জয় বাংলা

গতকাল ৩০ জুলাই প্রকাশিত আসামের নাগরিক পন্জী তে নাম নেই আসাম বিধানসভারই ডেপুটি স্পিকার দিলীপ কুমার পালের স্ত্রী অর্চনা পালের। বাদ গেছে মরিগাঁও-এর বিজেপি বিধায়ক রমাকান্ত দেউড়ির নামও। যেসব হিন্দু বাঙালি (ঘটি এবং বাঙাল) এখনও "হিন্দী-হিন্দু-হিন্দুস্তানের" নেশায় বুঁদ হয়ে কপালে গেরুয়া ফেট্টি বেঁধে বিজেপি, বিশ্ব হিন্দু পরিষদ বা বজরং দলের মিছিলে গলা ফাটাচ্ছেন, এই তথ্যদুটি এঁদের জন্য একটি শিক্ষা। ধর্মান্ধ, জাতি বিদ্বেষী সংঘ পরিবার চরিত্রগত ভাবে বাঙালি বিদ্বেষী, কারণ তারা জাতিগত ভাবে উত্তর ভারতের বর্ণহিন্দুদের প্রতিনিধি। একবছর আগে ন্যাশানাল হেরাল্ড পত্রিকার এক সাংবাদিক "স্বয়মসেবক সেজে" রাষ্ট্রীয় স্বয়ংসেবক সংঘের ডেরায় ঢুকে সংঘের বাঙালি বিদ্বেষী চরিত্র উন্মোচন করেছিলেন। আসাম বিদ্যালয়ের প্রাক্তন উপাচার্য অধ্যাপক তপোধীর ভট্টাচার্য তাঁর "ভাষা রাজনীতিঃ আসামে বিপন্ন বাঙালি" প্রবন্ধে লিখেছেন "আর্যাবর্তের ধর্মান্ধজনেরা বৈদিক আর্যদের সম্প্রসারণের যুগ থেকেই 'সদানীরা' নদীর পূর্বপ্রান্তিকজনদের 'বহায়সি' বলেছে। পখির মতো কিচিরমিচির করা অর্থাৎ অবোধ্য ভাষায় কথা বলা লোকদের আর্যরা ঘৃণা করে এসেছে। এই এলাকাই প্রত্ন বাংলা যা পরবর্তীকালে অঙ্গ, বঙ্গ, কলিঙ্গ, সুগ্ন, গৌড় ইত্যাদি নানা নামে অভিহিত হয়েছে। আর্যাবর্তের পশ্চাৎপর জনগোষ্ঠী কোনোদিনই তুলনামূলকভাবে আলোকিত প্রাচ্যদেশীয় জনদের সহ্য করতে পারেনি। ক্রমে তা 'মছলিখোর' বাঙালির প্রতি নিরাময় অযোগ্য ঘৃণা ও বিদ্বেষে রূপান্তরিত হয়েছে। ঐ পুন্জীভূত অসূয়া, বিদ্বেষ ও ঘৃণা থেকে উদ্ভূত সাম্প্রতিক রাজনৈতিক  শক্তি সহ শতাব্দী পরম্পরাকে মান্যতা দিয়েই বাঙালি নির্মূলিকরণের প্রধান হোতা।" তপোধীরবাবুর কথার সত্যতা প্রমাণিত হয় যখন দেখি বিশিষ্ট গায়ক প্রয়াত কালিকাপ্রসাদ ভট্টাচার্যের ভ্রাতুষ্পুত্রী পরমা ভট্টাচার্যের নামও বাদ গেছে নাগরিক পন্জী থেকে, তিনি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে গবেষণা করছেন। বিশিষ্ট গায়ক সুমিতা ভট্টাচার্য, পদার্থবিদ্যার শিক্ষিকা শান্তা ভট্টাচার্য ঠাঁই পাননি নাগরিক পন্জী তে। এ যেন ১৯৭১ এ খানসেনা আর রাজাকার দের বাঙালি বুদ্ধিজীবী নিধনের এক সামাজিক রূপ। বাঙালি, হিন্দু হোক বা মুসলিম, হাজার দেশভক্তি দেখিয়েও ধর্মান্ধ সংঘ পরিবারের কাছে "ভারতীয়" বা "স্বদেশী" হতে পারবে না। যেমন ৩০ বছর ভারতীয় সেনাবাহিনী তে কাজ করেও নিজের নামটি নাগরিক পন্জি তে দেখতে পাচ্ছেন না আসমবাসী মহম্মদ আজমল হক। তবে এটা ভেবে নেওয়ার কোনো কারণ নেই যে শুধুমাত্র উচ্চ শিক্ষিত বিশিষ্ট জনেরাই বাদ পড়েছেন। জাতীয় নাগরিক পন্জি থেকে বাদ পড়া বেশিরভাগ বাঙালি শ্রমজীবী শ্রেণীর।
আসাম কখনওই শুধুমাত্র অসমিয়া দের নয়, কারণ আসাম কোনো ভাষাভিত্তিক বা জাতিভিত্তিক রাষ্ট্র নয়, ভৌগলিক ও ঐতিহাসিক ভাবে। ১৮৭৪ সালে বেঙ্গল প্রেসিডেন্সি থেকে কাছাড়, সিলেট ও গোয়ালপাড়া জেলাকে বিচ্ছিন্ন করে আসামের সঙ্গে জুড়ে দেয় শাসক ইংরেজরা, ফলে ওখানকার বাঙালিরা ১০০ শতাংশ ভূমিপুত্র। ১৯১১ এ বঙ্গভঙ্গ বাতিলের আনন্দে বাংলার রাজনৈতিক নেতারা সেই নির্বাসিত ভূখণ্ডের বাঙালির কথা বেমালুম ভুলে গেলেন!  প্রাচীন যুগেও কাছাড়ের পূর্বপ্রান্তে ভুবন পাহাড়ে বাংলার পাল-সেন যুগের সমকালের বাঙালি শিল্পী দের তৈরী ভাস্কর্যের নিদর্শন মেলে। তারও তিন-চারশ বছর আগে পূর্ব শ্রীহট্টে প্রাপ্ত নিধনপুর তাম্রশাসন তদানীন্তন করিমগন্জ মহকুমার বিভিন্ন জায়গায় কোনো না কোনো বাঙালি জনপদের ঐতিহাসিক অস্তিত্বের ইঙ্গিত দেয়। মধ্যযুগীয় ভারতীয় সংস্কৃত পুরাণ ও স্মৃতিশাস্ত্রে বরাক উপত্যকায় বাঙালি জনপদগুলির ইশারা পাওয়া যায়। সুতরাং, বাঙালি মাত্রই বাংলাদেশী, আসাম শুধু অসমিয়া দের, আসাম-শাসক শ্রেণী ও সংঘ পরিবারের এই নীতি স্বৈরশাসক হিটলার-গোয়েবলসের ইহুদী ও কমিউনিস্ট নিধনকে মান্যতা দেওয়ার জন্য ঘৃণ্য প্রচারের সমগোত্রীয়। চল্লিশ বছরের লাগাতার প্রচেষ্টায় অসমিয়া ভাষিক আধিপত্যবাদীরা সমস্ত রাজ্য ও কেন্দ্র সরকার, আমলাতন্ত্র, বিচার ব্যবস্থার একাংশ সহ তথাকথিত সর্বভারতীয় রাজনৈতিক নেতৃত্বের মধ্যে এই ভ্রান্ত ধারণা বদ্ধমূল করে দেয় যে গোটা আসাম আজ বাংলাদেশিদের দখলে। এবং বাংলার বাইরে বসবাসকারী সমস্ত বাঙালিই বাংলাদেশি! এইজন্যই কয়েকবছর আগে রাজধানীর কাছে একটি শ্রমজীবী বাঙালি বস্তি মিথ্যে অভিযোগের ভিত্তিতে ভেঙে গুঁড়িয়ে দেওয়ার পর এক উচ্চবিত্ত শ্রেণীর অবাঙালী মহিলা টেলিভিশনের সামনে সদর্পে ঘোষণা করেছিলেন "ওরা সবাই বাঙলাদেশি", অথচ বস্তিবাসী প্রত্যেকেই ছিল বৈধ ভারতীয়! লাভ-জিহাদের মিথ্যে অভিযোগে যখন বাঙালি আফরাজুল খানকে পুড়িয়ে মারছিল ধর্মান্ধ, জাতিবিদ্বেষী শম্ভুলাল রেগা, তখন তার মাথায় খুনের কারণ হিসেবে কাজ করছিল আফরাজুলের মুসলিম পরিচয়ের সাথে তার বাঙালি পরিচয়টিও। ২০১৪ সালে ভারতে মৌলিক পালাবদল ঘটিয়ে সংঘ পরিবার সরাসরি শাসন ক্ষমতায় এসে বাঙালি জাতির কফিনে শেষ পেরেকটি পোঁতা শুরু করেছে। জাতীয় নাগরিক পন্জি থেকে বাদ পড়া ৪০,০৭,৭০৭ জনের মধ্যে অন্তর্ভুক্ত বাঙালিরা আজ বুঝেছে সংঘ-শাসিত হিন্দুস্থানে বাঙালি হয়ে জন্মানো এক অপরাধ।
বাঙালি আজ গভীর বিপদে। আসাম সরকার বলছে বাদ পড়া বাঙালিদের ডিটেনশন শিবিরে নিয়ে যাওয়ার প্রশ্ন নেই। অথচ আসাম রাজ্যে ৬টি ডিটেনশন শিবির আছে, বন্দি প্রায় ৯০০। গোয়ালপাড়ায় ৪৬কোটি টাকা ব্যয়ে ৩৫০০ জনকে ধরে রাখার মত ডিটেনশন শিবির তৈরি হচ্ছে।
তাই আজ প্রতিবাদে নামতে হবে, ঠিক যেমন ১৯৬১ এর ১৯ মে শিলচর স্টেশনে বাংলাভাষার মর্যাদা রক্ষার্থে পুলিশের বন্দুকের সামনে বুক পেতে দিয়েছিল বরাক উপত্যকার  ১১টি তাজা সাহসী প্রাণ। আজ সেই বরাকের বাঙালিকে লড়তে হবে নাগরিত্ব বাঁচাতে। বরাক উপত্যকার প্রায় ৪ লক্ষ নাগরিক বাদ পড়েছে এন আর সি থেকে, যার সিংহভাগ বাঙালি।
লড়তে হবে বাংলা, ত্রিপুরা সহ সমস্ত রাজ্যের অধিবাসী বাঙালিদেরও। নইলে, একদিন হয়তো তারা ঘুম থেকে উঠে দেখবে, তারা হঠাৎ "বাংলাদেশী" অথবা "বিপজ্জনক ভোটার" বলে ঘোষিত হয়েছে! এরাজ্যের রাজনৈতিক দলগুলি আজ তীব্র প্রতিবাদ জানালেও এতদিন তারা সেরকম ভাবে পথে নামেনি, কি বাম কি ডান। কেউ কেউ একে বিজেপির "ভোটরাজনীতি" বলে লঘু করে দিচ্ছেন। এটা যে সংঘ পরিবারের সুপরিকল্পিত বাঙালি বিদ্বেষ, সে কথা আজ স্পষ্ট ভাবে বলতে হবে। "সর্বভারতীয় বাংলাভাষা মঞ্চ",  "ভাষা ও চেতনা সমিতির" মত সংগঠনগুলি দীর্ঘদিন ধরে এই লড়াই চালাচ্ছে, সঙ্গে আছে নবগঠিত "বাংলা পক্ষ"ও। আজ সময় এসেছে এদের ঐক্যবদ্ধ হওয়ার, সঙ্গে চাই গণতান্ত্রিক শক্তিগুলিকেও। নইলে গোটা ভারতীয় উপমহাদেশে আরও বেশি বেশি করে বাঙালি বিতাড়ন ও নিধন চলতে থাকবে।
জয় বাংলা!
(ঋণ স্বীকার - আনন্দবাজার পত্রিকা, আজকাল, এই সময় ও ঐকতান গবেষণা পত্র)

