I have been getting more and more worried over the last year or so at the direction( or lack of it) in which our country is headed. It is like a runaway plane falling from the skies and we are plummeting past one alarming indicator after another– inflation, economic slowdown, falling rupee, complete break-down of law and order, ever emboldened Naxalites, total internalisation of corruption, an administration that answers to no one, complete lack of governance, cronyism on a scale never seen before, a brazen lack of accountability, public intimidation of constitutional authorities, a judicial system that has all but collapsed,environmental disasters that no one knows how to cope with, complete paraplegia of decision-making at all levels in government,appeasement of “minorities” and other sections that is reaching ridiculous and dangerous levels, dynastic politics at the Centre and the states reminiscent of the Mughal era…….
I could go on and on but after some time the mind becomes numb and registers only one emotion——-IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE.
Another five years of this and we would be well on our way to becoming a failed state and joining the ranks of Pakistan, Haiti and Somalia.
The general elections of 2014 offers us one last chance to redeem ourselves. I have been on this mortal coil for 62 years and have never voted for the BJP but have, after much thought, decided to support MODI in 2014. This is considered a heresy in most neo-liberal circles in India today but we have to go beyond mere labelling and stereo typing to understand my decision.
But before I go on to Mr. Modi himself, let us review the context in which this decision has been taken. The state of the country is self evident in para one above.
The next question then is: What are the alternatives or choices that we as voters have?
The Congress will only perpetuate the present mess-even more worrying and dangerous is the fact that, were the Congress to return to power, it would consider it had a renewed mandate to carry on as before.
In any case, who in the country would lead the Congress- a reluctant dynast, or an ageing economist who has discovered his true skills lie in politics, or a backroom puppeteer? Or, God forbid, all three? (Seriously, this is a possibility- after all not one of these three want to shoulder sole accountability, and they may reason that if a dual power centre can ensure two terms, a triple may be good for even more!) No, to my mind the Congress is not an option.
Who else, then?
Well, if we scrape the bottom of the barrel assiduously we will come up with Mamta Banerjee [ TMC], Mulayam Yadav [SP], Nitish Kumar [JDU], Naveen Patnaik [BJD], Jayalalitha [AIADMK], Sharad Pawar [NCP] and Mayawati (BSP). There is no need to discuss their achievements or ideologies at a national level (incidentally, not even one of them has a remotely national outlook or ideology since they cannot see beyond pandering shamelessly to the vote banks in their respective states) because they are state (not even regional) leaders and none of them can hope to be Prime Minister on the strength of their own parties.
They all realise this, of course, hence the idea which periodically emerges like a skin rash, of a Third or Federal Front. This didn’t work even when a Third Front could agree on a leader (as in the case of I.K. Gujral or Deve Gowda). How on earth will it work when every one of the state leaders mentioned above feels that he or she has been reincarnated precisely to become the Prime Minister of India?
The negotiations for choosing a PM (if the Front comes up with the numbers, that is) will resemble one of those WWF fights where about six hunks are put into the ring to beat the daylights out of each other till one of them is left standing to claim the crown. I cannot see all of them agreeing on even one policy issue, whether it is reservations, industrial stimulus,foreign policy, disinvestment, environmental protection, centre-state relations etc.
If they come to power at the Center, the paraplegia of today will become quadriplegia tomorrow.
Fortunately, in any case, they can never muster the 274 seats required-it will be difficult for them to reach even hundred even if they do very well in their states.
So a Third Front is a non-starter, and voting for any of these parties will only help the Congress by dividing the anti-congress vote. [You will have noticed that I have not mentioned Mr. Karat of the CPM. That’s because he’s become like a flat bottle of Coca-Cola- earlier he was all fizz and no substance: now even the fizz has gone].
That leaves only the BJP, with its historical baggage of the RSS, Hindutva, Ramjanmbhoomi (by the way, this baggage also includes five years of exemplary governance under Vajpayee from 1999 to 2004) -perhaps enough baggage to dissuade me from voting for the party. Except that this time the BJP has an add-on: Narender Modi.
And that, to my mind, adds value to the party and makes the crucial difference.
