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In the context of the Gujarat Tehelka expose India needs to wake up and take notice. I am not asking about taking notice of the act because that has been known to all for long through works like Rakesh Sharma’s Final Solution. India needs to take notice of the reactions of a section to the expose. It is utterly sad that some of the reactions show a destruction of the moral meta-narrative in a section of the Indian society.
But it is also heartening to find so many common voices pouring in from everywhere condemning the acts in the most vehement terms. These are the voices, talking from their heart, who bring sanity to India and to any discourse in India. They are the ones who make this country survive. But I look here in this post at the disturbing reaction by a section and to question them on where is their moral reference point from which we should talk with them.Â
Let us step back and look at the big picture. Five years back around 50 people were inhumanly burnt alive in a train compartment in Godhra. The state law enforcement machinery failed to stop this brutal act. But it was not sorry about it. It did not feel responsible about being unable to stop this mob fury (which still remains an assumption and questioned by at least two investigative works). It did something completely unthinkable…at least for a country which is proud of being the biggest democracy. It got angry. Its anger was not directed at the supposed culprits; the mob in Godhra. It was directed against anyone who was a Muslim. In the most dark moments in free India’s history 2000 Muslims were killed. Many thousands of women were raped. Many thousands were displaced. Numerous Muslim places of worship vanished. The state machinery, if not colluded, had utterly failed in its basic responsibility. It was the most dark moment in free India. The Chief Minister had violated the oath of office he had taken. After such a despicable phase he was named ‘Lion of Gujarat’ in the land of Gandhi!
So how can someone defend such a shameful phase? It is what I call the refuge of the scoundrel. The first was when the Prime Minister of India, in a dark moment, uttered ‘But who started it?’. The second is to put another unjust act that has continued for quite some time and link it with Gujarat and ask ‘Why do you not talk about the Kashmiri Pandits?’. The third is ‘Modi has won election and has been chosen as the leader by the Gujarati people’. The fourth is ‘Do you not see the economic development in the state?’. The fifth is ‘Why do you take out the dead issues? Look at the future’. The sixth is ‘Court of law does not work through regional papers’. It does everything but it just does not touch upon the basic point. The moral meta-narrative of the society. The Base. What about Justice?
Let us see how this face has responded to the Tehelka expose.
BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said “This sting has rendered Tehelka as the investigative wing of the Congressâ€?. BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy said “Definitely the sting operation and its content are suspect, because we are aware for sometime that there are detractors against Modi in Gujarat and there is the Congress party, which has lost all ground in the state.” They talk about everything but not about the inhuman brutality. Vir Sanghvi wrote very aptly regarding this in 2002 “I was not surprised when the political establishment scrambled to look for conspiracies: the CIA was behind it, the ISI sponsored Tehelka…My point then, as now, was simple enough: let us first deal with the revelations and then worry about Tarun’s so-called backers.”
Today Chandan Mitra, the editor of the 143 year old newspaper Pioneer and a BJP supported Rajya Sabha MP, invoked the third and the fifth point; Modi has won various elections and why do you take out dead issues now. This is the editor of one of the oldest national newspapers of India! In which moral system and when was justice decided by the street? If someone wins elections does it exonerate them? Mr. Mitra, is the state of journalism going down to this level in India? And since when did we start forgetting about injustices on the pretext of moving ahead? Should we have said the same to the Sikhs who were hounded in 1984? Should we have said the same to the utterly vulnerable Jews who were brutalized and killed in millions by the Nazis? That it will be all decided in the court of law and forget about it in the social aspect.
The Gujarat administration responded as it has mastered it. They took the channels who were reporting it off the air! What more can we expect from those who cannot let Parzania or Fanaa released? Its fascism, plain and simple.
On reading various posts on most popular internet forums one finds either of these six points of circumventing the issue. There is a denial to look it in the eye, acknowledge it and speak out against it. But simultaneously it is also heartening to find so many sane voices standing up and speaking out.
I take here a few paragraphs to comment on two stories by Offstumped on this matter because it very typically goes into the running around the issue mode.
