Secular Righteousness

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    Secular RighteousnessAn Analysis of the Editors Guild Fact Finding Report into the Gujarat violence

    Introduction

    On February 27, 2002, the Sabarmati Express, a train which connects Ahmedabad inGujarat, with Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, was attacked by a mob of more than 2000Muslims at Godhra in Gujarat. The target was the Ram Sevakswho were returningfrom Ayodhya after taking part in a ceremony at the Shri Rama Janmabhoomi. Fifty-eight of the Ram Sevakswere incinerated in the incident. Most of them were womenand children.

    In the aftermath, there was a major communal riot in parts of Gujarat, leading to thedeath of nearly 1000 persons, and many injured. The Muslim casualties were nearly

    three-quarters of the total.

    The Editors Guild sent a team on a fact finding mission into the riots in Gujarat, post-Godhra, and the role of media in particular. The team consisted of BG Verghese (acolumnist), Dileep Padgaonkar (Executive Managing Editor, The Times of India) andAakar Patel (Editor,Mid-Day, Mumbai).In setting out in its task to report on the Ordeal by Fire in the Killing Fields ofGujarat, the Editors Guild Team follow the standard Marxist methodology. AsNikolay Valentinov (in Encounters with Lenin) recounts Lenin telling him, Plekhanov (a

    Marxist theoretician) once said to me about a critic of Marxism, First let us stick theconvicts badge on him, and then after that we will examine his case.? And I think thatwe must stick the convicts badge on anyone and everyone who tries to undermineMarxism, even if we do not go on to examine his case. Thats how every soundrevolutionary should react.The Editors Guild Team put the label of a convict on the Gujarati language media, andthen went about the task of evaluating their reporting. Therefore, in analysing thereport prepared by the Editors Guild Team, we should first discuss the ideology of theEnglish media in India to enable us to put forward our analysis of the report. This isimperative since all the three members are from the English media.To do this, we have to look at the way this media has treated issues relating to India ingeneral and Hindutva in particular, even prior to the events in Gujarat. It is ourcontention that the English media seems to take a special delight in perverting issues,which not only trivialises, but also enables them to avoid dealing with the essence ofthe issues. In the process, it ensures that sane debates do not take place, and thesociety does not reach an enduring solution to the problem except in a muddled way.

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    In any case, even if we are to assume that the Editors Guild Report is valid in itsdamnation of the Gujarati language media, it was necessary for the Editors Guild Teamto clearly establish that the English media in India is unbiased, instead of merelymaking an assumption that it is so. The Team did not even make an attempt to do so.The Hindu Vivek Kendra has made an analysis of the Editors Guild Report and ispresenting the same here.

    The English media in IndiaThe English media in India is a product of the Macaulay system of education, whichseeks to produce a class of persons Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, inopinion, words and intellect. As the great philosopher, Anand Coomarswamy, rightlysaid in 1924 that, it is hard to realise how completely the continuity of Indian life hasbeen severed. A single generation of English education suffices to break the threads oftradition and to create a non-descript and superficial being deprived of all roots - a sortof intellectual pariah who does not belong to the East or the West, the past or future.

    Of all Indian problems the educational is the most difficult and the most tragic.? (TheDance of Shiva, 1924.)The other feature of the English media is that it is dominated by those who go underthe guise of left-liberal. For this class of people, there is nothing in our civilisation thatthe people of India can legitimately be proud of. In fact, this class will make a specialeffort of denigrating the past, and it has done its best to ensure that the children of thiscountry are neither taught the essential features of our culture nor made to respectthem. At the same time, it will go out of the way to project that the wisdom relevantfor today lies outside the parameters of our civilisation.With the coming of Hindutva to the centre-stage, this class of left-liberals has changedtheir stance, and is now saying that the Hinduism projected by Hindu organisationssuch as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) does not form the core of our history.They will, however, not say what does form the core. This negative projection leads toconfusion in the society since the people are told what is not but not what is.

    The alienation from our cultural symbols is best expressed by Dileep Padgaonkar whenhe wrote; More than any other BJP leader, it is Murli Manohar Joshi who gets the goatof secular intellectuals. The very appears of the HRD minister - the dhoti, theangavastram, the prominent mark of the forehead and the choti - irks them no end. (TheSunday Times of India, April 15, 2001.) In the same way, Padgaonkar would consider DrCV Raman lacking in intellectual merit merely because of his attire. This approach of Padgaonkar is nothing new. In July 1993, when he interviewed SirVidiadhar Naipaul in the aftermath of the events of December 6, 1992, he said: Thepeople who climbed on top of these domes and broke them were not bearded peoplewearing saffron robes and with ash on their foreheads. They were young people clad injeans and tee-shirts. (The Times of IndiaJuly 18, 1993)

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    What Padgaonkar was saying that anyone wears jeans and tee-shirts should think in thesame way as he does. Thus Padgaonkar was stunned that the Kar Sevaks behaved in amanner he thinks as most inappropriate, even though they wore an attire approved byhim.

    Here it would not be out of place to record how Sir Vidiadhar responded toPadgaonkars question: One needs to understand the passion that took them on top of

    the domes. The jeans and the tee-shirts are superficial. The passion alone is real. Youcant dismiss it. You have to try to harness it. In its editorial Political Aftershocks, commenting upon the earthquake relief work, TheTimes of Indiasaid, The RSS has been very active in relief and rehabilitation work..?However, right in the next sentence it said, There are, however, unconfirmed reportsfrom Gujarat that the ideological bias of the RSS towards certain communities andcastes is already evident even in the task of providing relief. (Feb 6, 2001) The spokesperson of RSS, through a letter printed on Feb 9 in the same newspapersought to know the necessary details of the ideological bias, so that they can address

    these lapses to be able to take the corrective actions for the future. No response wasforthcoming.In order to nail the lie spread by the editorial, the President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad(VHP) for Maharashtra sent a picture to Padgaonkar which showed a Muslim familytaking shelter, along with other Hindu families, in a large tent at a camp organised bythe VHP. The picture was taken from the website (www.indiatimes.com) of a grouppublication ofThe Times of India. The reply from Padgoankar was quite amazing. In hisletter to the President of VHP dated March 5, 2001, he said that he could not takecognisance of this photo, because his responsibility was limited to The Times of India.Given the organisational resources available with The Times of Indiain Gujarat, resourceswhich were apparently fully used in preparing the Editors Guild Report, and gratefullyacknowledged by the Editors Guild Team, one expected that Padgaonkar would haveconfirmed the unconfirmed reports on the basis of which he made the allegationsabout the ideological bias. It was astounding that even when the photo clearlydisproved the unconfirmed reports, Padgaonkar refused to tender an apology for themalicious writings. Thus, when Sandesh(the Gujarati language daily that receives theharshest censure from the Editors Guild Team for inciting violence) is following apolicy of not carrying corrections and clarifications, it is merely following in thedistinguished footsteps set out by Padgaonkar himself.In the news item about the publication of the Editors Guild report, the Rediff on Net,has reported Padgaonkar saying the following: I think if secularism became a sellingproposition (the Gujarati) newspapers would become secular. (May 3, 2002). The Timesof Indiais the most profitable publication in India, and is the largest circulating daily inthe whole word. Is Padgaonkar accusing his own publication of not being secularWhat Padgaonkar does is not an exception but a rule amongst all his colleagues whosubscribe to the same ideology that he does. The intention of stating the above two

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    cases is not to single him out, but to show the type of arrogance in the Macaulay classof Indians.A community which has suffered the maximum due to Islamic terrorism is the Hindusof Kashmir and the Pandits in particular. In 1989, a mass exodus took place in theKashmir Valley, due to relentless persecution by Islamic terrorism, and 300,000 Panditsbecame refugees in their own homeland. The left-liberals did not even shed crocodile

    tears on the plight of these unfortunate citizens of our country. In fact, they havebecome the forgotten people for the English media.Even today, while copious tears have flowed from the eyes of the English media incontext of the Muslim refugees in Gujarat, it has not found it necessary to deal with thepredicament of the Kashmiri Pandits. There has not been any detailed reporting aboutthe miserable conditions in the refugee camps, which are in existence for more than 13years. No one talks about the trauma and the psychological scars borne by theseKashmiris, whose only fault was that they were Hindus.This behaviour of the English media is appalling considering that all the publications

    had letters printed, and also articles, written by respected journalists and socialpersonalities, which brought out this hypocrisy in a glaring way. It seems that theEnglish media has no concern for the views expressed by the Hindu community, evenwhen they are right. This behaviour can only be explained in terms of the ideology thatthe English media follows.The plight of the Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh is quite well-known. From morethan 20% in 1941, the Hindu population has become almost non-existent in Pakistan,with the present share being around 1.5%. In Bangladesh, the ethnic cleansing had notbeen as severe. However, the taking over of Khaleeda Zia as Prime Minister ofBangladesh in October 2001 with the active support of Islamic fundamentalists, hascaused a qualitative change in the situation in that country too. There has been a bigstream of Hindu refugees coming from Bangladesh to seek shelter in India.For the English media the desperate situation that exists in this neighbouring countryseems to be of little concern. Except for one or two perfunctory editorials in eachpublication, the issue has been successfully down played so that it does not form a partof the national consciousness. Taking a clue, even the international media, and thevarious human rights organisations who take special cudgels even when there are minorabuses against the religious minorities in India, have had to be goaded to take theslightest of notice of the tragedy.The apparent lack of concern of the English media about the plight of the Hindus ofBangladesh is due to the fact that it evaluates issues not on the basis of the merit, butwhether it will help or hinder Hindu organisations such as the RSS. This is admitted byProfessor Ratneswar Bhattacharya who recently has authored a book on the cleansingof minorities in Bangladesh. He said, Our intellectuals were apprehensive that hue andcry over the plight of Hindus in Bangladesh would only help the Sangh Parivar. (TimesNews Network, May 6, 2002.)

