"WHY WE OPPOSE 'GREEN HUNT'"....by Fr. Ambrose Pinto sj

This is what I published in Mainstream Weekly, a national secular journal. It would be interesting to have your comments

 

Ambrose 

Mainstream Weekly

Home page > 2010 > Why We Oppose 'Green Hunt'

Mainstream, Vol XLVIII, No 11, March 6, 2010

Why We Oppose 'Green Hunt'

Saturday 6 March 2010, by Ambrose Pinto

For the tribals and the poor, "Green Hunt" is nothing else but a united front of state and mining corporations to grab their land and rich natural resources by silencing the voices of those who fight for their homeland rights. The state, the tribals and the poor believe, is in nexus with the designs of the multinational and Transnational corporations. The Honourable Home Minister, P. Chidambaram, had said that sacred hills do not give people food to eat or clothes to wear. That is why he explains that the state has decided to modernise and industrialise the tribal belt to provide food, clothing and employment. The only question the tribals are raising is whether they have any say over the model of development that the state has decided to impose on them. Can the state along with the corporations decide what kind of development they should adopt in a democracy? What has happened to the tribal self-rule law?

Should we Modernise the Tribals?

They do not buy the arguments of the Minister or the state that they need to be modernised or industrialised. What does modernisation and industrialisation mean for them? It is a mechanism to dry their water bodies, to pollute their environment and poison their air. Their forests and fertile fields have provided them employment and livelihood and they have been able to establish an intimate relationship with nature. They may like the Minister and the hostile state to go and check out the biodiversity of the hills of tribal India and how the food and medicine from these forests have sustained human civilisation for thousands of years. It is not the tribals and their livelihoods that matter for the state but the desire to mortgage the country to the multinationals and transnationals that has made the tribals angry.

Operation Green Hunt

How do they understand "Operation Green Hunt"? They look at it as an abominable and dangerous device to pauperise them further and hence they are prepared to resist it at all costs. The state has made statements that "Operation Green Hunt" is against Maoists/Naxalites. But the tribals think since Maoists and Naxals are armed, they can defend themselves. It is they who are unable to protect themselves. Since they hail from the oppressed, exploited, deprived masses and they have nothing to gain but everything to lose, they are willing to align themselves with the extremists since they have no other alternatives for protection and to main-tain control over their resources. Militancy will exist as long as poverty and deprivation of the rural masses exist. Given the increasing poverty, they are an animated and motivated force who will lay down their life for their livelihoods. They are equally aware that the police and para-military forces are placed in their territory to help the Corporates grab their economic resources.

Green Hunt is Loot and Plunder of Tribal Resources

Green Hunt, therefore, is actually a hunt for the green forests, green fields and water sources, rivers and springs, where tribals live and do agricultural work as the only source of suste-nance. It is actually a hunt by industries for the rich minerals in tribal land, denying the tribals the right over their natural resources. It is a public robbery by the state. The state desires to turn these areas into waterless deserts and pollute the air, water, vegetation due to the national and international corporate houses who are exerting tremendous pressure on the Indian Government to open up the country's natural resources for industrial exploitation. With state patronage, several corporations have looted the tribals and the poor already. There are examples of Enron responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy, the Coke group in Kerala and several other MNCs who have polluted the environment and already robbed the tribals of their legitimate resources.

Green Hunt is a Head-hunt of

Tribal Leaders

Green Hunt is also a head-hunt for those young tribal leaders who are spearheading the People's Resistance Movements against the displacement of the tribal people and alienation of their ancestral land with all its rich mineral resources. The state's position that Green Hunt is actually a hunt for Maoists/Naxalites is simply not accepted by the tribals. The operation is a massive hunt for ordinary, rural, tribal people and their young leaders who are resisting the MNCs/TNCs. The heartland of India has been witnessing massive displacement of adivasis partly because of violence by the security forces deployed by the Central Government and vigilante groups such as 'Salwa Judum'. In Chhattisgarh alone, over 2,00,000 adivasis in 644 villages have been displaced while this resource rich land is being sold off to mining corporations, both Indian and foreign. Accom-panying this displacement is an equally brutal violation of human rights, through perpetration of torture, rape and physical violence against the adivasis. Does the state expect the tribals to be silent in the midst of these brutalities? When the state takes away their right to live by denying them access to their land and resources, what other alternatives do they have?

