pakistan were shot dead by the BSF inside the Punjab bonjer. The Akali Dal lBadall and other more radical elements among the Sikhs immediately proclaime d that these "boys" had been shot in cold blood, an d that thi s was a part of a genocidal operation launched against Sikh youth belonging to a certain age-group, in the border districts. If reports emanating from inside the Punjab Government are to be be-, lieved, the post mortem on the victims bore they had been shot in cold blood from close range, although it is true that at least fiye of them were known terrorists. To make matters worse even as the Punjab Government was asking for action to be taken against the offenders, the Home Ministry endorsed the action and announced that those who had been killed were terrorists and had been shot in an encounter. Close observers of the Punjab scene feel that this

A TRUE LIFE STORY

Brahmpura:

deal of 'terrorist' violence is fuelled by lawlessness on the part of the security' forces operating in Punjab. Yet, for reasons of its own, the Central

kl II i ngs. At least that's w hat the news papers say. 50 someone who reads his newspa per ever· yday infonlled the SI that a mona sardar' was getting a passport made for himself in the name of a Muslim. Th us our Cho tu reached one of the convel'ted roo ms of that focal structu re at Pahargunj. Sandhu fo r the first tim e in the half-a-cen tury of his liIe at Pahargunj we nt to the thim3 himself. Religiou sly he nan'a ted the an tics of his son, his job in Lucknow, his co nversion marraige an d th e olfer of a job in Sa udi Arabia. All in vain. II doesn't matter, the 51 seems 10 have told him till you pay Rs. 10000. Sand hu l'eturned home with fear and money writ large on his mind, Meanwhil e, informed by Ihe eldest son, Mrs. Shahnawaz Khan herself anived from Luck· now. Havi ng had more education tha n many sma ll time trad· ers 01 Pahargunj, she dec ided she m ust meet the S.H.O. him· self, This time the pleading was in Engli sh. The S.H.O. a vmy kind man lInderstands English s peaking people bellel'. He told her politely, "Madam, you pay Rs. 25000 only and I'll sct yo ur hllsbill1d fl'ee by Ihis eve ning."

But our lady decided Inawabi blood, Sandhu saysl that she was not going to pay a single pie. She also instructed the Sa ndhu family not to pay. tnstead she traced an MP Irom up, in his South Avenue apa r1me nt. They say he is a religious fundamentalis\. He listened to her story and pl'Omised he lp. A very ex pensive liberal lawyer from th e Supreme Co urt wa s arranged. After a week of detention, Shahnawaz Khan alias Mohinder Singh Sandhu a lias Cho tu was produced in the magistrate COli' rts at Tis Hazari, charged undcr Section 41t r of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1985. Our lawyer from the Supreme Court in one of his rare appearances at Tis Hazan, recount ed the story of hi s client apd pleaded fo r bail. The peti· ti on was rejected and the ac· cused was remanded tor Judicial clistody fo r a fortnight. Actually there was no need for it. Whe"" the li beral lawyer htiled, the fund amenta list MP see ms to have succeeded. The policc with drew the case the nex t day. So th at's it. A man from a religiou lt family renoun ces his I'C ligion 101' th e sake of a secu lar love. Then the secular sta te acc llses him of being a com· mllnal te n'Orisl. And then a fundamentalist intervenes to resc lie him back for secularism. Thi s th en is th e tragedy and farce of secularism over which presides every where a police th alJil . Lik e th e one in Pa hargu l1 j. •

by a few victims of the traumalic incident of December 27 that they were rescued by S. Darshan Singh Mann, S.H.O. of Sarhali Police Station on the morning of December 28. The persons who were made to sit the whole night in the chilly weather heard an exchange of hot words between the S.H.O. and the C.R.P.F. men. The victim s could hear Mr. Mann 's shout s protesting agains! the sacrilege of Sri Guru Grant h Sahib committed by the raiding party. 1\ was only on hi s interven tion that the captives were released. " II was an awful night. Remembering the attrocities committed by the C.R.P.F. men our blood boils even at the sight of a soldier, said Mr. Jagjit Singh. "If the C. R.P.F. is not withdrawn from the villages, the situation is sure to worsen further" was the collective view of the persons interviewed by the enquiry committee. •

uary 24) is a pithy comment on the law and order agencies and their need to be subjected to law and order themselves.

Deep Foreboding The Union Home Ministry may be technically right when it says that there is no legal provision under which members of the CRPF or other para-military forces can be prosecuted by the State Government under the criminal code, when they are deployed in an area on official duty. But this is only a technicality and does not exonerate the Home Ministry from the responSibility of taking departmental action against members of the paramilitary forces when they break the laws of the land. This is clearly what New Delhi should be doing in the case of the CRPF personnel who were involve d in the Brahmapura incident in Punjab last month. The"" is an abundance of prima facie evidence to ·s uggest that the CRPF jawans ran amuck in the village, broke open doors and molested women. Some reports suggest that they may also have committe d sacrilege in the local gurdwara. There seems to have been enough truth in these charges to haye provoked Mr. Ribeiro, the Oirector-Genel'a1 of Police, to

20 Jan,-S Feb. 1987

5


F8rum

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Theju>taposition of. th e

easily-dis-

cemible classical line with hints of complex Cubist distortion creates an intense sense of mystery in many of the graphics. The com plexity ca n ~ ',

POETICAL IMAGES

even become overpowering, as in the more abstrac t drawings of Picasso's later period luntitled works 55, 581. But the artist held very clear views on the subject of cri ti cs attempting to "explain " his works : "Why not try to understand the songs of a bird" he was once to exclaim - "In the case of a painting, people have to understand . people who try to ex plain pictures are u.sually barking up the wrong tree." I must confess that while vi ewing his works, I was not really co ncern ed with how they "signifi ed the fears and aspirations of mankind, iaced with the spec tre of confli ct and mass destruction," as our esteemed vice-president Mr. R. Venkataraman had declared in his speech opening the exhibition. Far from it. On the con trary, one felt transported to a far more perfect and permanent world, a region of constant beauty and nobility _ Images of th e Minotaur, lovely classicaJ faces, artists with their models, POI'

By SrI mati路Lal

The lirst-ever exhibition in India of originals by Picasso, which was on at the National Gallery of Modern Art till Jan. 20, was an exciting event. Sixty significant graphics on display provided a valuable insight into the techniques, recurring motifs and images, and intelectual development of one of our cen tury's major creative geniuses. Between 1899 and 1972, Picasso (1881-1973) produced about three thousand dra\vings in a wide variety of techniques and a stylistic compass ranging from pure Classicism to Cubism, the 20th century form which he evolved together with his peel', Braque. The important stages of this development were dramatically visible in the selection of graphics on that were on view from the collection of Spanish National Gallery of Modern Art. traits of Rembrandt and Degas, fantasy landscapes, doves of peace taking night over rainbows -- all these were from some magic dream. This was art as legend -

true art that could help the spirit take wings and soar above mundane reality: the art that Camus spoke of when he said, "No artist tolerates reality'.

QualIty 01 ExIra-Real "The essen tial thing in our

period of weak morale is to create

a knol ill lhe Hair, Dying Minolaur and Young Sculplol' al work that are purely classical, necessitated for the artist the creation of and mastery over a new form :one th, belter represented and symbo lised his own epoch. It is when one views the angular, non-conforming and protestful Cubist images that one is struck by the qu ality of historicity in Picasso's

enthusiasm. How many people have actually read Homer' All the same the whole world talks of him. In this way the Homeric Legend is crea ted . The only thing tha I's importan t is the legend created by a p icture . not whether it continu es to exist itself," Picasso himself explai ns, vision. Contemporaneity is im"'th a brilliant, insightful humi- mediately conveyed by the jagged li ty_ This quality of the exlrd-real, e dges and frantic rhythms of this of 'legend', is what strikes one new fonn a nd vision. yet a Guernica does notl and cannotl exist in most about Picasso's images. Technically, of course, the artist this graphical world of the artist's, is completely brazen, confronting that is essentially wistful delicate forcibly, upon a single callvas, and fanciful : " th e st uff that one historical period with another dreams are made on".

far removed in time; one mood or

I

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rasa and another Ithe tragic, the classical, with the comic sa tiri cal, the romantic); one medium with another li nk treated for special effects with sugar, with resins, with acids; or the impact of blackand-white starkly juxtaposed with vivid primary colours, as in Flying Dove Over Ihe Rainbow). All of this co ntributes to the final effect of the dream in drawings 55 and 58, in the Rembrandl portraits, in the dazzlingly abstract and semi-ori-

ental coloured linocuts Fauns INDIAN COUNCIL FOR CULTURAL RELATtONS &

NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART PRESENT AN EXHIBmON OF GRAPHICS BY

PABLO PICASSO AT THE JEHANGIR NICHOLSON MUSEUM OF MODERN ART NA nONAl CENTRE FOR THE PERfORMING ARTS NARlMAN POINT, BOMBAY-400021 FROM 3RD TO 15TH FEBRUARY 1987. 10.00 AM TO 7.00 PM DAllY

6

20 Jen.-S Feb. 1987

and Head and Before Ihe Lance, and the artist-with-model studies. And an effortless finesse of line, strung with a piercing kind of sharpness, gives the picture a quality of music; carefully plannc:l and fi n ely orchestrated .

A New Form It is evident that the sheer per-

fection of Picasso's lines, the complete, harmonious mastery as seen in works like Francoise wilh

" If the lines and fonn rhyme and become animated, it's like a poem , To achieve it it is not necessary to use many words _..

sometimes there is much more poetry in two or three lines than in the longest of poems," says Pica~so, in an attempt to explain the exquisite stylization and precision of his drawings. The magic

of the artist's visions lies in the achievement of this poetry. II is pointless to try and 'explain' this magic further. Picasso had a maniacal distrust of over--acade-

mic art critics and theorists : "Ciitics mathematicians scieni

l

tists and busybodies want to classify everything, marking boundaries and limits, making one thing prevail over another; when, in reality, two statements can exist at the same time. In art, there is room for all possibilities, , ," 'Picasso's own statements taken from Picasso all Arl by Dore Ashton)


Reviews and Reflections _____ GF8rum ____ azcUc _-;---_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ ~==-

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Untllled/ ll,3.1970 45.3 x 56.B em. mounting 31.6 x 42 em. plat"

Dying Mlnotaur/ 30.5. 1933/ (Sulte Vollard 90) 34.2 x 44.5 em. mounting 19.5 x 27 em. pl.te

Untltled/ fB.B.I968 2B x 35.2 em. mounting 15 x 20.7 em. plat.

