Friends of South Asia

Friends of South Asia

Friends of South Asia (FOSA, established 2001) is a volunteer [cite news | author=Ashfaque Swapan | title=South Asian Community Rallies to Provide Earthquake Relief | date=October 14, 2005 | publisher=India West | url=http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=f9fd4fb90534cb3a08f233b8f5b8bab2 ] South Asian American peace activism groupcite news | author=AH Cemendtaur| title=Learning the ropes of peace activism | date=May 2003 | publisher=Peace News | url=http://www.peacenews.info/issues/2450/245017.html ] based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The group's stated basic mission is to "achieve a peaceful, prosperous, and hate-free South Asia...work [ing] through people-to-people contacts, dialog, and other non-violent, non-exclusionary means." cite web | title=Friends of South Asia | work=Friends of South Asia (FOSA) | url=http://www.friendsofsouthasia.org/ | accessdate=2006-04-11] .

History

FOSA was founded in 2001 by Pakistani expatriates with some Indian friends, concerned about the threat of military action by India, as a result of Pakistan's support of terrorist activities in India. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1707865.stm] cite news | author=Raj Jayadev | title=Indian-Pakistani peace gathering | date=January 6, 2002 | publisher=San Francisco Chronicle | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/01/06/MN122501.DTL ] ; co-founders included Sabahat Ashrafcite web | title=iFaqeer | work=Bayosphere | url=http://bayosphere.com/user/sabahat_ashraf | accessdate=2006-05-02] and Ali Hasan Cemendtaur from Karachi, Pakistan. Members organized candlelight vigilscite news | author=Suzanne Lee | title=Bay Area South Asians Kick-off Monthly Global Peace Vigils | date=February 1, 2002 | publisher=AsianWeek | url=http://www.asianweek.com/2002_02_01/bay_southasian.html ] and letter-writing campaigns cite news | author=Ryan Kim, Matthew B. Stannard and Charles Burress, Chronicle Staff Writers | title=Kashmir tension watched closely by Bay relatives | date=June 2, 2002 | publisher=San Francisco Chronicle | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/06/02/MN107890.DTL ] for peace, initially in collaboration with groups like the Sikh Qaumantri Punjabi Bhaichara (Punjabi International Friendship) Group of California.cite news | title=Friends Of South Asia & Qaumantri Punjabi Bhaichara | date=February 6, 2002| publisher=ACHA Peace Bulletin | url=http://www.asiapeace.org/acha/02-06-2002.htm ] The local vigils grew out of a series of vigils for peace in South Asia held simultaneously in 18 cities around the world.cite news | author=Hina Wyne | title=Friends of S. Asia Not Willing to Give up Hope | date=June 14, 2002 | publisher=Pakistan Link | url=http://www.pakistanlink.com/Community/2002/June/14/07.html ]

Ideology and activities

The group was described by "Metro Santa Cruz" in April 2006 as "a hodgepodge of mostly secular-leaning South Asian Hindus and Muslims—university students, Silicon Valley engineers moonlighting as activists, etc.—who regularly organize local vigils, poetry readings, films and speaker events relating to South Asian issues."cite news | title=The Terrorists Are Here! Not! | date=April 12, 2006 | publisher=Metro Santa Cruz | url=http://www.metrosantacruz.com/metro/04.12.06/fly-0615.html ]