Greater Good Argument

The Maoist/Naxal uprising may not be a spontaneous uprising of the indigenous peoples. But when attempts are made to totally exclude the tribals from their cultural and environmental life, there is bound to be total alienation. Why should the adivasis and Dalits give up their homelands, livelihoods and forest access "for the greater good" as defined by the state? The problem with the greater good argument is that resources and nature are always handed over to an elite model of development that has nothing to do with the Dalit or tribal way of life and civilisation. In the early days of economic liberalisation, they had to give up their homeland, livelihood and forest access for more water and land to people of the plains. At the second phase of the opening up of the economy, they are being asked to give up their homeland, livelihood and forest access for mining aluminum and other rich resources of the forests for companies like POSCO and Vedanta.

Repression is No Answer

If the state is honest, it should ask itself whether state repression can solve the issue. Can state violence be a solution for the tribal problems in a democracy? The answer is a clear no. It is unfortunate that India is increasingly becoming a repressive, armed state. The Salwa Judum is an example where a nation-state arms people against people encouraging civil war in its own territory to further the designs of its development model. The only group that the armed forces are protecting is the greedy mining companies. Through repression, the people being killed, murdered and repressed are the poor and the already impoverished. Instead of lifting them from their poverty, the state's decision to wipe them out cannot be accepted as a solution in any humanitarian state.

Dialogue with All including the

Tribals is the Answer

For a dialogue the state may have to re-look on its development policy, the root cause for the present violence. In a democracy, people have to evolve their own model of development. The state cannot impose one from above. Such models have to be plural and include the culture and civilisations of communities. That would mean that no meaningful dialogue is possible without rejecting the present neo-liberal model of development and revoking the dubious licences that have been issued to loot and plunder the tribal resources. There is a need to include the alienated tribal communities in the whole process of dialogue. Maoists and Naxals are no represen-tatives of the tribals though they may be concerned of their wellbeing. Without the inclusion of tribal leaders, no meaningful outcome would emerge from dialogue. The Central Government has decided to pour in a lot of money in the regions. But such money invested in the area without any reference to the people of the region may prove to be counter-productive. There is another group that has encouraged violence in the area: the arms manufacturers. They would likely be against any kind of dialogue since they would have to close down their lucrative business. They need to be isolated. Some of them may be connected with the Salwa Judum. The promoters of this local weapons industry may include Ministers, bureaucrats and some respected corporations. It is equally important to keep out the Mahapatras and Misras and the likes who are seen as enemies of the people by the tribals. They have looted the tribal wealth for years and attacked tribal livelihoods. While violence can never be a solution, a genuine dialogue with those who are crushed by the present model of development with a desire to include them with their own model of development in building the nation will surely end the violence and a new era of development, as defined by the tribals, may bring peace and prosperity to the area.

A former Director of the Indian Social Institute, New Delhi, Dr Ambrose Pinto SJ is currently the Principal of St Joseph's College, Bangalore.

In our judiciary, anybody can be bought, says Gujarat CJ

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/In-our-judiciary-anybody-can-be-bought-says-Gujarat-CJ/articleshow/5649335.cms

AHMEDABAD: Chief Justice S J Mukhopadhyay expressed concern over the
future of Gujarat judiciary when hearing the case of termination of ad
hoc fast-track court judges. The high court and the state government
discontinued services of 56 judges last November.

Discussing charges of corruption in cases of some of judicial officers
on Friday, Justice Mukhopadhaya said: "We are concerned about the
future of Gujarat judiciary, where money has become the main source
and where you can buy anybody with the power of money."

Justice Mukhopadhyay insisted on maintaining transparency in judiciary
in order to uphold its credibility among people. He asked the lawyers
representing the FCT judges how else the high court could have reacted
to allegations of corruption levelled against the judicial officers.

The FCT judges were relieved from service last year with a remark in
their termination letter that they were found 'unsuitable'.