USA- the enemy of the humanity!

The United States government is ripping terrified children from the arms of their parents. Fascist Donald Trump has actually torn babies from the breasts of their mothers. They are putting some of these children in cells so cold they are nicknamed “the icebox.” They are putting others in massive camps. I can imagine the trauma and the terror of the child, the anguish and pain of the parent. And of course, the Trump regime justifies this with references to the Bible. United States commits crimes against humanity slamming into place a Christian fascist theocracy. This is part of a whole fascist offensive against immigrants. This regime has demonised and slandered them, terrorised and arrested them, brutalised and deported them. And this offensive in turn is the linchpin and battering ram of this whole fascist offensive. 

         But the attack on children is nothing new for America. Nor is it only happening on the border. The wealth of America was founded on the kidnapping of millions of people from Africa, many of them children and infants, and the lifelong enslavement of these children. As America grew richer, the selling of enslaved Black children away from their parents became a major feature, a typical scene, of the “American way of life.” Today, no one can imagine the horror and the heartbreak for those forced into such scenes, decade after decade, stamped on the psyches of human beings for generations. There’s more. After America stole nearly every last piece of land from the Native people, after America had slaughtered or killed through disease the vast majority of those who lived here before the European invasion, the U.S. government sent many of the children of the survivors to “boarding schools. These boarding schools, actually prisons or concentration camps would be better words, stripped the children of their names, their language, and their very sense of self. Today the U.S. system of mass incarceration imprisons tens of thousands of children each year, some locked up with adults. Nor is this attack something the U.S. only does at home. In the Vietnam War, they were not heroes but baby killers. In war after war, from Korea to Iraq, they have been part of a machine that killed the children of those they attacked, whether as “collateral damage” or with sick intention. In Yemen, at least 5,000 children have been murdered by U.S.-supplied planes and bombs, flown by America’s Saudi Arabian proxies, but re-fuelled in the air by the U.S. Air Force. More than eight million people in Yemen, the vast majority of who are children, are now at risk of starvation due to this U.S.-supported war. And this very weekend the Saudis and their allies are undertaking an offensive that will put many at even greater risk, an offensive that the U.S. refuses to condemn and in fact supports behind the scenes. 