Modi has been reviled ad-nauseam by the “secular” parties and sections of the elite media for many years for the 2002 riots in Gujarat, by the former not because of any love for the Muslims (as I hope to show later) but simply in order to appropriate the Muslim vote, and by the latter because they have to keep whipping somebody in order to get their TRPs – in India only extremes succeed. Modi has been tried and condemned by them not on the basis of facts but by an opportunistic mixture of innuendo, presumption, speculation, half-truths, hear say. Look at the facts.
There was a horrendous orgy of killing of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002 where about 2000 of them were massacred. Some of Modi’s ministers and many BJP / VHP workers were involved: quite a few of them have also been convicted, the trials of many still go on.
The Supreme Court set up at least three SITs and is itself monitoring the investigations. Many PILs have been filed in the SC and the High Court accusing Modi of master-minding these massacres. In not a single case has either the Supreme Court, the High Court or the SITs found any evidence of Modi’s personal complicity.
Yes, they have held that he could have controlled the situation better- but nothing beyond that inspite of ten years of frenetic drum beating and sustained vilification.
Now look at the other set of facts. Under Modi’s current watch, perhaps for the first time in India, people have been actually convicted for communal rioting and murder- more than 200 convictions, with about 130 of them sentenced to life imprisonment.
All the communal massacres in India since Independence have not resulted in even one tenth of these convictions.
Modi’s government has to be given some credit for this: yes, the investigations were carried out by the SIT and not by Modi’s police; yet Modi could, if he was so inclined, have interfered covertly in the whole process by asking his officials not to cooperate, by intimidating witnesses, influencing judges, conveying hints to prosecutors- something which, as we all know too well, governments of all political hues in India have mastered.
Modi could have done what the Congress has done so successfully in Delhi in three other high-profile cases being monitored by the Supreme Court- the Commonwealth Games Scam, the 2G case, and Coalgate ( not to mention also the Sikh massacres of 1984): have these cases made any headway? has wrong-doing been proved in a single instance? has anyone been convicted?
No, Sir, these investigations will drag on and on till they are lost in the mists of time.
Supreme Court monitoring cannot ensure justice unless the govt. of the day allows its agencies to function- it is to Modi’s credit that he did so allow them.
Compare this with the manner in which the police in Delhi have been emasculated to protect some senior Congress leaders in the 1984 Sikh carnage- everyone in Delhi knows, even after 27 long years, that their hands are dipped in blood, but the evidence will never reach the courts; the recent acquittal of Sajjan Kumar only confirms this.
The biggest stigmata on Modi is the charge that he is “communal” and not “secular”.
All (non-NDA) political parties never tire of tom-tomming this from the roof-tops and consider this their trump card to ensure that he will never achieve his Grand-slam at the centre. But after eleven years this is beginning to wear thin and people are beginning to question the assumptions behind this charge and even the definition of what constitutes “communal” and “secular.”
Nirad Choudhry had long ago given his opinion that India is the continent of Circe where humans are turned into beasts-it is also the graveyard of the Oxford Dictionary where the meanings of words are turned on their heads to suit political exigencies! So “communal” today means a Hindu who is not ashamed of saying he is a Hindu, and ” secular” means a Hindu who panders to other religions in order to get their votes at the next elections!
By this inverse definition Modi is considered communal- notwithstanding that not a single Hindu- Muslim riot has taken place in Gujarat under his watch since 2002, notwithstanding that the BJP got 17% of the Muslim vote in the Assembly elections in the state earlier this year, notwithstanding that the party won five of the eight seats which had a dominant Muslim voter base, notwithstanding that the average Muslim in Gujarat is much better off economically than his counterpart in Assam, UP or Bihar (headed by ” secular” parties).
Compare this with the record of the Samajwadi party in UP where more than a hundred communal riots have taken place in less than two years, with the Congress in Assam where hundreds of Muslims were butchered last year and at least three hundred thousand of them are still languishing in relief camps with no hope of ever returning to their villages, with the Congress ruled Maharashtra where hundreds of Muslims were killed with the active help of the police after the Bombay blasts. (Needless to say there do not appear to have been any convictions in any of these pogromes). And MODI is communal?
