T4C mirnarit sn
Eighty-Six Years of Editorial Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104
, January 9, 1976 News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan

Gandhipulls allstrings on subcontinent

Friday,

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A U.S. OFFICE OF EDUCATION
STUDY FOUND THAT 23 MILLION
ADULTS ARE FUNCTIONALLY
ILLITERATE!

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WELL, THAT EXPLAINS IT!
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By MICHAEL CHINOY
NEW DELHI, Dec. 18 (PNS)
- Quietly - with India's cen-
sored press barely able to mark
the event under the state of
emergency declared last June-
two peasant activists have been
put to deathtfora politically
motivated crime after four
years of appeals. It was the
first legal execution of political
prisoners since Mahat-
ma Gandhi's assassin was
hanged in 1948.
The two men, Kista Gowd, 45,
and Jangam Bhoomiah, 48,
were hanged Dec. 1 at the Hy-
derabad district jail in And-
hra Pradesh province in eastern
India. They were convicted in
1971 of killing two landlords
during a terrorist raid.
The executions had been post-
poned twice since the death
sentences were confirmed in
1972, and their appeals for clem-
ency had sparked a nationwide
campaign on behalf of the two
radicals. But under the strict
press censorship now in effect,
few people were aware that
the men were about to be exe-
cuted. Press people here are
distressed that they knew noth-
ing of the imoending execu-
tions and were therefore unable
to even attempt to get stories
on the case past the censors.
THE TWO MEN WERE
members of the Maoist - orient-
ed Naxalite movement. Named
for the district in West Bengal
-India's poorest and most pop-
ulous state - where it originat-
ed, the movement spread rap-

idly in eastern India in the late
1960s and early 1970s.
Frustrated by the failure of
parliamentary democracy to al-
leviate India's grinding poverty,
the Naxalites advocated armed
revolt by poor peasants - first
against landowners and money
lenders and eventually against
the state.
They carried out guerrilla
raids to kill village landlords
and distribute their wealth
among poor villagers. At the
height of their movement in
1970, the Naxalites had driven
landlords from 300 villages in
Ondhra Pradesh, where they
claimed to have established ru-
dimentary communist councils
to replace old governing bodies.
Althought occasional bursts
of Naxalite activity are still re-
ported, the movement has now
been largely crushed after
hundreds of Naxalites were kill-
ed and thousands arrested. Am-
nestv International reports that
in West Bengal alone, nearly
20,000 Naxalites are in prison.
BHOOMIAH AND GOWD
were charged with being mem-
bers of a Naxalite guerrilla
squad that killed two landlords
in Adilabad in Andhra Pradesh
in early 1970. The two were ar-
rested and sentenced to death
the following year. The sen-
tences were upheld by the State
High Court in January 1972, but
were twice postponed daring
mercy appeals to the highest
authorities in New Delhi.
The two men were members
of the Giripan tribe, one of the
most mistreated and backward

minorities in India. Both were
long-time activists who had par-
ticipated in the famous Telen-
gana uprising in the late 1940s
against the feudal ruler of Hy-
derabad.
Lawyers for the men argued
that as revolutionaries, their
acts could not be treated as or-
dinary crimes but had to be
judged within the context of the
poverty and oppression which
had inspired them. At the least,
the lawyers said, this warranted
reducing a death sentence to
life imprisonment.
PRIOR TO PRESS censor-
ship, the argument had won
support in the editorial col-
umns of many of India's lead-
ing dailies - including the Hin-
dustan Times which described
the Naxlites as "by and large
motivated by a high degree of
idealism though the means they
adopt are repugnant to demo-
cratic norms."
Supporters of clemency for
the two men noted that another
Naxalite leader, a lawyer who
was a member of the pro-Naxa-
lite Communist Party of India
(Marxist -,Leninist), had had
his death sentence commuted
after public protests. They also
pointed out that all death sen-
tences passed before August 15,
1972, had been commuted on
that date to mark the 25th an-
niversary of Indian indepen-
dence. The two Naxalites pea-
sants, however, were left off
the list of those reprieved.
Even the pro-Moscow Com-
munist Party of India (CPI),
perhaps the most vehement ide-

"Since Prime Minis-
ter Indira Gandhi de-
clared tle state of
emergency in June,
strict press censorship
has been in effect.
Press People here are
distressed that they
knew nothing of last
month's executions.