         A poet once compared America to the biblical god Moloch, who demanded the sacrifice of children. But this system is no mythical god from a lost age, it is the all too real system of capitalism-imperialism, and it consumes children all over this planet, every single day. Juan Sanchez is the CEO of Southwest Key, a private contractor the Trump administration is paying 458 million dollars to operate immigrant child detention centres. The contractor is detaining separated children at dozen facilities across Texas, including an old Walmart store and decrepit warehouse. This is the real face of United States of America. This regime of terror and repression must be overthrown to save our children.

Major international media houses such as BBC, CNN, CBS are calling the attack on French Magazine Charlie Hebdo "the worst terrorist attack in Europe". This propaganda is a part of sham conspiracy to make people forget the massacre of Norway in 2011 in which far-right ultra-orthodox Christian terrorist Anders Breivik killed 67 civilians. These mouthpieces of the imperialists want us to forget that more journalists were killed during US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq than in any war in history, mostly by targeted killings, such as the US bombing of Al Jazeera(a reputed media house in Arab world) offices. Last year, Israel assassinated 17 local and international journalists in GAZA city while leading a barbaric attack on Palestinian people killing 2143 of them, including women, children and infants and branded them all as "Hamas terrorists"! I ask my friends, do these hypocrite media houses and western powers have any moral right to talk about "Freedom of expression" or "free speech"? I'm not supporting the attack on "Charlie Hebdo", this hypocrites are to be exposed.

 I’d like to say something about one of the “world leaders” who walk for a “Solidarity March” in Paris yesterday.  The leader I am talking about is Benjamin Netanyahu, head of the state of Israel, which regularly butchers innocent Palestinian civilians in the name of "self defense" attended the "solidarity rally" in Paris! What should we call it? A joke? A fascist and Zionist with sectarian world view, a man who thinks every Palestinian man, woman and children is Hamas terrorist, walks for "solidarity rally"! Where was his sense of "solidarity" when Israel soldiers kills journalists of Palestine? Israel, like ISIS, BOKO-HARAM, and al-Quida, is a habitual offender of Freedom of Expression, human rights and right to life of people. Recently Israel killed a Palestinian Statesman, but no country in the civilised "west" marched for solidarity like they are doing now. Netanyahu offered French Jews to settle in Israel for "security"! What a sense of solidarity and brotherhood this Zionist hypocrite possesses! Save the Jews only and kill others! I wonder why Mahmood Abbas agreed to join with him in the so-called "solidarity march"? Like al-Quida and ISIS, Israel is suppressing the voice of the people and killing innocent civilians. We should be careful about the enemies of the humanity.  

Taliban butchered 132 children in the name of "Jihad". I strongly condemn this ghastly act. Taliban is a product of CIA and the hypocritical western powers are also in the act of condemnation and blaming! Their crocodile tears make me laugh. We are no fool, Mr Obama and Mr Cameron. You killed many more Pakistani children by “Drone Strike” in the name of war on terror and termed it collateral damage. Only this year Israel, armed with weapons supplied by you, killed 396 children in Gaza and you supported that act and termed it as “self-defense”. Where was your humanity then? You created Taliban that killed those hapless children and you’re saying you feel for those parents and relatives! Hypocrisy should have a limit. I also request people like Malala Yousufzai to speak up against this kind of hypocritical western powers which created Taliban, Al-qaida, and IS.

Horrifying experience at Kolkata Book Fair 2014

I visited Kolkata Book Fair on 1^st February, 2014, Saturday and had to have a horrifying experience. Since my childhood I have a special sentiment for Book Fair. But this year I’m really disturbed and disappointed with the way the event is being organized. The stalls of some TV channels which telecast cheap & popular entertainment programs like daily soaps or some stupid reality shows are really become nuisances. These channels are organizing stupid talk shows and cheap music contests in very loud volume in their stalls inside the fairground which are causing noise pollution and destroying the atmosphere of Book Fair. This type of substandard, sub-cultured and distasteful things like quiz contest on Bengali TV-serials or “Antakshari” or dance contest don’t go with the flavor of the booklovers like me who have passion for books for serious thoughts.  The stalls of entertainment TV channels like Star-Jalsa and others are really killing the true spirit of Book Fair. I visited Stall No. 371B that is of “International Publication” to meet my friends there, but cannot talk to or hear a single word as a quiz show on Bengali Daily soaps was going on in a very high volume from the “Star-Jalsa” stall which was making very loud noise. That experience was very appalling and I was wondering what the hell this entertainment TV channels were doing in Book Fair. My friends said they lodged complaints to the Book Fair organizers but there has been no response from their end. People are just coming to Book Fair to visit this stalls of the channels for some cheap entertainment and then go to the food park to have biriyanis and chow-meins and go home. Thus the real spirit Book Fair is being constantly undermined and ruined. I request the Publishers and Booksellers Guild no to allow these channels inside the Book Fair if they at all want to retain it as a “Book-Fair”. Otherwise the “Kolkata Boi –Mela” should be renamed as “TV Channel Mela” or “Biriyani-Mela”!

