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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.
President Clinton's visit to South Asia (Next issue on 05/01/2000) CONTENTS
DROUGHT EMERGENCY IN PAKISTAN
Official U.S. Delegation Accompanying President Bill Clinton
to S. Asia, March 18-26
CONTENTS: Section B ANNOUNCEMENTS
BOOKS & JOURNALS
EVENTS
PEOPLE
WANTED
WEBSITES
WORDS OF WISDOM
Drought Emergency in Urenji, District Khuzdar, about It 350 km from Quetta, the Capital of Baluchistan, Pakistan. About 35,000 people live in and around villages of Hinar, Trigur, Huraruk, Peona Mush, Arenji Maseet, Khoorvi, Loendo, and Jakhel are affected. The same situation might erupt in other dry areas of Baluchistan, Sindh Kohistan, Thar and Cholistan, where drought has already hit hard. According to a report, about 40-70 people have died. Cattle are dead in great numbers, due to lack of vegetation. Relief has already started by Sardar Akhtar Mengal (the son of the local tribal chief ), Jammat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulmai Islam, and Red Crescent. The district administration has also allocated Rs. 500,000 for the relief work. But the relief work seems insufficient. Relief work has been made difficult by thinly scattered population in difficult mountainous terrain, which is hardly accessible by even very sophisticated 4x4 vehicles, difficult to access medical facilities, official ban on inter-provincial wheat movement, and restriction for purchase of wheat flour beyond 25 Kg per person per month. More information about the situation and the kind of relief needed can be obtained from Tanveer Arif of SCOPE, by email <scope@khi.compol.com> by telephones 92-21-4965042 & 4983912, or by Fax: 92-21-4976459. * I live and work in harmony with all people. Daily Word 3/25/2000 <www.unityworldhq.org> My life is built around relationships - with family and friends, with coworkers and neighbors. Whether I am interacting in personal relationships with those who are nearest and dearest to me or honoring the diversity of all the people I see during the day, I do all I can to get along with others. I am dedicated to living a life of harmony. I live in harmony with others when I treat them as they deserve to be treated - as children of God. No matter how many differences there are among us, what we have in common is far more important: the spirit of God is within each one of us. In touch with this glorious spirit, I am loving, I bring harmony to all my relationships. *February 20, Dhaka, Bangladesh: More than 150 activists and scholars from 14 countries of South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and North America participated in Peace Builds, Bombs Destroy, conference held here from February 18-20. Organized by Focus on the Global South, and the Community Development Library (Dhaka), the conference gave a call for a nuclear-free Asia, stressed that NUCLEAR WEAPONS everywhere generate insecurity, not security, and demanded that India and Pakistan immediately freeze and dismantle their programs to develop nuclear weapons and their delivery systems, as well as sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and other restraint measures, and return to the global disarmament agenda, according to an Inter Press Service report by Praful Bidwai. The Dhaka Declaration (www.focusweb.org/nuclear/dec_nuc.htm), issued at the end of the Conference, condemned India and Pakistan for "embracing the doctrine of deterrence, and undertaking the development of nuclear weapons and their delivery system" and thus "gravely endangering their own and the region's security and setting back the global nuclear disarmament agenda." It noted that "nuclearisation has escalated mutual suspicion and hostility between and Pakistan, as witnessed in the Kargil conflict. It has strengthened communal, militarist, authoritarian and centralising political tendencies within the two countries. The rapidly worsening security environment cannot be redressed by standard confidence-building and crisis-defusing measures." Many of the papers delivered at the Conference are available at <www.focusweb.org/nuclear/ key_docu/index.html>) and <www.lcnp.org/disarmament/ dhakatalk.htm>. *February 27, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India: More than a hundred SECULAR activists and intellectuals from Delhi, Mumbai and different parts of Gujarat attended this two day seminar held held here at Gandhi Labour Institute under the joint auspices of Movement of Secular Democracy (<samvad@writemail.com>), Vikas Adhyayan Kendra, SAMVAD, St. Xavier's Social Service Society and Centre for the Study of Society & Secularism. Speakers reminded the participants that India's history is a history of people of various socio-religio-cultural