[Reader-list] Gujarati 'pride' hurt once again

[TaraPrakash]

Hi Shivam.
I was not expecting a harsh reply on this. What I was expecting, however, 
was another
www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/...

link. I am planning to teach Argument this August onwards. I found sort of 
answer in your mails to my question "how the hell do you teach argument?"



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Shivam Vij शिवम् विज्" <mail at shivamvij.com>
To: <radhikarajen at vsnl.net>
Cc: "sarai list" <reader-list at sarai.net>; "Shuddhabrata Sengupta" 
<shuddha at sarai.net>
Sent: Friday, June 20, 2008 12:28 PM
Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Gujarati 'pride' hurt once again


> Dear Radhikarajen,
>
> Thanks for your response and your apology. I hope most members of this
> list will be accept it.
>
> However, I find it funny that you are explaining away your errors by
> ascribing them to what the visual media coverage of the Arushi-Hemraj
> double murder case has done to your mind.
>
> Yourr argument is silly on these counts:
>
> 1) If you don't like TV news channels, you don't have to watch them.
> If you don't like the Arushi-Hemraj murder cases' coverage, use the
> remote, watch BBC World or Discovery Travel and Living or MTV. It is
> precisely because you (amongst millions of others) continue to watch
> TV news channels for the Arushi-Hemraj case that they are continuing
> with it.
>
> 2) To argue that the obsessive, sensationalist coverage of the
> Arushi-Hemraj case had cluttered your brain and made your mindset
> cynical, and cynical clutter affected you so much that you read Ashis
> as Pritish and found an anti-Congress article to be pro-Congress, is
> to say that your mental faculties for clear and illogical thinking are
> extremely feeble. However, I don't think that is true, just that you
> are intellectually dishonest. I wonder which is worse. However, if
> former is the case, then you might soon want to see a psychiatrist.
>
> 3) As for the Times of India and the Indian Express, once again, buy
> The Hindu. Don't blame them for the stupid act of ranting in the air
> without having read the Nandy article.
>
> 4) The second part of your reply has nothing to do with anything
> discussed so far. If you started your career as a journalist at a
> salary of Rs. "10/-" then you must have started you career before
> India attained independence! So you are trying to tell us that you are
> a veteran journalist! And you think we'll take that seriously! Not
> only are you a liar, but a very naive one. You must be 14. In any
> case, your starting salary has nothing to do with the legal harassment
> of Ashis Nandy over an article he wrote.
>
> 5) Given that you have apologised, may I please presume that you
> unconditionally condemn the harassment through legal means of
> Professor Ashis Nandy? Please let me know. Please answer that without
> any rant against the media, or I'll throw my keyboard at you.
>
> best
> shivam
>
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Jun 20, 2008 at 3:05 PM,  <radhikarajen at vsnl.net> wrote:
>> Dear Shivam'
>>
>>     many sincere thanks for correcting my perceptions, days and nights 
>> bombarded by visual media anchors and their panellists  with the coverage 
>> of dual murder case at Noida, mind was cluttered and cynical mindset did 
>> not grasp the finer aspects of life. Apologies to nandys, as it was sheer 
>> magnitude of the visual media and its correspondents who more or less 
>> resemble wrestlers with the mikes in their hands wrestling with a 
>> grieving family on the deaths, that made me very mad at these visual 
>> media as well as the coverage in the papers that i buy, Times of india 
>> and Indian express, which saw me reading speculation rather than 
>> reportage of events.
>>
>>    Starting the career as journalist after graduation was not easy with 
>> 10/- salary and still, in those days with peanuts for lunch, filterless 
>> cigarettes and water as filler, we had not swayed to the rulers and did 
>> not speculate about the events, reported as honestly as possible without 
>> our views, views if any were disacussed with colleugaes and later came 
>> out as expression without prejudice, present day coverage of bias and 
>> partisan reportage with "stories" in media is some how is degrading the 
>> society in general, citizens in particular.
>>
>>  But all the issues raised by you are correct, hence the apology.to all 
>> the members in the list about the nandy episode.!
