[IMC Bombay] Fwd: [eduinitiative] Recvd from Leena (Ritambra in NY (fwd))
Riddhi Shah
hells_angel88 at hotmail.com
Tue, 30 Jul 2002 20:23:00 +0000
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_2ae0_27d_32c9
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
>From: "Vijay Bhangar" <vijaybhangar@hotmail.com>
>Reply-To: eduinitiative@yahoogroups.com
>To: eduinitiative@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [eduinitiative] Recvd from Leena (Ritambra in NY (fwd))
>Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 21:15:16 +0530
>
_________________________________________________________________
Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
------=_NextPart_000_2ae0_27d_32c9
Content-Type: message/rfc822
Received: from n25.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.81]) by mc1-f24.law16.hotmail.com with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.0.2195.4905);
Tue, 30 Jul 2002 08:51:41 -0700
X-eGroups-Return: sentto-7298333-28-1028043925-hells_angel88=hotmail.com@returns.groups.yahoo.com
Received: from [66.218.66.97] by n25.grp.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 30 Jul 2002 15:45:25 -0000
X-Sender: vijaybhangar@hotmail.com
X-Apparently-To: eduinitiative@yahoogroups.com
Received: (EGP: mail-8_0_7_4); 30 Jul 2002 15:45:17 -0000
Received: (qmail 2433 invoked from network); 30 Jul 2002 15:45:17 -0000
Received: from unknown (66.218.66.218)
by m14.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 30 Jul 2002 15:45:17 -0000
Received: from unknown (HELO hotmail.com) (216.33.241.41)
by mta3.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 30 Jul 2002 15:45:17 -0000
Received: from mail pickup service by hotmail.com with Microsoft SMTPSVC;
Tue, 30 Jul 2002 08:45:16 -0700
Received: from 210.210.96.56 by lw8fd.law8.hotmail.msn.com with HTTP;
Tue, 30 Jul 2002 15:45:16 GMT
To: eduinitiative@yahoogroups.com
Bcc:
Message-ID: <F41hP77PcLlxziVgJGY0001a27c@hotmail.com>
X-OriginalArrivalTime: 30 Jul 2002 15:45:16.0979 (UTC) FILETIME=[1A183030:01C237E0]
From: "Vijay Bhangar" <vijaybhangar@hotmail.com>
X-Originating-IP: [210.210.96.56]
MIME-Version: 1.0
Mailing-List: list eduinitiative@yahoogroups.com; contact eduinitiative-owner@yahoogroups.com
Delivered-To: mailing list eduinitiative@yahoogroups.com
Precedence: bulk
List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:eduinitiative-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 21:15:16 +0530
Subject: [eduinitiative] Recvd from Leena (Ritambra in NY (fwd))
Reply-To: eduinitiative@yahoogroups.com
Content-Type: text/html
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Return-Path: sentto-7298333-28-1028043925-hells_angel88=hotmail.com@returns.groups.yahoo.com
<html>
<div style='background-color:'><DIV>>Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 12:04:31 +0530 (IST)<BR>>From: "Dr. K. Subramaniam" <<A href="mailto:subra@hbcse.tifr.res.in">subra@hbcse.tifr.res.in</A>><BR>>X-mailserver: Received using the PostMaster (v3.1.7)<BR>>To: Jayashree Ramadas <<A href="mailto:jram@hbcse.tifr.res.in">jram@hbcse.tifr.res.in</A>>, leena abraham<BR><<A href="mailto:leena@tiss.edu">leena@tiss.edu</A>>, Chitra Natarajan <<A href="mailto:cnut@hbcse.tifr.res.in">cnut@hbcse.tifr.res.in</A>>, "H. C.<BR>Pradhan" <<A href="mailto:hcp@hbcse.tifr.res.in">hcp@hbcse.tifr.res.in</A>>, Sujeet Bhatt <<A href="mailto:sujeet@bom4.vsnl.net.in">sujeet@bom4.vsnl.net.in</A>>,<BR>Gita Chadha <<A href="mailto:gita_chadha@hotmail.com">gita_chadha@hotmail.com</A>><BR>>Subject: Ritambra in NY (fwd)<BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>>---------- Forwarded message ----------<BR>>Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 10:54:24 +0530 (IST)<BR>>From: Shiva Shankar <<A href="mailto:sshankar@cmi.ac.in">sshankar@cmi.ac.in</A>><BR>>To: Undisclosed recipients: ;<BR>>Subject: Ritambra in NY (fwd)<BR>><BR>><BR>> For immediate release<BR>><BR>> For more information, contact<BR>> Chandana Mathur (212 877 0048)<BR>> Satish Kolluri (201 521 0230)<BR>><BR>>NRIs demonstrate against Hindu Right demagogue Sadhvi Ritambra at the<BR>>Ganesh Temple in Flushing, New York<BR>><BR>>Temple space should not be used to promote and fund the politics of<BR>>communal hatred in India, the group says<BR>><BR>> New