MALALA AND NABILA

Unlike now-famous Malala Yousafzai, the name of Nabila Rehman, another Pakistani young girl who along with her father Rafiq and 13 years old brother Zubair, travelled from her North Waziristan village to appear before members of Congress and urge the US to end its drone attacks, haven’t found any place in the pages of any mainstream media. On October 24, 2012 a Predator drone flying over North Waziristan came upon eight-year-old Nabila Rehman, her siblings, and their grandmother as they worked in a field beside their village home. Her grandmother, Momina Bibi, was teaching the children how to pick okra as the family prepared for the coming Eid holiday. However on this day the terrible event would occur that would forever alter the course of this family's life. In the sky the children suddenly heard the distinctive buzzing sound emitted by the CIA-operated drones - a familiar sound to those in the rural Pakistani villages which are stalked by them 24 hours a day - followed by two loud clicks. The unmanned aircraft released its deadly payload onto the Rehman family, and in an instant the lives of these children were transformed into a nightmare of pain, confusion and terror. Seven children were wounded, and Nabila's grandmother was killed before her eyes, an act for which no apology, explanation or justification has ever been given. This past week Nabila, her schoolteacher father, and her 12-year-old brother traveled to Washington DC to tell their story and to seek answers about the events of that day. However, despite overcoming incredible obstacles in order to travel from their remote village to the United States, Nabila and her family were roundly ignored. At the congressional hearing where they gave testimony, only five out of 430 representatives showed up. In the words of Nabila's father to those few who did attend: "My daughter does not have the face of a terrorist and neither did my mother. It just doesn't make sense to me, why this happened… as a teacher, I wanted to educate Americans and let them know my children have been injured." The translator broke down in tears while recounting their story. But the United States made it a point to snub this family and ignore the tragedy it had caused to them. Nabila, a slight girl of nine with striking hazel eyes, asked a simple question in her testimony: "What did my grandmother do wrong?" There was no one to answer this question, and few who cared to even listen. Symbolic of the utter contempt in which the government holds the people it claims to be liberating, while the Rehmans recounted their plight, Barack Obama was spending the same time meeting with the CEO of weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin. It is useful to contrast the American response to Nabila Rehman with that of Malala Yousafzai, a young girl who was nearly assassinated by the Pakistani Taliban. While Malala was feted by Western media figures, politicians and civic leaders for her heroism, Nabila has become simply another one of the millions of nameless, faceless people who have had their lives destroyed over the past decade of American wars. The reason for this glaring discrepancy is obvious. Since Malala was a victim of the Taliban, she, despite her protestations, was seen as a potential tool of political propaganda to be utilized by war advocates. She could be used as the human face of their effort, a symbol of the purported decency of their cause, the type of little girl on behalf of whom the United States and its allies can say they have been unleashing such incredible bloodshed. Tellingly, many of those who took up her name and image as a symbol of the justness of American military action in the Muslim world did not even care enough to listen to her own words or feelings about the subject. Western fawning over Malala has become less about her efforts to improve conditions for girls in Pakistan, or certainly about the struggles of millions of girls in Pakistan, and more about our own desire to make ourselves feel warm and fuzzy with a celebrity and an easy message. It's a way of letting ourselves off the hook, convincing ourselves that it's simple matter of good guys vs bad guys, that we're on the right side and that everything is okay. But where does Nabila fit into this picture? If extrajudicial killings, drone strikes and torture are in fact all part of a just-cause associated with the liberation of the people of Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere, where is the sympathy or even simple recognition for the devastation this war has caused to countless little girls such as her? The answer is clear: The only people to be recognized for their suffering in this conflict are those who fall victim to the enemy. Malala for her struggles was to be made the face of the American war effort -  against her own will if necessary - while innumerable little girls such as Nabila will continue to be terrorized and murdered as part of this war without end. There will be no celebrity appearances or awards ceremonies for Nabila. At her testimony almost no one even bothered to attend. But if they had attended, they would've heard a nine-year-old girl asking the questions which millions of other innocent people who have had their lives thrown into chaos over the past decade have been asking: "When I hear that they are going after people who have done wrong to America, then what have I done wrong to them? What did my grandmother do wrong to them? I didn't do anything wrong." Zubair recounted how he was hit by shrapnel in his leg — an injury that would take expensive laser surgeries to heal — while Nabila looked down to see her hand bleeding. "I tried to bandage my hand but the blood wouldn't stop," she said. "The blood kept coming." Momina Bibi's wounds were so severe that neighbours would not allow her sons to see the body, said Rafiq, a primary-school teacher in Pakistan who was away in town when the attack happened. Rafiq said the newspapers reported that fighters had been killed in the strike. As far as he knows, his mother’s was the death. The Rehman family also participated in an Amnesty International report about casualties of drones. According to the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 376 total strikes have taken place in Pakistan, killing up to 926 civilians and as many as 200 children. In 2009, the first year of Obama’s administration, there were 51 reported drone bombings in Pakistan—there were 45 during the entire GeorgeW. Bush administration. Obama’s use of drones has increased since. Obama has unleashed 284 drone attacks on Pakistan alone. Between 2,532 and 3,251 people have been killed by drone bombings in Pakistan since 2004, most of them in the Obama years. At least 175 of them have been children. In June 2011, Obama ordered the U.S. to extend its drone bomb attacks to include Somalia. Since 2002, there have been hundreds of drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and perhaps other countries. Thousands have been killed. So I want the readers of this blog to be aware of the stories of children like Nabila and Zubair, who unlike Malala Yousafzai, were and still being attacked, not by the Taliban or al-Qaeda, but by the United States of America.

RUDRA SEN

Red salute to MADIBA!

On 7^th December, 2013, the day after Nelson Mandela passed away, many reports, articles and features on the life and struggle of the great departed leader has been published in all the dailies. But none of these have focused on an important feature of Mandela’s character – his opposition to United States’ dominance and aggression on the Middle East and Israel’s occupation and suppression on Palestine and its people. He condemned US’s war on Iraq by saying “If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America. They don’t care for human beings. All that America wants is Iraqi oil. If you look at those matters, you will come to the conclusion that the attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world peace.” After his becoming president of South Africa, Mandela was categorical in his opposition to Israel and war in Iraq. He condemned it. He supported Palestinian demand for their homeland and said, “Israel should withdraw from all the areas which it won from the Arabs in 1967, and in particular Israel should withdraw completely from the Golan Heights, from south Lebanon and from the West Bank.” It is not mythological story that the American, British and rest of the western governments had no shame in supporting the racist South African regime till 1986. Mandela for them was a terrorist and ANC a terrorist organization. In fact US Congress passed Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act in 1986 against the veto of President Ronald Regan who termed ANC as terrorist organization. Dick Chaney, American Vice President was a member of American Congress and voted against the bill. The ruling Republican Party was against the bill which was putting some stricter restrictions against the apartheid regime of South Africa. Chaney is not unhappy for what he did in 1986. Mrs. Margret Thatcher and President Regan have openly supported the racist P.W.Botha regime of South Africa against the wishes of international community. It is a fact that the same ‘champions’ of human rights have no shame in defending the illegitimate government of Israel and its discriminatory attitude towards the Palestinians. Nelson Mandela is universally admired (except in Apartheid Israel) for his courageous persistence for decades until the evil racism of Apartheid was dismantled and equal rights were finally delivered to Africans, Chinese, Indians and Coloureds as well as Whites in South Africa. He has accordingly been greatly admired by the Palestinians for his courage and persistence and his support for Palestinian human rights. Thus Nelson Mandela in an address at the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, 4 December, 1997: “The UN took a strong stand against apartheid; and over the years, an international consensus was built, which helped to bring an end to this iniquitous system. But we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” Winnie Mandela, former wife of Nelson Mandela on defeating Apartheid Israel, said "Apartheid Israel can be defeated, just as apartheid in South Africa was defeated." Nelson Mandela visited Australia in 1990 and stated: “We identify with them [the Palestinians] because we do not believe it is right for the Israeli government to suppress basic human rights in the conquered territories… We agree with the United Nations that international disputes should be settled by peaceful means. The belligerent attitude which is adopted by the Israeli government is to us unacceptable… If one has to refer to any of the parties as a terrorist state, one might refer to the Israeli government, because they are the people who are slaughtering defenseless and innocent Arabs in the occupied territories, and we don't regard that as acceptable.” He also offered his support and solidarity to the people of Cuba by saying “From its earliest days, the Cuban Revolution has also been a source of inspiration to all freedom-loving people. We admire the sacrifices of the Cuban people in maintaining their independence and sovereignty in the face of the vicious imperialist-orchestrated campaign to destroy the impressive gain made in the Cuban Revolution. … Long live the Cuban Revolution. Long live comrade Fidel Castro.”

