Oct. 14-oct. 20/2009

Oct. 14-Oct. 20/2009

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The Charhdi Kala 25

THE VOICE OF PUNJAB

KHALISTAN CALLING

CHARHDI KALA

From: Dr. Amarjit Singh 956- National Press Building Washington D.C. 20045 Ph: 202.637.9210 Fax: 202.637.9211 www.khalistan-affairs.org e-mail: [email protected]

INTERNATIONAL

REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS (> http://www.rsf.org/en-classement70-2006.html <) Comparative Chart of Press Freedom Index for the years 2006 and 2008 & a comparative chart of the UN’S Human Development Index for 2009 and 2006 http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2009_EN_Complete.pdf http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2006/

#6-7743-128 St. Surrey, B.C. V3W 4E6 Ph.(604) 590-6397 Fax. (604) 591-6397 th

Botswana-

India the Sick man of South Asia

India ranked 118th out of 173 in the 2008 Press Freedom Index released by Paris-based Reporters Without Borders below countries like Iceland-1, Trinidad-27,Botswana-66, Malawi-70, Tanzania-70, Haiti-73, Bhutan-74, Zambia-74, Fiji-79, Senegal-86, Congo-92, Guinea-99, Maldives-104, Tajikistan-106, Uganda-107, Gabon-110, Sierra Leone-114, Lesotho-116 India MUST ratify, like 146 other nations, the United Nation’s Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment which it signed 25 years ago in Dec. 1984, a month after the November 1984 antiSikh state-sponsored pogrom, but never ratified Washington D.C. Wednesday 14 October, 2009: There are millions of educated Indians who believe, to this day, the phony ‘India Shining’ political slogan which was invented, years ago, just before a general election (by the then Neo-fascist Bharatiya Janata Party – BJP - ruling party), after plentiful monsoon rains in 2003 and after some success of the Indian IT boom. This slogan failed as the BJP lost the 2004 general election but it continues to feed the bubble of Indian jingoism to this day. Today this column, with help of charts etc., will try to educate Sikh readers about India’s miserable sixty years long ‘Human development standing march’ (as compared to other countries of this world) under the ‘rascal’ rule of the Brahmin/Bania evil nexus which inherited the instruments of state power from the departing British Colonials in 1947. This column will, for the benefit of its readers, try to prick this ‘India Shining’ bubble! This ‘India Shining’ political slogan was initially developed as part of an Indian government campaign intended to promote India internationally. Advertising firm Grey Worldwide won the campaign account in 2003; the slogan and the associated campaign was developed by national creative director Prathap Suthan, in consultation with Finance Minister Jaswant Singh. The BJP-led government spent an estimated $20 million of government funds on national television advertisements and newspaper ads featuring the ‘India Shining’ slogan. The slogan was then used as a central theme in the BJP’s campaign for the 2004 national elections, a move criticized by the BJP’s political opponents, who felt that public money was being used for partisan purposes. In response, the Indian Election Commission banned the slogan’s broadcast until after the elections, although BJP politicians continued to use the slogan in other contexts. Even Hindu temples started selling ‘India Shining’ brand incense sticks and there is a Swiss knife with the same logo. One BJP leader even boasted that ‘India Shining’ is all about pride. “It gives us brown-skinned Indians a huge sense of achievement. Look at the middle-class and they tell the story of a resurgent India,” he said. Some resurgence! The ‘Shining India’ slogan referred to the overall feeling of economic optimism in 2003, among the members of the BJP, but which feeling got transferred, despite the 2004 election defeat of the BJP, to India’s hundred million plus ‘English-speaking’ middle class minority which makes up about 10% of the population while the rest continue their vernacular ‘unwashed’ lives in squalor. This 10% minority, suffering from an acute historical inferiority complex, (blinded by neo-nationalism, and a little bit of Western education) has embraced the ‘Shining India’ idea and now trumpets it by cloaking it in ultranationalistic jargon like ‘India is a super power in the making’, ‘21 st century is India’s century’, ‘Nuclear-armed India has a right to claim a permanent veto-powered seat at the UN Security Council’, ‘India is going to teach the Chinese a lesson by throwing them out of the Aksai Chin area of Ladakh’, etc., etc. These jingoistic and chauvinistic views persist to this day