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News : Archive (December 2002)
- An ode to the Indian Constitution
M.N. Buch, The Hindustan Times, December 31, 2002
The VHP has been trumpeting the Hindu Rashtra theme after the Gujarat elections. Around 82 per cent of the population professes the Hindu faith. With such a vast majority being Hindu, why should the VHP suffer from such a deep-rooted inferiority complex that it insists on a formal declaration of India as a Hindu Rashtra?
- Fresh communal clashes in Gujarat; 3 hurt
Press Trust of India, The Hindustan Times, December 31, 2002
Three persons were injured and two shops set ablaze on Tuesday in communal clashes triggered by an incident of eve teasing prompting authorities to clamp curfew on parts of Dahod district town in central Gujarat.
- The Colour Saffron - Gujarat Made 2002 The Year Of Hindutva
Rudrangshu Mukherjee, The Telegraph, December 31, 2002
Even those who dislike all that the Bharatiya Janata Party stands for and all those who sail under the saffron flag, will be compelled to admit that the year 2002 has been the year of saffron.
- Politics of rage
By Rajmohan Gandhi, The Hindu, December 31, 2002
One great difference between post-Babri and post-Godhra was that while the Uttar Pradesh Ministry was dismissed after the Masjid's demolition, the Gujarat Ministry was maintained in power and India's leaders praised it.
- Hijacking India's History
By Kai Friese, The New York Times, December 30, 2002 (Requires free registration to access this article)
New Delhi, While some of us lament the repetition of history, the men who run India are busy rewriting it. Their efforts, regrettably, will only be bolstered by the landslide victory earlier this month of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Western India state of Gujarat.
- Turbulence ahead
By K.K. Katyal, The Hindu, Editorial, December 30, 2002
The new year will see a frontal attack on secularism, as a concept or as an ideology, by the BJP and others of the Sangh Parivar — by the likes of Praveen Togadia with singular viciousness, by the BJP seniors in the Government roundly, and the party office-bearers coarsely.
- Immunity for the citizen
The Hindu, Editorial, December 30, 2002
Since India was not a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the Court and since the U.S. had renounced its obligations to the Statute, both countries were already free from any compulsion to extradite those wanted by the Court to a territory where its jurisdiction applies. Under its founding charter the Court, in most instances, will have jurisdiction only in respect of crimes committed within the territory of the countries that have ratified the Statute or by citizens of the ratifying countries. But several of the countries that have ratified the Statute have endured strife of an order that necessitated international peacekeeping efforts.
- 'VHP ready to confront Centre on Ayodhya'
The Hindu, December 30, 2002
Pune Dec. 29. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) today said it would, if necessary, go for a showdown with the Centre on the issue of temple construction in Ayodhya and said it would fully abide by the decision of Hindu `sants'.
- Fear is the key
By Suresh Nambath, The Hindu, December 29, 2002
EVERY TIME they want to participate in a local temple festival, every time they want to walk with footwear or cycle through upper-caste areas, in short, every time they try to assert themselves, Dalits in Tamil Nadu risk being beaten up. But they rarely prefer a complaint. For, more often than not, the police too are on the side of the upper castes.
- Hand over temples to Hindus: Katiyar to Muslims
Press Trust of India, Varanasi, December 29, 2002
Uttar Pradesh BJP unit president Vinay Katiyar on Sunday called upon Muslims to hand over the Kashi Vishwanath, Sri Krishna Janmsthan and Ram Janmbhoomi temples to Hindus.
Launching his yatra after offering prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple here, he said it was necessary that all castes and religions supported Sanskritik Rashtravaad (cultural nationalism) which was not against any religion.
Katiyar said the first phase of his yatra to strengthen the spirit of Sanskritik Rashtravaad would cover 30 districts till January 12.
- Will 'aggressive Hindutva' be repeated in future polls?
By Saif Shahin (HindustanTimes.com), December 28, 2002
If these trends are anything to go by, then the party may be heading towards a major internal showdown before the next round of assembly elections. Modi and his followers will be rooting for a Gujarat-style of electioneering: massacring Muslims and upping the Hindutva ante. Presumably, other states’ leaders – having witnessed the experiment’s success in Gujarat – will not be averse to using it for their own gains. They will have the VHP and other lumpen elements of the parivar solidly behind them.
- The majority is not always right
Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr, The Hindustan Times, December 27, 2002
Many of the axioms of ideologically blinkered secularists have been exploded in the astounding victory of the BJP-VHP combine in the Gujarat assembly elections.
- India is Hindu country, not Hindu state: BJP
Indo-Asian News Service, Hyderabad, December 26, 2002
India has always been a "Hindu country" but it can never become a Hindu state because Indians do not believe in theocracy, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president M Venkaiah Naidu asserted on Thursday.
- Family Matters
The Times of India, December 28, 2002
Mr Modi has singlehandedly accomplished for the sangh parivar what the BJP's four years in office couldn't: Victory-induced confidence. Overnight, as it were, the mood in BJP offices has changed from despair, born of a row of defeats, to hope, instilled by the party's biggest triumph in years.
