[sacw] SACW | 26 Oct. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | 26 October 2002

__________________________

#1. The religious virus (Kuldip Nayar)
#2. Freezing identities (M. S. S. Pandian)
#3. Report on Seminar On Necessity of Secular Education held in Baroda
#4. Communalism - Trouble in the air (Dionne Bunsha )
#5. The portable, moveable Modi (Pamela Philipose)
__________________________

#1.

Dawn
26 October 2002
Op-ed.

The religious virus
By Kuldip Nayar

ANY untoward happening in Pakistan gives India some kind of fiendish=20
satisfaction. The reaction to the victory of religious parties in=20
that country has been no different. As if it had to happen to a=20
country which was founded on the two-nation theory.
But Pakistan did not have so much religion when it was created. True,=20
religion was the basis on which it was constituted. However, its=20
founder, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, had second thoughts on the=20
two-nation thesis. He told his people that the two nations did not=20
represent Hindus and Muslims but Indians and Pakistanis.
This took the wind out of the sails of religious parties. What they=20
did in the united India to create divisions was no more relevant.=20
They could not harness support on the slogan that Islam was in=20
danger. The preponderance of Muslims in Pakistan had made such a cry=20
futile. Religious parties realized this to their dismay when they=20
failed at one poll after another.
It was General Ziaul Haq's drive for the Islamization, even in the=20
armed forces, which contributed to revivalism. The absence of=20
democracy only strengthened the self-proclaimed fanatics. The field=20
became open. Political parties, on the other hand, were too=20
complacent and too confident. They dismissed religious outfits as a=20
nuisance. But the mullas and the maulvis never gave up and made their=20
questionable and divisive activities felt from the sinecure of=20
mosques and madressahs. Today's Pakistan is a product of those=20
efforts operating over decades.
I can see the beginnings of what happened in Pakistan in my own=20
country. The one-nation ideal, which animated our national struggle,=20
is still there. But, without spelling out the two-nation theory, some=20
political combinations are foisting it on the country under a=20
different terminology: The Hindus are one nation and the minorities=20
another.
The phenomenon is more visible in the fields of information and=20
education. In the name of tradition and heritage, India's=20
multi-cultural society is sought to be pawned to the demagogues of=20
one culture. Information Minister Sushma Swaraj and Human Resource=20
Minister Murli Manohar Joshi are the worst culprits. The first is=20
peddling a particular point of view, the majority community's=20
religious beliefs and superstitions to the detriment of pluralism and=20
clear thinking.The second is introducing new textbooks in schools and=20
appointing the Sangh parivar men in government or government-aided=20
institutions to disseminate prejudice and distortion in the name of=20
history. Both defend themselves by contending that their purpose is=20
to ensure that our "national values" stay intact. The Sangh=20
parivar-inclined intellectuals, journalists, historians and others=20
are being broken into saffronization and organized.
Both Sushma and Joshi stop at nothing. I was horrified to see on=20
Doordarshan the other day F.M. Hussain, Shabana Azmi and Tabu saying=20
individually: "I am an Indian." If after so many years they, who=20
represent the best in our secular ethos, are forced to make such=20
statements, there is something definitely wrong with our rulers. The=20
history books that Joshi's men have rewritten omit the assassination=20
of Gandhi because the killer represented the Hindutva forces.
Like Pakistan, political parties in India avowing secularism indulge=20
in the same kind of complacency. They argue that religious parties=20
can never succeed in a country which is traditionally rooted in=20
pluralism. They may be absolutely wrong. But this is their point of=20
view. However, the reality is that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)=20
and the Shiv Sena have already occupied a large space by playing the=20
religious card. The two are in a more advantageous position than the=20
religious parties in Pakistan. For example, the Jamaat-i-Islami and=20