heritages, living together and forging one nation and warned them of the dangerous fascist tendency towards uniformity in all aspects of life, specially the cultural and religious. Some gave examples of tolerance and mutual respect among the two major communities in India. They deplored the fact that violence is used to silence any dissent and pointed out that diversity was the soul of democracy. One must learn to respect the other as other. *February 29, Abidjan, Nigeria: Following another round Tuesday of sectarian violence in Aba between Christians and Muslims, which claimed dozens of lives, three states in the southeastern part of the Nigeria have agreed, in the interest of peace, to abandon their experiment with Sharia (Islamic) law, and to reinstate Nigeria's CIVIL CODE as the only law within their borders, according to a report by John Pitman of VOA. (From Information Times <www.InformationTimes.com>). * February 19, Jaka rta, Indonesia: Approximately two dozen Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars from England, France, Germany, India, Israel, South Africa, Turkey, and the United States along with Indonesian participants and observers ended today their four-day International Scholars Annual TRIALOGUE and a one-day Businesss Ethics Forum. The program was sponsored by the new President of Indonesia, Abdurrahman Wahid, informally known as Gus Dur, and the Global Dialogue Institute, a Philadelphia organization dedicated to fostering cross-cultural communication and global ethics. Among others President Wahid and Prince Hassan of Jordan addressed the gathering. The participants agreed that the state must not be united to religion in the sense that any one religion be preferred over the others. Also, it was pointed out that each of the traditions contained elements that were conducive to democracy and that democracy was in no way incompatible with any of the three religions, according to a report by Dr. Ingrid Shafer, who participated as an invited scholar from USA. * March 5. Jerusalem: Israeli cabinet voted unanimously today to WITHDRAW its troops from south Lebanon by July, committing itself to ending a bloody occupation of the area since 1982. "It's an end to the tragedy," prime minister Ehud Barak told reporters following the cabinet meeting (Associated Press via Statesman Journal <www. StatesmanJournal.com>). *March 8, Jerusalem: Israel and the Palestinians AGREED today to hold intensified peace talks in USA later this month, ending five weeks of impasse that had threatened to destroy any hope of reaching a final peace deal by a September deadline. The breakthrough came after Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and Palestine Authority president Yasser Arafat held their second face-to-face meeting in less than 14 hours in an effort to rebuild trust damaged by the deadlocked negotiations and by a spate of angry words from officials on both sides Los Angeles Times via Statesman Journal <www. StatesmanJournal.com>). * March 10, Washington, D.C, USA: President Bill Clinton sent "Warm
greetings" to Muslims across the United States and around the world as
they celebrated EID AL-ADHA (scheduled to begin March
* March 13, Islamabad, Pakistan: The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Islamabad in collaboration with the Liberal Forum Pakistan organized a Roundtable Political Consultation on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) at a hotel here today. Speakers urged the government to disregard the uninformed, war-mongering right-wing opposition that does not know or represent the interests of the Pakistani people. They pointed out that the survival of Pakistan lies in economic progress and social reconstruction and that national security depends on the rule of law, fairness and national cohesion. One speaker said, mushroom growth of "Jehadi" groups and dictatorship is a much bigger threat to national security than signing the CTBT which is not a discriminatory treaty (Via South Asians Against Nukes Post <aiindex@mnet.fr>). * March 16, Kosovska Mitrovica, Yugoslavia: In a bid to ease tensions, French commanders agreed today to let Serb guards and international peacekeepers keep watch over a BRIDGE to the ethnic Albanian-controlled part of the city. The agreement would allow ethnic Albanians to go to their homes on the Serb-controlled north bank of the Ibar River (Statesman Journal <www. StatesmanJournal.com>). * March 17, Washington, D.C., USA: Addressing a meeting of the American-Iranian Council, secretary of state Madeleine Albright essentially APOLOGIZED for past American policy toward Iran, including a CIA-backed coup in 1953."I call upon Iran to join us in writing a new chapter in our shared history," she remarked and promised