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[1] From: "Sukla Sen" <sukla.sen@gmail.com Date: Sat May 17, 2008 3:58 pm Subject: Women in Nepal sukla. *http://www.kashmirtimes.com/* *Get women in and see Nepal's politics change* * By Aditi Bhaduri * A frail-looking woman in an elegant silk sari enters the room and wins the appreciation of those present. Unlike most of her counterparts across the globe, Sahana Pradhan, Nepal's first female Minister of Foreign Affairs, does not project the arrogance of power. Gentle, yet firm and articulate, she has dedicated her life to 'visibilising' women in politics. "Most of my counterparts in SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) nations are surprised, but also tell me that they are proud of me," says the septuagenarian. For, no other country in the region has had a woman foreign minister, although many can boast of female heads of governments and now India even has a woman head of state. But, like all pioneers, Pradhan, too, has not had it easy. "It has been a long journey," she reminisces. Pradhan was born in Kathmandu but brought up in Myanmar, where her father had a business concern. "I studied till Class VIII. Then, in 1946, we came back to Kathmandu and I had to wait to complete my education, as there were no schools for girls at that time. In fact, my younger brothers passed out of school much before me. I had to wait to go to India to complete my education." Brought up by her grandmother - her mother passed away when she was a toddler - Pradhan always had the spirit that challenged prevailing norms. "Can you imagine," she asks indignantly, "When I went to India to study, my brother got himself a scholarship to go to India to keep an eye on me." She ultimately graduated privately in Nepal in 1953. Things have come a long way in the Himalayan kingdom ever since, says the minister. "Today, we don't need a guardian or a man's permission to go out and do our thing. No woman in Nepal is veiled. But men still don't like women in public life - it's part of our social fabric. After all, a mother brings up her daughter in the same way as she herself was brought up." The desire to become an agent of change for women prompted Pradhan to join politics. "In comparison to other parts of the world, South Asia, or India, women in Nepal woke up to their rights very late. In fact, the first school for girls was started only in 1948," she says. So, Pradhan decided to use the political platform to fulfil her agenda. Politics mattered, she felt. Her education further convinced her of that. And she took her first steps into politics when she joined a people's movement against autocratic monarchial rule in 1948. "I learnt things from Russia, China, and India which made me want to do away with the feudalism in the country and this prompted my desire to join the movement in 1948." While the uprising paved the way for a political career, it also introduced Pradhan to Pushpa Lal Sreshtha, founder of the Communist Party in Nepal, which later evolved into the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (UML), whom she later married. Soon after, she joined the party and was thrown into jail for one-and-a-half months. "People were surprised as women were supposed to stay at home," she recalls, "We were asked 'Men join politics, but why do you women come out and join the movement?' We then said that we were there as we wanted a school for girls." And, sure enough, a month later the Padmakanya Vidyashralaya School - Nepal's first school for women - was opened in Kathmandu. This was Pradhan's first encounter with positive change brought about by her entry into politics. However, Pradhan soon realised that "if one woman is in politics she can make no difference, what she says is referred to as 'making a lot of noise'". Thereafter, all her energies have been trained towards motivating and facilitating more and more women into public life. Women form nearly 51 per cent of Nepal's 27-million population, but not many have been given the opportunity to make an impact as national leaders. Pradhan became the first woman in Nepal to head a full-fledged ministry when she became the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in 1990. While she continued work in the women's wing of the CPN-UML, she also got involved in setting up the Women Security Pressure Group. "An independent National Commission of Women had to be established and we were able to do that," she says. "Only if there are large numbers of women in the party, in the Parliament, in the government, can there be change. So, women should join politics, should become active in public life," she opines. "Sadly, many are just happy working with NGOs, as they also get paid. But politics needs time, effort and sometimes money." But Pradhan is optimistic, given the many women stepping forward to be a part of the political process. According to her, the Jan Andolan (people's movement) of 2006 - which laid the foundation for the historic election held last month - was a success largely because of the tremendous participation of women. "They were very vocal - even those from the remote western regions - the most backward parts of the country. So, there was no alternative but to bring about a change in the political