the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam were never in the corridors of power in=20
Islamabad.
Unfortunately, both the BJP and the Sena are partners in governance=20
at the centre. This gives them a cover and also immunity. While they=20
are there, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal can=20
never be banned although their record is worse than that of the SIMI.=20
Pro- BJP state governments cannot be dismissed, whatever their acts=20
of omission and commission. The BJP has been able to cobble together,=20
with the help of pseudo-secularists, a coalition which gives it clout.
If this had not been the case, Chief Minister Narendra Modi would=20
have been dismissed soon after the carnage in the Gujarat state. Bal=20
Thackerey of the Sena would have been tried after the Srikrishna=20
Commission report implicated him in the Mumbai riots and, more=20
recently, arrested when he threatened the Muslims. And Ashok Singhal=20
of the VHP would have been behind bars after his announcement that=20
there can be more Gujarats.
Today's Modi, Thackerey and Singhal will be tomorrow's Qazi Hussain=20
Ahmed, Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani and Fazlur Rahman of Pakistan. This=20
is what we have to guard against. The three Muslim leaders are=20
important figures. They have emerged from the mosques and the=20
madressahs, in elections under the banner of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal=20
(United Forum for Action). They have gained substantial strength in=20
Pakistan's National Assembly and in the legislatures in the=20
North-West Frontier Province and Balochistan.
These religious parties were of no consequence till now. They never=20
won more than three or four seats in the National Assembly. India too=20
was a haven of secularism before 1977. Till then the Jana Sangh, the=20
predecessor of the BJP, did not have even a two-digit figure in the=20
Lok Sabha. Now they have 181 in the 545-member house.
What saved India soon after independence was not the irrelevance of=20
religious parties. The Hindu Mahasabha and others came into the field=20
in August 1947 itself to incite Hindus that the Bharatmata had been=20
cut into pieces. Anger had begun building up against the Muslims who=20
had supported the demand for Pakistan.
It was Mahatma Gandhi's assassination by an extremist Hindu that came=20
to strengthen our secular ethos. The RSS was banned and religious=20
leaders went into hiding. People would literally beat up those who=20
even vaguely mentioned Hindutva. They associated them with the=20
Mahatma's murderer.
The question that Pakistan is facing today may be more acute than=20
India's. Pakistan is a country where religion has played an important=20
role. India's saving grace is that it is a secular democratic society=20
that has never been threatened by any military coup. People believe=20
in the constitution and have respect for democratic traditions.
India's strength also lies in the fact that certain institutions act=20
independently, whatever the political or ideological colour of the=20
government. For example, the election commission withstood all=20
pressures and threats on the Gujarat election. But the Hindutva=20
elements are dismantling our secular edifice, brick by brick.=20
Institutions are under pressure.
Saffronization is being pushed in all fields. The middle class=20
appears more contaminated than the rest because it is beginning to=20
find in Hindutva its long-lost identity. What most of them do not=20
seem to realize is that no one identity represents India. It is the=20
combination of different identities that makes India.
The saffronized elite must also keep in mind that militant=20
organizations like the VHP and Bajrang Dal are going to replace the=20
BJP one day. This is how fascism rose in Germany and took over.=20
Secular forces are too complacent about fighting the danger. I=20
remember Atal Behari Vajpayee, long before he became the prime=20
minister, telling me that they might be able to stop the storm that=20
was brewing in the country. He did not elucidate what he meant.=20
Probably, he had in mind the storm of fundamentalism. I wonder=20
whether he can stall it if L.K. Advani goes on building up persons=20
like Modi and does not utter a word against a new contraption called=20
Parveen Tagodia.
The writer is a freelance columnist bused in New Delhi.