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    The atrocious role of the English media with respect to the hijacking of the IndianAirlines plane to Kandahar in December 1999 was yet another example of journalismbeing governed by an ideology rather than the principles of the profession. Journalistswere competing against each other to see who could most instigate the families of thehijacked passengers to force the government to yield to the demands of the Islamicterrorists. There were families of many of the hijacked passengers who werebeseeching the government not to succumb to the pressure of the terrorists, knowing

    fully well that the consequences (in case the government submit to the demands) forthe nation would be perilous. But these nationalistic views hardly came to be reportedby the English media in India.The pressure on the government was so much that it finally surrendered to theterrorists. What was worse was that the very people who were instigating the relativesof the hostages to wave Release Maulana Azhar placards before obliging cameras wereequally vocal in deploring the capitulation to terrorism. A classic case of damn you do,and damn if you dont.

    The perverted portrayal of the attacks on Christians was a deliberate attempt to damn

    Hindu organisations. The two classic cases were those of the rape of four nuns inJhabua and the murder of Graham Staines. Within a few hours of the events, theEnglish media had already identified the perpetrators of the crime - namely the SanghParivar. And a vicious campaign was let loose all over the country. The correspondentsof the foreign media in India picked this up, apparently gleefully; enabling the enemiesof our country took maximum advantage of the opportunity provided to them.When the facts came out, the English media behaved in a churlish manner. The rape inJhabua was the handiwork of 24 tribal from the area, and half of whom had beenconverted to Christianity. The Wadhwa Commission, set up to inquire into the Stainescase, has clearly stated that the alleged ring-leader of the group that murdered Staineshad nothing to do with the Sangh Parivar. In following with its tradition, in neithercase has the English media apologised to the Sangh Parivar for its false and maliciouscampaign. No corrections and clarifications were forthcoming.The Wadhwa Commission found it necessary to investigate the role of the media in theStaines case. Its recommendation in this respect was: Media, both print and electronic,has also to exercise restraint. Screaming headlines should be avoided which have theeffect of misleading the public and creating more tension and suspicion amongdifferent communities. News headlines in the cases of rape of nun and murder of aChristian boy and girl after rape have been noticed. One cannot imagine the damage

    that might have been caused to the polity by such headlines and reporting. Reporting ofcommunal strife should not be done without proper verification or an ordinary crimegiven a communal twist.

    That the English media in India is anti-RSS has to be accepted. We have no objectionfor the media to take this position. What we object is that many times it is economicalwith the truth in trying to take its agenda forward. Another case in point is accusingthe RSS of being involved in the murder of Mahatma Gandhi. Even though there have

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    been court judgements exonerating the RSS in the case, this canard is carried on withimpunity.Recently, for instance, The Statesmanalong with one of its columnist, AG Noorani, hadto apologise for making this allegation. The point here is to be noted that Nooranirefused to make even a single appearance in the court which had heard the case.Eventually, the court had to issue a non-bailable warrant against him.The English media refuse to do its homework in such respects. This is a deliberateattempt of perversion, because it knows that a sincere inquiry would mean that it willnot be able to pursue its own ideological agenda.The instances mentioned above are only a tip of the iceberg, and they are the rule andnot exceptions. They are narrated here to establish our charge of the ideological bias ofthe English media in India. If we are wrong, we should not be merely dismissed buttold the reasons thereof.

    On two major negativesThe Editors Guild Team noted with anguish the deafening silence with the respect toappeals for funds for rehabilitating the riot affected persons. It acknowledged that if anappeal was made, few contributions might be forthcoming. It further acknowledgedthat if this were to happen, it would send out a wrong message. In spite of this, theTeam recommended that the Guild issues an appeal for a Fund for Gujarat through itsmembers. (p. 28, 29) The logic of the recommendations seem to bypass us.An even more intriguing aspect to this, is the behaviour of two of the members of theteam, Padgaonkar and Aakar Patel, who are themselves editors ofThe Times of IndiaandMid-Day, respectively. The former is a national paper, and the group has publications

    in languages other than English. The latter is the leading English eveninger fromMumbai, and has an Urdu daily which leads in Mumbai in terms of circulation. It isindeed surprising that these two members of the team have not taken a lead inimplementing their own recommendation to the Guild. Did they realise that fewcontributions would be forthcoming?It would not be out of place to inquire why. Indeed, if the editors had even a modicumof sincerity, they should have already made a statement in this respect. Perhaps theexperience of Professor Kunal Chattopadhyay, history professor and an activist of theGujarat Solidarity Committee against Communalism in Kolkatta, has warned them ofthe public reaction. Those collecting relief for the victims of the Gujarat carnage inKolkata have been confronted with the question, often laced with anger and sarcasm,why their conscience does not cry for the Hindus of Bangladesh who are subjected tocontinuous communal atrocities. (Times News Network, May 6, 2002.)Another clue can be given by what was written in the Gujarati media from Mumbai. Apertinent article is Proved years before that secularists are anti-Hindusthat appeared in theGujarati Mid-Day, April 29, 2002, written by its editor Saurabh Shah. This publication

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    comes out of the same stable as the one edited by Aakar Patel, a member of the EditorsGuild Team.

    Having said this, we recognise that in the issue dated June 12, 2002, The Hindustan Timeshas come out with a small announcement (8cms x 2 cols) on its Oped page issuing anappeal to its readers to contribute to fund started by it to help the victims of theviolence in Gujarat. It is important to note that there was no mention about the

    amount that the publication itself was going to contribute as a starter to the fund. Some pointsInvestigate why events keep on happeningWhenever a fire takes place, the first thing to be done is to extinguish it, so that thedamage is minimised. However, if one were to stop at this stage, and not inquire whythe fire has taken place in the first instance, one is laying the groundwork for repeatedoccurrences of the blaze, causing greater damage in each subsequent happening. Theinquiry into the cause of fire can often lead to finding out other possible causes. Thusfor getting a long-term solution, the inquiry is essential. Often the case with the English media is that it has indulged in only dealing with theimmediate instances, without trying to find out the background of the same. In thiscontext, the question that the Prime Minister raised in Goa on April 12, 2002, askingwho lit the fire in Gujarat is most relevant. Instead of heeding to this suggestion, thePrime Minister was criticised for bringing up this valid point. It would seem to us thatthe English media is happy to play a role of a fire-fighter rather than a fire-preventer. Here it would not be out of place to also inquire why the leaders and the cadre of the

    Congress party did not play a role of physical guardians of the Muslims, in attemptingto prevent the riots that followed the Godhra massacre. This issue was dealtthoroughly with by MV Kamath in his article in The Times of Indiadated May 8, 2002. Asimilar point has been made by Abdul Rahman Antulay, while resigning as chairman ofthe minorities department the Congress Party. (The Indian Express, July 13, 2002.)Concern of BusinessesThe media has highlighted the concern of some business leaders who have expressedanguish about the post-Godhra events in Gujarat. However, the views expressed by TThomas, former Chairman of Hindustan Lever Ltd, do not form part of the

    mainstream treatment of the causes behind the sad events. While the anguish of peoplesuch as Deepak Parekh and Anu Aga have been widely published, some of theimportant points they made are swept under the carpet. For example, Parekh said thateveryone knows Godhra is a volatile city. (The Indian Express, March 29, 2002) Why isit volatile? This would have been apparent in a proper analysis of who lit the fire.