>>
>>  Regards.
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Shivam Vij शिवम् विज् <mail at shivamvij.com>
>> Date: Thursday, June 19, 2008 10:00 pm
>> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Gujarati 'pride' hurt once again
>> To: radhikarajen at vsnl.net
>> Cc: Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net>, sarai list 
>> <reader-list at sarai.net>
>>
>>> Dear Radhikarajen,
>>>
>>> Your responses on this thread are a little intriguing, and I
>>> wonder if
>>> you would mind explaining them?
>>>
>>> Let us go point-by-point, so that you can also reply point by point.
>>> This will prevent us from meandering from, well, the point, either
>>> inadvertently or because of deliberate shifting of goal-posts.
>>>
>>> The post: Two days ago I posted an article written by Ashis Nandy in
>>> the Times of India in January. I mentioned why I was posting the
>>> article though not my views: a little known organisation in Ahemadabad
>>> has filed a police case against Nandy for "'promoting enmity between
>>> different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth and
>>> language," which under the Indian Penal Code is a criminal offence.
>>>
>>> The protest: I gave out a link to a joint statement made in
>>> protest of
>>> this case by 178 academics and activists, who thought that this was
>>> done for no reason other than legal harassment and intimidation.
>>>
>>> The article: In the article Ashis Nandy wrote that even if Modi had
>>> lost the December 2007 elections, it wouldn't have made a difference
>>> because thanks to the Gujarati middle class, the political culture of
>>> Gujarat has been communalised to an extent that "recovering" it won't
>>> be easy. For the situation he blames Hindus and Muslims, Congress and
>>> Left, NGOs and Gandhians. And secularists.
>>>
>>> That is all. On Modi, Bajrang Dal, VHP, RSS, the Gujarat
>>> government -
>>> he just says things matter of fact and does not have much direct
>>> condemnation or criticism to offer. His aim is not to attack them but
>>> those who should be helping defuse the social and political crisis
>>> cause d by the Hindutva forces. He does blame them for being the cause
>>> of exacerbating "radical Islam" in India.
>>>
>>> On development: he is not denying Gujarat's "spectacular development"
>>> but linking it to historical examples where development and
>>> authoritarianism have gone hand in hand.
>>>
>>> Your first response: In your first response you make these points:
>>>
>>> 1) " it is very nice to find flaws with BJP and gujarathis at the drop
>>> of a hat even after Modi asserted time and again that he is
>>> administrator and chief minister with the difference of of governance
>>> of all in the same state without favour or fear as per the oath he has
>>> taken to administer the state."
>>>
>>> Now, as I paraphrased above, Nandy's article is not denying the
>>> qualities you attribute to Modi's administrative skills and
>>> governance. And he has found faults in many others but very few in
>>> Modi. In fact, none in Modi: it is the Sangh Parivar in general.
>>>
>>> So what you are doing is, creating a straw man [
>>> http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/straw-man.html ]. You are
>>> representing Nandy as saying he never did, and then attacking him for
>>> saying something he never did!
>>>
>>>
>>> 2) "Times of India and its media group is owned by Bennet group which
>>> traditionally has been political and supporting sycophants of Congress
>>> and media generally feels if it has to be "secular" it has to bash
>>> hindu sentiments and encash its trp and circulation, Times group is
>>> never fair and free in its journalism"
>>>
>>> Having created your straw man and having attacked it, you begin to
>>> explain it. You explain it by attacking the newspaper where Nandy's
>>> article was published. Since the pro-Congress Times of India published
>>> this article, the article must also be pro-Congress. How does it
>>> matter that the article actually *attacks* the Congress!
