1984: AN ATTACK ON MINORITY

“Though we boast of being the world’s largest democracy and the Delhi being its national capital, the sheer mention of the incidents of 1984 anti-Sikh riots in general and the role played by Delhi Police and state machinery in particular makes our heads hang in shame in the eyes of the world polity.”

-Delhi High Court in its verdict on anti-Sikh riots related case in 2009

       Whatever happened during 31 October-3 November,1984 is a big shame on the so-called democracy of India. What’s more shameful is direct involvement of the government and administration in directly executing the genocide of Sikhs. More to the disgust of the victims was the strange justifications by Rajiv Gandhi and other senior leaders of Congress. A cover up that has lasted 27 years, even after formation of 10 commissions, none of the guilty has been punished.

Precisely 27 years ago, on a day very much like this at about 1:30pm All India Radio declared the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi dead. Spotnews announce Mrs. Gandhi's assailants as two Sikhs and one clean shaven Sikh. In the days that followed, Sikhs, for the first time in independent India, felt like Jews in Nazi Germany, as mobs of rioters ran riot, setting upon Sikhs, who, by their distinctive turbans and beards, were easy targets. Sikhs were beaten and burnt alive all around Delhi and many other places in the country. Women were gang raped. Even the children were not spared. What was more, the congress shamelessly called this “planned genocide of Sikhs” just riots. To further salt the wounds of the victims, Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi’s elder son and the country’s next PM blatantly justified the violence at a Boat Club rally 19-days after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, as “Some riots took place in the country following the murder of Indira ji. We know the people were very angry and for a few days it seemed that India had been shaken. But, when a mighty tree falls, it is only natural that the earth around it does shake a little.” And when that tree did shook, it claimed lives of 2733 Sikhs in Delhi alone and much more in the other parts of the country. According to the government, about 20,000 Sikhs fled the city but to Rajiv Gandhi that was mere shaking of earth. Again in an interview to the Sunday Magazine (March 16, 1985) he justified the massacre saying that that "the violence was extensive only in those areas where Sikhs distributed sweets". He even opposed a judicial inquiry into the events. No wonder even today Sonia is totally silent and it was left to her stooge PM Manmohan Singh to shed crocodile tears.

       

Lone warrior

Irom Sharmila: A life of solitude. Photo: Sathya Saran

For 11 long years, Irom Sharmila has been on a hunger fast, protesting against the Armed Forces Special Act in Manipur. An interview with an almost forgotten heroine.

May be the fact she was a slow learner made her a reclusive child. Or perhaps it was the fact that she was the youngest of eight and born at a difficult time in her family's fortunes. Her father had died; her mother was trying to run a provision store to keep the home fires burning. Even as a baby Sharmila had to depend on the kindness of other women to nurse her and her elder siblings to tend to her daily needs and upbringing. Sensitive and introspective, Sharmila, through her teens, kept much to herself; her favourite companions her books, the Bhagwad Gita among them.

CORRUPTION and LOKPAL BILL : A RATIONALE

 The uproar of Indian Middle class in the form of protests and rallies to the side of Anna Hazare has 1^st of all rattled the arrogance of UPA govt. The Lokpal Bill which has been introduced many a time in Indian Parliament again met with deadlock as the provisions of bill introduced by govt were quiet suspicious and Team Anna named it “Jokepal bill”. UPA expressed its true colours when it denied the constitutional and democratic right to protest and Anna Hazare was arrested even before sitting for fast in Delhi only to allow the same later on while collapsing under the public pressure. Almost all of the middle class echoed its voice against   ‘corruption’, yet the question is WHAT IS CORRUPTION ?

CORRUPTION: A MULTIDIMENSIONAL PHENOMENON:-

Is corruption only ‘bribery’ or some sort of ‘dishonesty’ or a very narrow concept we call ‘graft’ as purported by Team Anna? No, this question is not limited to individual’s morality, rather it is multidimensional structural problem of Neo-Liberal Policies adopted by Govt after 1991 we call LPG. The vicious corporate greed has given birth to this multiplication of corruption. In the 2G Spectrum Scam, Commonwealth Scam, Satyam Scam, Reddy brothers Scam etc the main plotters and beneficiaries of all these have been Corporates. In this whole movement till now the roots of corruption has not been exposed and targeted which is the unholy nexus of Corporates, Politicians and Bureaucrats. The political groups and personalities leading this ‘ant-corruption’ movement have deliberately not touched the issue for it may open the Pandora’s box. Fearing that such mass movements always do have the capacity to rise the socio-political consciousness of people which may lead society towards social change. The same is not intended by the direct and indirect political actors such as Badals, Chautalas, BJP etc involved, but only a mass movement in order to tilt the scale of vote bank.