- VHP prepares cadre for grand finale
Madhav Gokhale, Indian Express, December 28, 2002
Pune, December 27: Basking in the post-Gujarat euphoria, nearly 300 VHP governing council members and trustees in Pune are zeroing in on what is being labelled as the ‘‘final leg’’ of the Ramjanmabhoomi aandolan.
- Amnesty slams Indo-US pact on extradition
PTI, December 27, 2002
"The signing of an Indo-US bilateral pact sends a clear signal that the Indian government lacks that commitment to bring to justice even those accused of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity. It is, however, extremely unfortunate that India has succumbed to the US pressure to sign this impunity agreement," Amnesty International said in a statement here.
- A march towards fascism
By Sitaram Yechury, The Hindu, December 28, 2002
Only a frontal, secular confrontation can now stop this communal juggernaut from seeking to metamorphose India into a fascistic "Hindu Rashtra".
- Double standards
The Hindustan Times, December 27, 2002
If India is to retain its composite culture, both the country and the State have to endorse pluralism. But doublespeak has always been a part of the BJP’s political tactics.
- Fight Hindutva head-on
By Praful Bidwai, The Hindustan Times, Friday, December 27, 2002
It is an utter and unmitigated disgrace and a setback to Indian democracy that Narendra Milosevic Modi has returned to power in Gujarat after presiding over Independent India's worst-ever State-sponsored pogrom of a religious minority.
- India, U.S. not to surrender nationals to any tribunal
By Amit Baruah, The Hindu, December 27, 2002
NEW DELHI Dec. 26. India and the United States today signed an agreement whereby neither country will surrender persons of the other country to any international tribunal without the other country's express consent.
While there was no reference to the International Criminal Court, the spokesman said that the context in which the accord was signed was the ICC.
(for additional information: HRW: Letter urging continued resistance to U.S. impunity agreements , Human Rights Watch letter, October 21, 2002
- Not apologetic about agenda: BJP chief
By W. Chandrakanth, The Hindu, December 27, 2002
HYDERABAD Dec. 26. "The BJP is not going to be apologetic or ashamed of its agenda and the Gujarat experiment shall be replicated in all the States before the next elections to reach the target of 300 seats,'' the party president, M. Venkaiah Naidu, said here on Thursday.
- Communal crimes and punishment
Editorial, The Hindu, December 27, 2002
IN A WAY, the acquittal of Sajjan Kumar completes the depressing chain of events in the cases pertaining to the anti-Sikh riots. Verdict after verdict has seen Congress leaders who were implicated for their role in what was one of the most horrific pogroms in Independent India being exonerated because of the lack of evidence.
- Uma translates Modi model for Digvijay country
‘Those who accept videshi Sonia don’t know national pride’
Hartosh Singh Bal, The Indian Express, December 27, 2002
Satna, December 26: Announcing that she had taken charge of the BJP’s election campaign in Madhya Pradesh, Union Minister Uma Bharati made it clear today that her poll plank borrows heavily from the one in Gujarat: Hindutva, Sonia’s Italian origin, Pakistan and how all three are ‘‘linked to rashtriya swabhiman’’ (national pride).
- Puja at the Qutub Minar
By Rajeev Dhavan, The Hindu, December 27, 2002
Such reclamation is an invitation to vague assertions armoured by political malevolence to split civilised governance in ways that have no meaning or purpose except the hate and spite that fuel it.
- Mr Method Actor Modi
The Hindustan Times, December 26, 2002
Such reclamation is an invitation to vague assertions armoured by political malevolence to split civilised governance in ways that have no meaning or purpose except the hate and spite that fuel it.
- Governance, after Gujarat
By Harish Khare, The Hindu, December 26, 2002
A victory in Gujarat has not given the BJP any mandate to rearrange the country's landscape.
- Blow hard, blow soft
By Prafull Goradia, The Hindustan Times, December 26, 2002
Although individual Hindu nationalists may sound more militant than others, the central thrust of the ideology would be the abolition of the ‘minority concept’. There would be no special privileges nor any impediment for those whose religion is other than Hindu. The public identity of everyone should be that of an Indian. And only Indian. Religion, language, caste or any other identitySatna, December 26: Announcing that she had taken charge of the BJP’s election campaign in Madhya Pradesh, Union Minister Uma Bharati made it clear today that her poll plank borrows heavily from the one in Gujarat: Hindutva, Sonia’s Italian origin, Pakistan and how all three are ‘‘linked to rashtriya swabhiman’’ (national pride). would be a matter of private affair.
- Converted to Christianity
The Hindu, December 26, 2002
Meerut Dec. 25. About 125 Dalits, including 15 women and five children, today converted to Christianity during a special Christmas prayer at a church. The conversion of the Dalits from Sikhara village of the district, led by one Dharam Pal Saini, was held at St. Joseph Cathedral here.
- The rise of Modi
By Kancha Ilaiah, The Hindu, December 26, 2002
The BJP made serious efforts, much more than other parties, to include and accommodate the OBCs so as to provide Hindutva its muscle power.
