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This Bulletin is being relayed to you as a part of ACHA's South Asian community service program. It is sent out on the first Wednesday of each month. It goes to individuals in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, U.K., and USA, and Zimbabwe. Please let us know (pritamr@open.org), if you want to have your name removed from our email distribution list. Also, please let us know if someone should be added to the list. Comments, letters to editor, and short articles are also welcome and can be sent to the same address. The Bulletin consists primarily of material selected from the printed and the electronic media. It aims to highlight the news of peace and harmony in the world, to shed light on issues of concern to South Asians, and to provide them information of general interest. The Bulletin is edited by Pritam K. Rohila, Ph.D. Its editorials and the selection of its material are his sole responsibility and do not necessarily represent the views of or an endorsement by any other Director, or member of ACHA or Dr. Ingrid H. Shafer, who has graciously donated space for it on her server and is volunteering her time to maintain our Web Page. ACHA is a non-profit, non-political organization. It is dedicated to promote peace and harmony among South Asians regardless of where they live. ACHA Board of Directors appreciates people's goodwill and support for this cause. For more information about ACHA and comments about ACHA Bulletin, please contact us at by telephone at 503.362.4635, or 503.251.0070, or by email at pritamr@open.org, or visit our Web Page at http://ecumene.org/ACHA/ACHA.htm.
CONTENTS
Greetings
GREETINGS
PRAYER
EDITORIAL
"There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim," was the message of Guru Nanak, the first Guru of Sikhs. He taught that there is a single God, who is eternal, present in everything, and accessible to all. I was reminded of this message of Guru Nanak during a visit last week to"The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms"exhibition at Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, California. It is the first comprehensive exhibition of art produced in Punjab and its neighboring areas of northern India when Sikh culture flourished there around 1600-1800. It consists largely of objects from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, U.K., and includes paintings of some scenes from the life of Guru Nanak and pictures of the other nine other Gurus of Sikhism Prominently displayed at the exhibition are the golden throne and other treasures from the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who ruled for 40 years (1799-1839) a Sikh kingdom that had extended across the Punjab hills and Kashmir, over the Himalayas as far north as Ladakh. Known for his magnificent jewel collection including the legendary Koh-I-Noor diamond and "Timur Ruby," he also preached tolerance, and employed Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian officers and artists. Guru Nanak, Kabir, Gandhi, Ashoka, Akbar, and Ranjit Singh - history is full of great leaders and rulers who have preached and practiced tolerance in South Asia. Yes, there have been forced conversions, communal riots, battles and wars. But, most of the time people of South Asia have lived in relative peace and harmony. Now, less than a month from the eve of the new millennium, let us not
poison our minds with hate of others just because they are from a different
caste, faith, language group, region, country or race, or because of what
their ancestors did or did not do in the past. Why not we pledge together
to create a heaven on earth in South Asia by learning to live in harmony
with each other?
PEACE & HARMONY NEWS
* November 8, London, U.K.: British prime minister Tony Blair tonight launched the Millennium Pledge to build TOLERANCE and understanding between races, cultures and religions in Britain and across the world. The event was organized by the National Host Committee representing various communities and the Hinduja Foundation. (India West <www.indiawest.com>) * November 9, Berlin, Germany: With fireworks, concerts and a huge party at the landmark Brandenburg Gate, Germany celebrated the courage of hundreds of thousands of East Germans who brought down the reviled BERLIN WALL 10 years ago with their peaceful demands for democracy. " We should look at German unity as a gift and a chance for the future," former chancellor Helmut Kohl told lawmakers and invited guests at the parliament, including former president Bush and former soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. (Statesman Journal <www.StatesmanJournal.com>) * November 10, Jerusalem: Hours after Israeli troops evicted dozens of kicking, shouting Jewish settlers from the last of 12 illegal outposts in the West Bank, the Cabinet took further steps to wards PEACE by approving the transfer of an additional 5 percent of the territorial land to the Palestinians. (Statesman Journal <www.StatesmanJournal.com>) * November 12, New Delhi, India: Indian Medical Association declared that medical professionals in the country would not involve themselves, directly or indirectly, in the heinous crimes of FEMALE FETICIDE and sex discrimination tests. According to some sources, over two million female feticides every year in India and the female-male ratio has declined from 972:1000 in 1901 to 927:1000. In Bihar and Rajasthan it is only 600:1000. (India West <www.indiawest.com>) * November 14, Paris, France: The acclaimed South Indian singer K. J.
