Gujarat
: Lengthening
Shadows Of Swastika
By Ram Puniyani
08 February, 2007
Countercurrents.org
Perzania,
a film based on a true story in the backdrop of Gujarat violence, sensitively
portraying the plight of a Parsi family, whose son goes missing during
the carnage, was released all over the country barring Gujarat. Earlier
to this, another film, Fanaa starring Amir Khan, who personally sympathized
openly with the plight of those displaced due to the Narmada dam project,
could also not be screened in Gujarat. What is the social and political
scenario as we are just a month away from the fifth anniversary of Godhra
train accident and the Gujarat carnage?
Gujarat carnage was very
different from the communal violence which took place in Independent
India so far. Here one could most clearly see the well planned violence
unleashed on the pretext of Godhra train accident, duly supported by
the state Government under the patronizing eye of the central government.
While every possible rule of the law was violated by the authorities,
the hapless victims were left to rot in the refugee camps with atrocious
living conditions, totally ignored by the state government. The mirror
of Gujarat's dominant social thinking was to come to light soon with
the winning of elections by Narendra Modi, who had played central role
in the violence. What has been happening in the social milieu of Gujarat
is beyond belief as far as the democratic norms and the communal amity
is concerned.
One has witnessed that the
process of deliverance of justice, remains unexecuted. Many a people
under different types of pressure could not lodge their complaints,
many a times it was made as a condition for their return to their homes.
Many an FIRs were not filed, the victims of the riots are gripped by
the losses of lives and property in mammoth proportions, while the perpetrators
of crime are moving with great pride in having taught 'them' a lesson.
Those arrested for Godhra train burning are rotting in jails with the
POTA charges on them. Barring the cases like those of Zahira with different
twists and turns, most other wronged ones are living the constant agony
and pain of what they had to face. The role and attitude, impartiality,
of sections of judiciary has also come under severe doubts
Added to that is the alienation,
social boycott and the ghettotisaztion of Muslim minorities, which has
been set very deeply in the aftermath of carnage. One can see the areas
marked by religious denominations getting converted into geographic
dividing lines. Once the hatred crosses the threshold limits it creates
the wedge which becomes unbridgeable over a period of time. And that's
what one sees in the social milieu of Gujarat. The pattern of life amongst
large sections has changed, and the constant harping on identity, first
that of religion and later that of caste has been the logical corollary
of the hate ideology which is ruling the roost.
Over fifty thousand families are living in the poorly maintained rehabilitation
colonies totally deprived of the basic facilities. The subtle intimidation
of Muslim majority is supplemented by the attacks on Christian missionaries
and also by the holding of events like Shabri Kumbh to co-opt the Adivasis
into the Hindu fold, at the same time changing the terms of social reference,
from the ones of development to the ones of identity issues is there
for all to see. The social common sense in Gujarat in particular, has
been taken to the insane heights where every issue becomes a ground
for further intensifying the hatred against minorities.
The dominant social opinion
may have some dissenting voices which may feel the present brusque anti-minoritism
will spoil the business atmosphere in Gujarat but the large sections
of middle class sees Modi as a protector of Hindus. Two set of laws
already seem to be in operation, the ones for majority and the other
for the minorities. Intolerance directed to 'external enemy' does not
stop there. It does come back to majority as well and the sharpened
religious identity leads to the caste and other narrow identities becoming
stronger by the day, and that's what Gujarat is witnessing today. The
very air is becoming heavy with the intolerance, which is the basic
credo of Gujarat society today. It also does manifest itself in the
people like Babu Bajrangi who are openly flaunting the laws and acting
as moral police, intimidating; beating up young couples; with full patronage
from the ruling party and associated affiliates, who emboldened by the
power and ideology of sectarianism are out to abolish the democratic
and liberal space, which is the hall mark of any open society.
The image of a vibrant Gujarat
is being strengthened through media, a section of which played a were
compliant and supportive role to the agenda of Hindu Rashtra. The overt
violence is not there but covert violence and deepening of sectarianism
is the order of the day. What is Fascism? It is not a mere academic
debate. When state, in connivance with dominant sections of society,
is out to bury the norms of liberal and plural values, when the dominant
section of society approve this intolerance for 'others' and than for
'our' dissenting people, the fascism is there. The fate of Fanaa and
Perzania are the mere symptoms of the piercing trishuls of RSS ideology
stalking the streets and bastis of Gujarat. It is a state where the
social activists can be beaten up right in Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram,
a place where non violence and dissent had been propagated as the basic
norm for creating a democratic society. While Modi has 'successfully'
deflected the criticism of his policies as an insult of Gujarat, the
matters become difficult for those who will like to uphold the gains
of our freedom movement, for those who will regard all people of India
as equals, irrespective of their religion.
The processes going in Gujarat
are a definite pointer towards "Hindu Rashtra in One state",
an Indian variant of Fascism. While looking forward to the change in
the turn of the tide in anticipation of the fifth anniversary of the
genocide, one hopes the worst is over and the society at large will
not only welcome Perzania with open eyes and mind but will also revive
the humane spirit of the Indian nationalism.
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