Toronto, Saturday October 22, 2008

Barrister Hamid Bashani will be hosting Kashmir Eid Dinner in Golden Banquet Hall, 40 Hansen Road, Brampton, Ontario. DR. Nyla Ali Khan, Assistant Professor of English, University of Nebraska-Kearney, USA, and granddaughter of Sher-e- Kashmir Sheikh Muhammud Abdullah will be the chief guest and keynote speaker at the dinner. The South Asian Peoples Forum, human rights activists, journalists and writers from across the GTA will participate.

WHEN: Saturday, October 25, 2008 5PM

WHERE: GOLDEN BANQUET HALL 40-B HANSEN ROAD Brampton. ON

WHAT: The prevailing and Emerging Politica Scenario in Kashmir and South Asian Peace process Commentary and Discussion

WHO: DR. Nyla Ali Khan, Assistant Professor of English, University of Nebraska-Kearney, USA, and granddaughter of Sher-e- Kashmir Sheikh Muhammud Abdullah

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Pakistan/Afghanistan: on the Flight Path of American Power A CONVERSATION WITH TARIQ ALI

SEVEN YEARS AFTER the U.S. led invasion of Afghanistan, the Taliban are resurgent and 'Talbinization' has spilled over into Pakistan. A wonderfully informed, iconoclastic and spell-binding speaker, Tariq Ali will be speaking on the current situation in Afghanistan, the spread of undamentalism in Pakistan and the aims and policies of the West in Central Asia.

Tariq Ali is a British-Pakistani historian, novelist, filmmaker, political campaigner, and commentator. He is on the editorial committee of the New Left Review and Sin Permiso, and regularly contributes to The Guardian, Counterpunch, and the London Review of Books.

WHEN: Friday, November 14, 2008 7:00 pm

WHERE: OISE Auditorium 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto

TICKETS: $10.00

CONTACT: Abbas Syed (416) 284-483 or (647) 637-1891 Hamid Bashani (416) 399-7602 sabbas@canada.com

Are elections likely to blur the autonomy issue?

Nyla Ali Khan

Despite a lot of bluster, custodial disappearances and deaths continue to occur, and official orders regarding the protection of detainees are brazenly rubbished. While condemning the impunity with which paramilitary forces and the police conceal the unlawful, malicious, or premeditated killing of a detainee, the acting chairperson of the State Human Rights Commission observed that, "The growing incidences of torture and death in police custody have been a disturbing factor. Experience shows that the worst violations of human rights take place during the course of investigation, when the police with a view to secure evidence or confession often resort to third degree methods including torture. It [the police] hides arrest either by not recording the arrest, or terming the deprivation of liberty merely as a prolonged interrogation."

A particularly draconian decree, the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (1978) permits law enforcing agencies to detain a person for up to a period of two years on grounds of vaguely defined suspicion. The act stipulated that a detainee could be kept in custody for up to a year without being formally charged if the public order was in jeopardy and for up to two years if the security of the state was jeopardized. A modification to the Act in 1990 made it non-obligatory for the authorities to provide the detainee with the reason for his/her arrest. The International Commission of Jurists, in its report, drew the inference that victims of the aforementioned act had gone through terrible trauma. The discriminatory tone of this act deliberately eroded efforts to discover the whereabouts of such persons. Another equally stringent measure was the enactment of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act 1987, which was designed to forbid terrorist acts. In the zeal of the moment, the act defined disruptive activities in the following words, "any action, whether by act or by speech or through any other media or in any other manner, which questions, disrupts the sovereignty or territorial integrity of India, or which is intended to bring about or supports any claim for the cession of any part of India or the secession of any part of India from the Union." This rather high-handed definition was an irrevocable violation of the freedom of speech. Under this act, two special courts were established to try arrested persons. The two special courts were in the Srinagar and Jammu. The Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act was enacted in 1990, giving the Union government in New Delhi and its representative in the State, the governor, the authority to arbitrarily declare part or all of J &K a "disturbed area," in which the military could be willfully deployed to quell legitimate political activity. The military was entitled to shoot to kill, which involved "a potential infringement of the right to life." The introduction of other severe laws by the government of India has made it further non-obligatory for the government to induce any measure of accountability into the, military, and political proceedings in the State. Despite these highly discriminatory and unpopular measures of the government of India, the support enjoyed by some militant organizations in the early nineties abated by the mid- nineties. Balraj Puri is quick to point out that the mushrooming of militant organizations, the disarray within their ranks, disagreement regarding their ultimate objective, and Pakistan's vacillating attitude toward the insurgents contributed to the steady decrease in their verve.