_____

#2.

The Hindu
Saturday, Oct 26, 2002
Opinion - Leader Page Articles =A0=A0

Freezing identities

By M. S. S. Pandian

The identity that Ms. Jayalalithaa's ordinance wants to freeze is=20
that of the Dalits as untouchables within the Hindu social order.

WHEN THE Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa, recently claimed=20
that religious conversions were "often funded by dubious and=20
anti-national sources from foreign countries to destabilise our=20
social structure", she was obviously not referring to such=20
organisations as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America Inc. Otherwise,=20
Ashok Singhal would not have hailed the recent Tamil Nadu Prohibition=20
of Forcible Conversion of Religion Ordinance as bold and an=20
eye-opener for other States.

Ms. Jayalalithaa's reference to "dubious anti-national sources from=20
foreign countries" is, in other words, a clear insinuation against=20
minority religious groups =8B in particular, the Muslims and the=20
Christians. After all, in the definition of the VHP of America Inc.,=20
"Hindus include Jaina, Baudhha, Sikhs and people of different sects=20
and traditions within the Hindu ethos". It is, thus, hard to disagree=20
with the deep anxiety expressed by different Christian and Muslim=20
organisations about the Ordinance. So much is obvious.

What is not so obvious is the fact that the Ordinance is an affront=20
to many a self-respecting Hindu. It basically claims that Hindus are=20
habitually prone to trading their religion if there is adequate force=20
or allurement =8B allurement could be, according to Ms. Jayalalithaa,=20
as little as Rs. 2,000. What a pity! Thus, according to her, the=20
spirituality of the Hindus is too deficient to unite together its=20
adherents into a stable religious community. Given such an assertion,=20
Ms. Jayalalithaa, a zealous promoter of free market in everything=20
else, cannot but prevent "religion from being brought to the=20
marketplace and being converted into a purchasable commodity".=20
Departing from her love for the market that has recently resulted in=20
the downsizing of the once-robust Public Distribution System in Tamil=20
Nadu, her Government is also dishing out free lunches to Hindu=20
devotees in 150 temples. Counter-allurement of a sort, one may say.

The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion=20
Ordinance is not alone in portraying Hinduism as a religion that=20
cannot survive without external crutches. Take a look at the way the=20
so-called Vedic period is presented in the latest NCERT history=20
textbooks. The Vedic person, that is the uncorrupted `authentic'=20
Hindu whose habit of beef-eating is currently under dispute, knew=20
everything =8B the use of zero, that the earth moved on its own axis=20
around the sun, and that the moon revolved around the sun. The NCERT=20
historians, without the aid of recent debates on the impossibility of=20
writing history, have with effortless ease crossed the divide between=20
history and myth. Why at all this new `history'? Hinduism, in their=20
reckoning, is a religion that needs a glorious `past' fortified by=20
untamed `scholarly' imaginations, to compensate for its current=20
frailty.

The portrayal of Hinduism as a religion that can survive only in a=20
greenhouse with a large helping of mythical past as history performs=20
its own insidious function. It makes it possible for the Hindu Right=20
to make a new claim on the state. The claim is that a beleaguered=20
Hinduism needs a saviour and the saviour can only be the state.=20
Section 5 (1) of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of=20
Religion Ordinance, which seeks that every conversion be intimated to=20
the District Magistrate, is a case in point. As Ms. Jayalalithaa has=20
noted, "the object is to keep the state informed of such conversion".=20
That is, institutionalised surveillance of the religious life of the=20
people by the state is the main aim of the Ordinance. Faith in the=20
durability of Hinduism will not make such statist intervention on its=20
behalf possible. Only by inventing a vulnerable Hindu incapable of=20
resisting material temptations offered by other religions can=20
Hindurashtra be facilitated. The state can now use its legal might=20
and structures of punishment to keep the so-called depredating=20
Muslims and Christians at bay. What is kept at bay are not only the=20
Muslims and the Christians, but also the need for any critical=20
introspection by the Hindus themselves about what Hinduism does to=20
large sections of its adherents =8B lower castes, in particular the=20
Dalits, and women. One may remember that when the Dalits of=20
Meenakshipuram =8B now Rahmatpuram =8B converted to Islam in 1981, they=20
chose to forego free education up to the post-matric stage,=20
scholarship for higher studies from State and Central Governments,=20
books and special hostel facilities, quotas in educational=20
institutions, reserved Government jobs etc. In demonising the Muslims=20
and the Christians, the loud and clear message of Meenakshipuram to=20
the Hindu public is sadly once again being stifled.

Similarly, caught up in their new opposition to Hinduism =8B an=20
opposition produced by the state =8B Islam and Christianity too can now=20
keep aside important question about whether their religious practices=20
treat their adherents equally and honourably. The victims are the=20
ones who always bear the cross in "our social structure" =8B lower=20
castes and women =8B irrespective of the religion. A cursory look at=20
the dynamics of caste politics in the Church and the personal law=20
governing the Muslims and the Christians would bear this out.