    Aga said, If in the past the minority has been pampered and given concessions, itneeds to be looked at afresh. If in the past, practices went against the majority, we needto have the guts to reverse them. Muslims will have to come out of the clutches of

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    fundamentalism. Let us have public debates on these issues. (The Indian Express, April8, 2002) Will the English media in India take a lead in conducting these debates?Thomas, in his article Can Muslims become secular?said, The antipathy towards Muslimis shared even by other minorities, like Christians and Sikhs. Secondly the Gujaratincidents and the reactions to them show how isolated the Muslim community hasbecome. He then went on to make some important suggestions on how to retrieve the

    situation saying that the purpose of (his) article is to examine with sympathy the stepsthe Muslim community can take to change the national perception about itself.(Business Standard, April 26, 2002)Forsters quoteThe manner in which the English media reported about EM Forsters quote in theEnglish language question paper for the Gujarat Secondary Education Board for the12th class shows its ideological inclination. The impression given by the English mediain India was that this was a deliberate attempt on part of the Bharatiya Janata Partygovernment to rub salt in the wounds of the Muslims in Gujarat. This particular exam

    was conducted on March 22, 2002, while the riots started about three weeks prior tothis. Thus, if the accusation was correct, then it would mean that the question paperwas set during the intervening periods of riots.The Editors Guild Report labels the question as singularly insensitive, clearly implyingthat it was deliberately included in the test. (p. 24)One has to wonder if the English media know anything about the manner in whichquestion papers are set, and the time process involved. The examination boardchairman was forced to come out with a statement that the papers were set inSeptember 2001, and the particular question was formulated by a member of one of theminority communities.The Editors Guild Report compounds its ridiculousness by calling the officialexplanation as an attempt to assuage (sic) the feelings of hurt.When the facts came out, did the English media admit that its treatment in thisparticular issue was wrong? But then admission of such a blunder does not form partof the journalistic practice of the English media in India. (Is it any wonder, then, thatSandesh follows such august tradition?)The exams in GujaratThe exams in Gujarat to be held in early March were postponed, due to the riots in thestate. When the Gujarat government decided to hold the exams according to a revisedschedule, the English media termed it as irresponsible, claiming that the situation wasstill not normal. As an intention of its sincerity, the government made special transportarrangements for the students, especially those living in the refugee camps and from thesensitive areas of the cities.

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    A concerted effort was made by various Muslim leaders and secularists to create asense of insecurity amongst the students. However, most of the students wanted toappear for the exam, and decided to use the transport provided by the government.The English media reported instances of some of the local Muslim leaders inAhmedabad forcibly taking the children out of the buses.According to a report in The Indian Express(March 19, 2002) at some points, from

    where Muslim students were to be bussed under police guard to centres in the citysriot-free western parts, some Muslim leaders stood by trying to coerce candidates toboycott the exams. Some of the students who were already in the bus, were forced toget off. The newspaper report says that the family members had to make their ownprivate arrangements for transporting their wards to the examination centres.While The Indian Expressreported that 9,000 out of 14,000 Muslim students attendedthe exams on the first day of the revised schedule, The Times of Indiasaid that only 10%did so. The latter in its editorial dated April 20 termed the 10% figure as predictable.Would it not be pertinent to ask who predicted it?It appears to us that The Times of Indiain particular seems to have made special efforts atcreating tension in the minds of the Muslim students, so that their prediction wouldcome true. The English media in India found no reason to castigate the Muslimsleaders who coerced the students of their community to boycott the exams. In fact, weget the impression that it was supporting such a blatantly anti-social activity. Similarly, there has been a report in The Hindu(May 13, 2002) that a politician fromKerala flew in Ahmedabad especially to scuttle a meeting of 35 imams called to discussrelief measures with the Chief Minister. This is another example of keeping the Muslimcommunity away from the mainstream. This too did not receive any adverse commentfrom the English media.Dharti PujaThe Gujarat Stated Education Department had asked the schools to conduct DhartiPujain context of the first anniversary of the devastating earthquake of January 26,2001. The Editors Guild Report uses this as an example of a warped mindset beingcreated, and implies that such a move will prevent India from going into the 21stcentury. (p. 25)

    This clearly exposes the cultural alienation of the Editors Guild Team as it uses awestern idiom to explain issues to the people of this land. A puja for a Hindu has acultural significance when used in the context it is being done. A temple is not just areligious structure, but also has social significance. It is no wonder that in the movieKabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghum, in a song with the same name, we have the following words: Yeh ghar nahi hai, mandir tera.......(This is not just your home, but also your temple?.)Loaded questions by the English media

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    Rajdeep Sardesai, political editor ofNDTV, seems to know what Justice KG Shah,appointed by the state government to inquire in the riots, will report even before theShah commission has started its work. In the interview of Justice Shah, Sardesai askshow the report will differ from the one made by National Human Rights Commission,and given that the governments link with the riots will emerge. This is reported ontheNDTVwebsite on April 3, 2002.Vikas Singh, in an interview of William H Lash III, Assistant Secretary of Commerce,USA, makes a special effort of trying to get Lash to say that investment in India will beaffected by the riots in Gujarat. He asks, Hypothetically, wouldnt someone thinkingof investing in India have second thoughts now? Lash gives a brilliant reply: I neverdiscuss hypothetical questions. I never give hypothetical answers. I never engage ineconomic discussion of a human tragedy. (The Times of India, May 10, 2002)In a signed editorial Is India Rwanda?in Outlook, Vinod Mehta wrote: .... Are weequating state terrorism with an act of terrorism committed by a group of crazy,bigoted individuals ... When law-abiding citizens are being burnt alive by mobs,objective journalism needs to be jettisoned; the media has no option but to tell the

    story from the side of the victims so that the country can see the grisly events.?(Outlook, March 18, 2002) However, Mehta would not apply these standards in case ofthe victims of the Godhra massacre or of the Islamic fundamentalists in Kashmir andother parts of India.In an article in The Times of India, Vidya Subramaniam said, Godhra was an attack onHindus that Mr Modi didnt prevent.? What is implied here is that Modi KNEW anattack on the Hindus was going to take place, and that he deliberately did not take anyaction. (The Times of India, May 6, 2002) We wonder if it is at all possible to even comeclose to discussing such nonsense.These four examples are not exceptions, but the rule. It would seem that the variouscorrespondents in the English media are competing with each other as to who cansituate the events in a manner that would do maximum harm to the image of thecountry.It would not be out of place to mention that the journalistic unprofessional viewsexpressed by Vinod Mehta, though quoted in the Editors Guild Report (p. 15) have notreceived any adverse comments from the Editors Guild Team.

    Pogrom, etc.The Editors Guild Report frequently uses words like pogrom, massacre, ethniccleansing, and genocide, in describing the post-Godhra events in Gujarat. If theseterms are valid for Gujarat, would it not be fair to say that it has an even greater validityin Kashmir, where the scale of deaths and refugees is much higher? However, theEnglish media in India refuses to use the terms for Jammu & Kashmir.

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    This habit is nothing new. In March 1998, in context of the alleged attacks onChristians on a communal basis, Arun Shourie had narrated the following dialoguebetween him and an American journalist.

    And what about the pogroms that go on from time to time,? the caller asked. Late atnight, an editorial writer with one of the worlds best-known papers was calling fromthe USA. It was becoming evident that the BJP would form the Government, he was

    gathering background information. What did you say,? I asked. Even though I hadheard the word clearly enough, I wanted to see if he would repeat it. Pogroms, herepeated.

    What do you mean, pogroms? It is an East-European term...., he began. Now, evena brown Asiatic like me knows the meaning of the word. The person had lived in Indiafor some time, as the India correspondent of this important paper -- enough years toknow that even we know that it is a term which is used to describe the massacre ofmillions of white Europeans by white Europeans.? (India Connect, March 23, 1998)In an article in theMid-Day, KR Sundar Rajan, wrote: After (December 6, 1992), many

    (foreign) journalist flew down to report ... Indias impending collapse. But newsmenback home were disappointed. One told me he expected a Bosnian-type civil warbetween Hindus and Muslims. We were influenced by what your own government andnewspapers said, (who) painted a very depressing and unbalanced picture of India, hesaid. (July 13, 1993)It would seem to us that hysterical writings are a special feature of the English media inIndia.Perverting the Prime Ministers pronouncementsThe English media make much of the report that the Prime Minister asked the ChiefMinister of Gujarat to follow the principles ofRaj Dharmain administering the affairsof the state. It was implied that it was the opinion of the Prime Minister that the ChiefMinister had failed in his duty. However, this was completely contrary to what thePrime Minister had said. When a reporter asked if he had any message for the ChiefMinister, the Prime Minister said: I have only this message for the Chief Minister - thathe followRaj Dharma(The Duty of the Ruler). Raj Dharma. This phrase is sufficientlymeaningful. I have been following it, I have been trying to follow it. For a ruler, for theGovernment, there cannot be any distinction and discrimination between one citizenand another. Neither on the basis of birth, nor on the basis of caste or religion. I

    believe that Narendra Modi is following it. (Emphasis added) (P. 21, Prime Minister ShriAtal Bihari Vajpayee on the Communal Violence in Gujarat, DAVP, April 2002)Similarly, in context of his speech at a public meeting coinciding with the BharatiyaJanata Party National Executive in Goa on April 12, 2002, the Editors Guild Reportaccuses the Prime Minister of speaking in terms of we and they. (p. 29, 30) In thiscontext, we would like to quote what Sajid Bhombal had to say in his column on Rediffon Net: In my previous article, I had accused the prime minister of speaking in a weand them language. That was based on media reports. Going by the actual speech he

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    delivered, made available very late, it seems he did not use that language. I apologise tothe prime minister and the readers on that point, though I stand by my criticism of himon other points. (May 11, 2002)This opinion of Bhombal is reinforced by Shekhar Gupta, Editor-in-Chief ofThe IndianExpress, in his article Desi Punch, Italian Judy. He says: I finally heard the primeministers Goa speech and one has to concede that he has a right to complain over the

    way most of the media reported it and what are now popularly believed to be hissweeping remarks against all Muslims. He did use the expression wherever Muslimslive... there is discord... etc. But if you heard the passage in its entirety, he was talkingof militant Muslims. The offending sentence flowed from the main argument and hisnot qualifying the Muslims he was talking about once again as the jehadi/militant types.This was, at best, a sin of absent-mindedness. Though one might still question theprudence of raising the issue of militant Islam while Gujarat was still burning, andwhere more than 90 per cent of the victims were Muslim, you have to accept that onthis particular remark Vajpayee had been condemned unfairly. (May 4, 2002) The English media is very selective in using the words of people to project its ideology.