- Godhra incident is the Pearl Harbour for Hindus: Togadia
Press Trust of India, Pune, December 25, 2002
Likening the Godhra train carnage to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, the VHP International General Secretary Praveen Togadia on Wednesday said the Hindus could never forget the Godhra incident.
- Accused of murder, case pending, Bhatt gets Gujarat’s Law Ministry
Stavan Desai, The Indian Express, December 25, 2002
Ashok Bhatt Ahmedabad, December 25: With Ashok Bhatt becoming the new Gujarat Law Minister, it’s his job to appoint a prosecutor in a murder case in which he is the accused.
- Refrain from dividing society: Modi to media
Press Trust of India, The Hindustan Times, December 25, 2002
Targetting the media again for what he called its campaign of rumour mongering and misleading people, a rattled Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday charged journalists with dividing the society on caste and religion lines and asked them to refrain from this.
- Overestimating the saffron wave
By Dipankar Gupta, The Hindu, December 25, 2002
Anyone who has been to Gujarat post-Godhra will testify that the BJP put in everything to make it a contest between Hindutva and the rest. In many ways this election was like a referendum and, if it was so, less than half the people of Gujarat voted saffron.
- VHP will not allow BJP to budge from Hindutva: Togadia
Press Trust of India, Pune, December 25, 2002
Unfazed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's attempts to sober them on the Hindutva issue, the VHP on Wednesday asserted it would not allow BJP to budge "even an inch" from the ideology and cautioned that the organisation should not be taken for granted.
- It is an antithesis of Hinduism
By Kuldip Nayar, The Hindu, December 25, 2002
That the BJP has reaffirmed its faith in Hindutva does not come as a surprise. After having a runaway success with this plank in the recent Gujarat Assembly elections, the party is bound to believe that it can replicate the model in other States. The party chief, Venkaiah Naidu, made it clear at the first national executive meeting soon after Narendra Modi was sworn in that the Hindutva card would stay and that the BJP would go on playing it.
- 1984-2002: Justice denied
Editorial, The Hindustan Times, December 24, 2002
It is now an acknowledged fact that a riot cannot continue beyond a point without a certain amount of official complicity as a result of political interference. The Gujarat riots were the latest example where policemen were virtual spectators during the violence evidently because their political masters wanted them to play deaf and mute. The anti-Sikh riots belong to this category. If the BJP was behind the police inaction in Gujarat, the Congress played the same disgraceful role in Delhi.
- Vajpayee plays the PM, takes a step back on Hindutva
Veiled dig at Togadia on Hindu Rashtra, says we’ll swallow Gujarat poison
Pradeep Kaushal, The Indian Express, December 24, 2002
It was the turn of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today to respond to his twin foils Narendra Modi and Pravin Togadia. And, he did so in full measure in his valedictory address at the BJP national executive here sending a clear signal to those in the party who are keen to push hardline Hindutva.
- Engulfed by the tidal wave
But the alternative to secular democracy is darkness
Mushirul Hasan, The Indian Express, December 24, 2002
This is how Gujarat looks today. Secular values dissolved like a clump of earth thrown into the Sabarmati, and replaced by a neo-fascist ideology that is likely to have a major presence in Gujarat politics. Without counting the human or any other costs, the Modi-Togadia-Singhal combine has ensured the disappearance of Gandhism from its land of birth.
- Buddhism, Bhakti and the VHP - II
By Gail Omvedt, The Hindu, December 24, 2002
Much of the radicalism of the sants of the bhakti movement has been masked by the fact that the history, interpretation and institutionalisation of the movement has been in upper-caste hands. (Buddhism, Bhakti and the VHP - I)
- Gujarat under its belt, BJP wears Modi on its sleeve
Naidu takes a swipe at VHP, says tone it down
Pradeep Kaushal, The Indian Express, December 24, 2002
New Delhi, December 23: High on adrenalin after the Gujarat poll sweep, BJP chief Venkaiah Naidu today left no one in any doubt that the Hindutva card was here to stay and that the party won’t be shy of playing it.
- Modi Redux
Editorial, The Times of India, December 24, 2002
But, in the end, tactical “compromises” alone cannot sustain the Modi myth. He has to demonstrate in practice that he does not share Mr Togadia’s “dream” of reducing the minorities in India to the same second class status as Hindus “enjoy” in a neighbouring country.
- Never a Straight Answer
Mukul Dube, December 24, 2002
The people of the Sangh Parivar are masters of double-talk, diversion and evasion. I have yet to hear one of them give a straight answer to a straight question. In interviews to newspapers and on the electronic media, and on talk shows, their routine response to every question begins with "That is not the point" or "That is not what you should ask". They then proceed to deliver their prepared speeches.
- BJP rejects VHP brand of Hindutva
Shekhar Iyer, The Hindustan Times, December 24, 2002
A two-day conclave of top BJP leaders got under way on Monday with the party swearing by Hindutva and claiming it would replicate the Gujarat success in other states. But it cautioned Sangh Parivar extremists, saying, "Hindutva and extremism cannot go together."