I am a Hindu but I stopped going into any temple twenty years ago because I was sickened by the rapacious behaviour of their pundits.
I am no longer a practicing Hindu in a public, ritualistic sense and frankly I don’t know how many of the religious beliefs I retain, but I still consider myself a Hindu because Hinduism is more than just a religion- it is a culture, a civilisation, a way of life.
But in the Kafkaesque India of today if you were to proclaim that you are a Hindu (even though you have equal respect and regard for all other religions) you would be branded “communal”- this is what political discourse has been reduced to by our politicians.
And being “secular” no longer means treating all religions equally: it means splintering society into a myriad “minorities” (another perversion of the Oxford Dictionary) and then pandering to such of them as suit you in your naked pursuit of power.
In the process India has been converted into a complex jigsaw of minorities, castes, tribes, classes, sections and what have you.
The British could have learnt plenty from us about Divide and Rule!
But more and more right thinking people are beginning to question this recipe for disaster, and I am one of them.
India is 80% Hindu- why should one then have to be apologetic about proclaiming that one is a Hindu ? We have been ruled and exploited and vandalised for eight hundred years by Muslims and for another two hundred years by Christians, and yet we have accorded these two religions a special status as “minorities” with privileges that the Hindus don’t have.
Has any other country in the world ever displayed such a spirit of accommodation and egalitarianism?
Is there a more secular civilisation in the world?
And yet, a Hindu who says he is a Hindu is considered communal!
Does a Hindu have to prove his secular credentials time and again by greater levels (or depths) of appeasement of other religions simply so that they can continue to be vote bank fodder for political parties?
Modi has had the courage to raise these questions and is therefore being reviled by those political parties whose apple carts he is threatening to upset. But people are beginning to pay attention. Modi is not considered secular because he is proud to be a Hindu and refuses to give doles or concessions to any religious group (including Hindus, but that is conveniently glossed over) beyond what is provided in the constitution and the laws of the land. He believes this weakens the social fabric of the country and that even handed development is the best guarantee for equitable prosperity for all. He is not considered secular (and instead is branded as communal) because he says publicly that he is proud to be a Hindu. And has he done anything blatantly or provocatively pro-Hindu in the last ten years?
There is not a single instance of this and yet he is vilified as communal and anti-minorities by the same party that presided over more than two hundred anti-Muslim riots in the seventies and eighties in Gujarat, that massacred 6000 Sikhs in 1984, that lit the fuse in Ayodhya by installing an icon of Ram in the mosque there, that failed to take any action when the Babri masjid was being razed to the ground! Modi has carefully distanced himself from any public support of Hindutva, has kept the VHP and the Bajrang Dal on a tight leash in Gujarat ever since he came to power there, and has even incurred the wrath of the RSS for not toeing the line on their purely religious agenda. It takes time, and some mistakes, to attain maturity; the Modi of today is not the Modi of 2002: then he was still in the pracharak mould of the RSS, inexperienced in the exercise of power, lacking administrative experience. He has now developed into a politician with a vision, an administrator who has delivered to his people and caught the fancy of the entire corporate world in India and abroad. Rahul Gandhi has been around in politics for almost the same length of time but has still not progressed beyond his epiphanic perception that India is a bee-hive.
Pause a while to honestly compare Modi’s qualities with his peers in the political firmament. His integrity is impeccable, both personal and vicarious. Even Mr. Manish Tewari has not been able to charge him on this score, and that’s saying something! I am not aware of a single major scam unearthed during his term( compare this with the Congress either in Maharashtra or at the Centre: the Congress has more skeletons in its cupboard than a graveyard does).
Modi has no family to promote or to insure against inflation for the next hundred years (compare this with any other party leader, all of whom have given an entirely new meaning to the term “joint family”- brothers, uncles, wives, sons, sons-in-law, nephews-all happily and jointly looting the nation’s resources).
Modi has a vision and a road map for the future and he has demonstrated in Gujarat that he can implement his vision.