to ease some trade and barriers to cultural exchanges. "Let us be open about our differences and strive to overcome them. Let us acknowledge our common interests and strive to advance them," she continued. A nation of 62 million, half of whom are under the age of 25, Iran is struggling with more than 20% unemployment (Statesman Journal <www. StatesmanJournal.com>). *March 19, Jerusalem: A land transfer that stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks for five weeks easily CLEARED A FINAL HURDLE today with Israel's cabinet approving maps for the withdrawal from 6.1 percent of the West Bank. The transfer will take place March 21, just before negotiators convene in USA for peace talks. It will leave the Palestinian Authority in control of 41 percent of the West Bank, and 60 percent of the Palestinians living in the area (The Associated Press via Statesman Journal <www. StatesmanJournal.com>). *March 20, Amman, Jordan: "Within the sight of the city of Jericho, our gaze directed toward Jerusalem, let us lift up our prayer to Almighty God for all the people living in the promised land: Jews, Muslims and Christians," prayed Pope John Paul II as he began today a long-awaited pilgrimage to the Holy Land from the Mount Nebo sanctuary dedicated to Moses, who is said to have died here. He asked God to "bestow upon all who live here the gift of a TRUE PEACE, JUSTICE AND FRATERNITY." A little earlier, he reminded people , "In this area of the world there are grave and urgent issues of justice, of the rights of peoples and nations, which have to be resolved as a condition for lasting peace," and urged, "No matter how difficult, no matter how long, the peace must continue" (Los Angeles Times via Statesman Journal <www. StatesmanJournal. com>). *March 21, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan: We should have a futuristic orientation towards the issue of INDO-PAK PEACE, as a peaceful South Asia is imperative to resist the onslaught of the West, said the former Finance Minister and peace stalwart Dr. Mubashir Hasan. He explained that the western onslaught of privatization and globalization promises no future to the third world and to safeguard out interests, we need to ensure that both Pakistan and India resolve the conflict in a peaceful manner. He was participating in a dialogue on possibilities of Indo-Pak rapprochement, organized today by Pak-India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy in collaboration with Journalists Resource Centre at Lahore Press Club. He said that we should not have the fear that India could conquer us nor should we have the fallacy that we could conquer India. (Journalist Resource Centre, Lahore via South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch a<iindex@ mnet.fr>). * March 21, Washington, D.C., USA: Israeli and Palestinian negotiators reopened their oft-postponed "FINAL STATUS" talks at an air base here today, vowing to resolve the most difficult issues of their protracted conflict within the next two months (Statesman Journal <www. StatesmanJournal. com>). *March 23, Jerusalem: "In this place of solemn remembrance, I fervently pray that our sorrow for the tragedy which the Jewish people suffered in the 20th century will lead to a NEW RELATIONSHIP between Christians and Jews," wished Pope John Paul II speaking in the shadowy gloom of the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem, Israel's main Holocaust memorial. He expressed sadness at "hatred, acts of persecution and displays of anti- Semitism directed against the Jews by Christians at any time and at any place." A little earlier he had laid a wreath on the stone slab under which the ashes of victims from six Nazi extermination camps are buried (Washington Post via Statesman Journal <www. StatesmanJournal. com>). *March 24, Hue, Vietnam: Marching troops, elaborate flower-decorated floats and dancers in traditional brocade gowns gathered here today at Tu Do (Freedom Stadium) in a flawless dress rehearsal for tomorrow's celebration of the 25th anniversary the END OF VIETNAM WAR. On March 26, 1975, Hue was the second major city to fall as communist troops swept down the country's coastline in a push that defeated South Vietnamese troops (Statesman Journal <www. StatesmanJournal. com>). *March 24, Korazim, Israel: Pope John Paul II cautioned the audience
of about 100,000 to ignore the calls for violence that are "all around
you" and instead help spread Jesus' message to "care for what is right,
to be pure in heart, to make peace." The worshipers, mostly youth, had
gathered here for at a Mass on the rocky Galilee hillside today where
traditions says Jesus delivered his Sermon on the Mount 2,000 years
ago (Washington Post via Statesman Journal <www. StatesmanJournal. com>).
