[Reader-list] on Modi's entry into US

[Radhakrishnan]

Its very amusing to note that faith based organisations in US talk of safeguarding rights of minorities while justifying US aggression in Iraq, dropping of nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

There are some issues which have to be looked into:

1-Can the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom display similar conviction on violation of religious freedom of the Iraqi muslims which is akin to the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany.

2- Does it cover the investigation of the ethnic cleansing of the native Americans or of the aborgines in Australia by the European colonialists (White Anglo Saxon Protestant social order)or will they also investigate the so called abbretons in Cambodia, Gauntanamo bay and various other inumerable places!

3- Will they be magnanimous enough to own their proclivity to display pro-apartheid values.Their refusal to condemn nor criticize the continuation of Mr.Nelson Mandela's name in the terror list, till recently.

4- The treatment ot national icons like Mohammad Ali and the Rodney King  events and the attempts by the the powerful media attacking the origins of Senator Barack Obama merely vindicates that US is a nation in making in terms of evolution of a just social order.

Hence its prudent that they work towards the a secular and democratic social order at home. At the same time one need not turn a Nelson's eye to the ongoing communal crisis in India. This would require a broad based coalition of civil groups cutting across religious, ideological and social division. 

At the same time there is greater need to project that Secularism stays in its place and not highjacked by the faith based NGOs in India and the US which have traditionally displayed selective amenesia in issues concerning violation of Human Rights.Since they are also part of the problem and cannot be accorded the position of the judge and the jury.

The killings in Gujarat cannot be justified by any means, hence there is a greater need for stregthening the civil society and making the media, Universities more relevant, which demonstrates and responds in consonance to the emerging scenario.

So if we agree for global cooperation to fight violence and defend secularism we can think of helping the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in reforming itself in shedding its racist image,pro white evalegelical prejudices,anti Islamic biases within the US and outside (Incidently Indian actor Kamal Hassan, was detained and questioned for hours since he has a Muslim sounding name)They could be trained by the National Minority Commission in India, which has people of impecable credentials.

One sincerely hopes that the intellectuals display some honesty and not toe pro UNCIRF line just to make some extra money and fre trips to the US,for it is quite evident that some Scholars refuse to take classes in the University and colleges, display anti Dalit sentiments yet are reclaimed by this movement as activists for being anti Modi.
Since an oppressor and violator shouldn't be thinking of prosecuting the other.

So one may ask whether by taking an anti-Modi stand one could be or should be justifybly exonerated of the crimes that are being committed in other spectrum - hope antiModi stand doesn't become a Ganga to cleanse the sins of the other kind.

So its better that we restrain ourselves from falling into the brahminical trap which is embedded everywhere. 