- Riot widows shocked at Sajjan's acquittal
Times News Network, December 23, 2002
On Monday, Kuldeep Kaur sat discussing with others what to do next. The trial court’s decision to acquit Sajjan Kumar has come as a shock. ‘‘We were hopeful that he would be punished. Though he has been let free, we will not give up so easily,’’ she said.
- Sajjan Kumar acquitted in 1984 riots case
Times News Network & Agencies, December 23, 2002
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Sajjan Kumar and eight others accused in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case were on Monday acquitted by a Delhi court for lack of evidence.
- We'll replicate Gujarat experience everywhere: BJP
PTI, December 23, 2002
NEW DELHI: BJP President M Venkaiah Naidu has said the party would "replicate its Gujarat experience" everywhere as the outcome of the Assembly elections has "demolished the myth" that the Congress is en route to revival on account of its leadership.
- Gujarat an ideological victory for BJP: Modi
PTI, December 23, 2002
NEW DELHI: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday the "overwhelming" success in the Gujarat Assembly elections was an "ideological victory for the party".
- A historic blunder
Amulya Ganguli, The Hindustan Times, December 22, 2002
The people of Gujarat have made a mistake. Unlike the customer, the voters are not always right. The most celebrated case of such an error of judgment was in Germany when the people enabled Hitler to come to power. There are also instances in India. West Bengal is one. Misled by the communist propaganda, the people chose the Left Front only to find that their state has been devastated by the communists. But more of that later.
- The saffron tide rises
The Hindu, December 22, 2002
A sizable section of the BJP now wants the party to ditch the NDA agenda... Another major campaign on the Ram temple is expected to begin soon, writes Neena Vyas.
- VHP bid to perform puja inside Qutab Minar
By Our Staff Reporter, The Hindu, December 22, 2002
NEW DELHI, DEC. 21. About 150 activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal were prevented by police from performing puja inside the historic Qutab Minar complex here today.
- Victory... at what cost?
The Hindu, December 22, 2002
In Gujarat, the BJP made the maximum gains in areas where the communal riots were at their worst, says Manas Dasgupta.
- Gujarat Nu Gaurav
By Mukul Dube, The Milli Gazette, December 21, 2002
In his yatras and then in election meetings, Narendra Modi kept summoning up the image of “five crore Gujaratis” who had been “defamed” across the world. That Gujaratis were exclusively Hindus was made clear by constant references to the 9 per cent Muslims as outsiders, “them”, Miyan Musharraf's terrorists. By painting himself as the sole defender of the beleaguered majority community, Modi captured its vote.
- VHP rakes up Ram temple issue again
By Neena Vyas, The Hindu, December 21, 2002
NEW DELHI DEC. 20. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad today declared its intention to rake up the Ram temple issue once again. A warning was issued that after a "dharam sansad" on February 22 and 23, 2003 in Delhi, an announcement would be made for starting construction of the temple "anytime in the next 18 months".
- The future of Indian politics
By Vamsi Vakulabharanam, The Hindu, December 21, 2002
This is probably the last chance for the liberal-left forces to counter the further progress of the Hindutva ideology.
- Times Samvad: Turning Point; No, Aberration
The Times of India, December 21, 2002
Gujarat will set the electoral agenda — cultural nationalism againstpseudo-secularism, says M Venkaiah Naidu President, Bharatiya Janata Party, while Kamal Nath General Secretary, Congress party says, this is not a victory run because no party can face electoral wins only on violence.
- Trusting Modi’s words
Anand K. Sahay, The Hindustan Times, December 20, 2002
After his big election win, Narendra Modi has tried to sound presidential. Maybe the talk of ‘justice and equality’ was not a command performance to reassure the BJP’s NDA allies who are breaking out in a sweat on account of the pre-election pogrom in Gujarat.
- Allied Problems
Editorial, Times News Network, December 20, 2002
Narendra Modi's landslide victory in Gujarat raises many imponderables for the BJP's allies, especially for those like Andhra Pradesh CEO Chandrababu Naidu who had opposed the hard line Hindutva platform.
- BJP's Generation Next finds an idol in Modi
Smita Gupta, Times News Network, December 20, 2002
NEW DELHI: The BJP's landslide victory in Gujarat has undoubtedly placed Chief Minister Narendra Modi at the head of the party's Generation Next. Sharing the centrestage with him is his alter ego and the party's most articulate spokesperson, General Secretary Arun Jaitley.
- 5 nights since results, Vadodara hasn’t slept
Syed Khalique Ahmed, The Indian Express, December 20, 2002
Vadodara, December 19: Election has come and gone, but the residents of the walled city areas of Vadodara haven’t slept a single night peacefully after the poll results with incidents of stone-pelting continuing for the fifth night today.
- What, exactly, is a Hindu rashtra?
Prafull Goradia, The Indian Express, December 20, 2002
The outcome of the election in Gujarat is likely to evoke a question as to what could be a Hindu rashtra. The Narendra Modi-led victory is the first assertion of Hindu nationalism. One of its aspirations would be the founding of a rashtra, or state, after its heart. What could be its character?
