Articles by Gautam Navlakha

KASHMIR Crackdown by Other Means Gautam Navlakha Instead of addressing the extreme alienation of people in the Kashmir valley due to the all-powerful presence of the security forces, the central government has announced a grandiose economic package. This clearly shows that the government has no interest in winning over the confidence of the people; all it wants is their mute submission to its authority.

down in a legal tangle.
In short, the JL represents a sell-out to German government and transnationals in a manner that neither Rao nor Deve Gowda would dare in public. Ironically, the Indian team had more than one staunch critic of post-1991 liberalisation and WTO. Who called the shots from behind the scene? In any case, why should our government, plagued as it is by high and rising revenue deficits, finance such extra-territorial lobbies?

that after the Lok Sabha elections and the formation of a 'stable' government, foreign investment would come flowing in to provide a material base and psychological assurance for the economy. This hope has not materialised, though economy is becoming increasingly vulnerable to fluctuations in the inflow of foreign capital.

THERE are many who believe that to be sensitive to the insecurity felt by the minorities in general and Muslims in particular is to support reforms from within the community. However, such political expediency has willy-nilly lent credibility to an ideological position which accords religious community a centrality in people's lives and concerns. It argues for reforms from within as being necessary and therefore, politically correct. Despite the difference, the political articulation of both have foregrounded Muslim Personal Law. The two day national convention of the All India Democratic Women' s Association (AIDWA) on Equal Rights and Equal Laws tried to break this prevalent mould. Held in Delhi (December 9-10) and drawing delegates from 18 states, the convention was significant for more than one reason. Being the largest democratic organisation the position articulated by AIDWA carries enormous weight. This is all the more important because there has been great deal of confusion among political activists on the question of women's rights after the Shah Bano case in 1985 and especially after the dgmohtiop of Babri masjid on December 6, 1992.

Growing Indo-US Military Ties Gautam Navlakha The reported presence of foreign military personnel in Jammu and Kashmir needs to he viewed not in isolation but against the background of the rapidly growing Indo-US military ties including the augmentation of the US military presence in the Indian Ocean area, joint Indo-US military exercises involving the participation of US nuclear-powered ships and frequent visits of US naval ships to Indian ports.