In a recent interview with me, film script writer Salim Khan made an interesting comment: “Does anyone remember who the chief minister of Maharashtra was during Mumbai riots which were no less deadly than the Gujarat riots of 2002? Does anyone recall the name of the chief minister of UP during Malliana and Meerut riots or Bihar CM when the Bhagalpur or Jamshedpur riots under Congress regimes took place? Do we hear the names of earlier chief ministers of Gujarat under whose charge hundreds of riots took place in post-Independence India? Some of these riots were far more deadly than the 2002 outburst. The state used to explode into violence every second month? Does anyone remember who was in-charge of Delhi’s security when the 1984 massacre of Sikhs took place in the capital of India How come Narendra Modi has been singled out as Devil Incarnate as if he personally carried out all the killings during the riots of 2002?” Why just distant riots, does anyone remember the fate of hundreds of thousands of Bodos and Muslims who were uprooted from their villages in July 2012 because their homes were torched and destroyed? As of 8 August 2012, over 400,000 people had taken shelter in 270 relief camps, after being displaced from almost 400 villages.The Assam chief minister delayed deployment of the Army by 4 days even though large number of Army units are stationed right there Assam. Thousands are still living under sub human conditions in refugee camps. Why are those riots already forgotten? I also found it puzzling that almost all of those who have led the Hate Modi campaign are neither Muslim nor residents of Gujarat. Three of the most prominent figures of anti Modi Brigade from within Gujarat are not Muslims. Whenever a Gujarati Muslim has tried to speak in a different voice, he has been attacked viciously and made to pay such a heavy price that people just shut up in terror. The highly respected and eminent Muslim scholar, Maulana Vastanvi was forced to resign as Vice Chancellor of Deobandh simply because he said Gujarati Muslims had benefited from the inclusive development policies of Modi’s government. Shahid Siddiqui, the editor of Urdu daily, Nai Duniya was attacked and abused endlessly for simply doing an interview with Modi in which Modi defends himself against various charges leveled against his government. Siddiqui fell in line within no time and began singing anti Modi songs on TV. The political discourse in India is so vitiated by Modi phobia that even if you express happiness at the quality of roads in rural Gujarat or 24x7 power supply in the villages and towns of Gujarat, you are branded a “supporter of fascism.” It is politically fashionable to defend Kashmiri secessionists, press for peaceful engagement with the Pakistani establishment which sends terror brigades to India and project murderous Maoists as saviours of the poor. But to say a word in appreciation of governance reforms in Gujarat is to commit political hara-kiri—you are forever tainted and tarred with the colours of fascism. This intellectual terror created by the anti Modi Brigade pushed me to find out for myself why this obsessive anxiety about Modi? Why do “secularists” not want to be reminded that Gujarat has been riot free since 2002? Why don’t they want to document what made Gujarat—a state that witnessed hundreds of riots post-Independence leading to deep mutual estrangement between Hindus and Muslims—experience its first riot free decade after Independence under Modi’s rule? What do Gujarat Muslims have to say about it? Why they are not allowed to speak for themselves? manushi.in/articles.php?articleId=1685
Posted on: Sun, 04 Aug 2013 16:51:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015