Untltled/19 and 20.4. 1970 50.5 x 65.5 em. mounting 36.B x 4B.9 em. plate

20 Jln.-5 Feti. 1987

7


:The

v._I_ew __p_om __ t ______________________

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Call for 'Cease Fire', Moratorium on Violence Delhi Declaration on Punjab Reported by B.G. Verghese Former Edltor-in-Chlef Indian Express

A hint of possible overtures and opportunity for a settlemen't despite escalating violence in Punjab emerged from a Dialogue on Punjab in Delhi on Thul'Sday January 15 at which all points of view including some reflecting the sentiments of extremist groups were represented. It was agreed that the unity and integrity of India was not in question and that Khalistan is a cry of frustration of a limited number of angry and alienated youth with only a few hard core elements committed to it. Violence tium every quar· tel' was unanimously con· demned as abhorrent espe· cially against innocent per· sons, particularly women and children, and seen as achieving nothing. The meeting raised its voice against terrorism as well as torture, excesses and indignities by security fo rces. No one is above the law and uniformed forces must be visibly accountable for their ac tions. A suggestion that mel with wide approval was that there should be an all-I"Ound moratorium on all types of violence lvith effect from January 26. There should be no terrorist killings while the Gove ...nment; for its part, should redeploy its forces, suspend search and seizure operations, and avoid repression. The object would 'Ie to create conditions favoura· ble to the initiation of dia· logue and the implemen· tation of measures calculated to restore credibility, confidence, community relations and the political process. The emo tional and psychological fac tors leading to anger and alienation were seen as key elements

in the situation. The causative factors must be removed. It was also pointed out that the emotional factor was important on both sides. Among those attending the Dialogue, convened by a grou p of concerned citizens, were Mr Balwant Singh, Finance Minister of Punjab, Capt Amarinder Singh, (Aka Ii Dal Badal Group); Jathedar Harcharan Singh (Secretary UAD, and SGPC); Major (retd) Jagjit Singh (Taksal group); Baba Amte; Dinesh Singh (Congress-II; Harkishen Singh Surjeet (CPJ-M ); Avtar Singh Ma lhotra (CPIJ; Prof G.S. Shergill (Principal Khalsa College, Amritsar); Krishan Kant ; Rajinder Sachar; Rani Jethmalani; Rajni Kothal;; Prem Shankar Jha; MJ Akbar; Sukhjit Singh; Pai Panandiker; N.K. Mukarji ; Bhabani Sengupta; K F Rustamji; P Rosha; Lt Gen J.S. Aurora (Retd); Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh (Retd); Chandan Mitra; Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, M.P.; Guizar Singh Sandhu; Avtar Singh Hit (Secretary Akali DalBadal / DGPC); Bhuvnesh Chaturvedi, M.P.; Radhakrishna (Gandhi Peace Foundation ); Bhagwant Singh Dilawari; H.S. Bhanwar;

F8rum

GazeUe • • • • • 8

Minority Rights Civil Liberties Equality for Women Democratic Values Environmental Protection

20 Jan.-S Feb. 1987

Viren Shah; Rajendra Sareen; Shaminder Singh, M.P.; Baljit Malik; Pran Chopra; Harji Malik; Baljit Singh; M.K. Rasgotra; Gurbachan Singh; Kuldip Nayar; Narinder Singh; Trilochan Singh; R.S. Narula; Anita Singh; Javid Laiq; Jagjit Singh Anand, Eric Gonsalves; Col Thanwar Singh; Amrik Singh; and B.G. verghese. Inder Gujral and Patwant Singh moderated the discussion. Removal of Causes of Violence It was agreed that violerice could be ended only by l'Cmoving its causes. Among other things this would entail restoring a sense of dignity, honour safety and justice among all minorities vvithin and outside Punjab - a task for both governments and society. Those reponsible for the November 1984 killings must be identified and punished. The many innocent held in detention in Jodhpur and elsewhere, including political prisoners, should be immediately released. Others should be permitted to be interviewed in their places of detention so that their minds could be known. It was said that many or most de tenus wanted to end terrorism and were lvilling or could be persuaded to give assurances that would be found generally acceptable to the nation. If the Prime Minister were to s ignal that the Government lvill respond to such assurances, steps could be initiated to set such a constructive process in motion and commence a meaningful dialogue. While some felt that the Pu njab Accord had outlived its utility as its nonimplementation by the Centre had led to a serious erosion of credibility, and others suggested a new accord, the general view was that the Accord still has validity and provides some anchorage which shou ld be strengthened. • Continued on page 9 cot 1

Perceptions From ..... The Dellii Dialogue on Punjab ~~The current struggle in Punjab is to resrore the han

our of the Sikhs?" "If Sikll youth in Punjab and Sikhs elsewhere cannot protect themselves and their families, how can they Akali Activist help to defend the country." "Sikh masses must beactivised against extremism. This should be the task of all political parties." "Any futu/'C agreement on Punjab should not bypass the accord. " - CPM Memher "The nation is travelling down the wrong mad in Punjab." "The violence is designed from outside to destmy India." "The accord must be implemented. " - A Senior Editor "There appears to be more response from the government to 'Khalistan ' than all the real pending pl'Oblems in the state." - Social worker in Baba Amtes Group "The guilty men of 1984 must be punished." . "Barnala misjudged the June 30, 1986 police action in the Golden Temple. He should have stoud up to pressure from the Centre." - BJP M.P. "The killing must stop, the political pmcess reactivated and a 3 month long ceasefire should be announced. " "A new accord should be hammered out in a spirit of forgive and forget. " - Political Scientist and Leading Columnist. "The' struggle in Punjab is against the zulum (wrongl done to the Sikhs." "The accord was arrived at in too much huny. The youth I'llill have to be involved. Come to the taksal, talk 10 the boys." - Sikh Activist "It is still not too late. The nation must conscript its consciense for Punjab. In seeking a solution, the truth cannot be accompanied by a bodyguard of lies. " - Baba Amte

"A climate is being created that terrorists can only be dealt with by stepping out of the law. This is extremely - Ex In spector General of Police dangemus. "Buta Singh is the greatest disaster for resolving the Punjab crisis." "There must be immediate talks with the y outh; even with those who are in Jodhpur Jail." Simranjeet Singh Mann should be released. He can be a key figure to work out a political settlement. - Supreme Court Lawyer, "The first step: Punish the guilty of 1984." "The nation feels let down by disunity in Akali ranks. Akali unity is essential for any settlement. " - Civil Liberties Leader


F&ume _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Gazett Delhi Declaration Continued from page 8 col 3

Various suggestions were made on the specific issues of Chandigarh and water but there was unanimity that time should not be lost by waiting for the Haryana poll to be over. Politically partisan action must be avoided. None would really gain by such tactics; India would certainly lose.

Restore Communal Amity Another matter that the gathering felt required urgent and concerted attention was that of restoring communal amity in the true religious tradition of Punjab and in consonance with the bonds of common culture. The game of mass killings to provoke fear, migration and a backlash must be exposed and countered. Role of Media In these tasks the media, it was said, could playa constructive role by exercising restraint, avoiding sensationalism and by reporting matters objectively after due verification. There must be no censorship. Positive developments must be reported and published with some prominence. Threats to the media and magistracy in discharging their resonsibilities fairly were equally deplored. Restore Political Process There was consensus on the imperative need to restore the political process by all parties and at all levels; to secure united action in fulfillment of these urgent national goals; to undertake mass mobilisation; and to win over the youth of Punjab. Akali unity was seen as of great importance and an appeal was made to all the Akali factions to close ranks and work together. President's rule and calling out . the Army for security duties in Punjab were strongly· disfavoured by most as steps liable to

exacerbate the situation. Law and order and other administrative measures must be accompanied by political initiatives. Economic uncertainty and discontent must also be countered, and the youth given a vision of the future through the unfolding of a policy to build a New Punjab.

The Other Side of Hindu-Sikh Amity

yoti Punwanl writes from Bombay that there is a trend in the city for Sikhs to appeal for cooperation and security from avowedly communal and chauvainist sections of the dominant Hindu majority, such as the R.S.S. and the Shiv Sena. If this process develops further, even in the name External Factor of Hindu-Sikh amity, it would be The external factor in setting a dangerous precedent the Punjab situation was for cooperation on a communal noted, with people mov- basis. Since Operation Blue Star, the ing both ways across the divide between Hindus and border with Pakistan, in- Sikhs has grown. With it have cluding heroin peddlars, also grown efforts to preserve smugglers and other crim- and maintain the historic traditional relations between the inal elements. However, communities. These efforts were some felt that the prop- most evident during the antiosal to seal the border Sikh violence in Delhi in was not feasible while November 84, which culminated others . argued that mass in the formation and coalition voluntary groups determined mobilisation and political of not ' to fall in line with what action in Punjab render seemed to be the official line of external influences in- allowing Sikhs to become alienated from the national maineffective. stream. Many of the groups Expression of Regret which' came into existense and joined hands, were entirely seThe idea of a morato- cular in outlook. The best examrium on violence on all ple being the Nagrik Ekta Manch sides, referred to earlier, in Delhi and various civil liberwas accompanied by 'a ties and democratic rights suggestion that this could organisations. Following the November '84 perhaps be set out with a violence, various sectarian preamble giving assurance and/ or communal (as against of restoration of honour community-based) organisations and dignity to all and an also became active in efforts to expression of regret at the project Hindu-Sikh unity. One such organisation is the turn events had taken. Bombay-based Rashtriya Ekjoot, The meeting conclud- which has of late been forging ed with an appeal to all ties with the city's Sikhs. However, the motivations and parties and groups to go to Punjab to undertake origin of this group reveal a controversial side of attempts to mass mobilisation, con- forge Hindu-Sikh unity. Rashtact the youth, revive triya Iligoot was formed in the the political process and wake of the Centre's decision to work for peace and enact the Muslim Women (procommunal amity. All we- tection of Rights on Divorce) Bill, with the express aim of re agreed that time is opposing the Bill. I! held demrunning out and urgent onstrations against the Bill outaction is necessary, side Cong III MPs ' hom e in building on positive ele- Bombay, publicly burnt copies ments in the situation of the Bill, and also sat in a at Hutalma Chowk, dewhich is otherwise cau- chama manding a common civil code. sing deep concern to HoWever, unlike other groups all. who opposed the Bill, Rashtriya Despite the expression Ekjoot's objections were based of many divergent views, on the fear that the Bill snacked of "separatist tendencies" and the discussion was con- went against the country 's ducted without recrimina- "unity and integrity". I! is for tion' or rancour and in a the same reason of 'unity and spirit of shared concern integrity' that Ekjoot demands a for the common good and common civil code, according to advocate S.S. Desai, the Genethe national interest. - ral Secretary.

NEWSHOUND .. AND ALSO TO 1H~ OPPOSITION

t'ARTlfS •I

J

The President of Rashtriya Ill<joot Is VKlyadhar Gokhale, well-known Marathi writer and journalist, equaUy weliknown for his RSS views.

RSS Front

According to his line of thinking i-t is obvious that whereas Sikhs should be taken as being part of the Hindu tradition, other religions like Islam and Christianity should be treated differently as minority religions. I! is no coincidence that EKjoot's favourite term of reference, the words "unity and integrity", are being used to whip up a Hindu patriotic frenzy. Again, not surprisingly, Rashtriya Ekjoot believes that singing the national anthem must be made compulsory.