Currently leaders from the US, UK and Australia are disingenuously offering praise for Nelson Mandela. However the historical record exposes their shameful hypocrisy. Thus the US and the UK disgracefully supported Apartheid South Africa diplomatically as did racist White Australia The US and UK only permitted the removal of Apartheid in South Africa on condition of Business As Usual otherwise – ordinary African South Africans still have appalling housing and unemployment and rampant HIV/AIDS meant an enormous increase in the death rate in South Africa after the fall of Apartheid in 1993, jumping in deaths per 1,000 from 7.9 1990-1995 to 9.6 in 1995-2000 and at 13,7 (2000-2005), 14.8 (2005-2010), 12.9 (2010-2015). And of course the US, UK and their warmongering lackey, racist White Australia, still support the Apartheid rogue state in the Middle East where of 12 million Palestinians only 7% adults of Palestinian Israelis can vote for the government ruling all of the former Mandated Palestine and 6 million are forbidden to even step foot in their own country by democracy-by-genocide Apartheid Israel. Thinking Americans and Brits will be disgusted at the hypocrisy of statements war criminal warmongers and Apartheid Israel supporters like Barack Obama and former British PM Tony Blair. Decent Australians will be disgusted by the utter hypocrisy involved in the attendance at Nelson Mandela's funeral of pro-Zionist Coalition Australian PM Tony Abbott and pro-Zionist Labor Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. Decent people around the world will honour the memory of Nelson Mandela by heeding his words “Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians” and by being inspired by his solidarity and support to the oppressed people around the world.

RUDRA SEN
08/12/2013

BOYCOTT DOWLYMPIC!

Dow Chemicals are sponsoring the London Olympics, gaining millions of pounds of contracts and boosting their reputation. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games is supposed to promote environmental, social and ethical issues, but Dow is responsible for this ongoing humanitarian and environmental disaster. 1984 saw the biggest industrial disaster in human history. A Union Carbide factory in Bhopal leaked toxic gas, killing 7000 to 10,000 people in just a few days. Today the death toll has reached at least 25,000, and an estimated 500,000 have been affected. Survivors suffer extreme health problems, the groundwater is contaminated, and birth defects in Bhopal are many times higher than the average in India. In 2001, Union Carbide (UCC) was bought by Dow Chemical, so the responsibility to adequately compensate the gas victims, clean up the site and compensate those poisoned by the contaminated water falls to Dow. Dow Chemicals are the prime example of an unethical sponsor, their subsidiary is wanted on criminal charges of culpable homicide and the IOC are looking increasingly like a faceless and shameless corporation. 25,000 people have died as a result of the Bhopal Gas Disaster and people are still being poisoned today. There has never been a clean up of Union Carbide’s mess in Bhopal and their toxic waste is still poisoning the people of Bhopal. The toxic waste has leached into the water table and tens of thousands of people have no choice but to drink this diluted poison. Unsettled court cases name Dow Chemical, and subsidiary Union Carbide, as respondents. Dow’s subsidiary Union Carbide faces criminal charges of culpable homicide. By refusing to present its subsidiary in court to face charges of ‘culpable homicide’, Dow is sheltering Union Carbide, the perpetrators of the 1984 Bhopal Disaster from the law, and preventing justice being done. 120,000 people in Bhopal are estimated to live with chronic health problems because of the disaster, and because of the water contamination caused by Union Carbide dumping its toxic waste in the ground, which has leached into the water supply for over 30,000 people. Dow, the official ‘chemistry partner’ of the Olympics, has a grim history. When Nazi war criminal Otto Ambros (also known as Doctor Death), convicted for crimes against humanity at Auschwitz, was released Dow happily employed him. In Vietnam, Dow found plenty of uses for their deadly chemistry as one of the major suppliers of Agent Orange and with their own product, Napalm. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and IOC must stop defending Dow’s toxic legacy, and apologise to the survivors of Bhopal for allowing Dow to be part of London Olympics. India should boycott London Olympic if Dow Chemicals are not dropped from its sponsors list if she considers the 1984 Bhopal Victims as Indians.

Rio+20: A conference to propagate Imperilist's agenda on climate

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as Rio 2012 or Rio+20, hosted from 13 to 22 June 2012 by Brazil in Rio de Janeiro failed completely to address the looming climate crisis that the planet is facing. The climate conference was dubbed Rio+20 because it was a 20-year follow-up to the historic 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) also held in the same city in which broad goals were negotiated to control greenhouse gas emissions, protect ecosystems and biodiversity, and prevent desertification. Two decades on, the planet’s ecosystems are still degrading fast. Any green gains have been wiped out by soaring consumption. Humanity’s annual requirement for natural resources is about double what it was then. The rate of species extinctions is undiminished. Carbon dioxide emissions are up 40 percent, and the concentration of the heat-trapping gas this year for the first time hit 400 parts per million (ppm) in the Arctic air — up about 40 ppm from 1992. Rio+20 summit achieved nothing more than a weak affirmation of the 1992 document. The 58-page document it published, titled “The Future We Want,” is nothing but a demonstration of the massive political power of the world’s financial and military superpowers. As US President Barack Obama declined to attend the summit, Hillary Clinton only showed in Rio for a few hours there. That clearly underscores the low priority the US Government has given to addressing climate change. Mrs. Clinton suggested that any effort to address pollution and climate change is subservient to the interests of the corporate elite, particularly that of the United States. She advised the delegates to think about “harnessing the power of the market,” and claimed that “private sector investments, using targeted resources and smart policies, have catalyzed more balanced, inclusive, sustainable growth.” Her comments again exposed the imperialist climate policy of the Obama administration which is nothing but a corporate conspiracy under the guise of supporting the “green economy.” She went on to support the big corporate houses by suggesting the people of the to “use the private sector, particularly the consumer goods companies, as they have agreed to do, to make sure they have sustainable supply chains, the right kind of packaging and marketing.” It seemed she was addressing an investment forum rather than a climate summit! She concluded her speech by calling for a new type of cooperation between “the nonprofits, the civil society organizations, faith groups and individuals, all of us.” Her call to shift responsibility for dealing with the global ecological crisis to regional organizations and individuals represents a rejection of any responsibility on the part of the US ruling classes. The reality is that the American government has not merely failed to advance and strengthen solutions to climate change, but has actively undermined any serious attempt to address the pending ecological crisis if it cuts across corporate interests. Their climate policy and all other considerations are subordinated to the interests of America’s corporate and financial aristocracy.
Environment organizations like Oxfam and Greenpeace denounced the summit as a “hoax” and “an epic failure”. But these organizations are also paralyzed by the pro-capitalist politics of the upper class “green” movement that can offer no solution to the real crisis. In the context of a capitalist world economy dominated by the big corporate and financial houses, no progressive solution to the climate crisis is possible. Faced with national governments reluctant to engage in its grand plans, the UN is increasingly turning to corporations to make a difference. This too is seen as part of the brave new world of green economics. Tim Wirth, the former U.S. senator who now heads the UN Foundation, which fosters UN links with business, told journalists that “magic” public-private partnerships were more important than any conference declaration. As long as the big multinational corporate houses have control over all the political and economic decisions, no fundamental issue, from unemployment to climate change, can be addressed by any government. Making them party in any process of development, as deserved by Mrs. Hilary Clinton only exacerbate the crisis. If the political monopoly of the wealthy class, which is the main characteristic of capitalist economy, is broken by a unified and politically conscious movement of the common people of the world then the problems of pollution and climate change will only be dealt with seriously. The director of the UN Environment Programme Achim Steiner has rightly said “If we do not go into the heart of economic policy, we will meet here at Rio+40 even more culpable. Markets are social constructs. They are not a force like gravity. They can be governed.”

