Chandra Mohan, a gifted art student of the faculty
of arts of Sayajirao Giakwad University, Baroda
had to be in jail for five days (May 2007) for
the 'crime' of painting an assignment for his
degree. The problem was that the painting he
made was not to the liking of the BJP camp.
When the display of the paintings was going
on for assessment by the teachers, BJP leader,
Neeraj Jain attacked the exhibition with his
band of supporters. The police put Chandra Mohan
behind the bars, Neeraj Jain, who had violated
the law by entering the university came out
with a sense of pride for saving, protecting
the honor of 'his religion' or a religion, which
is the base of his party. As the matters unfolded
the students of the University peacefully protested
against this breach of their right to learn
and against the false implication of one of
their fellow students by the barbarians in the
garb of religion. The Vice Chancellor of Baroda
university, Manoj Soni who is wedded to the
politics of the ruling BJP and more particularly
to Narendra Modi, gave orders that the demonstration
by students should not be permitted. The Dean
of Arts faculty, a renowned art historian felt
it is too much to stifle the student's right
for peaceful protest, permitted them the protest,
and he was suspended. To add salt to the injury
the pro-Vice Chancellor got the display of students
paintings removed from the spot where they were
protesting.
In the bizarre happenings at one of the most
prestigious Universities of the state of Gujarat,
the culprit was projected as the hero by the
ruling BJP, while those who were merely doing
their academic explorations, something for which
universities are meant for, found themselves
either behind the bars or suspended from their
job. Interestingly Neeraj Jain of BJP is one
of the accused in the Gujarat carnage of 2002
and Soni, VC is one of the Modi acolytes, a
symptom of rot which has set in to the educational
system of Gujarat. A small but dominant section
of population in Gujarat upholds the actions
of VC and arrest of student artist and suspension
of Dean of arts faculty.
In another incident, in order to prevent the
CBI inquiry into the cold blooded murder of
Soharabuddin, by a team of police officials
led by the Modi favorite Vanzara, the murder
of Soharabuddin's wife Kausar Bano and Tulsiram
Prajapati, the police informer, the Gujarat
Government admitted that its police officials
have committed the crime. Vanzara, who today
owns the properties running into millions, was
showered with rose petals by the
section of people when he was being taken to
be produced in the court.
Just a moth ago the, the film which sensitively
portrays the Gujarat carnage, Perzania, which
was duly cleared by the censor board, was not
screened by the owners of cine theaters because
of the fear that their theaters may be damaged
by the goons, wearing saffron clothes. Similarly
another film Faana was not released in Gujarat
on similar grounds as the theater owners feared
that people are opposed to Aamir Khan, who had
openly sympathized with Narmada Bachao Andolan
and the cause of those displaced by the dam.
It is interesting that in most of the incidents
there is a blatant tendency to suppress the
basic democratic norm and the level of apparent
acceptance for such acts from the dominant section
of society is very high.
It is not that Gujarat is the only state with
such violations of democratic and civic norms.
There are gradations of these patterns, from
the mild violations to the severe ones like
those cited above. And surely as far as the
gross violations and that too the one's related
to minority community are concerned, Gujarat
is the worst state without any shadow of doubt.
In other BJP ruled states like MP, Rajasthan
and Chattisgarhg also, the violations are of
severe degree, still they do not match with
the ones in Gujarat. In Gujarat, at all the
levels from top to bottom and in most of the
arenas of social and political life one can
see the intense aggression of oppressive religion
based ideology, opposing the little and big
issues where the freedom of expression or democratic
rights of people are concerned.
From these instances various things become
more than clear. To begin with the state machinery,
the educational institutions are heavily communalized.
This Vice Chancellor, who normally should have
protected the student of his University for
fulfilling the academic obligation, but chose
to let the police arrest his own student, is
a comparatively young faculty who has been elevated
to the highest level of the academic prestige
because he wrote a book in defense of Modi in
Gujarat genocide. The rot in the educational
system, the infiltration of communal elements
in the positions of power is more than obvious
from the case of Mr. Soni.
Police acting as an onlooker and arresting
the student, the victim, and letting the culprits
take the law in their hands is reflective of
the communal mind set and the type of instructions
they must be getting from the top leadership.
The attack by these goons and their defense
by a section on the ground that 'our sentiments
are hurt' show the type of communal common sense
prevalent in the state.
What is new about Soharabuddin's killing? So
many fake encounters, so many high handed acts
of law breaking by those supposed to be upholders
of law. So many such incidents in so many other
states. The striking features of this encounter
killing are that, one, not only the criminal
but his wife was also killed in cold blood.
Secondly, the pretext of terrorists coming to
kill Modi, the Hindu Hriday Samrat (emperor
of Hindu Hearts) has been used to eliminate
people once again. And three, the honor showered
on Vanzara, have we heard before that these
'criminal in khaki' having patronage of those
in the seats of power are showered with rose
petals while being taken to the court? That's
what Gujarat is becoming, thoroughly communalized,
the communal common sense being the dominant
thought pattern of sections of society, and
politics strongly under the sway of RSS ideology.
While the acts of attacking cinema theaters,
attacking art exhibitions, stopping musical
concerts has been heard before as an occasional
phenomenon, now this intolerance is becoming
systematically ingrained in Gujarat. That's
what makes Gujarat different from large parts
of the country, some of which are definitely
on pursuing what we can call as 'Gujarat course'
but the critical limits have not been reached
there.
At different level, one can note two systems
off law in Gujarat, minorities neither get nor
can hope to get justice after violence, and
relief is a distant dream. The transmigration
within the city, Hindu area, Muslim area, and
the emotional and physical borders separating
the different communities and the communal wedge
is deepening by the day. The schools are becoming
set more along religious lines than the previous
mixed character where diverse children come
together and have an inherent understanding
and respect for the other. The legal system
is becoming more and more insular to the anguish
of minority community. The minorities have been
relegated to the second class status, no ban
loans to them, no telephone connections at times.
An analogy with Hitler's Germany has more than
just the germ of truth. While at surface, Gujarat
as the state seems to be focusing on development,
the 'we have taught them a lesson' is the undercurrent
thinking amongst dominant majority community.
Gujarat is being ruled by the BJP Government
from over a decade. The RSS combine is having
a field day, using government facilities and
machinery to co-opt the Adivasi, through Shabri
Kumbhs. Other programs, social engineering for
inclusion of dalits and exclusion of Muslims
and Christians are under full flow. The progressive,
liberal sections of society are feeling the
heat of political intimidation. While many of
them are holding aloft the torch of democracy,
the broad layers of civil society has to come
forward with courage and conviction for democratic
values and the principles of Indian Constitution.
Though few, they are the hope for return of
democracy in Gujarat. Whether the electoral
arithmetic will help them restore democracy
are a million vote questions? Despite internal
dissentions the RSS combine is clearly behind
Modi/BJP as far as electoral arithmetic goes.
The terrifying vision of RSS ideologues is coming
to fruition in this Hindu Rashtra in one state.
The question is how fast other states, more
so the BJP ruled one's or the one's where BJP
is ruling in alliances, will go in this direction?
More than that the question is can the democracy
be saved in Gujarat? If some novice doubted
the Fascist analogy with the communal politics,
that should become as clear as he crystal. Politics
in the name of religions or race does lead to
a fascist state, and the only difference in
Hitler, Taliban and BJP is the degree of crudeness
and the use of terminology, the content remains
the same.