At the time of its formation, Ekjoot was judged as no more than a BJP-front; more correctly Dangerous Tr~nd an RSS-front. But Desai insists The danger in this kind of that none of its activists are involved in political parties. The approach to Hindu-Sikh unity leading luminaries in Ekjoot, comes from its intention : it is like Desai, Gokhle and AIVind Hindus and Sikhs against MusGodbole reject the notion of . Iims ; indeed, not just Hindus Semitic influence on the Sikh and Sikhs, but Hindus-i.e., Sikhs, religion. They point out ihat the Buddhists, Jains, against the teachings of the Sikh gurus "alien" religions of Islam and were derived from the Vedas, Christianity. When the ruling party is not and not from Semitic traditions. They cite the very word doing its best to sustain a 'guru' to 'prove' their point that Hindu chauvinist mood whipped up since Operation Blue Sikhism is a part of Hinduism. While Ekjoot has shown en- . Star, and minorities are at the thusiasm to extend its solidarity receiving end, this sort of unity to the Sikhs in the interests of plays into the hands of those 'unity and integrity', it has not who have little sympathy for the taken the initiative to allay the rights of minorities. Communal fears of the Muslims. General amity and cooperation can sureSecretary Desai is firm in his ly not be furthered through views about minorities. He be- appeals to chauvanist organisalieves that "the more conces- tions who think that patriotism sions you give them, the more and nationalism are their monopoly. • separatist they become

Do¥ouWantA Bonded Press? The Prime Minister's Deputy Information Adviser, Mani Shankar Aiyar, has written an angry letter to the editol'in-chief of the Indian Express. Aiyar did not like the way in which the Indian Express criticised the 5 crore cultural extravaganza called 'Apna UIsa,' held recendy in Delhi. He has called the press reporters 'Iumpens' and said the press lacks credibility. Aiyar'sletter has serious implica.tions on press freedom. Should Indian press be a copy book of AIR and Doordarshan? Should the PM's secretariat prescribe as to how the press should conduct itself - what to write and what not to write? Madhu Dandavate wrole to the prime minister, strongly protesting against Mani Shankar ~yar's letter. Dandavate sees this action of PM's adviser as an attempt to browbeat various forces sustaining democracy. The text of the letter:he full text of a letter written by your Deputy Press Adviser, Mani Shankar Aiyar, to Sumen Dubey, Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Express on November 26, t986 has been published in sections of the Press. He seems to be very much disturbed by the criticism in the press about the 'Apna Vstav·. In his anxiety and enthusiasm to defend the 'Apna Vtsav' organised by the Government he has carried on a tirade against press and has alleged that it lacks "credibili ty". He has lashed out at the reporters as "Iumpen" because they showed the temerity to express their lack of appreciation of 'Apna Vtsav'. Casting aspersions on the Press, Mani Shanker Aiyar, in his letter, has commented that "collectively the Press establishment's hackles rose when the Prime Minister complained of the whiners and graoners at the 'Hitavada' function last month". Your Deputy Advisor may

T

honestly differ with the assessment of the Press about the Apna Vtsava, but using his official position he has no business to make such sweeping and derogatory remarks against the journalists and have the arrogance to teach them ·ethics·. Mani Shanker Aiyar forgets that ours is supposed to be a free society endowed with a free press. Do you want it to be replaced by a 'bonded' Press that will dance to the tune of the Government and offer an orchestrated appreciation of the festivals organised by Government? In a democracy conscious people, vigilant Parliament, independent iudiciary and a fearless Press provide the cheeks and balances of democracy. An attempt to brow-bea t anyone of them is an attempt to subvert democracy itself. I only hope that your concept of press relations is not based on intimidation but on freedom of Press. Madhu Dandawte, M.P.

20 Jan.-S Feb. 1987

9


F8rum ____________ ____________ Gazcuc

The Man Who Founded A Great Newspaper HOW THE HINDUSTAN TIMES WAS BORN IN AMRITSAR Udy. or the majority of living Indians today it will be a matter of great StlJllrise to learn that there was a time earlier in this century when the capital of India, Delhi, had no English language newspaper. It was indeed a major lacunae for the freedom struggle which was gaining momentum and com· munication through media was an absolute necessity. Such a situation prevailed since no one had the enterprise to start an El1I!Iish language newspaper; nor did the British attach enough importance to launch a paper to promote their own interests. It was a1io a time Sikh issues and politics were hotting up and their growing interests naturally fostered an ambition to start a newspaper. Sardar Manga) SIngh, who was then the President of the Gurudwara Committee in Amritsar, thought up the idea-of starting an English language newspaper. But as expected,. he and his friends wanted it from Amritsar, the holy city of the Sikhs. AkaJi politics were day by day getting stronger during the early twenties. The urgency of starting the proposed paper was being felt in concerned circles of the AkaJi Dal. Eventually they found a man who could translate their idea into reality. The man was no other than 8ardar K.M_ PanIldcar. Panikkar visited Arnritsar on a special mission on behalf of Gandhiji. It was during this visit that he had a

F

meeting with Sardar Mangal Singh.

time the British Resident was CHS Cotton who had a reputation for unduly interfering in the administration. Hindustan Times correspondents reported the news, and after. ascertaining the facts, the story -was published in the paper under the headline "Cotton Epidemic in Travancore". An official inquiry was. underway. The publication of the story attracted adverse comment from a seclion of the Nair community, which was pro-cotlon ... put the paper did not retract from its position.

Plnlkklr'1 Advice Panikkar advised Mangal Singh of the futility of starting an English daily from a district centre like Amritsar, even though it was the holiest of holy places for the Sikh community. The ·Sardar' from Travancore promised them all help, but only if the paper was published from Delhi instead of Amritsar. However/ Panikkar's suggestion was not accepted initially. Mangal Singh and his associates argued that the paper could represent the Sikh community only if it was published from Amritsar. In reality Delhi was most suited to support a daily newspaper and ultimately Panikkar's sound suggestion was accepted. Thus the premier daily, Hindus tan Time., was founded under the editorship of Samar K.M_ PanIldcar with Sardar Manga) Singh as its first owner and pubUsher_ Panikkar also made it clear that the paper as a national daily would deal with national politics and not be used as a vehicle for the partisan interests of a particular community or a group within a community.

Teething Troubles Mangal Singh and Panikkar had to overcome many problems. Delhi, in those days, had very few compositors to cope with . English types. There was

Change 01 Ownership Sardar Manga/ Singh, who and first published the Hlndustan Times also no press foreman who could efficiently run a large press. Panikkar started with two assistants, G.S. Raghavan and Dr. Ambadi Krishna Menon. Raghavan was competen t in every department of a newspaper from composing and selecting types to writing leading articles. He took a salary of Rs. 500/ - and side by side borrowed from everyone to lead an extravagant life. He loved the good things of life, and had them with bonuwed money! Mangal Singh, despite difficulties, put his energy and resowces into the paper and the Hindustan Times made good progress. The first issue was inaugurated by Gandhiji in 19Z4 and it

carried articles by Motilal Nehru, Maulana Mohammad Ali, Jawaharlal Nehru and other leading lights of the freedom movement. Being the only English language newspaper, it soon attracted wide attention with its high standard of journalism.

'Cotton Epidemic' In Travancore There is an interesting example of how the paper got involved in a controversy in its early years, but emerged from it with a reputation for fearless, unbiased journalism . In th e erstwhile princely State of Travancore, th e Maharajah Sri Mulam Thirunal passed away. Hi s successor Maharani Sri Sethu Lakshmi Bai took over the reigns of government. At that

In Pakistan with Khushwant Singh landed in L.1hore I found my pictu rc on the front page of The Jang, Pakistan ·s leading newspaper. They had published extracts lium an article I had wrillen on the falsification of history - as to how Indian history had been moulded so as to foml . an anti-muslim bias. In fac t, that article proved to be my passport to Pakistani hospilality. Almost Ihe entire village in Hadali ga thered-to give me a rousing reception. They were aU flattered when I caUed my ,;sit my Haj and Humra. I was Excerpts From The Interview. the n taken to my ancestral home which is occ~p ied by What was the purpose of Muslim refugees tium Rohalak. your recent visit .to Paldstan? . All in all, Indians don 't give visI had been invited to a wed- iting Pakistanis the same kind of ding in Lahore. In fact that was gra nd treatment. an exc use to make a trip down You said you last visited memory lane-to my ancestral Pakistan some years ago. Hahome in Hadali beyond Sar- ve things changed since then? god ha, as I am working on my Yes, I was there the day they autobiography and I wanted to hanged Bhullo. I was the only refresh my memory of my child- Indian journalisl in Islamabad. hood days. He had not become a legend How long would you take to and there were hardly any linish the autobiography? demonstrations or violence. PeoI have just begun to work on ple seemed so grief-stricken it . I"ve finished writing about over his death that they just the days when I was ·c1ose to couldn ·t react. I wen t to Karachi the Nehru-Gandhi family. About the following day expecting trouNehru, Sanjay and the stonny ble but nothing happened. the relations between Maneka the resurgence of the Bhutto mys·bahu· and the ·saas·. tique came about only a q'ew How do you describe your years ago. He is now regarded as a folk hero and a champion vioit? The enonnous welcome a of the poor. But one must Sikh gets there is fantastic. For- remember that today Zia-ul-Haq tunately for me, the day I may not be loved but he is not

Khulhwant Singh recently returned Irom a " trip down memory lane" to Pakistan, which he last visited on the day Bhullo was a..aaslnated. Speaking to LAKHtNDER VOHRA on his Impressions 01 Pakistan today, he thought that the time was not yet ripe lor a 'revolution' Ihere and that Benazlr hardly posed any threat to the military dictatorship.

K

10

20 J8n_-5 Feb. 1987

hated. He is respected. He is a dictator but is considered to be a pious man. His personal life is above reproach and there is not even a b'"eath of scandal about him 01" any of his family metnbel'S. So I don 't see any serious Ihreat to his leadership. About the recent riots in Karachi, the so-called resignations, etc, How did the people react? The reactions have been quite sha'l'. The liashpoint ca me aftel" tlUuble had been . brewing in Karachi for so me time between Ihe Afghan l"efugees and the Biha';· Muslims. In faci Ihe Afgha ns who look refuge on the pretext of training to fight the Ru ssians, have over the years settl ed down to a comfortable life. To a la rge ex tent. an an ti· Afghani feeling has developed among the people who hold the l"efugees l"esponsible for all the· illegal trade in drugs, anns, etc. MOI"eover, the Nghanis being aggresive in 'nature, the clashes became inevitable. The people in Karachi and elsewhere have reacted ,vith a sense of shame 10 all this but they feel that th e Afghanis should go back to their own co untry and fight. Please comment on Benaz. irIs position, vi~a vis Zia.. Can she overthrow him? She lacks the kind of support Zia seems to have among the masses. People do come in large numbers to listen to her, young men are crili cal of the

The negoliati ons between the Government and Sikhs were completed by the end of February the same year. But the settlement had a negative effect on the newspaper. The Sikhs were losing interest in the Hindustan Times and wanted to sell the paper either to Motilal Nehru or to Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya. Panikkar put up a proposition to Sardar Mangal Singh that in case the paper had to change hands, it should be sold to MotHal Nehru. But it was too late. In March that year Mangal Singh had already sold the paper to Malaviyaji. Malaviyaji and Lala Lajpat Rai jointly took over the manage ment of the Hindustan Times. Thus ended the Sikh control of the first English daily founded by them in Delhi and also the brilliant editorship of the paper by Sardar K.M . Panikkar. in th eir media. Even the PM ' re marks waming Pakistan not I medd le in our acti\~ties received hu nt-page headlines. But do you think such a feeling is justilied? Well, if I was a Pakistani, I wou ld feel the same way. EveIybod'y in Pakistan seems to have Ihis belief that as soon as the Punjab problem is felt to go ou t of control this Indian go\lemme nt "viii launch a mil italY attack on them. And how do they react to

government and do want a change but the feeling is not yet so strong as to overthrow Zia, In lact, the traditionalists fiercely oppose Benazir, especially during her mammoth rallies. They are notorious for their anti- Benazir slogans. As I am told, some. of the them go like this: 8ahiya sharam ""ro, Apni behn da vyaah karao; Zia nahin Ie Junejo naal Nikaah karao. the extremist issue in !Brethren, have shame. Get your general? sister married. If not Zia, then There is a sneaking sympathy for Ihe Khalistani. Largely beget her mamed to Junejo.l Coming to the Punjab prob- cause th ey feel that the Hindus lem, to what extent do the had been victimising Muslims Pakistanis admit they ai", and that now th e situation had involved? co me 10 be the same for the They fl atly deny any li nks . Sikhs. In fac t, they are happy to with the ex tremists. Most of see a di scontented India. When Ihem feel th at if there was an we have trouble they highlight element of tl"uth in the I"e p0l1ed il as we do their throubl es in allegations of our governmen t, our media. "'he n Muslims are something concrete would have ki lled hel"e, like in the BangalOl"e come up. by now. Eyen th e liots recen tly, Pakistani papers Somayya Committee which re- screamed-'Gyarah Mussalman ce ntly went to Pakistan proved Shahecd·' III Muslims martyred l. to be a flop. They had video How has Pakistan reacted tapes and some other miscel- to the entire concept of laneous evidence to prove the Islamisation? involvemen t. But as I am lold, The only evidence of Islamitheir evidence was not co nclu- sation i~ Pakistan are the newlysive enough. built mosques and an enor-To what extent does a fear mous amount of propaganda. psychosis of a military attack Other than that hard liquor is from India exist in Pakistan? easily available. Conuption is They are obsessed with it. rampant, drug trafficking is They know that India is strong common, and there are (ewer and with the Ru ssians round burkha-clad women on the strethe comer, they are haunted by ets. Most surprisingly, this time this fear. And that's why Gorba- I found many women dressed chev·s visit featured prominently in saris at social gatherings.

