In the wake of Gujarat genocide many a masks are
falling one after the other. We are witnessing the
'naked glory' of those claiming to be secular, as
it is ingrained in their 'glorious tradition'; new
meanings are also being added to this word. The
litmus test of this in a way was the response of
BJP, Vajapyee and company, to the most elementary
demand of dismissal of the architect-in-chief of
Gujarat carnage, Mr. Modi. While defending his fellow
swayamsewak our 'poet-prime minister', who is generally
well covered by his mask, dropped not only his mask
but all the guards to show his khakhi-knickers and
the trishul well placed in the pockets of his knickers.
Thundered the swayamsevak, wherever there are Muslims
in the world there is strife. Islam has come to
mean forcing their opinion through terror and fear,
putting the blame of Gujarat genocide on the victims
of genocide themselves, he went on to assert, Muslims
provoke and then Hindus..."
He peaked his role as the RSS warrior by saying
that what happened in Gujarat was deplorable BUT
who started the fire? In nutshell, the venom, which
the RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal spreads in the society,
was neatly capsulated and delivered by Mr. Vajpayee
in a 'masterly' fashion. While protecting the butcher
of Gujarat, BJP also called for elections in the
Gujarat, a move, which Mr. Shanta Kumar dubbed as
doing politics on the corpse of the riot victims,
a few days ago! Surely Mr. Shanta Kumar will have
to pay in due course for not being able to keep
some of his left over humanism, despite being a
swayamsevak, under wraps.
With this, the path is open for the BJP to chart
the course for electoral success by encashing the
polarization brought in by the ghastly events of
a bleeding state. How come every time a riot occurs,
the communal forces become strong? Why BJP was showing
electoral decline during last many elections it
faced? The survey sponsored by Mr. Modi did show
the chances of BJP winning the elections in the
wake of the violence. While many of us may simplistically
believe that after getting its hands bloodied in
the violence most of the people should shun this
party like plague and how come the survey shows
its confidence of winning? Surely its leadership
is going by its time proven formula, riot- polarization
and thereby electoral success for communal forces!
Analysis of different riots during last 50 years
has shown that while riots may invite disgust and
repulsion amongst some people, a large section easily
buys the story that it is the communal forces, which
have protected them from the aggression of the enemy.
During Mumbai riots we had witnessed the police-Shiv
Sena complicity ravaging the streets and unleashing
the violence while sections of community gripped
by common sense in the spell of 'Manufactured Hatred'
gleefully approving and following the saffron bandwagon
and further than this many an elements taking advantage
of the situation to fill their coffers or to control
a piece of real estate. Many an immigrants wrote
back to their families in the villages applauding
the mercies of Lord Ram in providing Shiv Sena,
thanks to whose efforts we are alive today from
the organized conspiracy of the Islamic Fundamentalists.
Many an undiscriminating amongst us might have been
swayed by this but for the Shrikrishna Commission's
brilliant work, which confirmed the findings of
the public tribunal headed by Justice Daud and Justice
Suresh who within few months of the riots came to
conclusion that it was Shiv Sena organized anti
Muslim pogrom. The 'brilliance' of communal outfits
lies precisely here. They did successfully propagate
that the murder of mathadi workers or burning of
the Bane family by some miscreants was in fact a
handiwork of the aggressive Muslims. It is worth
recalling that Hindu Hriday Samrat (King of Hindu
Hearts) Balasaheb Thackeray gave a call for the
violence after these two acts by writing in his
mouth piece Saamna, Hindunni Ata Akramak Vhayal
have (Hindus should become aggressive now). Rest
of the story is too well known to be recounted.
Similar pattern seems to be under play in the wake
of Godhra tragedy. The coach was torched on 27th
Feb., by the same evening the word is spread that
ISI along with local complying Muslims have attacked
the Hindus. The secularists as usual are not condemning
the act so the Hindu souls are deeply pained. The
next day the organized carnage stalks the streets
of Gujarat and the warriors of Sangh Parivar well
equipped with swords, maps of Muslim house holds,
business houses and holy places, draws the rivers
of blood on the streets of Gujarat and the survivors
pitying their existence are forced into the camps,
unattended by state and humiliated by their plight
of living in the Hindu Rajya, the state of Chote
Sardar, Mr. Modi. One knows that the aggressive
communal forces need a pretext for their survival.
The eclipsing electoral fortunes were too obvious
to the wily strategists of Sangh Parivar, who were
'needing' a Godhra to happen for their own very
existence. Bereft of such situations they see their
own decline too visible.
What in fact was needed was proper investigation
of the tragedy, as to who provoked, why it happened,
and its logical next step to punish the guilty.
Surely state is well equipped to do this elementary
business. But if that is done, the whole 'benefits'
of Godhra are lost! So within a single day even
when all those who matter amongst Muslim community,
secularists and the Human rights activists are protesting
their heart's anguish out in the streets, or condemning
this barbaric Godhra, The lathis (the origional
RSS weapon, now being a bit extinct to keep pace
with times), the Trishuls (the symbol of most aggressive
RSS wing VHP and Bajarang Dal, currently in use)
and more innovative gas cylinders (any semblance
with Hitlers gas chambers is purely incidental)
come in to action. The hurt of Hindus is coordinated
through mobiles and the foot soldiers brave it out
while the foot soldiers and the mobile wielders
share the loot of business establishments owned
by the 'enemies' of Hindu Rashtra, the Muslims.
Many an inquiry commission reports have shown that
it is generally some outfit of Hindu communal organization,
which threw the first stone or started the fire
(Who Castes the first stone, Teesta Setalvad, Communalism
Combat March 1998). These inquiry commissions (Jagmohan;
Ahmadabad 1969, Madan; Bhiwandi 1970, Vithayathil;Tellicherry
1971, Venugopal; Kanyakumari 1982), the reports
of Bhagalpur , Jamshedpur riots and lastly Mumbai
riots have demonstrated beyond any shadow of doubt
that the truth is fairly shrouded in mystery and
the propaganda that Muslims have started the riot
is the triggering point for unleashing the 'much
needed' riots to strengthen the base for communal
politics. Mostly some pretext is generally made
available or situation is such created that minorities
are either cornered or threatened in such a way
that they are forced to throw the first stone.
When Mr. Vajpayee says that Muslims stared the
fire, he is following the mould and mindset, which
has built the BJP. Be it the ghastly riots or the
Ram Temple movement, the role of Majoritarain communal
force is absolutely clear, and made more clear after
the cool headed study of the riot reports. But by
the time reports are cited, dug up from the archives
the 'job' is already done, and the foundation for
the new electoral success already laid down.
Now, one hopes the election Commission will wake
up and see the dangers of holding elections in a
state, which has suffered such an intense trauma,
a state where the whole minority community today
is petrified and a state where lakhs are staying
in the refugee camps. What one wonders is about
the many faces of a man called Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
At one time he wrote somewhere,(Frontline August,1997)
we dont fish for votes in the rivers of blood. This
was probably before his masks were ripped off by
his politics for Hindu Rashtra. Now while eagerly
preparing his boats and fishing nets to catch the
electoral fish in Gujarat he must be formulating
another poem and another suitable formulation, which
can act as a brand new mask for the new occasion.