Radhakrishnan   
  




On Wed, 09 Jul 2008 reader-list-request at sarai.net wrote :
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>Today's Topics:
>
>    1. DNJ piece (Nicholas Ruiz III)
>    2. Re: does Modi's non-entry into US mean anything? (Rashmi Sawhney)
>    3. Re: does Modi's non-entry into US mean anything? (S.Fatima)
>    4. US-India Nuclear Agreement - Still a Bad Deal (Anivar Aravind)
>    5. Re: does Modi's non-entry into US mean anything? (Rashmi Sawhney)
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Message: 1
>Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2008 08:20:34 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Nicholas Ruiz III <editor at intertheory.org>
>Subject: [Reader-list] DNJ piece
>To: reader-list at sarai.net
>Message-ID: <642417.86173.qm at web903.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>Bonjour
>
>On political uselessness:
>
>http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Opinion/Editorials/opnOPN84070908.htm
>
>
>
>enjoy.
>
>NRIII
>
>Dr. Nicholas Ruiz III
>Associate Professor
>Department of Humanities, Cultural and Studio Arts
>Daytona State College
>PO Box 2811
>Daytona Beach, FL 32120-2811
>Editor, Kritikos
>http://intertheory.org
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 2
>Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2008 16:24:26 +0100
> From: "Rashmi Sawhney" <rashmi.sawhney at gmail.com>
>Subject: Re: [Reader-list] does Modi's non-entry into US mean
> 	anything?
>To: sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in
>Cc: reader-list at sarai.net
>Message-ID:
> 	<91290c60807090824m63176a0akd07d3940eeafc904 at mail.gmail.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"
>
>Dear Fatima,
>
>Your analogy, I must agree with you, may probably be wrong, but is certainly
>naive and unproductive. A second denial of entry into the US may be seen
> from within Modi camps as being detrimental to his efforts of furthering the
>lie about a vibrant Gujarat. There are enough numbers of religious
>fundamentalists in the Western world who support Modi's Hindutva ideology,
>who may probably not take to the visa refusal kindly. Had the US granted
>Modi entry so many anti Modi individuals and organisations around the world,
>including in India, would be agitaged about this too.
>
>It is not a question of whether the activists in the US and NRIs want
>to demonstrate that their sympathy for Gujarat's Muslims is more than
>activists in India - I think that is a reductive approach that defeats the
>purpose of a collective anti-Modi struggle. If you want to campaign against
>the USA's discriminatory and hypocritic policies, there are many other
>widely available issues that you could pick on - issues that affect common
>people without any clout or power.
>
>Most countries have their own 'germ-infested foods' that are rapidly
>destroying any social fabrics composed of difference - perhaps one could
>consider the option of deputing germs-infested foods from different
>societies to other parts of the world to see if they survive under hostile
>and foreign conditions. Or, if your approach to solving the problem of
>Gujarat is to 'export' the germ-infested food, please consider throwing it
>in the sea.
>
>
>
>
>On Wed, Jul 9, 2008 at 3:30 PM, S.Fatima <sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in> wrote:
>
> > Please see the report/appeal below, about another effort to stop the
> > Gujarat CM Narendra Modi from entering the US. While withholding all my
> > angst against what he allowed to happen in Gujarat in 2002 and the fact that
> > he shamelessly continues to be blind to the growing hatred against Muslims,
> > I wonder if the efforts by our activist friends in the US to stop him from
> > entering that soil mean anything other than a hypocracy. After all, he
> > continues to live and do what he pleases in India/Gujarat, but we won't
> > allow him in the US... Isn't that ridiculous?
> >
> > Are they trying to teach him a lesson, or punish him through this gesture?
> > Is his non-entry into the US going to badly affect the Gujaratis' business
> > and trade (which he is supposed to solemnize in New Jersey)? Not the least,
> > I think. So what is it then? Is it a symbolic rejection of his leadership?
> > Or do the NRI and American activist want to show that they care about
> > Gujarat's Muslims more than the activists in India?
> >
> > Although this analogy maybe completely wrong, but I can't help think this:
> > "We won't allow a germ-infested food that is killing thousands in India to
> > enter the US"....
> > Other thoughts are welcome.
> >
> > ==========
> >
> > USCIRF Urges Denial of U.S. Visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi
> > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> > July 8, 2008
> >
> > Contact:  Judith Ingram
> > Communications Director
> > (202) 523-3240, ext. 127
> >
> > WASHINGTON - The United States Commission on International Religious
> > Freedom urges the U.S. State Department to reaffirm its past decision to