Yesudas teamed up with Pakistani supergroup Junoon at the historic millennium
concert "Music for Peace at UNESCO, at the Empire Theater. "Look," Yesudas
had commented earlier, "Pakistanis are our brotherly people. Only with
music can we connect our feelings."
* November 19, London, U.K.: In a telephonic interview to All India Radio, former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto urged the new military regime in Islamabad to mitigate New Delhi's concerns on cross-border terrorism in the interest of South Asian security. ''India and Pakistan should sit down and discuss what steps can be taken... I would like India and Pakistan to work for open borders in Kashmir and indeed open economic borders in whole of South Asia...These are the steps that need to be taken to tackle poverty and backwardness of the region and if Gen Pervez Musharraf (the chief executive of Pakistan) does it, we welcome it,'' she said. (Rediff on the NeT <www.rediff.com>). * November 21, New Delhi, India: A hotline was commissioned at the Nathu La (pass) today for establishing a telelink between INDIA AND CHINA at the border area in Sikkim sector. (indiaserver. com News <www.indiaserver.com>) * November 21: A Rs. 40-million foundation has been created by the Governments of India and Sri Lanka to further bilateral relations between the countries on the academic front. (indiaserver. com News <www. indiaserver.com>) * November 23, Nazareth, Israel: Israeli government attempted to end a two-year dispute between local Christians and Muslims by allowing Islamic leaders today to lay the cornerstone of a massive new MOSQUE here, but with a reduced size so that it will not tower above the Basilica of the Annunciation, a Christian holy site near it. (San Jose Mercury News <www.mercurycenter.com>) * November 23, Moscow, Russia: Negotiated last week in Istanbul, Turkey, Russia announced an AGREEMENT to close two military bases in Georgia by mid-2001, and to withdraw its 2,500 soldiers from Moldova by 2002. (San Jose Mercury News <www.mercurycenter.com>) * November 24, Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic: A WALL put up here six weeks ago to separate Gypsies from their neighbors was torn down today. Unable to prevent the local authorities from building the wall, the government persuaded them tear it down after agreeing to give them $286,000 to improve social conditions in the town. (San Jose Mercury News <www.mercurycenter.com>) * November 28, Colombo, Sri Lanka: Speaking on his 45th birthday, from his hideout in the northern jungles, the chief of Sri Lanka's main guerilla group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam, Velupillal Prabhakaran asked the government to begin talks to end the 16-YEAR WAR, which has claimed the lives of 58,000 people. "We want to resolve the Tamil conflict through peaceful means, through civilized methods, without recourse to blood bath and destruction of life," he said. (San Jose Mercury News < www. mercurycenter.com>) * November 29, Manila, the Philippines: Leaders from China, Japan and South Korea launched a summit here today that could constitute the first step toward the creation of a COMMON MARKET in the area and a single currency. (San Jose Mercury News < www. mercurycenter.com>) * November 29, Belfast, Northern Ireland: On a day many thought would never come, Protestants and Catholic adversaries today formed an extraordinary NORTHERN IRELAND GOVERNMENT, which will attempt to bring together every branch of opinion within this bitterly divided society. The unprecedented four-party administration - due to receive powers from the British government - includes Catholics who long vowed never to accept Northern Ireland's right to exist and Protestants just as unwilling to accept Catholics as political equals. (Statesman Journal <www.StatesmanJournal.com>) BOOKS
I knew so little, it was shameful! Not only was the problem in Kashmir
completely different from my half-baked notions and impressions, it was
in a way far simpler and much more complex both at once.