Human Rights Violations in Areas of the State Under Pakistani Control: While strongly conveying its strong disapprobation of the treatment meted out to the Northern Areas by the government of Pakistan, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported in its monthly newsletter in January 1994 that, The government of Pakistan governs the Northern Areas (NA) through the Kashmir and Northern Areas Division (KANA). Authority behind KANA has remained vague. The executive head is the chief commissioner appointed by KANA and only answerable to it. The place is totally under bureaucratic rule. There is no industry in NA. The Judicial Commissioner does not have writ jurisdiction and, as the people of the NA do not have any fundamental rights, the Judicial Commissioner does not have jurisdiction to enforce them. The Judicial Commissioner has no say in the appointments and the transfers of subordinate court judges, which are done by the KANA division. The people of the NA have no say in what laws should govern them. The KANA exercises the powers of the provincial government for the NA, and by notification extends laws of Pakistan and such amendments as it think fits to the NA. Entrusting such absolute legislative powers to a government functionary is not without its share of hardships. By a notification, order 39 of the civil procedure code was amended, taking away the powers of the civil courts to grant temporary injunctions against the government meaningless. By another notification, the Speedy Trial Courts Act, 1992, was made applicable to the NA with the amendment that in appeal from the trial court, any difference of the opinion between the two judges of the Appellate court will be settled by the chairman of the court. Such arbitrary application of laws is particularly unfair because not only do the people have no forum to protest against or amend these laws, but also because the courts have no writ jurisdiction, nor do the people have any fundamental rights. Thus such laws cannot be tested for their legality and reasonableness for violation of fundamental rights. The Northern Areas Council is headed by the minister of KANA and meets whenever called by the minister. The members cannot convene a meeting. The orders require that a meeting of a council should be called every two and half months, but in practice the minister does not convene one for months. The Council in any case has no power. It cannot form a government, cannot legislate, and has no say in the administration. It cannot suggest development schemes. The main function of Councilors, as a cynic said, is receiving dignitaries from Pakistan. The police in the NA has no prosecution or crime branch nor a forensic laboratory. No newspaper is published within the NA. There are few local language weeklies and monthlies, but they are printed elsewhere. It has even given rise to the occasional rumours [sic] that the Government itself pays the Ulema [Islamic clergy] to start the clashes. With very low literacy, extreme poverty and no organised political activity, it is not surprising that the Ulema have acquired such a strong hold over the people. No judicial enquiry has been held into the clashes in 1992 and no compensation paid to the heirs of the person killed or for properties damaged.

The remorseless militarization of the region, ecological and economic plundering, negation of legal procedures, lack of infrastructure, and virtual erasure has fuelled the hitherto restrained resentment and anger in the Northern Areas. It is ironic that pro-Pakistan separatist groups in the Kashmir Valley gloss over the arbitrary exercise of authority in the Northern Areas and glibly declare that these areas chose their geographical and political affiliation, rendering the culpable lack of fundamental rights and unaccountable authority of the KANA legitimate. The Indian Union is on the verge of becoming an insuperable economic power. In order to enhance its economic and political clout in the South Asian region, the Indian Union requires stability. Can it begin the process of establishing itself as a stable political force by initiating a serious political process in Kashmir in which the people of the state have a substantive say? A political package short of autonomy for the entire state offered by the government of India is viewed with suspicion by Kashmiris. Can the governments of India and Pakistan make a smooth transition into the globalized world by shelving the politics of duplicity and recognizing the autonomous status of J & K? Will the international community recognise the poignancy of the countless sacrifices made by the people of Kashmir in the past eighteen years or has increased participation of the populace of the state in the 2008 Assembly elections negated those sacrifices?

*(The author is Grand-daughter of Sheikh Abdullah, Nyla Ali Khan is Assistant Professor, Department of English in University of Nebraska, Kearney, USA).

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Toronto, Friday August 8th, 2008

South Asian peoples unity conference was rescheduled for May 2009.The rescheduling came at the request of several activists and intellectuals who were not available to attend the moot in October this year. Many from India , Pakistan , Bangladesh , Nepal and Sri Lanka had confirmed their participation in this South Asian unity moot, co-sponsored by The University of Toronto and York University . Forums co-coordinating committee has apologized for the inconvenience because of this delay, especially, to the people who may have already made the travel arrangements.Committe hopes that more time and better weather will provide with the the opportunity to make this event a great success.