On the way , near Cuba, led by Sengbe Pieh, the Africans tried to force the two Spaniards who had bought them in a Havana slave market to sail tem back to Africa. Upon arrival at New York's Long Island, they were jailed. After several trials, and with the support of white abolitionists and their defense at a trial by the former U.S. president John Quincy Adams, they were freed by an 1841 U.S. supreme court. The 35 of them who survived returned to their homeland in 1842 (The associated Press, Statesman Journal <www. StatesmanJournal. com>). *March 25, Geneva: President Clinton met Syrian president Hafez Assad here today to persuade the latter to resume negotiations with Israel, which have been stalled since January (Statesman Journal <www. StatesmanJournal. com>). *March 26, Jerusalem: Pope John Paul II ended an emotional journey through the Holy Land today with a dramatic act of contrition at Judaism's most sacred site, the Western Wall, and with tributes to all three faiths that share this troubled region. Standing in solemn solitude, the pope prayed and touched the wide beige stones of the ancient wall, where he deposited a signed plea for God's forgiveness for centuries of Catholic torment of the Jewish people (Statesman Journal <www. StatesmanJournal. com>). *April 2, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India: In a very inspiring and moving
program, Loknaad, Ahmedabad based people's expression forum released INSAAN
HAIN HUM: LAKEERON SE BANTI INSAANIYAT KE NAAM, a set of an audio-cassette
and a series of song posters as its peace expressions before an audience
of around 500 people from various sections of the society in Gujarat. The
program included observing silence in memory of the death, pain and helplessness
of the innocent
* EKTA (Committee for Communal Amity). Contact persons: Dr. Uday Mehta, Near Gujarathi Club, Beasant Club, Santacruz, (W), Mumbai, India, Phone 6491478, and Dr. Ram Puniyani, B-64, IIT Qtrs, Powai, Mumbai 400076, Phones- 5783522, 5775045, 5768763, Email- bmrrpia@cc.iitb.ernet.in EKTA (Committee for Communal Amity) was formed in the wake of massive communal riots in the late 1980's in Mumbai. Its aim was to act as a platform of secular forces to protest against the communal politics in India. It undertook various protest actions and played an active role in rehabilitation of riot victims. For the last few years it has been concentrating on holding seminars for college teachers and students and, in collaboration with other groups, training camps for the activists on the theme of secularism. It has also been publishing different books and booklets on the subject. Some of its publications are listed below: Witnesses Speak- Jyoti Punwani, It is based on evidences given
by the riot victims to Shrikrishna Commission
* A letter to Mr. Bill Clinton by Hashim Qureshi, Chairman Jammu & Kashmir Democratic Liberation Party, (Presently in exile in Holland), Boomhazalaaroord 43, 1112EA,Diemen, The Netherlands, Email <quresi@laila.demon.nl>. March 05, 2000 His Excellency the President of the U.S.A., Mr. President, In the aftermath of India's partition in 1947 along communal lines, some people in the two newly formed dominions of India and Pakistan became barbarians and indulged in carnage in the name of religion. At that time, the humanist Mohandas Gandhi noted that the people of different faiths lived in peace and harmony in Kashmir. He said," I see a ray of light in Kashmir." We hoped that the light of peace, peaceful coexistence and secularism emanating from Kashmir would enlighten the whole of the Sub-Continent. But today half a century from that tragedy, people in India and Pakistan continue to be engulfed by blind hatred against one another. Armed entrepreneurs do not spare even aged people, women and children. Mostly we the Kashmiris are the victims of heavy shelling along the Line of Control on both sides. Indian security forces go out of control in Kashmir and instances of extra-judicial killings have been reported. Human dignity is badly mauled. Islamic fundamentalists and Pakistani Inter-Service Intelligence organization's trained armed foreign militants have wrought havoc in Kashmir in the name of Islam and jihad. Grenades are hurled at public places and the bodies of innocent people are rent into shreds. Kashmir people are ardently attached to Sufism (local brand of mysticism) and secularism. They want that people of different faiths and beliefs should live together in peace and harmony. As such they look to Your Excellency, to the democratic people of the world and to the justice loving humanity for support in their hour of crisis. Mr. President, I shall not rake up the history of Kashmir issue. But I would draw your attention to the fundamental reasons for the emergence of Kashmir and other issues between the two countries that elude solution. It is nothing but immeasurable hatred towards each other. For last 53 years leadership on both sides infused hatred in the minds of their people. It made them fight three wars, and the fourth appears to be on the anvil. Both of them are collecting missiles and nuclear weapons. If the international community fails to stop them, then of course the fate of 1350 million people of the sub-continent will hang in balance. The U.S.A. and the world at large cannot escape the blame in that case. Mr. President, owing to insoluble hatred and obstinacy on both sides, the resolution of Kashmir problem appears difficult because neither of the two is prepared to concede self-determination and independence to a united Kashmir. Neither India nor Pakistan is going to withdraw from Kashmir in favour of the adversary. One may think that in the event of another disastrous war, both of them may agree to divide Kashmir along religious lines. But we Kashmiris would not accept that because even after doing so, the seeds of hatred would not go nor would peace be restored. Who knows both of them may begin preparing themselves for the fifth war to squander their wealth and destroy their resources. In this atmosphere of hatred, India offering Kashmir to Pakistan on a platter would only encourage Pakistani religious extremists groups to aspire for hoisting the green Isalmic flag on the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi. And if Pakistan offers it to India, then extremist groups in India will dream of re-uniting the two states. This means that as long as hatred persists, any solution of the problem will be only a temporary solution. This has been amply proved first by Tashkent and then by Shimla Agreement between the two countries. Mr. President, the world community of humanists should impress upon India