This is the reason for the Pak-sponsored terrorism that destroyed Kashmir's tourist economy and turned the world's 'second Switzerland' into a virtual battlefield. It is also the reason why, as long as the Kashmir problem is not resolved, Pakistan and India will always face the possibility of war and even (in these post-nuclear days) nuclear war. The second cause that I was vaguely aware of, but had no clear information about, was the series of political mishaps, mishandling and outright misuse of power by political parties and successive central governments with regard to the Kashmir issue. The greatest blame, I now realise, lies with Nehru and his daughter,
Indira. While his errors were
Coming a close second to her was Sheikh Abdullah himself, with his foolishly sentimental and idealistic attempts to change the course of Kashmir politics outwardly while (perhaps) unwittingly breeding a culture of corruption and dissipation in the valley's political system, making it one of the worst-managed states in the country. Other politicians and administrators who successively tangled up the
mess that is Kashmir today were Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao, V P Singh,
governors Jagmohan and Saxena and, of course, Farooq Abdullah himself,
who has brought new shame and disgrace to his father's already stained
reputation.
FLAMES OF THE CHINAR by Sheikh Abdullah (translated by Khushwant Singh) is a good place to start for background of the origin of most of the valley's problems in the post-Independence period. THE DISCOVERY OF INDIA by Jawaharlal Nehru, while very wide-ranging and containing very little direct information on Kashmir, makes a good companion volume to Sheikh Abdullah's memoirs as it gives us Nehru's general mindset and an insight into his own sense of values and the idealism that made him a great Indian, but not necessarily a great administrator. KASHMIR: BEYOND THE VALE and INDIA: THE SIEGE WITHIN, both by M J Akbar, are an excellent analytical overview of the national political imbroglio that caused the Kashmir problem, among others. Although Akbar has his own axes to grind and spends a lot of space on 'setting the record' straight, he continues to be the best 'long-distance' commentator on the communal and historical aspects of Kashmir. CIVIL WARS by Ved Marwah has a very concise overview of the history of militancy in the valley. It also offers some amusing insights into the quibbling and bickering between the different government figures and state officials who contributed to the mess. COUNTDOWN by Amitav Ghosh is indispensable reading for an understanding of the current state of Pakistan's and India's attitudes to one another, nuclear war and Kashmir and the communal issue. KASHMIR: A TRAGEDY OF ERRORS by Tavleen Singh is a very enjoyable book by one of the best-known political journalists in the country. Largely a memoir of her own experiences while covering the Kashmir beat as a journalist in the eighties and early nineties, this book makes up what it lacks in hard information and objective reporting by providing interesting first-person insights into the people and politics of news coverage in the valley. THE LOST REBELLION: KASHMIR IN THE NINETIES by Manoj Joshi is the best book on Kashmir militancy you can hope to find. Extremely well-researched, competently written and thoroughly objective, this large (480 pages) book is also the most up-to-date one. Unfortunately for Joshi, his book was released in the same week (May '99) that the Kargil conflict broke out. But I'm sure that future editions will include a chapter on Kargil and, in any case, there are already a heap of books coming out on that aspect. But if you have a genuine interest in feeding your own vetaal and learning a little more about what makes India what it is today, warts and all, especially with regard to Kashmir, then this shortlist is a good place to start. * Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin
by Akbar S. Ahmed, published by
* The Indus Saga and the Making of Pakistan by Aitzaz Ahsan,
published by Oxford University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-19 -577693 - 3
The partition of India in mid-August 1947 resulted in the Muslim-majority
northwestern and northeastern zones of the Subcontinent being separated
and awarded to Pakistan. It necessitated movement of people on a gigantic
scale. Beginning with March 1947 and until the end of that year communal
massacres perpetrated by extremists resulted in the deaths of some two
million Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. Between 14-17 million were forced to
migrate. Punjab, which was divided into two separate halves, was the arena
of the first major ethnic cleansing after World War II. The two books under
review suggest that Pakistan was necessary and, by implication, inevitable.