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ological opponent of the Mao-
ists, joined the campaign to
save the two men. Intervention
by top leaders in November 1974
had stayed their execution after
President Fakhruddin Ali Ah-
med rejected an appeal for
clemency.
ANOTHER APPEAL WAS re-
jected by the president in April
1975, despite the backing of 75
members of Parliament. Presi-
dent Ahmed, who had pardon-
ed the other Naxalite leader, re-
portedly believed that unlike
the lawyer two poor peasants
could not have a political un-
dersitanding of their acts. There-
fore, he concluded, their attacks
on landlords were ordinary

criminal murders.
This fall, 136 advocates of the
Supreme Court - including sev-
eral forn'ier chief justices and
judges of high courts, chairmen
of bar councils and a former
solicitor-general of India-ap-
pealed to the president to com-
mute the sentences. They were
again joined by the CPI, one of
the strongest supporters of
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
since she declared the state of
emergency in June.
But this time, there was no
way of popularizing the appeal
for clemency. Final pleas for
mercy were turned down by
President Ahmed. And at 4:30
a.m. on December 1, the two
revolutionaries were hanged.

EXPLAINS WHAT?
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THE MYILWARUKEEL JJUi1
Field :Jewpaptr 3yadkate, I9il

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Ford remains viable

"Blue" chokers
To The Daily:
I AM A MICHIGAN alumnus
(class of '71) and have watch-
ed Wolverine football since 1967
with interest. From that time
until the present one fact has
shown itself to be true: Michi-
gan has demonstrated that it
cannot win the big ones.
In recent years Ohio State
also has played along the same
lines.
The reason is more than ob-
vious. Against teams of equal
quality neither team, since they
have coached under the same

Letteris
philosophy, is able to mount a
balanced offensive attack. Nei-
ther Michigan nor Ohio State
can pass. Our offense is' too
predictable. In the important
games it amounts to run two
pass three.
It is my feeling that a change
in coaching along the California
style lines is in order. Unless
we switch to a balanced run-
ning and passing attack, we
may come out ahead on the
win/loss record, but WE WILL
NEVER WIN THE BTG ONES.
Randall Mackie
Galveston, Texas
January 1

By JIM TOBIN
SHE STORM IS BREWING in wintry
New Hampshire. Ronald Reagan and
the legions of dreaming Democrats are
putting on their smiles, pumping up bal-
loons, and shaking hands in preparation
for the first of thirty long primary bat-
tles. But when the dust settles and the
thunder abates, Gerald Ford will walk up
the steps of the Capitol a year from this
month and outline four more years of
Republican policy, earned on his own
right.
The press has found it fashionable in
recent weeks to drop dark hints about
the impending doom of the Ford candi-
dacy, to allude to the fate of Herbert
Hoover, the last incumbent to be defeat-
ed, to nod significantly at Reagan's surg-
ing candidacy.
But despite his stumbling in Vail and
Washington, his faltering campaign ef-
forts under the direction of the foot-in-
mouth Bo Callaway, and his debilitating
battle with Congress, Ford is gradually
building a record to which he will point
in August and again in November which
no rival will be able to challenge.
RICHARD NIXON, yanked from the
stage a year and a half ago, left his
stand-in blinking into the searing lights of
national politics, a little awe-struck and per-
haps a little inebriated with the elixir
of presidential decorum and power. Shucks,
he'd made it to Minority Leader in the
House, but nobody out in Grand Rapids
ever thought of Jerry in the Oval Office.
But it appeared he knew his limits bet-
ter than everyone thought. A man with-
out the vision of John Kennedy, without
the towering personality of Lyndon John-
son, without the shrewdness of Richard
Nixon, he hoped that his presidency would
be "a problem-solving administration," one
which would wade into the national chal-
lenge with Republican doctrine and belt
the problems one at a time. Such a plan
he has maintained for better or worse,
boring much of the troubled electorate and
many influential Republicans.
IN STEPPED RONALD REAGAN, cow-
boy extraordinaire, to take a pot shot or
two from the adge of the fray. The former
governor enjoyed for many months the
sancrosanct position of being an undeclared
candidate who could escape the wrath of
the media by playing at critic rather than
performer. Like Nixon, who in 1966 caught
a few Republican eyes'with his newspaper
column "Loyal Opposition," Reagan wrote
for syndication and spoke on the radio,
blasting the bureaucracy and stirring the
public with visions of decentralization.
But now that he is a candidate Reagan
has stepped into the rigors of national
scrutiny, and it is rapidly becoming clear

1o

hit/
SGC tr oubles

gan is already looking vulnerable in New
Hampshire, where voters are raising their
eyebrows as for the first time they seri-
ously consider his potentially expensive
plans for greater state financing.
FURTHERMORE, REAGAN'S magic is
on the stump, where his standard speech
ignites conservative instincts into fiery par-
tisanship. But newly-escalated television ex-
posure may reveal the shallowness of much
of Reagan's philosophy, paving the way for
incumbent Gerald Ford to show off his
"problem-solving.".
On the major issues of the day, it is
likely that by the convention in August
Ford will have yanked the issues out from
under the Democrats, having already pro-
posed policy where their attacks are aim-
ed.
His new welfare program, to be out-
lined in the upcoming State of the Union
address, attacks the welfare problems about
which voters have long been grumbling.
He proposes to tighten eligibility, increase
work incentives, and consolidate the morass
of grant programs into more manageable
and less expensive "block" grants.