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F8rum

H __ eM_'m_g~e_a_n_d_H_i_st_ory~________________(3azette

Patiala, of 36 gentlemen which was to recommend ways and means for the beHer manageme nt of the gurdwaras. This was interpreted by the Sikhs as an undue interference in their religous affairs by the Govemment So some of their leaders constituted a committee consisting of 175 members !O be known as the Shil'Omani Gurdwara Prabandhak Commillee IS.G.P.C.I for the management of all Sikh shtines. The S.G.P.C decided to acquire contl'Ol over the gurdwara at Na nkana Sahib which at that time was under the possession of mahant Narain Das who did not bear a good moral reputati on. The committee announced a 'diwan ' to be held on February 20, 1921 at a place near Nankana Sahib. The mahant employed a number of bad characters in order to resist the

Gandhi and the Punjab* S.L. Malhotra

S

ikhs belong to the martial races of the Punjab. During the war their number in the army I'Ose from 35,000 at th e beginning of 1915 to ovel' 100,000 by the end of the war. So Ihey were considered incapab le of carrying on a non-violent struggle. Gandh i was even advised by some of his ftiends to refrain from pulling the idea of non-coopera tion before the Sikhs. But their performance in the norHriolent non-cooperation belied all such fears. Lajpat Rai W!'Qte to Gandhi, "The Sikh noncooperators have set a noble example ... The Sikh commu nity has so far kept its temper admirably well in spite of the

pr'OvDcations given

Golden Temple, the temples at Nankana and Panja Sahib; had large jagil's attached to them. The management of the Golden Temple at Amtitsar was in the hands of the head priest who was under th e contl'Ol and supervision of the Deputy Commissioner. Before th e formation of the

despite latter's efforts to appease them. A new organisation of the Sikhs known as the Sikh League was formed . Its leaders clecided to acquire control over the Golden Temple. The radical elements among the Sikhs organised a semi-military corps of volun teers known as the Akali Dal larmy of immortals.l It was

. Our

, Sikh ftiends deserve all the praise one can bestow on bldve, noble sufferers in the cause of trulh." In reply, Gandhi observed, 'Their resolute behaviour, their religious fervour, their calmness and their suffeting command my highest admiration .. ." Similar was th e finding of the Civil Disobedience Enquiry Commillee_ Answeting the 4uestion as to why the movement had remained more or less free from violence, the I" POrt of the CommiHee says, "The answer, clear and conclusive, is given by the outstanding feature of the situation that it is the martial races of Northem India, both in the Punjab and the United Pmvinces, who, while smarting uncler brutal treatment, have maintained th e most wonderful self-restraint." The training that the Sikhs l'eceived' in the use of the new weapon added a new chapter to the history of their community in the Punjab. They made use of the new technique in refonning theil' religious and social institutions. They applied the method of non-\10Ient struggle in establishing the contl'Ol of their community over their religious shrines known as 'gurdwaras' which had been under the contl'Ol of individuals known as 'mahants', some of whom did not bear a good reputation. In a large number of cases the lands and the pl'Operties attached to the 'gurdwaras' were entered in their names. Some, like the

attempts of the Akalis to take possession of the gurdwara. In the early moming hours of the sched uled date, a jatha (band) consisting of 150 or 130 Akalis led by Lachhman Singh Dhal'Ova!i en tered the gu rdwara. The gates of the shtine were then closed and all the volunleers were brutally murdered by men employed by Narain Das. The news of the outrage raised a stann in the province. Gandhi was in the Punjab a t that time. He told his ftiends that the tragedy received his full attention. Since no man from the party of Lachhman Singh, that entered the gurdwara, survived to tell the dreadful tale, Gandhi could not obtain true facts abou t the conduct of Sikh vol unteers at the time of attack on their lives. Still he was inclined to believe that the conduct of the Akalis was nonviolent. The greater possibility,

GandhlJi In pre-partition Punjab Sikh League, the Singh Sabha made some efforts to gain contl'Ol over the gurdwaras but being loyal to the Govel'l)ment it was hardly in a position to take any direct action against Ihe Governmen t. Its endeavours to achieve its e nd thl'Ough petitions and redress from courts did not yield any significant success. This pl'Oduced resentment and consternation in the community. An incident at Delhi in 19 12 created a stir among Sikhs in the Punjab. In the co urse of building of the new capital the Govemment acquired land attached to gurdwara Rikab Ganj and demolished an old boundry wall. Radical elements among the Sikhs challenged the mahanl's tight to alienate gurdwara pl'Operty and condemned the demolition of the wall as sactilegious. But the clash between the Govemment and Sikhs was averted as a result of the commencement of the War. But on the restoration of peace in 1918, the agitation against the contl'Ol of gurdwaras by individuals reappeared with greater vigour which bl'Ought the Sikhs in conflict with the Govemment

to raise and train men for ac tion ' in laking over th e gurdwaras from recalcitrant mahants. In pursuance of their aim of freeing the Golden Temple from the official contl'Ol, some of the Akali volunteers bl'Oke a timeold tradition maintained by the 'mahants' by accepting the 'karah parshad offetings' from the untouchable-baptised Sikhs and prese nted it before the Granth Sahib against the wishes of the ptiests. The latter left the temple in pl'Otest. The Akalis immediately took contl'Ol of the temple. The Govemmen t ttied to assert its authotity over the temple by constituting . a committee, thl'Ough the Maharaja of

according 10 him, was that the party entered the gllrdwara as wol'hsippers and on being attacked they did not retaliate and willingly died under a vow not to usc violence in connection with the gurdwara movement. In that case, he added, "the mal1yrs showed courage and resignation of the martyrs-order of which the Sikhs; India and the whole wodd had every reason to be pl'Oud." He, therefore, designated their deeds as an act of national bravery. According to Girdhati Lal, a Congress leader of Lahore, "the members of the latha truly followed their leader and did not use their kirpans at all but

hel'Oically and valiantly sactificed their lives for their faith. If they had' acted othervvise, there must have been greater casualttes amongs t the mahant 's people." The Govemment ttied to pacify the Sikhs by taking action against the culptits. Twentynine persons were arrested. The management was handed over to the Khalsa Panth. The Governor, accompanied by a number of officials, visited the place of the tragedy. The Sikh leaders, on the other hand, made use of the inflamed sen timents of the people for extending their contl'Ol over all the gurdwaras. Aptil 5, 1921 was fixed as the Nankana Sahib Martyrs' Day. The Sikhs were asked to wear black turbans in memory of the martyrs of Nanka na Sahib. Sikh leadership now passed into the hands of those who favoured opposi tion to the Govemment. Gandhi's non-cooperation moveme nt held great appeal for them. Kharak Singh, a follower of Gan dhi, was elected presidenl of the Shil'Omani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee. The Government turned hostile to the office-bearers of the Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee on account of their avowed connection with the non-cooperaion movement: In order to take con tl'Ol ou t of the hands of the new Committee, the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar took the keys of the treasury of the Golden Temple and planned to hand them over to his own nominee. This led to an agitation by the S.G.P.C which resulted in the afTCst and conviction of about 198 pel'Sons, including three successive presidents, four successive secretaries and practically the whole of the Working Committee of the S.G.P.C. Despite grave pl'Ovocations by the Government and its agents the agitation remained non-violent that made Gandhi remark, "When bom fighters become non-violent, they exhibit courage of the highest order. Ultimately the Govemment was co mpe lled to seek a compl'Omise. Ii offered to retum the keys of the Go lden Temple on certain conditions. But the ShiI'Omani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee insisted on unconditional release of all the prisoners as the first condition of a se ttlement. Without even waiting for all th e terms of a settlement, the Government announced its decision to release all Sikh plisoners. But the S.G.P.c. insisted on the release of non-

Sikh prisoners, too, who had been arrested in connection with the agitation relating to the Key Affair. Commending this attitude of the S.G.P.c., Gandhi wrote, "The Sikh awakening seems to be truly wonderful. Not only has AkaJi party become a party of effective non-violence but it is evolving a line code of honour... . On the assurance of th e Govemment ihat the Hindu ptisoners also would be released, the S.G.P.C agreed to a settlement whereby the keys were restored to it. Gandhi described the unconditional retum of the keys of the Golden Temple as the "first decisive battle won." • From Gandhi and the Pun-

iab - S.L. Malhotra; Puniab University - 1970. 20 Jen.-5 Feb. 1987

11


:the

_T~_路__F_OI_'b_U~gh_t_'8_S_ro_ry~_______________ ~pe

______________________________

wile re lel1'Cd to. In fact, Somrit was on ly the spotted bitch's puppy and was born under the

The Peasant and the White Mati

htl!. His colour was stl 'ange,

Khamslng Srfnawk

he village is no more than and buffalo shed does not mean 20 kilometers to the north he is a special class of peasant . of Bangkok. lis houses are who does not have to work for strung along a canal each separ- the name, only that at his age, ated from the other by a water- no longer having the strength to filled ditch and a boundaly of wrestle with the soi\' he supersmall trees. Most of them are annuated himself. The life of true peasants like low with atop roofs sloping down almost to the raised earth Khong is uncomplicated, predebeneath. The sleeping platform tennined. When the rains come, and kitchen are waist high and they plough, then seed, then their wooden floo rs are wide replant . If the rain is good, enough to accommodate the thel'C's enough rice left over to family. What space there is in sell, and if too much, they buy the house in partitioned by rice with whal condiments, flower-patterned cotton hang- shrimp paste and fish sauce ings. In front of each house is a th ey need on credit and wait to crudely made bench or upend- redeem themselves the followed logs for fiiends to sit on ing year. You can think of it as when they stop by to chat. in fate or call it, more flatteringly the dry season, the treadmill, as the townspeople do, herorake and plough are kept under ism, and you would not be far the raised floor of the sleeping wrong. Khong preferred to reroom; the chickens roost there gard himself as heroic because, in the rainy season. Close by th ough he had not even a dot each house is a haystack and a of land of his own, he was still able to provide for his wife and buffalo shed. The house, or more precisely, the many animals that depenhut of Uncle Khong is not much ded on him as well as others different from the others. The provided for their families. If he absence, however, of a haystack had had children, he was sure