    This, we think, is bad journalism.The case of the Newtons TheoryThe English media in India gives an impression to be particularly upset with theGujarat Chief Minister for his alleged use of Newton in explaining the Hindu reactionto the massacre at Godhra. The Newton analogy seems now to be part of themainstream parlance in the English media when talking about the Gujarat ChiefMinister and the violence.It is important to take note of the news item entitled Newton Modi has a lot ofexplaining to do, in which it would seem that the CM has specifically used theNewtons third law (quoted in the publication as Every action has an equal andopposite reaction) to virtually justify what is happening. It is also pertinent to notethe first sentence of the item - Fish rots from the top, and if the ugly event unfoldingin Gujarat over the past four days are any indication, the same holds true of governancetoo. (The Times of India, March 3, 2002)The Government of Gujarat, on the very day of the item having appeared, sent a letterto Dileep Padgaonkar, about the content and the tone of the news item. (The letter waspublished in the Guild report, P. 73, 74). This denial was not published by the

    newspaper even to this day. However, the Newton analogy is now being used freely allover the English media. Once again, it is clear that Sandeshis following the tradition ofits national counterparts.The Annexure 4A of the Editors Guild Report in which a transcript of the interview ofThe Gujarat Chief Minister byZee TVis given, the CM has said that though there is anaction followed by a reaction, he wants neither the action nor the reaction to takeplace. He has not used neither the name of Newton to explain the situation, norprovided any justification for the riots that followed.

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    Quoting from known anti-RSS organisationsThe Editors Guild Report quotes favourably from the various reports of organisationslike Sahamatand Communalism Combat. These organisations have the same ideologicalbase as the English media, and therefore it is like patting oneself on ones own back.Here we would like to specifically mention what Teesta Setalvad had to say on themassacre at Godhra.In a report in The Washington Postshe opined on the Godhra incident that shecondemns todays gruesome attack but you cannot pick up an incident in isolation. Letus not forget the provocation. These people were not going for a benign assembly.They were indulging in blatant and unlawful mobilization to build a temple anddeliberately provoke the Muslims in India. (February 28, 2002),The Editors Guild Report talks about the report Genocide, Gujarat 2002, from theMarch-April issue ofCommunalism Combat. (p. 13) What is not mentioned is that thisreport talks about the Godhra massacre in terms of a reaction to the Shri RamJanmabhoomi movement, and that there are no photos of even the burning train, let

    alone the charred bodies of women and children.Temptation of the lucreThe Indian Expressand The Times of Indiaand other newspapers have condemned theNarendra Modi government on many aspects related to the riots. They have allegedthat not only did it not do anything to prevent the riots that took place after themassacre in Godhra but that it connived with the rioters in indulging in the vandalism.This was done not only in terms of the reporting made and the columns (by guests andstaff writers) written, but also in harsh editorials, making a whole range of seriousallegations.

    Yet, they accepted large advertisements from the Narendra Modi governmentpurporting to show that it did fulfil its Raj Dharmaand the economy of the state washardly impacted by the riots. Does the lure of advertisement revenue so enamour themthat they shamefacedly abdicate their alleged moral standProjecting that the Godhra killing was due to provocationThe Editors Guild Report refers to a news item in a Hindi dailyJan MorchafromAyodhya, dated February 25, 2002. The news talks about letting loose a reign of terrorupon dozens of helpless Muslim passengers, burqaclad women and innocent childrenby Bajrang Dal activists going to Ayodhya on Sabarmati Express. (p. 4)There have also been reports of alleged misbehaviour of the Ram Sevakson theSabarmati Expresswhich was torched at Godhra, prior to its arrival at this station. Thenews of this alleged misconduct had reached Godhra and it was this that motivated2000 Muslims to gather to undertake the dastardly act.

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    In fact, there have been multiple stories of provocations, and not just a single one. Itwould seem that the English media had gone on a competitive splurge of narrating alltypes of possible provocations.

    The classic case was that of the anonymous email which was circulated all over theworld, and which was supposed to have quoted two Godhra based reporters, Anil Soniand his wife Neelam. Their report, according to the email, talked about the Ram Sevaks

    kidnapping a 16-year Muslim girl from Godhra station and later raping her in the S-6compartment. The Editors Guild Report mentions this email and also the comments ofPrem Shankar Jha in Outlook dated March 25, 2002, which rubbishes it. However,Editors Guild Team seems to be discounting Jhas comments by saying thatnevertheless there have been other reports talking about provocation by the RamSevaks. (p. 3, 4)It seems to us that the Editors Guild Team accepts that there was a provocation bythe Ram Sevaks. It will have to explain how this provocation encourages 2000Muslims in Godhra to gather to undertake the massacre of the Hindus on the train.While some of the provocations are supposed to have happened a few hours before

    the arrival of the train at Godhra (incidents that would have happened, if true, around4:00 am when the day had not yet dawned), others are supposed to have happened afew minutes before the gathering of the 2000 Muslims.Why does the English media find it necessary to undertake such a convolutedexercise?

    Projecting that the Godhra killing was not pre-plannedAfter the known failure of trying to justify the massacre of the Hindus in Godhra, theEnglish media has undertaken a programme to say that the Godhra massacre was notpre-planned. The perverted height was reached by an investigative report made byRajdeep Sardesai which was posted on theNDTVwebsite posted on May 3, 2002.The various issues like the gathering of 2000 Muslims, use of kerosene, etc., had beenraised earlier in various publications. Sardesai found it necessary to ignore these points;otherwise he would have had to accept that this investigation was patently false. In terms of using information selectively, the English media make no mention of aletter by George Joseph, a resident of Godhra, inMathrubhumi, (a leading Malayalamdaily) dated 20th April 2002. The Editors Guild Team had the necessary resources toaccess and translates an item in a small Hindi daily, Jan Morcha, to justify their theory of

    provocation of the Muslims in Godhra; they seem to be unaware of reports that wouldrepudiate their theory. Interestingly, the present Chairperson of the Editors Guildhails from the very state whereMathrubhumiis published.Projecting that post-Godhra violence was plannedEven as the above two projects were going on, the English media went in top gear toproject that the post-Godhra violence was pre-planned. It would then follow that theprovocation of the Ram Sevakson the Sabarmati Expresswas also part of this planning,

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    since there was a need to have an excuse to indulge in the rioting. Again, one sees afertile convoluted mind in the English media.While not related to the English media, it needs to mention that the supposedly leakedreport prepared by the British High Commission found that this violence was sixmonths in planning. (The Hindustan Times, April 15, 2002) If the leaked report is true,we find it amazing that the team from the British High Commission has come to this

    startling conclusion in a matter of two/three days of visit to Gujarat. We find it evenmore amazing that the English media has lapped up the findings. Perhaps, given theirideological inclination, one should not be amazed.The Editors Guild Report says: A Muslim liberal in Ahmedabad complained, more insorrow than in anger, that many contemporary and contextual articles he had sent inrecent times to the local English newspapers were never used. He pleaded that themedia, especially the English language press with its national reach, should find spacefor local liberal, modern Muslim voices and enables them to network. (p. 16) Is thisnot a condemnation of the English media in India? And is this not the practice of theEnglish media in India in all aspects relating to Islam and Muslim? The case of the foetusThere have been reports about a pregnant Muslim woman whose stomach wasallegedly ripped open, and her foetus was taken out, and both were burnt. To the bestof our knowledge the first mention about this was in a report on the BBCaroundMarch 6. The reporter, however, said that this is uncorroborated, but he felt dutybound to mention it. The next reference comes in an article by Harsh Mander in TheTimes of Indiadated March 20, 2002.Then there seems to be a pause, except for others using the Mander article as anauthentic source. Then we have a report dated April 16, and published on the Tehelkawebsite posted on April 19. This report was prepared by six women and wassponsored by the Citizens Initiative of Ahmedabad.The Tehelka report has recorded a statement on March 27 by one Saira Banu, whotalked about her sister-in-laws sister? (sic), Kausar Banu, as being the victim of theabove related incident. The narration gives an indication that Saira Banu was thewitness to the happening.In the very next paragraph, the report acknowledges that this story was heard frommany others, but that the details would vary - the foetus was dashed to the ground, thefoetus was slaughtered with a sword, the foetus was swung on the point of the swordand then thrown into a fire.In the same report there was a recorded statement of one Jannat Bibi (along withKulsum Bibi) both of Jawan Nagar, Naroda Patia, Ahmedabad. They talked aboutFebruary 28, 2002, and the statement was recorded on March 27, 2002. They talkedabout being confronted by a crowd of several thousands, armed with trishuls andswords, that at least some of the crowd were wearing khakhi shorts, and that the

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    police had suddenly opened fire in which Muslim men (no women) were killed. Thereis no mention about any rape or any foetus being taken out of a womans womb.There is also a testimony of one Jannat Sheikh of Kumbhaji Ni Chali, Naroda patiya,Ahmedabad. The event of 28th February 2002 is titled Rape of a Family. It talksabout two of the female members of her family being raped, and she witnessed tounmarried girls from my street (being) stripped, raped and burnt.