Offstumped resorted to a conspiracy theory, and I felt let down after reading this type of response that we are having to the expose. He claims that Tehelka is ISI backed and this is another way by bringing out this story to radicalize the Muslim youth! What would you say about what Vir Sanghvi wrote way back in 2002 to that claim? I quote again ‘My point then, as now, was simple enough: let us first deal with the revelations and then worry about Tarun’s so-called backers’. Its good to have right of center, center, and left of center opinions until they highlight various facets to take us to the truth. But if any ‘opinion’ goes in rationalizing injustices it can be only called right of right and that has another name: extremism.
This type of top-down analysis where one starts with the conclusion and then tries to find pieces to fit that pre-conceived picture can never take to The Truth but only to My Perceived Truth. He writes ‘If this was about justice, Mr. Tejpal’s outfit would have done the responsible thing of presenting all the corroborating evidence to the Nanavati Commission first. By not doing so Mr. Tejpal’s motives remain highly suspect.’ Really? So that it would have become just another footnote of a 15-year commission report which would have gone under the dusty shelves of a bureaucratic department of an apathetic government. Heard about Sri Krishna report?
He further writes ‘Indian Muslims must stand up to lead this war on terror by taking steps to arrest the radicalization before it assumes cancerous proportions.’ Why all responsibility gets back to Indian Muslims? They are doing it and speaking out in various ways. Why not the same people who shout do their bit by taking this advice. Give space to the voices of Indian Muslims when they speak against radicalization instead of saying that why don’t they speak. Many are speaking but to listen you have to yourself stop speaking and listen to them. Secondly speak for them. Why are not the right leaning columnists questioning that Sri Krishna report be tabled? A Bal Thakerey shamelessly says that Mumbai will burn. Does the injustice radicalize people or bringing out the truth radicalize them?
He finally writes ‘Great fiction, good entertainment, politically not of much significance in a state like Gujarat which has shown in recent times that it would like to move on from 2002 and not reminded again of it. The Congress must be really worried about its prospects ……’ Does Gujarat not include its Muslims? How can you move on from 2002 if you cannot even acknowledge what happenned then? Why was Parzania banned in Gujarat? That was not 2002. Why is Aamir Khan banned in Gujarat? This is not 2002. Why were the channels showing the sting operation off air? This did not happen in 2002. Has Gujarat really moved on from 2002 or moving to 1002?’
But thank God India has the other side which overtakes this darker face. The Indian Express in its editorial titled ‘We have always known what Gujarat was all about. When will the BJP acknowledge it?’ has taken BJP to task.
On the IndianMuslims.in site the commenters have stated it as clearly as was needed. Girish wrote ‘Will our system deliver justice at least now, when so many of the conspirators and killers have confessed to their crimes on camera? And will their supporters wake up at least now and see what path we are headed towards if we continue to tolerate such people in our midst or worse still support them? I am sorry to say that I cannot convince myself that the answer to either question is a resounding ‘yes’’. Abhilash Shastry wrote ‘It is a shame on every one of us that such people are roaming free’. Vineeta Saxena wrote ‘This fellow Bajrangi is not a human being. He is a raakshasa and Modi is a Raavana.’ Harsh Gupta wrote ‘Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting people. A blot on Hinduism, on Indianness and on humanity. Disgusting people.’
It was heartening to read them and this is the face of my country that I look forward to.
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Good post, Mirza.
Winning election doesn’t prove anything. Even Hitler was popular in Germany but if society becomes communalised and lumpen, it doesn’t mean it is right and gets the sanction to kill innocent people.
People of Gujarat must have an inward look. The entire system needs to be cleansed in the state right from lawyers to politicians. Chandan Mitra has long back lost credibility. He is not a journalist any more, a spokesperson-cum-socialite owner of a newspaper which is mouthpiece of a party.