The judge was of the opinion that issuance of a show-cause notice to
the judges concerned would have served no purpose. He also made it
clear that he was discussing the issue in the context of the judiciary
across the nation, and not strictly pertaining to Gujarat.

--

PRASHANT  
-  A Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace

Street Address : Hill Nagar, Near Kamdhenu Hall, Drive-in Road, Ahmedabad - 380052, Gujarat, India
Postal Address : P B 4050, Navrangpura PO, Ahmedabad - 380 009, Gujarat, India

Phone : 91  79   27455913,  66522333
Fax : 91  79  27489018
Email: sjprashant@gmail.com
www.humanrightsindia.in

The end of impunity by Teesta Setalvad

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-end-of-impunity/585869/0

02mar10

 

The end of impunity

teestasetalvad

The struggle of man (or woman) against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting. — Milan Kundera

It was not simply the number of lives lost, though the number — perhaps 2,500 — is not insignificant. It was the cold-blooded manner in which they were taken. It was not simply that 19 of Gujarat's 25 districts burned while Neros watched, fiddled and smirked but the sinister similarity in the way they were set alight. Militias were armed with deadly training, weapons, technology and equipment; with a lethal brew of deadly intent, inspired by constructed tales of hate, using the February 28, 2002 edition of a leading Gujarati daily that urged revenge; all combined with a deadly white chemical powder that seared to burn and destroy already killed bodies. And, of course, truckloads of gas cylinders, in short supply for cooking, were used instead to blast mosques and homes. Mobile phones and motorcycles made communications easy and movement swift.

Part of the plan was to humiliate, destroy and then kill. Another was to economically cripple. But at heart the desire was to construct a reality whereby a whole ten per cent of the population lives (and a few even prosper) as carefully whipped into shape, second-class citizens. Most incidents that racked the state, except the famed Best Bakery incident, took place in the glare of the day, not the stealth of the night. Critical to the plan to mutilate and humiliate was to subject women and girls to the worst kind of sexual violence. Tehelka's "Operation Kalank" records victorious testimonies of rapists and murderers who claim to have received personal approbations from the man at the helm. Over 1,200 highway hotels were destroyed, more than 23,000 homes gutted, 350 large businesses seriously damaged (and are still unable to recover) and 12,000 street businesses demolished.

Genocide is about economic crippling as much as death and humiliation. The Concerned Citizens Tribunal — Crimes Against Humanity 2002 called the happenings in Gujarat a genocide, because of the systematic singling out of a group through widely distributed hate writing and demonisation, the economic destruction, the sexual violence and also because over 270 masjids and dargahs were razed to the ground. The bandh calls on February 28 and March 1 by rabid outfits and supported by the party in power enabled mobs free access to the streets while successfully warding off the ordinary citizen.

Eight years on, it is this level and extent of complicity that is under high-level scrutiny. The involvement of high functionaries of the state in Gujarat did not begin, and has not stopped, with the violence. It has extended to destruction of evidence that continues until today, the faulty registration of criminal complaints, the deliberate exclusion of powerful accused and, worst of all, the utter and complete subversion of the criminal justice system by appointment of public prosecutors who were not wedded to fair play, justice and the Constitution — but were and are lapdogs of the ruling party and its raid affiliates. The proceedings in the Best Bakery case in the Supreme Court and the judgment of April 12, 2004 strips our legal system, especially lawyers, of the dignity of their office.

The hasty granting of bail to those involved in the post-Godhra carnage remains a scandal. While over seven dozen of those accused of the Godhra train arson have been in jail, without bail for eight years — and today face trial within the precincts of the Sabarmati jail — powerful men, patronised by the state's political hierarchy who are accused of multiple rapes and murders roam free in "vibrant Gujarat" even as the trials have resumed. The few that are in jail — ten of the 64 accused in the Gulberg society carnage, eight of the 64 accused in Naroda Patia massacre, two of the 89 in the Naroda Gaam killing, eight of the 73 in the Sardroura massacres (all the 84 accused of the massacre at Deepda Darwaza roam free on bail) are those with no political godfathers. A vast majority have lived in freedom even after committing unspeakable crimes. All this and more is being investigated under the orders of our apex court on a petition filed by Zakia Ahsan Jafri and the Citizens for Justice and Peace. For the first time in our history criminal conspiracy and mass murder are the charges, the chief minister and 61 others the accused. Will the wealth of evidence be matched by the rigour of investigation? Will the will to prosecute surmount political considerations? Will the Indian system throw a spotlight on what surely must be its darkest hour? As we stood, remembered and prayed in painful memorial, with lit candles at the Gulbarg Society this Sunday we did so in both faith and hope.