Had the author demonstrated that Mountbatten tried his utmost to prevent Pakistan from becoming a reality, his thesis and 'theory' would have merited serious consideration. The fact is, however, that Mountbatten resigned himself to the inevitability of partition. It is possible that he brought to bear his influence on the Radcliffe Award which procured advantages to India with regard to territorial division and Kashmir, but ultimately it was Jinnah's demand for separation which prevailed. Regarding Jinnah's political legacy, Ahmed is right that he was neither a secularist nor a fundamentalist. His exact political philosophy will always be a matter of conjecture, and thus open to all sorts of speculation from left to right. Aitzaz Ahsan declares that he wrote his book to challenge Jawaharlal Nehru's observation in The Discovery of India that from the Khyber Pass to Cape Comorin, notwithstanding infinite outward diversity, there was a 'tremendous impress of oneness' (quoted on p xiv). In sharp contrast Ahsan observes that 'Pakistan had existed for almost five and a half of the last six thousand years. Indus (i.e. Pakistan, reviewer's explanation) had seldom been a part of India.' (p. xv) On the other hand, three universal states - that of the Maurayans during the ancient period, the Mughal empire and the British colonial state which together lasted for no more than 500 years - constitute the deviation. Absent in this arithmetical calculation is, of course, sound logic and conclusion. It is true that the universal states together make up 500 years (although the last two belong to the immediate period before independence), but from this does not follow that for 5,500 years Sindh, Punjab, Baluchistan and the North West Frontier Province constituted a single, cultural or political identity under one ruler or dynasty. Only during a very brief phase of Ranjit Singh's rule (1799-1839) was this region brought under some sort of single military control. In fact every time a major invasion by the land route took place through the northwestern passes, NWFP and Punjab had to be crossed before Delhi or any other major seat of power could be captured. Consequently both these provinces together have a long history of being incorporated into kingdoms or empires which were centred on Delhi/Agra or Kabul. On the other hand Sindh and Baluchistan, which were not on this route, escaped union both with Punjab and NWFP as well as with a northern Indian state. Ahsan embellishes his narrative with impressive exercises on world history, especially South Asian and European histories, but what bearing these may have on his 'primordial' distinction between Indus and India as mutually exclusive politico-geographical and cultural categories, escapes comprehension. He identifies common and complementary roots of various Sufi orders and the Bhakti and Sikh movements, but then goes on to argue in favour of exclusion rather than inclusion and co-option of variety and diversity as they represented.... Considering that Nehru succeeded in institutionalising a type of liberal democracy in India while Pakistan has mostly been under authoritarian rule of one sort or another, the author should have hesitated in making empirically invalid claims, but it seems that while formulating his novel riverine-culture theory he removed himself from the world of facts to give vent to an entirely fictitious and imaginary view of Indus.... The author succumbs to the logic of cultural exclusion rather easily when he writes that Indian Muslims who returned to 'Indus' from 'India' in 1947, when partition took place, were 'the sons and daughters returning to the mother.' (p. 7) By implication then the millions of Hindus and Sikhs who were expelled from Indus were not 'true' Indus Persons although they had always lived there, but Muslims who did not live in Indus were true Indus Persons. Making sense of such argumentation is a privilege I shall leave Ahsan's admirers to address. The fact remains that until March 1947 it was not at all clear that India will be partitioned. Had Jinnah not demanded partition, it would not have moved central stage in the ongoing political drama. Had Nehru and other members of the Congress Party shown enough acumen, it could have been averted. Had Mountbatten and the British resolutely opposed it, it would not have happened. The exact blame for the two million deaths should be apportioned to the top actors according to the above formula. * India's nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation by George Perkovich, director of the Secure World Program of the W Alton Jones Foundation and due to be published by Oxford University Press in January 2000. Excerpts from a review by Ramesh Chandra published in the Times of India 11/17/99, and received via South Asian Against Nukes and aiindex@mnet.fr A doyen amongst South Asian analysts, Stephen Cohen of Brookings Institution
says it is a book he wishes" he had written,'' one that will have an "important
impact" on the current and future policy
In this fastidiously researched book, which took six years to complete,
a number of new nuggets of information and fresh insights emerge. The early
chapters analyse the thinking of Pandit Nehru and Homi Bhabha. Others look
at the status of India's technical capabilities which were "different than
what Indian leaders and especially Bhabha claimed.''