>>>
>>> By doing so you are committing the logical fallacy of post hoc:
>>> http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/post-hoc.html
>>>
>>> Also the fallacy of circumstantial ad hominem:
>>> http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/circumstantial-ad-
>>> hominem.html
>>> The tone of the issue was the harassment of Nandy by legal means, but
>>> you shift it to The Times of India and its alleged biases, which, as
>>> Shuddha said, amount to a red herring:
>>> http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/red-herring.html
>>>
>>> As Shuddha demonstrated, there's been no dearth of pro-Modi, pro-BJP
>>> articles in Times of India. The Times is not politically aligned like,
>>> say, The Pioneer, The Hindu, the recently buried National Herald, or
>>> even magazines such as India Today or Outlook. You are guilty of
>>> making a hasty generalisation about the paper, and on that basis
>>> applying it to Nandy just because the paper published Nandy's article
>>> on its opinion-editorial page. See
>>> http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/hasty-generalization.html
>>> Also, similarly, the fallacy of questionable cause:
>>> http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/ignoring-a-common-cause.html
>>>
>>> Please also note that newspapers don't have TRP ratings, and that if
>>> most people in Gujarat vote for Modi, publishing anti-Modi articles
>>> would affect the Times of India's circulation in Gujarat adversely,
>>> not positively.
>>>
>>> 3) "and its employees have to toe the line of media bosses and pritish
>>> is no exception to the rules of survival of the fittest in journalism
>>> by sycophancy"
>>>
>>> This is my favourite set of words in your response. Your attention
>>> span and presence of mind are both so feeble that you confused Ashis
>>> Nandy with one pritish! The article was not by pritish my dear
>>> Radhikarajen, but by Ashis! Factual error! You cannot even save face
>>> on this by claiming poor eyesight or broken glasses, because there's
>>> no way 'Ashis' could read like 'pritish', even though Gujarat could
>>> read like Gujarath :)
>>>
>>> And as you might now Ashis Nandy is a scholar at CSDS and not an
>>> employee of The Times of India. The article introduced him as a
>>> political psychologist, so he is clearly not a journalist, but this
>>> detail was mentioned at the end of the article which you didn't even
>>> glance carefully enough to realise which brother wrote it.
>>>
>>> If you read the article you would realise that it does not amount to
>>> sycophancy of anyone, but, as Shuddha said, takes on *everyone*.
>>>
>>> I presume that you thought the article was by Pritish Nandy [
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pritish_Nandy ] but even he is not an
>>> employee of the Times of India or a journalist. He is a former editor
>>> who also happens to be related to Ashis Nandy.
>>>
>>> By calling Pritish Nandy a sycophant for an article he did not write,
>>> you are committing a personal attack [
>>> http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/personal-attack.html ]
>>>
>>> I presume, with all the above evidence, that you did not even *read*
>>> the Nandy article and began to attack it. No wonder about the straw
>>> man then.
>>>
>>> I am not going to count and cite the number of logical fallacies you
>>> make by calling pritish a sycophant, attributing the motive of
>>> surviving in journalism to his sycophancy, and presuming that The
>>> Times of India bosses are his bosses, who are pro-Congress, and so
>>> therefore is Pritish.
>>>
>>> a) He is not pritish
>>>
>>> b) He is not a journalist, so he does not have to 'survive in
>>> journalism'
>>> c) He is therefore not forced to resort to sycophancy of anyone to
>>> 'survive in journalism'
>>>
>>> d) He does not work at The Times of India, he merely wrote an article
>>> for the paper, which they either commissioned or chose to publish. His
>>> bosses are not The Times of India's bosses but CSDS'.
>>>
>>> e) You have stated without evidence that The Times of India is
>>> pro-Congress but even if that were to be considered a proven fact, it
>>> does not by implication mean that all their employees are Congress
>>> sycophants, and even if it did it wouldn't make Nandy do so
>>> because he
>>> is not a Times employee, and in any case the article itself speaks
>>> against the Congress.
>>>
>>>
>>> *
>>>
>>> That is just the first paragraph - 144 words - of your response. All
>>> the 245 words in the second paragraph amount to red herring(s) but I
>>> would repond to the points raised therein as well, if you respond to
>>> my three points above. Please reply, as I said, point by point, to
>>> make it comprehensible.
>>>
>>> And do read Nandy's short article, it is interesting.