Corruption in our view point is much bigger a entity merely than that of grafting, bribery or dishonesty. Corruption is any such idea, act, regulation, plan or policy by individual or any agency or government which are sure to harm, befool, exploit or repress people in any form. Such regulations, plans, policies which hamper the overall Democratic environment and denies people their rights is corruption.

And when we comprehensively define and describe the phenomena called CORRUPTION we may realize how small and narrow the vision of the ANNA movement is. Not incorrect yet too narrow !

Defeat of CPM in Bengal, not a defeat of socialistic ideology rather it’s just replacement of one ruling class by another

The results of the West Bengal assembly elections are out. The view outside the home of Mamata Banerjee is full of delirious supporters. The newspapers are ranting, the electronic media is shouting "A history has been created; Bengal has come out of the red cocoon." The 34 year old reign of the CPI (M) has ended. The left front has been wiped out and the question the people is asking, “Is this the end of the communism in India?" "NO” The answer to this question lies in the very character of the so-called communist party CPI(M).Before justifying our answer to the same question, we would like to put forward few points.

1. Defects of the 34-year old CPM rule and the factors leading to TMC's win

As the TMC election manifesto has very kindly pointed out the causes for the decline of CPM are decline of industry in the state, decline of the agriculture and the tremendous amount of debt on the state. The creaking infrastructure has played its part too. During the 34 years CPM rule the number of industries at India level has come down to 4% in 2008-09 from 7.6% in 1976-77. The share of the industry in state economy was 27% in 1975-76, the figure decline to 18.4% in 2008-09 whereas all India share of industry during the same time grew from 22% to 25.8%. Not only industry, the agriculture growth rate has come down to 7.8% in 2008-09 from 17.3% in 1966-76. Moreover the West Bengal government has is in a debt trap. The state has a total outstanding liability of Rs. 1,68,684 crore in 2009-10. These are the administrative shortcomings of the CPI (M) during their rule over the state but the basic factor which single handedly brought TMC at par with CPM was the issues of Singur and Nandigram.

LIBYA : A HUMANITARIAN WAR ? NO : AN IMPERIALIST WAR !!!

 “Expressing grave concern at the deteriorating situation, the escalation of violence, and the heavy civilian casualties…

Condemning the gross and systematic violation of human rights, including arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture and summary executions…

Considering that the widespread and systematic attacks currently taking place in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya against the civilian population may amount to crimes against humanity…

Expressing its determination to ensure the protection of civilians ….

 Authorizes Member States that have notified the Secretary-General….to take all necessary measures…. to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack”

What is happening in the Middle East?

Revolt in the Middle East

 Reference points for a discussion on the events in North Africa and the Middle East

 The current events in the Middle East and North Africa are of historic importance, the consequences of which have yet to be entirely clear. Nevertheless, it is important to develop a discussion about them that will enable revolutionaries to elaborate a coherent framework of analysis. The points that follow are neither that framework in itself, still less a detailed description of what has been taking place, but simply some basic reference points aimed at stimulating the debate.  

1. Not since 1848 or 1917-19 have we seen such a widespread, simultaneous tide of revolt. While the epicentre of the movement has been in North Africa (Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, but also Algeria and Morocco), protests against the existing regimes have broken out in Gaza, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Bahrain and Saudi, while a number of other repressive Arab states, notably Syria, have been on high alert. The same goes for the Stalinist regime in China. There are also clear echoes of the protests in the rest of Africa: Sudan, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Swaziland.... We can also see the direct impact of the revolts in the demonstrations against government corruption and the effects of the economic crisis in Croatia, in the banners and slogans of student demonstrations in the UK and workers’ struggles in Wisconsin, and no doubt in many other countries as well. This is not to say that all these movements in the Arab world are identical, either in their class content, their demands, or in the response of the ruling class, but there are evidently a number of common features which make it possible to talk about the phenomenon as a whole.