The author who met virtually everyone remotely associated with India's nuclear policy or who have written on the subject in both India as well as in the United States told the Times of India that "India's nuclear weapon capabilities were developed in a continuous, albeit slow and steady manner following a lull between 1975 and 1980. Throughout the 1980s, work was done to refine calculations and designs, to test non-nuclear components of devices and generally to develop the capacity to build lighter, smaller explosive devices".... On the nuclear weapons side, Perkovich maintains that the ``Indianscientists
and engineers benefited from various forms of outside assistance: reactors,
heavy water; declassified literature on isotopes;
Perkovich said that the broader point is that every state with
nuclear weapons has benefited from contributions by others in one form
or another. He pointed out that the first US bomb was largely the product
of work by scientists from Europe. The Soviet bomb benefitted enormously
from espionage
One of the more tantalising segments of India's Nuclear Bomb is when
Perkovich dwells upon the civilian and military decision making apparatus.
Asked to elaborate on this subject, the author told this paper: ``Indian
leaders from the beginning insisted on ensuring that the military was subordinate
to civilian leadership, in part to guarantee democracy and avoid the sort
of coups that were common in post-colonial states. Pakistan is the most
unfortunate example of this tendency. The Indian military has heroically
embraced this deference to civilian control with great dignity. Thus, the
exclusion of the military from the nuclear policymaking is an extension
of this general pattern. There is a specific dimension to it, however,
insofar as India's political leaders have been very ambivalent about nuclear
weapons.''
* City of Stone: The Hidden History of Jerusalem by Meron Benvenisti, translated by Maxine Kaufman Nunn and published by the University of California Press, Berkeley, 1998. Pp 274. PB. ISBN 0-520-207688. Excerpts from a review by Ayyub Malik, an architect and planner practicing in London, who has written extensively on urban, architectural and environmental issues relating to the contemporary cities in the Muslim world. ....As a former Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, Meron Benvenisti is not only well informed but also painfully conscious of the troubled and ironic history of the city. With extraordinary frankness and honesty, he has put across the facts, events and injustices meted out to the Palestinian population and so often concealed and denied by the government. The section entitled 'Blueprint for Catastrophe' similarly shows what Israeli political planning has done to the historic city itself. Between 1967 and 1995, 64,000 apartments were built in Jerusalem, 38,000 of these on expropriated land. By 1994, the Jewish population of the parts of Jerusalem which were Arab prior to 1967 was larger than the Arab population (p.161). As a result, surrounded by sprawling dormitory suburbs and the incongruous tower blocks, the compact and inwardly focused historic city has disintegrated. Jerusalem now is the biggest city in Israel, much of it built under the 27 year reign of Mayor Teddy Kollek, "interested in only one thing, what was it possible not to give the Arab". His sole aim was to "determine physical and demographic 'facts' that will ensure Israeli rule over the unified city" and "to prevent the growth of Arab population or the expansion of its living space" (pp.164-5). City of Stone comprises eight well structured sections, fourteen illustrations, six maps and a very useful index. Meron Benvenisti has written an extremely informative and brave book which will go some way at least towards redressing the balance of intentions, facts and events and how these have affected the historic city of Jerusalem and its long suffering Palestinian population. * Beyond the Sky and the earth: A Journey into Bhutan, by Jamie Zeppa, published by Riverhead Books, New York, 1999, 303 pages. Summary of a review by Michel W. Potts in India West 11/12/99 <www.indiawest.com>. A journal by the author, a 23-year-old young woman