Faith and belief are best suited to the personal arena. A conjunction with politics and public space invariably infects them with repressive and domineering tendencies. Religion then becomes a tool for the most unspeakable outrages justified in the name of whichever the professed faith that is manipulated for political gain. The storm-troopers of the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (October 1998 issue, CC) have this in common with the soldiers of Islam, the Taliban and their Mujahideen opponents in Afghanistan.

This month’s extensive cover story highlights the predicament of ordinary Afghani women and men, living for whom has been turned into an unending nightmare since April 1992, first by the forces of the Mujahideen and now the Taleban. The experience of Afghanistan shows, yet again, that religion and politics make a lethal mix, irrespective of the country, community or culture that brews this poison. Therefore communalism and religious fanaticism — Hindu, Muslim, Christian or whatever — must be exposed and fought. Not only in India, but elsewhere in the world, in neighbouring countries particularly. This for the simple reason that hate politics can be highly infectious, recognises no national barriers and the different communalisms and fundamentalisms need and feed on each other. The horrors being committed by some political outfits in the name of Allah in Afghanistan provides daily ‘proof’ to the sangh brigade in India how intolerant, fanatical and barbaric Islam and all Muslims are. Similarly, "Hindu India" and "the plight of Indian Muslims" is very handy material for the mullahs and political leaders every time they see the need to further ‘Islamise’ Pakistan.

Women under regimes of the religious right, like the Taleban in Afghanistan or the BJP in our own milieu, bear the brunt of the fatwas and firmans dished out in the name of religion and culture. Horrifying incidents of rape and abduction, forced hejab, a denial of access to education, employment and public space have resulted in deep depression and growing cases of suicide among women in Afghanistan.

Prejudice and bias operate according to their own internal logic, sub–consciously closing the mind to facts and images that challenge ingrained notions. Life under Islamic Pakistan or Afghanistan, for instance, has a stereotypical, demonised image in the mind of many Indians who are oblivious to accounts of heroic individuals and groups of men and women, who have staked all they have in the struggle for a just and peaceful society in their countries.

Meena Keshwar Kamal, and the organisation she founded — the founder of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) — are outstanding examples. Struggling for the women of her country, Meena was allegedly assassinated by the KGB in cahoots with the Muslim fundamentalist at the young age of 30, in 1987. But, with conditions being extremely hostile in Afghanistan, RAWA continues its work from several centres in Pakistan, at great risk and threat to its cadre. We offer our readers an insight into the struggles of this group.

Closer home, the Bharatiya Janata Party continues with its divisive agenda. In late October, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati, the central ministers for human resources development did their utmost to push through a national programme for education with distinct saffron overtones. That is the subject for our special report this month.

The attack on Christian religious persons continues with little action from the central or state law and order machinery. In yet another attack last week, a group of men allegedly belonging to the RSS attacked the home of nuns in Jhajjar district of Haryana, barely 55 km from the capital. Meanwhile, the central government faces its first political test with elections to the Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi legislatures coming up. The euphoria of the bomb has been dulled by the astronomical price of onions and other essential commodities. Poll pundits predict a jolt for the BJP in the states under their rule — Rajasthan and Delhi..