This attempt to freeze identities by means of law is of treacherous=20
consequences. It is through innovating new identities that politics=20
often opens up previously non-existent possibilities of freedom and=20
equality for large sections of the people. The torturous journey=20
through which a Panchama became an Adi-Dravida and then a Dalit will=20
substantiate this. Similar is the case of the category of the=20
non-Brahmin. These identities, mocked by the caste elite at the=20
moment of their arrival, inaugurated new political collectivities and=20
reordered the domain of politics.

It is not to claim that all emergent identities hold radical=20
possibilities. Some do and others do not. Then, the identity that Ms.=20
Jayalalithaa's ordinance wants to freeze is that of the Dalits as=20
untouchables within the Hindu social order. In attempting to block=20
them from choosing and forming other identities, she seems to make a=20
gift of them to the upper caste Hindus whose chief source of pleasure=20
seems to be cruelty against fellow human beings. In short, as much as=20
Antonia Maino Gandhi should not be allowed to become Sonia Gandhi,=20
the untouchables should remain untouchables. The chosen victims of=20
Hindurashtra are the Dalits as much as the religious minorities.

Thanks to Ms. Jayalalithaa and the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible=20
Conversion of Religion Ordinance, this politics of the Hindu Right is=20
in the open. The move meant to freeze identities is opening up new=20
spaces for new alliances and new politics. The coming together of the=20
Muslims, the Christians and the Dalits in Tamil Nadu to oppose the=20
Ordinance and the all-India visibility which their agitation is=20
drawing, are clear indications of this. Only by recognising, seizing=20
and consolidating this opportunity rather than slipping back into a=20
self-defeating sense of loss can the religious minorities and the=20
Dalits confront the politics of the Hindu Right whose proponents are=20
not always the BJP and their allies as the parliamentary Left has=20
been `educating' us for the past several years. At the same time, if=20
the battle against the Hindu Right is used by Islam and Christianity=20
as a way of stalling internal reforms on issues such as gender and=20
caste, their most important battle in post-colonial India to retain a=20
space for religious difference and the freedom to forge new=20
identities would lose its moral edge and become dubious.

(The writer is Visiting Professor in Human Sciences, George=20
Washington University, Washington D.C.)

_____

#3.

ALL INDIA SAVE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
117, SURABHI AVENUE, OPPOSITE SAINT JOSEPH HIGH SCHOOL
CHHANI ROAD, Vadodara. PHONE: (0265)791348.=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0

Date:25.10.2002.

Seminar Held On Necessity of Secular Education at Baroda

Dear Friend,

=B3Save Education Day=B2 seminar on =8CNecessity of Secular
Education=B9 which was postponed due to the terrorist
attack on Akshardham temple at Gandhinagar has been
rescheduled and organized on 22nd of October 2002 at
department of Political Science, M.S.University. Dr.
Nalin Anadkat chaired the seminar. Shri Bharat Mehta
from department of Gujarati in his discussion said
that the struggle for secular education has started
from the Indian Renaissance Movement. Rajaram Mohan
Roy, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, Narmad and many others
have initiated the movement for the democratization of
education. He also said that the values we should
aspire for, has to be delivered from the constitution.
Dr. Jaya Menon from department of Archeology analysed
the NCERT recommended standard 6th book of social
science and stated that the book is clearly biased and
very subtly it has started the process of
saffronisation. Dr. Nalin Anadkat informed the house
about the PIL filed by Arundhati Roy and others and
also discussed the Supreme Court judgement. He said in
his talk that 3 judge benches have given this
judgement and it is necessary to review it by a full
bench. He also said that education plays the role of
liberation from all feudal cultural and moral values
and instills the modern democratic values - so the
need of democratic secular education. Shri Kirit
Bhatt, President of PUCL Baroda Unit, explained the
concept of secular and democratic education. Many
other professors, students and social activists took
part in the discussion.

News by Bharat Mehta
For All India Save Education Committee, Gujararat State committee, Vadodara=
.

Here are the news published in English dailies

The India Express
Vadodara Newsline. Wednesday. October 23, 2002.
=8CGovt not going by the book=B9

Express News Service
Vadodara, October22.

