All the
Perfumes of Arabia
By Justice Markandey Katju
Narendra
Modi is being projected by a large section of Indians as the modern Moses, the
messiah who will lead the beleaguered and despondent Indian people into a land
of milk and honey, the man who is best suited to be the next Indian Prime
Minister. And it is not just the BJP and RSS who are saying this in the Kumbh
Mela. A large section of the Indian so
called 'educated' class, including a section of our 'educated' youth, who have
been carried away by Modi’s propaganda are saying this.
I was
flying from Delhi to Bhopal recently. Sitting beside me was a Gujarati
businessman. I asked him his opinion of Modi. He was all praise for him. I
interjected and asked him about the killings of over 2000 Muslims in 2002 in
Gujarat. He replied that Muslims were always creating problems in Gujarat, but
after 2002 they have been put in their place and there is peace since 2002 in
Gujarat. I told him it was the peace of the graveyard, and peace can never last
long unless it was coupled with justice. At this remark he took offence and
changed his seat on the plane.
The truth
today is that Muslims in Gujarat are terrorized and afraid that if they speak
out against the horrors of 2002 they may be attacked and victimized. In the
whole of India Muslims (who are over 200 million of the people of India) are
solidly against Modi (though there are a handful of Muslims who for some reason
disagree).
It is
claimed by Modi supporters that what happened in Gujarat was only a
'spontaneous' reaction (pratikriya) of Hindus to the killings of 59 Hindus in a
train in Godhra. I do not buy this story. Firstly, there is still a mystery as
to what exactly happened in Godhra, and who was responsible for the killings.
Secondly, the particular persons who were responsible for the Godhra killings
should certainly be identified and given harsh punishment, but how does this
justify the attack on the entire Muslim community in Gujarat. Muslims are only
9% of the total population of Gujarat, the rest being mostly Hindus. In 2002 Muslims
were massacred, their homes burnt, and other horrible crimes committed on them.
To call
the killings of Muslims in 2002 as a spontaneous reaction reminds one of
Kristallnacht (see online) in Germany in November 1938, when the entire Jewish
community in Germany was attacked, many killed, their synagogues burnt, shops
vandalized, etc after a German diplomat in Paris was shot by a Jewish youth
whose family had been persecuted by the Nazis. It was claimed by the Nazi
Government that this was only a 'spontaneous' reaction, but in fact it was
planned and executed by the Nazi authorities using fanatic mobs.
I have
said in my article 'What is India?' (see on my blog justicekatju.blogspot.in as
well as on the video on the website kgfindia.com) that India is broadly a
country of immigrants (like North America) and consequently it is a land of
tremendous diversity. Hence the only policy which can hold it together and take
it on the path of progress is secularism and equal respect and treatment to all
communities and sects. This was the policy of the great Emperor Akbar, which
was followed by our Founding Fathers (Pandit Nehru and his colleagues) who gave
us a secular Constitution. Unless we follow this policy our country cannot
survive for one day, because it has so much diversity, so many religions,
castes, languages, ethnic groups, etc.
India
therefore does not belong to Hindus alone, it belongs equally to Muslims,
Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Jains etc. Also, it is not that only Hindus can live
in India as first rate citizens while others have to live as second or third
rate citizens. All are first rate citizens here. The killings of thousands
of Muslims and other atrocities on them in Gujarat in 2002 can never be
forgotten or forgiven. All the perfumes in Arabia cannot wash away the stain on
Modi in this connection.
It
is said by his supporters that Modi had no hand in the killings of Muslims in
2002, and it is also said that he has not been found guilty by any Court of
Law. I do not want to comment on our judiciary, but I certainly do not buy the
story that Modi had no hand in the events of 2002. He was the Chief Minister of
Gujarat at that time, and the horrible events happened on a large scale in
Gujarat Can it be believed that he had no hand in the events of 2002? At least
I find it impossible to believe it.
Let me
give just one example. Ehsan Jafri was a respected, elderly former Member of
the Indian Parliament living in the Chamanpura locality of Ahmedabad in
Gujarat. His house was in the Gulbarga Housing Society, where mostly Muslims
lived. According to the recorded version of his elderly wife Zakia, on
28.2.2002 a mob of fanatics blew up the security wall of the housing society
using gas cylinders, they dragged Ehsan Jafri out of his house, stripped him,
chopped off his limbs with swords, etc and burnt him alive. Many other Muslim
were also killed and their houses burnt. Chamanpura is barely a kilometer from
the police station, and less than 2 kilometres from the Ahmedabad Police
Commissioner's office. Is it conceivable that the Chief Minister did not know
what was going on? Zakia Jafri since then has been running from pillar to post
to get justice for her husband who was so brutally murdered. Her criminal case
against Modi was thrown out by the district Court (since the Special
Investigation Team appointed by the Supreme Court found no evidence against
Modi and filed a final report), and it is only now (after a gap of over 10
years since the incident) that the Supreme Court set aside the order of the
trial Court and directed that her protest petition be considered.
I am not
going into this matter any further since it is still sub judice.
Modi has
claimed that he has developed Gujarat. It is therefore necessary to consider
what is the meaning of 'development'. To my mind development can have only one
meaning, and that is raising the standard of living of the masses. Giving
concessions to big industrial houses, and offering them cheap land and cheap
electricity can hardly be called development if it does not raise the standard
of living of the masses.
Today,
48%
Guajarati children are malnourished, which is a higher rate of
malnourishment than the national average. In Gujarat there is high
infant
mortality rate, high women's maternity death rate, and 57% poverty rate
in tribal areas, and among Scheduled Castes/Backward Castes.
As stated by Ramchandra Guha in his article in 'The Hindu' today,
(8.2.2013) in
Gujarat environmental degradation is rising, educational standards are
falling,
and malnutrition among children abnormally high. More than a third of
adult men
in Gujarat have a body mass index of less than 18.5 – the 7th worst
in the country. A UNDP report in 2010 has placed Gujarat after 8 other Indian
States in multiple dimensions of development e.g. helath, education, income
levels, etc. (see Hindustan Times, 16.12.2012 P.13)
Mr.
Guha further states in his article: “As a sociologist who treats the aggregate
data of economists with scepticism, I myself do not believe that Gujarat is the
best developed State in the country. Shortly after Modi was sworn in for his
third term, I travelled through Saurashtra, whose polluted and arid lands spoke
of a hard grind for survival. In the towns, water, sewage, road and transport
facilities were in a pathetic state; in the countryside, the scarcity of
natural resources was apparent, as pastoralists walked miles and miles in
search of stubble for their goats. In terms of social and economic development,
Gujarat is better than average, but not among the best. Kerala, Himachal
Pradesh and Tamilnadu are the three states which provide a dignified life to a
decent percentage of their population”.
Business
leaders no doubt claim that Modi has created a business friendly environment in
Gujarat, but are businessmen the only people in India?
To those
who talk of development of Gujarat under Modi I ask this question: Should the
malnourished children of Gujarat eat the roads, electricity and factories which
Modi has created?
I appeal
to Indian people to consider all this if they are really concerned about the
nation’s future, otherwise they may make the same mistake which Germans made in
1933.
(An edited version of this article published in The Hindu on February 15,2013)