Mirza, you have written a good article but with the obvious bias. Why should people not put development of Gujarat? At least they have the right to put this forward in a democracy. Why should you even make a premise that just because of Babu Bajrangi or final solution should everyone become guilty? This nation has been sleeping ever since independence. And there are many scoundrels who have founded refuge. Terrorists are exchanged for Minister’s kins. Bomb Blasts happen and people celebrate. Your entire message is accusing government, media and everyone and only in last you find some few voices. You appreciate the Hindu voices who always jump up to criticise Hindus or India but can you give me few voices in Muslims which do that. The best I get is 2 verses in Quran which leaves me gasping as is the person wrong or. Can I ask you what have Indian Muslims done for their bit that they shouldn’t be asked what they are asked? And that also when the court is delivering justice and people themselves criticise what has happened. The very mob which you didn’t say were Muslims hoisted the Pakistani Flag and sent invitations to Modi to become a Muslim and many more praised them as Lions who are not afraid to do this in a Hindu Land.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/sep/18godh.htm
This might make my message long but here is a copy out of a Blog on web. I also believe that Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat, is a dangerous man who deserves to be behind bars for criminal negligence and for inciting riots. But I also believe that Hitler he is not—either Rakesh Sharma and his friends have no idea of Mr Modi or they have no idea of Hitler or what the Final Solution was.It might be the later. The “Final Solution� was conceived at the Wannsee conference by office holders in the German administration to come up with a long-term plan to murder and dislocate Jews. There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that even one murder in Gujrat was conceived at the state or national level, no evidence that it was ever a part of government policy. Because it was not.The reason I stress this is because it is precisely here that the treachery of Mr Sharma lies. Mr Sharma knows the truth. Yet he, very mischievously, associates a term (Final Solution) which has a far darker connotation for Westerners (it implies violence as a part of government policy) with what happened in Gujrat in order to get brownie points from those who matter.And who are they? The Western audience ! The people who don’t know better, who have deeply entrenched stereotypes of India. Only a section of people are interviewed in the movie restricting a broad view of the happening. It fails to address why exactly the Modi government was put back into power with 2/3 majority. Conversely, it claims that it was because the whole Gujarati Hindu community is fascist and communal! I also give you the below links again and ask for your opinion which will not come.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgbDESuBXTk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q0oMU1-rlA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE7zOyN01A4
I just hope that forgive and move forward is the buzz word for everyone rather than keeping poison going on and on. I repeat if Osama, Jabir Binyamin Behera, Ashraf, Mohamed Azhar, Terrorist who site from sunnah are not all about Muslims then Babu Bajrangi or Modi is not about RSS or much larger hindu society. RSS and Indian Muslims can either unite for at least India and then work towards removing each others misconceptions or if we have to keep on blaming then lets do that.
Mahesh,
> Why should you even make a premise that just because of Babu Bajrangi or final
> solution should everyone become guilty?
Where did I write ‘everyone’? I have written at a focussed section.
> Your entire message is accusing government, media and everyone and only in last > you find some few voices
I am not accusing everyone. Please quote those words. I am writing about a specific group of people with a particular thought process.
“You appreciate the Hindu voices who always jump up to criticise Hindus or India but can you give me few voices in Muslims which do that”
Mahesh, I think either you have not gone through the earlier posts on this blog or if you have then simply you want to ignore them, at least your above quoted statement reflects that only.
My Dear friend please tell me what else would be the best example of State sponsored terrorism than Gujrat Riots when the Chief Minister himself appreciating the heinous acts and repeatedly giving the go ahead signal in all his speeches, I would not give you any link here because what i am stating here is well known to everyone.
We have never appreciated nor favoured any act of terrorism from so called Muslim terrorist, albeit we were the first ones to denounce that, You are quoting here few isolated incidents where some misguided muslims act stupiditly but you forgot to quote many such incidents where Muslims were vocal against the acts of barbarism from So called Muslim Terrorists.
Please raise above the bias and dont put the whole Muslim community under scrutiny.
And one more thing RSS is an outfit which has always spread venom against Muslims and its sister concerns like Bajrang Dal and VHP were always up in arms against the muslims so never even think that Muslims will ever reason with these outfits unless they shed their tag of radicalism.
I agree Zartab that there are many messages at IM which have been against fundamentalism from both sides. I also do wish an India which is strong and cosmopolitan but I also have my prejudices which get built on day to day basis on some facts. Hope this facts vanish.
Dear Mahesh,
If you wish for an strong India then you have to do away with prejudices, Facts are there on both the sides and till the time you will keep them close to your heart, nothing is going to change. I believe everyone here wants a strong and prosperous India but to let it happen first of all we have to remove all the malices from our heart against each other.