As of 2006, Friends of South Asia continues to advocate against what they term "militarism in India", Pakistan, and the United States.cite news | title=Bush’s visit disappoints South Asian group | date=March 9, 2006 | publisher=Daily Times | url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C03%5C09%5Cstory_9-3-2006_pg7_52 ] FOSA has been involved with several other campaigns, including opposition to the Iraq War, the 2002 Godhra riotscite web | title=About Coalition Against Genocide | work=Coalition Against Genocide | url=http://www.coalitionagainstgenocide.org/about.php | accessdate=2006-04-25] , Pakistani military actions in Balochistan, Pakistancite web | title=Please Help Stop the Military Operation and Massacre in Balochistan | work=Friends of South Asia & The World Sindhi Institute | url=http://www.worldsindhi.org/pastevents/2006/rally06/helpstopthemiltaryop.html | accessdate=2006-04-24] cite web | title=Major Rally in Washington, D.C., to Call Attention to Atrocities in Balochistan Province of Pakistan | work=The World Sindhi Institute | url=http://www.worldsindhi.org/presscoverage/2006/usnewswire6feb06.html | accessdate=2006-04-27] , and the 2006 bombings in Varanasi, India, as well as support for victims of the Bhopal disastercite web | title=20th Anniversary Film Screening & Discussion | work=Students for Bhopal | url=http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/Stanford.htm | accessdate=2006-04-25] , advocacy for the civil rights of immigrants to the United Statescite web | title=Public Statement from South Asian Organizations Regarding Immigration Reform | work=South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow | url=http://www.saalt.org/news_4-10-06.html | accessdate=2006-04-25] , and support for the Right to Information movementcite web | title=Fight Corruption & Better Governance with Right to Information Act (RTI) | work=Friends Association for India's Development, Bay Area Chapter | url=http://www.aidsfbay.org/events/2006/Arvind.html | date=2006-10-16 | accessdate=2007-01-18] , and the proposed expansion of reservations (quota-based affirmative action) in higher education for members of Indian castes defined as Other Backward Classes.cite web | title=Dismantling Discrimination: NRI groups Welcome the Decision, Even if Belated, by the Indian Government to Implement Reservations in Higher Education for the Socially & Economically Backward Classes | work=Friends of South Asia (FOSA) | url=http://www.friendsofsouthasia.org/caste/reservations/PressRelease_060906.html | date=2006-06-09 | accessdate=2006-06-20] FOSA has also specifically focused on highlighting art and activism linked to social change movements in Pakistan, including issues like peace with India, ending the Indo-Pak nuclear racecite web | title=Theatre Without Frontiers: Video clips and discussion with Pakistani Playwright Shahid Nadeem | work=Ekta | url=http://www.ektaonline.org/events/shahid/ | accessdate=2006-04-24] cite news | author=Ras H. Siddiqui | title=Pakistan & India under the Nuclear Shadow | date=September 13, 2002 | publisher=Pakistan Link | url=http://www.pakistanlink.com/Community/2002/Sept/13/09.html ] , opposition to censorshipcite news | author=Ali Hasan Cemendtaur | title=FOSA Celebrates Success of 'Suppressed Voices' | date=January 5, 2005 | publisher=Pakistan Link | url=http://www.pakistanlink.com/Community/2005/Jan05/07/02.htm ] and ending religious intolerance against the Ahmadiyya Muslim minority who have been victims of pogroms in Pakistan cite web | title=Human Rights in South Asia: Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Community in Pakistan | work=Friends of South Asia (FOSA) | url=http://www.friendsofsouthasia.org/events/ahmadiyya/ | accessdate=2006-04-24] cite news | author=Ali Hasan Cemendtaur | title=Traveling Film South Asia 2004 Comes to San Francisco Bay Area | date=March 4, 2004 | publisher=Pakistan Link | url=http://www.pakistanlink.com/Community/2004/March04/12/06.html ] .

Their website contains links to a panel discussion that includes on the agenda an examination of 'opportunities' to “build Indian communism and fight the agenda of the global ruling class.” [ [http://www.friendsofsouthasia.org/events/selfdeterminationpanel/ SELF DETERMINATION IN SOUTH ASIA] ,"FOSA website"]

FOSA has also expressed opposition to the recent Indo-US nuclear agreement. A March 2006 statement reads "We express our deepest disappointment with the recently concluded visit of George Bush to India and Pakistan, and unequivocally condemn the Indo-US nuke deal...The United States' imperial designs in its war on Afghanistan and Iraq and the submission of the Indian and Pakistani governments to go along, is not lost on their people who came out in thousands in both countries to protest against Bush and his agenda."cite news | title=Bush’s visit disappoints South Asian group | date=2006-03-09 | publisher=Daily Times | url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C03%5C09%5Cstory_9-3-2006_pg7_52 ] . The Nuclear agreement was, contrary to these claims, well - received in by Indians, NRI advocacy groups in the United States, as well as several eminent scholars and diplomats in the United Statesand regarded as an important step in the future development of the country [ [http://www.india-defence.com/reports/1605 Impact of Bush's India visit | India Defence ] ] [ [http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/dec/18ndeal4.htm Nuclear apartheid against India is over: India Inc ] ] [ [http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jan/05ndeal.htm NRIs ask global counterparts to lobby for N-deal ] ] [ [http://www.usindiafriendship.net/viewpoints1/Open_Letter_to_Congress_from_Experts.pdf] Letter from a group of 28 eminent scholars, diplomats and former US Government officials calling for an endorsement of the India US civil nuclear cooperation agreement] .