    There is no indication whether either of these two Jannats have become the personwho has petitioned the President of India and Sonia Gandhi, the President of CongressParty, or the one who has filed the FIR in the alleged case of the killing of the foetusalong with its mother, Kausar Banu.(It needs to be mentioned that in an article in by Javed Akhtar in The Indian Expressdated May 6, 2002, he says that the witness to the crime is one Amina of HusainNagar.)It is only in the month of May, 2002, that there are flurry of articles about the alleged

    foetus case, with some of them converting this one crime into a number - videArundhati Roy, Gail Omvedt, Praful Bidwai, and Darryl dMonte.We find all this very strange.Spit and runOne of the features of the English media in India is to make some wild allegations, andthen ask the opponent to prove it otherwise. In the process, the opponent has tospend a large amount of time and other resources to establish that the allegations arebogus. This ties up the opponent into an unproductive activity.In her article Democracy: Whos She When Shes at Home?, Arundhati Roy begins with thefollowing: Last night a friend from Baroda called. Weeping. It took her fifteen minutesto tell me what the matter was. It wasnt very complicated. Only that Sayeeda, a friendof hers, had been caught by a mob. Only that her stomach had been ripped open andstuffed with burning rags. Only that after she died, someone carved OM on herforehead. And then she asks: Precisely which Hindu scripture preaches this? (Outlook,May 6, 2002)Fine words indeed. Also very moving. But what is the truth in this incident? BalbirPunj, a journalist and presently a Rajya Sabha MP from the BJP, wanted to find it out.In his article Dissimulation in Words, he writes: Shocked by this despicable incident, Igot in touch with the Gujarat government. The police investigations revealed that nosuch case, involving someone called Sayeeda, had been reported either in urban or ruralBaroda. Subsequently, the police sought Roys help to identify the victim and seekaccess to witnesses who could lead them to those guilty of this crime. But the police gotno cooperation. Instead, Roy, through her lawyer, replied that the police had no powerto issue summons. Why is she hedging behind technical excuses? (Outlook, July 8, 2002)

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    Punj further writes: But this sort of sophism is not new for Gujarat. The peopledecrying Gujarat as a fascist state in the making are the ones who spun stories aboutalleged attacks on Christians in Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra.In the subsequent issue ofOutlook (July 15, 2002) Roy has responded to Punjs article inher usual flippant manner. However, all that she needed to do was give the name andaddress of the friend in Vadodara who was weeping on the phone for fifteen minutes,

    and also the full name of the victim identified by only the first name as Sayeeda, as wellas the address. There the matter would have rested as far as Roy was concerned.In the May 6 essay, Roy reports about the daughters of Ehsan Jaffri, the ex-Member ofParliament from the Congress Party, being killed along with him in Ahmedabad. TheJaffri family wrote saying that his children were not in the city at the time, and in factone of them is living in the USA.

    When the discrepancy was pointed out she says that she got the information from twoother sources one a report in the Timemagazine of the USA, and another anindependent fact-finding mission which consisted of a former Inspector General of

    Police of Tripura and a former Finance Secretary, Government of India. Roy admittedher mistake in a letter to Outlook dated May 27, 2002. The amazing part of theapology letter is as follows: This and other genuine errors in recounting the details ofthe violence in Gujarat in no way alters the substance of what journalists, fact-findingmissions, or writers like myself are saying.Which means that one can have the facts wrong, but still hold on to the conclusion thatis arrived at on the basis of the wrong facts. Or is it a case that one arrives at aconclusion and then find the facts that would fit the conclusion? This is a standardpractice for the English media in India.Middle class participation in the Gujarat riotsA feature of the riots after the massacre of Hindus in Godhra, is the large participationof the Hindu middle class, women, dalits and vanvasis. In some ways it has mirroredwhat happened in Mumbai in January 1993, after the burning of the Bane family inJogeshwari.

    The participation of the middle class and women surprised the police, as has beenacknowledged by the Police Commissioner when he said: Surprisingly, these mobswere being led by educated people - advocates, doctors, and the rich. (The Times ofIndia, March 15, 2002.)On this point, an avowed secularist wrote as follows: Over the following weeks, thesame people who denounced the backlash against minority communities in Americafollowing September 11 made statements like the Muslims should be driven out oftown and the VHP should burn down two or three more mosques. The peoplebehind these words are not hooligans but kind, educated and generally reasonablepeople. And yet during these moments their eyes gloss over and create a thin film that

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    separates them from reality. (Reena Shah in Hyphenated homelands, The Week, April 7,2002.)The English media has tried to give its own perverted spin to the participation of thedalits and the vanvasis in the riots, as being yet another example of the exploitation bythe upper castes to do their bidding. They have said that there has been a deliberateattempt by the Sangh Parivar to indoctrinate these groups into hating the Muslims.

    They do not think that these have a legitimate reason for feeling antagonised by theactions of at least some of the Muslims that they have dealt with. The English media has found it inconvenient to make a proper inquiry into all theseaspects. And in the process has ensured that it will refuse to do proper analysis into thecauses, which in fact is the only way to prevent violence from taking place in the future. Biases in the reportWe have indicated in elsewhere in the analysis the manner in which the Editors GuildTeam has dealt with various issues relating to the subject of the Report. For example,

    the Team does not accept that the Godhra massacre was pre-planned. The narration ofthe exam question relating to the Forsters quote and of the conduct of the exams ingeneral, would clearly indicate that there is a huge prejudice on part of the Team. Our analysis begins with the manner in which the Editors Guild Team set out in itstask. The tactics used was similar to first call a dog mad, and then shoot it. TheSection The Fuse is Lit in the Editors Guild Report begins with the following:Meanwhile, on February 27 itself, subsequent incidents of violence in Godhra townwere brought under control but trouble erupted elsewhere in the district and otherparts of the State. The torched carriage No. S-6 was detached and the SabarmatiExpress continued its journey, disgorging traumatised passengers en route at Vadodara,Anand and Ahmedabad. Word spread. The return of badly charred bodies to, grievingfamilies stirred passions. The VHP sounded a call for a Gujarat bandh on February 28which was endorsed by the ruling party. An ashti yatrawas mooted but fortunatelycalled off in time. However, Gujarat was already in flames. (p. 4)The manner in which the ashti yatrais mentioned would give an idea that it was part ofa programme of February 28, the day after the massacre in Godhra. It is well knownthat this programme of the VHP was announced around mid-March and scheduled forMarch 20.

    As mentioned elsewhere in the analysis, the Editors Guild Report gives an indicationthat the team does not accept that the Godhra massacre was pre-planned.

    In the Editors Guild Report, it is said: In Ahmedabad, the National MedicosOrganisation on April 2 gave the Guild Team a provocative Hindi leaflet ending withthe slogan Pakistan Zindabad. (p. 20) We do not understand the need to use the wordprovocative in inverted commas. This has given us an impression that the EditorsGuild Team does not accept that the leaflet is provocative. However, when a blatantlyfalse leaflet allegedly authored by the RSS, the Team does not use any inverted commas

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    or any other sign, clearly indicates that the Team accepts the authenticity of suchleaflets.The Editors Guild Report says: The same medico representation was strongly criticalof the English press? Here too the use of inverted commas for the word medicowould clearly indicate the mindset of the authors of the report.In reference to the meeting with the editor of the Gujarati daily, Sandesh, the Reportsays: We met this press baron on one of the higher floors of his plush and gleamingnew office in Ahmedabad, far above the dust and din of the city sprawled below. (p.6) The objective of this was to create an image of one who is not in touch with what ishappening at the street level. It is also designed to give an image of arrogance on partof the editor ofSandesh.