>>>
>>> I will soon find the time to similarly analyse your response to
>>> Shuddha's response.
>>>
>>> Looking forward to your response.
>>>
>>> best
>>> shivam
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jun 18, 2008 at 5:23 PM, <radhikarajen at vsnl.net> wrote:
>>> >
>>> > Dear Shuddha,
>>> >
>>> >   sometimes I wonder whether any ethics and morals are left in
>>> these neo journalists who are working in visual media as anchors.
>>> ? As they so fluently talk about the IG of police as if they are
>>> above the law when they comment on the character of the 14 year
>>> child, as if these anchors are living a clean life.?
>>> >
>>> >   And at times I wonder what made a brilliant social scientist
>>> to become a puppet in the hands of a channel with so many if and
>>> buts added for his pre poll survey in channel degrading himself
>>> along with channel and loss of credibilty.!
>>> > ----- Original Message -----
>>> > From: Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net>
>>> > Date: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 4:33 pm
>>> > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Gujarati 'pride' hurt once again
>>> > To: radhikarajen at vsnl.net
>>> > Cc:  Shivam Vij शिवम् विज् <mail at shivamvij.com>, sarai list
>>> <reader-list at sarai.net>
>>> >
>>> > > Dear Radhikarajen,
>>> > >
>>> > > Thank you for your pertinent critique on the Sarai Reader List of
>>> > > the
>>> > > way in which the media represents issues, particularly with regard
>>> > > to
>>> > > the murder of Hemraj Banjade and Arushi Talwar in NOIDA. I think
>>> > > that
>>> > > your thoughts on 'media trials' are salutary. Had newspapers
>>> and TV
>>> > >
>>> > > channels been more restrained in the matter of the way in which
>>> > > they
>>> > > report 'sensational' crimes, then the grave and malicious
>>> > > harrassment
>>> > > that had been the fate of S.A.R.Geelani in the '13 December' case
>>> > > might not have taken place. And nor would there have been currency
>>> > > for the hysterical and blood-thirsty demand for the execution of
>>> > > Muhammad Afzal Guru, which continues to beseige our consciousness
>>> > > today. I do hope that you, in the spirit of your own argument,
>>> will> >
>>> > > join me in condemning the irresponsible behaviour of much of the
>>> > > media in these instances.
>>> > >
>>> > > Having said that, I am a bit mystified by your anger against the
>>> > > condemnation of the strange attempt at filing a case on
>>> grounds of
>>> > >
>>> > > 'promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion,
>>> > > race, place of birth and language' 'under Sections 153 A and B of
>>> > > the
>>> > > IPC against Ashis Nandy for his op-ed piece 'Blame the Middle
>>> > > Class'
>>> > > in the Times of India of January 8, 2008. Ashis Nandy is, in my
>>> > > opinion, one of the most acute analysts of political culture and
>>> > > modernity in South Asia. It is ironic that a person, who has
>>> > > maintained a life time of critique against the excesses of the
>>> > > state-
>>> > > secularist agenda in India, (for which he was at times
>>> unfairly and
>>> > >
>>> > > idiotically denounced as an apolgist of the hindu right by
>>> some un-
>>> > > intelligent so called 'left-liberal' critics) is someone you now
>>> > > are
>>> > > prepared to argue against, merely because he happens to have taken
>>> > > on
>>> > > the poster boy of hindutva hate-mongering, the chief minister of
>>> > > Gujarat, Narendra Damodarbhai Modi. To be fair to Nandy, there is
>>> > > no
>>> > > particular group that escapes the sharp edge of his sadness in his
>>> > > article on Gujarat. His words (in this particular article)
>>> > > criticize
>>> > > the actions done by people speaking in the name of Bengali Hindus,
>>> > > Kashmiri Muslims, Punjabi Sikhs, Non Resident Indians,  Dalits and
>>> > > Adivasis and most of all - the middle classes. If all these kinds
>>> > > of
>>> > > people were to be united because they were all attacked by Ashis
>>> > > Nandy, then, we would see a rare example of the promotion of
>>> > > conviviality between groups that are otherwise expected to be at
>>> > > each
>>> > > others throats. Unfortunately, for you, and for the petitioner
>>> > > belonging to the Ahmedabad based National Council for Civil
>>> > > Liberties, there is as yet no provision in the the Indian Penal
>>> > > Code
>>> > > for the offense of the promotion of conviviality on grounds of
>>> > > religion, race, place of birth and language.