and Pakistan to allow free interaction between their peoples, stop terrorist acts against one another and begin mutual trade and cultural relations. Both should treat Kashmiris with justice. Thrusting a war on the beautiful land of Kashmir and its people is disrespect of humanism. Killing innocent, aged men, women and children in most barbaric manner is the betrayal of nature and humanism. You will agree with me that we all need to protect the law of nature and of humanism. In order to help stop the dangerous drift in their mutual relations and to eliminate the factor of hatred between them, may I humbly request you Mr. President, to include Pakistan in your forthcoming visit to the sub-continent. This would help in restoring democracy in that country besides saving the deposed Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif from becoming a target of blind military power. Exclusion of Pakistan from your itinerary will only help extremism to grow in the region at the cost of democratic forces. Mr. President, I humbly wish to persuade you to charter for yourself a course that would win you a lasting name in the annals of human history. If you succeed in removing hatred from the minds of 1350 million people in the sub-continent, then of course, the cultured people of the region will show their capacity of resolving the Kashmir dispute. Displaced people will return to their places of origin and we shall be liberated from the oppression of the security forces and the destruction brought by religious fanatics. When trade and commerce develop, people will find economic relief. More important is that the two countries put a halt to arms race and utilize their resources to eradicate social and economic evils like poverty, illiteracy, ignorance and disease. In that scenario, threat of a war gets eliminated. Mr. President, I am a political activist but away from my native place of Kashmir for last 30 years. I have spent over nine years in prisons followed by exile till date. Once I did believe in violence as a political means but with acquiring knowledge and introspecting into the virtues of humanism, I began to hate extremism and violence in whatever forms these are. I firmly believe in resolving disputes through peaceful negotiations to the extent that I am prepared to make any sacrifice in the process. I expect you and the entire humanity to publicize ways and methods of peaceful resolution of problems instead of giving publicity to the acts of terrorism and to those who perpetrate them. I attach a copy of my suggestions for the resolution of Kashmir dispute, which appeared in the shape of an article, titled 'Kashmir Dispute: Freezing to defreeze'. Let me hope that before proceeding on your visit to the sub-continent, you will find time to go through this document. Thank you Mr. President. Yours Sincerely,
* April 5 is the last date to register for participation for the conference
"Higher Education for Peace," to be hosted by the University of Tromsø
and Tromsø College will, in association with the Norwegian National
Commission for UNESCO. The conference is a unique opportunity to exchange
research results and educational strategies and to promote creative thinking
about peace studies in higher education. About 500 delegates both
from Norwegian institutions of higher education and from the
*May 6-7, Los Angeles, CA, USA: THIRD INTERNATIONAL SOUTH ASIAN WOMEN'S
CONFERENCE, 2000, a presentation of UCLA, California State University-Northridge
and UC Irvine, with Keynote address by Bapsi Sidhwa, and session on "Historical
Perspectives and Women's
*December 11-12, Hiroshima, Japan: A free WORLD PEACE PRAYER event including
a beautiful lantern floating ritual the night of the 11th, which will be
the last full moon of the millennium here. The next morning at 8:15 (the
time the A-bomb exploded) people will join hands, form a circle around
the A-bomb Cenotaph in Hiroshima's Peace Park, and have a moment of silence
to recall the culmination of unrestrained power struggle. Then, after walking
about five minutes to a hall that seats exactly 2001 people, they will
say goodbye to the 20th century and, with music, symbolic action, and silence,
offer a collective prayer that the 21st will see the end of war and a dramatic
shift toward cooperation and harmony. Organizers invite interested individuals
and organizations to join them us and add their " unique energy to the
explosion of peace and love we hope to release." More information from
<www.nttl-net.ne.jp/hiroshima2001> or <http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/~hi2001/
index.html>
*Pakistan: a modern history by Ian Talbot, Oxford, Rs 625. Book Review by Arunjyoti Basu, published in The Telegraph, 3/24/00, (From a review in South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch <aiindex@mnet.fr>). Students of history and politics will have many expectations from Pakistan: A Modern History, the latest book by Ian Talbot, eminent scholar and Pakistan hand. From Pakistan's troubled history to its conducting nuclear tests in reply to India's Pokhran tests, Talbot's is a remarkably lucid investigation of the tortuous politics of that country. Pakistan remains a bugbear to many Indians who know little of its internal pressures, its diverse cultural forces, law and order problems, the fractious relationship between various regions and the all-pervasive presence of the military....Talbot feels that for Pakistan, the way ahead lies in the "genuine political participation of previously marginalized groups such as women, minorities and rural and urban poor." *Yankee go home but take me with you by Jairam Ramesh. An Asia Society's publication on Indo-American relations , which discusses the factors determining relations between the United States and India and offers specific policy recommendations for the future. More info at <www.asiasociety. org/publications/yankeegohome_content.html>. *The karma of brown folk by Vijay Prashad, published by the University of Minnesota Press. (Excerpts from a review by R S Shankar. See the full version at <www.rediff.com/us/2000/mar/31us.htm>. Prashad, a professor at a Connecticut university, is a familiar face to South Asian viewers who recently watched the PBS documentary, Desi: a phenomenal success. He was one of the two narrators in the documentary that was aired three times at a stretch. Now, in his book The Karma of Brown Folk he questions the rate of success
for Indians, as popularly perceived in the media, and he is convinced --
like many other critics before him -- that the myth of model minority was
invented to berate the African Americans for failing in education and business.
