CC June 1999

June 1999
Newscan

Trauma unabating for Kashmiri women
Though the annual report of the Union home ministry has confidently declared that conditions in Kashmir have improved, there seems little real improvement in the condition of women of the state. In late April, the Lashkar–e–Toiba (LeT), a militant outfit in Pakistan, gave the women of the state a one–week ultimatum to discard western clothes. Only two months before, the Harkat–ul–Mujahideen, another militant outfit had already issued warnings to women to desist from wearing "un–Islamic" clothes. The Lashkar has now asserted that after the one–week term expired, their cadres would use pistols, grenades and even acid against the women who dare to defy the ban. The Lashkar has even threatened that parents of those defying the ban will also have to face the consequences. The earlier ban, called by the Harkat–ul–Mujahideen was followed by at least four jeans–clad girls being shot in the leg by unidentified gunmen.

Besides the dress and moral code that has struck fear in women’s hearts, they face genuine health related problems that no one seems to be paying heed to. Kashmiri Muslim women have no choice but to travel up to 300 km, all the way to Jammu, in order to get access to abortion or sterilisation facilities, as family planning is another aspect that has been banned under the banner of "un–Islamic" activities in the valley. Government hospitals in Jammu face a huge overflow of patients and often women who have been freshly operated have to brave the night on the hospital grounds, out in the cold, in order to make space for other in–coming patients. Reproductive health services suspended soon after militancy erupted in the Valley have continued to be suspended for almost eleven years now. Though poverty is the main factor that leads to the need for sterilisation or abortion, the high incidences of rape at the hands of the militants is also a factor. Rape is trauma enough, but to be compelled to have a baby who is the product of rape adds immeasurably to the torture and continuing persecution of these women.

‘No evidence against Hindu organisations yet’
The Wadhwa Commission probing the Staines killings began its second sitting on April 31, when it declared that there was no evidence yet, indicating the involvement of any Hindu organisations like the Bajrang Dal or RSS in the killings. The Commission’s counsel, Gopal Subramanium, said that though "evidence clearly indicates prima facie involvement of Dara Singh in the killing and also his association with various organisations like the Bajrang Dal and RSS, whether any organisation is involved in the case can be brought out only after he is arrested and interrogated." The Commission, which is to submit its final report by June 20, conducted its first hearing in mid–April after gaining an extension from the Central government for its inquiry. The Commission had then criticised the Union government, saying it seemed to be putting up a deliberate smokescreen in order to prevent an impartial inquiry and rather than assisting the inquiry, had not even provided the Commission with office facilities for their work.

The Commission has received over 100 affidavits on the incident from various individuals. Former superintendent of police of Mayurbhanj district, S. K. Upadhaya’s deposition before the Commission on April 12 and 13, revealed that during his tenure, four cases had been filed against Dara Singh for having attacked Muslim cattle traders. Dara Singh had become a popular figure among the local Mohanto community, who are cow worshippers, because of his ‘crusade’ of sorts against the Muslim cattle traders. Upadhaya’s affidavit also alleged that Dara Singh had links with the Bajrang Dal as, in one of the four incidents of attack, the miscreants, including Dara Singh had shouted, "Jai Bajrang Dal". They were also wearing saffron colour headbands.

While the Commission has begun its second hearing and seems to be hinging the entire outcome of the case on the arrest of Dara Singh, the CBI has also begun an independent probe into the killings at the behest of the Orissa government and has placed a reward of five lakhs on Dara Singh. The arrest of Madhu Mohanta, one of the accused in the murders and a close associate of Dara Singh, on May 11, has raised the CBI’s hopes of apprehending the main accused soon.

Tamil chauvinism takes violent turn
The Tamil Nadu government’s decision to allow all elementary school education only in Tamil and not give recognition to English medium elementary schools has been under debate. The controversy has since taken a violent turn, with some people calling themselves Tamil scholars assaulting supporters of English language education. The Justice Mohan Commission, which is gauging public opinion on the issue of choice of language instruction in elementary schools has been hearing opinions of both sides. On May 20, six elementary school representatives were assaulted for supporting English language instruction, and also abused for wearing ‘western’ clothes. The attackers told them that they should have arrived in dhotis instead. They were attacked when they were about to enter the campus where the hearings are being carried out to present their point of view. A group of hooligans who had posted themselves at the entrance while the hearing was on were all set to stop anyone whom they thought was going to speak against Tamil as the medium of instruction. Several delegates returned without speaking to the Commission after being advised to do so by those assaulted at the venue. Police protection was sought outside the campus after the incident.