York, July 26, 2002<BR>><BR>>Non-resident Indians demonstrated today at the Ganesh Temple in Flushing,<BR>>New York, to protest the meeting and reception being held there for the<BR>>Sangh Parivar demagogue "Sadhvi" Ritambra. The 60 or 70 Indian and Indian-<BR>>American demonstrators came from different religious and socio-economic<BR>>backgrounds; there were children and old people, and even one<BR>>wheelchair-bound protestor. A few noted American scholars of India such<BR>>as Owen Lynch and Johanna Lessinger also came to join the protest against<BR>>the Sadhvi, drawn there by their emotional attachment to India and their<BR>>concern at the rise of the intolerant ideology of Hindutva. The<BR>>demonstration had been called by four organizations -- INSAF<BR>>(International South Asia Forum), the SAMAR media collective, FOIL (Forum<BR>>of Indian Leftists) and Non-resident Indians for a Secular and Harmonious<BR>>India -- and was endorsed by IMAN (Indian Muslim Alert Network).<BR>><BR>>The protestors stood at the entrance of the temple auditorium, holding up<BR>>pictures of the tortured, charred corpses of Muslim women and infants<BR>>killed by Hindutva mobs in Gujarat this year, and carrying placards that<BR>>said "2,000 dead and counting: end minority persecution in India", "Sadhvi<BR>>Ritambara has blood on her hands", "Real Hindus don't support genocide".<BR>><BR>>Many of the protestors outside the temple were Hindus and Muslims of<BR>>Gujarati origin. Vipul Desai had cut short his annual vacation in the<BR>>Hamptons to stand outside the Flushing temple with a placard, distributing<BR>>leaflets to those who were coming in to listen to Sadhvi Ritambara. "I had<BR>>to be at this protest", he said with visible emotion, "the carnage<BR>>happened in my hometown". Saeed Patel was one of the protestors who tried<BR>>to talk to the incoming Sangh Parivar supporters about the right of<BR>>Muslims to live with dignity in a secular India. "I'm Gujarati too", he<BR>>said poignantly to a Hindutvavadi from Gujarat who had come for the Sadhvi<BR>>Ritambara event.<BR>><BR>>Greeted by a hail of slogans as soon as she stepped out of the car, Sadhvi<BR>>Ritambara scurried hurriedly into the auditorium with the event<BR>>organizers. Protestor Satish Kolluri suddenly recognized a familiar figure<BR>>going into the auditorium behind her, and shouted out, "Pandit Jasraj,<BR>>what are you doing here? How can you sing for the Sadhvi?". The aging<BR>>Hindustani classical singer turned around and walked back to face Kolluri<BR>>and the other protestors. "Let me explain", he said. Kolluri was outraged<BR>>as only a sincere lifelong admirer can be: Hindustani classical music is,<BR>>after all, a living embodiment of the syncretic Hindu-Muslim basis of<BR>>Indian culture, a standing refutation of the so-called Hindu-Aryan purity<BR>>that the Sangh Parivar wishes to foist on India. Unable to face Kolluri's<BR>>genuine sense of betrayal, the old man walked wordlessly back into the<BR>>auditorium.<BR>><BR>>The event organizers were clearly unhappy to see the protestors, and<BR>>argued repeatedly -- and unsuccessfully -- with the police, asking that<BR>>the protestors be removed from the entrance to the temple auditorium. One<BR>>or two of the organizers actually lunged forward to physically confront<BR>>the protestors, but were prevented by the police from doing so. Yet<BR>>another event organizer told protestor Aditi Desai that he wanted to<BR>>discuss the Gujarat violence in a calm, reasonable manner, and told her<BR>>that the anti- Muslim pogrom was the natural outcome of the burning of the<BR>>train compartment at Godhra. Desai responded that the killings at Godhra<BR>>were the work of apalling criminals who should have been apprehended and<BR>>punished to the fullest extent of the law, but that she was deeply opposed<BR>>to the retaliatory killing by Hindu mobs of thousands of Muslim men, women<BR>>and children who had nothing to do with the Godhra incident. The man<BR>>remained unconvinced, clearly preferring the massacre of thousands of<BR>>innocents to the punishment of the guilty by the Indian criminal justice<BR>>system. This underscores, once again, that even the seemingly moderate<BR>>votaries of Hindutva have nothing but contempt for the rule of law and<BR>>democratic institutions.