A Brief Report of NSI Organised Public Meeting on "Shahbagh Movement: A beacon of hope for South Asia" in Delhi

Welcoming the Shahbagh movement of Bangladesh- initiated by youth bloggers wherein hundreds and thousands of people have hit the streets of Dhaka, demanding strict punitive action against war criminals and their organisations, namely Jamaat-e-Islami — and how they are trying the reinvigorate the four basic principles of its formation namely democracy, secularism, socialism and nationalism, Mr Sumit Chakravarty, editor of 'Mainstream' underlined its historic significance for our times. He was speaking at a seminar on 'Shahbagh Movement : A Beacon of Hope for South Asia' organised by New Socialist Initiative, here in Delhi on the 14 th May at Gandhi Peace Foundation.

According to him clearly, at a time when the rest of South Asia is witnessing the rise of communal mobilizations, Bangladesh’s Shahbagh Movement stands apart as a unique and ground-breaking venture, for it has demanded that secular principles and ethos alone should guide and govern all politics. Thus, this movement is qualitatively and politically far more mature than, say, movements which arose from the womb of Tahrir square of Cairo.

A background note circulated by New Socialist Initiative, which is a newly emergent platform of the left, which recently had organised its founding conference in Delhi, for the seminar narrated how it is important not only to understand the significance of Shahbagh movement but also to understand why secular-democratic and left forces of India have till now maintained a studied silence on this historical movement

Speaking on the occasion, Noor Zaheer, famous author and activist said we should not limit ourselves to comprehend the struggle at the level of trial of war criminals only. In fact, the youth who has been joined by great masses of the people have understood that what lies in future for them if they do not fight fundamentalist forces who are trying to impose a very bigoted view in running of the government. People have become conscious that if the religious extremist forces are not dealt with then future of women and future of minorities would be quite bleak.

Javed Naqvi, Special Correspondent of 'Dawn' said that we are getting garbled messages from Shahbagh.He added that this sudden worldwide interest in Jamaat-e-Islami should also be expored and one should also look at the possibility of legitimate grounds of problematic people/organisations. Underlining the impact of economic policies peddled by the likes of IMF/World Bank, he appealed to the audience to explore the stand of Jamaat-e-Islami on IMF and that of Awami League on the same issue.

Kalyani Menon Sen, feminist activist who had been recently to Bangladesh and was direct witness to the goings on in Dhaka narrated her experience of the events and explained how the movement emerged when people felt that the the war crimes tribunal is not giving exemplary punishment to to war criminals who at the time of the liberation struggle/war of the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)—colluded with the Pakistan army and committed untold acts of atrocities on the general public.

The seminar started with a sad note due to the news of Asghar Ali Engineer's demise and the house observed one minute of silence to remember the deceased.

 

Bonojit Hussain, of New Socialist Initiative, conducted the seminar and gave a vote of thanks at its conclusion. 

*********

Few images of the meeting are pasted below:
 

Citizen-Students and the University

 - Sanjay Kumar

[Note: This article was first published in the internet edition of Economic and Political Weekly, Vol - XLVIII No. 19, May 11, 2013. Sanjay Kumar teaches Physics at St Stephen’s College , Delhi University; and is associated with New Socialist Initiative - NSI]

The proposed 4-year undergraduate degree programme of the Delhi University is being pushed through in undue haste without adequate debate and public discussion. The special emphasis on Foundation and Integrating Mind, Body and Heart courses, controversial components of the 4-year scheme, is indicative of an extra-academic zeal. The pedagogical thinking behind these courses is authoritarian and against the spirit of liberal citizenship.

Typically students under the 10+2+3 system of education in the country enter the university at the age of seventeen or eighteen. Time spent in the university helps students transition to adulthood. While there, they attain the legal age that confers citizenship rights and duties on them. The way they are treated in classes and in college and university offices; the rules of conduct they are expected to follow; and the extent and form of recognition they receive as adult citizens from the university– all have a lasting influence on how they imagine their citizenship. University life also involves informal and formal associations with other students and with teachers and staff. The form, purpose and operative principles of these associations shape the affective and cognitive behaviour of students, which partially determine the kind of public sphere they build later in life. This note discusses the recent developments in Delhi University and their implications for students from the perspective of citizenship.

