By Dr Javed Jamil
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has at last been formally declared Prime Ministerial candidate for NJP. This has occurred at a time when 50,000 Muslims in Muzaffar Nagar have been made refugees in their own district. I have heard stories of how Gujarat has been rehearsed in Muzaffar Nagar. Even before Modi;s Raj, the country has started witnessing what is in store for the future.
BJP is playing its game shrewdly. Almost every corporate is now lined behind him. If one goes through the comments being made even on the websites of newspapers like Hindustan Times, one can gauge the mood of the majority community. They are waiting for Modi because they think that he will “teach lesson to Muslims”. In response to a brief comment posted on Modi in Hindustan Times yesterday, I got an immediate bombardment of salvos from the readers. They were calling Muslims “pigs that have no other work except producing children”. One comment said” “Muslims attacked Twin Towers and the US taught them a lesson by killing 2 million Muslims. America has become safe. They were shown the way in Gujarat, and Gujarat is safe. Now they have learned a small lesson in Muzaffar Nagar. Hopefully, Modi will make them learn the lesson they deserve to learn without delay.” This is the mentality which is behind the huge celebration that the country is witnessing all over the country since evening. No one has seen the Gujarat Model of development except Gujaratis. People in the rest of the country do not love Modi for “Vikas”. They adore him simply because they feel that he is the new Avatar who will put Hindutva ahead of the nation. And Hindutva means nothing more than destruction of Muslims and whatever they stand for.
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The other Prime Ministerial candidate Rahul Gandhi must be watching all this with concern. Mercifully, he is talking increasingly about the poor and marginalized sections. He is talking of inclusive growth, which is welcome. But he must understand that the corporate that used to be behind Congress is not on its back any more. The temptation for him may be to try to win it back. This will be a folly. Instead he must be even more vocal in his plan on how he can develop a growth model which decreases rather than increases the huge economic disparity – urban to rural, state to state and even more importantly community to community. This is a tough challenge, and next few months will tell what he decides: appease corporates or the people.
Muslims too have to take tough decisions. They have to ensure that they have an agenda in hand. They have to learn the art of hard bargaining. They must impress upon all political parties that the Muslim support will not be easy to win. If they want Muslim votes, they must learn to listen to Muslims, and make them partners in all decisions, governance and share of booty. Emotional issues or the fear factor must not be the only reason behind their choice.
[Dr Javed Jamilis India based thinker and writer with over a dozen books including his latest, “Muslims Most Civilised, Yet Not Enough” and “Muslim Vision of Secular India: Destination & Road-map”. He can be contacted at doctorforu123@yahoo.com or 91-8130340339]
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has at last been formally declared Prime Ministerial candidate for NJP. This has occurred at a time when 50,000 Muslims in Muzaffar Nagar have been made refugees in their own district. I have heard stories of how Gujarat has been rehearsed in Muzaffar Nagar. Even before Modi;s Raj, the country has started witnessing what is in store for the future.
BJP is playing its game shrewdly. Almost every corporate is now lined behind him. If one goes through the comments being made even on the websites of newspapers like Hindustan Times, one can gauge the mood of the majority community. They are waiting for Modi because they think that he will “teach lesson to Muslims”. In response to a brief comment posted on Modi in Hindustan Times yesterday, I got an immediate bombardment of salvos from the readers. They were calling Muslims “pigs that have no other work except producing children”. One comment said” “Muslims attacked Twin Towers and the US taught them a lesson by killing 2 million Muslims. America has become safe. They were shown the way in Gujarat, and Gujarat is safe. Now they have learned a small lesson in Muzaffar Nagar. Hopefully, Modi will make them learn the lesson they deserve to learn without delay.” This is the mentality which is behind the huge celebration that the country is witnessing all over the country since evening. No one has seen the Gujarat Model of development except Gujaratis. People in the rest of the country do not love Modi for “Vikas”. They adore him simply because they feel that he is the new Avatar who will put Hindutva ahead of the nation. And Hindutva means nothing more than destruction of Muslims and whatever they stand for.
Muslims too have to take tough decisions. They have to ensure that they have an agenda in hand. They have to learn the art of hard bargaining. They must impress upon all political parties that the Muslim support will not be easy to win. If they want Muslim votes, they must learn to listen to Muslims, and make them partners in all decisions, governance and share of booty. Emotional issues or the fear factor must not be the only reason behind their choice.
[Dr Javed Jamilis India based thinker and writer with over a dozen books including his latest, “Muslims Most Civilised, Yet Not Enough” and “Muslim Vision of Secular India: Destination & Road-map”. He can be contacted at doctorforu123@yahoo.com or 91-8130340339]