Modi’s Sandhvi Pragya Sigh from terrorist to nationalist

Radhakanta Barik

Modi's real face is coming up in the second phase of general election that they stand by Savarkar and his Hindutva in undiluted manner by selecting the candidates from the Hindu terror group. Those involved in heinous crimes are allowed to contest the election that blurring the sanctity of political democracy. For them there is only one morality that violence is a means to achieve the target of the Hindurashtra. They do not mind to be branded by others as terrorists for them they are nationalists. In the first phase they gave slogan of national security and vote in the name of soldiers who died in Phukam but today they are giving a slogan that those who are charged in crimes of Samajuta Express, Ajmeri Sharif , Malegaon case etc are also nationalists. In the coming of third phase of general election the cow vigilantes will be given tickets for contesting the election. All these are crimes before the IPC and Indian Constitution but not before them as these activities is a part of Savarkar's theory of Hindurastra.

Modi claims as the backward that is the reason which makes the other political leaders in opposition to  him. As the backward is defined in Indian Constitution as 'socially and educationally backward" This brings that the majority of people who are educationally backward as access to quality education does not exist. After five years Has Modi has improved their status in terms of educational achievement. All public institutions are either badly managed or ruined under an Education Minister who was matriculate and claimed her graduation. As the Chief Minister of Gujarat he destroyed the educational level of the backwards by destroying the institutions. In the  EPW, April   6,2009 by Himani Baxi, ‘Social Expenditure and Human Development in Gujarat’,   which says Gujarat is backward in terms of education and health facilities for which Gujarat is economically advanced but in terms of social development much lower in the scale. As their parents are working in agriculture and allied activities which have suffered in his five years period. The job market has shrunk because of his policy of demonetization which has affected the backwards, dalits and tribals. There are 22 million jobs in Government but those are not filled up by his government. In terms of claiming that Modi is backward does not prove anything except gas wind.

Modi is running to Odisha for getting some seats which he claimed that Odisha will go in the lines of Tripura where the Left front lost to BJP badly in the last assembly election. But this situation is not going to arise as the Odisha is not Tripura. Tripura has a tradition of militant ethnic politics which the BJP exploited by allying with them. They have a tradition of migrant population from Bangladesh. Both these fault-lines got exploited by the BJP to over throw the left front government of  Mr Sarkar who was managing reasonably well. The central government squeezed the resources by not allocating for its developmental agenda as a poorer North Eastern State. All these problems went against Tripura. They are targeting Naveen Patnaik who was their coalition partner in the first two terms from 2000 to 2009. In the first two phases Naveen showed mercy towards them like the story of  Rishi and  a mouse. The mouse got blessed by the Rishi to be whatever he desired. He desired to be tiger and the Rishi blessed the mouse to be the tiger and the tiger desired to have the Rishi as his prey. This story is getting repeated in the case of Odisha. But Naveen Patnaik is a fearless and shrewd politician. His each move made him a successful politician. His government believes in delivery of services. This delivery of services has helped him winning fourth times not because of kindness of the BJP. 2014 election when Modi was jumping like a wrestler in WWF match hitting at everybody which affected Tripura . But the same strategy they have applied to Odisha by abandoning a special package to KBK plan. This has created a lot of anger in this region. But his nondiscriminatory approach to Western Odisha has made him popular and his move for recruiting the women Resource persons working with the Women Self Help Groups which  have succeeded him as a popular leader among women. Yes the middle class which is a dead one have abandoned him as his rule sees no corrupt practices to be used in the Selection process of Odisha Public Service Commission as it was  happening in  VYAPAM of MP and Jharkhanda by BJP government. They wanted their children to be manipulated inside the government services. The Rise of the Congress under Rahul Gandhi and his NYAY programme has revived their supporters for coming back. It is a fight between Naveen Patnaik and the Congress plus left surely the third position is going to the BJP. Big howlers do not impress Odiya voters.