Forcing Citizens to Become Better

Under the proposed 4-year degree course of Delhi University (DU), the students will spend up to one-third of their total class room time on eleven mandatory Foundation courses and two “Integrating Mind, Body and Heart” (IMBH) courses. Foundation courses include courses on governance and citizenship, geographic and socio-economic diversity of India, science and life, psychology, etc,. Little is known about the IMBH courses, except their category titles. It cannot be denied that knowledge about governance and citizenship, and the diversity of our country is useful and enlightening at any stage. This knowledge is integral to school education up to the tenth standard. Universities across the world require students to take non-core disciplinary courses, designed to inculcate "general awareness". But class time for such courses is generally miniscule compared to the time spent on other courses. Students may choose from a wide set of optional courses, and nowhere are these courses considered to be the foundation of an undergraduate education. The special emphasis on Foundation and IMBH courses in the 4-year scheme is indicative of an extra-academic zeal.

This kind of a mandatory and authoritarian pedagogic structure is against the spirit of liberal citizenship. For one of the rights that citizens enjoy, is the right to voluntarily enrich their social life through the free associations they may form. Citizens cannot be forced to become better citizens. The same holds true for IMBH courses because inducing the integration of mind and body through a mandatory university course is contrary to the idea of citizenship. For citizens have a fundamental right over their bodies and their sense of personhood. They cannot be forced to better integrate their bodies and minds. All citizens are expected to obey the law. They may be compelled to do so if needed, and punished if they do not observe them. But citizens cannot be compelled to become better citizens – they can only be persuaded or inspired. Proposals that seek to make citizens better under compulsion, as with demands to make voting compulsory, are signs of a fascist political programme. The pedagogical thinking behind mandatory Foundation and IMBH courses is authoritarian. That the largest publicly funded institution of higher learning in the country is planning to teach such courses is indicative of the deeply deficient understanding that institutions of higher learning have of their role in building citizenship in our country.

Notes on Science and Modernity

- Ravi Sinha

Science and modernity are widely considered among the most celebrated features of contemporary human civilization. Increasingly they are taken as the defining elements that distinguish our times from the times gone by. At such a sweeping level, there can be many other ways to characterize the contemporary. One can, for example, refer to capitalism, market, globalization, democracy or nation-states. One can also include various critiques of capitalism and the widespread resistance to its hegemonic and imperialistic avatars among the characteristic features of our times. Such characterizations, however, belong to a layer of historical reality that is more systemic than civilizational. Science and modernity, especially when taken as a correlated pair, characterize our times at a deeper level. They have, so to speak, seeped into the subterranean layers of contemporary historical reality.

On the face of it, such an assertion would appear to be far removed from the actual state of affairs in the real world. It would be rare, for example, to find a person whose beliefs and practices are fully consistent with established precepts of science. Such a search would be a fruitless endeavour, more or less, in any society on the planet. A similar anomaly is apparent in the case of modernity too. One can safely say that an overwhelming majority of humans in the contemporary world does not live by the canons or conventions of modernity. While few may be completely untouched by the laws and institutions of a modern polity or by the processes and pressures of a modern economy, most live by traditions and practices that do not sit well with basic attributes of modernity.

It can, perhaps, be argued that rather than being an anomaly it is more a matter of the time lag that necessarily exists between sowing the seeds of a culture and their actual flowering into a civilization. One can perhaps claim that, with passage of time, both science and modernity are destined to get entrenched in diverse cultures and emerge as common and universal elements of all future civilizations. While such an argument cannot be refuted easily or decisively, it cannot be accepted as a self-evident truth either. The long course of history since the twin emergence of science and modernity in the middle of the last millennium has gone through such disturbing episodes that one would be justified to have serious doubts about any such claim.

One can take the example of religious sectarianism that appears too often in its fundamentalist and murderous forms. The onward march of science and modernity was supposed to have progressively undermined the basis of religion and other forms of unreason, which would have, eventually, put an end to the long history of religious wars, riots and genocides. It would be hard to claim that history has progressed along such expected lines during recent centuries. The infamous genocides and carnages, such as those of Bosnia, Rwanda or Gujarat, are not merely the exceptions that spoil an otherwise pretty picture. They are the far end of the same spectrum that spans myriad forms of bigotry and superstition ailing even the most modern among societies. Combined with racism, patriarchy, misogyny, caste-ism and other longstanding ailments of similar kinds, these forms seem to make the world a dark place impervious to the values of reason, justice, equality and freedom. Can one really claim that humanity now has come under the sway science and modernity?

