27/12/2012

The cause of “success” in Gujarat

It is being said that Narendra Modi got success for the third time in the Gujarat Assembly elections on the basis of development; but this is only partly true. Then it is also being said that this time Modi had sought vote in the name of the “honour” of Gujarat, development in the state and “sadbhavana”. That is, like in earlier election campaigns, he had not used provocation against any community; this is wholly true. Now the question is why it so happened. Raheel Dhattiwala, in 18 Dec issue of English daily The Hindu, has analysed it properly. He has written that today peace prevails in Gujarat and no riots took place during the election campaigns only because Modi did not require it this time. What Modi and the government of Modi had done in 2002 and what it had been happening later on in the form of genocide of Muslims, taking law in their hands, was enough for the majority of Hindu voters of Gujarat. According to Dhattiwala, the voters in Gujarat have been divided concretely. General hatred against Muslims is a matter of fact. Accepting this reality, the Gujarati Muslims too have compromised with it. This Dhattiwala is a Muslim doctoral student in Sociology in the U.K. He has made this analysis after long research during his stay in Gujarat.

This is the ground reality
There can be possibility of dissent to certain aspects of this analysis but this is the ground reality. The cause of “popularity of the chief minister of Gujarat is nothing but violence, destruction and massacre. For this purpose, Dalits and backward classes who are discriminated against in the state were coaxed in the name of Hindutva and by giving them free lease to do rioting and looting. In all the three elections of the assembly, government machineries were exploited openly; voters were made afraid (of consequences). After the bloodletting of February and March 2002, when then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee while addressing a public meeting in Ahmedabad on 4 April expressed his displeasure on it and asked the chief minister to maintain “raj dharma”, the majority in Gujarat took ill of it. Many leaders of BJP outside Gujarat were also angry. Therefore, only a week after it, Vajpayee had to compensate it by making a forceful speech against Muslims in a meeting in Goa. A conference of NRIs was held in New Delhi the same year. Tall personalities of the country and chief ministers of many states participated in it but a large number of Indians living abroad were all praise for the chief minister of Gujarat. And at that time there was no (talk of) development in Gujarat.

This is a question of integrity and survival of the country
Unbiased commentators and neutral analysts should accept the reality that there is a section here that believes in violence, hatred and discrimination. It has a particular agenda for the country. Though the group is little, it is holding command over all the resources in the country. Hatred against religious entities is its biggest weapon. It has established the laboratory in Gujarat after strivings spread over years. Therefore, the question where this mentality would take the country to if it continues to increase should be before the analysts and commentators. This is not a question of Muslims alone. If they (Muslims) stick to their faith and ideology, values and religious identity, they would pass over this age as well. The real question is about this great country and the future of all her citizens. Muslim groups, organisations and institutions in the country too should take notice of this trend not only because it targets Muslims but because this is a question of the integrity and survival of the country as well as of the protection, success and salvation of 1.25 crore people living here. Muslim leadership should not only be involved in its issues rather should think of the entire country.

25/ 12/12 khabar-O-Nazar by Parwaaz Rahmani, sehrozaDAWAT, translated by: Abu Yusuf


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