No other major leader of the parties that are vilifying him comes even close to comparing with him in this respect- Manmohan Singh once had a vision but his unique concept of “coalition dharma” has ensured that he now cannot see, or hear, or talk; Rahul Gandhi cannot see beyond bee-hives and boats that rise with the tide, Sharad Pawar cannot see the woods for the sugar-cane stalks, Mulayam Singh has been fixated on the Prime Minister’s chair for so long that he has now started hallucinating; Nitish Kumar’s vision is a peculiar bi-focal which enables him to see only Muslims and OBCs; Navin Patnaik, being erudite and sophisticated must be having a vision but he has not deigned to share it with anyone yet; Mayawati cannot see beyond statues of herself and of elephants; and as for Mamta Banerjee, she is colour blind-she can only see red. Modi’s track record as an administrator inspires confidence in his ability to play a role at the national level.
He sets specific goals, provides the resources and then gives his bureaucrats a free hand to operate.
He has ensured water availability to towns and to greater number of farmers, Gujarat now has 24X7 power and has even offered to sell power to other states.
Modi has realised long before his peers that future growth can only come from the manufacturing sector since the past stimulus provided by the service sector is now bottoming out, and has prepared his state to attract capital: perennial roadblocks which have bedevilled other states- land acquisition, labour issues, law and order, lack of decision making, cronyism- have all been sorted out. It is no surprise then that Gujarat has been receiving the second highest amount of investment funds after Maharashtra.
His opponents, looking for anything to denigrate his achievements, cavil that Gujarat has always been a progressive state and no credit goes to Modi for all this. True, Gujarat (and Gujaratis) have always been entrepreneurial and progressive, but any economist can tell them that the higher you are on the performance scale, the more difficult it is to make incremental gains- and these gains Modi has been making year after year.
Gujarat has consistently been among the top five states in just about all economic, social and human development indicators, and far above the national figures.
Here are some figures I picked up in the Hindustan Times of June 12, 2013:
Modi is no paragon of virtue. He is arrogant, does not allow a second rung of leadership to emerge, brooks no opposition, is impatient and authoritative, is not a consensus builder. But then we are not seeking to canonise a saint but looking for a political leader who can get this country out of the morass that its present stock of politicians has got us into. We are looking for someone who can be decisive rather than justify inaction under the garb of seeking an elusive “consensus”. We are looking for someone who has the courage to have a vision and the skills to translate it into reality. We are looking for someone who will work for the country and not for his ” joint family”.
We are looking for someone who can restore our identities as INDIANS and not merely as Brahmins or Scheduled castes or Muslims or Backward castes.
We are looking for someone who will not pander to religions and be truly secular.
And we are looking for someone who will not be ashamed to say that he is a Hindu in the land that gave birth to the most tolerant and enlightened religion this world has seen.
Modi may fail- in fact, there are good chances that he will. But he at least promises change, whereas the others promise only more of the same. He offers us Hope. Shouldn’t he be given a chance?
| The author retired from the IAS in December 2010. A keen environmentalist and trekker he has published a book on high altitude trekking in the Himachal Himalayas: THE TRAILS LESS TRAVELLED.
His second book- SPECTRE OF CHOOR DHAR is a collection of short stories based in Himachal and was published in July 2019. His third book was released in August 2020: POLYTICKS, DEMOCKRAZY AND MUMBO JUMBO is a compilation of satirical and humorous articles on the state of our nation. His fourth book was published on 6th July 2021. Titled INDIA: THE WASTED YEARS , the book is a chronicle of missed opportunities in the last nine years. Shukla’s fifth book – THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER’S DOG AND OTHER COLLEAGUES- was released on 12th September 2023. It portrays the lighter side of life in the IAS and in Himachal. He writes for various publications and websites on the environment, governance and social issues. He divides his time between Delhi and his cottage in a small village above Shimla. He blogs at http://avayshukla.blogspot.in/ |
Commendable writing…..
I am also a GujaratI and agree with the fact that minorities are more happier here than elsewhere in India.Plus I wld like to state that yes Temple have been wrought down to construct roads.This is what he stands for.I will do what is correct and f… you if you think otherwise.
Having lived in Gujarat through the famine and the floods, through the earthquake and the riots I can affirm this without any apprehensions – Gujarat is a model for progress, Mr. Modi is the leader who with his clear vision steer our country to great heights and as you rightly said – he is THE ONLY ALTERNATIVE!