The picture is so murky that, even for the most erudite scholars, it is hard to decide whether it is the best of times or it is the worst of times. It may be interesting to recall that two competing theses became the talk of the intellectual town at around the same time and were discussed on the high tables of global policy makers. In the heady days of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the demise of the Soviet Union, one thesis announced “the end of history” and proclaimed the final victory for western liberal democracy.[1] In response came the other famous thesis that announced the onset of a new era of “clash of civilizations”.[2] The former rejoiced at humanity’s final arrival at the plateau of eternal bliss that had long been promised by reason and modernity as embodied in the liberal democratic version of capitalism. The last hurdle on this pre-ordained path that came unexpectedly in the form of “communism” had been removed. The latter, on the other hand, had ominous forebodings of far more dangerous times heralded by the conclusion of the clash of systems. Irreconcilable civilizations about which it had been said long ago – Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet[3] – were now to meet on the global battle-field of history.

Hefazat-e-Jamaat, Nothing Else : On the Recent Developments in Bangladesh

-Subhash Gatade

Talibaner aar ek naam – hefazat-e-Islam!” (Another name for Taliban, Hefazat-e-Islam)
                                                                            - Slogan raised at Shahbagh square

To such a degree has Religion fuelled conflict, complicated politics, retarded social development and impaired human relations across the world, that one is often tempted to propose that Religion is innately an enemy of Humanity, if not indeed of itself a crime against Humanity. Certainly it cannot be denied that Religion has proved again and again a spur, a motivator and a justification for the commission of some of the most horrifying crimes against Humanity, despite its fervent affirmations of peace. Let us, however, steer away from hyperbolic propositions and simply settle for this moderating moral imperative: that it is time that the world adopted a position that refuses to countenance Religion as an acceptable justification for, excuse or extenuation of – crimes against Humanity.

(Wole Soyinka, Source: Granta )

I

The above quote was part of a long intervention made by Wole Soyinka, Nigerian writer, recipient of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, and the first one from Africa, as part of UNESCO International High Panel, in a Conference on the Culture of Peace and Non-Violence.(21 September 2012) . The immediate context for Soyinka’s speech – was the desecration and destruction of centuries old tombs of Muslim saints in Timbuktu, Mali by radical Islamist group Ansar-al Dime which had ‘discovered’ them to be unIslamic. There were rumours that the ‘invaluable library-treasures of Timbuktu may be next.’ on their agenda. Cautioning people about the fact that “[t]he science-fiction archetype of the mad scientist who craves to dominate the world has been replaced by the mad cleric who can only conceive of the world in his own image, proudly flaunting Bond’s 007 credentials – License to Kill.” he urged leaders to “..[u]nderstand this, and admit that no nation has any lack of its own dangerous loonies, be they known as Ansar-Dine of Mali, or Terry Jones of Florida, the earlier they will turn their attention to real issues truly deserving human priority. “

One was reminded of Soyinka’s words when one was witness to the march organised by the newly emergent group Hefazat-e-Islam ( can be loosely translated as ‘Defenders of Islam’) on the streets of Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh and the consequent mayhem that followed. The contrast was evident even to laypersons.

While people of Bangladesh were seem to reinvigorating the spirit of its four decade old war of liberation, the campaign launched by youth activists and bloggers demanding exemplary punishment to war criminals was gaining further momentum, with tens of thousands of men and women congregating at Shahbagh square, and Bangladesh’s largest religious-political outfit, Jamaat-e-Islami was further finding itself in a tight spot since the war crimes trials began, as many of its leading activists stood convicted for their crimes against humanity during 1971, came the news that Hefazat-e-Islam, a relatively new group based in Chittagong, bursting out on the centre stage of the nation’s politics with its demands which were at complete variance with this new mood. While the overwhelming demand was to ban ‘politics based on religion’, the Hefazat brigade was seeking the exact opposite.