)

The Lighter Side::::::
Candidate handouts
stave of f default
'm Dick West
By DICK WEST
WASHINGTON (UPI) - Everyone around here mopped brows,
sighed With relief and performed other rituals of deliverance last
week when the Treasury handed over $1.88 million to 11 presi-
dential candidates.
Some of those candidates already were borrowing money to
keep their campaigns going. Without the transfusion of federal
funds under the new campaign financing law, they might soon have
defaulted.
THEIR MONEY TROUBLES are by no means over, however.
As the campaign wears on, financial emergencies almost certainly
will recur.
"It must not be allowed to happen," said a New York political
economist with whom I discussed this prospect. "Default by a
presidential candidate would be a catastrophe for the entire coun-
try. If necessary, Congress should provide federally guaranteed
loans to bail them out."
"Oh, come now," I protested. "Aren't you overstating it a bit?
With so many candidates in the race, one would hardly be missed.
And nobody would be hurt except a few wealthy businessmen
from whom he borrowed campaign funds."
"WRONG!" CRIED the economist. "Default by one candidate
would make lenders reluctant to invest in other campaigns. By
convention time, there probably wouldn't be any candidates left.
"Beyond that, the voters would be deprived of essential ser-
vices, such as bumper stickers and lapel buttons."
I asked why so many presidential candidates were in a bind
financially.
The economist said it was primarily the result of rising ex-
pectations among the electorate.
"VOTERS NO LONGER are content with whistlestop tours,
torch-light parades and shopping center rallies. Now they demand
paid political announcements on television, plus occasional prime
time appearances by the candidates in place of their favorite
regular shows. This adds greatly to the cost of campaigns."
I said, "Why should the voters be dependent on the candidates
for informational handouts about the platforms and issues? Aren't
most people capable of informing themselves?"
THE ECONOMIST SHOOK his head. "Many voters can't afford
the balloons and hatbands through which basic political informa-
tion is distributed."

Iaily

To The Daily:
Once upon a time, Student
Government Council had a Mi-
nority Affairs Committee whose
purpose it was to aid minority
students on campus in their
plan, for events, programs, and
counseling. I don't know wheth-
er this committee was indispen-
sihl, but it was certainly help-
ful to the actions of SGC and
provided a useful source through
which minority students could
be found for adequate represen-
tation on other committees.
Well, around three weeks ago
I got to thinking that such a
committee could be put into ef-
fect with SGC again. After all,
there is only one Third World
student on Council now, and
none in any administrative posi-
tions; perhaps a monitoring
board could be instrumental in
presenting the minority view to
Council on controversial andor
political issues.
SGC - or, to be exact, the
"radical" Student Organizing
Committee and the conservative
MOVE epresentatives-thought
otherwise. They voted to table
the motion involving reinstitu-
tion, and refused to bring it
back at the next meeting, effec-
tivelv killing it. Minorities, ac-
cording to SOC boss Debi Good-
man, don't want a Minority Af-
fairs Committee; it would be
patronizing and demoralizing.
What she's really saying, of
course, is that minority students
have an adequate say on Coun-
cil right now. I don't buy that
one at all, but I may be wrong
... so I leave it to all student
organizations whose actions are
directed toward students of a
particular sex, sexual prefer-
ence, race, creed, or ethnic
background to send notices to
SGC either criticizing or com-
mending Goodman's stand. Af-
ter all, the boss said herself
that we should ask the minori-
tics if they want a committee.
G. J. DiGiuseppe, UCA
December 18
election
To The Daily:
AT THE WRITING of this
letter, the clerical union at the
University of Michigan is in the
process of electing officers. The
outcome should prove interest-
ing, considering how little pub-
licity there was prior to the
election.
The local office did send out
a notice of the election but it
stated only the times and plac-
es for voting. The members
weren't even told who the can-
didates were, what office each
is seeking, or their qualifica-
tions.
I have to give a little credit
to the CDU group for at least
publicizing their candidates
names and the office each is
seeking. Of course that is all
the information they printed on
one ofetheir extremely biased
newsletters. They also don't tell
what qualifications each candi-
date has to make them accept-
nhl ,n h netn