The BJP in Odisha is promising to give rice plus mustard oil in one rupee. It is like an Odiya proverb " akash kaiena chilika macha" (The fruit in sky and fish in the lake of Chilika) Both do not come easily and it is good to read the story of the fishes from the lake but rarely people used to get those fishes and fruits can hang from the sky but it is useless. As Modi is a bluff master who promised in 2014 general election that they would provide 15 lakhs into each account and procurement price is equal to cost of production plus fifty percentage of profit. After five years Modi could not deliver as an old lady complains to me that she spent Rs100 for opening an account but no money has come yet. Her hard earned one hundred rupees is blocked in the bank. Odiyas got Rs ten thousand in KALIA programme and there was a hue and cry in our locality regarding the programme. As many of names were missing and kisans were worried of it. They like to have ten thousand in hand but not fifteen lakhs in their accounts as promised by Modi. For your information that Marwaris as a business class played a havoc in public distribution system before 2000 as they control the trading and political class. Today the BJP's programme wants to bring back the trading class into power. As they feel that the BJP is their party and they still play a role in kendu leave price fixation as benefits go to the tribals. As they got cooled down after the powerful anti Marwari movement in western Odisha which got fizzled down because of lack of support from the political class. Today the BJP wants to benefit the Marwaris by bringing this new programme as their programmes be it insurance for crops or Health project all go to the pockets of big Marwaris.

The political language is the product of political imagination. The Hindutva forces have a narrow imagination. They confined to the texts like Savarkar or Golwalkar whose books are written in bullet forms. These books do not enlarge imagination. Furthermore, they do not believe in a dialogue and conversation. Gandhiji met Savarkar in 1909 over the release of the book Hindi Swaraj whose book talks of inter religious faith and family and kinship as the basis of society. Savarkar spoke in a sentence did not elaborate there that he believed in violence. Gandhi wanted to know the meaning of it as it did not mean anything and it needed to be placed in the context. But he avoided to debate with Gandhi. Gandhi went to Pune to discuss with him in the morning walk. He went to his village in Konkan belt where he avoided to converse. As Modi did not have any tradition of conversation and that is the reason he avoided five years for not holding any press conference. Vajpayee was a different as he was a poet and he had a wider friend circle. Modi's narrow vision reflects in his political language. "Ghar me Ghus kar marenge' branding  Aurongzeb for Congress Leaders those need the action by the Election Commission  has avoided to take action against them including Amit Shah and Modi. But Yogi speaks in an abusive language for which the Commission wants to take action as Yogi's campaign is harming the BJP prospectus, perhaps banning him does not affect Modi and Shah. It is clear that in Mathura when he went with Hema Malini people disappeared from the stage. She went and invited her husband Dharmndra to show some political mettle. Let us tell these leaders that they have to do homework before speaking as they have a narrow imagination or no imagination.

There is a report on election scene in Odisha in the Indian Express on Sunday. These journalists show their bias towards the Hindutva forces by writing in such a manner ignoring the complexities of political reality. In Odisha village one finds a 'Bada Patia" a big howler who is speaking loudly without any substance. The village crowd with their level of intelligence  ignore the Bada Patia that they do not speak truth. This is working in the towns of Odisha as these are the extension of rural Odisha. There one finds the Bada Patia in the towns as one finds in the book stalls near the old bus stand which brings congregation of writers, poets and artists and journalists. I spend some time there in the evening over a cup of tea. I find a briefless lawyer comes and shouts loudly in favour of the BJP but no response from anybody. All enjoy his way of pleading as getting ignored in the court and also ignored by these intellectuals. In the village the Bada Patia are now bribed by the Hindutva to speak in favour of them. No body moves by their language and verbiage. The reporters go to the places where free liquor and good non veg available and talk to these howlers and come back and write a piece in the leading newspaper Indian Express on Sunday. They have ignored the Congress Party and its allies who got the second position in the 2014 general election and today they are competing with the BJD. It seems that real contest is between these two forces. The BJP might not get their one seat which they got in the 2014 general election. Yes they have plenty of money and spending recklessly which might not produce the result. Odiyas are very careful in calculating the gains and losses while casting their votes. They will not accept the big howlers at the national level such as Modi and Shah as their leaders and they would listen to them will not take seriously as they do today in the villages to 'Badapatia.

Just before the code of conduct got reinforced by the Election Commission Modi has created an image of a soldier wearing their dress holding a machine gun. This image of soldier has been designed in America for the election campaign but now he openly flouted the rules of the game and code of conduct and is campaigning in the name of soldiers and requested some days back that the young below 25 should vote in the name of soldiers. The Election Commission has sent a letter to Modi regarding this matter as nobody can campaign in the name of soldiers and national security as it is for everybody. But he has been doing in every campaign. But it is interesting to note here that 5000 real soldiers Ex Service men are campaigning in the  Constituency of Banaras telling not to vote for the BJP. What is going to happen now to Modi and Shah.