scenario," observes the gutsy leader. In the interim government, formed following the Jan Andolan, Pradhan was given charge of the ministry of Foreign Affairs. The interim parliament had the largest number of women members that Nepal has seen till date, proving that it was indeed women's participation that had made the difference. At the same time Pradhan is of the opinion that gender consideration should not be given primary importance in any political party. "Our party's direction is that no gender considerations should be taken." And she also disagrees with the concept of all-women political parties. "We cannot form a woman's world. We have to live alongside men, in full cooperation with them." In the recent elections, Pradhan was a candidate in the closed list for the Constituent Assembly. If she comes to power, she plans to do what she knows best - work towards furthering women's participation in decision making. "My life has been dedicated to women's rights, women's issues, women's empowerment, and to make sure women get the status they deserve." *-(Courtesy: Women's Feature Service)* -------------- [2] From: "Sukla Sen" <sukla.sen@gmail.com Date: Sat May 17, 2008 11:25 am Subject: Why Dr Binayak Sen must be Released! s http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/may/16guest1.htm May 16, 2008 Dr Binayak Sen seems to have caught the imagination of the mainstream media in India at last. But one has to remember that he has spent a year in a Chhattisgarh jail. An international award by the Global Heath Council named after Jonathan Mann to Dr Sen for his untiring work in the field of people's health and human rights followed by a strong appeal by 22 Nobel Laureates demanding his release seems to have convinced the media that there is something extraordinary about Dr Sen's arrest and that the issue needs to be probed. Dr Sen, a paediatrician by training, was arrested on May 14 last year by the Chhattisgarh police under the dreaded Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, which are in many ways more draconian than the now repealed Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act. The police claimed it had evidence to prove that Dr Sen was actively helping out Maoists by providing them logistic support. The only piece of evidence they have been able to show till date is the fact that he made 33 visits to Narayan Sanyal, an old, ailing Maoist leader in jail. They were perfectly legal visits and allowed under the jail manual, not something clandestine. Sanyal was suffering from many diseases and required regular medical support. As a civil right activist and doctor it was not unusual for Dr Sen to come into contact with extremist Maoists, especially since he was in Chhattisgarh, which is reeling under the bloody conflict between the state and the Maoists. His plea for bail in the Supreme Court was rejected, which did not find it necessary to verify the claims by the state counsel. It agreed with the state that a free Binayak was a threat to the national security in Chhattisgarh. The state is a dangerous place for civil right activists. It is the most recent destination for rich capitalists eyeing its mineral rich land and want it to be made available. How do you do it unless the tribals are driven out of their lands? This is a state where governance is traditionally and criminally tilted in favour of moneylenders and the land and forest mafia. And welfare schemes aimed at the poor, especially the tribals, do not trickle down. In such a scenario there is bound to be an emergence of a movement for justice. It does not necessarily have to be non-violent as the exploitation of the poor, who have been forced to be part of the developmental state, is extremely violent. National prosperity stands in striking contrast to the increasing impoverishment of the tribals. Chhattisgarh was fertile land for the Maoist movement as the state failed shamefully to make the mechanism of justice work for the poor. Its loyalty to rich, national and multinational companies creates a compelling urge to eliminate anyone coming in the way. A report by an expert group set by the Planning Commission to look at the developmental challenge in extremist affected areas, says, 'there is, however, failure of governance, which has multiple dimensions and is not confined to the inefficiency of the delivery systems only. It is not fortuitous that overwhelmingly large sections of bureaucracy/technocracy constituting the delivery systems come from the landowning dominant castes or middle classes, with their attachment to ownership of property, cultural superiority and a state of mind which rationalises and asserts their existing position of dominance in relation to others. This influences their attitudes, behaviour and performance.' 