I remember a movie named China Town in which Naseerudin Shah played a role of a Muslim and Amrish Puri that of a Hindu, Amrish Puri had a grudge against Naseerudin Shah just of him being Muslim because at the time of partition some of his family members were killed by the fundamentalists , but during the course of the movie when Naseerudin Shah told Amrish Puri that even his family members were killed in that post independence riots , he (Amrish Puri) started reasoning with Naseerudin Shah. I mention this here just to prrof one thing that both Muslims and Hindus have been targeted by each other and both of them have severe wounds on their heart , in order to heal those wounds we have to denounce such acts of barbarism without any prejudice and should maintain solidarity, then only we can be able to build up a strong India.
Hope you will also raise yourself above from the ranks of communalism and join a force which rejects terrorism and terrorists at all levels.
Mahesh said:
“You appreciate the Hindu voices who always jump up to criticise Hindus or India but can you give me few voices in Muslims which do that.”
I am new on this forum.
I read the entire comments section but did not find Hindu voices criticising Hindus or India. All they have done is to condemn Modi and Bajrangi. Is there any reason why you believe that criticisning Modi or Bajrangi is same as criticising Hinduism or India? Can’t you think of any better symbols for Hindus or for India?
Mahesh said:
“I repeat if Osama, Jabir Binyamin Behera, Ashraf, Mohamed Azhar, Terrorist who site from sunnah are not all about Muslims then Babu Bajrangi or Modi is not about RSS or much larger hindu society.”
In a way you are right.
Modi and Bajrangi are not the RSS.
They are just the tip of the iceberg. After all how many muslims a Bajrangi or a Modi can kill? 100? 1000? 10000? That’s it. However, from RSS view, killing even 100,000 muslims does not solve the problem. The root cause of the problem from RSS point of view is the humiliation brought on bharat-mata by the invading foreigners for past 1000 years. And, the only befitting revenge is total decimation — if not physical, at least cultural — of all non-hindu communities from India. India is for hindus. Then someone wants to go a step further and declares Maharashtra is for Maharashtrians and no doubt there are other morons who want to take it to even more ridiculous lengths.
Modi and Bajrangi are just the symptoms. RSS is the disease.
“RSS and Indian Muslims can either unite for at least India and then work towards removing each others misconceptions or if we have to keep on blaming then lets do that.”
Leave aside muslims. What makes you think even hindus want to live in the fascist hell hole that RSS wants to make of India? Sorry. Let RSS pursue its own version of India. There can never be any unity on that.
Mr. Faisal – Have read your critique of Offstumped posts. Offstumped could have accorded them a semblance of credibility to merit a reasoned response had your piece here atleast got its facts right. You claim 2000 Muslims deaths and thousands of rape with neither a credible source to back it up nor direct evidence if you maybe in posession of any that seems to elude most others. With such exaggerated claims it is hard for Offstumped to take this piece seriously. Your angst is understandable but this debate cannot be conducted with emotions and hyperbole. Either you present facts that are beyond reasonable doubt or you challenge facts that have been presented. Doing neither doesnt really further a meaningful public debate here.
“Does the injustice radicalize people or bringing out the truth radicalize them?” – fantastic Mirza.
Dear Mahesh, your defence is similar to many muslims who denounce death and destruction and in the same breath talk of the ‘root causes’. if injustice, grievances, provocations were enuf to let loose the monster in us, all the roads in the world would be soaked in blood at all time.