FOSA was a prominent participant in the Californian Hindu textbook controversycite news | author=Vrinda Normand | title=Battling the Past: Indian parents and scholars go to war over how Hindu history is taught in California schools | date=February 1, 2006 | publisher=Metroactive | url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/02.01.06/hindus-0605.html ] cite web | title=Speak Out Against the Hindutva Assault on California's History Textbooks | work=Friends of South Asia (FOSA) | url=http://www.friendsofsouthasia.org/textbook/ | accessdate=2006-04-11] , in which it joined a number of other groups in petitioning California's Curriculum Commission to reject allegedly revisionist edits to California's textbook curriculum on Hinduism and India, as suggested by two American Hindu organizations. "(See main article Californian Hindu textbook controversy for details.)". The opposing groups sued the California State board of education. The court ruled against the Board of Education, judging that the SBE's actions violated California Administrative Procedures Act and contravened the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. [http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/sep/05msg2.htm] [http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/sep/05hindu.htm] [http://www.hinduamericanfoundation.org/media_press_release_california_lawsuit_decision.htm] .

FOSA has an informal organizational structure, and a number of members have served as spokespeople; graduate student Anupama Mandavilli has been a primary spokesperson in 2006, during the textbook controversy.cite news | title=After Letter, Prof Gets Hate E-mail | date=March 14, 2006 | publisher=The Harvard Crimson | url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=512081 ] cite news | author=Charles Burress | title=Hindu groups lose fight to change textbooks / But decision by state Board of Education is supported by some Hindu Americans | date=March 10, 2006 | publisher=San Francisco Chronicle | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/03/10/BAGVSHK6JK63.DTL ] cite news | author=Jonathan Jones | title=Hindu group's motion to block texts denied | date=April 26, 2006 | publisher=Fremont Argus | url=http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/ci_3752496 ] Group members have often collaborated with or co-sponsored events with other California South Asian American anti-communal organizations like EKTAcite web | title=Beyond Borders: Joint Indo-Pak Fundraiser for Earthquake Relief | work=Friends of South Asia (FOSA) | url=http://www.friendsofsouthasia.org/events/SAquake/BeyondBordersPressRelease.html | accessdate=2006-06-09] and the Coalition against Communalism.cite web | title=Controversial Modifications to California's History Textbooks: FOSA/CAC's Position on the Issue | work=Friends of South Asia (FOSA) and the Coalition Against Communalism (CAC) | url=http://www.friendsofsouthasia.org/textbook/FOSA_CAC_Position.html | accessdate=2006-06-09] .

Criticism of Friends of South Asia

* 2001: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto spoke at Stanford University in October 2001.cite news | author=Justin Diener | title=Stanford Students Meet the First Female Prime Minister of Pakistan | date=October 24, 2001 | publisher=Stanford Review | url=http://www.stanfordreview.org/Archive/Volume_XXVII/Issue_2/News/news2.shtml ] According to the "Stanford Report", "a handful of protesters who called themselves 'concerned Pakistani students' and 'friends of South Asia' held signs promoting peace and passed out fliers detailing corruption charges against Bhutto -- charges she disputed during her talk."cite news | author=Meredith Alexander | title=Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, expresses support for war effort | date=October 19, 2001 | publisher=Stanford Report | url=http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2001/october24/bhutto-1024.html ] cite news | author=Mary Nicole Nazzaro | title=Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto Visits Stanford University | publisher=UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism Asia Pacific Project | url=http://journalism.berkeley.edu/projects/asiaproject/nazzaro.html ] She was re-elected in 1993, but deposed for the second time in 1996.

* 2005: On May 15, 2005, FOSA organized a San Francisco march for peace in support of the 2005 India-Pakistan peace march, with the help of seven local co-sponsors, including the Pakistan American Alliance (PAA).cite web | title=Ind-Pak Peace Solidarity March in San Francisco | work=Friends of South Asia (FOSA) | url=http://www.friendsofsouthasia.org/events/indpakpeace/ | accessdate=2006-04-11] About a week after the event, an anonymous online critic of the Association for India's Development pointed out that the Pakistan American Alliance's website included an image of a man holding a placard reading "Allah will destroy the terrorist state of India"cite web | title="Allah will destroy the terrorist state of India" | work=AID (Association for India's Development) Documents Repository | url=http://www.geocities.com/aid_india_info/AID_DOC.html#anti_Indians | accessdate=2006-04-11] cite web | title="PAA co-sponsors Kashmiris rally in New York" | work=AID (Association for India's Development) Documents Repository | url=http://www.geocities.com/aid_india_info/doc22.pdf | accessdate=2006-04-25|format=PDF] at an October 2004 rally in New York City co-organized by the New York chapter of PAA.cite web | title=PAA co-sponsors Kashmiris rally in New York | work=Pakistan American Alliance | url=http://www.pakalliance.org/html/ny_protest.html | accessdate=2006-04-25] FOSA responded by deleting references to the Pakistan American Alliance from their website, and issuing an update stating that they were disturbed by the photo and had been unaware of PAA's politics, which were contrary to their own. cite web | title=Statement of Clarification by the Friends of South Asia, on Pakistan American Alliance's co-sponsorship | work=Friends of South Asia (FOSA) | url=http://www.friendsofsouthasia.org/events/indpakpeace/FosaStatementOnPAA.html | accessdate=2006-04-11]

