The events in Gujarat, especially after the take over of state leadership by Narendra Modi have moved at a fast pace. As he took over the reins of leadership BJPs electoral prospects were declining severely. His own election from Rajkot with a narrow margin was a pointer to the trend. Along side, one witnessed BJPs rout in Panchayat and Municipal elections as well. Supplementing this were two other facts: the BJP defeat in the assembly elections in northern states and decline in the response to the Ram Temple campaign. It is at this time that Godhead happens, shutters are drawn and instant investigation by the RSS swayamsevak reveals the hand of International terrorism and thereby of the local Muslims in the episode.

As a true RSS man he instructs his administration to go to sleep or to help the rioters in a pro-active way. And the carnage keeps its pace for months. During this time the moderate BJP leadership appreciates their bright boy, Modi, at home and sheds the crocodile tears of sorrow when speaking in International gatherings. Election commissions postponing of the elections on technical grounds puts some spoke in the chariot of Modis wheels, who heavily banked on the communal polarization brought in by the
massive violence to come back to power and to improve the declining electoral fortunes of BJP at National level. Any way this road block of dilution of the polarization could well be taken care by Akshardham and communalism hit back, and it restored to horrific dumps reached during the violence.

Now the Sangh associates are opening their calculators and telling us how much more time it will take to build Hindu rashtra all over the country. The Hindutva laboratory has been thriving well and the results from the Laboratory need to be marketed all over the country for the benefit of Hindus of the country who according to them are looking forward to the repeat of Gujarat performance with bated breath. BJP has even started counting its chickens which will hatch in the next elections and its President Venkaiah Naidu tells us they will go to the 300 mark, absolute majority and all that, no dependence on Fernandes, Sharad Yadavs or Naidus. all the hurdles to the Hindu Rashtra seem to be falling and the march of Hindutva nay RSS agenda is close in sight. The gloom in the Sangh Parivar camp and year ago has been converted in to the glory by bathing the streets of Gujarat in the rivers of blood.

As such one knows the communal outfits can come to power either by emotive issues like the Ram Temple or they can consolidate themselves by the anti-Minority violence. The earlier exercises conducted in different parts of the country have demonstrated the methods which can work for this politics.

The portents for future have to be assessed in the light of the gradual rise of BJP-RSS by the twin strategies of emotion and violence. The party, which began its political career with two MPs, is raring to go now. It first latched on to the Ram temple agitation. Rath yatras and all those campaigns, the issues of the emotions, other world etc. started ruling the streets. Section of society, especially the ones opposed to Mandal and safeguards for Dalits started responding to these emotive appeals in large number. Babri demolition and post Babri violence took the BJP to the higher number of seats, and gradually its strategy became clear. A clever mix of emotive appeals and polarization (violence) is the sum and substance of Sangh Parivar politics. When BJP first emerged as the single largest party most other electoral outfits refused to touch it even with a barge pole. But the opportunist urge for power at any cost overtook the
better of their principles (or the lack of those) and the alliance began.

Initially the allies were demanding this that and the other sops for themselves but gradual the equations of power reversed and BJP started dictating its agenda through NDA. By the side, the proliferation of Sangh Parivar, Talibanization of education and other Hindutvisation picked up speed along with the free flow of foreign funds for these activities. Pre-Gujarat there was an assessment that this party is declining on electoral ground, as evidenced in different elections held during that time. Here at this point of time a savior was discovered to rescue the declining fortune. Now the emotive appeals were not working. The second electoral ploy, violence was the only option left for the sagging fortunes of the party. And that's what happened, delivering the expected results i.e. changing the electoral equations at least in Gujarat.

Congress was also beneficiary of post-pogrom electoral landslide in the wake of Anti-Sikh pogrom 1984. But BJP is a different cup of poison. The Gujarat, Godhra effect has limited shelf value, but it gives BJP a springboard to launch itself at a higher electoral pedestal. The social space has been infiltrated by the Hindutva ideology and it is the dominant presence in the social space. This creeping Hindutva is prevailing all around. In most of the states even where BJP is not ruling, has never ruled the social common sense is dictated by RSS ideology today. In itself this cannot win the elections for BJP, but this supplemented by the events like Godhra, campaigns like Ram Temple or Baba Budan Giri can deliver the goods for the politics of Hindu Rashtra. The threat is all the more real as the major component of Sangh parivar, VHP, is threatening that they will convert India in to Hindu Rsahtra in two years. This threat is no laughing matter if one looks at their insidious roots in the civil society, if you see their presence in administrative machinary, if you see the succumbing of most of the political parties supposed to be defending secularism and Indian constitution.

Meanwhile Post-Godhra-Gujarat the plight of minorities is unenviable. It is being lectured to win the goodwill of the majority (in reality RSS), being lectured to be loyal and patriotic, to be national etc. Any functionary of Sangh Parivar is free to give s dose of patriotism to the hapless victims of political intimidation and social ghettoisation. Ghettoisation creates its own problems, some cranks in the community, cornered and threatened misbehave, than the whole community can be freely targeted by all and sundry starting from the Prime Minister Vajpayee (they have not apologized enough for Godhra) to the Bajrang Dal bully next door. The stifling of democracy is reaching dangerous proportions.

Can this go on and on? Will the civic society; political parties having some vague semblance for democracy keep watching this helplessly? Will the civic society remain mute to the plight of democracy and the minorities? Will the society watch the building up of Hindutva inferno in silence? Is the battle lost?
 
It is time that all those having commitment to democracy, pluralism and Human rights wake up to the threats round the corner. It is essential to understand the Nationalism of these supra patriotic forces, the ideology which kept aloof from Freedom struggle. It is important to see the difference between the Hindu Nationalism and Indian Nationalism. It is important to see and propagate the parallels between the Talibans, Hitlers and Modi-Togadia-Advani family, the commonality of their belief systems. Their Nationalism is based either on race or on religion. This ideology in essence is a counter-reaction to the entry of Dalits and women into the social and political space. The democratization of society can be brought about only through struggles for Human rights. The cultural integration of different communities is under attack from communal forces and needs to be brought back. The disinformation campaign launched by Hindu Right (i.e. Wrong) has to be negated at all the levels.

The minor differences between different segments has to be overlooked to bring about a broad platform of all those having commitment to the values of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. The programmatic alliance of all those working for Justice, (Economic, Social and Gender) needs to be put in place. The non-electoral social formations can play a very central and crucial role in the process. The social engineering done by Hindu elite ideology needs to be countered by creating an alternate paradigm which is libratory and democratic. The task is marathon. The countdown towards the Hindu Rashtra has begun. Our democratic intervention has to begin today, tomorrow it will be too late.