People's Democracy

IT is now clear beyond any shred of doubt that what happened all over Gujarat following the unfortunate and condemnable Godhra train attack, was no communal riot in the usual sense of the term but a veritable pogrom against the Muslims. All media reports go to show how Muslims were targetted by VHP-RSS members, often with active collusion of the police and administration.

There is no doubt that even if the RSS has given a clean chit to the Narendra Modi government, media reports are unanimous that this government played a most shamelessly partisan role during the whole carnage. As an Asian Age report (March 5) said on the basis of documentary evidence, while the state government has arrested over 2500 persons in connection with the Godhra incident, it was trying to save the 125-odd RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal members arrested in connection with the subsequent carnage. It is pressurising police officials to drop the FIRs filed against these people and not arrest them. Gujarat police commissioner is on record saying how he could not move against VHP leaders in absence of any clearance from above. Similarly, while the curfew imposed in many cities immobilised the Muslims, the riot-mongers went on their rampage undeterred (Hindustan Times, March 2), again a sign of collusion with the riot-mongers.

Yet another example of the naked communal bias of the state government is that while it announced a Rs 2 lakh compensation for each victim of the Godhara incident, it announced Rs 1 lakh for those who were murdered subsequently.

The communal bias of the Gujarat chief minister, a hardcore RSS pracharak, was also evident when he deliberately avoided making a request for army deployment. Nay, for some time, he was not even prepared to sign the necessary notification about it.

In this background, one can well understand the biting sarcasm that pervaded the March 5 Hindustan Times editorial: "Mr Modi has had his chance to be chief minister. During his brief tenure in Ahmedabad over 500 people have died. It is time now for him to accept what everybody else can see --- he is not cut out for ministerial office, or for any office for that matter. It is time to throw in the towel, to fly back to Delhi and to resume his normal lifestyle of appearing on Zee News and Aaj Tak each night. At least that way he will do less damage, and lives will be saved."

But no less condemnable has been the role played by leaders of the union government regarding the Gujarat situation. True, the prime minister cancelled his schedule for the CHOGM. But he did not move a little finger to bring the situation under control. He only pleaded to the communal organisations that they must stop their depredations. The union home minister did not, for three days, visit the state or even Gandhinagar that is his own constituency, thus failing to perform the elementary duty which even an ordinary MP would have discharged before doing anything else. He even complimented the Gujarat chief minister for his role during the carnage.

It is therefore no wonder that the situation deteriorated and led to a pogrom in no time. Instead of acting as the guardians of law and order, the administration acted as a collaborator in the pogrom and had an explicit or implicit backing from both the state and central governments.

In such a situation, the minorities are naturally gripped with fear psychosis, not only all over Gujarat but in other parts of the country as well. The atmosphere is getting further deteriorated because of the VHP’s call, asking the majority community to boycott the Muslims in all possible ways. Attacks against the Christians and their institutions in Gujarat have also started. Even though large sections of the people refused to be swayed by communal frenzy and even though the situation in the state is limping back to normalcy, no one can say with certainty as to when a new bout of communal depredations will start. Harassment of innocent Muslims by the administration has also begun.

In the meantime, the state government also announced that if the family members of the victims did not come forward to claim their bodies by March 3, the government would perform their last rites en masse. The state government was not even prepared to give the victims’ bodies to their community members. Many persons rightly suspected that this was a move to conceal the real number of those who fell victim to the carnage.

As we said last week, the Gujarat anti-Muslim pogrom was but a fall-out of the way things were moving regarding the Ayodhya issue. Now one can well add that, in its turn, the carnage has brought the Ayodhya issue to a flashpoint.

This is evident from the way the VHP and RSS have been behaving, more so in the last one week. While the flames of violence were still continuing, the VHP began to ‘threaten’ the central government anew and also make bargain offers at the same time. The hidden, and really not so hidden, logic was that the centre must accede to the VHP’s demands if it wanted to bring the situation under control or prevent it from worsening.

The VHP’s demands were clear --- that it must be given 45 out of the 67 acres of land adjoining the disputed site, if not the whole of it, and that it must be allowed to do symbolic construction work on this land on March 15. It is to be noted that this piece of land was taken over by the Narasimha Rao government. Moreover, the Supreme Court has given a very clear directive that this land cannot be handed over to any individual or organisation till the fate of the disputed site is finally decided. It is also to be noted that if the VHP is given this land or even 45 acres out of it, the fate of the disputed site will be decided even before the court pronounces its verdict. This will mean an outright defeat of the principles of justice, of our judiciary, of the laws of the land.

On the other hand, the VHP did not bother about making any commitment to forego its claim on the disputed site or to abide by the court verdict, whenever it came. It is another matter that it had committed in August 1989 to maintain the status quo on the disputed site but resorted to an outright breach by destroying the Babri Masjid. The VHP is also on the record saying that it would abide by the court verdict only if it is in its favour.

Leaders of the RSS, that has thrown its full weight behind the VHP, naturally commended the VHP’s latest antics.