Hefazat-e-Islam activist demanding death penalty for Athiests

Burma: Lest we don’t see, a genocide is in the making

-Bonojit Hussain

I

“We have to ask ourselves whether we may have over-romanticized its (Burmese pro-democracy movement within and outside of Burma) battles against the junta as a broader quest to bring pure, universal human rights to Burma, when in fact we had little evidence of a wholesale commitment to the principle of tolerance.” – Francis Wade (Thailand based Journalist and a keen observer of developments in Burma)

Since the summer of 2012 Burma has seen pogroms, massacres, riots of unprecedented scale against religious minorities, the latest being on the 30th April. Few hundreds have been killed and few hundred thousands have been rendered homeless.

Much has been talked about how it is a ploy by the hardliners in the army and the post-reform government to stall further reforms. It might be true to a large extend, but the silence of the pro-democracy opposition is intriguing. While many from the “pro-democracy” camp has remained either silent or ambivalent; many others have shown that they actually belong to the ranks of fundamentalist who in the pretext of unfounded “sense of self-victimization” are fomenting a near genocidal situation in the country.

The non-sectarian democratic forces within Burma would do a service to the country and to the world, if they can use their hard-earned moral authority to put a stop to the riots from turning into a full blown genocide. It is high time that all of us understand and recognize religious fundamentalism as a social reaction with fascist potentials and it must be unequivocally opposed and confronted.

II

On 30th April, in a small town called Okkan, 100 kms away from Rangoon, a Muslim woman on a bicycle bumped into an 11 year old Buddhist monk who dropped his alms- bowl, damaging it. Soon a Buddhist mob gathered and went on a rampage killing at least one person and destroying several mosques and torching Muslim owned poultry farms and houses.

The authorities later detained 18 people allegedly involved in the riot, including the woman who was involved in the accident with the young monk, accusing her of deliberate and malicious acts that insult religion. Rangoon’s Deputy Police Commissioner, Thet Lwin, while admitting that she had bumped on to monk by accident, told Reuters that “According to our practices, we need to send her for trial since she was involved in the root cause of the incident” and that it was up to court to decide her fate".

Since this latest incident of anti-Muslim riots, it has been reported that Muslim villages have erected bamboo fences around their villages and armed themselves with clubs and swords to protect themselves from possible attacks from the neighboring Buddhist villages.

On 20th of March, a Buddhist woman got into an altercation with the Muslim owner of a gold shop over the price of a gold hair pin in Meikhtila town of Mandalay Division. According to reports, during altercation the Buddhist woman was slapped by the shop owner and her husband thrashed by the staff working in the shop. Soon a mob gathered and started attacking Muslim owned businesses nearly destroying most of them. That very evening four Muslim youth killed a Buddhist monk in an alleged act of revenge.

From the late evening of 20th March, much of the Muslim dominated wards of the town were engulfed in flames. In the following 5 days, a Buddhist mob led systematic pogrom against Muslims ensued which spread to 15 other smaller towns resulting in numerous charred bodies, buildings and mosques. According to official report at least 43 people were killed and several hundreds injured. 13,000 people, in Meikhtila alone, have been forced into refugee camps guarded by para-military troopers.

Meikhtila Town, late afternoon, 20th March. Photo: Radio Free Asia

Meiktia after the Mayhem Photo: Irrawady Magazine

 This rounds of anti-Muslim riots in March and April are a bloody reprise of last year's massacre of Rohingya and Kaman Muslims in the western State of Rakhine where, accordingly to official estimates, 110 people were killed and 125,000 people were forced to flee to refugee camps.

[Public Meeting] Shahbagh Movement: A beacon of hope for South Asia

Shahbagh Movement: A beacon of hope for South Asia

Speakers:Sumit Chakravartty (Editor, Mainstream Magazine),Kalyani Menon Sen(Feminist Activist and Researcher),Jawed Naqvi (Senior Journalist, Dawn) and Noor Zaheer (Author, Poet and Cultural Activist)

14th May; 5 pm onward; Gandhi Peace Foundation, New Delhi

Background Note: Neighbouring country Bangladesh, is going through a great churning.. As we go to the press, there are reports indicating the mobilisation of fundamentalist forces and their attempts to scuttle the trials of the war criminals. Violence engineered by the activists belonging to Hefazat-e-Islam alongwith the Jamaat-Shibir clique, and the state's alleged highhandedness in dealing with the situation seemed to have further helped them up the ante.