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Toronto, Monday August 25, 2008  Time: 2:00PM – 4:00PM   
Munk Centre for International Studies | University of Toronto | 1 Devonshire Place (Room 208 N), Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3K7 Canada
http://webapp.mcis.utoronto.ca/Location.aspx
Federalism, Representation, and Inclusion in New Nepal   A Talk Program with Hisila Yami
Nepal is going through a rapid political transition following the end of people’s war (1996-2006) that was led by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), and the assumption of absolute power by the king in February 2005. The king was forced to cede power due to popular uprising in 2006. A peace process was subsequently initiated and the former revolutionaries came to a power sharing government in 2007. The constituent assembly election held in April 2008 handed Maoists a surprise victory. Subsequently the assembly has abolished the 240 year old institute of monarchy, declared Nepal a federal democratic republic, and elected Maoist Chairman Prachanda as a new Prime Minister by an overwhelming majority.
Nepal’s constituent assembly is now charged with the mandate of drafting a new constitution. In the new Maoist-led government, the national level deliberations and debates have been mostly dominated by the restructuring of Nepal in a federal system, a key proposal of the Maoists since 1995. Considering Nepal’s geographic and ethno-cultural diversity, this is going to be the most difficult of issues to resolve. The grassroots manifestations have been equally contentious with new and emerging ethnicity based movements demanding autonomy and self-determination. Addressing these issues, Hisila Yami will provide her insight into the challenges and opportunities facing the rebuilding of the federal state in the current macro political economic conjuncture.
This program is brought to you by Canada Forum for Nepal and University of Toronto Nepal Group in collaboration with Asian Institute at the Munk Center of University of Toronto and South Asian Peoples Forum.
Program
2:00-2:05PM – Assemble
2:05-2:10PM – Welcome remarks by Dr. Pramod Dhakal, Executive Director, Canada Forum for Nepal
2:10-2:10PM – Remarks and introduction of the speaker Dr. Sara Abraham, Canadian researcher and writer, Convener, South Asian Peoples Forum and former Professor of Sociology, University of Toronto
2:15-3:45PM – Talk on Federalism, Representation and Inclusion in New Nepal by Hon. Hisila Yami, Minister of Physical Planning and Works
3:00-3:45PM – Discussions and question answer
3:45-3:50PM – Closing remarks by Hamid Bashani, Canadian Lawyer, Convener of South Asia Peoples Forum, Toronto
3:50-4:00PM – Closure and informal chats
Convenor and contact: Sabin Ninglekhu, PhD Candidate, Human Geography, University of Toronto 647-273-8045
Introduction of the speakers
Hisila Yami
Hon. Hishila Yami, is the Minister of Physical Planning and Works for the Government of Nepal, an elected member of Constituent Assembly from the historic election of April 2008. She was the member of Interim Parliament representing Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). A foremost women leader in Nepal in both academic front and in women’s political movement, she has authored five books and has contributed to socio-economic thoughts in Nepal through numerous articles in published in newspapers and magazines. She is one of the only two women to reach the politburo of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the largest political party in Nepal that led a long struggle against the monarchy and feudal institutions that were gripping Nepal for long. She has been an instrumental figure in bringing the issues of women, Dalit, Janajati, Madhesi, and other marginalized people’s plights in Nepal’s political mainstream. Today, she remains the most visible and commanding women minister in the male dominated cabinet of Nepal government.
She completed her Bachelor of Architecture degree from School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi, India, and Master of Architecture from New Castle University, United Kingdom. She was one of those early women-pioneers who ventured in a field of engineering dominated by men to this date and became a professional architect. However, her continued political zeal meant that she found greater freedom in academia for free thinking compared to what she was doing in her early years of professional career. Consequently, while remaining active in political activism, she moved in 1984 to Tribhuvan University, Nepal, where she taught undergraduate programs for twelve years. However, she went underground in 1996 as a cadre of Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) that waged a decade long People’s War against the Nepalese state until 2006, when all political developments culminated into an unstoppable people’s movement. She was part of this movement that demanded profound political changes sought by the underclass youth, communities, and women. The demands of republic, federal system, progressive representation of women and marginalized, constituent assembly, equal access to education and health, land reform, and progressive taxation brought to the fore by CPNM were considered too radical and revolutionary in 1990’s Nepal. Today, almost all political parties promote them as their own and so many of these changes have already taken place. Today Nepal has become the first country in the 21st century to overthrow a reigning monarch to become a republic. The country has elected a constituent assembly comprising 33% women and fair share of marginalized groups for the first time in Nepal’s history. Thanks to the sacrifices of men and women like Hon. Yami who withered oppression and threat to their lives from the ruling elites and planted the seed of change amongst the masses of people in Nepal that cannot be suppress by anyone anymore.
Hon. Yami is one of those exceptional people who, despite being born in an well-known Newari family with her father being a minister in Nepal Government in 1951, renounced her privileges and chose to be part of a struggle for giving voices to the voiceless and to attain honor and respect to women and ordinary people starting from her student days in India. That led her to be elected as General Secretary of All India Nepalese Students Association in 1981. Similarly, she was one of those pioneer women to become elected as a Treasurer of Nepal Engineers Association during 1985-87 and President of the All Nepal Women’s Association from 1995-97. During these periods she was jailed once and arrested and interrogated many times for her political activism during Panchayat Regime and also in post 1990 Nepal that was supposed to be democratic. However, her convictions and dogged pursuits kept her spirits alive and kept her among the most notable agent of change in Nepal.
She was chosen “Women of the Year” by International Forum (Antarrastriya Manch) magazine in 1990, and “Top Ten Women of Nepal” by Bimochan magazine in 2005.
She married Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, who at the time in 1980s was a budding student activists like Hon. Yami and emerges as a prominent intellectuals and political theorist in Nepal. Dr. Bhattarai has been the Deputy Leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) for some time. They have a daughter, Manusi, pursuing her Masters Degree at Tribhuvan University, Nepal.
Sara Abraham
Professor of Sociology at University of Toronto, Dr. Sara Abraham received, holds a PhD in Sociology from University of Wisconsin-Madison. An woman intellectual and writer, her recent work is a book Labour and Multiracial Politics in the Caribbean published in 2007. The focus of her research has been on party politics and multiracial alliances in the Caribbean. She moved to University of Toronto in 2000 to live in a cosmopolitan multi-cultural city and to expand her research interests. Subsequently she authored “the political participation of first general immigrants to Canada,” through studies of oral histories and archival material. Her areas of interest encompasses South Asian, Black and Caribbean social movements. In recent times, she has been interested in the interrelationship of law and society. Consequently, she is to leave the faculty position at the University of Toronto to join other research endeavors in law. She carries strong interest in South Asian affairs and is currently the convener of South Asian Peoples Forum.
Pramod Dhakal
Pramod Dhakal is a former faculty member of Tribhuvan University, Nepal and holds a Ph D in electrical engineering degree from University of Saskatchewan, Canada. He has been working in the field of telecommunication for the last decade. He is also Executive Director of Canada Forum for Nepal (www.cffn.ca), an organization aspiring to see a peaceful, democratic, just, and prosperous Nepal. CFFN carries out various activities that are directly and indirectly supportive of the democratic development and prosperity in Nepal. Besides in his field of engineering, Dr. Dhakal’s writings on the contemporary issues of Nepal appear regularly in various news media and magazines.
Hamid Bashani
Born in Kashmir, a land that has been a hotbed for India-Pakistan conflict for the last 60 years, Hamid Bashani is a Canadian lawyer based in Mississauga, Ontario. He carries a long experience in social and political activism that date back to the time of the student and political in liberation movements from Kashmir and Pakistan. He was the President of the National Students Federation in Pakistan and is a convenor with the South Asian Peoples Forum in the GTA.
 
