[IndyMedia Bombay] 11 July Meet on Gujarat: Sarvodaya Mandal

[PUKAR @ IndyMedia]

Date: Mon, 8 Jul 2002 04:40:44 -0700 (PDT)
=46rom: ramesh pimple <ramesh_45_2000@yahoo.com>
Subject: Meeting on 11th July to be addressed by Rohit Prajapati - 
Baroda (Gujarat)


Gujarat Genocide, A warning and a lesson to the
secular, progressive, political movement in India. How
do we evolve effective  strategy and programme to
counteract onslaught of communal fascism.

Meeting on 11th July at 6:00 p.m. at Bombay Sarvodaya
Mandal, 299 Tardeo Road, Bhaji Galli, 2nd corner,
Grant Road (W), Mumbai 400 007.

In Gujarat, the Muslim community has been subjected to
the barbaric, brutal violence engineered, planned and
systematically executed by the Hindutva Fascist Forces
with the total state connivance, where thousands were
killed, maimed and condemned socially, economically.
The women were also excessively subjected to sexual
violence and even children were not spared.

The brutal violence and repression in various forms is
still persisting and the state is still aggressively
active and targeting them with double standard and
double talk.

Onslaught of communal fascism in Gujarat has shaken up
the conscience of the progressive, liberal secular
forces in many parts of the country. In Maharashtra,
Delhi and several other cities, demonstrations,
seminars, workshops, public meetings and hunger
strikes were organized by trade unions, left parties,
NGO=EDs and radical groups and independent platforms
including democratic and human right groups, women=EDs
groups and other activists in the last few months. In
Mumbai, convention involving all progressive, secular
sections, working groups , trade unions, Dalit groups
and others  is getting organised on 13th and 14th July
All this  response still vary inadequate to meet the
challenge now posed by The Sangh Pariwar in coming out
in their naked forms of destroying democratic and
secular basis of Indian civil society and polity.

Unfortunately even grass-root activists, local leaders
of the Congress and Janata Dal in Gujarat were seen
participating in communal carnage. Congress at the
state or even National level has hardly shown any
adequate awareness or preparation to meet such
challenge. Other progressive and secular forces also
have not been able to evolve any effective programme
of action to save democratic fabric of this country
and to combat onslaught of communal fascist reaction.

Sangh Pariwar onslaught in Gujarat has posed a serious
challenge before all progressive, democratic elements
in this country. Fortunately Sangh Pariwar so far has
not been able reproduce Gujarat type of carnage else
where in any other state in this country, even in
Gujarat one can see some ray of hope in small but
committed groups coming together to counteract the
communal fascist forces. One such bold attempt has
come from Baroda where a Inquilabi communist
Sanghathan in collaboration with other like minded
intellectual groups, mass organizations and PUCL has
been able to invoke effectively in preventing the
spread of carnage in some areas, protect minority
groups and resisting the state sponsored repressive
measures by defying bans, holding demonstration,
organizing satyagraha, courting arrests and by raising
awareness and also preparing expressive very well
documented investigative report on communal carnage in
Baroda.

But there has been no major attempt so far to speak
out boldly against barbarism and reach out to the
masess, who are continuously under vocal influence of
Hindutva forces and do not know the other side of the
truth and developing such a deep hatred toward fellow
human beings has to be understandable in material
basis and socio-economic-political conditions and
reality. We need to get together and strategize
ourselves to face and fight fascist forces openly and
boldly and in cohesion.

Rohit Prajapati from Baroda and Prakash Shah from
Ahemedabad will meet fellow activists from Mumbai to
discuss this issue and since repression against
minorities is still on and assembly elections are near
in Gujarat. This meet will be very important as we
wish initiate process to mobilize masses against
Hindutva fascist forces and this meet will critically
analyze why secular and progressive forces failed in
Gujarat and elsewhere and what is to be done about it.
You are requested to accept the invitation and attend
the meeting and also pass on message to others
interested in the subject and wants to interact on the
issue.

Prof. Uday Mehta
Ramesh Pimple
_____

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