- Facing intolerance
By Pratap Bhanu Mehta, The Hindu, December 20, 2002
All we can hope is that Hindus will find more honest ways of confronting their complexes; that they will have confidence to not succumb to meaningless paranoia.
- After Gujarat — II
By Radhika Desai, The Hindu, December 20, 2002
Any political force which sees the middle class constituency as a significant part of its support base will either fail (to check the Sangh Parivar) or succumb to soft Hindutva.
- After Gujarat — I
By Radhika Desai, The Hindu, December 19, 2002
Emboldened by the Gujarat victory, the Sangh Parivar can be expected to try hard to make this the country's future.
- One long monologue
By Mukul Dube , The Hindustan Times, December 19, 2002
Intellectual opportunism is one of the clearest marks of the absence of real convictions, real ideology, in Indian politics today. This ‘magpie approach’ has been mastered by the Sangh ideologues. Each individual element of the ideology is generally clear-cut. But as a whole, what one sees is a bizarre amalgamation that makes little sense as an out-and-out ideology.
- India’s future
By Prem Shankar Jha, The Hindustan Times, December 19, 2002
What has come as a surprise in Gujarat is not the BJP’s victory, but its size and the manner in which it has been achieved.
- Forum seeks action against Sangh outfits
Times News Network, December 19, 2002
NEW DELHI: The International Initiative for Justice in Gujarat, a body consisting of several Indian women's groups and activists from abroad, have demanded that the state government restore to the Muslims their rights to life, security and survival as guaranteed by the Constitution.
The International Initiative for Justice in Gujarat - An Interim Report is available here.
- Muslims have lost hopes of justice in Gujarat: Rights panel
Press Trust of India, New Delhi, December 19, 2002
A committee of international human rights activists on Thursday said the Muslim community in Gujarat was living under "increased fear" and have "lost all hopes of justice" after the "renewed strength" of the BJP following its victory in assembly elections in the state.
- Intl experts spoil Modi's party, say Gujarat worse than Bosnia
Press Trust of India, Gujarat New Delhi, December 19, 2002
An international women's committee on Thursday condemned the "large-scale" violence against women belonging to minority community during the Gujarat communal violence.
- 'Gujarat exposed the myth of Indian Democracy'
The Hindu, December 19, 2002
New Delhi, Dec. 19. (PTI): An international women's committee today condemned the "large-scale" violence against women belonging to the minority community during the recent communal violence in Gujarat and said the carnage had "exposed the myth of Indian democracy".
- Wilful Intemperance
Editorial, The Times of India, December 19, 2002
If some self-appointed minority leader had made a statement to the effect that anyone who supported the political ideology called Hindutva was like a cancer patient living under a death sentence, it would have caused a veritable storm.
- Conversion Bill
Balbir K Punj, The Times of India, December 19, 2002
The adoption of an anti-conversion law by the Tamil Nadu assembly has evoked sharp reactions, both from self-proclaimed secularists and those whom they denounce as communalists.
- A case of bad score-keeping
In Gujarat, the media was only BJP-bashing
T V R Shenoy, The Indian Express, December 19, 2002
The media is quick to hurl charges of intolerance. But is it not guilty of the same vice? Experts had made up their minds that the only reasons for the BJP victory were an aggressive Hindutva and the post-Godhra riots.
- Women, interrupted
The Indian Express, December 19, 2002
There is an enormous silence about Muslim women in this country — their lives, the disadvantages they suffer from, their diversities, their expectations. The Muslim Women’s Survey—convened by Zoya Hasan & Ritu Menon and administered by ORG-Marg — is probably the first major baseline survey of its kind. Excerpts, in three parts.
- How do we want to live?
Amrita Shah, The Indian Express, December 19, 2002
It is difficult to escape it. Gujarat dominates the news. Narendra Modi’s overwhelming victory and the repeated predictions that the BJP/VHP’s Gujarat ‘experiment’ of divisiveness and rioting will now be replicated in other parts of the country. There is a certain resignation about this assumption that is as disturbing as the prediction. The implication that violence and destruction is certain and we, as a society are powerless to stop it.
- The worng signals
Editorial, The Hindu, December 19, 2002
APPARENTLY CARRIED AWAY by the landslide victory the BJP has won in Gujarat helped by a Narendra Modi crafted anti-Muslim campaign of hate, the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, has, yet again, allowed the `swayamsevak' in him, representing the core element of his persona, to get the better of his constitutional position as the head of Government, whose responsibilities transcend communal barriers.
- Death to those who oppose Hindutva: Togadia
Times News Network, December 18, 2002
NEW DELHI: Vishwa Hindu Parishad general secretary -- and cancer surgeon -- Praveen Togadia said on Tuesday that all those who opposed Hindutva philosophy would, like cancer patients, live under a death sentence, which would be executed by the people.
- ‘Muslims won’t leave Gujarat but won’t live as second-class citizens’
J. S. Bandukwala, The Indian Express, December 18, 2002
The BJP victory in a Gujarat is a sad day for not just Muslims but for the whole country. The party rode to power on the strength of Muslim blood and tears.