Prashad says he has sought to reclaim in his book the long history of black and South Asian solidarity by discussing joint struggles in the US, the Caribbean, South Africa, and elsewhere. * Difficult daughters by Manju Kapur, Published by Faber & Faber (in paperback by Penguin), 1998, Pages 262, ISBN:0-14-027862-1. Set in the time of pre-Partition India and the years after, this novel is the story of a daughter trying to piece together her dead mother's past in order to understand why their relationship was always so troubled. The daughter, named Ida, soon realizes that her mother Virmati struggled in her own time to create a space for herself to live and love freely, and as she learns more about her mother's tribulations, she begins to understand her mother in a way she never did before. The novel begins to become more Virmati's story than Ida's, but essentially it tells the tale of one woman battling against the prevalent traditions of colonialism and patriarchy in India to find her own freedom <www.chaitime.com/l>. * Shower of gold: Girls and women in the stories of India by Uma Krishnaswami, published by Linnet Books, Pages 126, cloth $19.95. Taken from the Panchtantras, the Ramayana, and ancient Buddhist texts, the author has written stories of 18 girls and women who shaped Indian folklore. Included are stories of Supriya, a seven year-old girl who collected food for the poor, Kodai, a village girl in Tamil Naidu, who was so enamored of Lord Vishnu that she adamantly refused to marry a mortal, and Rani Lakshmibai, the warrior queen of Jhansi who led her troops against the British in 1857. The author, who teaches writing in New Mexico libraries and schools, has deftly crafted some of India's most-loved stories into brief readable nuggets. In her notes at the end of each story she adds historical context and personal anecdotes. She even adds a pronunciation guide and glossary. (From a review by Lisa Tsering in India West <www.indiwest.com>). * Uncut cloth: Saris, shawls, and sashes by Nasreen Askari and Liz Arthur with Valerie Reilly, published by Merrell Holberton, Pages 128, paperback $29.95. Rajasthan's colorful embroidery, Kashmiri shahtoos shawls and brilliant gold-threaded silks of Varanasi are some of the most recognizable of India's gorgeous textiles. But throughout South Asia lie many more facets of this art that are little understood. In "Uncut cloth: Saris, shawls, and sashes," authors Nasreen Askari and Liz Arthur look beyond the feel and color of the fabric to reveal the lifestyles and rituals behind the clothes... In the book, the authors lend their expertise as costume curators to a fascinating study of the way societies define clothing and trace the intricacies of their manufacture. Amid scores of color photographs, the authors guide the reader through a virtual marketplace of fibers and textiles - floral-patterned woolens of Baluchistan; gold and silver threads making up a "Ganga-Jamuna" design in Banarasi silk; a gossamer-thin, cream-colored silk men's waistcloth from Assam - and show how to identify specific regions through the clues in their people's dress. (From a review by Lisa Tsering in India West <www.indiwest.com>). *Himal (the South Asian magazine) March 2000 issue contains articles such as "Macro story of Micro-credit," "Nuclear tailspin," "Corporate mercenary (An expose of the Purulia arms-drop)," "The Sardar of British Columbia (Profile of Ujjal Dosanjh, BC premier)," "The lone watchdog (Report on press freedom in Pakistan and Afghanistan)," "A tax budget, not a tough one (2000 Indian budget reviewer Bibek Debroy)." April 2000 issue covers (online 15 April) "What is Wrong with India?" think-piece by Shiv Vishvanathan and "What is Wrong with Afghanistan?" on-the-spot reporting by Nasim Zehra. More info from Himal, GPO Box 7251, Kathmandu, Nepal, Phone: +977-1-543333/34/35/36, Fax: +977-1-521013, <www.himalmag.com>. * Dignity Dialogue. Described as India's only magazine for people who
care about "growing old" and not simply "getting old," every month, in
English language, it aims to bring action, cheer and motivation to a number
of people who meet with loneliness and worthlessness in their old age.
