Frayed at the edges
By Harsh Sethi

Unless we can ensure an accommodative society, both economically and
politically, Gujarat may well burn again.

THERE IS something distinctly ugly, if not frightening, about the
manner in which key members of the leadership in both Gujarat and at
the Centre have sought to portray the recent communal carnage in
Gujarat. There is little doubt that the attack on the kar sevaks,
returning from the ongoing VHP programme in Ayodhya on February 27,
is utterly condemnable. It was also unprecedented, reminding many of
the dark days of Partition. But to explain away, if anything
implicitly justify, what followed - a systemic pogrom against the
Muslim community across the length and breadth of the state - as a
natural response to Godhra is even more shocking.

The statement of the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, expectedly
suitably modified subsequently, referring to Newton's Laws of Motion,
is reminiscent of the late Rajiv Gandhi's infamous remark, "when a
big tree falls, the ground shakes", in 1984. In an eerie replay of
those days, as also Mumbai in 1992-93, we saw an inexcusable delay in
the deployment of police forces, or in the calling out of the Army,
even when it was evident to all that the situation was fast slipping
out of control. Worse, like in those earlier times, the police either
stood by or sometimes actively collaborated with the rioters as they
went about their business of looting, arson and murder.

What, after all, is one to say when a police officer feels little
compunction in admitting on camera that the police forces too are
part of society and cannot be expected to act in a manner contrary to
social expectations. Clearly, as far as this notable is concerned,
Muslims in Gujarat are not part of society and thus should not expect
the normal protection that citizens are entitled to in such times.

It is not difficult to add to such examples. Mr. Modi is, in addition
to being the Chief Minister, also a RSS pracharak. Maybe he, like
sundry other spokespersons of the VHP and the RSS, found it difficult
to hide his bias. That, despite the flurry of criticism, he is
unrepentant about his behaviour is evident from the fact that the
compensation amounts announced for those killed on the train at
Godhra and others are different. It has now been made clear that, at
least in Gujarat, some lives, in death, are worth more than others.

Equally disturbing, in these troubling days, is the behaviour of the
Central leadership. The Prime Minister took over two days to announce
his anguish to the nation. And while he was justifiably concerned
about the sullying of the country's fair name abroad, there was no
tough message to the trouble mongers. The Home Minister, despite
being an MP from the State, took three days to reach Gujarat, and
even then did not find time to visit his constituency. Only the
Defence Minister, George Fernandes, displayed some of his old
qualities. He was the first to reach Ahmedabad, reportedly goaded the
local police into action, oversaw the deployment of the armed forces,
and even, at considerable risk, waded into the crowds to appeal for
peace and reason. Many say, but for his intervention, the toll in the
early days may have been higher.

In a State with a long history of communal violence, the
lackadaisical and often biased way in which the State forces behaved
is close to being criminal. And while the Chief Minister has finally
ordered a judicial inquiry, and we are expected to wait for its
report before coming to firm conclusions, it is not easy to disregard
the brutal killing of the former MP, Ehsan Jaffri, whose many pleas
for police help went unresponded. In the court of public opinion,
formed in no small measure by the extensive coverage of the riots by
private TV channels, there is little doubt. The State administration
has been pronounced guilty. Are we surprised that news channels were
pulled off the air until public protest ensured their resumption?

Nevertheless, questions remain. While few buy the explanation that
these riots were in the main spontaneous, a reaction to the Godhra
killings, and enough is known about the targeted nature of much of
the arson, looting and killing, the scale and the intensity have
taken many observers by surprise. Even those who point to the
alarming growth of Hindu communal forces, particularly in the last
decade, the steady escalation of hate speech, the regular references
to jehadi terrorists, SIMI, the ISI and what have you, are a little
intrigued as to why all this should happen in a BJP-controlled State.
Does not such behaviour bring the State Government into disrepute?
And is it not known that once the atmosphere is vitiated in the way
it has, there are no victors?

There is little doubt that the long history of communal violence, not
just from the major conflagration of 1969 but even earlier has
created a deeply divided and polarised society. It is also admitted
that the long process of developing Gujarati nationalism, in which
the Somnath temple played a major symbolic role, had a significant
strain of anti-minorityism. It is less known that long before
Ramjanmabhoomi and Babri Masjid came to occupy a crucial space in our
consciousness, Gujarat witnessed the destruction of the mosque at
Sidhpur, itself built at the site of the 7th century Shiva temple of
Rudramal. The subsequent anti-Dalit, anti-reservation and
anti-Christian riots too have contributed to building up a forward
caste-class Hindu consolidation, and one with a political culture
that is singularly unaccommodating. It might be worthwhile to more
closely study the social role of other Hindu sects, as also the role
of the overseas Gujarati communities and their enthusiastic espousal
of a Hindu revivalist cause.

Less attention has been given to the growing unemployment, inequality
and pauperisation in Gujarat, particularly the veritable collapse of
the old textile industry. The phenomenal growth of the informal
sector and an urban underclass too has contributed to the growing
social anomie and criminality. Alongside has been the impact of
natural disasters - first the long years of drought, then the cyclone
and finally the earthquake of 2001. In more ways than one, Gujarati
society is fraying at the edges. Possibly this is why when events
take the turn they did a few days earlier, it is as if a genie has
been let loose from a bottle. `Normal' communal riots do not have
middle class citizens, some quite well off, looting shops and
carrying away expensive goods.

While the immediate task is to reimpose law and order, provide
security and reinstate confidence among all sections of society, both
the political class and civil society will need to address the deeper
problems of the State. Placing curbs on fringe Hindu organisations
(after all, why ban only SIMI) will definitely help, as will taking
firm and speedy disciplinary action against officials guilty of
wilful misconduct. Maybe dismissing Mr. Modi might help. He has
clearly been shown up as unequal to the task. But these by themselves
are likely to prove insufficient. Unless we can ensure an
accommodative society, both economically and politically, Gujarat may
well burn again.