mohan@sbcs.UUCP (02/28/86)
P.S.: As I am not at an Arpanet site, there is often considerable delay
between Kapur's sending the message and my message getting across
to net.nlang.india, and it would be a good idea if someone at an
arpanet site volunteered to relay these news messages
and communicated with kapur. That way the news would get to
everybody much faster. The need for an intermediary arises
because Kapur (who compiles the news) cannot directly access
net.nlang.india.
C K Mohan
--------
News Bulletin 02/23/86
{Relayed from message sent by kapur@ge-crd@smtp@tcpgateway}
Communal Riots and Demonstrations
A court ruling allowing a disputed religious
shrine in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh
to be opened as a Hindu temple after
over 36 years has sparked violent demonstrations in
many cities in India which have resulted in
communal riots.
At least 10 people are reportedly
killed and many injured. Hundreds have been arrested.
In January, a Hindu lawyer filed suit asking that
the site be reopened to Hindus. On February 1, a district court
ruled that the gates be unlocked. Muslims
appealed the decision. However, the Allahabad
High Court apparently rejected the ruling.
According to some Hindu organizations, the
disputed place is the birth place of Lord Rama;
many Hindu organizations started "Ram Janam
Bhumi" campaign for opening up of the place 2-3
years ago. The site also includes a 16th century
mosque built by the Moghul Emperor Babar. Because
of the controversy, the site had been closed for
the last 36 years to defuse communal tensions.
Demonstrations by Muslims were reported from Delhi, Srinagar
and other cities in Kashmir, Calcutta, Lucknow,
and other cities in UP, cities in MP.
According to police sources, demonstrators
attacked Hindu shops in Old Delhi and Srinagar
which resulted in rioting. Police fired on the
crowds in Old Delhi. An 18-year old Muslim
student was killed in police firing.
Curfew was imposed in many parts of the city.
The authorities also ordered a 10-day ban on public
assembly of more than 4 people.
The situation was still reported to be tense.
Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid refuted the police claims;
he alleged that police fired with provocation and
demanded that "those guilty should be brought to
book." A magisterial inquiry has been ordered
into the firing incidents.
Confrontation in Punjab
There does not seem to be any evidence of tension
getting defused in Punjab following the Sarbat Khalsa
on 16th February held at Anandpur Sahib. Two people - a
president of Hindu Shiv Sena and a
Congress(I) leader were reportedly gunned down by
extremists last week near Amritsar. In another development, Gurcharan
Singh Tohra resigned as the president of the
Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee; Tohra
told the Sarbat Khalsa, a gathering
of 100,000 Sikhs that he took this step to maintain unity of the
Sikh Panth. Tohra was elected as the SGPC
president late last year when he defeated a
candidate supported by the All India Sikh
Students Federation and the United Akali Dal led
by Bhindranwale's father.
The Sarbat Khalsa accused the extremists of
leading Punjab toward civil war. A
resolution adopted at the congregation called for
the eviction of the extremists from the temple
who "had violated the sanctity of the Golden
Temple." The resolution added that the extremists
were "bent upon dividing Sikhs. Naked swords and
firearms are threatening people who come to pray
spreading hatred, fear and terror."
Earlier on February 14, Chief Minister Barnala accused the
extremists of having declared a war on the state
and said that his government would take very
harsh stpes to deal with them.
Extremists meanwhile did not seem to be in any
mood to leave the temple which they have
been occupying since 26th January when the
extremist leaders ousted the head priests and
announced to take over the running of the
gurdwaras. On February 16, as the Sarbat Khalsa
was meeting in Anandpur Sahib, extremists laid a
foundation stone of a new Akal Takhat amidst a crowd
of 60,000 people.
Demonstrations against Price Rise
Opposition sponsored protests against price rise
are reportedly gaining momentum all over India.
Nearly 10,000 demonstrators were arrested in New
Delhi on 20th February during their protest
outside Parliament against recent increases of
prices including of essential goods such as
bread, rice and cooking fuel. As the price of oil
in the international markets was drastically
going down, consumers in India saw price of
petroleum products go up by even 20% in some
places.