    In case of those whom the Editors Guild Team would call secular, we do not see anyinelegant imagery being created of the person. For example, in case of publications towhich the Team has given a certificate of being moderate and balanced in approach,the Report merely says: In Ahmedabad we, met editors of three other dailies, Sambhav

    (four editions), Prabhat(Ahmedabad, Mehsana) and Gujarat Today(which has a Muslimownership). (p. 9)The Editors Guild Team calls Professor JS Bandukwala, of Vadodara, as a man whosesecular ethos continues to burn bright even after going through a terrible ordeal. (p.17) In a letter to the editor ofThe Times of India, the same professor has this to say:Muslims are desperate for socio-economic change, for good education and foreconomic development. The only condition which Muslims impose on a reformer isthat he operates within the parameters of Islam. (June 10, 1994) It is thus clear that theprofessor can see Muslims only in terms of Islam, even on issues which are clearly ofsecular nature.A constant lament of the so-called secularists has been that whenever they talked aboutthe post-Godhra events in Gujarat, they were asked about their views on the plight ofthe Kashmiri Pandits, 300,000 of whom have become refugees in their own country,and living in temporary camps for the last thirteen years. Instead of dealing with theissue, they merely mention their lament, as if the other person has no right ofquestioning them on the issue. We are amazed to find out that even as they haveprinted numerous letters on the apathy of the English media in India on the desperatestate of the Pandits, no coverage has been afforded to this hapless section of oursociety. We have found no editorials, no analysis of the plight of the community and

    the hardships suffered by them, no picture stories of the wretched conditions of thecamps, etc. We find this disregard callous.We feel that the members of the Team have an agenda in which truth has a very smallrole to play. It is indeed a reflection of the bankruptcy of intellectualism in India thatthe Editors Guild finds it necessary to have to publish such a document in the name ofsecularism.Conclusion

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    A feature in the Hindu-Muslim relationship in India is the occurrence of riots at regularintervals over the last at least hundred years. That such events keep recurring is a clearindication of what we have said that the analysis of why a fire takes place is rarelymade. This confirms our claim that the English media in India is only interested inundertaking a role of a fire-fighter rather than a fire-preventer. The Editors GuildReport is yet another example of not doing the necessary analysis of what ishappening. Furthermore, it seems to make a special effort of demonising the Hindu

    organisations and their supporters. And this is why we find the righteousness ofEditors Guild Team to be phoney.

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    Annexure

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    One-way ticketAuthor: Vir SanghviPublication: The Hindustan TimesDate: February 28, 2002There is something profoundly worrying in the response of what might be called thesecular establishment to the massacre in Godhra. Though there is some dispute overthe details, we now know what happened on the railway track. A mob of 2,000 peoplestopped the Sabarmati Express shortly after it pulled out of Godhra station. The traincontained several bogeys full of kar sewaks who were on their way back to Ahmedabadafter participating in the Poorna Ahuti Yagya at Ayodhya. The mob attacked the trainwith petrol and acid bombs. According to some witnesses, explosives were also used.Four bogies were gutted and at least 57 people, including over a dozen children, wereburnt alive.Some versions have it that the kar sewaks shouted anti-Muslim slogans; others that theytaunted and harassed Muslim passengers. According to these versions, the Muslimpassengers got off at Godhra and appealed to members of their community for help.Others say that the slogans were enough to enrage the local Muslims and that the attackwas revenge.It will be some time before we can establish the veracity of these versions, but somethings seem clear. There is no suggestion that the kar sewaks started the violence. Theworst that has been said is that they misbehaved with a few passengers. Equally, it doesseem extraordinary that slogans shouted from a moving train or at a railway platformshould have been enough to enrage local Muslims, enough for 2,000 of them to have

    quickly assembled at eight in the morning, having already managed to procure petrolbombs and acid bombs.Even if you dispute the version of some of the kar sewaks - that the attack waspremeditated and that the mob was ready and waiting - there can be no denying thatwhat happened was indefensible, unforgivable and impossible to explain away as aconsequence of great provocation.And yet, this is precisely how the secular establishment has reacted. Nearly every non-BJP leader who appeared on TV on Wednesday and almost all of the

    media have treated the massacre as a response to the Ayodhya movement. This is fairenough in so far as the victims were kar sewaks. But almost nobody has bothered to make the obvious follow-up point: this was notsomething the kar sewaks brought on themselves. If a trainload of VHP volunteers hadbeen attacked while returning after the demolition of the Babri masjid in December1992, this would still have been wrong, but at least one could have understood theprovocation.

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    This time, however, there has been no real provocation at all. It is possible that theVHP may defy the government and the courts and go ahead with the templeconstruction eventually. But, as of now, this has not happened. Nor has there been anyreal confrontation at Ayodhya - as yet.And yet, the sub-text to all secular commentary is the same: the kar sewaks had itcoming to them.Basically, they condemn the crime; but blame the victims.Try and take the incident out of the secular construct that we, in India, have perfectedand see how bizarre such an attitude sounds in other contexts. Did we say that NewYork had it coming when the Twin Towers were attacked last year? Then too, therewas enormous resentment among fundamentalist Muslims about Americas policies,but we didnt even consider whether this resentment was justified or not. Instead we took the line that all sensible people must take: any massacre is bad anddeserves to be condemned.When Graham Staines and his children were burnt alive, did we say that Christianmissionaries had made themselves unpopular by engaging in conversion and so, theyhad it coming? No, of course, we didnt.Why then are these poor kar sewaks an exception? Why have we de-humanised them tothe extent that we dont even see the incident as the human tragedy that it undoubtedlywas and treat it as just another consequence of the VHPs fundamentalist policies?The answer, I suspect, is that we are programmed to see Hindu-Muslim relations insimplistic terms: Hindus provoke, Muslims suffer.When this formula does not work -- it is clear now that a well-armed Muslim mobmurdered unarmed Hindus - we simply do not know how to cope. We shy away fromthe truth - that some Muslims committed an act that is indefensible - and resort toblaming the victims.Of course, there are always rational reasons offered for this stand. Muslims are in aminority and therefore, they deserve special consideration. Muslims already facediscrimination so why make it harder for them? If you report the truth then you willinflame Hindu sentiments and this would be irresponsible. And so on.I know the arguments well because - like most journalists - I have used them myself.And I still argue that they are often valid and necessary.But there comes a time when this kind of rigidly secularist construct not only goes toofar; it also becomes counter-productive. When everybody can see that a trainload ofHindus was massacred by a Muslim mob, you gain nothing by blaming the murders onthe VHP or arguing that the dead men and women had it coming to them.

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    Not only does this insult the dead (What about the children? Did they also have itcoming?), but it also insults the intelligence of the reader. Even moderate Hindus, ofthe sort that loathe the VHP, are appalled by the stories that are now coming out ofGujarat: stories with uncomfortable reminders of 1947 with details about how thebogies were first locked from outside and then set on fire and how the womenscompartment suffered the most damage.Any media - indeed, any secular establishment - that fails to take into account thegenuine concerns of people risks losing its own credibility. Something like thathappened in the mid-Eighties when an aggressive hard secularism on the part of thepress and government led even moderate Hindus to believe that they had becomesecond class citizens in their own country. It was this Hindu backlash that brought theAyodhya movement - till then a fringe activity - to the forefront and fuelled the rise ofL.K. Advanis BJP.My fear is that something similar will happen once again. The VHP will ask the obviousquestion of Hindus: why is it a tragedy when Staines is burnt alive and merely aninevitable political development when the same fate befalls 57 kar sewaks Because, as secularists, we can provide no good answer, it is the VHPs responses thatwill be believed. Once again, Hindus will believe that their suffering is of noconsequence and will be tempted to see the building of a temple at Ayodhya as anexpression of Hindu pride in the face of secular indifference.But even if this were not to happen, even if there was no danger of a Hindu backlash, Istill think that the secular establishment should pause for thought.There is one question we need to ask ourselves: have we become such prisoners of ourown rhetoric that even a horrific massacre becomes nothing more than occasion forSangh parivar-bashing?

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    Secularists to blameAuthor: EditorialPublication: The Free Press JournalDate: March 2, 2002The naked dance of death in Gujarat must stop forthwith. If the frenzied mobs do notstop, they must be made to stop. That is the least the administration in Gandhinagarcan do. For, whatever the provocation - and, we must grant, it was indeed great - nogovernment worth its salt can allow marauders to take the law into their own hands.Chief Minister Narendra Modi owes it to himself as he does to the people of the Stateto restore order at the earliest. Already, the alleged laxity of the authorities on Thursdaycaused anarchy-like conditions in large parts of the State. In particular, Ahmedabad,that old cauldron of religious hatreds, bore the brunt of violent attacks. Incensed by thehorrendously inhuman attack on the train bringing back kar sevaks from the Ayodhya,on Wednesday morning, tens of hundreds of people in the Gujarat capital took to the

    streets, targeting shops, homes and other establishments of the minority community. In the surcharged mood of anger -when reason goes out of the front window - thesemobs torched men and materials belonging to the minority community. Over onehundred people were reportedly killed in this macabre death of dance. The forces oflaw and order were found wanting in taming the tempers of the mobs who wereprovoked into action by the killing in cold blood of their co-religionists a day earlier inGodhra.While the reaction of the mobs in Ahemdabad and elsewhere in the State could beascribed to the red-hot passions generated by the torching of the two compartments of

    the Sabarmati Express, the insanity behind the torching itself was hard to understand.What kind of a human being can set fire alive to young women, children and unarmedmen in cold blood. And without any provocation. That of the 60-odd people killed atthe Godhra station over 40 were women and children speaks of the barbaric mindset ofthe perpetrators.They were more like biped cattle than human beings. They had deliberately chosen totarget the particular compartments because these were mostly occupied by women andchildren. And there was no denying a pre-meditated plan to torch them.After all, you cannot produce cans of incendiary material like petrol, diesel, etc. at the

    spur of the moment. A deeper conspiracy to cause a widespread communalconflagration in the country cannot be ruled out. The ISI finds it easy to penetratesections of our people precisely because it uses the Islamic card to the hilt and deployscurrency notes, genuine and counterfeit both, to turn Indians into traitors against thiscountry.Unfortunately, this seditious compact between the ISI and a section of the IndianMuslims is wittingly or unwittingly aided and abetted by our misguided secularists.Notice the muted criticism of the horrific incident of cold-blooded massacre at Godhra