* 2006: In February 2006, Mihir Meghani, president of the Hindu American Foundation was quoted in Silicon Valley local paper "Metroactive" saying that "It's pretty well known that they're [FOSA] tied with the Communist Party in India...It's really a ploy to break down and dissemble Hinduism." "Metroactive" also reported on an anonymous email received by FOSA, in which the sender threatened to "slaughter" members, singling out those who "use Hindu names and backstab Hindus." Other moderate editors, such as Professor Bajpai, have said that such reactions, while "going too far", are understandable given the "vehemence" that FOSA has unleashed aganst Hindus .

* 2006: In April 2006, FOSA invited Professor Biju Mathew (Rider University) to speak at Stanford University about labor organizing among New York City taxi drivers, globalization, and the anti-war movement. cite web | title=Biju Mathew in the San Francisco Bay Area | work=Friends of South Asia (FOSA) | url=http://www.friendsofsouthasia.org/events/bijumathew/ | accessdate=2006-05-12] "The Stanford Daily" student newspaper ran an article critical of the planned event, based on an anonymous email claiming that there were simultaneous "Islamist and Communist sympathies within the organization." The anonymous correspondent also claimed that Mathew, a co-founder of the Forum of Indian Leftistscite web | title=Taxi! Cabs and Capitalism in New York City | work=The New Press | url=http://www.thenewpress.com/index.php?option=com_title&task=view_title&metaproductid=1552 | accessdate=2006-05-12] (later renamed the Forum of "Inquilabi" [revolutionary] Leftists to be inclusive of non-Indian memberscite news | author=Ghadar Editorial Collective | title=Return of Ghadar | month=June | year=2004 | publisher=Ghadar | url=http://ghadar.insaf.net/June2004/MainPages/Editorial1.htm | accessdate=2006-06-05 ] ), supported the Unabomber and other terrorist groups.cite news | author=Patrick Leahy | title=Leftist speaker sparks debate | date=April 7, 2006 | publisher=Stanford Daily | url=http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page=content&id=19951&repository=0001_article ] The article received significant public criticism cite news | title=Letters to the editor | date=April 11, 2006 | publisher=Stanford Daily | url=http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page=content&id=19980&repository=0001_article ] cite news | title=Letters to the editor | date=April 12, 2006 | publisher=Stanford Daily | url=http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page=content&id=20004&repository=0001_article ] cite news | title=Letters to the editor | date=April 10, 2006 | publisher=Stanford Daily | url=http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page=content&id=19960&repository=0001_article ] , and the "Stanford Daily" swiftly retracted the storycite news | title=Retractions & Corrections | date=April 11, 2006 | publisher=Stanford Daily | url=http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page=content&id=19999&repository=0001_article ] and printed apologies in the two subsequent issues, concluding that "FOSA does not have any ties to Communist or terrorist groups...We also apologize to Prof. Biju Mathew for associating him in any way with the Unabomber and other extremist elements." cite news | title=Apology | date=April 10, 2006 | publisher=Stanford Daily | url=http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page=content&id=19961&repository=0001_article ] . Matthew, however, is associated with several radical Communist groups [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20030831105133/http://www.proxsa.org/yss/org.html YSS-Organizers and their interests] ] , and has well-established links with radical communist elements in India and the United States [ [http://www.hvk.org/specialrepo/hate/3.html Biju Mathew] ] .

* In July, 2006, News Today published an article by Retired IAS Officer V Sundaram in which FOSA and its associated organizations are considered both anti-Hindu and anti-National [http://www.newstodaynet.com/2007sud/mar07/230307.htm] .

References

Links

* [http://www.friendsofsouthasia.org/ Friends of South Asia]
* [http://www.noakhaliweb.com.bd/ Noakhali Web | Online Newspaper & Community Portal]


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