>>> > > .
>>> > > I find it equally strange that you should impute the
>>> sentiments and
>>> > >
>>> > > the analysis contained in Nandy's trenchant criticque of Moditva,
>>> > > (or
>>> > > should it be Moditude, or Modismo) to the antipathy of the Bennet
>>> > > Coleman Group, who happen to own the majority shares of the Times
>>> > > of
>>> > > India newspaper, and their so called pro Congress bias. It is
>>> > > instructive to do a careful analysis of the press that Modi and
>>> > > Modismo get in the Times of India's sister publication, the
>>> > > Economic
>>> > > Times, (which for my money, is the more serious of the two
>>> > > publications, the one that actually gets read by captains of
>>> > > industry
>>> > > and politics, not one that teenagers decorate their lockers with
>>> > > because it has scantily clad men and women, the publication of
>>> > > images
>>> > > of which, you will no doubt agree, is the primary reason for the
>>> > > Times of India to exist.)
>>> > >
>>> > > Now, were you to look at the Economic Times reportage of Modi,
>>> > > Modismo and Gujarat, you would find a glowing picture that would
>>> > > warm
>>> > > your hearts. All you (and everyone who is interested on this list)
>>> > > needs to do is to type Narendra Modi on the search bar of the
>>> > > Economic Times home page, and you will be showered by what looks
>>> > > like
>>> > > a public relations campaign for Gujarati Asmita and Modismo.
>>> > >
>>> > > You will find articles such as -
>>> > >
>>> > > Rajiv Gandhi Foundation finds Gujarat No 1 state
>>> > >
>>> > > Chairman of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani, today hailed
>>> > > Gujarat
>>> > > Chief Minister Narendra Modi saying that he has a "bias" for
>>> action.> >
>>> > > And there are many more where these came from.
>>> > >
>>> > > Even your own pet hate, the Times of India, has articles such as
>>> > > 'Women Mesmerised by Narendra Modi'
>>> > >
>>> > > What are we to make of this, other than that this is but an
>>> > > instance
>>> > > of the totally commonplace practice of a media group trying to
>>> > > placate all sides. So damn Modi in one article in one publication
>>> > > that you own, and then praise him to the skies in another. A
>>> > > detailed
>>> > > analysis of the politics of who reports what about whom, and when,
>>> > > in
>>> > > the Indian media can be an entertaining, and instructive
>>> diversion.> >
>>> > > What, however, are we to make of your own pathological anxiety
>>> > > whenever Shri Narendra Damodarbhai Modi is criticised ? You have
>>> > > (again) neatly sidestepped the substance of Ashis Nandy's critique
>>> > > and taken us on the pursuit of the red herring of the Times of
>>> > > India's pro-Congress bias, which for you, explains everything that
>>> > > there is to understand about what Ashis Nandy has written.
>>> Take a
>>> > > break from the computer, and go take a long look at the
>>> mirror, and
>>> > >
>>> > > you will see the visage of that same middle class Indian,
>>> quick to
>>> > > fume, quick to claim an injury to your precious pride, quick to
>>> > > demand that the slate be cleaned of all 'others', and short,
>>> > > tragically, comically short on anything like the ability to
>>> reflect> >
>>> > > on the tightening limits of the sources of your self.
>>> > >
>>> > > I sympathise with your predicament. It must be really hard, and
>>> > > sad,
>>> > > to be you.