The writer is the secretary of |Citizens for Justice and Peace

Seven new behaviours for the Internet Age - 1 by Allwyn Fernandes

The Internet has changed the whole paradigm of communications. The
Church is not the only organization to feel lost, bewildered and
befuddled. Many organizations that prided themselves on being rock
solid on communications, have floundered. Some have died. Even a
computer company like Dell got hurt badly.

In the last few weeks, I have studying "Seven new behaviours for the
Internet Age". Starting today let me share them with you:

1.  Listen with new intelligence to the "buzz" and "conversation"
around you. "Buzz" and "conversation" are two current words in
communications.

Yesterday's Gospel provides a good starting point – "Who do men say
that I am?"

Was Jesus doing market research? Or was he asking for feedback? He
wanted to know the "buzz" or the "conversation" about him in the
environment of his time. He was keen to know EVEN THOUGH HE KNEW!

Unfortunately, today we don't want to know! And we want to silence
even those who tell us by accusing them of being "rude"," "impolite"
or "lacking charity". If only the Church worldwide had listened, it
might have saved itself the billions of dollars it is paying out in
the US, Ireland, England, Austria and Australia for the crimes of
child abusers.
The Pope is worried because new scandals are emerging, the latest
being in his home country, Germany.

Listening and the courage to speak up are important – and the Internet
provides an opportunity to do so for both.

On the Internet, there are several new layers of communications. There
are the idea starters who kick off new "conversation". And there are
the "amplifiers" -  the bloggers, the people who express themselves
freely, the Google Group and Yahoo groups like "mangalorean.com" and
"daiji.com" who increase the ripple effect by spreading the
conversation to their own audiences.

Interestingly, even though the official Church has failed to move with
the time and use the Internet, I find priests like Claude Saldanha and
Juze Vas using Internet groups very effective for giving people a
daily dose of spirituality. They constitute the Church on the
Internet. What is most interesting is that this is a bottom-up
development, not Top-Down, not from the hierarchy.

It is in line with what Fr Henri Boulad wrote to this group recently:
change will come from below. Yes, change is already coming from the
people of God who are more in touch with Him and themselves than those
who claim to speak in His name. ###

Responses to: allwyn.fernandes@gmail.com

--

PRASHANT  
-  A Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace

Street Address : Hill Nagar, Near Kamdhenu Hall, Drive-in Road, Ahmedabad - 380052, Gujarat, India
Postal Address : P B 4050, Navrangpura PO, Ahmedabad - 380 009, Gujarat, India

Phone : 91  79   27455913,  66522333
Fax : 91  79  27489018
Email: sjprashant@gmail.com
www.humanrightsindia.in

Report from Fr. Varghese Paul, SJ : DOOT RECEIVES ICPA AWARD 2010

DOOT RECEIVES ICPA AWARD 2010

Fr. Varghese Paul, SJ

 

            "Pavan Hrudaya DOOT" received Fr. Luis Carreno Award 2010 of Indian Catholic Press Association (ICPA) at Chennai on February 19 for its "distinctive contribution to journalism". The ICPA Fr. Luis Carreno Award consists of a citation, a plaque and Rs.10,000/=.

 

            Dr. Lawrence Pius, Auxiliary Bishop of Madras-Mylapore gave away the Award to DOOT during the 16^th National Conference on "Climate Change – Media Response" held in the Archdiocesan Pastoral Centre, Chennai.

 

            A well known author and journalist and one-time editor of DOOT, Fr. Varghese Paul, SJ read out the citation conferring the Award to DOOT; and a contributor to DOOT and novelist Mr. Raman Ignas Macwan received the Award on behalf of DOOT.