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    by the so-called secularists and compare it with the hue and cry raised by the samepeople at the doubtless gruesome killing of the Christian missionary Graham Staines acouple of years ago. Nobody in his right mind could have justified the killing of Staines.No, nobody. But, then, can anyone in his right mind justify the dastardly attack on karsevaks at Godhra? It seems our secularists have two sets of standards to gauge humantragedy.One is for people like Staines and other members of the minority community. And theother is for the large majority community. The cold-blooded massacre of the karsevaks does not evoke angry comment from the secularists and their accomplicesamong the editorialists precisely because they were kar sevaks. That would explainwhy the secularists did not stall proceedings in Parliament on the Godhra outragethough they were foremost in creating a nation-wide shindy over the tragic killing ofStaines.In this context, the statement issued by the AIADMK Supremo, J. Jayalalitha, is mostapt. Chastising political leaders for making a crass differentiation between violenceperpetrated against the majority and minority community, she said the Godhra outrage

    should be viewed as a crime against humanity.?It is very strange and saddening to see that when such acts are perpetrated against theminorities, all political leaders rush to issue statements of condemnation. But whenpersons belonging to the majority are subjected to similar perpetration of heinouscrimes, not a single political leader has so far issued a statement condemning thisbarbaric crime. Such acts of senseless violence should be condemned no matter who isresponsible for them and no matter who the victims are...? For once, we whole-heartedly endorse Jayalalithas sentiments.Indeed, the failure of the secularists to condemn unequivocally the Godhra incidentmay well have exacerbated further the feelings of the majority community in Gujarat.Ordinary people felt so angry that they took to the streets to wreak vengeance onmembers of the minority community some of whose members had perpetrated thefoulest of foul deeds in Godhra.The secularist argument that the minority community needed special treatment andprotection has over the years created a Hindu backlash. The secularists with their blindopposition to anything which respects the sentiments and wishes of the majoritycommunity have only helped to justify the rise of militant Hinduism. The mealy-mouthed arguments of the secularist establishment fail to convince ordinary Hindus

    when they contemplate the grisly wreckage of the Sabarmati Express. Given the factthat Muslim communalism has acquired a sharper edge in recent years thanks to theinflux of petro dollars, the ISI penetration and the general misuse of madrasas tofoment anti-national sentiments, our secularists should pause and ponder the folly oftheir deeds.They have inflicted untold damage by wittingly or unwittingly providing succour tothose who mastermind heinous crimes like the burning of innocent women, children

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    and men in the Sabarmati Express. They need not have died merely because they werekar sevaks.

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    Madam, will they be shamed by your bluntwords?Author: S GurumurthyPublication: The New Indian Express, Chennai EditionDate: March 2, 2002

    Commenting on the roasting alive of 60 persons inside the Sabarmati Express inGodhra in Gujarat, she said, it is saddening and strange that when such acts areperpetrated against the minorities all political leaders rush to condemn. But when themajority is attacked, not a single political leader condemns it.She rubbed it in further. It is not as if crime is a crime only if it is committed againstthe minorities, and not so if it is committed against the majority community. She is alsoa politician. She is all set to become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu again. That isJayalalithaa.Indeed a stunning admonition of the secular pack by one from within. She has exposedand shamed the entire political class by this single statement. She has shown thecourage to speak out on the malaise in our secular polity. But the malaise runs deeper. It is not confined to politics. It extends to the entire secular class. And a largeintellectual class. It is founded on pseudo-intellectualism and pseudo-secularism thatpresently form the foundation of the public discourse. Let us analyze this in its fulldimension.The reaction of Indian seculars to the gruesome killing of over 58 persons in the train

    in Godhra was predictable. From Star TV, for which anti-India campaigns are a hobby,to every small English newspaper, virtually it is the dead, that is, the Ram sevaks, whoprovoked the mob to kill them. Their thrust: The Ram Sevaks shouted provocative,abusive slogans. So goes their report. The local people in Muslim- dominated Godhragot irritated. This virtually rationalises the rest. It means this: Yes, the roasting of ahundred men, women and children is unfortunate, wrong, condemnable, butinevitable. That is, the Ram sevaks invited it upon themselves. Look at the first facts. The Sabarmati Express stops in Godhra for just three minutes.In three minutes a large mob of thousands of people cannot gather. It has to be aplanned attack. From what the Home Secretary of Gujarat says and the news reports, a

    common thread emerges.First, when the train approached Godhra, some people had thrown stones at it. At thispoint there was no question of any provocative slogans being heard by anyone.Because, from a moving train nothing decipherable can be heard.Second, as soon as the train started moving out of the station, after its three minuteshalt, some one _ unknown _ pulled the chain and stopped it. It is said that it could bethe handiwork of an attacker who had got into the train. The train stopped near the

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    signal point. It is unlikely that passengers who were being stoned would stop the trainto invite being hit. Particularly when the train had many women and children. Theywould have only liked the train to move away as fast as possible from the place. So themiscreant who stopped the train could not be the victim. He could only be the attacker.Third, as soon as the train stopped the mob did the rest. It rained stones on passengers.One of the coaches was doused with kerosene and petrol and set on fire. The fire, say

    reports, spread to more compartments. Many passengers jumped out. But those whocould not, some 25 women and 15 children, were burnt to death.The sequence establishes not a spontaneous outburst as the seculars in the mediaattempt to make it out. It does establish a pre-meditated plan to attack the train. Thesecular media virtually rationalises the killings.Imagine it was the other way round. The passengers had been Muslims, and theattackers Hindus. All hell would have broken loose. Hindu fundamentalists, bloodthirsty Bajrang Dal goons on the rampage. National shame. There would have been anational shutdown. Leader after leader and party after party would have trooped

    towards Godhra and Ahmedabad. There would have been global condemnation. Thenation as a whole would have stood condemned.As chance would have it, those killed were only Hindus, irrelevant to secular India. If aChristian church in thatched roof were attacked, Christian governments in the west toUS would pounce on us. If it were Muslims the entire Muslim world would convergeon us. Because the burnt were Hindus there was no such danger of any one protestingtoo much. Even more fortunately, those killed were after all Ram sevaks, Hindu bigots.After all those who attacked them had enough justification because the Ram sevakswere provoking them. So no one was at fault, except those who provoked their owndeath. Like a victim of rape having invited it upon her.Compare the Godhra carnage with what happened when some tribals torched Stainesand his children in Orissa. Hell broke loose. The entire country was set upon and cameto a halt. Hindu Fundamentalists, RSS-VHP-Bajrang Dal goons have snuffed out agreat social worker, shouted the secular megaphones _ the media, leaders and parties.Thanks to the media in India and missionaries, the entire world abused India as acountry.Then came the report of the Wadhwa Commission on the Staines murder. The formerSupreme Court judge ruled out the involvement of RSS or VHP or Bajrang Dal. He

    also held Staines responsible for effecting conversions, which was disliked by the localtribals. The findings completely falsified the concoctions of the secular media and theminority religious leaders. But the damage had been done. We were projected as anation of religious bigots. Not a single word of regret from the media, which destroyedthe nations image in its enthusiasm to finish off the Hindu movements. The same was the case in Jhabua rape. It was established to be an intra-tribal and intra-Christian affair. But the secular media and the minorities blamed the Hindus and RSS.