T

12

20 Jen_-5 Feb_1987

he could do as well for them. In this vein, he boasted with Khem, his girl-mend, bride and now old woman. 'If we had kids, I could do right by them, couldn 't \, dear?' 'Yes, yes,' she acknowledged, busy feeding all their six dogs. Never failing to give his pride a fllip, she added, 'even if we had six,

they wouldn 't eat

mol'C

than this pack. That Somri! of yours alone eats more than the

both of us together.' 'Khong glanced .at the gangly puppy, legs spread, belly bloated, slurping rice gr-dvy from a coconut shell, Being childless probably explained his fondness for animals.路 In his prime, he kept the lot from buffaloes to fighting cocks and fish. But as age advanced and energy declined, l'Calising he could no longer care for all, he sold them, even his partner in life, the buffalo. This did no great harm, th ough, for his work had already changed its character. FOimerly. his aim in gl'Owing rice was to earn enough to have

extra money to spend and to donate at least as much as oth路 ers to charity. Latcr he was sat-

isfied if enough grew to feed his fami ly for the year. As his capacity for heavy work ebbed, he took to gathering lotus leaves and stems from the paddy field ditches for sale to market vendors. This gave him enough for each day. Later, as he had an honest and grateful nature, the gen tleman owner of 路the land he lived on was kind enough to ask him to oversee and collect rents from the nevvcomers. Bu then, the buffalo was no longer needed. As Khong 's eyesight grew poor and his. hair turned grey, he could no longer defend his chickens from the WIles of the new genera tion of children and he gave up trying to look after them. They were given away to whoever asked for them. Six dogs, four cats and a fevv leftover hens remained.

Khong did not fancy the six equally; some he kept out of pity, but the one he really loved was 'old Somnt', the one his

though not mottled li ke his mother nOl' dark like his lather who Khong guessed was Blackie. Apart from his funny colour, he differed from the other dogs in other ways: his ears stuck out and his eyes were small, like an elephant's.' The old man had thought that when he was a little oldel' he would name him 'Elephant'. But he was called 'Somrit' because of an event one

day, three months before. His landlord when leading a group of mulli-lingual foreigners in a boat along the canal had stopped at his hut to exchange pleasanllies and to give him ano th er job - to show the paddy field land and point out its boundraries to those inter-

ested. He willingly accepted. Just before lea\;ng, the landlord noticed Somrit frolicking with a playmate in front of the house and exclaimed, 'What an odd pup! you should call it 'Somrit' - after all it means brassy-gold. That's his colour.' All the visitors agl'Ced. When they left, Khans, feeling he loved the dog twice as much, clucked him over and patted his head, and from then on called him 'Somnt'. The old man performed his nevv assignment enthusiastically. During those days, anyone pass-


FBrum

------------------------Gazet~-----------------------ing down the canal who glanced at the bank would be apt to hea~ an old man in an old black

which Ihe soda pop was espe-

cially appealing, But the strongest reason for his affinity for the shirt silting together wilh his foreigner was the latter's show dog in the shade of a bamboo of atfection for his dog Somrit. grove call oul. 'Have you come When his bird watching was to see my landlord's land" Some over, he would call Somrit over, said they had, others tittered · ruh his back and give him a big

and occasionally the old man

would lalugh at 'himself for mis· takenly addressing one of his own \1IIagel'S. Those who did want

to see the land were

shown around with all the alacrity desired by the owner. Hearing new things in his talks with these peo ple and walking side by side with persons he thought were

millionaires

made

him

happy. Occasionally, a nice per· son would give him a cigarette and even offer to light it . For several days. Khong watched with curiosity a smal -

lish boat punted upstream occupied sometimes by only one passenger. sometimes by

several. which, as it approached his perch, would head into the thicket behind his hut. Though he thought they might be people coming to look at the land, to approach them would be inopportune. If they had come to see it, they would inevitably come 10 him for information.

hiscuit. The lriple fri endship Wew daily. The old man of Bang Jark Canal sometimes invi ted his new t1iend to visit his hut hut there always seemed to he some obstacle, Later afternoon one day after t he passage of almost a week, the white man told him that the birds they had been observing with fascination had laid some eAAs and he would be hack in five days or so io see them, but in the meantime he would ask

Khong to keep Ihe local boys from

disturbing

them

which

Khong willingly agreed 10. Finally, he asked aboul Somril who did nol accompany them Ihat day. Khong replied Ihat Somril was sick tram the previous day,

having so overstuffed himself with food he couldn't get up. At Ihis, Ihe foreigner opened his

cal, When hunched over, his rump high, he bobbed along among the trees after a bird

call, it was nol easy for Khong to smother a guffaw, and Ihen. too, his bird-lover would bring him new and lasly snacks Of .

house post. 'You just watch.

' Damn~ '

He's not yet finished with this

'No.1 fi'ne enough, Khong.' Khong cocked his head to

Khong said emphalically. The follmving day, the lor-

inquiry after Somrit, 'Not yet. The loreigner hasn't brought

him back yet but the birds are

Well. if he knew whal was right. he'd be a man not a dog,· th e old man continued to take

Ihe dog's part and his wife walked away pelulanlly. The following morning Somnt was no better. He was moping, refused to eat, gave a nasty look at anyone who came near, snarled and growled. At noon,

one side and munnured, 'Just

like a teacller to know everyIhing.' Then' he spoke to the dog, 't" know what you're afier, my Somrit. To please you I'd like 10 pul your food on a golden plate. But what to do" As for my clolhes, these are the only good ones I have.' . Before he finished, Somrit raced 10 Ihe boat landing whimpering happily. When Khong and the teacher, squinting againsl Ihe sun, recognized the landlord, Khong followed and raising his hands, in respectful

called out, 'Has Somrit come

What in the world do they leach Ihem to be"" They leach them 10 be as

back'! I thought '1 heard him bark.' 'It's awful. Yawl,' Ihe old man

greeting said, 'You 've come _early

clever as people,' the white man continued when he saw Khong appear uneasy,

complained as he walked out to

right'!' 'Yes, Sir' Well, I see Somrit has

They'll leach him 10 know

city, he's refused to eat lice, behaves so proud and goes after

his duties, to gUaJ'CI the house, carry things for his master,

The explanation was lengthy. 'Can Ihey do thal'!' 'Absolutely'- Ihe foreigner

day, he replied 10 his \vile's

foreigner business. Here we were counting the days to his return and when he sees us he growls in our face.'

eigner did come but without Somrit. He said that he had sent him to a training school. Astonished, Khong could only exclaim, 'What'? A dog school !' 'That's light, ' the foreigner said,

'Overeating. His belly's so full,

words, he retlected, and manage to get on together whereas men have thousands of words but st ill can 't hit it otf. On r'C turning aller dark one

'Foreigners, bah" The old lady leaned Ihe paddle against the

gers to call the dog over. The dog wagged his tail a little but in a moment started to bark again.

the white man and the hirds, 'What about Somrit'!' You said the foreigner would bring him hack in five 01' six days.' Take it easy. TomOlT'Ow OJ' the day aft er. How do \ve know how sick he was'! The loreigner said he had to be taken to a doctor, What a lucky dog he is. ·

calch theives, and also 10 be

he can't get on his feet. ' Reflecting lor a moment. the white man asked, 'Can I visit him'!'

Ihe white man wears off. he'll be himself again:

which would usually include

eyes wide and questioned, 'What 's wrong with him'!'

The boat appeared in the afiernoon and remained until sunset. Sometimes the old man saw 'Please do.' one of its passengers jump onto Th e foreigner smiled at the bank - a big man in a grey shirt wearing a bell-shaped pea- Kho'lg'S eagerness. Khong guided his important sant's hat, looking up and looking down and finally disappear- guest along the path beside Ihe ing into a clump of trees. At the narrow wateIWay to his hut and beginning of the second week, called oul to his wife, 'Khem, the man could contain himself Khem dear, the foreigner has no longer and decided to take a come to visit us.' The old man called again and look. With a snap of his fingers, he got Somrit moving and went again but there was no answer along by the canal. the dog except for the initial howling of running ahead. When Somrit Ihe dogs which he stopped barked loudly, Khong quickened with a sharp word. His compohis pace and heard the dog sure lost, he mumbled aplogetically, 'Not in.' 'lbein~ shooed away and then a 'Who's .not in'!' '-\t.-isreetmg: 'My wife. Her name is Khem.' , 'How are you, Uncler. The white man laughed. 'Hello, eh~ He was surprised when the owner of the voice ThaI's all right. I came to visit emerged from the bushes and Somrit.' 'Where's Somrit gone, Khong'!' turned out to be a tall, heavyset 'It 's you, is it, Mr. Yawl'!' white man, with several large and small cases hanging from Khong peered al his friend, the his shoulders, his broad smile school-teacher, silting under the canopy of the small boat. evoking a grin from Khong. 'What are you doing there, 'He was sick so the foreigner Sir? he asked when he reco- look him to Ihe city for trealment. Where are you going in vered himself. Instead of an.wering, the man thai boat'!' 'I'm just getting a ride to pointed to the line of small trees ahead of them but seeing school.' the old man perplexed, added, Every morning Khong would sit comfortably al the bank of by way of explanation, 'Birds.' 'Ah, you've come bird-shoot- the canal under the bamboos in ing.' whispered Khong spying a ITonl of his house and in the pair of bulbuls hopping along a afternoon would walk along Ihe branch. The white man shook bank lurning inlO Ihe path his head negatively, his pea· along the ditch towards Ihe line of small lrees where he would sant's hat gyrating on his head. 'Not at all,' he replied, peering busy himself until evening wal · through his binoculars. 'I came ch ing the antics of his pair of birds hopping and flying ahoul to do research on birds.' Khong told Somrit to shut up the trees now festooned with and the foreigner handed the yellow flowers. II became quite fields glasses to Khong so he pleasant. Sometimes he would Ily to imilal e the bird calls and could take a look. From Ihen on, Khong so would ca lch himself chirping enjoyed going with hiS new and peeping even after the white friend he almosl forgol hirds had disappeared into Ihe his landlord's assignmenl. The shl1lbs, They have just a lew foreigner's manner was engaging and his outsize body com i-

still there singing in the evening,' Khem would smile and shake her head at Khong 's comments

c1t!an and nol to make messes. '

asserted. That evening, the villagers travelling along the canal in

ITont of the hut heard the voice of the old man chatting inter-

rupted by Ihe sound of Ihin laughter ITom his wife. Thinking il over, Khong decided he had come upon one of the wonders

of Ihe world. 'Lislen dear, city dogs can do anything. That's why they're so

Ihe leacher, Yawl, paddled uplO the tronl of the house and

Ihe landing. 'Since he came back from Ihe Ihe olher dogs.' 'Bul you said he'd been sent to a training school.' 'Yeah, I don't know whal they taught him. He's been ruined .'