The NCERT=B9s and CBSE=B9s decision to delete certain
passages from NCERT history textbooks have raised many
questions about the communalization of education. This
prompted a discussion on =8CNeed of Secular Education In
India In the light of Recent Supreme Court Verdict on
Education=B9 organized by the All-India Save Education
Committee, the discussion was held at the Political
Science department of MSU=B9s Arts Faculty on Tuesday.

=B3In the name of value education, the Government is
imposing saffronisation of education,=B2 said Dr. Nalin
Anadkat, lecturer at the Department of Political
Science. Anadkat pointed out that the Cultural
Advisory Board of India was not consulted while the
textbooks were being rewritten.

=B3The manner in which references have been deleted on
the basis of whatever is discomforting to certain
parties, shows that history can have no credibility in
the future,=B2 said Dr. Jaya Menon, lecturer with the
Archaeology Department.

Citing specific chapters and references that have been
deleted, Dr. Menon said that the Mesopotamian
civilization and other civilizations have been equated
on a similar platform. =B3While there is glorification
of the Vedic period, there are unnecessary references
to other religions like Zoroastrian, subtely hinting
that Persians were forced to migrate from their land.
Even the fact that consumption of beef and Somras was
prevalent in the Vedic period had been deleted,=B2 Menon
pointed out. The chapter on Indian Cultural Contact
with Outside World has references to the destruction
of the Bamiyan Buddha statues by the Taliban. =B3Then,
why not also talk about the Babri Masjid demolition
which was also a cultural heritage,=B2 she argued.

Regarding the PIL filed against the textbook changes,
Anadkat elucidates that the changes had not been held
as violating the secularism of the State by a
three-member bench of the Supreme Court. But, a full
bench should sit to review the issue again. Even
political parties should take the initiative in
opposing this communal tinge to education.

Mukesh Semwal, a member of the Demoratic Students=B9
Organisation, pointed out that education has been
politicized. If madarsas are accused of spreading
bigotry, so does many Saraswati Shishu Mandirs run by
RSS, which have their own books and fabricated
education references, he said.

The Times of India, Ahmedabad
Wednesday, 23.10.02.

Debate on secular education
at MSU; SC verdict discussed

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Vadodara: At a time when state governments run by the
Congress are thinking of not bringing in circulation
the new NCERT textbooks, amended to include =8Cvalue
education=B9, the contents of NCERT=B9s social science=B9s
textbook of class six came in for criticism at a panel
discussion held here.

The discussion on =B3The need for secular education in
India in the light of the recent Supreme Court verdict
on education=B9 was held on Tuesday at the
M.S.University department of political science.

The biased teachings in the RSS-run schools and some
madrassas, also came up for discussion. M.S.University
department of archaeology=B9s Jaya Menon said that the
class six social sciences textbook based on NCERT
syllabus, published recently had several glaring
mistakes and contradictions.
=B3It appears as though attempts are being made to
delete portions from history that are not favourable
to some and to avoid unpleasant historical facts,=B2 she
said.

She cited the example of topics such as, =8Cvedic
civilisation=B9 which is equated to the Harappan
civilization. Further, the textbook speaks of Iranian
civilization but mainly focuses on the Zoroastrians
who fled to India, with very little said about the
people or their culture, she said.

According to her, the effort was to promote history
that could promote Hindu identity. The caste system is
mentioned, but no effort is made to castigate the
system, she points.

Mukesh Semwal, a research student in the MSU and
member of the AIDSO, raised the issue about the
teachings in the RSS-run schools and madrassas. =B3In
1993, the NCERT had commissioned a national steering
committee to report on the publications issued by the
Saraswati Shishu Mandir Prakashan and the Markazi
Maktaba Islami. The committee had recommended that
their publications which were =8Cdesigned to promote
bigotry and religious fanaticism in the name of
inculcating knowledge of culture in young generation=B9,
should be banned,=B2 he said.

MSU department of political science head Nalin Anadkat
spoke on the recent Supreme Court verdict on the
public interest litigation that was filed against the
central government=B9s decision to include value
education in textbooks. Litigants filed the petition
in which they said that value education would be
against Article 28 of the Indian constitution as it
might involve saffronisation of education.

