South Asia Citizens Web

by marieme helie lucas (siawi.org, October 22, 2011) On the eve of the elections in Tunisia that will shape the future of the country and even that of the Arab world as well, Western do-gooders and Islamic fundamentalists hand in hand rejoice in ‘Tunisia’s first free elections’ and its access to ‘ democracy’. The recent history of Iran and Algeria have taught us better… And women in Tunisia watch in horror the rise of Muslim fundamentalists, as a possible replication of the Algerian scenario of 1989 .

In mid-January 2011, WIMAL FERNANDO, the veteran Sri Lankan left and democratic rights activist and former trade unionist, was interviewed by Ahilan Kadirgamar and Balasingham Skanthakumar, to record his recollections of almost five decades of struggle for social change. Fernando begins with vignettes of the radical movement of Sinhalese youth in the late 1960s and early 1970s leading up to the first Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP – Peoples Liberation Front) insurrection in 1971; his experiences thereafter as a leader in the Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) until the July 1980 strike; followed by the establishment later that year of the Movement for the Defence of Democratic Rights (MDDR); and concludes with his launching of the Movement for Free and Fair Elections (MFFE) in the early 1990s to campaign for changes to the electoral system and the strengthening of democracy. The interview was transcribed, and interpolations inserted by B. Skanthakumar, and edited by Meena Nallainathan.

The scholarly essay by A. K. Ramanujan. "Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation.’ appeared in The Collected Essays of A.K. Ramanujan, ed. Vinay Dharwadker. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999. A controversy has been brewing in Delhi University around Ramanujan’s essay on many Ramayanas. This essay was part of the readings in one of the B.A. history courses. In 2008 some Hindutwa activists attacked teachers in the Delhi University’s history department and demanded that the essay be removed from the reading list. The history department teachers, of course, refused to comply. The issue ended up in the Supreme Court which wanted the opinion of an academic expert committee. Three out of the four members of the committee stated that the essay ought to be read by students. Recently the Vice Chancellor and the Academic Council over ruled the opinion of the history department, as well as the expert committee and removed the essay from the list of recommended readings. This valuable is being made available here at sacw.net in public interest and for educational use.

Violence is more internalised now — targeted towards its own people, against women and children. There are no traces of the memories of violence from the past — of the partition of 1947 and the subsequent wars. Pakistan never stops surprising a visitor.

Evidence of militarisation is everywhere – most recently in the sphere of higher education. The armed forces are involved with development projects, in welfare, and in farming. They are even involved in city beautification, the maintenance of playgroups and shops, of course Sports, and now higher education. Their increased presence is evident in subtle changes in our daily lives. The large number of ‘yu ha’ vehicles dropping and picking up school-going children is one that confronts me each school day.