> > deny a tourist visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who has been
> > invited to attend a conference in New Jersey this August celebrating
> > Gujarati culture.  Modi was previously denied entrance to the United States
> > due to his role in riots that overtook the Indian state of Gujarat from
> > February to May 2002 in which reportedly as many as 2,000 Muslims were
> > killed, thousands raped, and over 200,000 displaced.  Numerous reports,
> > including reports of official bodies of the Government of India, have
> > documented the role of Modi's state government in the planning and execution
> > of the violence, and the failure to hold perpetrators accountable.
> >
> > Following Modi's invitation to attend conferences in the U.S. in 2005, the
> > Commission successfully urged the State Department to revoke Modi's U.S.
> > tourist visa.  Despite pressure from the Indian government, the State
> > Department revoked his visa under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA),
> > which prohibits foreign government officials who are "responsible for or
> > directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of
> > religious freedom" from obtaining U.S. visas. This section was added to the
> > INA by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. The Commission once
> > again urges the State Department to announce Modi's ineligibility for a visa
> > under the terms of the INA.
> >
> > "We have not seen changes that would warrant a policy reversal," said
> > Commission Chair Felice D. Gaer. "As official bodies of the government of
> > India have found, Narendra Modi is culpable for the egregious and systematic
> > human rights abuses wrought against thousands of India's Muslims. Mr. Modi
> > must demonstrate to the State Department and to the American people why
> > he-as a person found to have aided and abetted gross violations of human
> > rights, including religious freedom-should now be eligible for a tourist
> > visa.
> >
> > Following the riots in 2002, India's National Human Rights Commission
> > issued a report that pointed to the role of Modi's government in the
> > systematic murder of Muslims and the calculated destruction of Muslim homes
> > and businesses. In 2003, the Indian central government found corruption and
> > anti-Muslim bias to be so pervasive in the Gujarat judiciary that riot cases
> > were shifted for trial to the neighboring state of Maharashtra.  Despite
> > this action, the lack of justice for victims remains a serious concern, as
> > there have been very few court convictions in the six years since the
> > religion-based riots. In 2007, a series of articles in the Indian
> > publication Tehelka documented police officers and government officials on
> > audio and videotape confessing that they facilitated the violence, at times
> > at the direct behest of Modi.
> >
> > "The inaction of Gujarat's government and police force in the face of
> > severe violence against religious minorities is an inexcusable abuse of
> > international human rights obligations," Gaer said.
> >
> >
> >
> >      Unlimited freedom, unlimited storage. Get it now, on
> > http://help.yahoo.com/l/in/yahoo/mail/yahoomail/tools/tools-08.html/
> >
> > _________________________________________
> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
> > Critiques & Collaborations
> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with
> > subscribe in the subject header.
> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
> > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 3
>Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2008 22:10:46 +0530 (IST)
> From: "S.Fatima" <sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in>
>Subject: Re: [Reader-list] does Modi's non-entry into US mean
> 	anything?
>To: Rashmi Sawhney <rashmi.sawhney at gmail.com>
>Cc: reader-list at sarai.net
>Message-ID: <507200.51466.qm at web8403.mail.in.yahoo.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
>Dear Rashmi
>I know my analogy was stupid, but I was mostly reacting to the report which I quoted about the US State department revoking his visa earlier under the Immigration and Nationality Act, "which prohibits foreign officials who are responsible for or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom from obtaining U.S. visas". Now, why doesn't such a law apply in India, why can't we punish him under similar accusations here. I am sure the US govt is acting in this manner only on the basis of the information provided to it by the Indian state.
>
>This is what I can't fathom: we in India continue to accept Modi, vote him to power, allow him to do all that business of shining Gujarat, but we have a problem if he goes to the US (as you say even the people outside the US will be agitated if he enters US). So, why aren't we doing something about him while he shines in Gujarat. Why doesn't the US bomb Gujarat to 'smoke him' out, the way it does to the others it doesn't like.
>
