Dr. Annie Besant Road, Worli, Mumbai - 400 018. Phone : 2496 4676 Fax : 2497 3827 Newsletter Gram : NEHRUCENTR Vol. 13 Issue 6 JUNE 2012 E-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.nehru-centre.org Price Rs. 10/- Per Copy Annual Subscription Rs. 100 Events At a Glance... Constitutionalism, Democracy and Secularism in South Asia Nehru Planetarium A two-days National Seminar on projection of Sinhalese/Tamils as two “Constitutionalism, Democracy and antagonistic entities at war with one Transit of Venus Secularism in South Asia” was another for several centuries by Nehru Planetarium has made organised on February 27-28, 2012. Sinhalese/Tamil chauvinist writers is e l a b o r a t e a r r a n g e m e n t s f o r observation of the Transit of Venus on Dr. V. Suryanarayan, Senior Professor an illustration of the well known 6th June 2012. Please check our website and Director (Retd.) Centre for South axiom that truth and objectivity are for more details. and Southeast Asian Studies, the first casualities in times of conflict. University of Madras presented a As Eric Hobsbawm has pointed out, Cultural Wing paper on Sri Lanka as an expert. “history is the raw material for n a t i o n a l i s t o r e t h n i c o r Azad Ka Khuab The first part of his presentation was fundamentalist ideologies, as poppies (Hindustani Ki Azadi) covered in the monthly Newsletter of are the raw material for heroin May 2012. The second and final part is A play titled AZAD KA KHUAB addiction”. Stanley Thambiah, after based on Maulana Azad’s contribution covered in the present issue. years of painstaking research, has in the freedom struggle of India. come to the conclusion that Sinhalese Terming ‘Falsification of History’ as and Tamils share many parallel 19th June 2012, 6.30 pm yet another development in Sri Lanka, Nehru Centre Auditorium Dr. V. Suryanarayan observed that the contd. on page 2 Megh Malhar HOMAGE (A Three Days Thematic Festival of Classical Music on Monsoon Ragas) 26th June 2012 to 28th June 2012 Nehru Centre Auditorium Art Gallery “Chatak” - 2012 (A Monsoon Show for Student Artists) 14th June 2012 to 27th June 2012 AC & Circular Gallery Book Discussion “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” written by Katherine Boo. 28th June 2012, 4:30 pm Conference Hall, 14th Floor Entry: By invitation only Time: 11:00 am Venue: Ground Floor (Please check our website for Panelists’ Smt. Bakul Patel, Joint Secretary, Nehru Centre paying tribute to late Shri Rajni Patel, Founder Member and names) ForDiscoverymer General ofSecretar Indiay, BuildingNehru Centre, on his 30th Death Anniversary. Shri I. M. Kadri, General Secretary, Nehru Centre and the staff of Nehru Centre were present on the occasion. Nehru Centre Newsletter - June 2012 1 1 features of “traditional caste, kinship, with a minority complex, were civilians. There was savage bombing popular religious cult, customs and so consistently opposed to federalism of Tamil civilian areas by the Sri on. But they have come to be divided and devolution of powers. They Lankan Air Force planes. Temples, by their mythic characters and believed that federalism would be the churches, orphanages, schools and t e n d e n t i o u s h i s t o r i c a l first step towards the establishment of heavily populated areas became easy understandings of the past. a s e p a r a t e S t a t e . T h e t h r e e targets. The Tigers were not without Constitutions and their underlying blemish. They used civilian Despite the cultural similarities, the ideologies contributed to the population as a buffer, shooting and chauvinists both among the Sinhalese exacerbation of ethnic conflict, the killing of the civilians who were and the Tamils propagate. The distortion of liberal democracy and trying to escape from their control, falsehood of age-old animosities the emergence of authoritarianism. forcibly recruiting children into their between the two communities. the The first Constitution of Sri Lanka, the baby brigade, placing military Sinhalese-Tamil conflict is a product Soulbury Constitution of 1947, equipment in the proximity of of post-independence politics, an promulgated by Britain one year civilians and also using forced labour. offshoot on the one hand, of the nation before independence, enshrined Since the Tigers have been decimated building experiment, where the majoritarian democracy in a unitary and Prabhakaran killed, it is not Sinhalese leaders wanted to build the State. Provision was made for the possible to make the Tigers nation on the basis of Buddhist protection of minority rights under accountable". religion and Sinhala language to the Section 29(2) of the Constitution exclusion of minority communities which prescribed limitations on What is the response of the Sri Lankan and on the other, to the politics of legislative