States in Conflict with Their Minorities: Challenges to Minority Rights in South Asia

332 Pages·2010·3.158 MB·English

by  Rita Manchanda (editor)

Contents i
States in Conflict
with their Minorities
ii States in Conflict with their Minorities
Contents iii
States in Conflict
with their Minorities
Challenges to Minority Rights
in South Asia
Edited by

Rita Manchanda
iv States in Conflict with their Minorities
Copyright © South Asia Forum for Human Rights (Nepal), 2010
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publisher.
First published in 2010 by

Sage Publications India Pvt Ltd
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Published by Vivek Mehra for SAgE Publications India Pvt Ltd, typeset
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printed at Chaman Enterprises, New Delhi.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
States in conflict with their minorities : challenges to minority rights in South
Asia / edited by Rita Manchanda.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Minorities—Political activity—South Asia. 2. South Asia—Race relations—
Political aspects. 3. South Asia—Politics and government. I. Manchanda, Rita.
JQ98.A38M58 323.154—dc22 2010 2010018996

ISBN: 978-81-321-0455-1 (HB)
The Sage Team: Elina Majumdar, Shweta Tewari, Mathew P.J. and
Trinankur Banerjee
contents
List of Tables and Boxes vii
List of Abbreviations ix
Acknowledgements xi
1. Introduction Rita Manchanda 1
2. Violence, Cultural Diversities and the Fantasies
of a Monolithic Nation-State Ashis Nandy 31
3. a Long-term View of Contemporary Muslim
Situation in India Javeed Alam 42
4. Media, Modernity and Minorities
Sukumar Muralidharan 69
5. Hindus in a Polarized Political environment:
Bangladesh’s Minority Afsan Chowdhury 94
6. Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh:
Justice Denied Amena Mohsin 117
7. Discrimination in Pakistan against Religious
Minorities: Constitutional aspects Shahla Zia 143
8. Religious Minorities in Pakistan: Mapping
Sind and Baluchistan Ishtiaq Hussain 173
9. Strangers in the House: Minorities in Pakistani
Textbooks Rubina Saigol 204
vi States in Conflict with their Minorities
10. Sri Lanka: Recent Shifts in the
Minority Rights Debate Jayadeva Uyangoda 224
11. Muslims in Sri Lanka: Political Choices of
a Minority Farzana Haniffa 260
12. Inclusion and accountability in a ‘New’
Democratic Nepal Mahendra Lawoti 279

About the Editor and Contributors 307
Index 311
List of tables and Boxes
tables
8.1 Percentage Population by Religion 175
8.2 Hindu Population by Percentage 179
12.1 Parliament Seats under the FPTP and
the PR Systems, 1991, 1994 and 1999 284
12.2 CHHE’s Hegemonic Domination
in Sharma’s Federal Model 288
12.3 Proportionality FPTP and PR Methods 293
12.4 Distribution of Household (HH) and Area Owned
(in per cent) 297
Boxes
8.1 Hindus in Sind at Risk 180
8.2 Mohammad Ali Jinnah: Excerpts of Interview 185
8.3 Christian and Hindu Votes Impact Fifty
National Assembly Seats 193
8.4 Survey Findings 198

List of abbreviations
AL Awami League
BDR Bangladesh Rifles
BJP Bharatiya Janata Party
BNP Bangladesh National Party
BPML Bengal Provincial Muslim League
CCC Central Constitutional Commission
CHHEM Caste Hill Hindu Elite Male
CHT Chittagong Hill Tracts
CIAA Commission for the Investigation of
Abuse of Authority
CPN-UML Communist Party of Nepal-Unified
Marxist Leninist
CSC Christian Study Centre
CWC Ceylon Workers’ Congress
EPRLF Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front
FSC Federal Shari’at Court
FPTP First Past the Post
HBCOP Hindu Bouddha Christian Oikkya Parishad
HDC Hill District Council
HWF Hill Women’s Federation
ICC International Criminal Court
ICDS Integrated Child Development Scheme
INSEC Informal Sector Service Centre
IPKF Indian Peace Keeping Force
ISgA Interim Self governing Authority
ISF Islamic Socialist Front
JHU Jathika Hela Urumaya
JI Jamaat-i-Islami
JMB Jama’atul Mujahedeen Bangladesh