The teacher mulled over Ihe problem and advised, 'Maybe he jusl feels a little strange in these surroundings or he's learned

new habils. f hear at these dog schools Ihey train dogs to love cleanliness, to relieve themselves

in Ihe proper places and not to accept food from strangers so as to avoid poisoning.' The teacher expatiated in the man-

expensive; they cost even more

ner of people who feel they know a greal deal. Finally, he asked Khong. 'What did you put

than a full-grown working buf-

his lice in'!'

fillo. If it weren 't our white gentleman who said so, I wouldn 't

believe it .' Finally the day awaited by both husband and wife came but Khong was badly disappointed to see SomMt whining

in the boat refusing to gel oul. When al last they got him onto Ihe bank, he snarled at the old man and struggled to get back inlo the boat. EmbaITassed, the

'A coconut shell.' 'Thai will never do,' The teacher was quite positive. 'You

can'l lreat him in the old way any more. Try putting it on a plate.' The old man disappeard complianlly into the kitchen and emerge a moment later with an

the dog and pushed off leaving him whimpering on the bank. Khong and Khem exchanged

enamelled dish full of rice mixed with fish. 'Somrit, here, Somrit.' The dog emerged from under the house, sniffed at the plate pul down in front of him and proceeded to lap up the con-

glances.

tents.

white man threw a biscuit to

'Looks like he's forgotlen the taste of rice gravy

, the

woman spoke first. 'It looks thaI way.- Ihe old man said regretfully looking at the dog biscuit with misgh~ ng,

After he had gulped down his special food, Somlit leaped at one of the hens, snapping at it arollnd the house and when it

finally escaped by flying onlo the roof, Somrit turned on one of hi s old friends who was wagging its tail to welcome him

back, seized him by the Ihroal and flung him around. Unable to s!and it any more, the old

lady seized a paddle and slapped it sharply down in Ihe middle of Somri!'s back. Son1li!. scluealing, siinked olf uder the house. 'Look at that. You ea t J few fan cy meals and think yo u're a

What did I tell you?' the leaheer remarked smugly. 'These Irained dogs are very 'particular about cleanliness,'

Somril, finished eating. turned 10 bark at Khong. 'Now, what's bothering him?' the man asked. Yawl thought for a moment Ihen inslructed Khong. 'Ah I know, put on your best clothes.' Whal'!' 'Don 'l be stubbom. Play along with him.' Khong went inside to change into a new pair of black pyjamatl'OlISerS, a faded blue shirt, wound a red cloth around his waist like a sash and put on a

palm leaf fanner's hat. 'How's Iha!'!' he asked as he appeared ITom under'the roof. The teacher pointed 10 the

big foreigner. I'll break you back

hat and motioned him to remove it.

with the paddle in a minute,' she threatened the dog again.

like

'Layoff him, Khem. He's just back ITom good food and good times over there, let him show

oft· a little. When Ihe smell of

'II makes you look 100 much 1.1

peasant.'

The man obeyed and slrutled into the centre of the vard,

slanding Ihere eleganlly. 'Somrit!' He snapped his fin-

to day, Sir.' 'How are you? Everything all

grown

a 101.' But when he noticed the yougn dog making a fuss on the bank. he changed the subject Khong sighed deeply when he saw two foreigners sitting in the boat also eyeing Somrit 'Hello doggie,' one of them called out. Somrit increased his whining. Except to tell the boatman to move on, the landlord said nothing more, When the boat was gone, Khong walked over to Somrit. 'Henlo, Henlo,' he said t!)'ing to imitate the. greeting of the foreigner. He bent down to hug the dog but the instant he stroked the dog's back. Somrit snapped his teeth into Khong's slloulder. Khong grabbed a .stick and brought it down hard on Somrit's head The dog had scurried under the house, crying. before he could strike again, 'Bite your own father, will you?' His voice trembled with anger. The commotion brought Khem and YaW! hunying over, When Khong pointed to the wound in his · shoulder, they looked at each other and were stunned but the teacher, as usual, recovered quickly, 'He was just doing what he Ihought would please his trainers. '

'What should I do with the animal'!' Khong wondered as he walked into the hut 'Why ask! It's your dog. Uncle, You brought him up. You can do what you like with him', The teacher got back into the boat. The old man went into the house, set a pillow against one of the poslS and settled down against ii, closing his eyes, his mind wandering off into the paddy fields. A furious barking roused him. About ten people were stauding in front of the hut. 'Khong, I've agreed to sell this land 10 these people. They're going to put up a factory. It's all right for you to stay on. You

needn'l move until they begin 10 build.' Khong assented respectfully. His eyes swept around his house, and he thought of the factol'y, the chimneys. His shoulder throbbed. He thought of Ihe teacher's words, 'You brought him up .. .' e

20 J.n.-5 Feb. '887

13


F8'rum ______________________ Ga~eel~~e-------~_~l ------------

LIONS OF THE

PUNJAB By Amrlk Singh Book Review : Richard G. fox, Lions of the Punjab: Cullure in the Making. Universily of California Press, PP xvii : 259, I 29.95, Indian edilion Archives Publishers, 1987, Rs. 200/ Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, and Mahaprabhu Chaitanya, the most outstanding figure in the Vaishnavite ' movement, were contemporari es. It is believed by so me peo ple tha t they even had a meeting with each other on one occasion at Puri. Whether COI1"ct or otherwise, both of them belonged to what may be described as the mainstream of the Bhakti movement which had filled the In· dian society with a certain kind of ferment for a number of preceding centuries. How is it that the Vaishn3\1 te movement remained a movement of piety and ad ora ti on of the Lord while Sikhism drdwing its inspiration from the same so urce eventually went on to be mililanI. There can be only two ex planations for it. One, the different social and political situations in Punjab and Maharash· tra co upled with the different social fOlmation and outlook of the people in these two widely separated areas. The book takes off from the middle of Ihe 19th cen tury aner the annexation of the Pun ajb by the British a nd comes up to 1925, and investigat es the religious and cultu ral ferment as also the social and economic cha nges that took place in the Punjab during this crucial formative period. This period condit ioned thp Sikh mind in such a fundame n· tal way that so much of what is happeni ng today can be traced back to what happened du ri ngthe Gurudwara Refoml Move· me nt of 1920-25. Richard fox ofte rs a rigorous analysis of the Singh Sabha move ment, the AI)'a Samaj Movemen!. th e pal ronabe exlended by Ihe British 10 the Sikhs in recruiting them into the anny in large numbers and in si tuating them in the pristine lidditon of Sikhism, the conflict between the pro-Brilish and Ihe anl i-Brilish alliludes and Ihe final aCI of defiance in 1925. \I would be unfair 10 Ihe author however 10 describe Ihis book only as a book abou l Ihe Pun jab. The sub·title of the book is equally importanl. \I is called Cullure in the Making. To use the author's own words, The puzzle, then, is how two similar ideological religious identities can come to d iffer radically in motivating coUectiw poUticaI beha\inur, In the context of

late

nineteenth·century

Punjab, the questipn becomes why did a refonnist Sikhism, the Singh Sabha Morement, . and the new wrsian of Singh identity it promulgated, dewlop into an anticolonial peasant up-

14

20 J.n.-5 Feb, 1987

rising; whereas the Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement and the new, em bracing Hindu identity it put forward, was generally unsuccessful among the c uJth'3tors. The answer to this puzzle accoluing to Ri chard fox, lies "in the peculiar histOlical conjuction of mat eJial co nditions and cultural meanings thai co nsl illlied Ihe polilical economy o~ Ihe Punjab, into th e firs t decad es of the 20lh ce nlury·'. The reSi of the book is by a nd lai'~e an elaboration of th is The kind of evihe has unearthed

tram varioU!:i sources 1:-. amazing range and diversity.

lil

Jats and Sikhs r.on:-;istcnl wi th his overall ap proach, Fox attaches considera ble impol1ance to the rad tha i th e jats who constituled the must positive element in Punjab eco nomy weI" Sikhs by "nd I".-ge. As he puts it. Arc the Punjab Singhs e quivale nt to the united Kingdom Celts ? Did the mos t e co nomically distressed rural area, the central Punjab, happen 10 ha\.., h igh concentrations of the Sikh cultivators'! Was it therefore only "nahlral" a mechanical outcome of material conditions - th at the Singh identity incorporated dleir protest? Going much beyo nd hypothesis, Fox points out that th e cellSllS ligu l"s from t 88 1 - 1 ~13 1 pm· \~de a clue to wha t was happening. In 188 1, Ihe perce ntage of Hindu jats was 37.81 and thai of Sikh jals 53.36. In a period of 50 yea rs, Ihe perce ntage of Hindu ja!s came down to 9.37 and Ihat of Sikh jats went up to 79.35. Clearly, a large number of Sikhs jats chose to declare Ihemselves Sikhs and identify Ihemselves wilh whalever . was happening in and to the Sikh community at that time. All kinds of .things were happe ning, including Ihe fac t Ihat after World War I there was recession in the prices of agricultu ral products. The Al)'a

Samaj Movemen t which was the other strmig refonnist moveme nt at that ti me had, according to f ox, "never transcended its OIigins in the Punjab urban lower middle class'·. In 1911. for instance, only 14 per ce nt of them came f!'Om among th e jat s a nd the rajput s and Ihe resl belonged to the three merch ant castes of khaHis, aroras, and banias. His discussion of the ethnic make up of Ihe populalion and th e appeal of the two respeclive reform move men ts to different segment s of the population is ill uminal ing. Several other schola rs have vvritten on th is theme but none with such grasp of del ai l.

Human Rights Tribunal

GIVING SHAPE TO AN IDEA "'-

It was on 23rd March, 1986, in Hyderabad that

some civil liberties activists first discussed the idea of setting up of a people's tribunal to investigate into and adjudicate on cases of state violence. The need for such a tribunal was felt in the context of increasing state violence in several parts of the country, specially Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and the North-East. It was decided to discuss the,idea with a wider group and so a meeting was called on 27th April, 1986 at New Delhi. At this meeting, which was attended by activists of the civil liberties and democratic rights movement from different parts of the country, it was decided that the tribunal should consist of retired judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts.