However, in its reply the Supreme Court said that
value education should not be equated with religious
education and that a value-based education is likely
to help fight violence, corruption and exploitation.

_____

#4.

Frontline
Volume 19 - Issue 22, October 26 - November 08, 2002
COMMUNALISM

Trouble in the air

DIONNE BUNSHA

Several instances of low-intensity violence in Gujarat in recent=20
weeks point to the tenuous nature of the peace in the State.

WHO would imagine that a hysterical statement made by an evangelist=20
in the United States would lead to a round of riots, arson and=20
killing in India, so far away. Welcome to the globalisation of=20
fundamentalism.

When an insulting and preposterous remark by the right-wing American=20
baptist Rev. Jerry Falwellagainst the Prophet Mohammed was reported=20
in the local press, riots broke out at Solapur in Maharashtra and=20
Modasa in Gujarat. In an interview on the CBS channel's `60 Minutes'=20
programme, Falwell had said that the Prophet was a "terrorist''. This=20
made front-page headlines in Gujarat Samachar, the most widely read=20
newspaper in Gujarat, drawing attention to the wild charge and=20
provoking strong reactions to it. Later, Falwell apologised for his=20
irresponsible statement, and Gujarat Samachar seemed to regret having=20
highlighted the story in the first place as it had done.

Closer to home, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray called for the=20
formation of "Hindu suicide squads" to counter "their terrorism", in=20
a statement published in his party's newspaper Saamna. During his=20
Dasara day rally in Mumbai, he said: "Trouble-making Muslims should=20
be wiped out from the country... kick out the four crore Bangladeshi=20
Muslims and then the country will be secure."

The Maharashtra Police have filed a criminal case against the Sena=20
leader over his statement. With his popularity flagging, Thackeray's=20
speech was clearly an attempt to capitalise on the communal violence=20
in neighbouring Gujarat, to stir passions after the Akshardham temple=20
attack. Surprisingly, Thackeray's provocative statements did not face=20
any other opposition. It was Jerry Falwell's outburst that kicked off=20
riots in Maharashtra.

A Muslim group called the Raza Academy called for a bandh by Muslim=20
businesses to protest against Falwell's remark. No other Muslim=20
organisation supported the bandh. In fact, most of them spoke out=20
against it.

Nevertheless, riots broke out in Solapur on October 11 when a rally=20
turned violent after some youth insisted that all shopkeepers down=20
their shutters. One of the shops apparently belonged to a Shiv=20
Sainik. The police fired into the crowd, killing five persons.=20
Another four persons were killed in the violence. Around 170 people=20
were injured and 1,000 were arrested during two days of violence.=20
However, trouble had been brewing in Solapur even before Falwell's=20
statement. Tension had flared up when some Hindu youth teased a young=20
Muslim woman. The bandh gave trouble-makers an excuse to spread havoc.

The day before the bandh call in Gujarat, trouble broke out in Modasa=20
town in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat. A handful of youth took out=20
a protest rally, which turned violent when others on the street threw=20
stones at them.

In the riot that followed, five persons were injured and five shops=20
were looted. On the day of the bandh, some shops in the predominantly=20
Muslim areas of Ahmedabad remained closed even though no Muslim group=20
was in favour of the bandh. Fear played a strong role. "There is=20
still a lot of tension in Gujarat. People are afraid. Anything can=20
spark violence. This was a chance for miscreants to create trouble.=20
That's why we didn't support this bandh. Shops remained closed due to=20
fear and intimidation by a few thugs," said Mohammed Shabir Ahmed=20
Siddiqui, the Imam of the Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad.

The police said that the Raza Academy is a fringe group whose leaders=20
have questionable records. "Maybe they were trying to gain political=20
mileage or were using this incident to create trouble," said a police=20
officer. However, Rashid Ahmed, from the Mustufa Raza Academy in=20
Ahmedabad, said: "Even if Muslim leaders didn't support the bandh, at=20
least the Muslim community did. We were responding to soothe their=20
hurt sentiments. We wanted only a peaceful protest."

Meanwhile, a different kind of violence erupted in Panchmahal=20
district , where some of the bloodiest violence in rural Gujarat=20
occurred in March 2002.

