By Dr Suhael Ahmed
(This is an open column for our regular contributors and new writers. Views expressed here are solely those of the author. Readers are welcome to air their opinions through comments or in the form of articles)
Apr 6: There is a common belief that the minorities of India are worried as to what would happen if NDA with Modi at the helm, comes to power at the centre. Will RSS call the shots, will there be riots targeting minorities, will there be human rights abuse, will there be cut down in minority reservations so on and so forth.
I personally don’t think so. Even if they manage to reach the magic figure of 272, Modi may be compelled to follow the coalition dharma which would make it difficult for him to adopt his authoritative style of functioning as he has done being the CM of Gujarat. The same coalition dharma probably made Manmohan Singh become a mute spectator to rampant corruption going on in UPA 2.
About the opposition and media's favourite line of asking for Modi's apology for the 2002 riots, I don’t see that coming in his lifetime. Why would one apologise when there is no direct indictment? Although there are various hidden camera videos of individuals like Babu Bajrangi holding him responsible for riots and his own ministers like Maya Kodnani being convicted for mobilizing crowds against minorities, there is nobody who has named him with conclusive evidence in the halls of justice.Even though there are strong indications that he turned a blind eye to the massacre going on around him, it seems more of a mass orchestrated decision to launch an offensive against minorities.
I would even buy the argument that he ignored the pleas of helpless victims like Ahsan Jafri, Congress MP and many other lesser privileged citizens. What prompts me to think that way is because one simply feels he has negative bias towards Muslims. This can be drawn from the statement made by him during a recent interview. While being asked if he was sad about the killings which took place in Gujarat in 2002 he replied by saying "Anyone would feel sad even when a puppy dies on road". Modi is known to weigh his words before uttering them and this statement was by no means in a lighter vein.
His mindset was further exposed when he refused to wear a Muslim skull cap offered as a gesture by a cleric during Sadbhavana fast. The whole idea of Sadbhavana was nullified when he did so. If one has watched his several speeches closely, he never mentions names of any minority scholar or a freedom fighter when he speaks about India. You would never see mention of say A P J Abdul Kalam or a Abul Kalam Azad, both recipients of Bharat Ratna, ever in his speeches. Looking at the fate of Advani in his own party which he nurtured over years after he praised Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Modi would definitely think twice before inviting the wrath of his parent organisation.
Media has often been accused of subjecting Modi to maximum scrutiny among contemporary leaders, but one cannot ignore the fact that he is also the leader who has faced maximum backlash from his own men, bureaucrats and party members included, be it Advani, Jaswant Singh, Uma Bharti, Sanjiv Bhatt or Pradeep Sharma. There is no other leader today who has faced more criticism from his own people and from various human rights organisations.
Despite the negativities, I do not have an iota of doubt about his administrative capability. He has the zest to excel in whatever assignment he takes up. Solar power project in Gujarat is testimony to that. I certainly believe he has been instrumental in bringing investments to Gujarat although it stands at number 5 in the top five economies in India from 2004 to 2012 way behind behind Maharashtra, UP, Andhra and Tamilnadu in the list of Indian states by GDP released by Wikipedia.
For any nation to progress there has to be oneness among its citizens. To a large extent this can be achieved by the leaders we choose through their conduct as we follow our leaders very closely.
We have all grown up hearing "Mazhab nahin sikhaata aapas mein bayr rakhna" but most of us have just done lip sync without actually understanding it. India is a diverse country with many religions, caste, and creed. All the great religions including Hinduism, Islam,Christianity and Sikhism have many nice things to teach if we interpret it accurately. It's just that a few fanatics have been more vocal when they ridicule other religions and been able to create hatredness among general public. If India needs to progress we need our leaders to propogate brotherhood among Indians. Peace and development will follow.
And as for me casting my vote in favour of Narendra Modi to be my Prime Minister, I would certainly do it if I hear Mr Modi publicly say just once that 'all Indians irrespective of the religion they follow are my brothers and sisters'.
I don’t see that happening, and I don’t see myself ever voting for Narendra Modi.
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