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Toronto, Wed May 28th, 2008
The South Asian Peoples Forum (SAPF) held an organizing meeting for their upcoming conference South Asian Peoples Unity: Unity against the Neoliberal World Order, to be held in October 2008 in Toronto.
Professors Aparna Sundar- Political Science (Ryerson Unversity), Jayeeta Sharma- Professor of Histroy (University of Toronto), Sara Abraham- Professor of Sociology (University of Toronto) attended the meeting along with Barrister Hamid Bashani, poet and writer Ameer Jaffery and Syed Azeem, and activists Abbas Syed and Inderdeep Sidhu.
They discussed the objectives of the Conference which include creating the space to talk across national borders, ideological lines, organizations, and issue-lines on creating a joint left opposition to neoliberalism and poverty, to think how the diaspora will do solidarity work with struggles in South Asia, and to develop an argument to lower borders between South Asian countries so as to resolve hostility and state control and repression of South Asian peoples. Delegates from throughout South Asia as well as the UK, Europe and the US are expected to attend the conference. The invitees include activists in agriculture, environment, political party work, trade unions, gender issues, and human rights work. The University of Toronto and York Unversity Sounth Asian studies are co-sponsoring the conference.

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The South Asian Peoples Forum (SAPF) will organize a South Asian conference on regional unity in October this year in Toronto. Around one hundred delegates will be invited from South Asia and South Asian Diaspora to attend the conference. The delegates will include the representatives of progressive political parties of South Asia, intellectuals, students, women, social movement and minority activists. The participants will deliberate on the question of regional integration and unity among the people of this region. The neoliberal world order, fundamentalism, ethnic division, hunger, poverty, militarism and unequal economic development will be the topics of discussion during this three day conference. The conference will also discuss how to promote an alternative world view emerging from within the South Asian region. The third day will feature a final open public session. Local universities will cosponsor the conference. The SAPF Working Group's meeting was held on Sunday afternoon in downtown Toronto to discus the details of the meeting. The meeting was attended by Professor Sara Abraham of the University of Toronto, Professor Malavika Kasturi professor of South Asian History University of Toronto, Barrister Hamid Bashani Khan, Syed Azeem, Ameer Hussan Jaffery, Asif Laghary and Humera Naeem.