It is high time for a change in government and unless BJP gets a majority, it will be difficult even for an outstanding leader like Modi to perform.
Therefore, all efforts must be made by people like you and me to get people to vote for the BJP
Dear Mr. Shukla, I found your article extremely thought provoking because it is not just an emotional outburst but an analytical, well-reasoned expression of your opinions. It perhaps reflects a lot of what people like me think – I don’t usually take a deep interest in politics or political movers and shakers. However, poor governance and decision making has been impacting even people like me, pushing us to be better informed and try to be involved in the nation-building process in whatever small way we can. I especially related to your concluding remarks and agree that Modi deserves a chance. He appears to have the qualities of a good leader – a CEO of our nation if you will – who can be decisive and action-oriented.
Excellent analysis and sound reasoning. As one currently traveling in US for a few months, I confirm the sickening feeling of the disapora and the strong disapproval of our economic management among business circles. India is fast slipping among the peer nations, many of them like Brazil, showing commendable resolve to tackle emerging issues. It is pathetic to see our cabinet ministers rushing to West every now and then ‘to confirm India’s commitment to reforms’, which are seen as hollow and insincere. We badly need leaders who are not self-seekers, who can envision to tap into our vast strengths and take accountability for executing action plans. Modi fits this requirement admirably, and if this is against the background of ‘Hindu-ness’, we should all be proud about it as the inheritors of the 5000-year old civilization.
The article is an eye opener for fence sitters. But the problem is, such articles do not percolate below the educated and middle class. And they are the people who decide the result of a poll. They are so gullible, they are carried away by promises of freebies and they are easily made to believe that cast is more important than casting a vote to the right person. That is how some unworthy people and parties come to power.
The first paragraph in Charles Dickens “A Tale of Two Cities” reads as follows: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”
The first paragraph in the present article by Avay Shukla whom I am reading for the first time ever, reads similar to the one quoted above by Dickens. Mr. Shukla has reflected everything going through the minds of patriotic Indians in general and Hindus in particular, but they are helpless excepting cursing their lot; he has worded them so forthrightly that there is nothing more that can be added.
Thank you Mr. Shukla, it is people like you who give us the hope that their exists in our midst people in the English media who can and who do have the interests of their nation uppermost in their mind and heart! You give us hope. It is hope that has seen us through 800+200 years of alien rule. Thank you!
Propoganda writing.
All lies and made up figures. Has the RSS and BJP become so weak as to create a fake personality and promote him more than their own blood.
We deserve much more than this piece of and non-sense.
Check yesterdays newspaper, FDI in Maharashtra is 17 times that of Gujurat for 2012-13 and Gujurat is 6th.
Utter shame for this lies and hypocracy.
Fake personalities do not have a mention that the person is retired IAS officer retired in a particular year. Instead of saying fake check and then contradict.
An excellent article. The writer has lucidly expressed what I have been thinking. In my youth I never wanted to live abroad but looking at the dismal state of affairs in the country I am hoping my children get opportunities to live abroad. The present UPA has ruined the nation. I am sick of the so called Secular Hindus. They think Hindu bashing makes them secular. I am a born Hindu but I do not practice any rituals. I have friends from all religion. In fact religion does not play any role in my social life. So I am secular as any body. However the latest definition of secularism is being anti Modi. If one appreciates any thing about Gujarat ,then you are branded as communal. One can be corrupt ,a cheater but it is okay with the large section of the so called liberals as long as one is anti Modi.I have lived through 1984 Sikh riots in Delhi. Congress was lucky that it was not the days of 24/7 news channel.I recall Bangladesh war hero General Aurora had to be protected by the army. But to our secular friends the only riots in India was in 2002
Dear Sir,
All i can say..may god bless all of us , now this is the matter of justice to our country and country man..every single vote ll work as a blood drop for our motherland in 2014 election.
Hoping for the best.
Thanks a lot sir.
Regards
Bksingh
Very well written and facts presented excellently. I hope you keep writing about more such topics which ale our country.
Your title is grammatically incorrect. It should be either ‘Why I shall support Modi in 2014″ or “Why shall I support Modi in 2014?”.