Zartab agree to what you say but this Malise can not be removed by showing Rakesh Sharma’s documentary which has many parts as highly questionable. He starts by working in sherlock holmes style gathering anything.People like Rakesh Sharma who have leftist leanings know fully well the average Hindu psyche which is to forget and forgive anything and to become emotional and start blaming themselves not withstanding the average Muslim psyche which is about revenge. The very documentary where Rakeh Sharma asks Muslims to shout against Hindus. Had these Muslims vented their anger against RSS that would have been understandable but no the entire Hindus have to be branded communal.Maybe this blog deals in more depth.
http://www.sandeepweb.com/2006/08/02/amardeep-dissection/
There have been typically 2 type of forces in this nation — leftists and Islamists who here in India seem to gel but globally these are also in battle with each other. Both these forces try to spread their ideologies worldwide sounding them as most modern and authentic. One has failed allready. The communists justify the way where in China the Han Muslims or Uighurs dont have any media access and have been crushed completely but in India they have tried to hit in every way on Indian cuulture. The communists try to use ideology and logic but in their very own states have kept their electorate poor while not allowing any media to pervade their constituencies. I agree that there are Muslims who are progressive and forward looking but these are hardly 1% and find themelves silent when direct questions are asked.How come Kashmir struggle becomes a struggle for freedom fighters and Gujurat victory is a moral darkness. How come Aurangzeb finds shameless support among the most educated Muslims when he assasinated Guru Teg Bahadur and is filled for hatred for Hindus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_Teg_Bahadur
Hindu generals or soldiers were kept to fight against hindus themselves and not because of love for them.
How come Banda Bahadur is completely forgotten while History says Turks and afghan invaders as shining knights.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banda_Bahadur
Rakesh Sharma’s words that people who forget History are forced to relive it has significance. Because though he wants hatred against RSS by using this statement but he himself forgets that there is a concealed history which was far more bloodier and which can not cry because there was no media.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Hindus
I came to this board because as you said we can not live with malises and I am ready to accept what is wrong and myself dont like rhetorics. Everone needs to move forward and not beating around Bush. What if Modi still wins then in 2012 you will have these articles around elections.Anirrudha, my pointer was towards Mirza’s comments in article coming from another article. Amit, I agree with you and i dont want any more radicalisation but this documentary does exactly that.
Interesting take Faisal!
Mr Yossarin,
I’ve taken some excerpts of a South Asian faculty letter (17th Mar, 2005) to California State University, Long Beach, expressing unhappines on inviting Narendra Modi to inaugurate the Yadunandan Center for India Studies for your reference.
“In Gujarat, between February 28-March 02, 2002, under Narendra Modi’s leadership, more than 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed, aided and abetted by the state. In the aftermath, 200,000 people have been rendered homeless and internally displaced. Today, three years after the event, the victims of the violence still await justice and reparations. Mr. Modi not only failed to take preventative measures against those who were planning the violence with his knowledge, but undertook a series of actions which either tacitly or explicitly condoned the brutal violence, which included torture of children and mass rapes of women.”
“Numerous inquiries and commissions, including the Indian National Human Rights Commission, have condemned the role of the Government of Gujarat headed by Mr. Modi which provided leadership and material support in the politically motivated attacks on minorities in Gujarat in 2002. The European Union, and every major Indian and international human rights organization: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Commonwealth Initiative for Human Rights, Citizen’s Initiative, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), and the People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), have condemned the Gujarat genocide, and pointed to the complicity of the Government of Gujarat in the violence.”
“Under Mr. Modi’s leadership, more than 2,000 of 4,000 cases filed by the victims of the violence were never investigated or dismissed, leading the Supreme Court of India to rebuke both the Gujarat judiciary and the Government of Gujarat for its handling of the cases, and transferring several cases out of the state for trial.”
For a full text of the letter, please go to http://coalitionagainstgenocide.org/press/support/faculty.csulb.php
Inam Abidi:
Letter by some obscure faculty to a US university is supposedly proof! Please check the official number by the Govt of India. Unsurprisingly, the Coalition Against Genocide is mum on the Hindu Genocide (real not percieved as in Gujarat) in Jammu and Kashmir, why?
Mirza, I take a lot of my words back. I have sounded a little immature based on my prejudices. I emphathise with my Muslim friends who must be in a state of shock after all this Gujurat episode and the guilty like bajrangi sounding happy. Asking childish questions like I have been doing has made me no different from the persecutors whom I ran from. I dont have any more complaints from anyone . Inam allthough I did start this debate with all the bias inside me. But going in the deeper me I think Zartab has hit me with something that I didnt agree . A wrong can not do a wrong right. I just hope and hope that rather than anything vanishing hate vanishes from this land of peace. Inam, let me know if I can help your cause in any way.
