The Hindu Business Line : The Gujarat debate

If the Gujarat voters want Mr Narendra Modi and his brand of politics and communal polarisation, they are welcome. But what is galling is the vicious manner in which the entire debate for Gujarat’s votes, soul or whatever, has been orchestrated, says

The Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi…Will he win yet again?

Yet another proof, if it was required at all, of the deep polarisation in our country and across different classes — political, religious, ideological — has come with the Gujarat Assembly elections.

Of course, this was the political event of 2007 and, hence, attracted a hectic media frenzy to cover and capture various aspects of the race for Gandhinagar.

Even those who have no love lost for the Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi’s one-point agenda of divide and rule, were resigned to his returning to power.

Unlike the 2002 Assembly polls in Gujarat, which came so close to the communal carnage in the State and, hence, had raised hopes that the moderate faction of the Hindus would reject his communal polarisation policy, this time around there was not much hope of a change in Gandhinagar.

Modi mantra

There are several reasons for Mr Modi’s impending return to power. Perhaps, there is something in the psyche of the majority of Gujaratis that endorses Mr Modi’s policies and definitions. He has created and publicised, with great success, a prototype of the Indian, or rather Gujarati, Muslim.

This creature is not a nationalist, is an anti-social element, loves Miya Musharraf’s Pakistan, hates India’s development and progress and endorses or supports terrorism in cases where he himself is not a terrorist or perpetrator. He is uneducated, uncouth, does not practise family planning and is untrustworthy and, hence, not worth employing, at least in respectable or high paying jobs.

Second-class citizens

In short, these “second-class citizens” can be allowed to live in India/Gujarat, but only thanks to the magnanimity or mercy of the majority community, their non-vegetarian eating habits and indifferent personal hygiene demand that they be segregated to ghettos in appropriate demarcated areas in big towns or small villages.

As long as they “behave” and don’t make any demands from the administration or their fellow Gujaratis, they will be tolerated, but the moment they talk “nonsense” such as human rights, equal opportunities or social equity, they will be crushed, or asked to migrate to Pakistan.

Remember Godhra, that was just a sample of what these dangerous elements could do, but the fitting reply the “four crore Gujaratis” gave them for this crime will never, never be forgotten by the community.

Marginalisation, segregation into ghettos and social boycott was not enough; they were begging for economic crippling and subsequent boycott in all transactions made by the majority community, and they got this post-Godhra.

Appeasement

Parties such as the Congress, led by the Italian-born Soniaben, have totally “spoiled” and “appeased” the Muslims and, hence, should not be allowed to rule Gujarat, or else the legitimate rights and claims of the majority community would be crushed.

Oh, by the way, look at how Gujarat has developed during the Modi regime; never mind that the rest of India too has made giant economic strides, but that is because of the policies put in place by the erstwhile Vajpyaee regime.

Well, there must be something right with this logic or else Gujarat might not have rolled out the carpet for Mr Narendra Modi yet again. And this time around, Mr Modi’s reported arrogance, his total disregard for rebellion within the BJP, his cocking a snook at the party leadership as well as other Sangh Parivar outfits, have been highlighted by the media. But, ironically, all this has become the USP of the man.

Vicious debate

Well, if the Gujarat voters want Mr Modi and his brand of politics and communal polarisation, they are welcome. But what is galling is the vicious manner in which the entire debate for Gujarat’s votes, soul or whatever, has been orchestrated.

As usual, when it has got anything to do with the BJP, and particularly apna (our) Narendrabhai, a section of the NRI community jumps on to the bandwagon. So there are animated and often nasty discussions going on through chain e-mails and on blogs, with each side calling the other names.

The saffron supporters are taking potshots at the Congress and making all kinds of accusations about its minority appeasement landing the country into the arms of Muslim terrorists, pulling out the Afzal Guru case, Parliament attack, the Godhra carnage (without a word on the mayhem and genocide that followed later), M.F. Hussain (vote here is against freedom of expression), Prophet Mohammed cartoons, Taslima Nasreen and Salman Rushdie (vote is for freedom of expression and Muslims’ intolerance for this is condemned).

Media divide

The secular media is attacked, ridiculed, certain newspapers and TV channels named and their editors/reporters mocked and abused. In their vocabulary, the word ‘secular’ itself is a swear word. On the other side of the divide, which it must be said, cannot match the ferocity of the NRI-cheered saffron campaign, Mr Modi is called ‘The Ugly Indian’ and worse. All Gujaratis are dubbed Muslim-haters and accused of torturing Muslims in the Modi-led Gujarat. Advertisements in the run-up to the polls attacked Mr Modi in all kinds of ways. Sonia Gandhi’s ‘maut ke saudagar’ comment was hailed, cheered and endorsed.

Effete opposition

Perhaps the exit polls have got it wrong once again and Mr Modi and his party might return to power with a thumping, and not a reduced, majority. Depending on your ideology you can call his return the victory of Hindutva, or a vote for Gujarat’s progress and development, or give it any other label of your choice.

The truth is that the Congress had neither appropriate local leadership, strategy nor intrinsic worth to take on Mr Modi. You can’t remain indifferent to riot victims for five years and suddenly shed tears for them. It just does not wash; those who feel let down or betrayed by you might end up punishing you more for your sin of silence than the perpetrators.

But long after the election campaign is forgotten, the vitiated atmosphere, that will only further polarise the already divisive society of Gujarat, will remain.

It is one thing for bloggers, the media and even NRIs, to contribute in making the already murky waters of Gujarat muddier. But it is another for the various groups of the Gujarat janata to co-exist in an atmosphere of bitterness, suspicion and hate.

RASHEEDA BHAGAT. Response may be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in