Bit childish. Looking at grammer when country is in a mess.
Lately, I have been witnessing a phenomena where certain comments have been extremely acerbic towards Modi and contain random figures re cited to defy any kind of pro-Modi opinion. This also coincides with hyper internet centric activity in Congress, elevation of Maken and demotion of Digivijaya Singh. Though these comments can pass-off as mildly logical, but they are so negative that you can see through these to understand the propaganda of Congress.
Only jaundiced eyes will fail to discern the well orchestrated nefarious design of Modi baiters to carry on a vicious propaganda against NaMo. Congress leaders and their ilk would soon realise much to their chagrin the futility of their onslaught on Modi.Indian voter is not so naive and gullible. I, for one, know many of my friends who have always voted for Congress and are going to vote for BJP this time around.
The only hope as of now.. Wish the people in this country realise it in time…
Governance is all about execution and precisely all others are lacking the same..
Mr. Avay Shukla, I don’t talk about the stats,will just tell u the seen differences. I belong to rajasthan, but residing at Gujarat since last 4 years and my condition is dat I can’t think of leaving guj. ever. I kno the difference what a powerfull and dedicated person can make. here “Sakshat Lakshmi” dwells, so many job oppurtunities are there. rather I tell u current status is dat people don’t have to migrate to other states. and our condition is dat even if we wann to we don’t have any earning source to return to our state.
also the “Dry State” rule makes Guj. so safe dat I never felt afraid to go alone anytime, which I never felt at my native place. I my husband, we a “common, middle- class man” are very happy in his Rajya. we are very happy by the progress Guj. has made. I am not supporting B.J.P, I am supporting a person who can make the development what our country is yearning to since years. dat’s why SUPPORT N. MODI.
Over a period of time by electing the same people to Vidhan Sabha or Lok Sabha, we are electing Autocrats not Democrats.
we really need change, now it is not about Congress or BJP or Third front but the one who can better run this country.
I hope every one in the country is wanting CHANGE
Respected Shukla sir, Which is the real Gujrat ? Shining bldgs of Ahmedabad,Running expensive cars, Shining malls,Apartments,Glass beeded Ghagra Cholies,Law Garden’s Aawajahi,Or Dediyapada block where SC/ST people’s (Phul jaisi) daughters r compelled to sold for d fulfillment of their necessities of life, or Padra block where SC/ST women r not allowing by Autorikshaw driver n r compelled to walk 8 kilometers for bringing vegetables or Jashpur where Native Aadiwasi women sold n sent to the big cities for flesh trade. Is this the definition of PROGRESS ?
Gujrat govt. planned one “Adhyayan”, in which roots of untouchability proved, n it is not published. why ? Cause according to govt. it endangers the social harmony.The people of south n north Gujarat r saying Sardar Sarovar is hardly 32 km. from here but they can’t get a single drop of water, schools r made as d factory of unemployees.no business, no water, no electricity, roads r made for companies. Why MODI SIR’s progress not reaching these south n north belts of Gujrat ? Is this the Poverty reduction % in Gujrat ? Why the GDP increase not at all concerns with the SC/ST people ? Are they not the sons n daughters of this land ?
Even if we forgive Mr. Modi for train burn n 2002 riots, we can’t neglect the ground reality of today’s Gujrat.
Sunanda ji, I am an SC and I will support Narandra Modi.we as a community dont need others to voice opinions and comments on our behalf, we are quite capable of doing it ourselves.cheers Shounak.
Without getting into the plethora of statistics, let me share a few things that I have heard and experienced first hand in Gujarat. It has definitely got one of the most advanced infrastructure in India. Being from Technical education industry I can vouch that with Maharashtra, Gujarat has become most dynamic is engineering and science education. It’s definitely one of the most safest places for women. One business associate from South India whose been in Anand for close to 5 years now shared that he would never think of leaving Gujarat for the kind of growth opportunities presented to him as well as the safety offered to his family (Wife, daughter) and himself. The instances are numerous: taxi/auto drivers from across religions ..yes Muslims as well who feel that the state haven’t shown the kind of promise it has under Mr. Modi. To sum it up, you speak to anyone from a clerk, doctor, teacher, bureaucrat, driver, etc. all want Modi back as a Chief Minister year after year. Is this something which is debatable…
sri shukls should have his credentials printed on top of the article, so that people should be lured to read the article, thinking that it is written by a responsible and learned person and is writing with an authority. his eobservations with analysis are remarkable.