from Toronto, of her transformation during her stay in Bhutan starting as a second grade teacher in a remote village of Pema Gatshel and ending with a position at Sherubtse College, the country's highest institute of education. "It is too easy to romanticize Bhutan," she writes, "The landscape cannot answer back, cannot say, no you are wrong, life here is different but if you add everything up, it is not any better. You can love this landscape because your life does not depend on it. It is merely a scenic backdrop for the other life you will always be to return to, a life in which you will not be a farmer scraping a living out of a difficult terrain." She realizes, "Bhutan is a real place, with a real history, in which real conflicts lead to real upheaval, the real suffering of the people. As much as I would like it to be, it is not a hidden valley." * South Asians and the Dowry Problem edited by Werner Menski, published by Vistaar, New Delhi, Rs 250. (Via South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch <aiindex@mnet.fr>) The book presents detailed overview of causes of dowry-related violence in middle-class and affluent South Asian households and how to restrict these. * South Asia on a Short Fuse: Nuclear Politics and the Future of Disarmament
by Praful Bidwai & Achin Vanaik, 1999, 384pp, ISBN (Hardback) 0195651782,
published by:Oxford University Press
* June 6-11, 2000, Toronto, ON, Canada: DESH PARDESH 2000: 10th annual International Festival of Arts, Culture and Politics. South Asian Visual Arts Collective (SAVAC) invites South Asian artists, curators, activists, critics and cultural producers to submit works in all artistic mediums and cultural disciplines (include film, video, new media, installation, academic papers, multi-disciplinary collaborations, workshops and panels) for presentation at the festival. Applications must be received by February 1, 2000. More info from SAVAC, 401 Richmond St. W. Suite 450 Toronto, ON M5V 3A8 Canada, 416.340.1452, <desh@ican.net> or <http://home.ican.net/~desh> * May 6-7, 2000, Los Angeles, CA, USA: THIRD SOUTH ASIAN WOMEN'S CONFERENCE, sponsored by UCLA and California State University, Northridge, the format will also include workshops for the discussion of issues relevant to the immigrant and subsequent populations in the diaspora, and a photographic exhibit and a film festival. One-page abstract must be submitted by December 10, 1999. More info from Sangeeta Gupta at <sangeetaucla@yahoo.com>, <sgupta3306 @aol.com> or <www.Indianmall.com/sawc>. * December 4 through 18, San Francisco, CA, USA: IN BLACK AND WHITE: What has Independence meant to Women in India? An exhibition by Narika of a collection of 140 photographs that promotes the views of women through creative use of the media, Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Sunday 12:00 to 6:00 p.m., at Kalart Gallery, 855 Sansome Street. Donations at $15. More info from 510.540.0754. * December 5, Portland, OR, USA: MUKTI, a dance drama by Dr. Ratna Roy in Mahari-Odissi style and a drumming performance by Portland TAIKO, a presentation of SAWERA at 4:00 p.m. at Delores Winningstad Theater at Portland Center for Performing Arts. Tickets at $10. More info from 503.778.7386. *Till December 5, Lucknow, U.P., India: LUCKNOW MAHOTSAV including colorful processions, cultural programs with traditional dramas, Kathak dances, classical music performances along with exciting events like ekka races, kite flying, cock fighting and other traditional village games at Begum Hazrat Mahal Park. More info from UP Tourism, 0522.228349, 0522.225165, or <upstdc@ lw1.vsnl.net.in> or <www.up-tourism.com> * December 11 & 12, San Francisco, CA, USA: KASHMIRI SHAWL: Fabric of Indian History, an exhibition display co-sponsored by the Society of Arts and Cultural Heritage of India, 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. at Gruhn Court, Asian Ar Museum, Golden Gate Park. Free with museum admission. More information from 415.379.8800. * Till December 15, Mumbai, India: FROM FRANCE WITH LOVE, an exhibition (curtsey of the French embassy, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the General Council of Reunion Island) of a collection of 