'Internal displacement caused by irrigation/mining/industrial projects, resulting in landlessness and hunger, is a major cause of distress among the poor, especially the Adivasis. It is well known that 40 per cent of all the people displaced by dams in the last 60 years are forest-dwelling Adivasis? The law and administration provides no succour to displaced people and often treats them with hostility since the displaced people tend to settle down again in some forest region, which is prohibited by law. The Naxalite movement has come to the aid of such victims of enforced migration in the teeth of the law.' The report further states that the Adivasis displaced from Orissa and Chhattisgarh, settling in the forests of Andhra Pradesh would have been easily evicted by officials but for the presence of the Naxalite movement. Suffering from continuing land loss and displacement, dwindling livelihood resources, acute malnutrition and pitched against a formidable combine of profit-hungry companies and a callous administration, Adivasis found some solace from the Maoists. The Maoists therefore are not the cause but a result of the miseries of the Adivasis. Instead of addressing these issues, the state took recourse to a militarist shortcut by helping in creation of an armed campaign called Salwa Judum which vowed to eliminate the Maoists. It employed Adivasis in its ranks, most of the times forcibly. It is not a coincidence that Salwa Judum started days after the signing of contracts between the state and some companies. Salwa Judum is a law unto itself. Though it is claimed to be a peaceful people's movement in reality it is a State-sponsored peoples' militia which marches into villages, forces people to join or burns their houses, destroys their cattle, livelihood and drives them out. More than 640 villages have been evacuated in this drive. Lakhs of Adivasis have been forcibly removed from their habitations and some 40,000 of them live in Salwa Judum camps set up by the government, living in hellish conditions as another state-sponsored Administrative Reform Committee report found out. The committee was lead by senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily. The Supreme Court was forced to express its displeasure of Salwa Judum by observing that the government cannot arm people and instigate them to kill others. Defending Salwa Judum was not a state lawyer but counsel for the central government who made an astonishing admission that the state police were unequal to the might of the Maoists. They were employing as special police officers only those who have been at some point, in some way been victimised by the Maoists, he pleaded. It was extraordinary for a state to openly defend an army of revenge. Dr Sen's consistent opposition to Salwa Judum is the real cause of the state's ire. It was all good and rosy till he confined himself to providing health services to the poor. In fact, the government had invited him to advise on its health programmes. Binayak Sen was a gold medallist from the prestigious Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu. He decided to leave his teaching job at Jawaharlal University in New Delhi to move to Chhattisgarh in 1978 to work with the legendary trade union leader Shankar Guha Niyogi, who built up the formidable Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha. Niyogi was later killed by the industry mafia. Dr Sen moved around in villages, establishing clinics and providing healthcare to those who were damned by State-run systems. But as Dr P Zachariah, his teacher at CMC, says, "His interest in civil activism grew out of witnessing malnutrition deaths among children. The lack of governance worried him deeply. Chhattisgarh is a complicated state with a complicated history. The government did not meet the people's needs and it was easy for Naxalites to exploit that. The government found it difficult to deal with militants who operated out of dense forests and took a very repressive stance. In the end, it led to the creation of Salwa Judum." "The police machinery too was getting large funds to fight the Naxalites. In the dark days that followed, people began to disappear. As a member of the People's Union for Civil Liberties, Binayak couldn't help but get involved. The PUCL was constantly approached by villagers saying that their relatives had disappeared. The police had to be approached, FIRs had to be filed, and Binayak began to help," Dr Zacharaiah said. Areas of disagreement between Dr Sen and the state government were bound to emerge. He could not have approved of measures like Salwa Judum. His work as the general secretary of the state's PUCL became a pain for the government. He was also staunchly anti-communal and critical of the activities of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Adivasi-dominated areas. Otherwise a quiet man, this English-speaking doctor was increasingly becoming a cause of worry for the state government. He was, like other law-abiding activists, a critic of unlawful encounters by the police and thus an impediment to national and multinational companies. He needed to be silenced and removed from the scene. This was done by the state symmetrically, with an active help from the local media. In April and May last year, the Chhattisgarh police stared a vilification campaign against him when he was away in Kolkata to see his ailing mother. He was declared an absconding Naxalite doctor who had fled to evade arrest. Dr Sen's brother circulated an open letter telling the world that he was not absconding, had gone to visit his mother and the police was in fact indulging in this vilification only to justify his arrest. His fears came true. Dr Sen returned to the state capital Raipur and was immediately