The
incidents of Godra have shaken our conscience to
no end. What can be more condemnable than the violence,
violence against innocent Human beings, violence
in the name of religion, violence perpetrated
apparently in and around the issues related to temple
and mosque? Promptly it got propagated that those
who committed the crime were 'Muslims' and as a
reflex action 'Muslims' have been brought on the
firing line, their households on fire in Ahmadabad
with the state machinery obliging the rioters by
looking the other way around. While
Ahmadbad is being burnt state apparatus is merrily
declaring that 'situation is under control'!
Yes it has been under control of those who have
deeper motives in keeping the flames of communal
hatred alive.
The backdrop of the incident is very revealing.
A party, BJP, which is part of the Sangh Parivar,
(whose other members are VHP, Bajarang Dal etc,
all whose controllers come from the same stock,
volunteers, swaymsevaks, trained in the politics
of Hindutva, with the goal of Hindu rashtra in mind,)
looses its grip in many a states in the state assembly
elections. As soon as the exit polls start showing
the doom of the Party of Hindu Rashtra, its family
members," 'saints' and co." raise the pitch of their
histrionics for building temple for Lord Ram. The
'saints' of the VHP and the Parivar soon realized
that the emotive appeal built around the temple
is not yielding the dividends as it used to do in
the yesteryear. Barring the hardcore supporters
of Hindu Rashtra all other fringe supporters who
were brought in by the emotional appeal of Ram Lalla
soon realized that what they need more then the
Temple at Ayodhya is bread and butter, shelter and
clothing, education and employment, health facilities
and drinking water, and so they realized their folly
of falling in for the party of Hindu Rashtra and
vote with their tummies to stage its route in the
elections. On the top of it even the 'holy Saints'
were not able to draw the expected crowds to the
'Holy Yagnas' and other campaigns. So finally the
communal politics meets its death! If these issues
don't bring the votes to the kitty of BJP, it has
no future.
One recalls that BJP's earlier edition; Jana Sangh
had begun its politics on the slogan of Cow Protection.
It asserted the Cow is 'equivalent' of our mother.
But people at large, those who are unable to take
care of their own mother who gives them life, did
not fall in the trap and the support base of Jan
Sangh did not take off. 
During
eighties as if 'by a stroke of genius' Sangh Parivar
discovered the need for Ram temple in Ayodhya and
by now since an elite, upper caste/class urban middle
class was in for opposing the social transformation,
the campaign clicked. And the rising communal venom
got focused through the Ram Temple agitation. Interestingly
it got its real 'flesh and blood' after the Mandal
commission implementation and in due course the
Babri demolition and post demolition riots gave
the party of Hindu Rashtra, what it needed desperately,
power to eat into the very ethos of our harmonious
culture, syncretic traditions and the values of
Indian Constitution.
Now BJP's electoral success was based on its 'hard
core' prepared by RSS shakha training and by drawing
the fringe, novice populace who intermittently submit
to the appeal of "Lord
Ram ' in the political area. So what are
the 'lessons ' to be learnt by the Sangh Parivar
from this set back? Number one that Lord
Ram will no more be able to collect the votes for
them. Number two they have to carry on with
the spoils of power by taking the allies along.
So with multispeak in actioe different languages
are spoken, secularism by Vajpayee, threat of Terrorism
by Advani, needed to keep the facade of NDA agenda
by many of them.
Coming back to Godhra. This writer has a feeling
of deja vu while hearing the blame that 'Muslims'
have done the dastardly crime. In case of Mumbai
riots blame on this community was based on a very
simple logic. Since the victims are Hindus, (Mathadi
Workers in Dockyard or Bane family in Jogeshwari)
so the culprits must be Muslims. Fortunately today
at least after the Shrikrishna Commission report
the mist is clear and 'Muslims' exonerated from
the crime, but not from the popular memory? The
retaliation or whatever that is, duly supported
by the BJP Govt, stalks the streets and the clear
targets are Muslim. One believes that not controlling
the riot when it can be controlled is connivance
if not an outright support. Today one does not know
who burnt the train for sure. What were the incidents,
which led to the mob coming together, getting armed
with petrol bombs etc? One has some reservations
in believing outright that in the "laboratory of
Hindu Rashtra", Gujarat, any "Muslim' group can
plan it so well under the nose of the most efficient
Swaymaewak Narendra Modi. Surely there is more to
the 'Muslim involvement' in Godra train incident
than meets the eye. But how does that matter. What
is important is that in a society where the popular
psyche is doctored against minorities, broad masses
can jump to such quick conclusions and do the rest?
The immediate aftermath of this will be an increased
flow of Kar Sevaks to Ayodhya. There again another
swayamsevak will ensure that whatever is needed
to keep the flames of politics of Hatred aflame
is done, even if one has to pay the price of that
with human blood. 
Afteall
unfair is fair in politics of power and more so
if this politics is projected in the name of God
or religion. One can see the minor repeat of the
Post Babri demolition scenario. With the violence
spreading and those in power calculating as to what
is more beneficial to control this mayhem or to
let it go on, as that may be more profitable for
one's politics.
Whosoever is the real culprit behind the incident,
one thing is sure. Nothing would have served the
Sangh Parivar politics better. With the waning of
the appeal of the Temple the 'threat of terrorism'
and in turn the threat of 'aggressive Muslim community'
has to be brought up to keep the electoral base
alive. As such this community, which has been ghettoized
due to regular outburst of communal-violence can
hardly be regarded as a threat to the highly muscular
Sangh Parivar support. However one should note in
passing that during last five decades the percentage
of the victims of communal violence have their own
tale to tell. The 12.4% of the Muslim minority has
an 'enviable' 80% representations in the riot victims!
Who so ever says that they are not well represented?
In most of the inquiry commission reports (Teesta
Setalvad, Communalism Combat, March 98), have indicated
that though it is projected that it is Muslims who
start the violence, generally the events are so
manipulated that either they are cornered to throw
the first stone or simply blamed for it out of the
blue. One does not know whether the present event
has similar interpretation or something else. Only
a proper inquiry will tell the truth but meanwhile
those who wanted to bake their political bread have
already achieved their purpose.
Where do we go from here?
The popular psyche has been doctored by Sangh Parivar
into believing that Muslims are the villains, terrorists
and all that. It is that which sustains the violence
in deeper sense. We have to ensure that this much
and no more has to be our motto. All those committed
to the Human rights have to come together and put
and end to the violence, which is sustained by hatred
for the 'other'. A chain of peace committees, cutting
across different shades of political opinion but
committed to plural culture, have to come together
to put an end to violence on the streets and violence
in the mind. The distractions form the real social
agenda, the agenda for growth and development, the
agenda of social transformation towards social,
economic and political justice has to be brought
back on the scene on urgent basis.