>I have my doubts if his non-entry is going to affect the business and trade of the Gujaratis. On the other hand, the rallying for his non-entry by the so-called peace activists only leads to further divide between the NRI saffronites and the secularists. The saffronites will get further motivated to work against the cause of peace. More hate-dollars will pump into India.
>
>SF
>
>
>--- On Wed, 9/7/08, Rashmi Sawhney <rashmi.sawhney at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > From: Rashmi Sawhney <rashmi.sawhney at gmail.com>
> > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] does Modi's non-entry into US mean anything?
> > To: sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in
> > Cc: reader-list at sarai.net
> > Date: Wednesday, 9 July, 2008, 8:54 PM
> > Dear Fatima,
> >
> > Your analogy, I must agree with you, may probably be wrong,
> > but is certainly
> > naive and unproductive. A second denial of entry into the
> > US may be seen
> > from within Modi camps as being detrimental to his efforts
> > of furthering the
> > lie about a vibrant Gujarat. There are enough numbers of
> > religious
> > fundamentalists in the Western world who support Modi's
> > Hindutva ideology,
> > who may probably not take to the visa refusal kindly. Had
> > the US granted
> > Modi entry so many anti Modi individuals and organisations
> > around the world,
> > including in India, would be agitaged about this too.
> >
> > It is not a question of whether the activists in the US and
> > NRIs want
> > to demonstrate that their sympathy for Gujarat's
> > Muslims is more than
> > activists in India - I think that is a reductive approach
> > that defeats the
> > purpose of a collective anti-Modi struggle. If you want to
> > campaign against
> > the USA's discriminatory and hypocritic policies, there
> > are many other
> > widely available issues that you could pick on - issues
> > that affect common
> > people without any clout or power.
> >
> > Most countries have their own 'germ-infested foods'
> > that are rapidly
> > destroying any social fabrics composed of difference -
> > perhaps one could
> > consider the option of deputing germs-infested foods from
> > different
> > societies to other parts of the world to see if they
> > survive under hostile
> > and foreign conditions. Or, if your approach to solving the
> > problem of
> > Gujarat is to 'export' the germ-infested food,
> > please consider throwing it
> > in the sea.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Jul 9, 2008 at 3:30 PM, S.Fatima
> > <sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in> wrote:
> >
> > > Please see the report/appeal below, about another
> > effort to stop the
> > > Gujarat CM Narendra Modi from entering the US. While
> > withholding all my
> > > angst against what he allowed to happen in Gujarat in
> > 2002 and the fact that
> > > he shamelessly continues to be blind to the growing
> > hatred against Muslims,
> > > I wonder if the efforts by our activist friends in the
> > US to stop him from
> > > entering that soil mean anything other than a
> > hypocracy. After all, he
> > > continues to live and do what he pleases in
> > India/Gujarat, but we won't
> > > allow him in the US... Isn't that ridiculous?
> > >
> > > Are they trying to teach him a lesson, or punish him
> > through this gesture?
> > > Is his non-entry into the US going to badly affect the
> > Gujaratis' business
> > > and trade (which he is supposed to solemnize in New
> > Jersey)? Not the least,
> > > I think. So what is it then? Is it a symbolic
> > rejection of his leadership?
> > > Or do the NRI and American activist want to show that
> > they care about
> > > Gujarat's Muslims more than the activists in
> > India?
> > >
> > > Although this analogy maybe completely wrong, but I
> > can't help think this:
> > > "We won't allow a germ-infested food that is
> > killing thousands in India to
> > > enter the US"....
> > > Other thoughts are welcome.
> > >
> > > ==========
> > >
> > > USCIRF Urges Denial of U.S. Visa to Gujarat Chief
> > Minister Narendra Modi
> > > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> > > July 8, 2008
> > >
> > > Contact:  Judith Ingram
> > > Communications Director
> > > (202) 523-3240, ext. 127
> > >
> > > WASHINGTON - The United States Commission on
> > International Religious
> > > Freedom urges the U.S. State Department to reaffirm
> > its past decision to
> > > deny a tourist visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra
> > Modi, who has been
> > > invited to attend a conference in New Jersey this
> > August celebrating
> > > Gujarati culture.  Modi was previously denied entrance
> > to the United States
> > > due to his role in riots that overtook the Indian
> > state of Gujarat from
> > > February to May 2002 in which reportedly as many as
> > 2,000 Muslims were
> > > killed, thousands raped, and over 200,000 displaced.
> > Numerous reports,
> > > including reports of official bodies of the Government
> > of India, have
> > > documented the role of Modi's state government in
> > the planning and execution
> > > of the violence, and the failure to hold perpetrators
> > accountable.
> > >
