Intimacies Remapped

Look - No doubt everybody here is gonna bad-mouth Modi and Gujarat....that is understandable given the Gujarat riots where 2000-3000 muslims were massacred and scores of muslim women raped. But then thats one part of the picture.

What people have failed to notice or feigned ignorance is how Modi has completely and singlehandedly transformed Gujarat`s economy and made Gujarat a truely modern state.

Gujarat is more like China than India in terms of economic growth. Gujarat economy grows at an extraordinary pace of 10% plus , while Indian economy grows at 7% plus.Some of the biggest industries in India are situated in Gujarat. Gujarat accounts for 5% of India`s population , but over 20% of the exports. Gujarat ranks among highest as far as Indian states are concerned in terms of literacy , per capita and hdi. Poverty in Gujarat is minimal...barely 5-8% of the population.

Modi has shown himself to be the most reformist politician in Indian history. He has introduced and executed wide range of administrative and economic reforms. His working is like that of a CEO of a Fortune 500 rather than that of a politician. He has de-bureaucratised and de-politicised Gujarat and done away with corruption and the red-tape. While most big states in India like Maharashtra , Andhra , Punjab etc. are revenue deficit states - Gujarat is by far revenue surplus.There is nobody in the world who is as pro-globalisation and pro-liberalisation as Modi is.Thanks to Modi`s tireless efforts , investments are flowing into Gujarat in billions of $ virtually every day - mostly from foreign investors.

The significance of Gujarat is it is more like a part of China than India given the sort of industries , investment friendly administration and excellent infrastructure that Gujarat has. If South India is all about IT , Gujarat is all about China-style gung-ho manufacturing.

So the choice is for Indians to make. How would they like to view Modi ? As India`s most visionary reformer , as somebody has transformed sleepy Gujarat into India`s industrially and financially most dynamic state with little or no corruption , or as one who doesn`t like the paki-lovers too much..

The people of Gujarat sure have announced their verdict.

#11 Ballukhan

That is rubbish!!! going by this logic I would first ask the Hindu first borns to atone for the sins of their forefathers when they used to put molten lead in the ears of the Shudras.....or atone for all those tribal kingdoms that were razed and their people massacred by the Kshatriya kings....I would like all the Brahmins to atone for the sin of enslaving the shudras in their households.....or of Vaishnavas for killing the Shaivas vice versa....or ......

as a person born in a ``upper caste`` hindu family, i would like to apologize for the inhuman treatment my forefathers would have committed against the ``harijan`` people. I ask for their forgiveness (``harijan``) and I am shameful and embarrassed by their (my forefathers) deeds.
This is not just to meet your condition but I truly believe that doing so would be the first step towards accepting the facts and preventing it from happening again. Thats the reason young Germans are taught about Nazi concentration camps.


``the Hindu kings who vanquished the Buddhists and ensured that Buddhism is wiped out from India forever``
there were a few such kings which did that, but not to the extent that it ``wiped`` out Buddhism from india. How come Jainism continued to stay. Also, what happened to Buddhists in Afghanistan, central asia areas. Infact, I have come across many indian muslims who subscribe to this thinking, that hindu kings killed all the buddhists in india.

I think fundos are really not the source of the problem. They are merely a spark, the gruesome physical display of our own gruesome internal prejudices we allow to exist and bow to.

Whatever the nature of the prejudices, has the walk down right-wing Fascist Lane been reversed with the new government in place? Or do you feel more needs to be ‘unearthed’ before the ‘emotional thirst’ of historical ‘rectification’ is complete?

HP the Islamic Fanatic

Mahesh G`s response to tahmed on the Islamic Science thread:

[[#274 by MaheshG

let me get this straight.

1. Pakistani army kills more than a million bengalis in Bangladesh whereas Bengalis are not attacked in Pakistan. Indian mobs kill 3000 Muslims in Gujarat where as Muslims in the rest of India are not affected. Conclusion: Pakistan is better.

2. Some Pakistani chowkies advocate jihad on Indian Hindus and some Indian chowkies rationalize Gujarat. Conclusion: Pakistan is better.

3. Pakistan wipes out its minorities, Indian minorities grow in number. Conclusion: Pakistan is better.

4. Some Pakistani chowkies condemn army action in Bangladesh while sitting in the US, some Indian chowkies condemn Modi`s govt in Gujarat while sitting in the US. Conclusion: Pakistan is better.

If I have got the flow of your argument, let me know]]

Let us know you snivelling shivering twat.

Ballu Khan:

Hit the nail on the head as usual. Its not Fandu Pakis, we have enough idiots on our side who need to have sense slapped in to their heads.

Re: # 11

Goofy Ballu :-)

`First-borne` is incorrect, the correct term is `twice-born` or `dwija`. The second birth is the `sacred thread` ceremony.

Re: # 4

``This poster wants apology from Muslims for the 700 years of rule in India. The apology is not beyond the realm of the reality but first the majority community needs to create conditions of peace, and harmony in the society for the other community to come forward.``

Only a fandu Pakistani can talk about IM-s in the year 2005 apologizing for the sins of those who used Islam for political purposes in the dark ages !!!