<BR>><BR>>The text of the leaflet that the protestors were handing out read as<BR>>follows:<BR>><BR>> IS THIS THE HINDUISM THAT YOU WANT TO TEACH YOUR CHILDREN?<BR>><BR>>. Nearly 2,000 Muslims have been killed in Gujarat by Hindu (Sangh<BR>>Parivar) extremists in recent months.<BR>><BR>>. Over 100,000 Muslim men, women and children have been rendered homeless,<BR>>and the BJP (Hindu right-wing) state government is now forcibly shutting<BR><BR>>down the relief camps where they have been sheltering since March.<BR>><BR>>. Sexual violence against Muslim women and children has been especially<BR>>vile in Gujarat: hundreds of women were gangraped and tortured and then<BR>>killed; there is even a documented case of a three year old girl who was<BR>>raped and killed by a Hindu mob in front of her mother's eyes.<BR>><BR>>. The Gujarat carnage is only the most recent episode in the brutal<BR>>history of the Sangh Parivar. For more than a decade, Indian Muslims and<BR>>Christians have been targets for Hindu right-wing violence.<BR>><BR>>Today the Ganesh temple in Flushing is hosting a reception for Sadhvi<BR>>Ritambra, the main demagogue of the Hindu Right. She was present and<BR>>involved in the destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in India by<BR>>Sangh Parivar activists on December 6, 1992, in defiance of the order of<BR>>the Indian Supreme Court. More than 3,000 lives, mostly Muslim, were lost<BR>>in the communal riots that followed. In her speeches and chants, Sadhvi<BR>>Ritambara has actively incited Hindus to kill Muslims.<BR>><BR>>Why is the Ganesh temple, a community institution which should be a place<BR>>for peace and prayer, hosting such an event?<BR>><BR>>It has been advertised that this meeting with the Sadhvi is intended to<BR>>raise money for ostensibly charitable purposes in India. However, we have<BR>>recently learnt from media reports -- in the New York Times and the Wall<BR>>Street Journal in the U.S., and Outlook magazine in India -- that<BR>>donations for charity and development purposes unsuspectingly made by<BR>>Indian- Americans are often siphoned off by American Sangh Parivar<BR>>supporters to support Hindu hate groups in India.<BR>><BR>>We are Indian-Americans of diverse religious backgrounds, Hindus and<BR>>others, and WE STRONGLY OBJECT TO THE TEMPLE SPACE BEING USED TO PROMOTE<BR>>AND FUND THE POLITICS OF HATE IN INDIA.<BR>><BR>> . International South Asia Forum (INSAF)<BR>> . SAMAR media collective<BR>> . Forum of Indian Leftists (FOIL)<BR>> . Nonresident Indians for a Secular and Harmonious India<BR>><BR>> [For more information, call 212-877-0048 or clear=all><BR>> <BR><BR>--------------------------------------------------------------<BR>Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India<BR><BR><BR><BR></DIV></div><br clear=all><hr>Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. <a href='http://g.msn.com/1HM1ENIN/c157??PI=44344'>Click Here</a><br>
<br>
<!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| -->
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2>
<tr bgcolor=#FFFFCC>
<td align=center><font size="-1" color=#003399><b>Yahoo! Groups Sponsor</b></font></td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor=#FFFFFF>
<td align=center width=470><table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td align=center><font face=arial size=-2>ADVERTISEMENT</font><br><a href="http://rd.yahoo.com/M=228862.2128520.3581629.1829184/D=egroupweb/S=1705082019:HM/A=1155070/R=0/*http://adfarm.mediaplex.com/ad/ck/990-1736-1039-302" target=_top><img src="http://us.a1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/a/co/columbiahouse/d_300x250_062_4freedvd_2.gif" alt="" width="300" height="250" border="0"></a></td></tr></table></td>
</tr>
</table>
<!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| -->
<br>
<tt>
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:<BR>
eduinitiative-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com<BR>
<BR>
</tt>
<br>
<br>
<tt>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the <a href="http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/">Yahoo! Terms of Service</a>.</tt>
</br>
</html>
------=_NextPart_000_2ae0_27d_32c9--