and can be seen in commentaries and articles written by Indians on numerous internet sites. For Human Development a free press is as essential as a free and honest judiciary. The year 2009 saw the US-based non-governmental organization Freedom House, in its annual report, Freedom of the Press declared the Indian Press to be ‘Partly Free’ after measuring the level of freedom and editorial independence enjoyed by the Indian media. The Freedom House annual report measures Levels of freedom scored on a scale from 1 (most free) to 100 (least free). Depending on the ratings, the nations are then classified as “Free”, “Partly Free”, or “Not Free. Among the countries of Asia/Pacific, for the year 2009, New Zealand was 1st, Australia 6th, Papua New Guinea 9th, South Korea 14th, Hong Kong 17th, INDIA 18 th, Fiji 20th, Indonesia 23rd, Maldives 24th, Nepal 25th, Bhutan 27 th, Pakistan 29th, Bangladesh 30 th, Sri Lanka 33rd , Afghanistan 34 th, China 37th & North Korea 40th. Since 2002 a Paris-based non-profit international organization Reporters Without Borders (founded in 1985) compiles and issues an annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index, which measures the degree of freedom journalists and media have in more than 160 countries. In the Worldwide Press Freedom Index-2008 INDIA has been ranked 118 th below Angola, Bhutan, Bahrain, Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Indonesia, Mali, Sierra Leonne, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, Zambia and others. The Worldwide Press Freedom Index Reporters Without Borders is registered in France as a non-profit organisation and has consultant status at the United Nations. Reporters Without Borders is present in all five continents through its national branches (in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland), its offices in New York, Tokyo and Washington, and the more than 120 correspondents it has in other countries. The organisation also works closely with local and regional press freedom groups that are members of the Reporters Without Borders Network, in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Burma, Colombia, Democratic Congo, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Peru, Romania, Russia, Somalia, the United States and Tunisia. Reporters Without Borders is funded by the sale of its twice-annual albums of photographs as well as calendars, by auctions, small and large donations, member dues, public grants and partnerships with private firms. Sometimes gathering information is not enough. A Reporters Without Borders fact-finding mission is then sent to investigate on the spot the working conditions of journalists, as well as cases of imprisoned or murdered journalists, and also to meet with the authorities in the country concerned. Reporters Without Borders also defends journalists and media assistants imprisoned or persecuted for doing their job and exposes the mistreatment and torture of them in many countries. It fights against censorship and laws that undermine press freedom. Reporters Without Borders gives financial aid each year to 100 or so journalists or media outlets in difficulty (to pay for lawyers, medical care and equipment) as well to the families of imprisoned journalists. On the World Press Freedom Day every third day of May (May 3) Reporters Without Borders publishes its list of the predators of press freedom. Reporters Without Borders also defends journalists and media assistants imprisoned or persecuted for doing their job and exposes the mistreatment and torture of them in many countries. The comparative chart below shows figures culled from the Press Freedom Index for 2008 & 2006 released by Reporters Without Borders for various countries. The Chart also shows increase or decrease in the ranking for a few selected countries in the Human Development Index for the years 2009 and 2006 which shows the shameful ranking and decline of India in Human Development over a three year period:-

Ser. No.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

Country

Population in millions & population density Per Sq. mile ##

20 mil – Afghanistan* 131 per Sq. Mile Bahrain 718 thousand – 2, 798 per Sq. mile Bangladesh * 154 mil – 2,970 per Sq. mile Belgium 10 mil – 890 per Sq. mile Bhutan* 682 thousand – 38 per Sq. mile Brazil 196 mil – 60 per Sq. mile Canada 33 mil – 9.5 per Sq. mile China 1, 330 mil – 369 per Sq. mile Egypt 82 mil – 212 per Sq. mile Ethiopia 83 mil – 191 per Sq. mile France 64 mil – 259 per Sq. mile

27.

Pakistan *

28.

Philippines

29.

Russia

30.

Singapore

31.

S. Africa

32.

Sri Lanka *

33.

Sweden

34.

Tanzania

35.

