Modi and Modesty

For quite some time, I have been seeing Mr. Narendra Modi as the prime contender to the post of Prime Minister. However, last night I was brought out of slumber. Infact I was taken aback that if I can live amidst such misunderstandings, what would be the condition of the common man who cannot spare time and even afford to read statistics and reports about the ground reality. The very next day, I had a clear idea of what image has been projected when one of my friends remarked that BJP was secular party.

It was at that point, I decided that I wanted to be vocal about the real face of Vibrant Gujarat. Gujarat has been the cradle of some very famous and talented personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Dhirubhai Ambani, Sam Pitroda, Dayanand Saraswati, Ratan Tata, Azim Premji, Vikram Sarabhai etc. Not only this in a very short span of time Gujarat has progressed manifolds, especially post Godhra. Chief Minister Narendra Damodar Modi has been globally acknowledged for making Gujarat a global business hub. Be it industry, or energy, or tourism, or culture, Gujarat’s performance has always been outstanding.

Behind this mask of prosperity and well being, we have an ugly face which has deep scars of communalism and inhuman approach. Gujarat is already bearing the dark stains of Godhra mass killings and this barbaric act was proudly supervised by Mr. Modi. Ask your conscience, how fair is it to kill innocent people in the name of law and order? How sane is it order ruthless killings in the name of religion? And how constitutional is it to give way to communal feelings in a secular state?

How would you explain the absence of muslim settlement within the five-kilometer radius of Ahmedabad University. Or how would you explain the over populous Juhapura which accommodates muslims more than it could have afforded to? What has stopped Mr. Modi from implementing the Central Scholarship for Muslim students when over Rs. 10,000 crore meant for scholarships for muslim youth were returned to the Centre while Gujarat is observing that urban poverty in Muslims is fifty percent higher than even OBC’s (and a good 800% higher than Hindus).  Can Mr. Modi deny that Gujarat has become Hindutva’s main production unit which also manufactures inferior status for Muslims?

When we talk about Gujarat’s progress we need to pay heed certain aspects here. How is the prosperity competing with the rise in anaemia in women and children which has gone up from 46.3% to 55% in 2004? While Muslims are exploited and looked down upon, there are hardly a handful of Muslim prosecutors appointed by the state to stand up for their protection. What accounts for this discrimination? How is Mr. Modi going give a justification for this hostility towards Muslims?

On top of this he has started off his Sadbhavna Mission diplomacy. I wonder if he understands what is sadbhavna! If he can ever come out of his fanatic approach and understand the pinch of losing your family behind the veneer of communal riots. How would he justify his insensitive and barbaric orders? How long would he hide his sinful thoughts under the limelight of progress and development? What he is doing in his state will soon spread over the country. No wonder he may order a massacre of Muslims all over and emerge as the General Dyer of Free India and would be assassinated in a similar fashion. We really need to know a lot about the people we appreciate, for we may not at all be aware of the animal instincts behind the mask of a savior.