114 French Avant Garde paintings (by 1880-1930 masters including Marc Chagall, Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Pierre Auguste Renoir) from the Leon Dierx Museum on Reunion Island, the French colony located in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar at the National Gallery of Modern Art, opposite Regal Cinema, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. everyday except Mondays. More info from 022.2044285. * December 18, San Francisco, CA, USA: PUNJABI COMMUNITY DAY, including screening of the British documentary film Sikhs, Punjabi folk dances, Phulkari workshop and children's art activities, 10:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m., at San Francisco Art Museum. More info from 415.379.8879. * Almost 3,700 BANGLADESHIS and 3,200 INDIANS migrated to New York every year in 1995 and 1996, according to a New York Department of City Planning. * Eleven commodity exchanges have joined hands to form an apex body called the Federation of Indian commodity exchanges, with their headquarter for now at the office of the East India COTTON Association in Mumbai. (Via www.indiaserver.com) * Deepa Mehta's new film EARTH/1947, which portrays Partition and its violence through the eyes of a Parsee young girl, has been chosen by the Film Federation of India to be the country's official entry to net years's Oscar awards. * As compared to September 1998, India's EXPORTS in September 1999 rose 12.01 percent, although trade deficit at $5.01 billion in the first half of the year is just below that of $5.02 billion a year ago, according to government sources. Some analysts attribute persisting restraints on export growth to lack of proper infrastructure, particularly at ports, and high export credit interest rates. * According to the figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers Association, COMMERCIAL VEHICLES sales for the six months to the end of September rose to 71,153 units from 55, 259 in the corresponding period in 1998. * Ambassador Richard Celeste recently announced at Hyderabad, that a U.S. FOREIGN COMMERCIAL SERVICE is to be set up here shortly to attract American investments in Andhra Pradesh, India. Leading a high powered U.S. trade and business delegation to the state he was addressing a meeting at Jubilee Hall. * InterTech is currently seeking graduate students with experience or expertise in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and/or the Maldives for part-time (10 hours/week) employment to assist in a research project dealing with political instability and warning of potential conflicts. Individuals will review a wide range of materials collected from the media and published sources, providing commentary to a dedicated Internet website. Candidates must be U.S. citizens. Send resume as an e-mail attachment, along with a short analytic writing sample. More information from Christy Conner at 310.552.7520 or <conner@it.org> * In an attempt to conduct the most accurate, complete and fair count, the U.S. Census Bureau has a large number of part-time positions for local residents in all communities and neighborhoods to work as CENSUS TAKERS during Census 2000. More info from 888.325.7733. * December 2, Seattle, WA, USA: TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE & JUST DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA, a discussion with Thomas Kocherry, Co-ordinator of the World Forum of Fish-harvesters and Fish-workers and Sanjay Mangala Gopal, National Convener of the National Alliance of People's Movements, at 7:30 p.m., at Seattle Central Community College, Room 3212, 1701 Broadway. Free snacks will be provided. More info from neeta_asha@hotmail.com or 206.726.465, or 425.703.8954 * December 4 & 11, San Francisco, CA, USA: SIKHS, and THE NEW PURITANS:
THE SIKHS OF YUBA CITY, two films will be screened from 12:00-3:00 p.m.
on 12/4, and 1:00-4:00 p.m. on 12/11, at Trustee's Auditorium, Asian Art
Museum. The first film documents the history of Sikhs from the rise of
their kingdoms in 16th century through Operation Blue Star; the second
portrays the cultural and generational conflicts faced by the Sikhs of
Yuba City, California. More info from 415.379.8879.