It is shocking that most Gujarati Hindus have agreed with the Modi-Togadia line of hatred for Muslims. The entire BJP campaign was based on rejecting Muslims as terrorists and Pakistanis.
- Secularism as a dirty word
Why the Gujarat elections have made villains of us all
Pamela Philipose, The Indian Express, December 18, 2002
It’s not so much the Modi/BJP victory in Gujarat but the manner in which that victory was created that distresses. It’s is not so much the Congress defeat but the manner in which that defeat was fashioned that depresses.
- The lessons of Gujarat
By Neera Chandhoke, The Hindu, December 18, 2002
If the Congress has to take on the BJP in the coming days, it has to once again transform itself into a mass movement.
- Gujarat mantra will not be repeated, says PM
Times News Network, December 17, 2002
NEW DELHI: Striking an upbeat tone at a BJP parliamentary party meeting to celebrate the landslide election victory in Gujarat, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee sought to parry public fears about the Gujarat 'experiment' being repeated in other states.
- A nation holds its breath
Editorial, The Hindustan Times, December 17, 2002
There is some reason for hope in the statements that Narendra Modi and the BJP are making in the aftermath of the Gujarat landslide. Mr Modi told the state BJP legislature party that his government would represent all Gujaratis, not just those who voted for the BJP but also those who voted against it. In Delhi, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee urged the BJP to carry forward the Gujarat victory but to work in an inclusive manner so that no community felt left out.
- Post-poll clashes continue, Rajkot, Vadodara on edge
Ens & Agencies, The Indian Express, December 17, 2002
Rajkot/ Vadodara, Dec 17: The post-electoral violence in Gujarat continues as parts of Rajkot and Vadodara saw more sporadic incidents today. While sensitive areas of Bhavnagar city saw arson and stone-pelting yesterday night and in the wee hours of today, two more people were injured in police firing to contain violence in Vadodara.
- The Modi Challenge
Turn Crowd India Into Mob India
Jug Suraiya, The Times of India, December 17, 2002
Verdict Gujarat was the result of a total politics of polarisation: Modi's success was most overwhelming in the riot-hit areas. That an Islamic cleric misguidedly issued a fatwa enjoining Muslims to vote Congress, further helped consolidate the Hindu vote, which this time included Dalits and tribals who had earlier joined in the loot of Muslim property. This enfolding into the BJP's ranks of lower castes could broaden the party's electoral base, and change the poll arithmetic in states like UP where, so far, caste divisions have precluded saffron unification.
- India, bigger than Gujarat
As we head for next year’s assembly polls, let’s keep a sense of balance
Editorial, The Indian Express, December 17, 2002
A week is a long time in politics. Before long the incessant chatter, feverish excitement and endless speculation that characterised the Gujarat election will have died down, as other concerns raise their head. What are the lessons, then, that have emerged from the pollquake that recently hit the western state?
- Justice for all, say BJP
By Manas Dasgupta, The Hindu, December 17, 2002
Addressing the gathering, both Mr. Modi and Mr. Naidu underlined a message for the minority communities stating that they should not feel apprehensive under the new BJP dispensation. "Appeasement of none and justice for all" would be the basic principle of the Government which would treat all the five crore people of the State, "including all those who vehemently opposed the BJP in the elections" equally, they said.
- RSS, BJP steer clear of Hindu Rashtra bid
Express News Service, New Delhi, December 16, 2002
A day after VHP general secretary Pravin Togadia vowed to convert India into a ‘‘Hindu Rashtra’’ within two years, both the RSS and BJP begged to differ, though for different reasons.
- Vadodara tense, stray violence continues
Express News Service, Vadodara, December 16, 2002
The victory celebrations may be over but not the violence. Clashes erupted again in some localities of Vadodara late on Monday, with stone-pelting groups leaving six persons injured.
- Modi should reach out to Muslims now
Bhaichand Patel, The Hindustan Times, New Delhi, December 16, 2002
The biggest winners are the RSS and the VHP, which will now in all probability, call the shots in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. We have already seen Uma Bharti gloating on television screens. The person who has taken the biggest beating is not Sonia Gandhi but our Prime Minister. He was unwanted in Gujarat throughout the campaign. Now we see why.
- After victory dance, BJP’s tightrope walk
NDA: Next year is poll year, pressure builds from RSS, VHP; Advani to play key role
Neerja Chowdhury, The Indian Express, December 16, 2002
New Delhi, December 15: The Hindutva wave in Gujarat is not likely to leave north India untouched and an indicator of this, which went largely unnoticed today, is the defeat of the Congress in the bypoll in Sagwara, a constituency it has held since 1952, which lies on the Rajasthan-Gujarat border.
- Triumph of Moditva
In all the dazzle, PM has to decide: is this a foreshadow of the party’s future?
Editorial, The Indian Express, December 16, 2002
The BJP has won the Gujarat assembly elections by a decisive two-thirds majority. The reasons for its victory lie not only in the politics of polarisation in the areas affected by communal violence following the incident at Godhra, but also in the highly effective mobilisation of Adivasis and Scheduled Tribes. The anti-incumbency vote—a significant factor in the areas not directly affected by the riots—promoted a Congress surge in parts of Saurashtra and Kutch but failed to halt the Hindutva wave.