Crude bombs exploded in two State transport buses. The first=20
explosion occurred on October 15, the day of the Dasara festival, at=20
the Godhra bus station in a bus that had arrived from Adadara. Five=20
passengers were injured. A crude pipe bomb had been planted inside=20
the bus.

Then, on October 16, eight people were injured when a tin box filled=20
with explosives and nails blew up in a bus at Lunavada bus stand. The=20
police have not been able to identify any suspects, but say that they=20
were probably local miscreants, considering the fact that crude,=20
low-impact bombs were used.

"More worrying than these explosions is the fact that riots keep=20
breaking out in different parts of Gujarat. In the past two weeks,=20
violence has occurred in Bhavnagar, Jhalod in Dahod, Prantis in=20
Sabarkantha and Sihor in Bhavnagar. There is still tension and a big=20
divide. It carries on even after seven months because the government=20
hasn't made any efforts to restore peace," said a police official.

Vested interests and fundamentalists on both sides of the religious=20
divide are trying to manipulate the volatile atmosphere. The Shiv=20
Sena, the popularity of which is waning, is also trying to import=20
communal hatred from across the border and use Gujarat's tragedy for=20
its political mileage. After the major round of Gujarat violence, the=20
Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal have been trying to fan=20
communal hatred in Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

The restless calm continues. Until there are efforts to punish the=20
guilty, to mend broken ties, even an obscure evangelist in a faraway=20
land is enough to provide provocation.

______

#5.

Indian Express=A0
Friday, October 25, 2002
Columns

The portable, moveable Modi
Thoughts of the best packaged chief minister of India
Pamela Philipose

For those who wonder how Narendra Modi can sleep at night after=20
having presided over one of India=B9s worst pogroms, there is this=20
nifty little CD brought out by the Gujarat government, =8CTwo minutes=20
to the truth=B9. It bears on its cover, a stern Modi with a glorious=20
saffron angavastram draping his shoulders, staring fixedly at the=20
future against a wash of bright saffron.

A great idea, the CD, because along with the Moveable Modi =8B his=20
gaurav yatra having just completed its sixth phase =8B we now have the=20
Portable Modi. It also provides a preview of the Modi electoral=20
salespitch ahead of the assembly polls to be held, possibly, in=20
mid-December.

What strikes a casual viewer of the CD is its obsession with=20
modernity. The Gujarat CM is sold as the forward-thinking captain of=20
a State On the Move, with its Narmada dam, its oil refineries, its=20
motorable roads, its check dams and primary schools, its quick=20
industrial project implementation, its 15 lakh smart cards and=20
e-governance.

Modi, we are told, reads the newspapers on the web every morning and=20
videoconferences with rural Gujarat every evening. =8CThe truth,=B9 or so=20
goes the audio, =8Cis that Narendra Modi has been practicing silently=20
and effectively, holistic governance.=B9 So compelling is the picture=20
that voters won=B9t need their Imax 3-D lenses to be swept off their=20
feet.

Of course, it may be relevant to mention here that the apogee of=20
Gujarat=B9s growth trajectory had been achieved in the nineties =8B=20
between 1993 and 2000, Gujarat=B9s manufacturing output grew by 94 per=20
cent and its trade, hotels and communications income by 84 per cent=20
but there has been marked decline since.

Even were we to overlook this, there is a huge contradiction at the=20
heart of Modispeak which renders the CD vision of a golden future a=20
gigantic con. The fact is, Modi=B9s technological futurism is yoked=20
together with regressive political practice that only feeds mass=20
insecurities and sharpens communal divides. Obviously, the first=20
cannot exist if the second persists because, as even a Keshubhai=20
Patel will tell you, Gujarat=B9s progress is crucially linked to=20
security and communal peace =8B continued, assured peace.

This is one thing moderniser-technocrat-engineer Modi cannot=20
guarantee, and not just because his government was complicit in the=20
communal conflagration of 2002, which left over a lakh people=20
socially uprooted, psychologically scarred and economically ruined.=20
He cannot be such a guarantor because he has not attempted to erase=20
this divisive legacy or displayed the least desire to do so.