 

            Among the large number participants in the National Conference and Award Ceremony there were a former editor of DOOT, Mr. Simon Parmar and a DOOT editorial team member Dr. Roman Bhatia along with the members of ICPA and the students and professors of Department of Journalism, University of Madras, Chennai, who were co-sponsors of the 16^th National Conference.

 

            The Award Citation says, "The Indian Catholic Press Association (ICPA) is pleased to present the Annual ICPA Award 2010 to PAVAN HRUDAYA DOOT for its distinctive contribution to Journalism and for being the only second magazine in Gujarati language to complete a hundred years of uninterrupted publication.

 

            "The magazine has contributed tremendously in educating, informing and promoting involvement of its readers to voice various social concerns affecting society though the incisive writings and reports on various social, political and economic issues appearing in the magazine from time to time.

 

            "The ICPA presents this award to PAVAN HRUDAYA DOOT in memory of Fr. Luis Carreno SDB, a noted writer."

 

            The Award is signed by Adolf Washington, President of ICPA and given at Chennai on February 19, 2010.

 

            ICPA gives annually three other similar awards. They are (1) ICPA – Swami Devanand Chakkungal Award, (2) ICPA – Fr. John Barret Award and (3) ICPA – Award for Best Reportage on Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and OBC, which carries Rs.15,000/=.

 

            ICPA is a national organisation of Catholic journalists including editors, publishers, teachers of journalism, publishing houses, news agencies, regional press associations. The organization with more than 200 members in India has been promoting excellence in professionalism and values in print media for over four decades. The 46-year-old organisation is affiliated to the Geneva-based International Catholic Union of the Press (UCIP).

 

#

NANO in GUJARAT...a NANDIGRAM in the making???

 

