WSN-Editorial-Human Rights Debate, Indian Nation State and Vaisakhi

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Human Rights Debate, Indian Nation State and Vaisakhi

In a matrix of utter hopelessness and despair, and a politics of de-politicising the youth and the rising middle class, any effort that endeavours to re-focus the debate on people's movements, voices from the fringe and the precious space in polity for dissent comes like a whiff of fresh air. The current paradigm in which operate the media, the government, the strange but obvious collusion among the mainstream political parties on larger questions of economic and political options before the country, has created a stiffling, muzzling, muffling atmosphere in which voices of reason, dissent and debate are castigated and tarred as separatists, undesirable, or rabble rousers. It is such a situation that we welcome the initiative from sections of India's civil society in the form of a seminar on the state of political prisoners in India.

In fact, just as the Sikh community is now moving into a celebratory period of Vaisakhi and preparations are on across the globe from Surrey to California to Washington to Wellington to Anandpur Sahib and Amritsar for colourful nagar kirtans, it is once again a moment for Sikhs to join heads together and think through the crisis that the faith community is passing through. Vaisakhi represents the spirit of the Khalsa and the spirit of the Khalsa cannot be devoid of concerns about human rights and marginalised voices in society.

If Sarbat Da Bhala be the motto of the Sikh community, then Sikhs cannot be seen remaining silent about the ongoing struggles for the downtrodden. India's lowered classes have a genuine grievance against the Sikh leadership which has been unable to ensure an end to the oppressive and inhuman construct of caste even after someone enters this faith. Large sections of the community, particularly the poor and largely from the marginalised or small farm domain, are suffering the choices that India is making on its road to economic development, a model that ensures remarkable economic well being for remarkably fewer people at the cost of remarkably large multitudes of the poor. We are saddled with community leaders incessantly talking of SEZs, malls and air-conditioned travel without any regard to its politics.

As Barkha Dutt has written recently, "The middle class Indian is scarily enamoured of the idea of a mighty Nation State that rules with an iron fist." No wonder, it has become second nature for the regime to oppress the multitudes even as it rolls out 11 percent growth rate plans, a countryside dotted with malls and superhighways for those enamoured with the idea of a mighty Nation State.

In such a matrix, the dissenter is not heard. So he shrieks, he screams, and a shriek, a scream is enough for the Nation State to label him as an undesirable. The label soon changes from dissenter to screamer to separatist to terrorist. The Nation State stuffs its jails with political prisoners. (If its record is better than Burmese junta, consider this. Even as this WSN edition goes to the press, a top general of Burma's military regime, Gen Maung Aye, is being hosted by New Delhi, thus making India the first country to host Burmese junta top brass after the brutal crackdown on protesting monks last September).

India has not even defined any category of political prisoners, and the community is well aware of its leaders being slapped with sedition cases the moment they want even removal of a statue of any recognised human rights violator. The seminar in Delhi was an attempt to focus debate on this key area of human rights, just as this issue of WSN is our contribution to the debate. Our cover story, the Special Report on Sri Lanka, the open letter to Yasin Malik, the articles on editorial and op-ed pages are underline our commitment to the cause. May this Vaisakhi grant us the wisdom to re-connect to the core values of Sarbat Da Bhala.

2 April 2008