Gujarat HC issues notice to government
The Gujarat High Court issued notices to the state government, collector and superintendent of police of Dangs district in mid–May, over the series of attacks on Christian institutions in Dangs and elsewhere in Gujarat. The petition, filed by Samson Christian, joint secretary, United Christian Association, is to have its first hearing on July 6. The petition holds the administration responsible for having failed to take action under penal laws against the persons who had allegedly made inflammatory speeches, which provoked the attacks against Christians in Dangs and other districts of Gujarat. The petition has submitted that the High Court direct the state government to take penal action against those who made provocative speeches. It has also demanded implementation of the National Minorities Commission report, and the issuance of an interim order seeking the status report on the question of persecution of minorities.

The HC notice comes after the release in early April, of a report on the Dangs violence compiled by The Citizen’s Commission (a fact finding Commission set up by the National Alliance for Women), entitled, Violence in Gujarat. The report explicitly states that the attacks on Christians in the Dangs district of Gujarat in December ’98 and early January ’99, "was a carefully orchestrated campaign by the Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM) and its associates without any justification whatsoever". The report has further refuted all claims of forcible conversions to Christianity in the Dangs district and has, in fact, underlined forcible conversions to Hinduism in the area.

The ‘reconversions’ to Hinduism have continued unabated and have spread to different parts of the country. The VHP converted about 270 tribal Christians in West Singhbhum district of Bihar in mid–April and plans for other mass conversions are on the cards in the North–east as well.

The report also indicted the Gujarat government and local administration, saying the attacks showed a pattern in the time of attack and manner of destruction, which betrayed full confidence of the government’s and administration’s support. The Commission has recommended a ban on the HJM and on the shuddhikaran programmes carried out by Hindu organisations. At the press conference in New Delhi, where the report was released, a video recording of the former RSS pracharak, Vijay More, was shown, who said the attacks had been planned way back in 1990.

Guardian’s consent not mandatory for marriage
A three–day seminar on the ‘Isue of equality for marriage in Islam’, conducted in late April in New Delhi reached one far–reaching decision on the question of marriage. More than 250 ulema (Muslim religious heads), jurists, qazis (priests conducting marriage) and sociologists from all over the country and abroad participated in the seminar. The most important declaration of the seminar was that a Muslim girl who is sane, is a major and has attained puberty, has full right to marry even without the consent of her guardian and family members. The seminar declared that though it was "desirable" that the consent of family members or guardians be obtained, it also declared that they have no right to object to the marriage on any ground whatsoever. However, the guardians will have the right to approach the qazi with their objections. The nikaah, the seminar stressed, required only the mutual consent of the girl and boy according to the Shariah (the Islamic law code).

The seminar also stressed the desirability of marriage unions between Muslim girls and neo–Muslims and declared this to be an act of high merit and piety. Neo–Muslims, it said, could not be discriminated against as all Muslims follow "brotherhood" and, therefore, there was no place for superiority or inferiority in the Islamic community. This, of course, also seems to indicate that inter–religious marriages are still not acceptable, and conversion to Islam prior to marriage is considered favourable if not mandatory. "Equality in Religion" was stressed as the only consideration in any union. Other considerations, such as lineage, social, financial, educational and other status, were not considered valid objections to a marriage union. Renowned jurists such as justice Taqi Usmani, former judge of Pakistan Supreme Court; Sheikh Wahba of Syria and Maulana Yaqoob Ismail of London were among the prominent participants in the seminar. The seminar’s decision comes as a significant victory for Muslim women and has great significance, especially to the Muslim women of Pakistan where ‘honour killings’ account for a serious number of murders of young women who dared to marry without the consent of their guardians.