>>> > >
>>> > > regards
>>> > >
>>> > > Shuddha
>>> > >
>>> > >
>>> > >
>>> > >
>>> > >
>>> > >
>>> > >
>>> > >
>>> > >
>>> > > media trials of this sort were
>>> > > On 18-Jun-08, at 2:02 PM, radhikarajen at vsnl.net wrote:
>>> > >
>>> > > > Hi all,
>>> > > >
>>> > > >  it is very nice to find flaws with BJP and gujarathis at the
>>> > > drop
>>> > > > of a hat even after Modi asserted time and again that he is
>>> > > > administrator and chief minister with the difference of of
>>> > > > governance of all in the same state without favour or fear
>>> as per
>>> > >
>>> > > > the oath he has taken to administer the state. Times of
>>> India and
>>> > >
>>> > > > its media group is owned by Bennet group which traditionally has
>>> > > > been political and supporting sycophants of Congress and media
>>> > > > generally feels if it has to be "secular" it has to bash hindu
>>> > > > sentiments and encash its trp and circulation, Times group is
>>> > > never
>>> > > > fair and free in its journalism and always favoured Congress and
>>> > > > its employees have to toe the line of media bosses and
>>> pritish is
>>> > >
>>> > > > no exception to the rules of survival of the fittest in
>>> > > journalism
>>> > > > by sycophancy.
>>> > > >
>>> > > >    The worst part of it is this "secular"media can not
>>> digest the
>>> > >
>>> > > > fact that hindu society is slowly and steadily getting out of
>>> > > caste
>>> > > > conundrums and beginning to gel as one homogeneous society,
>>> while> >
>>> > > > muslim community is being systematically divided by christian
>>> > > > missions to achieve its divide and rule game, into smaller forms
>>> > > of
>>> > > > shias, sunnis and other denominations with terror as subtextt
>>> > > just
>>> > > > as the vote banks are getting divided between good
>>> governance and
>>> > >
>>> > > > sycophancy and secular media keeps on playing old footage of
>>> > > > "carnages so that they remain in the ghettos and wounds are
>>> never> >
>>> > > > allowed to heal.The ultimate goal of Sonia and her mafia is to
>>> > > > divided and rule with rome as its remote control which hindus
>>> > > have
>>> > > > understood except for a few handful of sycophants in
>>> Congress of
>>> > > > all faiths who have no mass base or electoral prospects and have
>>> > > to
>>> > > > live on doleouts of the mafia queen. These along with christian
>>> > > > mafia in the kitchen cabinet have used all those "journalists"
>>> > > and
>>> > > > "int
>>> > > > ellectuals" of modern day to devise the spins to bring back the
>>> > > old
>>> > > > lost horse of Congress in new avtar as christian brigade for the
>>> > > > crusade, while in comity of nations it is seen that Bush
>>> uses-
>>> > > the
>>> > > > terror and weapons of mass destruction as excuses to bring
>>> in his
>>> > >
>>> > > > form of democracy in the nations of muslim faith, first by
>>> attack> >
>>> > > > of shia dominated Afghanistan and then on Iraq for the imaginary
>>> > > > weapons of mass destruction.?---- Original Message -----
>>> > > > From: Shivam Vij शिवम् विज् <mail at shivamvij.com>
>>> > > > Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 8:04 pm
>>> > > > Subject: [Reader-list] Gujarati 'pride' hurt once again
>>> > > > To: sarai list <reader-list at sarai.net>
>>> > > >
>>> > > >> An organisation in Ahemdabad called National Council for Civil
>>> > > >> Liberties has filed a case against Ashis Nandy for his article
>>> > > in The
>>> > > >> Times of India in January after Modi's election victory. The
>>> > > case has
>>> > > >> been filed for for 'promoting enmity between different
>>> groups on
>>> > > >> grounds of religion, race, place of birth and language'
>>> > > [Sections 153
>>> > > >> (A) and (B) of IPC].