* December 11, San Francisco, CA, USA: KASHMIRI TEXTILES, a talk about their history and weaving traditions, co-sponsored by the Society of Arts and Cultural Heritage of India, at 1:00 p.m. at Gruhn Court, Asian Ar Museum, Golden Gate Park. Free with museum admission. More information from 415.379.8800. * <http://netnow.micron.net/~ricksha is the new website for the RICKSHA arts of Bangladesh. * Developed by Sandhya Shenoy, India's National Academy of Agricultural Research Management and a visting Fellow of the World bank and U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization at the university of Illinois <http://web.aces.uiuc.edu/aim/diglib/india> is a website that provides a wealth of information (about AGRICULTURE and animal sciences and related industries and resources) for use by Indian farmers and agriculture extension agents. * <www.internews.com.pk> is one of the websites with information about the current developments in the PAKISTAN. * <www.decide.com> allows a way for consumers to compare and purchase TELE-COMMUNICATION services. * <www.VayooMal.com> can be used to send GREETING CARDS to friends and relative. The site also has Eminders service designed to send users personalized reminders about special events. * South Asian Network, an Artesia, California-based non-profit COMMUNITY SERVICE organization offers guidance and support services regarding hate crimes, health and legal matters, family support (including domestic violence). worker rights and HIV/AID education. They can be reached by email at <san2@ix.netcom.com>. * December: 3 Hannukah, 8 Immaculate Conception (Italy, Portugal, Spain), 25 Christmas. 26 Boxing Day (Australia, Canada, U.K.), 31 New Year's Eve. * SUFIA KAMAL, the 88-year-old Bangladeshi poet, political activist, and feminist who died November 20, was the first woman in the country to be buried with full state honors. As the national flag was lowered and buglers saluted, about 10,000 people paid their respects at her funeral on November 24 in Dhaka. First married at age 11, she educated herself in her uncle's library, published her first story at age 14. As an adult, ignoring calls for her execution, increasingly, she wrote against religious communalism, fundamentalism and superstitions, and promoted democracy and women's emancipation. (New York Times) * India-born Parsee author and crusader, ZERBANOO GIFFORD has won a 10 million pound grant from the Millennium Commission to create Asha Center, a museum at a ten-acer piece of land at Harrow in northwest in London as a tribute to the contributions made to Britain's heritage from cultures that are still regarded as alien. (India West <www.indiawest.com>) * The noted Indian plant geneticist, Prof. MANKOMBU S. SWAMINATHAN was recently awarded in Paris the prestigious UNESCO Gandhi gold medal in recognition of his outstanding biotechnology contributions to wheat and rice production in developing countries. (India West <www.indiawest.com>) *The French Government today honored an Indian scientist, Mr. P.G.S. MONY, for the second time awarding him the insignia of "officer'' in the order of "Palmes Academiques'' (officer in the knighthood of academic achievements), a decoration normally bestowed upon French citizens. (indiaserver. com News <www.indiaserver.com>) * LATA MANGESHKAR, the noted playback singer, CHO RAMASWAMY, the editor of Tamil weekly Tuglak, and FALI S. NARIMAN, a constitutional expert were among those nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian parliament, according to a November 22 announcement by president K.R. Narayanan. (India West <www.indiawest.com>) * Indian president K.R. Narayanan, on November 19, gave away 1998 Indira
Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development to MUHAMMED YUNUS,
the noted Bangladeshi social worker and the founder of Grameen Bank of
Dhaka, which, with 2.5 million borrowers, is one of the world's largest
rural banking institutions. (India West <www.indiawest.com>)
Below is a list recently published in India West (<www.indiawest.com>) of aid organization which are accepting donations for Orissa disaster relief in USA. Make your check payable to the organization named and specify the money is designated for Orissa Cyclone Relief. General information about the disaster cane be obtained from the web site set up by Orissa government <www.Cyclone.utkal.ernet.in>. American Services to India, P.O. Box 2456, Costa Mesa, CA 92628
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