He opts instead for a strategy of denial and transference =8B a=20
straight negation of the significance and scale of the riots and,=20
when confronted, a neat attempt to transfer the blame on other=20
agencies.

There is nothing new here. As early as mid-March, when the riots were=20
raging in the state, Modi=B9s government presented the NHRC with a=20
fairy tale as the =8Cofficial=B9 version of events, which the Commission=20
could not but dismiss out of hand. The chief engineers of the pogrom,=20
the VHP and Bajrang Dal, were never mentioned even in passing in that=20
report.

Similarly, in its reply to the home ministry dated April 1, the=20
government actually praised itself for bringing the situation under=20
control in 72 hours. In another convenient bout of amnesia, the=20
Gujarat government did not make available to the Election Commission=20
a state intelligence bureau report which revealed that communal=20
violence had affected 24 of the 25 districts in the state.

=8CTwo minutes to the truth=B9 adopts a similar strategy. There is a=20
special section in it entitled, =8CTrial by fire=B9 =8B Agnipariksha=8B whe=
re=20
the language of communication, for some reason, switches from English=20
to Hindi. The narration of the Godhra event is vivid, a 1000-strong=20
mob, =8Crioters without conscience=B9 massacred 58 innocent people.

It is cited =8B quite rightly =8B as =8Cone more eloquent testimony to the=
=20
evil that lives in man=B9. But the tenor changes once the narration=20
moves on to the events that followed. Riots, the CD claims, were=20
always a part of Gujarat=B9s history, right from as far back as 1410=20
(no elaboration given). It goes on to talk about how the police swung=20
into action and how the government machinery has been working=20
overtime to provide relief and succor to the people.

It talks about the 4,146 FIRs filed, 200 people killed in police=20
firing, 19,340 people arrested, 33,650 preventive arrests made, it=20
tells you about how the police rescued people from besieged mosques=20
and how 7,000 peace marches were held (notice how initiatives taken=20
by concerned citizens and activists are neatly co-opted). It states=20
that the army was summoned in 16 hours, that over 18,000 villages=20
remained peaceful and that pencils were distributed to=20
schoolchildren. If the music accompanying the Godhra narrative was=20
laden with grief, it now turns soothingly melodic. Gujarat, the=20
narrator concludes sanctimoniously, has always been a peace-loving=20
state despite all the baseless and provocative words spread to malign=20
it.

So who caused these =8Cdisturbances=B9 because clearly there were some?=20
If we are to go by the CD, none other than the media, rumour mongers=20
and, possibly, Arundhati Roy. There is pain in the narrator=B9s voice=20
as the crimes of TV channels and newspapers are revealed: =8CThe more=20
blood there is...the more it (the newspaper) sells=B9. =8CRumour writes=20
faster than truth can erase=B9. Roy=B9s words are conveniently taken out=20
of context. No mention is made of the fact that she had herself=20
clarified a factual mistake in a piece she had written on the riots,=20
yet =8B out of the blue =8B the narrative goes on to say, =8CBoth his=20
daughters are living in the US for quite some time now=B9, without=20
clarifying that the the person being referred to is none is other=20
than Ehsan Jafri, former MP, burnt to death in the horrific Gulmarg=20
Society killings.

But that=B9s the thing with Modi=B9s =8Ctruth=B9 =8B it constantly sheds it=
s=20
skin. It could just as well be a half truth, a half lie or a complete=20
dodge. After squeezing the famous =8Chum paanch, humare pachees=B9=20
comment to get a few laughs at Becharji village last month, he now=20
informs us that the statement did not target Muslims, that he was=20
only pointing out how the population climbs from 5 to 25, and so on,=20
over a generation. Notice how the =8Chum=B9 in the =8Chum panch=B9 is now=20
carefully excised from the script.

Modi=B9s image makers have bestowed upon him the title, the =8Cbest chief=20
minister in the country=B9, a title that he is inordinately proud of.=20
But, in truth, this must be altered to the =8Cbest packaged chief=20
minister in India=B9. The question is how far will Modi=B9s moveable,=20
portable =8Ctruth=B9 travel in the days ahead. It=B9s a question that=20
should worry every Indian.
=A0
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