IROM AND THE IRON IN INDIA'S SOUL

                    (Presented by SHOMA CHAUDHURY in TEHLKA Magazine)

    

      

       IROM SHARMILA’S STORY SHOULD BE PART OF UNIVERSAL FOLKLORE. IN THE TENTH YEAR OF HER EPIC FAST, SHOMA CHAUDHURY TELLS YOU WHY

                                           

                           

    SOMETIMES, TO accentuate the intransigence of the present, one must revisit the past. So first, a flashback.

     The year is 2006. An ordinary November evening in Delhi. A slow, halting voice breaks into your consciousness. “How shall I explain? It is not a punishment, but my bounden duty…” A haunting phrase in a haunting voice, made slow with pain yet magnetic in its moral force. “My bounden duty.” What could be “bounden duty” in an India bursting with the excitements of its economic boom?

     You are tempted to walk away. You are busy and the voice is not violent in its beckoning. But then an image starts to take shape. A frail, fair woman on a hospital bed. A tousled head of jet black curls. A plastic tube thrust into the nose. Slim, clean hands. Intent, almond eyes. And the halting, haunting voice. Speaking of bounden duty.

     That’s when the enormous story of Irom Sharmila first begins to seep in. You are in the presence of someone historic. Someone absolutely unparalleled in the history of political protest anywhere in the world, ever. Yet you have been oblivious of her. A hundred TV channels. An unprecedented age of media. Yet you have been oblivious of her.

    

Punish the Guilty of the 1984 Anti-Sikh Carnage

 “As soon as we entered Block 32 we were greeted by a strong stench of burnt bodies

which were still rotting inside some of the houses. The entire lane was littered with burnt

pieces of furniture, papers, scooters and piles of ash in the shape of human bodies – the unmistakable signs of burnt human beings. Dogs were on the prowl. Rats were nibbling at the still recognizable remains of a few bodies.”

 From Who Are The Guilty?

First fact-finding report ( PUDR and PUCL) released on 10 November 1984 In this manner 2733 Sikhs were killed in Delhi, houses and goods destroyed in the first week of November 1984. The team of democratic rights activists that investigated these incidents, found it to be a massacre organised primarily by the Congress party. It also declared the names of Congress leaders, police officers and others who were identified by the survivors as inciting and participating in the mobs.

Today, 25 years later, most of these murders remain unprosecuted. In the over 300 FIRs filed on murder charges, barely 10 persons been convicted. This outcome is only to be expected, given that the ruling Congress party prevented FIRs from being filed, refused to institute a commission of enquiry. The judiciary lent a helping hand by rejecting every petition demanding the same. No political party came out in aid of the victims or even to oppose the murders.

Committees were set up only six years later to identify the accused. Even then they received sufficient witness testimonies to recommend launching of cases against Congress leaders Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler, HKL Bhagat and Dharam Das Shastri. As years passed, witnesses died and other witness’  accounts lost their clarity and still others preferred silence in the face of threats. Either no charges were

presented or else courts acquitted the accused. The government did not care to challenge in the High Court and victims’ families were forced to file appeals. The Nanawati commission reopened some of these closed cases. Thus finally, one case each remained against Sajjan Kumar and Tytler. The filing of the final report by the CBI on 28 March acquitting Tytler marks the end of the road for justice to the victims.

The 1984 carnage thus represented a turning point in India’s political scene. It sent a message that powerful political parties could organise killings of thousands and get away scot free. Thus we were to witness many similar pogroms during Advani’s Rath Yatra, Modi’s Gujarat genocide, in Mumbai in 1993 and against Christians in Orissa, Gujarat and Karnataka. The reference to 1984 occurs now at times of election when victim’s grief becomes political football, and political parties trade charges as to who has committed greater crimes against humanity and to compare their communal credentials.

Ultimately the denial of justice does not become just an abandoned orphan. The pogrom and subsequent administrative and judicial apathy leads to festering wounds that find expression in a mindless cycle of revenge and further violence. For, the 1984 carnage contributed more to Sikh militancy through the eighties and nineties than any other factor. Similar analogies can be seen for Gujarat and the crimes by security forces in Kashmir.

It is high time we reject the vicious cycle of these murderous games and those who play them; to demand that those who use their positions of power to commit heinous crimes against innocent people should face jail and punishment; and that such criminals shall hold no office in our institutions of democracy.

People’s Union for Democratic Rights, (PUDR)

Delhi , April 2009