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    Even after the truth was established the secular media would not report it, much lessexpress regret.Every such concocted charge demeaned India and destroyed its brand. All thanks tothe despicable role of the seculars in the media and the minority religious leaders.Christian nations of Europe who had in the past baked over 9 million women aswitches and eliminated over 140 million native Americans to create the present

    Christian US - a historic fact which Bill Clinton recalled in the wake of the World TradeCenter attack as what is haunting the US even now _ are advising us about religiousharmony.So unlike the Jhabua rape, and the hyped Staines murder, the killing of a hundredHindus will fortunately not smear the honour of India. For, those women and children,who have been reduced to ashes alive in Godhra, are not Christians or Muslims. So thenations name will not be tarnished. No one outside India will ask a question, asfortunately there is no Hindu nation in the world. No one will ask a question for theyhappen to be not just Hindus, but also Ram sevaks. Their right of existence is lost oncethey provoked the attackers. So even after being torched alive, the Ram sevaks will

    have to share the blame for their death.This is the real face of secularism as practised in India, of the secular media, of thesecular leaders and of the secular polity. This is what the Ayodhya movementquestioned. It is not just a movement for a temple. A temple could not integrate theHindus as it has done. It is far more. Thanks to this the nation woke up to the pseudoamong the seculars. But still the pseudo masquerades as the real. Perhaps the Ayodhyamovement will continue as long as the very notion of secularism _ and who is the realsecular and who is the pseudo _ is not defined, only to question it. If Gujarat is on firetoday, and the country is witnessing fits of communal outburst the secular class has toaccept its own share of blame.Jayalalithaa has implicitly condemned the entire secular class, not just the politicalleaders. Rightly. Will they be shamed into accepting the truth?

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    Secular make-believeAuthor: Jaya JaitlyPublication: The Indian ExpressDate: March 7, 2002Gujarat: the awful price of a skewed politics

    It is very easy to talk of communal harmony from Delhi and express anger about thefailure of the BJP government in Gujarat and the rise of Hindu fundamentalist forces.Marches by Opposition leaders with Parliament and Rashtrapati Bhawan as backdrop,is comfortable politics. Our usual band of intellectuals take the easy route by occupying,as usual, the Letters to the Editor columns to condemn and issue appeals. This onlymakes them look good in the eyes of the converted. It has no effect on inflamed mobs- only the police and the army can have that. There is a whole mass of feelings outthere that all these people are missing, and will continue to miss if they remaincomfortably secluded in their make-believe worlds.Before this writer is accused of having become saffron, let it be understood that thevast majority of people in India are secular, liberal, tolerant, in other words, normal.What binds all of them is their below-the- surface love for and pride in their country.Since it is so fundamental, it has hardly needed expression.The coming of the BJP to power in many states, and the NDA led by the BJP at theCentre, changed all this. Not because of the BJP and the saffron forces, but by theself-appointed secularists who politically opposed this combine. Herein lies the root ofmany pent up antagonisms of normal liberal Hindus who find that it is not the BJP thatis encouraging extremist Hindus or terrorising the minorities but the out-of-power

    forces who must keep alive the fears lurking inside the hearts of the minorities. In this context, two incidents stand out vividly. In early 1998, there was a totallyunnecessary furore about singing Vande Mataram in schools. Patriots who are normalrather than secular questioned: if freedom fighters of all religions sang this in thestruggle for Independence, why do the secularists oppose singing it in schools now?Did any MP object when Parliament unanimously decided to sing it at the beginning ofevery session as suggested by the then Speaker and now Deputy Leader of theOpposition, Shivraj Patil? It was a shame that the BJP retreated while the popularmusician A.R. Rahman, a Muslim, popularised it amongst the youth. The second incident was when Graham Staines and his sons were burnt alive.Headlines screamed and saffron bogies were desperately sought. George Fernandes wascriticised for saying that the widespread publicity given to this incident all over theworld only suited the conspirators abroad. The Justice Wadhwa Commission was setup. When it found no complicity of any saffron forces, there was less than muteddisappointment expressed by the Opposition. Various Christian platforms were set upfrom where many worthy gentlemen issued statements every time an unverifiedincident was reported. The Staines murder became a symbol of the communal natureof the NDA and reinforced the idea internationally that it was a Hindu nationalist

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    government, as if those adjectives were dirty words in themselves. Since no furtherincidents happened and the NDA engaged itself with security, fiscal management andinfrastructural development, the Hindu label faded away.Then came the Godhra incident. The leader of the Opposition - who made sure shewas seen going to Tirupati, Kumbh and recently to visit a Hindu seer - and her partywere inexplicably reticent in their condemnation of the barbaric and obviously pre-

    planned burning of 58 people in a railway bogey, including women and children.Considering it was Sonia Gandhi who had taken it upon herself to write to the primeminister to call an all-party meeting on Ayodhya and brought about a totallyunnecessary adjournment of Parliament, on Godhra there was stubborn silence whenthe treasury benches begged the Opposition to join in an unanimous condemnation ofthe event. The frustration and anger felt by many gave rise to the intemperate actionsof VHP members as also the eminently sensible and courageous sentiments voiced byVir Sanghvi in the Hindustan Times. If the foreign-born leader of the Opposition doesnot sense such feelings but merely tries to be politically correct, she does notunderstand what is going on in Gujarat. It is this kind of skewed politics that irks theliberal Indian and activates the fundamentalist Hindus, giving rise to attacks that, forthe first time, were not limited to cities and towns but spread to rural areas. Gujarat, from Delhis drawing rooms, is seen as a modern, developed state with a fairlyefficient administration. This is still true but local perceptions have changed. It bordersPakistan, and like the states of Bihar, UP and West Bengal, has seen the rapid rise ofunregistered madrasas, plush Muslim owned hotels and a new fiercely manifestedMuslim identity. People are now wary of each other and are quietly moving to differentlocations. If this sudden and recent prosperity was indigenously generated, why shouldthe Muslims fear BJP rule when they were prospering under it? The fact is that in manycases this prosperity has been brought about by large sums of money coming from

    across the border.

    This remains unnoticed to all but the normally peace-loving Hindus of all castes inGujarat. People like the municipal councilor of Godhra, and other Muslim officebearers of the Congress party who are anti-social or foreign-funded elements takingrefuge under the party banner, have spread across the state. The Hindus feelincreasingly annoyed that nothing is done by the BJP government to stop their jehadiactivities for fear of the secularist media, and the secularist Opposition turns a blind eyeanyway. If anyone from the NDA mentions unregistered madrasas or the ISI, theOpposition response matches that of Pakistans President Musharraf or that ofAlimuddin street in Kolkata when the hapless chief minister of West Bengal was forced

    by his own party to retract his factual statements.It is a combination of this simmering discontent over perceived inaction in dealing withISI activities along with the traditional loot and arson that takes place during riotsbecause of animosities between rootless anti- socials and the less than adequateresponse of the Opposition to the barbaric and premeditated events of Godhra thatkept the violence fuelled in Gujarat. The government was unable to contain it; even theCongress is unable to provide a healing touch. We are left with ridiculous demands forthe state to be handed over to the army, and celebrity activists who conduct self-serving

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    press conferences. The end result will be further polarisation and the rise offundamentalists on both sides.If Godhra had been adequately condemned, perhaps the retaliation would have beenmore easily contained. If the intellectuals and the so-called secular Opposition leave itto the fundamentalists, violence is what we will get. Whether we like it or not, they werethe only ones who reflected the anger against Godhra, when both the secular media

    and politicians had failed.(The writer is a Samata Party leader)

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    Godhra, secular progressives and politicsAuthor: Rajeev SrinivasanPublication: Rediff on NetDate: March 25, 2002URL: http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/25rajeev.htmAs usual, during the bloodbath in Gujarat, the Nehruvian Stalinists in the English-language media showed their cowardice and bigotry by blaming the Hindus for all sortsof real and imagined faults. It never strikes them that the non- Hindus of India couldpossibly be anything other than victims oppressed by cruel, medieval, casteist Hindus:never mind that such Hindus exist largely in their hyperactive imaginations. The Nehruvians twisted themselves into pretzel-logic in their eagerness to justify theunjustifiable: the carnage that was set off by the usual suspects, that is, Muslims withlinks either to Pakistani subversives or to the Congress party. The difference betweenthe two groups is vanishingly small when it comes to pressing forward Muslim

    demands. Consider some implicated as suspects in the Godhra incident according toBJP sources, as reported by The Indian Express of March 5:* Mehmud Hussain Kalota, convener of the Congress district minority cell andpresident of the Godhra municipality* Salim Abdul Ghaffar Sheikh, president of the Panchmahal Youth Congress* Abdul Rehman Abdul Majid Ghantia, a known Congress worker* Farroukh Bhana, secretary of the district Congress committee* Haji Bilal, a known Congress workerYet, the grave provocation of Muslims deliberately burning alive Hindu women andchildren did not lead to a communal conflagration in India in general. Can you imaginewhat would have happened if, say, black rioters had torched a trainload of whitecommuters in New York City? The entire country would have been in flames. Or, moreto the point, if a bunch of Muslims had set fire to a Greyhound bus in Los Angeles? Ican guarantee this: every Muslim in the country would have been rounded up and sentto a concentration camp (probably Guantanamo Bay these days), just like theAmericans did to the Japanese during World War II.Yet, nothing like this happened in India. Things were more or less normal. So here aresome headlines we did not see in the secular progressive English media of India, andwhich we, indeed, will never see:* In the midst of the communal disturbances in Gujarat, thousands of Muslim office-goers in Tamil Nadu went about their normal lives* West Bengals many Islamic madrassas functioned without hindrance

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    * In Hyderabad, no Hindus attacked Muslims even in Hindu-dominated areas* Thousands of Muslim mosques all over I