Looking
at this debate of Modi and anti-Modi on a daily basis in the social media, a
sense of introspection is bound to set in any receptive mind. Democracy is not
about what is right but targeting what is left. Yes, I agree Modi became PM by
uniting Hindus and dividing Muslims and Christians and it is bad but that is
exactly what Trump has done and doing in USA. But Modi did it in the name of
development and not religion. He played the card of development camouflaged with
Hindutva (perceived owing to his past antecedents). Still, the only reason I am
a modi bhakt is because, the guy, like PV Narasimha rao has a vision on how to
change things for betterment of all. In a poor society identities matter and
that is the reason why if you draw an imaginary line connecting Kanpur and Chennai,
the east of that line has states with regional bosses riding on identities for
these states have low per capita income owing to lack of development and GDP
growth.
The
reason is simple, I have never heard of a person from Mumbai or Delhi working
in a Gorakhpur but lacs do in reverse order similar to millions of Indians
working in US but not the same quantum from US working in India. So when there
is poverty and lack of job opportunities people would tend to stick to
identities of caste, creed, religion and localized identities. That is the
reason why behenji to Didi to amma will rule for next many years till states
improve in their per capita income and social economic index. In above comparison,
the only exception is TN where a lot of development has happened and it has
overtaken even UP to be the no. 2 state in terms of GDP contribution. It is the
most urbanized state in India with 37% plus urban population.
I am
pretty sure, if Modi wanted the godhra carnage would have had lesser causalities
for his track record of being a good administrator and politician is not a
doubt even for his critics. This is the standard line of grudge Modi-baiters
have. Therefore, there is bound to be strong reactions to anything he does for
the reason that he has a past he can’t probably wash his hands off. But what he
can and is doing and which is visible now is changing what is happening across
religious lines. It was put on record by Arnab Goswami and Pranoy Roy that BJP
did get a sizeable chunk of Muslim votes in Assam.
I
think the only way to loosen up this strong divide is to ensure these micro and
macro identities erode from India for India as one identity. This can happen
only when there is prosperity. Prosperity is possible only when there are
enough jobs across spectrum and that can happen only by investments and
investments can come only when there is infrastructure (physical and
governance) across urban and rural landscape and that can happen only when we
increase GDP. And that is exactly what he is trying to do. So in short a 2-digit
GDP for a decade will wipe out sizeable and measurable disparity and therefore
dilute micro identities and make India a better place.
Talking
about Modi, another point I wish to make about riots and Muslims in India. Across
the globe & since the beginning of time there had been and will be a clash
of civilization. And in any such clash the ultimate cost and perils are always
borne by the minorities. So whether it is within Muslims in Pakistan,
ultimately Shias are at loss in terms of damage to them or if it is Bangladesh
then Hindus lose out at the end and so if it was Kashmir, Pandits lost out and
if it was ‘84 Sikh riots, Sikhs lost out and if in post-Godhra Muslims lost
out. So it is always a majority that retaliates and minority loses out in the
end. And the reason why such clashes happen is only for two reasons, one,
identity crisis and fear of not being treated at par with majority, and
clinging to identities subsuming the larger social or economic or class
identities. If a Shah Rukh khan marries a Hindu there is no back lash and if Salman
khan brings Ganpaati bappa home there is no fatwa but if Aamir khan questions
the national identity there is a furore. The same thing any person does in Haryana
country-side, it will lead to honour killing. That is because, these celebrities
have risen over caste and religious identities and created their own identities
as a separate social class. And the only option for all of us is to accept this
norm which is prevalent across civilizations. Another point I would like to
make about Indian Muslims is that it is only Indian Muslims who are democratic,
they have faith in constitution, courts, there is a visible effort amongst
masses to bring about change in sharia and they are not joining terror
organisations in the same proportion to their population. They are us and they
believe in India and think themselves like Indians unlike in all other parts of
the world. It is also because as Tarek Fateh says, "Indian Muslims are
Indians first also because of the Hindus and that the democracy not just in the
country but in its culture and civilization".
