The minorities have been forced into ghettos on the city’s outskirts. They are living with a sense of fear, compromise and surrender to the majority. This is not the story of Gaza. Overflowing drains, irregular water supply, malnourished children, women with tragedy wrought on their faces, echoes of azan from the minarets of mosques, sound of tailoring machines, flying kites… images from the margins of Ahmedabad that portray a complete contrast to purported growth story of Gujarat. Yes, growth indeed for the Hindu colonies that have become ‘clean’ and friendly after removing the name plates of Muslims from their apartments and wards.
The society lives in the haze of a grand illusion, spun by an illusionist… growth, money, security and confidence. How it all comes doesn’t matter.
Hatred towards the minority and complete disregard for the upliftment of the dalit and the poor have only increased. Gujarat’s ideological leanings reek of Israel.
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From 127 seats in 2002, 117 in 2007, the number has come down to 115, much less than the claimed 150. Modi’s vote share has also decreased. Yet, this aspect of the Gujarat elections remained untouched by TV studios.
BJP lost one out of two states but played up only Modi’s victory, amply aided by the media. Interestingly, while interacting with the VHP and RSS workers in Gujarat, what came out was a sense of alienation and loss, at the lack of options. They seemed lost dealing with a dictator, who has made his own party the most un-democratic political front of the country, worse than other family or personality driven political fronts. To my surprise, no one from his party, not even an old man visiting the shakha for decades, was willing to go on record about him.
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Mai hi maih hoon… doosra koi nahi– That famous Bollywood song came to my mind after watching the public meetings, rallies, posters, banners of election campaign. The winning speech didn’t mention any past or present leaders. It was just me, myself and I. In Gujarat, it’s a one man show; the organization, party, legacy, ideology; all secondary. The Nero of our times rules the state, and the rest are guests who think and blink like him. Sadly, this is the reality of the majority in Gujarat. Let me tell it straight, the way one section of society has disowned the other section blaming them for being anti-national, anti-social and a threat to the cultural and religious identity of the nation is downright sickening. Is this what Gandhi preached? Modi is Gujarat, Gujarat is Modi.
“Modi follows one slogan- Uncha bolo, Jhutha bolo.”
Modi brings a sense of security to the majority of Gujarat. He snatches land and resources from the farmers only to bring prosperity to a select few.
Talking to the people of Gujarat (I would rather call them faithful fans of Modi), one can feel the sharp polarisation; they will judge you as pro Modi or anti Modi and that would determine the nature of their engagement with you. Talk to the progressive writers, theatre personalities, poets, atheists, union workers, dalits and minorities, this is what they will tell you… stories of fear and suppression.
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Autowalas of Ahmadabad are more sensible than many political pundits. During my trip to the state, I met many autowalas. While travelling with them to different parts of the city, I never missed a chance of discussing politics. Unlike the sold-out media and exit poll surveys, they made me believe that Modi’s seats would decrease. They told me why the Keshubhai factor would not work, how in the absence of a strong and organized opposition, he would come back.
Two of these drivers were from the Saurastra region. They told me tales of poverty, paucity of water for drinking and harvesting, and farmer suicides. No political party talked about the condition of dalits; their harassment, the atrocities committed on them; how OBCs looted their resources.
One of them said, “Modi follows one slogan- Uncha bolo, Jhutha bolo.” But does the majority understand this?
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When the entire state is in a curfew like situation, Modi and his campaigners never missed a chance to remind that no curfew was imposed in the last ten years; everything is under control. But my interaction with the victims of riots tells the other side of the story. The Sohrabuddin Shaikh and Tulsi Prajapati encounter case reminds them that they are in a house arrest like situation. Amit Shah is back in the assembly.
Curfew is not for those who belong to a particular community; it’s for all who dare to speak against the dictatorship. Many BJP leaders, VHP’s prominent faces and old workers of RSS, Bajrang Dal are out from the state fearing assault and harassment.
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Hello Mr. Kejriwal! You were the one who echoed the corruption of Modi at a press conference in Delhi. When asked about his plans to go to Gujarat and make people aware about these misdeeds, AAP (Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party) was tongue tied. I am surprised why I didn’t find the same faces, which were campaigning during the Hisar elections in Haryana and then in Uttarakhand and Punjab.
Actually, the AAP wields no influence in this state. This kind of corruption is taken for granted in doing business here. People want Adani, they want Ambani. They want an n number of investors and it doesn’t matter how land and resources are given to them. After all, money is coming to the state.
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Since the second phase of the elections on 17th of December, all that echoed till 20th morning, on news channels (barring the Gujarati channels) was rape and abuse of a medical student. It was not the first rape on the roads of the national capital. This coverage was surprising, given rapes happen everyday.
Every day, there are 3-4 reports of rape from different states. The numbers are actually higher as most are either un-registered or unreported, and some remain buried in the pages of district or regional editions. A large number of women are victimized by their own family members and come from the poorest sections of the society. These women are, mostly, dalits, rural poor, migrated female workers, domestic helps etc. The channels are recommending the death penalty and other inhuman forms of punishment against the rapist. I remember no such clamour for Soni Sori. The SP of Dantewada, Ankit Garg barbarically inserted three stones into her rectum and vagina while she was in police custody. The medical report of Soni Sori proves this fact. But Ankit Garg got the President’s Medal for his ‘great’ works as a police officer.
Every day, women face it; in the tribal belts, in the ghettos of cosmopolitan colonies, villages and sub-urban areas. Every day papers file these reports. How is the violence against women in a village less important than the one in Delhi? What about rapes by the paramilitary?
While all this was happening in the capital, Modi was coming back to power. Nobody needs to remember those dead bodies, raped bodies of 2002.