Everybody knows that it is a direct reaction to the historic movement - popularly known as Shahbagh movement - initiated by youth bloggers wherein hundreds and thousands of people have hit the streets of Dhaka, demanding strict punitive action against war criminals and their organisations, namely Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, who forty-two years ago—at the time of the liberation struggle/war of the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)—colluded with the Pakistan army and committed untold acts of atrocities on the general public.

It is true that by taking lead in this historic movement and persisting against heavy odds, the youth of Bangladesh are attempting to carry forward the forgotten legacy of all those unnamed martyrs who sacrificed their present for a better future for the people of Bangladesh - a future free of religious extremism, a future guaranteeing a life of dignity to everyone.

एन.एस.आई - भोपाल द्वारा आयोजित परिचर्चा "शाहबाग (बांग्लादेश) का जनविद्रोह" का एक संक्षिप्त रिपोर्ट

यह 28 अप्रैल को एन.एस.आई - भोपाल द्वारा आयोजित जनसभा "शाहबाग (बांग्लादेश) का जनविद्रोह" पर एक संक्षिप्त रिपोर्ट है।

पडोसी देश बांग्लादेश इस समय काफी उथल पुथल से गुज़र रहा है जिसका कारण है की 42 साल पहले तत्कालीन पूर्वी पाकिस्तान (अब के बांग्लादेश) की मुक्ति संघर्ष में पकिस्तान की सेना का साथ देने वाले और जनता पर तरह तरह के ज़ुल्म ढ़ाने वाले युद्ध अपराधियों एवं उनके संगठनो के खिलाफ कड़ी कार्यवाही की मांग को लेकर लाखों की संख्या में जनता सड़क पर उतर आई है। आन्दोलनकारियों की मांग है कि युध्ह अपराधियों को कड़ी से कड़ी सजा दी जाए और जमात-ए-इस्लामी जैसे संगठनो पर पाबंदी लगा दी जाए और उसके द्वारा संचालित व्यावसायिक एवं अन्य प्रतिष्ठानों पर रोक लगा दी जाए।

बांग्लादेश के जनांदोलन के समर्थन में भोपाल NSI की टीम ने भोपाल में एक परिचर्चा का आयोजन दिनांक 28 अप्रैल 2013 को किया। इस परिचर्चा का मुख्य उद्देश्य बांग्लादेश के आन्दोलनकारियों द्वारा उठाई जा रही मांगो का समर्थन करना और आन्दोलनकारियों द्वारा उठाई जा रही मांगो पर चर्चा करना था और साथ ही भविष्य में ये आन्दोलन का रूप क्या हो सकता है इस पर चर्चा करना भी था। इस कार्यक्रम में मुख्य वक्ता के तौर पर बोनोजित हुसैन उपस्थित थे बोनोजित दिल्ली NSI टीम के सदस्य है।

 

बोनोजित ने बताया की शाहबाग की क्रांति कई मायनों में खास है ढ़ाका के इस शाहबाग चौक पर जो लोग इतनी बड़ी संख्या में आ कर जमा हुए है और हो रहे है उन सभी का वास्ता वर्त्तमान से कम और इतिहास से ज्यादा है। ये लोग किसी राजनितिक पार्टी के कहने पर यहाँ एकत्रित नहीं हुए है बल्कि 40 साल पहले मुक्ति संग्राम के दौरान अपने ही देश के लोगो को मारने और सताने वाले चरमपंथी युद्ध अपराधियों को सजा दिलवाने के लिए सड़क पर उतर आये है। तत्कालीन पूर्वी पाकिस्तान (अब के बांग्लादेश) में 1971 में हुए मुक्ति संघर्ष के दौरान पाकिस्तानी सेना का साथ देने वाले जमात-ए-इस्लामी जैसे संगठनों के खिलाफ कड़ी से कड़ी कार्यवाही की जाए। इस समय जनता का इतने आक्रोश पर सड़क पर उतरने का मुख्य कारण यह है कि चार फरवरी को युद्ध अपराध न्यायाधिकरण ने जमात-ए-इस्लामी के सहायक महासचिव अब्दुल कादेर मुल्ला को उम्रकैद की सजा सुनाई, सजा सुनाने के बाद अब्दुल कादेर ने कोर्ट से बहार आकर 'V' का निशान दिखाया जिसका तात्पर्य ये था की उसकी जीत हुई। मुल्ला पर तीन सौ हत्याओं का आरोप है। उस समय बांग्लादेश की तकरीबन 2 लाख महिलाओं के साथ बलात्कार किया गया था जिसका आक्रोश आज भी लोगो में देखा जा बांग्लादेश के राष्ट्रवादियों और आज की युवा पीढ़ी को यह फैसला मान्य नहीं हुआ। मृत्युदंड से कम कुछ भी नहीं की मांग करते वे ढाका के शाहबाग चौक पर आ गए और वहीं डेरा डाल दिया। शाहबाग आंदोलन के एक सक्रिय कार्यकर्ता और ब्लॉगर की हत्या के बाद तो आंदोलन और भी उफान पर आ गया है।