HASH FACTS

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, held its summit this year in Chicago on May 20-21. NATO presents itself, and is portrayed in the major media of this country and countries it is allied with, as a force for “humanitarian interests.” On its website, NATO claims to be a “leading contributor to peace and security on the international stage.” This benign self image is a vicious lie and masquerade that influences the thinking of far too many people in the U.S. and around the world. In reality, NATO is the world’s largest military alliance. Its 28 countries account for 65% of the world’s military spending, and far and away the largest of these is the United States. NATO exists to use the most advanced weaponry in the world in service of the interests of the big capitalist-imperialist powers of North America and Europe, above all the U.S. Most of this weaponry, especially in recent years, has been used not against similarly equipped opponents, but against defenceless civilian populations who they characterize as “terrorists.”
In the 60 years of its existence, the year 2011 was NATO’s “busiest year ever for military operations.” NATO maintained an occupation force of over 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, and what it calls a “stabilization force” in Bosnia, in the Balkan region of Eastern Europe. It launched a seven-month air war to topple Muammar Qaddafi in Libya. In Libya, estimates of the civilian death toll from all fighting during the NATO campaign range from 13,000 to 17,000, with 50,000 wounded; civilians killed in the fighting in Afghanistan from 2007 to 2011 total almost 13,000. Countless people have been displaced, wounded, and dispossessed of everything they owned.
NATO claims that the purpose of its mission in Afghanistan is “to prevent Afghanistan from once again becoming a haven for terrorists, to help provide security, and to contribute to a better future for the Afghan people.” But in fact, the nine years of the U.S.-NATO war in Afghanistan has inflicted horrific suffering on the people of that country. After just five days NATO held a “heads of state” summit in Chicago on May 20 and 21, a NATO air strike wiped out an entire Afghan family—father, mother and six children—according to Afghan officials in Paktia province, near the country’s eastern border with Pakistan. The air strike took place in the village of Sar Khilo in Gerda Serai district of Paktia about 8 p.m. local time Saturday night, according to Rohullah Samon, a spokesman for the provincial governor. The strike killed four teenage boys, two teenage girls, and two women, and wounded two others. Those killed were not Taliban or in any opposition group against the government. They were innocent villagers.
NATO bombing attacks have obliterated wedding parties, farming villages, people walking to visit neighbors or relatives. NATO night raids have left children dead, families torn apart, homes and farms in ruins. The incidents have gone on for almost a decade and have a grim repetitiveness. One of the most infamous was in November 2008, in the village of Wech Baghtu—a wedding party was bombed by U.S.-led NATO planes and at least 37 civilians were murdered. On August 6, 2011, NATO forces, in a firefight with forces they claim were Taliban members, called in a NATO air strike—the bombing destroyed a house and killed all eight family members inside.
Radio Free Europe described one of those murderous assaults, and the NATO response: “The U.S.-led NATO force in Afghanistan says it regrets that eight young Afghan males were killed in a NATO air strike in the northeastern province of Kapisa on February 8. British Air Commodore Mike Wigston, a NATO spokesman, told a news conference on February 15 that the eight appeared to be carrying arms, according to Afghan and French troops who were operating in the area. NATO investigators are examining photographs of the bodies to estimate their ages, and the NATO spokesman said they appeared to be close to 15 years old, with one older. Local officials have said they believe the boys were 6 to 14 years old.”
Another example, from February this year: According to Reuters, “‘Eight young Afghans lost their lives as the result of an air strike by coalition forces,’ General Lewis Boone, communications director of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) coalition, told reporters. The victims appeared to be carrying weapons and were walking in a menacing manner, prompting ISAF forces in the area to request air support, he said. ‘The aircraft dropped two bombs on the group that we believed to be an imminent threat to our people ... in the end, eight young Afghans lost their lives in this very sad event.’”
On May 7, the Washington Post reported that “NATO airstrikes killed Afghan civilians in two provinces … and the U.S.-led coalition said it plans an apology in one of the incidents. An airstrike Friday killed six members of a family in the Sangin area of southern Helmand province, according to the provincial spokesman.”
Some people argue that it’s a good thing when the U.S. builds “coalitions” to carry out aggression, rather than “going it alone.” Barack Obama has promoted this view, and claims it is one of the things that makes him different from his predecessor, George W. Bush. When Obama ran for president, he promised a “new dawn of American leadership” that would “combine military power with strengthened diplomacy … and build and forge stronger alliances around the world so that we’re not carrying the burdens and challenges by ourselves.”
Anyone who swallows and accepts this view—who thinks that somehow war crimes on such a vast scale are less vicious and hateful if they are carried out by U.S.-led “coalition forces” and not the U.S. alone—needs to ask themselves: is it somehow less horrible for the people of Afghanistan to be torn to shreds by bombing raids under the banner of NATO—by a coalition dominated and led by the United States—than just under the American flag? Is it somehow not as deadly and criminal if “coalition forces” kick in the doors of people’s homes at three in the morning and destroy everyone inside?
These are war crimes of enormous magnitude. The “humanitarian missions” of NATO are monstrous deceit used to cover crimes that are among the worst atrocities afflicted on humanity by the system of capitalism-imperialism.
And anyone who thinks that the U.S. and its NATO allies are withdrawing from Afghanistan needs to discard such illusions and look at the facts. President Obama recently made a highly publicized midnight run to Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, and claimed U.S. combat forces would “withdraw” from Afghanistan by 2014. In fact, the “Strategic Partnership Agreement” signed by Obama and Afghan President Karzai guarantees that a U.S. force of 20,000 to 30,000 will remain in Afghanistan until 2024. It also contained a “Memorandum of Understanding” that will, in the words of journalist Gareth Porter, “allow powerful U.S. Special Operations Forces to continue to carry out the unilateral [one-sided] night raids on private homes that are universally hated in the Pashtun zones of Afghanistan.”
NATO’s “peacekeeping” is aimed at maintaining a world of Western imperialist—especially U.S. imperialist—domination over the people of the world, and sustaining overwhelming firepower advantage over any current or potential opponent. The fundamental purpose of NATO’s so-called “humanitarianism” is to devote massive weaponry to protect, defend, and extend a system that inflicts great suffering on the vast majority of humanity and enriches a handful—this is the “world order” of capitalism-imperialism.

