Calling on British Asian activists
Ganesh | 24.08.2003 09:19
India Indymedia has been over-run by violent, anti-Muslim extremists. I am getting together a group to call for India IMC's relaunch. It is in the interest of activists in the South Asian diaspora to give support.
Hindu extremists have begun flooding India Indymedia with anti-Muslim hate propaganda in what seems to be a take-over of the news service by the far right.
Calls for the slaughter of Muslims and even the raping of Muslim, Christian and communist women (see
http://india.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=6725&group=webcast in which prominant Dalit activist Smita Narula, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, is threatened with rape and murder) have flooding the India Indymedia newswire. The Hindu right-wing has effectively taken over India Indymedia after a concerted effort by its organisers who have exploited its weak structures and poor organisation. The failure of the Indymedia movement to bring India Indymedia into line has made the service a dangerous tool of violent groups whose activities (including the murder of 2,000 Muslims in the recent Gujarat Massacres) are on a par with the Nazis. I know that the messages on India Indymedia are worrying Smita, her family and her colleagues. Her safety is directly threatened by India Indymedia, where fascists are campaigning for her rape. I have no doubt that others targetted by the extremists on India Indymedia are in the same position.
The Indymedia movement must ensure that the editing process is tightly controlled so it does not become a method of abusing individuals or encouraging hatred of minority groups. India Indymedia must either be helped or closed down or it will become a threat.
That is why I have begun to form a group to campaign for a relaunch of India IMC. I am already in contact with friends from Netherlands, the UK and Seattle Indymedia, who have given sound advice on the ways to renovate sites so that hate posts and right-wing propaganda are not given such prominance or are deleted altogether.
What we need is a critical mass of people to approach global indymedia and campaign for a solution. Please email me at
ganeshmukti@yahoo.ie or join the "renewing india indymedia" group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indiaindymedia/
I would be very interested to hear from members of the South Asian diaspora in the UK who could contribute to this initiative.
Calls for the slaughter of Muslims and even the raping of Muslim, Christian and communist women (see
http://india.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=6725&group=webcast in which prominant Dalit activist Smita Narula, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, is threatened with rape and murder) have flooding the India Indymedia newswire. The Hindu right-wing has effectively taken over India Indymedia after a concerted effort by its organisers who have exploited its weak structures and poor organisation. The failure of the Indymedia movement to bring India Indymedia into line has made the service a dangerous tool of violent groups whose activities (including the murder of 2,000 Muslims in the recent Gujarat Massacres) are on a par with the Nazis. I know that the messages on India Indymedia are worrying Smita, her family and her colleagues. Her safety is directly threatened by India Indymedia, where fascists are campaigning for her rape. I have no doubt that others targetted by the extremists on India Indymedia are in the same position. The Indymedia movement must ensure that the editing process is tightly controlled so it does not become a method of abusing individuals or encouraging hatred of minority groups. India Indymedia must either be helped or closed down or it will become a threat.
That is why I have begun to form a group to campaign for a relaunch of India IMC. I am already in contact with friends from Netherlands, the UK and Seattle Indymedia, who have given sound advice on the ways to renovate sites so that hate posts and right-wing propaganda are not given such prominance or are deleted altogether.
What we need is a critical mass of people to approach global indymedia and campaign for a solution. Please email me at
ganeshmukti@yahoo.ie or join the "renewing india indymedia" group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indiaindymedia/ I would be very interested to hear from members of the South Asian diaspora in the UK who could contribute to this initiative.
Ganesh
e-mail:
ganeshmukti@yahoo.ie
Homepage:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indiaindymedia/