A bit too "Fast"

Narendra Modi is in the news again for a series of avoidable reasons. Firstly a Supreme Court judgement which has no real legal implication and is perhaps more procedural. Modi's subsequent gesture of proceeding on a fast is uncharacteristic and incongruous with his image of a leader who puts outcome over symbolism.

But why are the Gujarat riots of 2002 so politically significant a decade from occurrence? From the looks of it, it is the only available stick to beat Modi with. It also has to do with Modi's continued relevance and electoral success. I would argue that a sole electoral loss would ensure oblivion for Godhra. Ironic but eminently possible. The BJP has a cliched retort by referring to 1984. This pitch was strangely subdued in the Narasimha Rao era. The return of the Gandhi family ensured this weapon, however rusty, was brought back into the armoury.

In the interest of political maturity though, it is important to bury 2002 and move on to more relevant issues of governance. Several leaders are guilty of the acts of omission that Modi is accused of. Each of them have created a political divide sharp enough to last a few generations. Lets leave 1984 out since its been done to death. V P Singh gave a whole new dimension to caste based politics. His contribution to societal degeneration went way beyond the Mandal agitation that is the most vivid memory of those times. It spawned a whole new regressive thought process and set the meritocracy clock back by a few decades. Narasimha Rao, however progressive, played the religion card at Ayodhya to stoke a dormant volcano. While the move backfired in the medium term, it created a flank that was existent but hitherto of little value. A whole bunch of saffron clad touts milked it for decades.

If we were to shift to the economic arena one has examples galore of unacceptable tolerance of malignant political acts. Singrur is a classic case in point of a state government pretending to be hapless when caught in a bind on vote bank versus development. This when the state is on the brink of ruin. At least 3 states are witnessing a steady, irreversible decline in their industrial fortunes owing to sheer lack of political will to take on the Maoist menace. Not only do we witness indifference to loss of lives, there is little concern at the lawless existence of a parallel government thriving through extortion.

Comparable levels of guilt across the political spectrum do not absolve Modi in case he is indeed culpable. However, it may be prudent to reconcile to a significant "downgrade" amongst the polity and plump for the "least worst". While Gujarat was always progressive, it has galloped in the last decade leaving most other developed states far behind. The government is considered decisive and "right" thinking. It is only in this term that one hears murmurs of corruption and it could well be a case of misplaced propaganda. It may not hurt to have a leader of this stature in the national arena (lack of acceptance amongst the Reality TV watching couch potatoes notwithstanding).

In my view though, Modi is jumping the gun by showing his hand a little too soon. A few more years of operating below the radar may have ensured smoother sailing in the longer run. His current gameplan of acquiring statesman status through "sadbhavna" will ensure intra-party knives get sharpened before time. He needs a year or so of judicial calm before attempting to shed the hawk image that he wears comfortably (to a point of being scary).