Scrap POSCO project!

I strongly condemn the ongoing assault on the anti-POSCO protesters by the Orissa Government. Two days before the world celebrated environment day on June 3rd, 17 people were arrested and beaten by the police for obstructing land acquisition in Kujanga, in Jagatsinghpur District, Orissa. This horrific attack comes at a time when two cases by the villagers are pending in the Orissa High Court, and when there is a criminal complaint against the District Collector for lying and fabricating the evidence that was the basis of the clearance to take the land. It also comes after three official committees found the land grab to be illegal and in violation of the Forest Rights Act, and after it was exposed by international experts that the project has no benefits for the local or national economy while providing a minimum profit of Rs. 1,95,000 crores to POSCO. After arresting and beating people, more than one thousand police surrounded the area and laid siege to those protesting. Villagers of Dhinkia and Gobindpur who are keeping a day and night vigil to prevent forcible land acquisition for the Rs 52,000 crore integrated POSCO steel project, fear that the police might unleash a mid-night action any time similar to what happened at the Ramlila grounds few days ago. More than 20 platoons of police are currently stationed at the mouth of these villages and any ill-conceived move to forcibly acquire land or evict the protesters might lead to bloodshed. The Orissa State Government is planning to acquire more than 3400 hectares of forest land in Dhinkia and Gobindpur villages for the project in violation of the Forest Rights Act. Clearly the State government, with the support of the Centre, is not concerned about the law, the people, the environment or development. Yet again we see the use of police terror to loot our people for private profit. No words of condemnation are sufficient for this heinous crime.

Down with OBAMA & US IMPERIALISM!

The Corporate Media is eulogising US president Obama’s visit to India as a great event. That he is visiting Pakistan only in 2011 and this is his longest stay in a foreign country are repeated as great stories. Along with US think tanks, the corporate media are writing editorials after editorials thanking and congratulating Manmohan Singh for not wasting this opportunity for a Bi-lateral Investment Treaty to ensure further US inroads in to Indian economy, trade and defence. According to them, the growing power of China poses a risk to Asian Security balance and so India should strengthen its strategic alliance with US to dove-tail its policies as a natural ally of US. Thus the US imperialists and their Indian compradors are working overtime to make Obama’s visit a great success at the cost of the masses in this country. The United States, as part of its global hegemonic designs, is pursuing policies which are inimical to the national sovereignty and the people’s interests of many countries. As far as India is concerned, the United States is aggressively pressurising the government to adopt economic policies which are detrimental to the people in the name of a strategic alliance. Take the case of the Civil Nuclear Liability Act. UPA government got it adopted by the parliament through many dirty deals just including a paltry Rs. 1500 crores as the liability of the supplier and builder of a plant in case of an accident. There are loopholes to serve the supplier from most of the liabilities even after adopting the much debated amendment. But according to US this
Act should be amended to save the supplier further from liabilities. Various forms of pressure are exerted to get it done before the outdated US nuclear plants and technology are imported to this country. That, in spite of the disastrous Enron
episode, and in spite of the fact that Three Mile Island/Chernobyl like nuclear disasters, radiation danger and nuclear waste disposal calls for putting an end to any further nuclear plants, as the European and US governments are doing under public pressure, Manmohan Singh is bending backwards to please the US bosses. It
poses a great danger to people in the region like Jaitapur, Maharashtra, where new nuclear plants are planned. Vested interests are calling for strengthening
economic ties with US further when Obama has taken steps to cut down outsourcing by raising H1-B and L1 Visa fees for foreign companies and when he has threatened to end tax breaks to companies that outsource. In spite of any amount of pleading by Manmohan, these steps are bound to be followed threatening the much trumpeted IT
sector of this country. Besides, US demands raising of foreign investment caps in sectors such as defence, and further tightening of the ‘intellectual property regime’ to help the MNCs. The US think tanks are prompting to Obama to cut down barriers to transfer of technology so that defence and high-tech sales to India shall double
in next five years. US imperialists’ strategic goals are very clear. Still, as in the past, the Manmohan Singh government is going to further surrender before US pressure. Obama or Bush, the strategic goals of US have not changed. So it is responsibility of
all revolutionary and democratic forces and the vast toiling masses of the country to campaign and protest against the UPA government’s complete surrender to the US imperialism. The people of India must raise their voice in support of the following demands to the US President: -
Scrap the Indo-US Defence Framework Agreement which seeks to convert India into a military ally of the United States. Stop pressurizing India to give up liability claims on US nuclear suppliers.
The United States should stop pressurizing India on foreign policy and to open up agriculture, retail trade, education and other services for American capital and multinational companies.
Justice for the victims of the Bhopal Gas accident; to make Dow Chemicals pay for the damages and for the clean up of the factory site; US should extradite Warren Anderson to India to stand trial.
Withdraw the remaining 50,000 US troops in Iraq forthwith; have a political settlement in Afghanistan to establish an independent and neutral state and withdraw US-Nato forces immediately.
End the US embargo on Cuba; stop all assistance to Israel till it vacates the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories.

Mockery of peace!

The Nobel Committee has awarded the 2009 Peace Prize to US President Barack Obama, the person who started a new war in Pakistan, expanded the war in Afghanistan. He has created 2 million displaced Pakistanis and the unknown numbers of dead ones. Obama’s “war of necessity” drones are killing civilians of Afghanistan. He continues to threaten Iran with attack unless Iran does what the US government demands and rejects its rights as a signatory to the non-proliferation treaty. Yet, he is a "peacemaker" to Nobel Committee!
In 5 month Obama regime, no Bush policy has changed. Obama has done nothing to hold the criminal Bush regime to account for its crime against humanity. Iraq is still occupied and Obama has continued deadly, inhuman military action in Iraq. He is going to send tens of thousands more troops to Afghanistan and escalating the bombing in that country and across the border in Pakistan. He is constantly supporting and aiding Israel which is carrying out many slaughters and genocides of the indigenous Palestinians. Last year's Israel’s inhuman military attack on the defenseless civilian population in the Gaza Ghetto was fully supported by Obama Administration. Obama is never going to put a stop to Western hegemony over the world. He is only another face of imperialism. A warmonger like him can never be a man of peace. The Nobel committee has placed all its hopes on a bit of skin colour. But nobody should be surprised by such an act of The Nobel Committee. Previously, the committee saw fit to give a peace prize to Henry Kissinger, the architect of war and occupation of Vietnam who matches the definition of a war criminal very accurately. Kissinger "peacefully" bombed peasant villages in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, as Obama is fighting "Peace full" wars all over the world!