Thailand

36.

Turkey

37.

U.K.

38.

U.S.A

39.

N. Korea

South * ## Population New York Times

mile 173 mil – 575 per Sq. mile 96 mil – 834 per Sq. mile 141 mil – 21 per Sq. mile 4 mil 17,482 per Sq. mile 49 mil – 104 per Sq. mile 21 mil – 845 per Sq. mile 9 mil – 57 per Sq. mile 40 mil – 118 per Sq. mile 65 mil – 332 per Sq. mile 72 mil – 242 per Sq. mile 61 mil – 653 per Sq. mile 304 mil – 86 per Sq. mile 23 mil – 505 per Sq. mile Asian & Density Almanac

Press Freedom Index ranking 2008

Press Freedom Index ranking 2006

Plus + or minus – in Press Freedom ranking 2006 to 2008

156th

130th

96th

136th

7th

74th

2006 UN Human Develop-ment Index Rank

Plus + or Minus – in HDI ranking 2006 to 2009

Minus 26 181st

---

---

111th

Plus 15

39th

39th

No change

137th

Plus 1

146

137th

Minus 9

14th 98th

Plus 7

Plus 24

2009 UN Human Development Index Rank

17th

132

13th

135th

Minus 4

75th

Minus 7

75th

69th

Minus 6

13th

16th

Plus 3

4th

6th

Plus 2

163rd

Minus 4

146th

133rd

142nd

92nd

Germany

13.

India *

14.

Indonesia

15.

Iran*

16.

Iraq

17.

Israel

18.

Italy

19.

Japan

20.

Kenya

21.

Korea S.

22.

Malaysia

Plus 3

82nd

167th

12.

81st

Minus 11

23.

Maldives*

Minus 13 123rd

111th

Minus 12

24.

Mexico

160th

Plus 18

171st

170th

Minus 1

25.

Nepal*

35th

35th

No change

8th

16th

Plus 8

26.

Nigeria

152nd

157th

Plus 5

141st

134th

Minus 7

139th

142nd

Plus 3

105th

84th

Minus 21

141st

147th

Plus 6

71st

65th

Minus 6

144th

146th

Plus 2

23rd

25th

Plus 2

36th

44th

Plus 8

129th

121st

Minus 8

nd

165th

141st

Minus 24 102

93rd

Minus 9

7th

14th

Plus 7

7th

5th

Minus 2

70th

88th

Plus 18

151st

162nd

Plus 11

th

124th

122nd

Minus 2

87

74th

Minis 13

102nd

98th

Minus 4

79th

92nd

Plus 13

23rd

26th

Plus 3

21st

18th

Minus 3

36th

53rd

Plus 17

13th

8th

Minus 5

172nd

168th

Minus 4

---

---

----

Countries per Sq. and

mile Book of

culled Facts

82 mil – 611 per Sq. mile 1, 148 mil – 1,000 per Sq. mile 238 mil – 337 per Sq. mile 66 mil – 104 per Sq. mile 28 mil – 169 per Sq. mile 7 mil - 906 per Sq. mile 58 mil – 512 per Sq. mile 127 mil – 880 per Sq. Mile 38 mil – 173 per Sq. mile 23 mil – 1,276 per Sq. mile 25 mil – 199 per Sq. mile 386 thousand – 3, 332 per Sq. mile 110 million – 148 per Sq. mile 30 mil – 534 per Sq. mile 146 mil – 416 per Sq.

20th

23rd

Plus 3

22nd

21st

Minus 1

118th

105th

Minus 13

134th

126th

Minus 8

111th

103rd

Minus 8

111th

108th

Minus 3

th

166th

162nd

Minus 4

88

96th

Plus 8

158th

154th

Minus 4

---

---

---

46th

50th

Plus 4

27th

23rd

Minus 4

44th

40th

Minus 4

18th

17th

Minus 1

29th

st

51

Plus 21

10th

7th

Minus 3

97th

118th

Plus 21

147th

152nd

Plus 5

47th

31st

Minus 16 26th

26th

No change

132nd

92nd

Minus 40 66th

61st

Minus 5

th

Plus 3

104th

144th

Plus 40

95

98th

140th

132nd

Minus 8

53rd

53rd

No change

138th

159th

Plus 21

144th

138th

Minus 6

131st

120th

Minus 11 158th

159th

Plus 1

Appended below is another comparative chart showing performance of eight South Asian countries in India’s neighborhood with similar positives and negatives. By amalgamating their performance in the Press Freedom Index and the HD Index one can get a net figure (+ or -) for their performance. Ser. Country No.

