From: desai@blsouth.bss.com (Hiren Desai)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: INDIA NEWS II
Date: 14 Dec 92 17:24:07 GMT
Organization: BellSouth Telecommunications - Science and Technology



     Source : BBC
     Date   : Dec 8, 1992
     Region : South Asia

                                * * * *

  * SAARC postpones its meeting till next month
     
     The incidents following Ayodhya mosque destruction has led to the
  postponement of proposed SAARC meeting on Dec 12 in Dhaka. It will be
  held some time during the next month. (BBC, Dec 8 8pmPST)


     Source : NPR, BBC, Financial Times, Xinhua Dec 9, 1992

  * India decides to evacuate diplomats from Karachi

      India has decided to evacuate its deplomats and non-diplomatic 
  staff in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi following a mob attack on
  the official residence of the Indian Consul General there on Tuesday.
  according to local reports, Rajiv Dogra, the Consul General told reporters
  that the families fo the Indian staff in the consulate would start leaving
  for New Delhi from today.
      Some 500 demonstrators attacked the consul General's house in Karachi,
  damaging furniture and other fixtures including tv sets, paintings and 
  antiques. As per reports, Rajiv Dogra summoned reporters to show the 
  destruction. He said his family members and consulate staff would leave
  for New Delhi because of the "threat" of their lives. He alleged that the
   local authorities, though alerted by him, failed to provide protection to
  the consulate staff in the wake of the general strike called by the Pakistan
  government. Sind provincial government has suspended Deputy Superintendent
 of Police and Additional SP for not making proper security arrangements at 
 the residence of the Consul General.

  * In other news, the Indian stock market is expected to be normal, as 
    situation is coming under control earlier than expected. Indian business
    feared that crisis after Ayodhya incidents could  harm the economy if
    the government does not rapidly move to restore normalcy. Earlier 
    stock brokers prepared for a sharp decline in stock prices. However, 
    in Madras, which is the only major stock exchange opened today,
    stocks gained some points.  (Xin, FT Dec 9)

  * An account of events on Saturday and Sunday by Edward Gorg

       On Saturday one Hindu leader, made a speech telling the kar sevaks
  that the BBC is making derogatory comments on the Hindu religion and the 
  Hindu fundamentalists. On Saturday night, a German TV crew was attacked 
  by the fundmentalists, mistaking them to be the BBC people. On Sunday,
  everything looked calm and the journalists did not have any doubt about
  their safety. Suddenly, forty minutes before the Kar Seva, a mob of
  kar sevaks started attacking the journalists standing on a platform. 
  Peter Hihgline of the VOA who entered the mosque when it was being 
  destroyed was beaten, apparantly, by a club. Very thin lines of police 
  were standing at a distance. Edward Gorg was not sure what had prompted
  the attack on journalists all of a sudden.
     As for the lax security arrangements his comments were: The BJP 
  government of the state of UP came to power on the theme of constructing
  the Ram temple at Ayodhya. It did not want any of the kar sevaks to get
  hurt by the security personnel. Even though, it agreed to abide by the
  supreme court ruling not to construct Ram temple at that site, as 
  became clear from the incident, it has the intension of going ahead 
  with the plan. (Edward Gorg is the southasian correspondent of NYT; 
  he was inerviewed on NPR today 7pmPST. He is recovering from his bruises 
  in New Delhi)
  
  * The threat to India (editorial from FT Dec 9)