Between April and August retired judges of the Swpreme Bio logical Determinism Court and the High Courts were The second nCM' point whi ch co ntacted and the result was Fox !l°akes out is th c risC" an d that nine judges readily 10 con' pl"ad of what he calls biologi· stitute the tribunal. On 3rd August, 1986 activists cal dctenninism in \ic loJia n England. Accol'ding to ii , certai n of civil liberties and democratic race:-. were !:i upeliol' to o l her~, rights groups met in Bombay to In term:, of it, thf' BJil ish ca me disc uss how the idea was to be tu develop the hypo lhesis 01 ~iven a concrete shape an d mi.ll'tial race!:i a nd no n-mal'lial form. It was decided that the racE'S, The Sik h ~ and the Pun- tribunal would be called the jabi Musli ms, more thit n any Ind ian People's Human Rights other communil\' in nort hcri, Tribunal and it would be set up India, met the rC4 uimmen ts of' by concerned citizens who will martial raccs ThiJI b wi1\' the form themselves into the Indian Bli tbh cho::;r Ie) induct 'them People's Human Rights Comin to the a1TI1." In such large mission. number:'> According to hb ~dl­ cuialloll, the Sil...h strength in A SMall group of actiVlst iawthe anny wa:-. 20 liml's hit!hel yers was asked to draft a DeclaIlum their popu lation ill the ration and a Con stitu tion for counll" Ihe Indian People's Human r\ I'-eiateo I<letll! \\as the southRights Commission. The group ward mO\"Cmrnl of RU!:i"liJ 10- met at Ahmedabad on Sep· \\'.,ml:'l Iran allg Alghal1ls1an. As tember 15th a nd 16th, 1986 andstudents at ta le 19th ccnlul' pl"pared the drafts. Indian h islOl), know, the BusThe drafts were circulated sian danger loomed much larger among concerned citizens and in Ihe eyes of Bli li sh impel;al- fi nally adopted on 19th October. ism th an perh aps wa!:i justifi a- 1986 at Nagpu r. ble. Bul whether justifiable 01' nor. the fact ",mains Iha l h is At Nagpur a secreta/iat conshaped Iheir Ih inking to a gl"at sisti ng of eight persons was extent. elected. They are: PA. Sebastian Quill' :,ome people are aware il'rincipal SecretaryJ, Bombay, K. of this particu lar di mension of Balagopal, Hyderdbad, R.P. Bri lish im perio I policy at Ihal Shukla, Ahmedabad, Pankaj DUll, lime but Ihe impar l of Bril ish Nagpur, DaUp Singh, Bombay, Ihin ki ng aboul Ihe importance Nandita Haksar, New Delhi, of heredit y an d Ihe role of Sujato Bhadra, Calcutla,and Vrihuman texonomy as imported jendra, (Treasurer), Bombay. from ni netee nth ce ntury Europe have neither heen referred to bv Arwal Firing: ot her scholars in a ny significari t A Case For Investigation way nor given the same impol'lance as fox does. The first sitting of the InAll ogeme r, Ihi s book is an d ia n People'. Human Rllfhts importan t con tributi on for any- Tribunal will in"".ti!?te mto one who wishes 10 und ers tand the legality of the poUce firing Punjab. Thai thi s is a n impor- on 19th April 1986 at ArwaI, a tant book is und er lined by the .mall10wn in Jehanabad Di... fa ct that it was reviewed fo /' trict of Bihar in which a large th ree days run ning in th e Times number of people, including of India in Octobel', 1986. Eilher .maD children , were·ldIled, The the rC\~ewer. Ram Swarup, did meeting upon which the p<>not understand the basic thn_lst lice fired Wa. being held of the book or, more li kely, he under the leadership of the cho!:ic to misrepresen t and dis- Mauloor KIsan Sartgram Satort it. This is not the occasion mlti, an organisation o f landto take issue wi lh Ihal particu- les. labourers and poor pea-· lar reviewer but it may not be sanls, The Pre.ident of the inappropriate to speculale whal MKSS has sent u. a written wo uld be the reactions of the complaint. Here is an extract: aUlhor to find himself so c han "In fact it is a barbed wire ged oul of recognition. e fence which separates Ihe police

s tation from the Pushtakalaya. At about 3 p.m·. seven to eight hundred people reached the place which is sUlTOunded at three sides by boundary walls. The meaning was organised by the MKSS. There was a large number of women and children in the meeting. There was a band party which had come tram the nearby village to aI/end the meeting. As the membels of the band parry were followers of the MKSS, they h.d come ...1th their band to participate in the meeting. The meeting was totally peaceful. After the meeting had gone on for about an hour, .1 large number of policemen cunslsting mainly of Bihar militill)' force regiment n o. 1 IVhich cons,sts of Gurkhas, lec;) 41' Cll. Kam·an, the 11ewo.·appoin ted S.P. of Jehanabad encircled the meeting. The only exi' "as sealed by the police vehicles. Without exchanging a single IVOrd with the people or tllP organisers of the meeting, withoul even telling the people to disperse, or that the meeti'W, was megal, the SP shouted "fire ' and the police s tarted firing indiscriminately with their riOes. The firing which was premeditated, unprovoked and uncontrolled, resulted in a large number of casualties. Later on, as a cover up, the p olice made up the case that an armed crowd of MKSS extremists al/acked the police s tation and the police had 'to resort to firin;( in selfdefence. Our preliminary investigation revealed that four independent enqui ries into the incident, includin one by Mr. Rajinder Saehar, nner Chief Justice of the De i High Court, have found that the firi ng was unjustified and illegal. The Bihar Government,' has howeVer, chosen not to order either a magesterial or a judicial enquiry into the firi ng. Even the investigation carried out by senior official of the Revenue Department has been kept secret.

t

Mr P.S. Poti, Mr T.V. Mehta and Mr. Shanna SarI<ar will hear the case 1t the first sitting of the Tribunal. The dates will be announced soon, _


F8rum -----------Gazette Chakmas Struggle for Continued from page 16 col 5 drive a wedge into tribal unity. However, this intention has been beUed a. the tribal. have worked out agreements on movement in each others territories. These agreements and efforts by the Tripura Youth Volunteer Anny are de6nlte mo.... toware. pantribaU.m - a unity of hill people in dis regard of nadonal boundries. And as any nal boundaries. And a. any perceived a. threats to the o fficially . upported colo nisa· tion proce sse., legitima te political opposition is viewed as d isruptive a n d de alt with by the use of the stale forces. This a pproach ha. defined most post-I947 poUcy in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh towa rds de mands for greater a utonomy, particular ly by tribals.

Growi ng C<>ncern

•••

The Chakmas of Bangia Desh By Bhagwan Oas

Anti-Slavery Society, placed a detailed report before the Uni· te d Nation Co mmi ss ion on Human Rights. On August 12, 1983, Mr. A1imul Huqua, First SecretaI)' in the Bangladesh Mission in Ge neva responded befo re the Commission stating that all that the Bangla deshi government was doing was to "bring the fruit s of eco nomic development to the in habitant s of th ese areas" an d that the ··Constit uti on guara ntees equal

uring the last few days Chakmas have been vel)' much in the news in national papers. Some 36,000 ChaklOas, me n, women and c hildren oppressed and terro· ri sed by th e Be ngla Desh anne d forces and Moslem fana ti cs, migrated to the neighboUling states of Mizoram and Tri p ura si nce they believe tha t thei r li ves, property and honour wa u-

D

In those s tates in which e thnic, religious or linguistic minorities exis t, p ersons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied th e righ t, in com m unity with tlJe a ther members of their group . io enj oy theil' o wn c ulture, to profess and pl'a f: tise their own religion, 01' to use their own lan[;·uage.

government for not re turning the Chakma s accordin g to agreement. On th e other hand the ChakOla s feel they wou ld be subjected to tortu re, harass ment a nd perha ps im plison ment an d ex tenni na tioll . Who Are The Chakmas Ba ngia Desh ha s li ngu isti c an d ethni c minorities. It has non-Bengali speakers 1800,247 1, l!ruu Speakers 13 10,6281, Hi ndi speakp.rs 1140,84.1 1 a rid Assam iBhutia gro up limguages speakers 1 136A(5 ). It has Christian:-;, Ango'asian s, Garo tribes, ism(ti lis and Chinese. Among the m ..ti or re ligiolls group s, it has Hindus and BlIddh is:s. Buddhist s are divided in to Bal1.]l\, Chamk.:1, ~'l ogh , Mm. rtc .. groups. Hl"!rl las do nol fo rnl a gmu ps an d are fO ll nd in the SOll th

Genesis Of The Problem So long as the British ruled India, th e Cha kmas had no maj or problem and enjoyed a kind of autonomy. Soon after the partition of the country in 1947 their problems began. The political statu s of the Chakma kingdom was not clear. It met the same fa te as the small land loc ked state of Chitra Gilgil. Wh ile princely sta tes were given th e op tion to accede to anyone of the dominions, the Chakmas worki ng under the delusion tha t their area al so comprised {In inde pendent a utonomous ptincely sta te, the Ch ill ago n Hill Tract declared itself part of In di a. The In dian flag was hois· ted on the 15th August and continued !o fly over th e Ran· gama ti secre taIiat for ni ne days unt il it ""as fo[,c ibly pulled clOt\-11 bv t he armed forces of