कुछ प्रतिभागियों के सवाल थे कि क्या यह आवामी लीग के द्वारा ही चलाया जा रहा आन्दोलन तो नहीं है क्यूंकि एकदम चुनाव के समय इस तरह का माहौल सरकार के पक्ष में जाता दिखाई दे रहा है? इसके उत्तर में बोनोजित ने बताया की इतनी बड़ी तादाद में एक साथ आम जनता को सड़क पर लाना सरकार के लिए मुश्किल है, यह जनता द्वारा उठाया गया कदम है लेकिन ये भी सरकार बाहरी तौर से आन्दोलन को मदद कर रही है। परन्तु आन्दोलन द्वारा पहले दिन से यह तय किया गया है की किसी भी राजनैतिक पार्टी को आन्दोलन में नहीं शामिल किया जाएगा। और मुख्यतः युवा लड़कियां इस आन्दोलन का नेतृत्व कर रही है।

साथ ही NSI के सथियों का यह भी पक्ष था की किसी भी वामपंथी दल का इस आन्दोलन को लेकर कोई समर्थन नज़र नहीं आ रहा था और जिस तरह वामपंथी दल कट्टर हिंदुत्व का विरोध करते है उसी प्रकार मुस्लिम कट्टरवाद या किसी अन्य धर्म के कट्टरवाद का भी पुरज़ोर तरीके से विरोध करना चाहिए जिसकी पहल करते हुए NSI द्वारा दिल्ली में भी प्रदर्शन का आयोजन किया गया और इसी कड़ी में भोपाल में भी शाह्बाग आन्दोलन के समर्थन में एक परिचर्चा का आयोजन किया गया।

No Mr. Umari, Shahbagh Is No Imperialist Conspiracy

- Subhash Gatade

GUWAHATI: The echo of the Shahbag protest in Bangladesh was heard about 200 miles away here on Sunday with citizens, under the banner of Janamat, expressing solidarity with protesters in that country. Janamat, a Guwahati-based socio-cultural body which organised the solidarity meet here, said that the issue raised by the Shahbag protesters is relevant to India in general and Assam in particular because both the countries' secular and democratic fabrics are threatened by communal forces.

       Solidarity meet in city for Shahbag protest. Times News Network, April 29, 2013

Representatives of different Gonojagoron Mancha across the country on Friday suggested spreading its activities to grassroots level to aware people about its demands. They urged all to be united to fight against Jamaat-Shibir and move forward with a view to realising their demands …Around 300 representatives from 167 gonojagoron manchas from seven divisions attended the daylong representative conference at Senate Bhaban of Dhaka University to express their views and suggestions to strengthen the movement.

Imran H Sarkar, spokesperson for the Gonojagoron Mancha, announced a mass rally at Mymensingh on May 18 and a grand rally at Projonmo Chattar in Dhaka on May 31 at the end of the conference.
                                                                                       The Daily Star, May 3, 2013

I

Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari, President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, (Born in 1935), seems to be a learned man, at least that's what his biographical details tell us. Elected for the second time as Ameer (President) of the Jamaat he is known to have 'authored more than thirty books' and is 'considered an 'authority on human rights in general, and women and Islamic family system in particular'. Interestingly, despite his long innings in social-political life and exposure to the outside world his understanding of some crucial developments in this part of the subcontinent seems to be at variance from what can be said as a general consensus around the issue.

The manner in which he and the organisation he leads reacted to the recent developments in Bangladesh, the emergence of what is known as Shahbagh movement - the spontaneous movement initiated by youth seeking 'exemplary punishment to the war criminals' and banning of 'politics based on religion' - is an indicative of this disconnect between what Maulana Umari and the organisation he leads thinks and what actually happened.