``I would like to see prominent Muslim religious and political leaders in India to come out and admit that a lot of wrongdoings took place during the Muslim period and they feel really ``sorry`` about it. But can they do it? I suspect not...``

That is rubbish!!! going by this logic I would first ask the Hindu first borns to atone for the sins of their forefathers when they used to put molten lead in the ears of the Shudras.....or atone for all those tribal kingdoms that were razed and their people massacred by the Kshatriya kings....I would like all the Brahmins to atone for the sin of enslaving the shudras in their households.....or of Vaishnavas for killing the Shaivas vice versa....or the Hindu kings who vanquished the Buddhists and ensured that Buddhism is wiped out from India forever......

This is utter nonsense.....it is time people forget the dark ages of Indian past and talk about Indian democracy in 2005!!!

Shambhu incident brought back memories of a similar incident we had in our group...

We used to celebrate TGIF, TGIS and other assorted festivals with free flowing alcohol and unlimited bakwas. In one such get-together, a guy from a friend`s hometown joined us. He was studying in Bangalore at that time. He has a Hindu pet name and does not sport a beard. Even look-wise he does not have the tell-tale signs of mians (don`t ask me what they are).

After a couple of large, the topic switched to defence. One of our pals is a major enthusiast of defence related issues and has three shelves filled with books on strategy, warfare, foreign policy and other such stuff. Somehow the topic veered to RAW and mians crept into the discussion. My friend loudly proclaimed that RAW does not induct mians coz they are not trustworthy. We tried to warn our friend that Pappu is not Pappu, but alas! Pappu didn`t agree to his proclamation. Drinks and UP, Bihar background made it worse and they switched to `Hindi` to put across their point . Ultimately, Pappu threw up his hands in despair and fired the Brahmastra - his uncle is in RAW. The truth took some time to sink in, and then our defence kid went ashen faced. Even today, he gets embarrassed when we mention the incident to him. He blames it on us saying we should have warned him; Baccardi has nothing to do with it.

Dear Mr. Nambiar:

I do have some comments on your article but will withhold them until I read your second (concluding?) part. (I am surprised that others seem to have already made up their minds on it.) However, based on what I have read so far, I consider it safe to make the following two statements: (1) although you are perhaps only setting the stage in Part 1, you seem to be taking an awfully long time with it and beating around the bush a lot (or is that an unconscious way to postpone the inevitable facing of (unpleasant?) realities as long as possible?) (2) I wish you had written this article earlier. I realize that the passage of time may allow one a better perspective etc., however, if one is trying to deal with a problem or disease, timeliness of the medicine is rather important (writing a journal paper on a disease may spark a lot of intellectual discourse but provide little succor to those who have already suffered.)

Thanks.
BeeJay (still on sabbatical)

bucaphelus, I think we need to first understand the contemporary situation there before knowing or getting into the 1000 years history of it.

By the way, Nambiar Sahib! Are you related to Sonora Jha Nambiar!

Nambiar Sahib, Wah!
Beautifully written. I am speechless!

Harish - this is brilliant!

I think a part of my admiration for this work comes from my realization that this would have been terribly hard for me to write. It`s never easy to capture people you love and are invested in and with whom you share yourself as simply and gently shaded as you have done here.

Reading this, I felt like you`ve told my story in yours. Thank you. I can`t wait for the next part.

Amrita.

This has to be the best article on communal relations in India that I have come across on Chowk. I can see that many Indians are busy scratching their heads to discredit this author. JNU, P Secularist and what not! One response below shows the communal mindset that prevails in the educated and urban India. This poster wants apology from Muslims for the 700 years of rule in India. The apology is not beyond the realm of the reality but first the majority community needs to create conditions of peace, and harmony in the society for the other community to come forward. However, what the Majority community does? It first denies the basic human rights to minority and than forcibly wants apology. The majority community is holding a gun, keeping minority hostage, and threatening dire consequences to the minority to overcome its own deficiency in defending and NOT fighting for the freedom for 700 years. This article clearly and poignantly describes the communal conditions that are prevalent in India and as the events described in this article show, it is more than communalism. It is racial discrimination.

There was a time in the US when property owners were not willing to rent property out to the Blacks. It took years of struggle to change that mindset and now situation is better but there are still folks out there who, given an opportunity, would find a way to deny a rental property to blacks.
It is apparent that Muslims, Dalit and the other communities that don’t fit the mainstream Hindu religions tenets are not only denied basic human rights but also are racially discriminated.

“It has been three days now, of the Hindus killing Muslims allegedly as a reaction to the Godhra train burning incident,” I said.
“That’s okay. When the mians react, they’ll even the score in two days,” Suresh said. Mian was the local dialect for anybody from the Muslim community.”

The exchange above is brutal and shows the depth of deep-seated communalism in the Indian society. Killing of human either Muslims or Hindus is irrelevant for a common person. It is just a matter of “That’s okay.” If Hindus kill Muslims for three days, Muslims would kill Hindus for two days. Once the score is even both communities would go their marry way and starting looking forward to new sets of riots.

How the Indian society got to this level of spitefulness? Clearly, there are systematic and concentrated efforts undertaken by the organized communal parties such as the RSS, BJP, Sviv Sena, or the VHP and many more that are trying to raise the Hindu nationalism and they scapegoat minorities for cheap promotion of their hateful ideas.

Hindutva is an ideology of hate. This ideology has taken over the Indian Middleclass. It does not seem likely that the secular Indian institutions that are already weak or immature would survive the communal onslaught or barrage of false propaganda in India. The minorities in India must be ready for another round of hate that would come their way in the near future.

India seemingly fast polarising along communal lines. Cant argue with that!