\ \'r.S { of n an~d a Dpsh . .\1ogh.;; and ChakInJs are foun d lIi osllv Paki.":lan~ The grO\.ving conc.ern among Ar ticle 27 , V.i\:. Intfwu.! tionO!i.I CU\I"f~ u an t 111 (il ittagnng Hill {ra elS TI1e the in ternational human righ ts This was followed by continon Ci\·i) PoUtica.! Li berties Ch<.i kmas who pro fess Budd- uo us re pression by the anned cOlll lll un ity w.:::s evidenced b.." hism . live in i h f. fO J'e~t a l eils. III forces and Moslem fanatics who 5eve rai rep orts in the 19dO~s the 13th ce na.TV the ir Buddh ist I regarded the Chakmas as a culmi nat ing tvv'O mo nths ago in access to laws iI1'es peclivc of ld he safe r i~ Ind ia. 'T"hc rc are a powcrfuily documented report I the reside nce or of [he tribal 5mallr r cf)r. lJ mmiti e~ of the :emples, ~hlines an d chaitYl!s in po tentional source of trouble of Amnesty In ternational. This , affiliation of its citize ns' ·. On the l~ h a l.:.m a s id1"1J<'l d y• inba!1i!ed in the area were under the cres· and bellicemncy. renor1. cities detail ed eve -\vitne::~ question of the grmving ilTlpov·· the Swtes of' We:jl B~ rga i , cp nt bv tkhtia r Kl,.lji. Maiw of Press ure On Bangia Desh ac'cou lllS of "ll nli:1v..ftll torture cri, hment of the hi ll prople. Mr. i\·leghalya, Mizoran: and T, ip" the Uu"ddh isls "vere forciblv conVerte d tn b lain . 1 n·d many· more an d kill ings" of tribal viilage rs. Huque so in!1ocently stal es that ura. The ChakIna refugees fmm Cnd er press ure from th e Also cited ,U'C accou n ts. Gf ·w ide- "such degradati on and t~ co n o· Bitilg:a Desh feel ser; ure Jiving ;~ foll owed the m fo r Sp.cLa{ty. But Buddhis t cOLIn tries the govel'l1spread arbi tral:; ClITeSI S of those mic deprivation is shared by 96 these :;tates. ~"11 ilr~ other state:,; in some hilly areas, people co n- me nt of Bangia !Jesh changed tinued tu fo il ow Burldhism. its att itude for some time bu t sus pected of supporting th e mi llion peop le of Bangladesh "! have small pecke ts of Ba ngIa Chakmas an d 1\1 o i~hs \':ere two repression wi th greater vengeShan ti Bahini. Amfl est\' cites Further, responding: to the inci- Desll re fugee s. in the sr!1,J1l sta te cases of p ri soners held arrny dences of growing colonisation of Tripura, \vhich is reclipg such trihf' s, ever! th ough t he~/ ance start ed agai n. Chakmas to o could not e ~cil p e the j;l ilu - \vere forced to leave their homes and paramili ta ry camps bei ng of hill peoples' lann by Bengalis, under pre s~ l il'e and st rai n efTI,]enc(-' and pressure llf Islam. kepI in pits where b oiling Mr. Huque, in true official char- nati ng from in l1u .'( of large nu mand fin d mfuge in In dia. The Arcu roing to iJ lpgend prf'val· Shant i Bhahini got split in two wat er is regulariy splinkled O\'CI' ac ter says, "Bangladesh is a ber of Chakl:1<I refi"lge-e, an d the detain ess. Elect!ic shocks, country wit h a homogenous !ocal insurge ncy, Chi ef Minbler enl all"!ong th e Chakm,!s their ~ro li p S and one of the groups burni ng vvi th cigarettes and hang- people. How ca n we deny OUl' Nripen Cha kJ'a boi't)' is undt:;]" ancp. sturs !ll\graled from Bha- intensified its insurgency. The g<llpu r in Bihar and they belorlg- Sta tp. tried all the force at its pre ssure from th e no n-fribal ing the detainee upside dow n citizens the right to trt>vel from ond heating them are other one part of th e ir co u n try t o com mand to clIrb the insurmet hods of torture adopted. another." This defe~lce goes on gen cy. Now the 36000 refugees ~o ndem n ing these atrocities, to even state that, '·Peace and are bei ng se nt back becau se the .... . mnesty odds that, "although communal har mony prevails in All pe ople have the right to self-de termiIl- go,·ern ment of India cannot a nd ' the government has a duty to all paJ1s of Bangladesh, incl ud· 110t want to aggravate the ation. By l<irtue of that rig/,t, freely sidoes maintain law and order, the I ing the Chiltagong Hill Tracts." tuation in Trip ura w here most Bangladesh securi ty forces have . Within the growi ng hreak· determine their political status and fr'eely of them are housed in refugee systematically engaged in pra c· down of comm unicatio n betOn the other hand there pursue their economic, social an d cultural camps. tices that have violated fu nda· ween the Bangladesh govern· is evel)' likeli hood of many of mental human rights." men t a nd the increasingly cor· them being e liminated on some developmen t. Amn es ty has reiterated the nered hill people, an d the con· pre text or th e ot her by the state Article 1, U.N. In .erna tional Cm·enan 1 demand ma de bv itself and t!nui ng climate of using State forces operati ng in the Chitta· O R Civil PoUtical Liberties other concerned "organisa ti ons migh t to overpower asseJtiom.i gong Hill Tract. several times: that an inde- fo!' greater autono my, it is impeThe Chakmas have to fi nd a pende nt commission be co nsti- rative that further encroachsol u tion wi th in the Sta te of pressllre groups and the insur- ed to the Maha·ya ni school. Bangia Dosh and at the same tuted to investigate these viola- men ts halted immediatelv and it tions. As before, there has bee n political settlement . sought ge ncy let loose by triba l people Aft er the fall of ~ud n h;sm in time it would be in the interest sile nce fro m t~ e Banglades hi which respect the lan d and led by Tripura National Vol un - Rihar ann L'lIar Pradesh, they of Ba ngia Desh Government to T.N.\'. One of the loo ked to Burmese and Arn ka· find a political solution to the governme nt. forest rights and the cultural reel'S identity of the tribals. A halt to demands of the T.N.v. is to send nese Buddhists fof' gui dan ce prob lem ins tead of aggravating Weak Defence to BangIa ilnd ca me un der the influence the genocide perpetrated on back the refugee s th e sit uation by resorting to Theravada school of Buddhi sm . oppressive measures to solve a There is on e interesting them and their aspiration for [Jesh. Du ri ng the second week of In 1855 t he Chak.rn a queen Ran i local ethnic problem . Amnesty development. In 1983, the reo greater self-detellnination must December 1986 the question of Ka lind i was ba pti sed by Shli nowne d British organisati on, the become a reality. international is correct in apprese nding back the refu gees to Sangraj Mahaslhavir and the hending the worst in case the BangIa Desh was discussed by Chakma kingdom began to fol· re fugees go back to Bangia Desh An elderly frlbal lVoman I. carrIed by other villagers to j oin those the then fomign secre taI)' Mr. A. low Theravadi Buddhism. \-vi thout assurances and guaranhiding In the fo;est. Venkat eswaran with his cou ntees by the Government of BanThe e ha kOlas enjoyed con· terpJ rt in Bangia Desh . He was gia Desh . India has sufficient told tha t aut hori ties in Bangia siderable fre edom and inde· number of !langla Deshi, Afghan, [Jcsh ha d bee n ab te to ident ity pendence and resisted the for· Tibetans, and Shri Lanka Tanti14,000 refugees J nd they woul d ces of East India Compa ny. The Iian refugee s and has no desire be taken back The iden tity of Bti tish, instead of subjugating to add more fro m Chittagong IhE' remaining 12,000 was under the belligerent tribes of the area, Hill Tract. considera tion . Bangia De sh entered into a kind of comporIn the case of Chakmas the au thOJities also gave an assll- mise. The area was notifi ed as international community and rance that conditions wo ul d be 'Excluded Area ' in 1900 A.D. and especially the Buddhist councrea ted in the Chillago ng Hill a book to regu la te the affairs of tries and societies should presTracks which could give confi· the area was published un der surise the Government of Bengla dence to the ChakOlas about the tille. "Hill Tract Manual". Desh to adopt a saner policy their sec uri ty in their home- The Chakmas continued to en- and also to ensure the safety land. Now it seems there are joy peace and prosperity in ihe and security of the Chakmas by some hu rdles in the implemen· area ruled by their own kings. e'llTIestly removing the causes tation of the programme of As many as 13 conununities which have compelled them sending back the refugees. Ban· reside in the Chillagong Hill to leave their home and hearth gla Desh has accused the Indian Tract. to seek refuge in India. •

a1

me.r

20 Jan.-5 Feb. 1987

15


F8rum

_s_po_ili_·gh __t__________________________ Clazet~--------------------R.-N.-45-7-63_/6_6;_D_{S_El_1_5/H_

Chakmas Struggle for Self-Determination Smltu Kothari or the residents of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, it has been a brutal story of systematic economic and cultui'aJ exploitation. The Bangladesh government has not only en· couraged Bengali settlers to move in from the plains, it has also given massive military an d paramilitary support to facilitate the aggression. Since the early seventies, this forcible expropri· ation of their rights to land and forests has forced many of the non· Bengali inhabitants 1most of whom are Chakma tribals and practising Buddhistsl of these hill tracts to resort to armed resistance. Many others, unable to hold their own under syste· matic assualts have migrated further into the hills or to India. In the last few years, there has been an escalation in the ferocity of the conflict and the ruthlessness of the ruling autho· rities in Dhaka. There has simu l· taneously 'been a more aggressive assertion by the · Benga li se ttlers of their 'right' to coloni se. The Chittagong Hiif' .Tracts comprise the larges t district in Bangladesh. Covering roughly 10 per cent of th e land area, it is also the most sparsely populated part of the country. Until q uite recently, the rustrict was populated by 6,00,000 tribespeople who of Sino-Tibetan descent, have historically kept a di stance from the majority plains popu la tion. They share, in their lifestyle, language, re ligion a nd physique a close identification wi th their natural neigh bours in north-east Inrna an d in Burma. It is only political boun daries which separ81f .neiiC cu lturally interliked peoples.

F

CHITTAGONG HILL TRACTS

INDIA TAI PURA

r - - - ----, Intern all ona l Boundary Di str ict Bounda'Y Riv8fs and Canal s :::::::<

This led in 1972 to the emer- - armed and trained Shanti Bahini gence of the Parbottya Cha tta- crossed the Feni river frontier gram Jana Sanghti Samiti from India". The demands.of the Shand IPCJSSI, the Hill Traclli Pe&pIe. Solidlirity Asoociation. By Bahlnl are remarlaobly oImIler 1975, the PCJSS had an armed to the Increaolngly wca1 .... wing-the Shanti Bahini - with sestions of trIbeopeople aea reported strength of 15,000 ross the Indian border. Large ocale mlgration from Nepal, members. For the last ten years, the BanJCladesh and Bengal has PCJSS. which believes in a 'peace- resUlted In the hDl people ...... Trlbsl children living In Ihe csmp sl Ksrbuk, nesr Bhegwenlllle In Indls

BAY OF BENGAL • A likadam

Influ x From Plai ns \Vhile Bengalis staJ1ed 10 mi grate in small numbers in th e 17th century, il was only in the

1850s Ihat the Chakma Raja, Dharam Bux Khan and later hi s successor, Ran i Kohini broughi Bengali cultiva tors to farm in the lowlands. The Bri tish were instrumental in introducing 'settled agriculture ' to the tli bals of the Chittagong fo rest. During thi s period, only tribal s owned lan d and u p until independence in 1947, the Bengali popu lation was only 2 per cellI. Th e acce lerat io n of CUITen! co ntl ic ts is evident in the fac t that in less than 15 veal's after independence, the 'Olltsider' population was already 17.i per cent 11961 1 and by 1980, thi s had become alm ost a thi rd. Es timat es today place th e Benga li po pulatiun at above 40 percent. The hill peo ple have under~ stand ab ly resisted this m assive encroachment. In the 19405 th e Peoples Organisa tion IPO I \-va s formed which sought fu ll au tonomy and whic h op posed incorporati on into either Pakistan or India . These demands \vere never heeded and in facti in 1948, several leaders of p.o. were arrested. Ill-conceived development pro jec ts were then to further the ten sion , In fac t, one project, the Kaptai dam, dis-

16

20 J a n _-5 Feb. 1987

.;J BAtW!...ADESH • ,,;! /

r

1-"

CHln .. OONG >il LL I~"'CIS

O,~,u

•• 'b • • , ••

."uG I.< t . .... .

The northern ares of the Chitta g ong H ill Tracts where military and paramilitary fo r ces cor.()l1c led rBlds In April Bn d MBY '86

placed 1,00,000 tribals and 8ubmerged 40 per cent of the best agricultural land ill the disn;c t. Detailed sl udi es have shmvll th at almost nOlle of thuse displaced "eeei',red even dece nt cash compensa tion . Facing th e annihilation of their way of life, the Chitlagong Hill Tracks We lfare Associat ion was fOlrucd in 1966, Little notice was taken of its demands, and the n in 1~71. civil war broke out in East Pakistan . Illusion of Liberalion Ironically, many tribes peop le worked for independen ce in the hope th a I the new stat e \'\-'o uld allievia te the external aggression in the ir lives. Thi s hope was not to be realised. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's pri vat e para-military orga nisation . the Rakhi Bahini

A tribal boy reported to have been killed when soldiers rsided SarboJiya village, near Psnchari, on 22 April 1986

and th e Mukti Bahini plun- ful resolu ticn' through the polit- ing control over their landa, dered part of th e arca an d th ere ical process, has initiated nu - forests and over tr ade. \Veri? even bomhing ra i d~ on merous dialogues with the NumeroUli .ldnnlohes and govemment but gradl!a lly, \vi th I ma8sacres have resulted. tribai villages. Thes(~ frc sh atrocities led to th e latter maintaining its bulDhaka has further fuelled great er politlciati an and in 19:-2., I ldozing tact ics, the cleavage the volatile situation on the I, Bangladesh - India borde r Manobendra Naravan I....aI'llla , I between the tvva has grown. a Me tn ber of !h{~ Provincial by giving shelter to the actiBa nglades hi Allegations vists of the Mizo National Assem blv and latcr <I member of Parliament. led a tri bal delegaFront IMNF), perpetuating triIn terestingly, since 198 t. the tion to Sheik.h :vluj ib, l'vhlji b Bangladesh government ha s albal unrest in Mizoram and I'cgardcrl the demand fo r regio- leged that Shanli Bahini fight ers Tripura. One motive for thlo nal auton omy and for restrict- have been trai ned in India. In seems to he to precepitate ing the influ x of Bengali settle rs one well reported incident in contlict between the MNF and as unacceptable and ~he persethe Shanti Bahini in o rder to 1982, Peter Niewewand of the cution of the trihals was all owed Guardian wrote that "that Continued on page 15 coi l to grow. recent attacks came when well

l

Pnnted and publ ished by A,S Narang for the Ekta Trust, 2126 Sarvaprlya Vlnar New Delhl-l100i 7 DeSigned and produced by WOROTRONI C and pnnteo at Ral Sandhu, New Delhi.


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