Humanity has been the victim in Gujrat. What happened at Godhra and in its aftermath shows to what a low level man can fall? Burning to death of the aged, the women and the children is the kind of barbarism that modern human history has rarely witnessed. Barbarism is associated with wild animals, but now theirs would be compared with that of the men of Gujrat; the later would surely be a winner.
There are many aspects of the Gujrat riots which need to be highlighted. First, the madness of the mob or the mob frenzy which seems to have acquired a sort of legitimacy in India. At least Mr. Narendra Modi seems to suggest it. He is playing politics on corpses whose life he was constitutionally bound to protect. For him what happened at Godhra was terrorism and the Hindu backlash in its aftermath was a mob frenzy. His implication is that the Godhra victims would be paid more compensation than the riot victims. Moreover, while the perpetrators of Godhra tragedy would be booked under POTO, the instigators of riots would be charged under IPC. In other words the Muslim tragedy would continue unabated.
The so called mob frenzy was, in fact, not a mob frenzy. It was an organized murderous assault on the minority Muslim community by lumpen elements belonging to the various offshoots of the Sangh Parivar. There was a discernable method in the madness: to rape Muslim girls before the naked eyes of their fathers and family members and then burn them all alive; to destroy Muslim business in order to weaken them economically; in sum, to employ all cruel methods to force the Muslims into submission and throw them out of the mainstream. The lumpen elements have not only murdered Muslims but have also tried to dehumanize the whole society by robbing it of its human face. Their purpose has been to polarize the society along communal divides in order to reap political and electoral dividends. The RSS game plan is clear; it must be resisted, even frustrated.
Communal polarization is complete in Gujrat today; perhaps it has reached the Gujrati Diaspora in Britain as well. Not long ago when Gujrat was hit by a devastating earthquake, the Gujrati Diaspora of Britain raised some two million pounds of which over a quarter was raised by the Muslims. The Hindu-Muslim divide was not visible then. Today the divide is not only visible but has also become sharper. In Gujrat only Muslims are engaged in relief works; vast majority of Hindus are indifferent to the plight of fellow human beings. This is very disturbing development which would be pleasing for none except the Sangh Parivar. This is what the BJP exactly wants. Their sinister thinking is that only through complete polarization along communal lines the BJP can hope to avert the defeat in electoral battles to be fought in a year-time. It does not bother them if hundreds of people are killed in this process. Indeed, these politicians are worse than hard core criminals.
The Gujrat tragedy has only one lesson for Muslims. They have seen the worst; their girls have been raped and then set on fire, their elderly people lynched and cut to pieces, and their children along with their mothers thrown into wells; when some of them tried to swim in order to escape death, they were stoned by their murderers from the above. Likewise their properties have been singularly and selectively targeted and destroyed in a planned manner. This is not the end. They would be booked under POTO, thrown behind bars where they might remain for years facing prolonged trials. What is their future in the country? Can they live here with dignity? Can they prosper here economically, culturally and educationally? These disturbing questions are agitating the mind of every sensible Muslim.
There are no easy and short out solutions. Education is must. But what they need more than any thing else is a viable, bold, far-sighted and committed political leadership. All political parties, except the BJP, have Muslim leaders. However, all these parties have never allowed the emergence of a genuine Muslim leadership; they have always sought men who can deliver the Muslim vote in their baskets.
For Muslims the need of the hour is to develop their own political leadership which would be committed to their cause. In a democracy political organization sometimes becomes the most important thing, more important than even education and fruitful economic ventures. Such an entity should certainly join hands with the secular forces, defeat the communal forces and work for the welfare of the Muslim community as well as the country.
[March, 2002]
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