      India has experienced a nasty shock, but it can recover. The 
  destruction of the mosque at Ayodhya by Hindu militants on Sunday night
  has outraged Moslms everywhere. The erection of a makeshift Hindu temple
  in its place has compounded the damage. The fierce religious passions that
  have been unleashed by the BJP threaten the stability of the subcontinent.
     Yet India has survived events of similar dramatic impact, including
  the assasination of Mahatma Gandhi by Hindu activists, Indira Gandhi by
  sikhs, and Rajiv by Tamils. Moslems have long been in conflict with the
  Indian state in Kashmir, as have Sikh terrorists in Punjab. The republic
  has been subjected to religious and sectarian disputes since the great
  partition of 1947. The birth of modern India and Pakistan was marked by
  bloody internal conflicts; there have been two wars between them. A state
  that can survive all that during the first half-centruy of independent 
  existance will not easily be driven to self-destrucion.
     The urgent task for the Indian government is to re-establish order.
  This would best be acheived by the continuance in office of the Prime
  Minister, Mr P.V. Narasimha Rao. Mr Rao's policy of appeasing the BJP, 
  particularly, during the early months of his shaky government, was one of
  the errors that led to the disaster at Ayodhya. But a change in government
  would not necessarily lead to greater stability. In July Mr Rao tried to
  deflect the BJP's campaign against the mosque by referring it to the 
  supreme court. Now he has the chance to act with greater force.
     He has begun to do so. The site around Ayodhya mosque/temple has been
  cleared of 50,000 militants with no casualities. There is a delicate  
  problem to settle here. Delhi is pledged to restore the mosque, but
  if it dismantles the make-shift temple, now widely regarded as a holy
  place, it may alienate moderate Hindus. The ideal solution, the building
  of a shrine to each religion, side by side, and the dedication of the site
  to national reconciliation, may not be reachable.
     The arresting of BJP and allied leaders is a calculated risk by Mr Rao's
  administration. It might further inflame militant Hindus, but, against 
  that, virtually the enrire Indian press has come out aginst the destruction
  of the mosque. Moderate Hindus are appalled; the flirtation of some of
  them with the BJP may be over. Mr Rao stands a chance of reasserting the 
  government's authority and concentrating on his liberalization program.
  success in that endeavour is a prerequisite if modern India is to survive.
  Mr Rao has shown courage on the economic front; he must now act to restore
  India's tradition of religious tolerance.

                                 * E N D *


Source   : CGI
Date     : Dec 10, 1992
Country  : India

                             * * * * *

* BJP/VHP leaders produced before the Akbarpur judicial magistrate

Faizabad Dec 10: The detained leaders of the BJP/VHP including L.K.Advani
and Dr.Murali Manohar Joshi were produced before the judicial magistrate 
in Akbarpur, 56 km from here today in U.P. Others to appear before the 
magistrate were Uma Bharati, Dalmia, Vinay Kathiyar, Ashok Singhal. 
The BJP and VHP leaders were arrested on charges of creating disharmony 
following the developments in Ayodhya.
	An FIR under section 153 A and 153 B and 505 of the IPC was
filed against eight BJP/VHP leaders in the Faizabad Police station.
According to officials, lawyers representing the BJP and VHP leaders
were contesting the FIR filed against the leaders and their arrest
before the magistrate till last reports came in. Meanwhile security in
and around the twin cities of Ayodhya and Faizabad were further tightened.
	The divisional commissioner Arvind Sharma said that the
situation in the twin cities was peaceful and no untoward incident was
reported since Wednesday.

**** According to NPR news, the government of India has passed orders
     banning three Hindu and two Muslim organizations [5:30 pm News]. 


New Delhi - Dec 10: Indian Prime Minister P.V.Narasimha Rao today strongly 
resented to Pakistan's attempts to politicize the Ayodhya developments in the 
international fora. Describing as unfortunate Pakistan's actions, Mr.Rao 
regretted the manner in which it was making deliberate attempts to launch an
anti-India campaign. "This is not on, but it is going on. That is the
unfortunate part," he noted in an interview to Eyewitness new magazine.
Asked to react on the demolition of temples in Pakistan and Bangladesh, 
Rao said, "my feelings would be the same whether a mosque or a temple is
destroyed. Desecration of a place of worship is a heinous crime which
should not be done any where", Mr.Rao said. He said India had formally
lodged a protest to Pakistan criticizing its stand in the aftermath of
developments in Ayodhya.
	The Prime Minister said he wanted the international community to 
understand 
that India was passing through another difficult phase and to assess the
Ayodhya incident in proper perspective. It should also appreciate what
government is doing against all odds to strengthen the country's secular
values.