>>> > > >>
>>> > > >> 178 academics and intellectuals have signed a statement in
>>> protest,> > >> which is available at
>>> > > >> http://www.sacw.net/FreeExpAndFundos/defendNandy16June08.html
>>> > > >>
>>> > > >> Given below is the 'offending' article:
>>> > > >>
>>> > > >> o o o
>>> > > >>
>>> > > >>
>>> > > >> Blame The Middle Class
>>> > > >>
>>> > > >> By Ashis Nandy
>>> > > >> 8 Jan 2008
>>> > > >> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorial/
>>> > > >>
>>> LEADER_ARTICLE_Blame_The_Middle_Class/rssarticleshow/2681517.cms>
>>> > >>
>>> > > >> Now that the dust has settled over the Gujarat elections,
>>> we can
>>> > > >> afford to defy the pundits and admit that, even if Narendra
>>> Modi> > had>> lost the last elections, it would not have made much
>>> > > difference to
>>> > > >> the
>>> > > >> culture of Gujarat politics. Modi had already done his job.
>>> Most of
>>> > > >> the state's urban middle class would have remained mired in its
>>> > > inane>> versions of communalism and parochialism and the VHP and
>>> > > the Bajrang
>>> > > >> Dal would have continued to set the tone of state politics.
>>> Forty> > >> years of dedicated propaganda does pay dividends,
>>> electorally and
>>> > > >> socially.
>>> > > >>
>>> > > >> The Hindus and the Muslims of the state — once bonded so
>>> > > >> conspicuously
>>> > > >> by language, culture and commerce — have met the demands of
>>> both> >
>>> > > >> V D
>>> > > >> Savarkar and M A Jinnah. They now face each other as two
>>> hostile> > >> nations. The handful of Gujarati social and
>>> political activists who
>>> > > >> resist the trend are seen not as dissenters but as treacherous
>>> > > >> troublemakers who should be silenced by any means, including
>>> > > >> surveillance, censorship and direct violence. As a result,
>>> Gujarati> > >> cities, particularly its educational institutions
>>> are turning
>>> > > >> cultural
>>> > > >> deserts. Gujarat has already disowned the Indian Constitution
>>> > > and the
>>> > > >> state apparatus has adjusted to the change.
>>> > > >>
>>> > > >> The Congress, the main opposition party, has no effective
>>> > > leader. Nor
>>> > > >> does it represent any threat to the mainstream politics of
>>> Gujarat.> > >> The days of grass-roots leaders like Jhinabhai
>>> Darji are past
>>> > > and a
>>> > > >> large section of the party now consists of Hindu
>>> nationalists. The
>>> > > >> national leadership of the party does not have the courage to
>>> > > >> confront
>>> > > >> Modi over 2002, given its abominable record of 1984.
>>> > > >>
>>> > > >> The Left is virtually non-existent in Gujarat. Whatever minor
>>> > > >> presence
>>> > > >> it once had among intellectuals and trade unionists is now
>>> a vague
>>> > > >> memory. The state has disowned Gandhi, too; Gandhian politics
>>> > > arouses>> derision in middle-class Gujarat. Except for a few
>>> > > valiant old-
>>> > > >> timers,
>>> > > >> Gandhians have made peace with their conscience by
>>> withdrawing from
>>> > > >> the public domain. Gandhi himself has been given a saintly,
>>> Hindu> > >> nationalist status and shelved. Even the Gujarati
>>> translations> > of his
>>> > > >> Complete Works have been stealthily distorted to conform to the
>>> > > Hindu>> nationalist agenda.
>>> > > >>
>>> > > >> Gujarati Muslims too are "adjusting" to their new station.
>>> Denied> > >> justice and proper compensation, and as second-class
>>> citizens in
>>> > >
>>> > > >> their
>>> > > >> home state, they have to depend on voluntary efforts and donor
>>> > > >> agencies. The state's refusal to provide relief has been partly
>>> > > >> met by
>>> > > >> voluntary groups having fundamentalist sympathies. They supply
>>> > > aid
>>> > > >> but
>>> > > >> insist that the beneficiaries give up Gujarati and take to
>>> Urdu,> >
>>> > > >> adopt
>>> > > >> veil, and send their children to madrassas. Events like the
>>> > > >> desecration of Wali Gujarati's grave have pushed one of India's
>>> > > >> culturally richest, most diverse, vernacular Islamic traditions
>>> > > to
>>> > > >> the
>>> > > >> wall. Future generations will as gratefully acknowledge the
>>> sangh> > >> parivar's contribution to the growth of radical Islam
>>> in India
>>> > > as
>>> > > >> this
>>> > > >> generation remembers with gratitude the handsome
>>> contribution of
>>> > >
>>> > > >> Rajiv
>>> > > >> Gandhi and his cohorts to Sikh militancy.