Nano Project – A Bane For Voiceless Villagers? Sanand Is Another Nandigram... Abdul Hafiz Lakhani lakhani63@yahoo.com Farmers of four villages in Sanand taluka in Gujarat are up in arms against so-called vibrant government of Modi after it issued a notification to acquire 5,062 acres of land to set up an industrial park next to the Nano project. Five thousand families stand to lose their land in the process. More than 3,500 original land records have gone "missing" from government custody in Sanand, which has turned into a real estate hotspot with the Tatas setting up the Nano plant there. Revenue officials admit that no effort has been taken to find these records or fix responsibility. The notification was issued to the Sanand mamlatdar and the four village panchayats of Hirapur, Charal, Bol and Siyawada on December 4. K D Upadhyay, deputy secretary, revenue department, who issued the notification, said, "Yes, we've cleared the proposal sent by the district collector to acquire the land. And we've already published it in a gazette on November 18 this year." However, the villagers refuse to abide by the decision. Around 500 farmers of the four villages led by Karamsinh V Patel met at Hirapur village on Sunday night to oppose the government's decision. A letter opposing the deal signed by all the farmers was later submitted to the GIDC Land Acquisition Unit at Fadia Chambers on Ashram Road. Govindji Thakor, sarpanch of Charal village, said, "Under no circumstance we will part with our land, even if the government gives us Rs 25 lakh or Rs 50 lakh for one bigha. Land is our mother. We will give up our lives, but not our land. Most of us are illiterate farmers who have witnessed the sorry state of farmers who gave away their land for the GIDC Changodar project." Karamsinh Patel said, "We won't give an inch of land even if the government shoots us or lathicharges us. We will beat up any official coming to admeasure our land. If need be we will break their bones." We are setting up a farmers association and will present our case to the collector, DSP and the GIDC, Patel said. 'We will not part with our land, even if the government gives us Rs 25 lakh or Rs 50 lakh for one bigha' says Govindji Thakor, sarpanch Charal village Farmer Jagabhai Govardhan, 51, of Hirapur village said, "I have 50 bighas of land. I grow rice, wheat and jowar. My joint family of 50 persons is dependent on the earnings from the farm. We know nothing except farming. We don't want to sell our land and impoverish ourselves. I won't give any portion of my land." Another farmer, Zalabhai Govabhai Patel, from the same village has 300 bighas of land. Patel says, "My extended family of 250 people depends on earnings from our land. No one in our family is educated and we will not give our land at any cost." Meanwhile, the government also plans to acquire another 2,000 acres in three more surrounding villages. This would up the total area for the industrial park to 7,000 acres. The farmers have alleged that the Nano plant's boundary wall has been extended beyond the prescribed limit, which has resulted in the 30-metre road coming up outside the plant cutting into parts of their agricultural land. mamlatdar Sudhir Patel told, "Yes, we had received complaints from the farmers after which I visited the site, I've seen the farmers' position and believe the GIDC will compensate those who've lost parts of their land. The roadwork has cut through two farmers' land." Cattle too affected 'My joint family of 50 persons is dependent on earnings from the farm. We know nothing except farming.' – Jagabhai Govardhan, farmer of Hirapur village Khoda and Bol villages are the most affected by the Nano project coming up in Sanand. The cattle and youth of these villages are at the receiving end. Mahipatsinh Khumansinh Vaghela, a farmer, said, "The authorities did not even inform me about parts of my land being taken over. It was only after 50 people came with bulldozers and dug up my land, that I raised an objection on why they were encroaching upon my land." To this a case was filed against Vaghela at the Sanand police station for putting a spanner in government work, he said. "I had paid Rs 2,500 for a survey of my land on an urgent basis. However, even after 15 days no one came to admeasure the land. I met the Ahmedabad district collector over the issue and have faith that I will get justice," he said. Mukeshsinh Vaghela, a leader of Khoda village, said, "With the Nano project coming up, we have had to face quite a few problems. Forty farmers, who had to walk 50 metres to their farms, have now to take a circular route of 3 km to their farms." Hari Vaghela, the officer in charge of land records (talati) in Sanand, revealed this in his reply to an RTI application. According to the reply, records from No. 1 to 3036 and from No 5046 to 5564 have gone "missing". Vaghela said the records were sent to the mamlatdar's office and were never returned. Regarding the plight of cattle, Vaghela said that around 1,000 cattle used to get ample fodder during the monsoon. After all the grazing lands have been cleared, they have been at a loss. "The agricultural university used to get 50 lakh kilos of dry grass from this land... This has stopped completely," he said. Nilesh Navasinh, a B Com graduate, but unemployed, had pinned his hopes on a job at the Nano site. "But until now we have got no jobs. Even jobs for labourers are not forthcoming," he said. Bahadursinh, a farmer, said, "Our ancestors had donated the land to a trust for using the land during famine to settle cattle and create feed for them there. We are saddened that the land is no more of use to us now." Hari Vaghela, the officer in charge of land records (talati) in Sanand, revealed this in his reply to an RTI application. According to the reply, records from No. 1 to 3036 and from No 5046 to 5564 have gone "missing". Vaghela said the records were sent to the mamlatdar's office and were never returned. But mamlatdar Sudhir Patel denied this. "I have verified it, the talati has no evidence to prove that the records were sent to mamlatdar's office and were not received back by him. Records of rights documents are part of the talati office and they are responsible for it," he said. With both the talati and mamlatdar passing the buck, the land owners are in trouble. Pankaj Vaghela, a member of Ahmedabad District Panchayat staying in Godhavi village, said: "The records are necessary to prove our right over a piece of land. With these documents missing many people who want to establish their right on their land won't be able to file even a civil suit. Many small land owners have been left helpless by this mess up" he adds. RTI activist Harinesh Pandya said the 'record of rights' documents fall under Category 'A' which have to be preserved by the Revenue Department forever. "If for some reason the records have been destroyed, they have to be regenerated or restored. If these documents have gone missing, the Revenue Department has to fix the responsibility on the officer concerned," he explained, calling it a "very serious lapse". Senior lawyer Vinod Brahmbhatt said a criminal complaint can be filed against revenue officers under Section 201 and 217 of the IPC for missing records.

---

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Today(20th February) is World Day for Social Justice

 

-

JUSTICE FOR ALL!