> > > Following Modi's invitation to attend conferences
> > in the U.S. in 2005, the
> > > Commission successfully urged the State Department to
> > revoke Modi's U.S.
> > > tourist visa.  Despite pressure from the Indian
> > government, the State
> > > Department revoked his visa under the Immigration and
> > Nationality Act (INA),
> > > which prohibits foreign government officials who are
> > "responsible for or
> > > directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe
> > violations of
> > > religious freedom" from obtaining U.S. visas.
> > This section was added to the
> > > INA by the International Religious Freedom Act of
> > 1998. The Commission once
> > > again urges the State Department to announce
> > Modi's ineligibility for a visa
> > > under the terms of the INA.
> > >
> > > "We have not seen changes that would warrant a
> > policy reversal," said
> > > Commission Chair Felice D. Gaer. "As official
> > bodies of the government of
> > > India have found, Narendra Modi is culpable for the
> > egregious and systematic
> > > human rights abuses wrought against thousands of
> > India's Muslims. Mr. Modi
> > > must demonstrate to the State Department and to the
> > American people why
> > > he-as a person found to have aided and abetted gross
> > violations of human
> > > rights, including religious freedom-should now be
> > eligible for a tourist
> > > visa.
> > >
> > > Following the riots in 2002, India's National
> > Human Rights Commission
> > > issued a report that pointed to the role of Modi's
> > government in the
> > > systematic murder of Muslims and the calculated
> > destruction of Muslim homes
> > > and businesses. In 2003, the Indian central government
> > found corruption and
> > > anti-Muslim bias to be so pervasive in the Gujarat
> > judiciary that riot cases
> > > were shifted for trial to the neighboring state of
> > Maharashtra.  Despite
> > > this action, the lack of justice for victims remains a
> > serious concern, as
> > > there have been very few court convictions in the six
> > years since the
> > > religion-based riots. In 2007, a series of articles in
> > the Indian
> > > publication Tehelka documented police officers and
> > government officials on
> > > audio and videotape confessing that they facilitated
> > the violence, at times
> > > at the direct behest of Modi.
> > >
> > > "The inaction of Gujarat's government and
> > police force in the face of
> > > severe violence against religious minorities is an
> > inexcusable abuse of
> > > international human rights obligations," Gaer
> > said.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >      Unlimited freedom, unlimited storage. Get it now,
> > on
> > >
> > http://help.yahoo.com/l/in/yahoo/mail/yahoomail/tools/tools-08.html/
> > >
> > > _________________________________________
> > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the
> > city.
> > > Critiques & Collaborations
> > > To subscribe: send an email to
> > reader-list-request at sarai.net with
> > > subscribe in the subject header.
> > > To unsubscribe:
> > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
> > > List archive:
> > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>
>
>
>       Get an email ID as yourname at ymail.com or yourname at rocketmail.com. Click here http://in..promos.yahoo.com/address
>
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 4
>Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:28:08 +0530
> From: Anivar Aravind <anivar.aravind at gmail.com>
>Subject: [Reader-list] US-India Nuclear Agreement - Still a Bad Deal
>To: reader-list at sarai.net, fourth-estate-critique at googlegroups.com
>Message-ID: <4874EE20.4000300 at gmail.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; format=flowed
>
>
> From: 	SANSAD <sansad at sansad.org>
>
>As a constituent of US-India Working Group of Abolition 2000, SANSAD is
>pleased to disseminate this Media Release. Once again, we urge the
>Canadian government (a member of Board of Governors of the International
>Atomic Energy Agency, as well as of the Nuclear Suppliers Group) to not
>support the highly problematic US-India Nuclear Deal.
>
>sansad
>*******************
>
>Media Release
>July 8, 2008
>
>US-India Nuclear Agreement - Still a Bad Deal:
>Global Network of NGOs Urge International Community to Oppose
>
>The US-India Deal Working Group of Abolition 2000, a global network of
>over 2000 organizations in more than 90 countries working for a global
>treaty to eliminate nuclear weapons, says that pressure to rush a
>decision on the US-India Nuclear Agreement must be resisted.
>
>The organizations are calling upon key governments "to play an active
>role in supporting measures that would ensure this controversial
>proposal does not: further undermine the nuclear safeguards system and
>efforts to prevent the proliferation of technologies that may be used to
>produce nuclear bomb material," or "in any way contribute to the
>expansion of India's nuclear arsenal."
>
>This week, in defiance of opposition from Left Parties on whose support