supremacy. But the irony Government to grave allegations of ethnic mobilization resorted to by was that the first major legislative human Rights violations? The chauvinist Sinhalese and Tamil enactment of the Sri Lankan Government appointed in May 2010 leaders. government was to render the Indian the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, which submitted its Referring to ‘Revolts by Janatha T a m i l s s t a t e l e s s . T h e 1 9 7 2 Report on November 15,2011. The V i m u k t i P e r a m u n a ’ , D r . V . Constitution marked a distinct Report has both positive and negative Suryanaran said “It is necessary to departure from the past. The United features. The negative features are highlight the fact that the first major Front Government, led by Mrs. that the Report in many places bends challenge to the Sri Lankan political Sirimavo Bandaranaike, equated its backwards to defend the inhuman system did not come from the Tamils, overwhelming majority in Parliament actions of the armed forces; the but from the Sinhalese. In April 1971, with consensus. The Tamil demand number of civilians killed during the the Janatha Vimukti Peramuna (JVP), for federalism and protection of Fourth Eelam War is not estimated; it reflecting the disechantment and minority rights were brushed aside. turns a blind eye to the treatment frustration of the Sinhalese educated On the other hand, the Constitution meted out to the civilians trapped and under privileged, raised the gave Buddhism an elevated position between the Tigers and the Armed banner of armed revolt. This revolt of within the country and made Sinhala Forces. It is also silent on the "white the youth was the first instance of the official language. flag incidents", involving the killing of “tensions between generations On 'Human Rights Violations', he said surrendered LTTE cadres. The breaking out into military conflict on a "During the last stages of the Fourth legality of the existing High Security national scale. The creed of Eelam War, when the Sri Lankan Zones, the incarceration of 300,000 generational war was linked to armed forces were engaged in a fight civilians in the Menik farm and in eradicating the colonial status which to the finish, the War against the other places. had ended two decades previously, Tigers turned into a war against Tamil but was presumed to be still in Concluded.... existence”. The revolt was crushed What Nehru said.... with external assistance, but it had far reaching repercussions as far as Sri Lankan political system was .... Peace becomes of paramount importance if this world of ours is to make progress or indeed even surrive. Peace in our view is not merely abstention from war but an concerned. A State of Emergency was active and positive approach to international relations leading, first, to the lessening proclaimed in April 1971 which of the present tension through an attempt to solve our problems by methods of continued without a break until negotiation, and then, to a growing cooperation between nations in various ways - February 1977. Thousands of cultural and scientific contacts, increase in trade and commerce, and exchange of Sinhalese youth were detained ideas, experience and information. without trial. The armed forces had their first experience in tackling an .... There is no reason why different countries having different political or social or armed revolt.” economic systems should not cooperate in this way, provided there is no interference with one another and no imposition or attempt to dominate. Further he observed that the Sinhalese, the majority community June 22, 1955 Nehru Centre Newsletter - June 2012 2 SKY SHOWS: Shows & Timings “Stars and Wonders of the Universe” - 12 noon (Hindi) “Awesome Universe” - 1:30 pm (Marathi) “Stars and Wonders of the Universe” - 3:00 pm (English) “Awesome Universe” - 4:30 pm (Hindi) NEHRU PLANETARIUM MONDAY CLOSED Transit of Venus - 6th June 2012 second contact is when the Venus is seen completely on the disk of the Sun. After this the planet is seen The month of June 2012 offers us the last chance in our moving across the solar disk. The end of the event lives to witness a celestial phenomenon called Transit of begins at 3h 39m IST, with the advancing limb of Venus Venus that is going to take place on 6th June 2012. This touching the limb of the Sun from inside. This is called will be ones only opportunity to view this phenomenon the third contact and the fourth contact is when the as the next one will take place on 11th December 2117, event ends. after 105 year and 6 month from now. The Transit of Venus in 2004 was seen completely from What is the transit anyway? India but on 6th June 2012 when the first and second contact takes place the Sun will still be below the You have seen on our stars maps that stars are fixed horizon.