>>> > > >>
>>> > > >> The secularist dogma of many fighting the sangh parivar has not
>>> > > >> helped
>>> > > >> matters. Even those who have benefited from secular lawyers and
>>> > > >> activists relate to secular ideologies instrumentally. They
>>> neither> > >> understand them nor respect them. The victims still
>>> derive> > solace
>>> > > >> from
>>> > > >> their religions and, when under attack, they cling more
>>> > > passionately>> to faith. Indeed, shallow ideologies of secularism
>>> > > have
>>> > > >> simultaneously
>>> > > >> broken the back of Gandhism and discouraged the emergence of
>>> > > figures>> like Ali Shariatis, Desmond Tutus and the Dalai Lama —
>>> > > persons
>>> > > >> who can
>>> > > >> give suffering a new voice audible to the poor and the
>>> powerless> > and>> make a creative intervention possible from
>>> within worldviews
>>> > > >> accessible to the people.
>>> > > >>
>>> > > >> Finally, Gujarat's spectacular development has underwritten the
>>> > > >> de-civilising process. One of the worst-kept secrets of our
>>> > > times is
>>> > > >> that dramatic development almost always has an
>>> authoritarian tail.
>>> > > >> Post-World War II Asia too has had its love affair with
>>> > > developmental>> despotism and the censorship, surveillance and
>>> > > thought control
>>> > > >> that go
>>> > > >> with it. The East Asian tigers have all been maneaters most
>>> of the
>>> > > >> time. Gujarat has now chosen to join the pack. Development
>>> in the
>>> > > >> state now justifies amorality, abridgement of freedom, and
>>> > > >> collapse of
>>> > > >> social ethics.
>>> > > >>
>>> > > >> Is there life after Modi? Is it possible to look beyond the 35
>>> > > years>> of rioting that began in 1969 and ended in 2002? Prima
>>> > > facie, the
>>> > > >> answer is "no". We can only wait for a new generation that
>>> will,> > out>> of sheer self-interest and tiredness, learn to live
>>> with each
>>> > > other.>> In the meanwhile, we have to wait patiently but not
>>> > > passively to keep
>>> > > >> values alive, hoping that at some point will come a modicum of
>>> > > >> remorse
>>> > > >> and a search for atonement and that ultimately Gujarati
>>> traditions> > >> will triumph over the culture of the state's
>>> urban middle class.
>>> > > >>
>>> > > >> Recovering Gujarat from its urban middle class will not be
>>> easy.> > The>> class has found in militant religious nationalism a
>>> new self-
>>> > > respect>> and a new virtual identity as a martial community, the
>>> > > way Bengali
>>> > > >> babus, Maharashtrian Brahmins and Kashmiri Muslims at different
>>> > > times>> have sought salvation in violence. In Gujarat this class
>>> > > has smelt
>>> > > >> blood, for it does not have to do the killings but can plan,
>>> > > finance>> and coordinate them with impunity. The actual
>>> killers are
>>> > > the lowest
>>> > > >> of the low, mostly tribals and Dalits. The middle class
>>> controls> > the>> media and education, which have become hate
>>> factories in
>>> > > recent
>>> > > >> times.
>>> > > >> And they receive spirited support from most non-resident
>>> Indians> > who,>> at a safe distance from India, can afford to be more
>>> > > nationalist,>> bloodthirsty, and irresponsible.
>>> > > >>
>>> > > >> [The writer is a political psychologist.]
>>>
>>
> _________________________________________
> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
> Critiques & Collaborations
> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with 
> subscribe in the subject header.
> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
> List archive: &lt;https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>