>it depends, the Indian government is expected to circulate a draft
>nuclear Safeguards Agreement to the Board of Governors of the
>International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In doing so, it set in motion
>the remaining steps required to operationalize the US-India bilateral
>nuclear agreement (known as the "123 Agreement" after the relevant
>clause in the US Atomic Energy Act). Besides the Safeguards Agreement,
>the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) must grant India a special
>exemption from its nuclear trade guidelines and finally the US Congress
>must accept the terms of the "123 Agreement".
>
>It took two years from the July 2005 Joint Statement by Prime Minister
>Singh and President Bush until the text of the "123 Agreement" was
>finalized and nearly a year has elapsed since then. After delaying for
>so long, the decision at this time by the Indian government to send the
>draft Safeguards Agreement to the IAEA Board of Governors has more to do
>with the personal pride of Prime Minister Singh than with any changes in
>national or international circumstances. It appears that Mr Singh is
>more concerned about keeping faith with President Bush than the chances
>that the deal might actually be concluded. Most political commentators,
>including proponents of the deal within the US government and Congress,
>believe that the required steps cannot be completed during the life of
>the Bush Administration. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the
>next President will wish to proceed with the deal in its current form.
>
>The US-India Nuclear Agreement was a bad deal when it was originally
>conceived and nothing has changed to redeem it since then. All the
>problems identified in a letter sent to the NSG and the IAEA by 130 NGOs
>and experts in January this year still remain. See the following link
>for the text of and list of signatories of the international letter:
>
>_http://cnic.jp/english/topics/plutonium/proliferation/usindiafiles/nsgiaea7jan08.html_
>_
>_
>The deal effectively grants India the privileges of nuclear weapons
>states (NWS), despite the fact that India developed nuclear weapons
>outside the NPT regime. It doesn't even require India to accept the same
>responsibilities as other states: full-scope IAEA safeguards for non-NWS
>and a commitment from NWS to negotiate in good faith for the elimination
>of nuclear weapons.
>
>The IAEA and NSG must not to be stampeded into making decisions to fit
>in with an unrealistic political time-table. The 35 countries
>represented on the IAEA Board of Governors must consider the possibility
>that special conditions demanded by India could undermine the
>credibility of the IAEA safeguards system itself. They must also
>consider whether undertakings made by a government at the fag end of its
>tenure and facing strong domestic opposition would actually be honored.
>The NSG must consider the implications for the international
>non-proliferation regime of granting India a special exemption. These
>are weighty matters which should not be judged precipitously.
>
>The IAEA Board of Governors and the Nuclear Suppliers Group of countries
>should, as a minimum condition, hold firm to the longstanding
>international effort to end all production of highly enriched uranium
>and plutonium to make nuclear weapons. They should insist that the
>U.S.-India deal be conditioned on an end to further production of
>fissile materials for weapons purposes in South Asia.
>
>Contacts
>JAPAN (English and Japanese)
>_Tokyo:_ Philip White, Coordinator, Abolition 2000 US-India Deal Working
>Group +81-3-3357-3800
>_Toyako G8 Summit_: Akira Kawasaki, Peace Boat, 090-8310-5370,
>kawasaki at peaceboat.gr.jp
>INDIA: Sukla Sen, National Coordination Committee Member, Coalition for
>Nuclear Disarmament and Peace +91-22-6553-4377
>UNITED STATES: Daryl Kimball, Director, Arms Control Association,
>+1-202-463-8270
>AUSTRALIA - John Hallam PND Nuclear Flashpoints 61-2-9810-2598
>61-2-9319-4296
>
>c/- Citizens' Nuclear Information Center, Tokyo, Japan
>Tel: 81-3-3357-3800  Fax: 81-3-3357-3801        Email 1: white at cnic.jp
>Web Site: http://cnic.jp/english/topics/plutonium/proliferation/usindia.html
>
>
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 5
>Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2008 18:06:40 +0100
> From: "Rashmi Sawhney" <rashmi.sawhney at gmail.com>
>Subject: Re: [Reader-list] does Modi's non-entry into US mean
> 	anything?
>To: sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in
>Cc: reader-list at sarai.net
>Message-ID:
> 	<91290c60807091006n6a8a7699ka9017befe0d0dd6 at mail.gmail.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"
>
>Dera Fatima,
>
>Two brief points:
>
>1. There is a measure of desperation in suggesting that the US should take
>responsibility for 'smoking out' Modi as they've been doing with individuals
>and nations they see as being problematic around the world. Although,
>privately, if they manage to isolate him and do this, I will join in your
>celebrations.