 - Fr. Cedric Prakash sj *

 

February 20^th : 'The World day of Social Justice!'  A time for each one of us to reflect on the realities around us and how best we need to justly respond to them. 

 

It is not without reason, that the fathers of our Constituent Assembly, insisted that 'Justice' (social, economic and political) be the core principle in our Preamble and in fact, that it permeates every dimension of our Constitution.

 

 It should therefore, be a cause of concern that in several parts of India, 'exclusion' rather than 'inclusion' is slowly becoming the order of the day. The recent happenings in Mumbai where one group decided to define to whom the city belongs to, is a case in point.  The very notion of parochial or jingoistic politics runs contrary to the idea of justice.  This time there were definitely some protests and netizens throughout the world (though invisible) were very vocal in their condemnation.  The sad fact, however, is that there is no serious build up within civil society to resist such injustice.

 

Closer home, a recent Planning Commission Report highlights the fact that 31.8% of Gujarat lives below the poverty line; and that among the major Indian states, Gujarat has slipped from the 6^th to the 8^th position in poverty ranking.  This is truly alarming for a State that boasts of an "economic vibrancy" and a growth rate apparently higher than the national average.

 

In several spheres, Gujarat still woefully lacks an environment of justice.  Defenders of the unjust system are quick to point out to the "so-called" industrial growth, the road network and what not.  Unfortunately, that does not take away from the hard reality that large sections of society still constitute the under-belly and are denied their basic rights. Justiciable food entitlements is denied to the sub-alterns. Eight years after the Gujarat Carnage, most victims still knock at every possible door for a ray of hope and a chance to live as citizens of the state. 

 

There are systemic injustices which continue to keep the Dalits, the Adivasis and other vulnerable sections away from access to a more dignified life.  In recent weeks several Christian institutions across the State have received 'Notices' from the authorities with queries which are blatantly anti-Constitutional and obviously meant to intimidate and harass. 

 

No amount of 'cosmeticization' can hide the fact, that if one truly wants to ensure justice for all, endemic issues have first to be addressed with a political will.  Amartya Sen in his tome, 'The Idea of Justice', puts it simply in a statement "Justice being seen to be done".

 

The best and only way, to observe the World Day of Social Justice, is to make this a reality!

 

 

(* Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ is the Director of PRASHANT, the Ahmedabad based Jesuit Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace.)

 

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CP

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Lent and the Charter for Compassion by Fr John Dear sj

Lent and the Charter for Compassion

 

By  John Dear SJ on Feb. 16, 2010

 

On the Road to Peace

 

As the Holy Season of Lent begins, we put on ashes once again and repent of the mortal sins of war, greed, nuclear weapons and empire -- national sins for which each of us is responsible. Yes, we must repent, and we must make repentance and conversion to Jesus' loving nonviolence a way of life, if we are to remain human during inhuman times. Preserving what is human is our hope, our calling, our political future, our salvation.

 

"Lent is a time for personal and societal repentance, a time for radical conversion, renewal and transformation," wrote my friend Art Laffin of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker in Washington, D.C., last week.

 

Living under the brutal occupation of the Roman empire, Jesus declared: "The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel." (Mk.1:15) Living in the U.S. empire, which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described as "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world," we need to heed Jesus' proclamation now more than ever.

 

Art invites us to join the annual Catholic Worker Ash Wednesday service of repentance in front of the White House and, every Friday during Lent, a weekly vigil for peace.

"The purpose of this witness is to call for repentance and conversion of ourselves, our society and yes, our churches, to the Gospel way of justice, nonviolence and a reverence for all life and creation," Art continues.

 

We call for an immediate end to the sinful wars being carried out in our name. We call, too, for reparations for Iraq and Afghanistan; for total disarmament, the abolition of all nuclear and conventional weapons, and an end to the militarization of space; an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank; an end to torture and the closing of Guantanamo and Bagram, U.S. military prisons and other military torture training centers like the SOA/WHINSEC; the eradication of poverty; universal health care; unlimited aid and assistance to help rebuild Haiti; a just economic order; and climate justice. We call for the proposed FY 2011 $708 billion military budget, which includes $7 billion to upgrade the U.S. nuclear arsenal, to be converted to meet urgent human needs.