arrested under the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. These laws do not need actual acts of conspiracy to make you criminal, even a perception that you may, even in future entertain thoughts which would be potentially against the state interest is sufficient reason for arrest. Appeals by several civil right activists and individuals demanding the repeal of such absurd laws and the release of Dr Sen have been treated with disdain by the Chhattisgarh and central governments. There is a strong belief in the establishment that all civil right activists are nothing but a respectable cover for extremists of all kinds, including the Maoists. They very conveniently ignore the criticism of Maoist violence by these individuals. What is disturbing is that if this liberal middle space is gone, there would not be a counter voice to violence. It is only appropriate that the Global Health Council chose Dr Sen for its Jonathan Mann award. His international colleagues cutting across disciplines have asked the state and central governments to create situation for him to be able to receive this award in person which would be given in a public ceremony in the US on May 29. Given the arrogant insensitivity of our state institutions, it is unlikely that the appeals would be heard. Can we expect our judiciary to help redeem the promise the Constitution makes to the people to safeguard their right to hold opinions and express it even if goes against the official line the state would like all of us to follow? * Apoorvanand is a literary critic and a Reader in Hindi at Delhi University * -- We have to start looking at the world through women's eyes' how are human rights, peace and development defined from the perspective of the lives of women? It's also important to look at the world from the perspective of the lives of diverse women, because there is not single women's view, any more than there is a single men's view." -- Charlotte Bunch Adv Kamayani Bali Mahabal South Asia Advocacy Coordinator Women's Health and Rights Advocacy Partnership (WHRAP) Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre For Women (ARROW) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia website: http://www.arrow.org.my Mobile-00919820749204 skype: lawyercumactivist icq-lawyercumactivist ------------------- [3] From: "Sukla Sen" <sukla.sen@gmail.com Date: Sat May 17, 2008 8:10 am Subject: Re: [indiathinkersnet] Politics of Terror in West Bengal Hi, I do not represent the CPIM nor even am a supporter of it. There are various shades of the Left. That should have had been self-evident from my postings. Sukla On 5/16/08, Pradeep Deshpande <proton54@hathway.com wrote: dear mr. Shuklasen, will you or anyone from CPM (from Bengal or Mah) clarify their exact stand on the events in West Bengal ?. The double talk by the higher ups in the party in both states is hurting us a lot. Do the Chinese CP really need any support from communists of Indian origin ?Why didn't they share berths with UPA despite awesome votes during 2004 ?Are they Marxists still or just an upgraded intellectual lot from middle class which has lost any interest in ratinale of humanity ?There's nothing about in Marx's write ups. Since he is no more , only marxists can answer such 'silly 'questions .Any way we need answers ... well before we start giving them ! ----------------- [4] Blazing Punjab: Flaming Fields By Umendra Dutt http://www.countercurrents.org/dutt170508.htm Every day I pass through villages and see fires in the just harvested fields. An absolutely avoidable ecological destruction and environmental violence is going on at the hands of brainwashed farmers A Jumbo Tragedy By K A Shaji http://www.countercurrents.org/shaji170508.htm The failure to enforce rules and stressful use at temple events are forcing elephants in Kerala to run amok ----------------- [5] From: kashif-ul-huda <kaaashif@gmail.com Date: Sat May 17, 2008 8:28 pm Subject: 27 Muslims selected for Civil Services aikaash Offline Send Message Edit Membership 27 Muslims selected for Civil Services By Mudassir Rizwan, TwoCircle. net A total of 27 Muslims have cleared the written and interview process of the Civil Services Exam of 2007. Again this year a girl has ranked highest among the Muslims. The top Muslim candidate Mariam Farzhana Sadhiq appears on rank 30. The written exam was held in October-November of 2007 and interview held in March-May of this year. The List of 734 candidates was released by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) yesterday. The successful candidates are recommended for appointment to Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, Indian Police Service and Central Services. The list of 734 candidates includes 286 General (including 12 Physically Challenged candidates), 266 Other Backward Classes (including 05 physically challenged candidates), 128 Scheduled Castes (including 05 physically challenged candidates) and 54 Scheduled Tribes candidates. 27 Muslims among the list of 734 successful candidates give Muslims a representation of 3.67%. Last year 17 Muslim candidates made it to the list of 474. See the list here: http://www.twocircles.net/2008may17/27_muslims_selected_civil_services.html |
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