>2. I have a fundamental issue with your point about whether Modi's non/entry
>is going to affect the business and trade of the people of Gujarat/ of
>Gujarati origin.
>The view: Gujarati = Hindu = pro-Modi/pro-Hindutva is problematic and
>furthers the very image and idea of Gujarat that the BJP have been
>projecting under Modi's leadership. There are many Gujaratis who are
>Muslims, Jains, Parsis and Christians, so the alignment of a linguistic
>community with a religious group is problematic.
>
>I will rest my case here,
>
>Rashmi
>
>On Wed, Jul 9, 2008 at 5:40 PM, S.Fatima <sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in> wrote:
>
> > Dear Rashmi
> > I know my analogy was stupid, but I was mostly reacting to the report which
> > I quoted about the US State department revoking his visa earlier under the
> > Immigration and Nationality Act, "which prohibits foreign officials who are
> > responsible for or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe
> > violations of religious freedom from obtaining U.S. visas". Now, why doesn't
> > such a law apply in India, why can't we punish him under similar accusations
> > here. I am sure the US govt is acting in this manner only on the basis of
> > the information provided to it by the Indian state.
> >
> > This is what I can't fathom: we in India continue to accept Modi, vote him
> > to power, allow him to do all that business of shining Gujarat, but we have
> > a problem if he goes to the US (as you say even the people outside the US
> > will be agitated if he enters US). So, why aren't we doing something about
> > him while he shines in Gujarat. Why doesn't the US bomb Gujarat to 'smoke
> > him' out, the way it does to the others it doesn't like.
> >
> > I have my doubts if his non-entry is going to affect the business and trade
> > of the Gujaratis. On the other hand, the rallying for his non-entry by the
> > so-called peace activists only leads to further divide between the NRI
> > saffronites and the secularists. The saffronites will get further motivated
> > to work against the cause of peace. More hate-dollars will pump into India.
> >
> > SF
> >
> >
> > --- On Wed, 9/7/08, Rashmi Sawhney <rashmi.sawhney at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > From: Rashmi Sawhney <rashmi.sawhney at gmail.com>
> > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] does Modi's non-entry into US mean anything?
> > > To: sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in
> > > Cc: reader-list at sarai.net
> > > Date: Wednesday, 9 July, 2008, 8:54 PM
> >  > Dear Fatima,
> > >
> > > Your analogy, I must agree with you, may probably be wrong,
> > > but is certainly
> > > naive and unproductive. A second denial of entry into the
> > > US may be seen
> > > from within Modi camps as being detrimental to his efforts
> > > of furthering the
> > > lie about a vibrant Gujarat. There are enough numbers of
> > > religious
> > > fundamentalists in the Western world who support Modi's
> > > Hindutva ideology,
> > > who may probably not take to the visa refusal kindly. Had
> > > the US granted
> > > Modi entry so many anti Modi individuals and organisations
> > > around the world,
> > > including in India, would be agitaged about this too.
> > >
> > > It is not a question of whether the activists in the US and
> > > NRIs want
> > > to demonstrate that their sympathy for Gujarat's
> > > Muslims is more than
> > > activists in India - I think that is a reductive approach
> > > that defeats the
> > > purpose of a collective anti-Modi struggle. If you want to
> > > campaign against
> > > the USA's discriminatory and hypocritic policies, there
> > > are many other
> > > widely available issues that you could pick on - issues
> > > that affect common
> > > people without any clout or power.
> > >
> > > Most countries have their own 'germ-infested foods'
> > > that are rapidly
> > > destroying any social fabrics composed of difference -
> > > perhaps one could
> > > consider the option of deputing germs-infested foods from
> > > different
> > > societies to other parts of the world to see if they
> > > survive under hostile
> > > and foreign conditions. Or, if your approach to solving the
> > > problem of
> > > Gujarat is to 'export' the germ-infested food,
> > > please consider throwing it
> > > in the sea.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Wed, Jul 9, 2008 at 3:30 PM, S.Fatima
> > > <sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in> wrote:
> > >
> > > > Please see the report/appeal below, about another
> > > effort to stop the
> > > > Gujarat CM Narendra Modi from entering the US. While
> > > withholding all my
> > > > angst against what he allowed to happen in Gujarat in
> > > 2002 and the fact that
> > > > he shamelessly continues to be blind to the growing
> > > hatred against Muslims,
> > > > I wonder if the efforts by our activist friends in the
> > > US to stop him from
> > > > entering that soil mean anything other than a
> > > hypocracy. After all, he
> > > > continues to live and do what he pleases in
> > > India/Gujarat, but we won't