weren't told what was included
in the final contract for ratifi-
cation until the day we met to
vote for or against the ratifica-
tion of the contract.
NOW DURING THE election
of officers, we aren't notified of
the candidates or their qualifi-
cations. The only way we find
out who to vote for is when we
get to the voting places. What
kind of election is this!!!!
I am not a supporterof Unity
Caucus or CDU but of the de-
certification movement. I hate
to sit back and watch a lot of
inexperienced clericals trying to
do something none of them
knows anything about. Each one
tries to run the show his way.
Jean Jones even has her rela-
tive (ref. letter from Ron Jones
in the Michigan Daily on Janu-
ary 7, 1976) trying to tell us how
things should be run and he
isn't even a clerical at the Uni-
versity. Well I care and that is
why I feel the best way for the
clericals to go is to decertify
this union before it goes too
far. There are too many cleri-
cals who 'just don't care! what
happens or they say they 'can't
be bothered'. I certainly hope
these are the people who com-
plain later if by some slim
chance we aren't successful, in
decertifying, and are then stuck
with this lousy union telling us
how to do our jobs. If you real-
ly care, support decertification.
Pat Ardner
Jan. 9
negotiations
To The Daily:
AT THIS TIME in the short
history of the U-M Clerical UAW
Local 2001, many feel that things
are not going well.
I can only agree when I re-
flect that while there are 3,200
people in the bargaining unit,
only nine actually knew what
went on at the bargaining table
in the negotiation of our first
contract. We can be sure that
far more than nine U-M admin-
istrators were involved in and
consistently supplied with de-
tailed knowledge of the negotia-
tions.
In November 1974 nine bar-
gaining committee people were
elected to negotiate our con-
tract. They are the only per-
sons ever elected to positions
of power in Local 2001; only
they were at the bargaining ses-
sions; only they were privy to
communications, counsels and
directives from the Internation-
al: only they know what issues
went 'to the bargaining table
(and what issues they were un-
willing to fight for); only they
know the role of International
Representative Carolyn Forrest;
only they know the role of the
University.
As a result on August 21, 1975
w: had on the one hand an ad-
ministration well-prepared to
dole out a $43 per month raise
andl on the other hand a con-
fused uninforme membership,
hauled into an auditorium and
forced to simply say "Yes" or
"No." We in the bargaining unit
pay for this madness and lack
of information in dues and agen

proxy. Bargaining committee-
people represent a constituency.
In both cases there exists an
inherent relationship between
the elected and the electorate.
The union bargainer asks for
and is granted a position of
power; the electors must re-
ceive in return skilled repre-
sentation and strict accountabil-
i'v - ideally, that is., When
this something for something
relationship ceases to exist,
democ-acy suffers - or internal
stress is generated.
Clericals fir a Democratic
Union (CDU) hve correctly
placed the blame for present
stress and resentment within
Local 2001 on the pre-Watergate
mentality of those elected bar-
gaining committee people who
failed to meet the primary test
- a willingness to level with
the membership. The elections
schediled for January 6, 7, 8
and 9 will gk',e our local a
chance to make amends.
The people running on the CDU
slate have consistently fought
elitism, secrecy, dishonesty and
dcwnriht ineptness in o lo-
ca's affairs. A victory for CDU
will see an intelligent and im-
agnative leadership working to
build a democratic and effective
Local 2001
Walter Brauninger
January 6
Palestinians
To The Daily:
AS THE ISRAELI professor
mentioned in Abdeen Jabara's
letter of December 4, allow me
to comment briefly.
True, I wvas not ready to de-
bate on "Is Zionism Racism?"
because I do not believe that
this should be discussed in a
vacuum, apart from Palestinian
nationalism. I have yet to learn
of a society totally devoid of
prejudice and discrimination.
Israel's record in this respect
seems better than any other
Mid-Eastern and most other
states. In the discussion which
renlaced the debate, Zionism
was widelv discussed. I view
Zionism as a prototype for the
self-determination of all home-
less, onpressed peoples. It is
striking to notice in an histori-
cal perspective that the Pales-
tinian struggle of today is in
fact a kind of Palestinian Zion-
ism - their aspirations, their
pi)As, and even some of their
rhetoric is remarkably similar
to pre-State Jewish Zionism.
I wish td publicize the fact
that in a last minute attempt
to salvage the debate with Mr.
Jahra, late on Tuesday night,
I offered to sneak on a com-
nromise tonic "The role of Zion-
ism and Palestinian Nationalism
in arhieving Peace in the Mid-
dIe East." I am sorry that at
that time Mr. Jobara felt un-
able to accent this comromise.
IT WAS REGRETTABLE that
some of the self critical remarks
ahnut present-day Israeli policy
did not find their equivalent
by an Arab speaker, andprefer-
ably one residing in an Arab
country: however, I was pleased
that a sizeble part of the Arab
students sat throughout my
sneech withot any evident

Reagan
S, *shooting blanks

AFTER MANY WEEKS of refusal to
help New York City out of its financial
ditch, he came to the rescue after some
needed belt-tightening by state and city
officials.
Ford's compromise with Congress on
energy is likely to level off gasoline and
oil prices by the election, leaving little room
for Democratic criticism.
His proposal to extend tax cuts has not
been viewed as visionary, but may appeal
to pocketboock-checking voters in Novem-
ber.

I