In the year 2002 after creating riots in Gujarat the leadership of BJP specifically Gujaratis declared that Odisha would be their second laboratory of Hindutva. From those days the leaders from Gujarat came to Odisha such as Shah, Modi, Tagodia who could not enter into political cosmology of Odiyas. As it is different in form and content and they do not believe in Gujarati Bania culture where vegetarianism plus violence are being blended together which has been orchestrated in Hindutva politics. Gujarati Banias came to Odisha during the spread of  railway line in the mid 19th century. They came here to do business like Marwaris. Gandhiji came in 1920sto Cuttack  and Gujarati Samaj presented a memorandum and Gandhiji advised them to integrate into Odiya society. But have they done it? On the contrary they built their temples in the Gujarati colony and schools and community halls. They have monopolized the trading with the Department of Forestry for high valued wood by paying bribe and getting involved in corrupt practices as the Department of Forestry is known as the most corrupt department. Officials to guards are rich here by selling trees and harassing the tribals which got reflected in the novels of Gopinath Mohanty in Paraja and Amritar Santana. There is a description of a Gujarati trader in his novel Harijan where the trader and his daughter standing in front of the gate of their house throwing food at the cows but not giving to the sweepers who have cleaned their latrines. This description explains their attitude towards poor and dalits in Odisha. Amit Shah came last time went to a house of Dalit to have food. Their nominee Patra is doing in Puri constituency without knowing the cultural traditions of Odiyas where discrimination against the Dalits do not exist at that level. Shah came to Odisha and spoke that " there is corruption in administration" but without telling that how he and his son's income has increased 16000 times during the demonitisation period. Furthermore he complained that there was corruption in mining as their government working at the centre and they could have investigated the matter in the last five years. On the contrary they wanted to grab Odisha mining for their corrupt practices as they did in Chhatishgarh and Jharakhand. Hindutva, big money and communal ism and criminality are blended together which they experimented in Khandhmal of Odisha by giving unnecessary sufferings to Dalits and tribals who are struggling till now. Shah and Modi are dangerous signals one has to be careful in Odisha.

Justice Katju with his eccentric style speaks out truth. Recently he has written about the BJP as a party of goonds. Let us examine this observation that most of criminals involved in various crimes like cow vigilantes or communal riots and serious murder cases are playing an active role during the 2019 general election. A known criminal charged with a murder case and 17 more serious charges came out of jail on bail and went with a group of people and attacked the meat shops in Gurugaon in the name of Hindu Sena.Those who involved in Dadri murder of an innocent Muslim citizen are out on bail and many of them were sitting in the front row when the chief minister of UP Yogi was addressing political meetings. In Gujarat some of the known criminals such as Bajrangi involved in murder and rape cases in 2002 riots are out on bail recently. Why does the BJP need such known criminals or gangsters and murderers or sharp  shooters at the time of general election? Some of the party leaders are found recently holding guns and pistols illegally. Plenty of money and plenty of crimes are a part of the Hindutva politics. Is it fair to allow such criminals to terrorize the innocent citizens for collecting their votes and with the partisan behaviour of the Election Commission India is going on the lines of Columbia where goonds and drug peddlers control politics for a half century till the judiciary took strong action against them. Modi government is shameless regarding the right to information which allows the citizens to know what is happening in the government or political parties. It brings better accountability over the agencies of the government and transparency in the government. A citizen needs to be informed citizen as it is enshrined in Art 19 of Indian constitution. Modi government tells the Supreme Court that citizens have no right to know who pays the election fund to them. it is clear that the funding comes through illegal channels such as hawala racket which is the major source of terrorism and if the BJP and terrorist groups get the money from the same source then what happens to the BJP and its members who are beating their chests regarding their false nationalism. Is if a false bravado. They want a republic without citizenry which means a Hindu rashtra without accountability and transparency. It is clear that fascism does not believe in accountability and transparency of the government and no control of citizens and they want to get things done in a secret manner. This is perhaps their guru Chanaky says to them. Declare a Monarchy and abolish the Republic based on state actions on the principle of secrecy. As Coleridge the English Poet says in his poem Frost At Midnight:

“The frost performs its secret ministry.
Unhelped by any wind. The owlet’s cry
Came loud- hark again! Loud as before.”

Prof Radhakanta Barik, retired as Professor, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi

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Frontier
Apr 20, 2019