Cartoon Credit: Ruhin Afrin Joyee

As everybody knows the question of trial of 'war criminals' in Bangladesh's liberation struggle still remains unsettled, despite the fact that it has been a longstanding demand of the Bangladeshi people who faced genocide at the hands of Pakistani army. The support rendered to them in this venture by local activists of Jamaat-e-Islami belonging to then East Pakistan is another ignoble aspect of this whole episode. The way post-liberation history of Bangladesh unfolded itself, where one witnessed assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, towering leader of the liberation struggle and the first prime minister of the newly independent country, followed by coups and a period of instability, this important task could not be addressed. Yes, time and again there were attempts at the non-official level to underline and emphasise this unfinished task : e.g. Way back in 1992, an organisation led by Jahanara Imam ( called Shaheed Janani - mother of martyrs) called ' Ekattorer Ghatak-Dalal Nirmul Committee’ had held mock public trial of people accused of war crimes in a People’s Court. The immediate context of having this trial was that Gulam Azam, whose citizenship was revoked by Sheikh Mujib, was elected as the Amir of the Jamaat-e-Islami. The High Court, however, in 1993 restored his citizenship which was later upheld by the Bangladesh Supreme Court in 1994.

These attempts received a boost when Awami League under the leadership of Sheikh Haseena returned to power (2009) and set up an International War Crimes Tribunal to try some leading activists of Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh and Bangladesh Nationalist Party as part of fulfillment of its electoral promise. Critics also see it as an attempt to claim legacy over the historic struggle for liberation. A War Crimes Fact Finding Committee in April 2010 published a list of 1597 suspects. As far as evidence to be presented during the trial, the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973 states: “A Tribunal shall not be bound by technical rules of evidence; and it shall adopt and apply to the greatest possible extent expeditious and non-technical procedure, and may admit any evidence, including reports and photographs published in newspapers, perio-dicals and magazines, film and tape-recordings and other materials as may be tendered before it, which it deems to have probative value.” (As cited in Julfiqar Ali Manik, “The Trial we are Still Waiting For”, Forum, Daily Star, 3(12), December 2009.

The flashpoint of this three month old youth led movement became the 'lenient punishment' meted out to Vice President of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, Abdul Quader Mollah, who was given life sentence on February 5 in spite of his proven guilt of the heinous crimes that he had committed. He was proven guilty on five counts out of six charges that were brought against him, including murdering more than 300 people. The photo of this man emerging from the court, smiling and making a Victory sign, so infuriated the youth that they gave a call on social network to gather at the historic Shahbagh Square. Rest is now history. (5 th Feb 2013)

As has been written elsewhere, the uniqueness of the Shahdbagh movement - as hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life converged in this important part of Dhaka and continued to demonstrate for weeks together - was that though it was principally initiated by those youth who run online blogs, and none of whom had actually witnessed the actual genocide, it quickly witnessed the participation of other classes. People could see the repetition of ‘Tahrir Square’ in Dhaka, but not many could foresee that it went much beyond. Undoubtedly, by taking lead in this historic movement and persisting against heavy odds, the youth of Bangladesh were trying to carry forward the forgotten legacy of all those unnamed martyrs who sacrificed their present for a better future for the people of Bangladesh - a future free of religious extremism, a future guaranteeing a life of dignity to everyone.

Protest Call and Joint Statement: Condemn Police Excesses in Lower Suktel Project area in Balangir, Odisha

Protest Against Excesses and Brutality of Odisha Police
 11 am, 7th May, 2013, Odisha Bhawan, 1 Niti Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi

Scrap the Lower Suktel Dam project immediately

We, the undersigned, are anguished and appalled by the brutality and excesses of Orissa Police on peaceful demonstrators and concerned citizens near Magurbeda village of Balangir District in Orissa on 29 April 2013. At least 40 persons received severe injuries in this unprovoked lathi-charge and police brutality. We strongly condemn such police action and demand that responsible policemen be brought to book immediately!

Shockingly, during this standoff police dramatically turned into a confrontation, women were pulled by their hair, thrown on ground with policemen deliberately trampled over their feet and private parts as if they were trying to get confessions out of hardened criminals – all this under the supervision of the Sub-Divisional Police Officer and the Sub-Collector of Balangir, the latter with magisterial power.