Killing fields of Gujarat: Are you Muslim? You're from Al-Quida or Lashkar!!

The Magisterial Enquiry, which is mandatory in every encounter case has finally termed it Ishrat jahan’s killing as a fake encounter in a metropolitan court. It is not a matter of surprise for anyone as everyone knew that she was killed in cold blood. Such killings are happening and happened in Gujarat under Modi for last ten years. Modi presided over the government-aided pogrom against the Muslim minority in 2002. And the four Muslim youths - including a teenage girl Ishrat jahan - were officially described as "Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists" involved in a plot to assassinate Modi. They were said to have been shot dead in an "encounter" with the police near the Chief Minister's residence. But the report shows that they were “killed by Gujarat police in a cold-blooded, pre-planned way” to please Modi to get “rewards” and “promotion” from him. Behind the killings then and now looms the same bearded figure that has symbolized Indian fascism at its most shameless and distinct figure of Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat. To a Hindu fascist like Modi, every Muslim is a terrorist, a Pakistani, an al-Queda operative, fascist the theory held and propagated by Modi, his Party BJP and their father RSS. Their idea of “India” is a Hindurastra, where only Hindus are “Patriotic”; all the others are “anti-India” and “traitors”. Madha Sadashib Golwalkar, 2nd Head or Sarsanghchalak of RSS wrote “The Muslims, Christians and Jews etc., have perfect upasana swatantrya, freedom of worship so long as they do not seek to destroy or undermine the faith and symbolism of the national society. They should subordinate their exclusive claims for final and sole revelation vis-à-vis the national society. They could bear witness to their faith in life and speech but they should not indulge in any unfair and unspiritual modes of conversion.” The ghosts of Hedgewar and Golwalkar are still living through Narendra Modi, L. K. Advani, Pravin Togadia and others.

Why should we celebrate US-imposed International(!) Friendship Day?

Today, I came to know the history behind "International" Friendship Day. After reading about it in wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendship_day) I was wondering why it's called "International.."! In my opinion it's utterly "American" Friendship Day. So why should the entire world celebrate? Friendship is something which can be celebrated each and every day of the year. We Indians, especially Bengalis are culturally superior to Americans. Why should we imitate them in every aspect of lifestyle? Why should Yankees teach us what friendship is? Isn’t that ridiculous? I think it's a form of cultural imperialism that is practiced applying the theory of cultural supremacy of the fascists Yankees!

Boycot The racist Sri Lankan Government and its military establishment

The Sri Lankan army has killed 20,000 Tamil civilians in the name of fighting LTTE. Even a refugee camp of Tamil civilians, who had been displaced and homeless by the Sri Lankan attacks, has been bombed and destroyed killing all of them. The recent media reports of massacre of Sri Lankan Tamils and other atrocities of Lankan army clearly shows that the war was not against Terrorism, or against Terrorist outfit LTTE, as claimed by the Sri Lanka Government. It was a racial war against the whole Sri Lankan Tamil community. That is an act of cowardice, racism and war crime. The racist Sri Lankan Government and its military establishment must be tried in international courts for this grave crime against humanity. The Sri Lankan state has acted like Israeli state which killed thousands of Palestinians and Arab civilians in the name of fighting HAMAS. These enemies of humankind must be boycotted and punished by the international community and the people of the democratic world.

EARN

Dogs should be barred from doing men's task!!

Recently, in a Bengali film named ‘Jackpot’ there is a remake version of a famous Bengali song ‘Jibone Ki Pabonaa’ originally composed by famous music director Sudhin Dasgupta and sung by Great singer Manna Dey. This kind of distortion of our great works of art & creativity is highly unacceptable. Earlier, one of the greatest Bengali songs of all times, ‘Ami Banglaye Gaan Gai’ by Protul Mukherjee has been misused in a mediocre mainstream Bengali film directed by Provat Roy. That badly distorted version was sung by an average singer named ‘Babool Suprio’( god knows how two first names can make a single name!). I think that was a great insult to our Bengali art & culture and to a great singer like Protul Da. Actually, when dogs try to do what men should do, this type of mishap happens.

Down with Israel

I strongly condemn the recent military attacks carried out by the Israeli occupying forces in the Gaza Strip on 27 December 2008. The attacks began at approximately 11:30am and lasted for approximately three hours. These attacks have destroyed most of the Gaza security offices including police stations, resulting in the deaths of more than 200 Palestinians. More than 350 have been injured with at least 120 critically.
The number of deaths resulting from these attacks indicates a wilful targeting of the civilian police forces in these locations and a clear violation of the prohibition against wilful killings. Wilful killings are a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention under Article 147 and therefore, a war crime. Both the time and location of these attacks also indicate a malicious intent to inflict as many casualties as possible with many of the police stations located in civilian population centres and the time of the attacks coinciding with the end of the school day resulting in the deaths of numerous children.

What did Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert mean when he stated that the people of Gaza weren't the enemy, that it was Hamas and Islamic Jihad which were being targeted? Was that statement made to infuriate the people of Gaza out of out their state of shock, to pacify any feelings of rage and revenge? To mock them? Were the scores of children on their way home from school and who are now among the dead and the injured, Hamas militants? About half an hour after the first strike, three schoolgirls happened to be passing by one of the locations when a missile struck the Preventative Security Headquarters building. The girls' bodies were torn into pieces and covered the street from one side to the other.

A short time earlier, US-supplied Israeli F-16 warplanes and Apache helicopters dropped over 100 bombs on dozens of locations in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip killing at least 195 persons and injuring hundreds more. Many of these locations were police stations located, like police stations the world over, in the middle of civilian areas. The US government was one of the first to offer its support for Israel's attacks, and others will follow.
Israel's war crimes and other grave violations of international law in Gaza as well as in the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, could not have been perpetrated without the direct or indirect complicity of world governments, particularly the United States, the European Union, Egypt, and other Arab regimes.

The UN Security Council must call an emergency session and adopt concrete measures, including the imposition of sanctions, in order to ensure Israel's fulfilments of its obligations under international humanitarian law.
The High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions must fulfil their obligation under common Article 1 to ensure respect for the provisions of the Conventions, taking appropriate measures to compel Israel to abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law, in particular placing pivotal importance on the respect and protection of civilians from the effects of the hostilities.
The High Contracting Parties must fulfil their legal obligation under Article 146 of the Fourth Geneva Convention to prosecute those responsible for grave breaches of the Convention.
EU institutions and member states must make effective use of the European Union Guidelines on promoting compliance with international humanitarian law (2005/C 327/04) to ensure Israel complies with international humanitarian law under paragraph 16 (b), (c) and (d) of these guidelines, including the adoption of immediate restrictive measures and sanctions, as well as cessation of all upgrade dialogue with Israel.