Plus + or minus – in Press Freedom Index ranking 2006 to 2008

Plus + or Minus – in Human Development Index ranking 2006 to 2009

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

+1 +24 -13 -4 +40 +21 +5 -24

-9 +3 -8 +8 +3 -6 -7 -9

Bangladesh Bhutan INDIA Iran Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka

Combined plus + or – Minus, Press Freedom Index Ranking & Human Development Ranking -8 + 27 - 21 +4 +43 +15 -2 -33

from 2009

It is obvious from the above combined comparative chart that improvements in human development and Freedom of the Press, during the period 2006 to 2009, has been very poor in India (21) and Sri Lanka (-33). Sri Lanka’s numbers are understandable as it was involved in a civil war but what WAS India’s excuse? Dynastic Rascal rule maybe! As far as Press Freedom is concerned all the South Asian countries improved their ranking – Maldives (+40 points), Bhutan (+24 points) Nepal (+21 points) Pakistan (+5 points) and Bangladesh improved its ranking by one point. India obviously tightened its grip on the press and thus lost 13 points in the Press Freedom Index ranking. INDIA some demoNcracy! The year 2009 is not only the 25th anniversary of the state-sponsored and supervised November 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom, ordered by the then Prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, during which, (in a three days period) nearly ten thousand Sikh men women and children were murdered all over India, including the capital city of Delhi. Year 2009, as luck would have it, is the 25th anniversary of another shameless Indian hypocrisy of the morally repugnant ruling elite of India. The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is an international human rights instrument under the review of the United Nations, that aims to prevent torture around the world. The Convention requires states to take effective measures to prevent torture within their borders, and forbids states to return people to their home country if there is reason to believe they will be tortured. The text of this Convention was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1984 (a month after the anti-Sikh pogrom in India) and, following ratification by the 20th state party, it came into force on 26 June 1987. 26 June is now recognized as the International Day in Support of Torture Victims in honor of the Convention. As of December 2008, 146 nations are parties to the treaty. INDIA in a typical Chanakyan move signed the anti-torture treaty in 1984 but for 25 years has been dilly dallying and has NOT ratified it till date (along with some ten ‘stone-age’ countries like Sudan, Gambia, Guinea Bassu, Sao Tome, Comoros, and a few others) whose leaders too have a medieval mind-set. Perhaps the Indians are afraid that the beleaguered Sikhs who have been seeking justice for 25 years for the November 1984 pogrom might approach the United Nations for redress. Under certain circumstances, the UN’s Committee Against Torture (CAT) may consider complaints or communications from individuals claiming that their rights under the Convention have been violated. The Committee against Torture (CAT) is a body of human rights experts that monitors implementation of the Convention by State parties. (Myrna Kleopas is the Chairman - term expires in 2011) The Committee is one of eight UN-linked human rights treaty bodies. All State parties are obliged under the Convention to submit regular reports to the CAT on how the rights are being implemented. Upon ratifying the Convention, States must submit a report within one year, after which they are obliged to report every four years. The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of “concluding observations”. The CAT usually meets in May and November each year in Geneva. As we said in last week’s Khalistan Calling, the 26 million strong Sikh Nation is determined (3 million free and prosperous in the diaspora and 23 million captive in India behind a barbed wire - ‘Berlin Wall’- electrified fence) to make every effort to translate into geography their daily prayer of ‘Raj Karayga Khalsa’ into a democratic buffer state stretching from the River Jumna in the East to the Pakistan Border in the West. The Sikhs see no future in the World’s largest caste-ridden squalidly demoNcracy which is eventually going to break up into twenty nations a la Europe. Most Sikhs therefore, want out and are determined to create an independent, democratic buffer state of Khalistan. Khalistan Zindabad