Or who are lost as to how to spend their time, to contribute to society
usefully, to radiate love into other lives, to relate with Him. In Mumbai
the magazine is supported by a number of services, which Dignity Foundation,
a charitable organization, intend to start in the US too. In Calcutta,
Pune, Chennai and Navi Mumbai local Chapters are being opened. More info
from Sheilu Sreenivasan, President, Digntiy Foundation <dignity@vsnl.com>,
Chandana Sarkar, its USA, or <cnsarkar@ yahoo.com> its website
<www.dignityfoundation.com>.
* The new Indian SATELLITE INSAT3B was hurled into space by an Ariane-5 launcher from Kourou in French Guyana early today. <www.rediff.com/news/2000/mar/22space.htm>. * NewYork 'desis' told their own stories in 'Desi: SOUTH ASIANS IN NEW YORK', a documentary made to explain the diversity and vastness of south Asia, its emigrants and the culture they have created in the US. <www.rediff.com/us/2000/mar/08us2.htm>. * The megacity of Mumbai is on the verge of claiming that every child
3-10 years old now has access to appropriate EDUCATION, thanks to
the efforts of the Municipal Corporation and Pratham, a charitable trust
which brings together the government, corporate sector and voluntary sector
to educate all children. The project is excellent testimony to the fact
that collective action from commercial and non-commercial groups
working in the public interest can produce very good results in short order
<www.indiatogether.org/finish/stories/pratham.htm>.
* India, with 49 (9%) WOMEN LEGISLATORS in its 543 member Lok Sabha, is among 103 countries where women' representation in the lower house of Parliament is less than 10 percent, according to a report prepared by the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union. It ranks 68th among 177 countries. The top four positions are occupied by Nordic countries - Sweden 42.7%, Denmark 37.4, Finland 37% and Norway 36.4% (PTI via India West <www.indiwest.com>). * With total production of 154.85 million from April to November 1999, India has become the third largest COAL producers in the world after China and USA. It s reserve is estimated at 208,751.89 million metric tons (PTI via India West <www.indiwest.com>). *April 5, Seattle, WA, USA: "We Are Refugees," a new documentary film (profiling the lives and messages of Tibet's newest refugees who escaped from Tibet in 1998) screening and panel discussion, a presentation of Global Griot Productions, UW Chapter of SFT, UW Depts of American Ethnic Studies and Anthropology at 7:00 p.m. at University of Washington Kane Hall Room 120. Suggested donation $5. *April 6-8, Bangalore, India: Indian Chapter of Pakistan-India Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy is organizing a Joint Convention of about 250 delegates each from India and Pakistan. More info from Pakistan-India Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy, K-14 (First Floor), Green Park Extension, New Delhi-110 016, India. Tel : +91-11-6163830/6196640, Fax : +91-11-6198042. *April 10-14, Washington, D.C., USA: WORLD BANK'S CHILDREN'S WEEK 2000, an international conference to address recent developments on children's initiatives including child labor and child protection, including the "Child Labor and Child Protection" session scheduled for April 12 and 13, designed to highlight recent research, country case studies, and private sector partnerships to combat child labor. The participants will include policymakers, government representatives, NGOs, and multilateral and bilateral development agencies. More info from Zafiris Tzannatos, <childlabor@ worldbank.org> or Bona Kim <Bkim4@worldbank.org>. *April 15, Harvard, MA, USA: One-day symposium on HUMAN RIGHTS AND INDIAN JUDICIARY'S CONSTITUTIONAL JURISPRUDENCE, at Vorenberg Classroom, Harvard Law School. Program with talks by many experts including Ram Jethmalani, Minister for Law, Justice & Company Affairs, Government of India; Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India, and Soli J. Sorabjee, Attorney General of India; Arun Jaitley, Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Government of India; Professor Upendr; Baxi, Professor of Law, University of Warwick School of Law, England; N. Ravi, Editor, The Hindu; Mahendra P. Singh and B. B. Pande, Professors of Law, University of Delhi; Indira Jaising, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India; and Smita Narula, Researcher, Asia Division, Human Rights Watch, New York. All events are free and open to public including the lunch. More info from C. Raj Kumar 617.493.9188, <crajkumar4 @yahoo.com> or Pratibha Jain, 617.493.9267, <jainpratibha@hotmail.com>. *April 24-28, Auckland, New Zealand: ‘JUST PEACE? PEACE MAKING AND PEACE BUILDING FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM,' a conference to be held at Massey University and designed to explore the prospect of meaningful peace and peace building and social justice across the fields of individuality and identity, local communities, nation-statehood and global relations. According to the organizers the event will be of interest to practitioners, researchers, policy analysts, and academics working in the fields of international peace-making, treaties, ethnic relations, civil law, criminal justice, employment relations, commerce, restorative justice, gender relations, education, community relations, the family, spirituality and personal identity. More info from <www.massey.ac.nz/~justpeac/> or Dr. Warwick Tie, School of Sociology and Women's Studies, Massey University (at Albany), Private Bag 102 904, North Shore Mail Centre, Auckland, New Zealand, Ph. 64 9 443 9700 Ex 9843, Fax. 64 9 443 8716, E-mail: W.J.Tie@massey.ac.nz. *BHAONTA-KOLYALA VILLAGE of Thanagazi Block in Alwar District of Rajasthan was presented by K. R. Narayanan, president of India, Down to Earth-joseph C John Award for being India's most outstanding environmental community to. The award carries a citation and a cash award of Rs. 1,00,000. The community played a pivotal role in reviving the river Arvari, which had been reduced to a seasonal drain, by building traditional rainwater harvesting structures, such as earthen check dams called johads (<www.oneworld.org/cse/html/au/au4_20000328.htm>). *U.S. President Bill Clinton has nominated E. ASHLEY WILLS as ambassador to Sri Lanka and Republic of Maldives, and THOMAS FUREY to Nepal. *Ambassador ANWARUL KARIM CHOWDHURY of Bangladesh took over March 1 as president of the U.N. Security Council (Reuters via India West <www.indiwest.com>) *According to The Wall Street Journal, VICTOR MENEZES, Pune-born Indian is all set to head Citibank. <www.rediff.com/us/2000/mar/22us1.htm>. *GOPE HATHIRAMANI is the richest Indian in France. He has made his pot of gold selling souvenirs and crystal-ware. And he's getting richer by the day. <www.rediff.com/business/ 2000/mar/22hathi.htm>. * The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has recently announced launching of Gates Millennium Scholars program to encourage students from South Asians and other minorities in USA to enrol and complete undergraduate and graduate college programs. To be eligible a student must have a cumulative GPA of 3.3; has applied to, has been accepted into or is enrolled full-time in an accredited college or university for 2000-2001 at the time of the award; has a significant financial need; and has demonstrated leadership ability. More info from 1.877.690.4677, <www.gmsp.org> or <nbhagat @erols.com>. *DYNAMIC MOTIVATED PEOPLE as assistant directors and unit co-ordinators for the Centre for Human Rights and Law (ICHRL). The Centre needs people with prior experience in 1) Documentation, 2) Child Rights, 3) Domestic Violence/ Sexual Harassment, 4) Campaigning for Safe and Sustainable Options for Managing Medical Waste, 5) Programme Officer and Trust Administrator, 6) Rural Law Network, 7) Women, 8) Human Rights, 9) Web Site Developer, 10) Adivasi Rights, 11) Environmental Lawyers, 12) Monitoring Globalisation, and 13) Labour. The India Centre was founded to defend the rights of the underprivileged,
minority groups and of those affected by environmental degradation and
retrogressive economic and development policies in particular the rights
of women, children, dalits, indigenous people, prisoners and labour.
The main
*<www.alrisala.org> is the website for Al Risala Forum International (AFI), a movement for the revival of Islamic thought. It provides a research tool on Islam, an expansive archive of Islamic articles, a full color-catalog of Islamic books, and links to other Islamic and news sites. AFI is a non-profit organization formed in the United States of America to promote greater understanding of Islam - the religion of peace. The main objective of Al-Risala journal, as well as the movement it inaugurated, is to introduce Islam in a positive light as well as to provide intellectual direction to the Muslim communities in India and worldwide, in accordance with the principles of Islam and the teachings of the Qur'an. *<www.dwarkadhish.com> offers information about Dwarka, the famous city of Mahabharata fame as well as a link to <www.gujari.net> a website in Gujarati for Gujaratis and <www. Indiancultrueonline.com> a website dedicated to bring the Indian cultural heritage to the world. *Heart is the Foundation by Ambalal Rawal <ACRAWAL@aol.com> Let us close our eyes
For our heart will see
Remember our heart
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