The author in common with most Indians, propagates a false figure of 2000 Muslims killed in the 2002 Gujarat riots. The govt of India (UPA) figures given in parliament in 2005 are a total of 1044 people (790 Muslims and 254 Hindus) killed and 233 Hindus/Muslims missing. At least the educated and thinking Indians should learn not to shoot themselves in the foot by mindlessly using false figures.
Remarkably analysed. This should be sent to all the citizens of India so that they can find for themselves what is the right thing to do. My wholehearted support to Mr.MODI as PM. Only when this happens can we dream of India emerging strong after the total mis-governance of the sleeping,silent,blind and the remote controlled present PM.May GOD enlighten all the citizens and see that they become the vehicle for Change and moving forward.
It’s has almost become a fashion for so-called elites to claim that even though they accidentally happened to born Hindus, they have never visited a temple in last 2000 years because such and such and such reason.. What did the pundits do to you in a mandir? You may go to any corner mandir in your locality and don’t even need to talk to a pundit.. It’s not a pundit is sitting as a gatekeeper and you need to bribe him or what not..
You may support Modi but just because you happen to disappointed so thoroughly. It’s an opportunistic support. The moment you may see something good happening on the other side even remotely, even though nothing may be wrong on this side, you would switch your loyalty again..
When Vajpayee ran an examplery government, he did with the help of whole BJP leadership, which included all the people, who you call the baggage..
The article in most part is very well written & balanced. There are a few issues though which still cast a doubt in the minds of most well meaning Indians-Hindus. It would appear that Muslims outside Gujrat may not be so convinced as to vote for Modi. In fact,there is an apprehension that Muslim politicians in general might take a line to support a candidate who is likely to defeat BJP so that it does not cross the magical figure of 200 to enable NaMo to muster the required 272 for NDA2. The corruption issue in Gujrat has two question marks. There are a no of cabinet colleagues of NaMo indicted for corruption. The Lokayukta story also casts a doubt on the integrity aspect of governance. However,as the author points out,there seems to be no other viable alternative. Even NaMo so far has not appeared as a viable alternative & as he concedes that at the end of the day,even he might fail. But,it would appear that he is the only light at the end of the tunnel. 2014 is still a few months away & God may be kind to India to make it possible during this period to make it a reality. May God bless India.
You have not mentioned about the Aam Admi Party. I understand they are new to the game but they promise solution to India’s biggest problem – Corruption. What is your view about them.
Aam Aadmi Party is promising but too late in the day to make any national impact in 2014 elections. If they can unseat Sheela Dixit(Congress) in Delhi state elections & form a government with Arvind Kejriwal as CM,it would be a great beginning & achievement for them. Perhaps,for 2014, as pointed out by Avay Shukla,there is no alternative. If NaMo eventually becomes PM in 2014,it would be interesting to watch whether AAP can keep him in check or as Namo’s opponents criticise him as fascist,he is able to annihilate all opposition including AAP. Another promising person to join AAP is Yogendra Yadav.
Fantastic article.Please awaken INDIAN youth to cast there votes for more needed change. I, personally think total BJP victory is required to let Mr. Modi govern with proper governace.
I think present Government failed to fulfill our basic requirements & they have no proper direction which ensure our growth in all aspects. I here about Mr. Modi sir, their positive attitude can survive us from present bad situation.
If Modi is the best why so much opposition from his own party that too from LK Advani, MM Joshi, Sushma, Chauhan,Raman Singh all greats in their own rights.Is it not big propaganda that pushed Modi to the front since MP,Chattisgarh and many other states in India has better development index than Modi who ruled one of the most prosperous states of India. The great poverty reduction in Gujrat more due to Narmada Sarovar projects than due to any great government involvement. Having said all this I agree we have no alternative.A sad state of affairs. We have to grid up to face more communal violence bomb blast etc once Modi is in the throne