- The medium and Modi’s message
Shailaja Bajpai, The Indian Express, December 16, 2002
The media may not have created him, but television certainly provided a national pulpit, a captive audience and an arena for mass mobilisation. Since March 2002, Modi has been in the news more than any other personality.
- Modi storms back to power on Hindutva wave
Bharat Desai, Times News Network & Agencies, December 15, 2002
AHMEDABAD: Spearheaded by Narendra Modi and riding the crest of a Hindutva wave, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party gave its best-ever performance in Gujarat, winning 125 out of 181 seats in the 182-member Assembly.
- Gujarat win a new dawn: PM
PTI, December 15, 2002
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Sunday hailed the Gujarat victory as the beginning of the Bharatiya Janata Party's march towards victory in the assembly elections next year and the Lok Sabha polls in 2004.
- The message
The Editorial, The Hindustan Times, December 15, 2002
It seems to be an Iron Law of Indian Politics that every time a political party appears to support the majority in a communal riot, that party wins an impressive victory at the next election.
- Defeat of soft Hindutva
Amulya Ganguli, The Hindustan Times, December 15, 2002
Their message was short and sharp — aimed solely at demonising the Muslims. In the aftermath of Godhra and against the backdrop of the worldwide Islamic terrorism, their tactics were bound to succeed. What also helped them in heightening the fear about the Muslim world was not only the juxtapositioning of Miyan Musharraf against Modi, but also the Sangh parivar’s invectives against Muslim invaders of the medieval ages.
- For the VHP, it's a job well done
Times News Network, December 15, 2002
AHMEDABAD: "Jai Shri Ram, Ho gaya kaam ". This banner, which a group of around 500 VHP supporters carried around the city on Sunday sums up things for the BJP's ideological ally, which shed its pretentious of being a socio-religious organisation and campaigned intensively in the Gujarat assembly elections.
- Modi ka magic chal gaya
Bharat Desai, Times News Network, December 15, 2002
Modi’s aggressive Hindutva campaign after the February 27 train-burning incident in Godhra paid rich dividends to the BJP and he managed to resurrect the Hindutva magic through the Gujarat Gaurav Yatra with considerable assistance from allied organisations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
- Hindutva experiment to be repeated in Delhi: Togadia
PTI, December 15, 2002
JAIPUR: BJP's victory in the Gujarat polls would be a turning point in Indian history as the experiment of 'Hindutva lab' would be repeated in Delhi via Rajasthan, VHP international general secretary Preen Toga dia said on Sunday.
- Sangh parivar uses Gujarat win to push Hindutva
Press Trust of India, December 15, 2002
Ahmednagar/ New Delhi, December 15: An elated Sangh parivar on Sunday described BJP's emphatic win in the Gujarat elections as a "victory of Hindutva and nationalist forces" which would change the direction of the country's politics.
- Gujarat votes BJP back to power
Press Trust of India, December 15, 2002
Gujarat Assembly Polls Ahmedabad, December 15: Riding a 'Hindutva' wave, the BJP on Sunday swept back to power in Gujarat with a massive two-thirds majority in a win that could have a far-reaching impact on national politics.
- Verdict, victory processions could trigger deja vu
Leena Misra, Times News Network, December 15, 2002
AHMEDABAD: December 15 will not be just another day. It’s a day the world’s waiting for with bated breath. With passions running at an all-time high, victory processions are being seen as potential threats to security on Sunday.
- Modi ka magic chalega kya?
Rajiv Shah, Times News Network, December 14, 2002
GANDHINAGAR: The big question in the BJP today is 'Modi ka magic chalega kya?' Having centred its entire campaign around the persona of Narendra Modi, the BJP is hoping that its mascot delivers.
- Modi playful, Vaghela cool, Muslims nervous
Vinay Menon, The Hindustan Times, Ahmedabad,, December 14, 2002
The countdown for the Gujarat electorate's verdict in the December 12 poll has begun. The drums would have begun to beat in one camp; gloom would have descended over the other. On the eve of counting, this is what the key players in the battle for Gujarat were doing.
- Times Samvad: Fund of Controversy
The Times of India, December 14, 2002
IDRF does not discriminate between communities; TCTSFH has an agenda against the sangh and Hindus - Vijay Pallod Regional V-P, India Development and Relief Fund
IDRF’s supporters are hardcore right-wingers; just how does almost all IDRF funding end up in RSS coffers? - Girish Agrawal, The Campaign to Stop Funding Hate (TCTSFH)
- RSS-backed charities under UK scanner
Rashmee Z Ahmed, Times News Network, December 13, 2002
LONDON: In a significant knee-jerk response to allegations that the saffron pound helped pay for the Gujarat violence, the British authorities have widened the scope of an "open inquiry" into the alleged hate-funding activities of two leading Hindu charitable organisations, Sewa International and the Hindu Swaymsewak Sangh (HSS).