Hats off Mahesh. You have shown a lot of courage. I do hope some of my Muslim brothers here understand the folly of raising ‘root causes’ while condemning some inhuman act of violence or commenting on the role of Indian army in kashmir without considering the genocide of pundits.
From my personal experience, I think its very easy for misguided Hindus to correct course (not because of some superiority of Hinduism but because most Hindus don’t get radicalised thinking that there’s divine backing).
Inam Abidi, if you don’t have any proof to show that more people were killed than published by the govt of India, then its extremely irresponsible to just throw numbers like 2000, 5000 etc. this did not happen 500 years ago that there’s so much confusion. compensation has been given based on these numbers – why have not more people come up to ask for it? why has any of the independent sources – including muslim organizations not prepared a list challenging the govt numbers? just because someone says 2000, and it suits u, u’ll say 2000? i’ll accept even 5 thousand if its true, but just raising it to claim a higher share of victimhood is quite deplorable. besides, u r losing credibility amongst educated non leftist Hindus.
Dear Mahesh,
For me the spirit of nationalism rises above everything else. I love my country and want to see it prosper in peace. You and I can do our bit to clear certain misconceptions that Hindus and Muslims have about each other.
I’m trying to do the same through my blog http://inamabidi.blogspot.com
Dear Sukhi & Triple,
The idea behind the letter was not the figures (recall the govt figures after Mulayam Singh ordered firing on the Kar Sevaks in Ayodhya) but the role of the government in the brutal killings. For me every single life lost in Gujarat during the episode was an Indian, and that itself was reason enough to express my concern.
As for Narendra Modi, he is just one face of terror. There are worse Muslims out there killing innocents in the name of Islam. I’ve more problems with them!
Narendra Modi and his cronies did a henious act and the Law must be severe on them notwithstanding the electoral outcome in Gujrat.Most of the Hindu community deplores these acts in the strongest terms.Who started this is obviously out of question.Human beings have been killed and the the perpetrators need to be punished with the most severest law of the Land.
Having said that I do agree with some of the comments made by Hindus on this site. I would love to see an article on this site denouncing the Henious acts carried out by Muslim radicals which in their intensity matches the ones that happened in Gujrat.Until you guys have the courage like Mahesh to own up your( dont mean this personally) mistakes and write about it , the spectre of Hindu Muslim unity in this country is far off.
Triple, I dont deserve hats off and star sign lets not ask for any justifications . We are not pure at least me. I have looked with Muslims for all problems in my country right from backwardness, uncleanliness, uneducation and now terrorism. I did have a past but many of us don’t and yet we do the same. I have asked all stupid questions and in the process must have given a million wounds to the hearts of fellow humans. We as Hindus question their patriotism. I was trying to also justify everything but for the first time I felt remorse because what Zartab said is truth. We only see the ones in our own that face misery but never the other side of story. Is it fair enough to even think that if someone has mistreated hindus we should mistreat muslims. Will my god judge me by what I do or what I have seen listened and done. Will he forgive me if I am wrong. Even mosques and dargahs are now terror targets and we rather than protect our fellow Indians are leaving them to die first from our suspicion and then alien forces. How different was I from? Inam you are right. If you are consciously correct then go ahead and God will be with you but dont wake the dead unneccesarily because then they will not let anyone live in peace. We have become a country of savage brutals. Hope we clean ourselves and become humans before we look anywhere else.
> Mirza, I take a lot of my words back. I have sounded a little immature
> based on my prejudices.
Mahesh, I highly appreciate your spirit.
Update: To further clarify that it has nothing to do with Hinduism here are the statements by two well known and respected Hindu spiritual leaders in this news piece “Religious leaders shocked at Tehelka revelations” http://in.news.yahoo.com/071027/43/6mhvj.html
“Sri Sri Ravishankar of the Art of Living Foundation strongly condemned the attitude and conduct of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal and the Gujarat government in this regard.
Social reformer-activist Swami Agnivesh said that similar sting operations are needed to expose criminal activities of those who wield power and abuse the apparatus of the state in terrorising the citizens for political gains, citing the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 as an example.”
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