> > > > allow him in the US... Isn't that ridiculous?
> > > >
> > > > Are they trying to teach him a lesson, or punish him
> > > through this gesture?
> > > > Is his non-entry into the US going to badly affect the
> > > Gujaratis' business
> > > > and trade (which he is supposed to solemnize in New
> > > Jersey)? Not the least,
> > > > I think. So what is it then? Is it a symbolic
> > > rejection of his leadership?
> > > > Or do the NRI and American activist want to show that
> > > they care about
> > > > Gujarat's Muslims more than the activists in
> > > India?
> > > >
> > > > Although this analogy maybe completely wrong, but I
> > > can't help think this:
> > > > "We won't allow a germ-infested food that is
> > > killing thousands in India to
> > > > enter the US"....
> > > > Other thoughts are welcome.
> > > >
> > > > ==========
> > > >
> > > > USCIRF Urges Denial of U.S. Visa to Gujarat Chief
> > > Minister Narendra Modi
> > > > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> > > > July 8, 2008
> > > >
> > > > Contact:  Judith Ingram
> > > > Communications Director
> > > > (202) 523-3240, ext. 127
> > > >
> > > > WASHINGTON - The United States Commission on
> > > International Religious
> > > > Freedom urges the U.S. State Department to reaffirm
> > > its past decision to
> > > > deny a tourist visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra
> > > Modi, who has been
> > > > invited to attend a conference in New Jersey this
> > > August celebrating
> > > > Gujarati culture.  Modi was previously denied entrance
> > > to the United States
> > > > due to his role in riots that overtook the Indian
> > > state of Gujarat from
> > > > February to May 2002 in which reportedly as many as
> > > 2,000 Muslims were
> > > > killed, thousands raped, and over 200,000 displaced.
> > > Numerous reports,
> > > > including reports of official bodies of the Government
> > > of India, have
> > > > documented the role of Modi's state government in
> > > the planning and execution
> > > > of the violence, and the failure to hold perpetrators
> > > accountable.
> > > >
> > > > Following Modi's invitation to attend conferences
> > > in the U.S. in 2005, the
> > > > Commission successfully urged the State Department to
> > > revoke Modi's U.S.
> > > > tourist visa.  Despite pressure from the Indian
> > > government, the State
> > > > Department revoked his visa under the Immigration and
> > > Nationality Act (INA),
> > > > which prohibits foreign government officials who are
> > > "responsible for or
> > > > directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe
> > > violations of
> > > > religious freedom" from obtaining U.S. visas.
> > > This section was added to the
> > > > INA by the International Religious Freedom Act of
> > > 1998. The Commission once
> > > > again urges the State Department to announce
> > > Modi's ineligibility for a visa
> > > > under the terms of the INA.
> > > >
> > > > "We have not seen changes that would warrant a
> > > policy reversal," said
> > > > Commission Chair Felice D. Gaer. "As official
> > > bodies of the government of
> > > > India have found, Narendra Modi is culpable for the
> > > egregious and systematic
> > > > human rights abuses wrought against thousands of
> > > India's Muslims. Mr. Modi
> > > > must demonstrate to the State Department and to the
> > > American people why
> > > > he-as a person found to have aided and abetted gross
> > > violations of human
> > > > rights, including religious freedom-should now be
> > > eligible for a tourist
> > > > visa.
> > > >
> > > > Following the riots in 2002, India's National
> > > Human Rights Commission
> > > > issued a report that pointed to the role of Modi's
> > > government in the
> > > > systematic murder of Muslims and the calculated
> > > destruction of Muslim homes
> > > > and businesses. In 2003, the Indian central government
> > > found corruption and
> > > > anti-Muslim bias to be so pervasive in the Gujarat
> > > judiciary that riot cases
> > > > were shifted for trial to the neighboring state of
> > > Maharashtra.  Despite
> > > > this action, the lack of justice for victims remains a
> > > serious concern, as
> > > > there have been very few court convictions in the six
> > > years since the
> > > > religion-based riots. In 2007, a series of articles in
> > > the Indian
> > > > publication Tehelka documented police officers and
> > > government officials on
> > > > audio and videotape confessing that they facilitated
> > > the violence, at times
> > > > at the direct behest of Modi.
> > > >
> > > > "The inaction of Gujarat's government and
> > > police force in the face of
> > > > severe violence against religious minorities is an
> > > inexcusable abuse of
> > > > international human rights obligations," Gaer
> > > said.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >      Unlimited freedom, unlimited storage. Get it now,
> > > on
> > > >
> > > http://help.yahoo.com/l/in/yahoo/mail/yahoomail/tools/tools-08.html/
> > > >
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