It is absolutely unacceptable that state police in tacit approval of the state government engage in such brutality on peaceful protesters. The Odisha government needs to explain to its people as why Lower Suktel area has virtually become a war-zone, when people are democratically pressing for their demands.

Notably, Amitabh Patra, a journalist-filmmaker, who was shooting the confrontation, was purposefully targeted and rounded up by about a dozen policemen who beat him and kicked him ceaselessly on his head and face. Policemen seized his two cameras and broke both even as he lay unconscious for several hours. We would want an explanation from the government as what authority the Odisha Police has got to stop filmmakers from shooting such stand-offs? Under which rule of law, the Odisha Police has the power to strike at a journalist or a filmmaker with such brutality with intention to damage his head, when he was only a witness to what was going on? More shockingly, under pressure from the police and administration, the doctor at the government district hospital was refusing to admit Amitabh despite visible head injuries until a few local activists and journalists made a noise and forced him to do so!

Police brutality in Lower Suktel

Economics: Dismal Science or Powerful Dogma?

- Anirban Kar

“Most people take capitalism for granted…From this point of view one can understand and criticize what happens within the framework of the system; one can neither understand nor evaluate what happens to the system itself.” - Paul Sweezy; The Theory of Capitalist Development.

In this short note, I shall try to sketch the role of Economics as a discipline in the capitalist world order. I shall argue that the prominence and the crisis of Economics are organically linked with the dynamics of capitalism and hence a critique of its present state of pedagogy and research must be situated within this broader framework. This note has three sections. In the first section, as a prelude, I briefly discuss how Economics originated as a separate discipline from Political Economy during the heyday of laissez-faire capitalism. The second and the third section look at the role of Economics as a tool and an ideology of Capitalism, respectively.

Origin of Economics

“In fact, the whole world may be looked upon as a vast general market made up of diverse special markets where social wealth is bought and sold. Our task then is to discover the laws to which these purchases and sales tend to conform automatically.”

Leon Walras, one of the founders of Economics, wrote in 1874, while setting the agenda for Economics as a discipline. This was the time when capitalism was blooming in Western Europe and North America. For the first time in human civilization, indeed, wealth of a society appeared in the form of commodities which was produced at a massive scale, was bought and sold in market places and was circulated around the world. As soon as production decisions came to be determined by market conditions, it became important to understand ‘the laws’ of market. Focus shifted away from understanding the dynamics of social relations, which are governed by material conditions to the study of individual behaviour and optimal use of scarce resources. Economic system came to be understood not in terms of relation between men and men but in terms of relation between men and commodities; Political Economy gave way to Economics. It is not a coincidence that the book by Leon Walras, mentioned above, was titled ‘Elements of Pure Economics’.

Economics as a tool

Through the peak and trough of capitalism, different schools of thought made its way into mainstream Economics. However the central debate revolved primarily around the same set of issues: Does market allocate scarce resources efficiently? If and when this is not possible, can efficiency be achieved through a degree of state control? Can institutions and regulations be designed for this purpose? And finally, how aggregate level economic phenomenon (such as prices, production and consumption) arises from individual actions, essentially limited to economic decision making (capturing atomistic relation between men and commodities)? To summarize, Economics got busy with ‘smaller’ questions; about adjusting the Economy to suit the need of the hour. Understanding the dynamics and contradiction of capitalism, its historical path of development, increasingly, got relegated to back seat. Economics became a tool for capitalism. This had multifarious effects on the pedagogy and research of Economics. I shall touch upon a couple of issues.

Increasing specialization: With advancement of knowledge, a degree of specialization is perhaps inevitable. But the degree of specialization Economics has witnessed is simply astounding. For instance, the current issue of American Economic Review (considered to be the top Economics Journal) listed papers under following categories; Recessions and Retirement, Economics of Automobile Sector, Law and Economics, Labour Economics etc., not to mention exotic categories, such as, Wine Economics and Economics of Arts. However this was expected. Since Economics was preoccupied with repairing parts and components of capitalist economy, knowledge of each component became a specialized field. Incentives and punishments were also realigned to support this form of fragmented studies. For instance, research works in Economics now appear primarily as standalone articles and not as a body of knowledge in the form of thesis or books. In a competitive market for academic positions, where researchers are evaluated by number of publications, specialization is naturally more remunerative than development of a broader perspective.