However, our prime minister is unfortunately still persisting in his dithering and equivocal attitude. He had still not issued any categorical warning to the Sangh Parivar outfits against taking the law into their hands. For the whole of the last week too, he only kept harping on his oft-repeated words that negotiations were on and some solution would soon be evolved. And, as earlier, he again avoided telling the nation as to who was negotiating with whom. This is entirely in line with the RSS tactic of keeping the people in dark about its real plans. On the other hand, the VHP was adamant regarding its plan to start temple construction by March 15. The RSS has already intensified its venomous propaganda against the minorities.

As for negotiations, the cat came out of the bag when the Kanchi shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati held a press conference in New Delhi on March 5. It then transpired that this religious figure was already in the capital on March 4, and holding talks with VHP, Muslim leaders as well as the prime minister and home minister.

In his press briefing the shankaracharya claimed to have presented a four-point solution to the Ayodhya dispute and even claimed that the All India Muslim Personal Law Board had agreed to this solution. But as the TV footage on the same evening showed, Muslim leaders had only promised to consider the proposals they were given. They declined to make any comment beyond it.

As for the shankaracharya’s proposals, they in fact represent what the VHP wants. They include proposals like giving the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas (read: VHP) the ‘undisputed’ land it wants and allowing it to do symbolic construction work on this land on March 15, In return, the VHP agreed to defer its temple construction plan till June 2. According to a section of the media, the VHP has agreed to abide by the court verdict though there is lack of a categorical announcement to this effect. But the main thing is that, as said above, these proposals intend to ensure an outright victory for the VHP, sealing the fate of the disputed site forever.

In the name of evolving a solution to the Ayodhya dispute, a more dangerous set of proposals cannot be imagined.

There are indications that Shri Jayendra Saraswati’s proposals have the backing of the prime minister and the home minister.

In the meantime, even though the union government has announced certain measures in the context of the VHP’s March 15 threat, the manner they are being implemented is itself arousing suspicions about the government’s sincerity. For instance, it claimed that it has started sending the karsevaks back from Ayodhya and is preventing new batches from starting for Ayodhya. But a large number of karsevaks still remain in the town and, moreover, new batches are reaching there by other means --- by trekking through crop-bearing fields, for example. The Parivar too has, of late, changed its tactic and is now mobilising karsevaks mainly from UP. As for UP, the caretaker Rajnath Singh government is conspicuous by its absence. This situation also suits the Sangh Parivar outfits. A supportive government in the state and another at the centre --- what else they would like to have!

This lends further significance to the Lok Morcha’s demand that "according to law and tradition, the single largest party, the Samajwadi Party, must immediately be called to assume office and prove its majority on the floor of the UP assembly." (See the Lok Morcha statement elsewhere in this issue.) But this is precisely a situation that the Parivar outfits would not like to have, more so at a time they are out to play their heinous game in Ayodhya. It is a situation which they want to avoid, as far as they can, with the help of an old RSS hardcore in the Raj Bhavan.

As for the BJP’s allies in the NDA, events are fast pushing them to such a point where they will have to say enough is enough, or be prepared to perish. They cannot escape asking themselves as to whether the BJP is really abiding by their common National Agenda for Governance, as it had promised to do. Forget the BJP leaders’ earlier utterances that they have not given up but only postponed the contentious issues, implying that they would not hesitate to kick their allies if they get a majority on their own. (Don’t forget what they did to Bansilal!) The most relevant issue today is that the BJP can never go against what the RSS wants.

One can well recall here the experience of the late 1970s when the dual membership issue arose. At that time the same Vajpayee, Advani and others had openly declared that they would not give up their affiliation with the RSS; nay, they said they were proud of being its members. It was their adamant insistence on maintaining their loyalty to the RSS that forced a split in the Janata Party and led to the fall of the first non-Congress government at the centre. Finally, when they failed to recapture power in early January 1980 with the help of the rump that was left in the name of the Janata Party, they took no time in deserting it too, and came out with their present party name. It was the same loyalty to the RSS that made Vajpayee boast while in Staten Island off New York that he was a swayamsevak first and a prime minister later.

And now it is the same RSS that has moved another pawn, the VHP, on the political chessboard! Can the allies ignore this? Are they really so naive?

It is true that some of the allies, like the TDP and DMK, have expressed reservations about the government’s attitude on Ayodhya. Some have also expressed opposition to the proposals put forward by Jayendra Saraswati. But if at all it is a demarcation, it is certainly inadequate. The explosive situation of today demands much more. Now, only time will tell whether the NDA parties realise the grave threats to our national unity and rise to defend it or fall prey to the BJP’s manoeuvres.

Recently, after the Gujarat carnage started, certain opposition members in Andhra assembly raised their accusing fingers towards Chandrababu Naidu, saying he was responsible for what was happening in Gujarat. What they meant to say was clear. Now if the BJP’s allies fail to grasp the gravity of the situation, they will soon see the common people of the country raising their accusing fingers towards them. That day is not very far off.