 

The late Howard Zinn once wrote: "What matters most is not who is sitting in the White House, but 'who is sitting in' -- and who is marching outside the White House pushing for change."

 

Art and other D.C. friends make Lent a time, not just to give up desserts, but of public witness. For their Lenten practice, they stand up publicly, call for an end to our nation's imperial violence, and practice the Gospel alternative of nonviolence.

 

How can we mark Lent? While it's good to give up sweets (and eat healthy!), I hope we can all make similar efforts during these forty days to join local campaigns of Lenten repentance and conversion to Gospel nonviolence. That may mean attending a weekly peace vigil, giving time each week to write to politicians and the media, meeting with local church leaders, or joining some national event to protest our wars and weapons.

 

The practice should help us to accompany in spirit the nonviolent Jesus who walks from the desert -- where he rejects the temptations to violence and supremacy -- to Jerusalem, where he confronts the structures of violence and gives his life for humanity through loving nonviolence. Somehow, we need to walk with him, share his spirit, take up his cross, and carry on his work of compassion, mercy, justice and peace.

 

Compassion is at the heart of things. Last month a priest friend on Prince Edward Island told me that at all his weekend Masses he recently read the Charter for Compassion, drafted by Karen Armstrong and other religious leaders. He did it, he said, to encourage everyone to reflect anew on their own compassion as a way to renew their discipleship, as a measure of their spiritual life.

 

So off I went and looked it up, the Charter for Compassion. It declares that compassion lies at the heart of every major religion. It's the link to our basic humanity, the key to an authentic spiritual life.

 

So perhaps one way to enter more deeply into the holy season of Lent is to reflect on compassion and to experiment with it, as we advocate for a more just world; also to see how we can promote social compassion, to help us as church people become a truly nonviolent community.

 

In the wake of the horrific earthquake in Haiti, that has left some 240,000 dead and millions wounded, our country and the world have shown compassion. There has been a global outpouring of concern, donations, and solidarity. But the Charter goes further. It says that compassion mustn't hinge on disaster but must be the central focus of our lives.

We can't offer compassion on the one hand and on the other, simultaneously support the bombing of children of Iraq and Afghanistan, build nuclear weapons, vote for the death penalty, and remain silent in the face of corporate greed, global climate change, and systemic injustice. That's not the compassion of Jesus.

 

Compassion comes from our experience of God's love, nonviolence and mercy. Especially in Lent, we try to grow more aware of God's compassion, nonviolence and love toward us in our ordinary day to day lives, and then, spread and share that compassion, nonviolence and love toward others. God's compassion melts our hearts and leads us to share that same compassionate, nonviolent love. Compassion is shown through our actions and deeds toward others, but if we're all doing our job, should lead to new nonviolent structures, laws that favor the poor, and finally, a more just world. This social compassion should disarm hearts and nations.

 

For example, social compassion might impel lending nations to cancel Haiti's $890 million debt -- and the debt of every Third World nation. Thus we'll move toward greater social (responsible)and economic justice and institutionalize reconciliation.

 

So while Art and our friends keep vigil outside the White House, while Jesus undertakes his Lenten journey to Jerusalem, we'll let the spirit of nonviolence and compassion deepen within us, take public steps to stand up on behalf of those in need, offer concrete assistance, and advocate for a new world without war, poverty, nuclear weapons and global climate change. In other words, during Lent, we try to become more and more like the nonviolent, compassionate Jesus.

 

As we embark on forty days of Lenten nonviolence and compassion, I offer here below the interfaith-based Charter of Compassion in the hopes that it resonates in our hearts and inspires us to spend Lent repenting of violence, becoming more compassionate and nonviolent -- individually, nationally, globally.

 

 

The Charter for Compassion

"The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the center of our world and put another there, and to honor the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception (and fear), with absolute justice, equity and respect.

"It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting (hurt and) pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others -- even our enemies -- is a denial of our common humanity (and dignity). We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

"We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the center of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings -- even those regarded as enemies.

"We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to (or for) the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community."