The prices of wheat and rice also rose by up
to 10% despite India having a surplus of nearly 30
million metric tons of grain. Six Indian states,
including Andhra, Karnataka, Maharashtra,
Rajasthan, Orissa, are stricken by famine.
The government's figures seem to indicate that
recent announced increase in prices has resulted
in a 15% inflation in less than 3 weeks.
A meeting of 11 opposition parties on February 14
decided to call a nationwide general strike before the
budget is presented to Parliament on February 28.
Protests were also reported from cities in West
Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, and
Tripura.
Hegde resigned and chosen again to be CM
Janata leader Ramkrishan Hegde resigned from the
Chief Ministership of Karnataka following a
ruling againt his government by the High Court.
His legislative party however unanimously reelected him as
the leader of the party and urged him to continue to be the
Chief Minister. Hegde was once again sworn in as the Chief
Minister on February 16 five days after he
resigned.
The High court verdict on January 31 ruled as
unlawful and arbitrary, a
government order awarding contracts for bottling
arrack to eight companies by the state government.
Following the verdict, Hedge government's
resignation was demanded by the opposition
Congress(I) and BJP.
After Hegde's resignation was accepted, there
were appeals from many quarters within the state
as well as nationally for Hegde to continue as
the Chief Minister. Hegde government has come to
be known as a good administrative government and
according to some, he has been called as an
architect of value-based politics in the state.
Documentary Cancelled
Doordarshan cancelled the showing of a TV documentary "Rajiv's
India" made by Jack Anderson on grounds that it contained
"many irrelevant matters." According to the
representatives of the organization International
Syndicate Corporation which owns the documentary,
the Doordarshan authorities had asked for at
least 7 cuts in shots relating to Indira Gandhi,
a bride burning scene, violence at the Golden
Temple, anti-Sikh riots, and coverage of tribal
areas in MP.
According to other accounts, a major objection
was to a remark made by Ramnath Goenka, owner of
Indian Express, that "Indira Gandhi ran amok with
power" during the emergency and that her husband
"Feroze was my employee."
The telecast of the documentary was cancelled at
the last moment by orders from the highest
authorities. It was rumored that Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi ordered the cancellation
from Maldives at the
insistence of Yash Pal Kapoor, a close aide of
Indira Gandhi, who protested to Gandhi about the
film. Prime Minister's secretariat refused to
confirm or deny these reports.
Sources: India Now, India Abroad, the New York
Times
--------sanjiva@tesla.UUCP (Sanjiva Prasad) (03/02/86)
> > Communal Riots and Demonstrations > > > According to some Hindu organizations, the > disputed place is the birth place of Lord Rama; > many Hindu organizations started "Ram Janam > Bhumi" campaign for opening up of the place 2-3 > years ago. The site also includes a 16th century > mosque built by the Moghul Emperor Babar. Because > of the controversy, the site had been closed for > the last 36 years to defuse communal tensions. > > Demonstrations by Muslims were reported from Delhi, Srinagar > and other cities in Kashmir, Calcutta, Lucknow, > There were riots in Sehore, near Bhopal where Hindus took out a procession celebrating the Court Ruling that the site should be a Hindu Temple. Naturally, ^^^^^^^^^^^ they were set upon with sticks, stones and knives. Who are these insensitive brutes, and should the police protect people whose actions are *so-o-o* likely to provoke a communal riot ? I agree that the violent should be found and tried, but what about the *innocent* who provoke the violent so obviously ? Game for a debate, anybody ? > > Hegde resigned and chosen again to be CM > While I feel Hegde is THE best thing that happened to Karnataka politics in a long time, the recent episode made me sad. He's a great guy, and popular, but I don't think I'm cynical when I say the whole episode was one where was fishing for publicity. Value - based politics when several people in his party are the same guys who were accused of being scum when they were with Urs, in the Congress in the mid-seventies ! (Remember a guy called Sait ? I recall his being vilified in the mid- and late seventies. I believe he's now a senior Janata legislator. ) Hegde fans to the rescue ! Sanjiva