- Indian charity in UK funded Guj Hindu extremist groups: Report
Vijay Dutt, London, The Hindustan Times, December 13, 2002
The British TV network Channel 4 News, in an investigative report, has alleged that a high-profile Indian charity group SEWA International has been raising funds for extreme Hindu groups involved in Gujrat massacre in the name of riot victims.
- Poll-arized Gujarat
Tension in check, divide evident across state
Janyala Sreenivas, The Indian Express, December 13, 2002
Ahmedabad, December 12: Gujarat kept its tryst with a divided electorate on Thursday as Hindus and Muslims voted with a vengeance averaging a 62% turnout by the end of the day. This is the second highest turnout in the state so far after the 65% in 1995. Barring a couple of incidents, the election in 181 constituencies passed off peacefully.
- The Modi takeover bid
Praful Bidwai, Frontline, Volume 19 - Issue 25, December 07 - 20, 2002
A neo-fascist form of Hindutva has taken the Bharatiya Janata Party into its iron grip in Gujarat. Unless energetically resisted by the secular forces, this will have horrific consequences for national politics.
- Exit polls give Gujarat to BJP
Times News Network, December 12, 2002
Ahmedabad/Rajkot/New Delhi: The exit polls for Gujarat's assembly elections have predicted a simple majority for the BJP. While the Aaj Tak exit poll gives the BJP 93-109 seats and the Congress 72-88 in the 182-strong assembly, the Zee News-Taleem poll predicted 100-105 seats for the BJP, and 65-70 to the Congress.
- Gujarat will govern BJP dynamics
Smita Gupta, Times News Network, December 12, 2002
NEW DELHI: The Vajpayee-led NDA government may remain unaffected by the outcome of Thursday's crucial assembly elections in Gujarat.
However, party sources say the people's verdict in the state will have a far-reaching impact on the inner dynamics of the BJP and its relations with the VHP and Bajrang Dal. The verdict will also have an impact on the party's strategy for states, particularly Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, which go to the polls next year, and Maharashtra, where elections are due in 2004.
- Godhra Gears Up for Mother of All Battles
Raja Bose, Times News Network, December 12, 2002
GODHRA: The town will not just send an MLA to the Gujarat Assembly. It'll tell the world whether a communal divide is all there is to the Gujarat elections, or there's more to the electorate.
- Gujarat's day of reckoning
Times News Network, December 12, 2002
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat will not just be electing its 10th legislative assembly on Thursday. The 32-million voters of the state could well determine the course of national politics in a matter of nine hours, in what is being described as the most crucial state assembly election ever in Indian political history.
- Hindu fundamentalists will destroy India: Mahesh Bhatt
Press Trust of India, December 11, 2002
Renowned film maker Mahesh Bhatt has cautioned people against the "so-called" Hindutva forces, alleging that the latter have put aside all the real principles of Hinduism to divide society.
- Modi-cum of Hope
Editorial, Times News Network, December 11, 2002
As campaigning draws to a close in Gujarat, however, it is clear that the battle lines are drawn not between rival parties. Nor are the elections about temporal interests. Instead, the battle has turned out to be something of a referendum on one man — acting chief minister Narendra Modi — and his message. For want of a better description, let's call this message "Modi-ism". The "credit" for this extreme "personalisation" of Gujarat politics is due almost entirely to the central leadership of the party.
- BJP hopes Hindutva wave will see it through
Anil Pathak, Times News Network, December 11, 2002
AHMEDABAD: BJP national general secretary and overall in-charge of the party’s election campaign Arun Jaitley has claimed that the party’s focus on security and terrorism during its campaign has been well received by the public.
- Self-appointed Sardar
Mushirul Hasan, The Indian Express, December 11, 2002
Even at the best of times Narendra Modi should have been incarcerated for his administrative lapses during the communal holocaust in Gujarat. Sadly, he leads an election campaign with his characteristic arrogance, and hides the rankest and narrowest communalism under the cover of Gujarat’s pride. Sadly, too, nobody, except the electorate, is positioned to tame the Chhota Sardar or call his bluff.
- Countdown after song and dance
The Indian Express, December 11, 2002
It was the lull after the campaign storm. As the clock struck 5 today, the drum beats stopped, the mikes went silent and flag-bearing and slogan-shouting party activists headed back to offices. For the curtains had come down on the campaign for the December 12 elections.
- Season of alignments
The Hindustan Times, December 11, 2002
Given the importance of the Gujarat election, it is hardly surprising that the two major camps have tried to enlist the support of their allies. The BJP can be said to have scored a point by inviting UP Chief Minister Mayawati to campaign for it.
- 17 foreign observers for monitoring polls
Anil Pathak, Times News Network, December 10, 2002
AHMEDABAD: The Election Commission of India has allowed foreign delegates from seven nations, including the US, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden and the European Union, to observe polling for the state legislative assembly elections scheduled on Thursday.
- The making of Modi’s Gujarat
Communal violence is rooted in an economy that has gone awry
Mani Shankar Aiyar, The Indian Express, December 10, 2002
Mani Shankar Aiyar Armed with the heart-rendering masterpiece, Gujarat: The Making of a Tragedy, edited by Siddharth Varadarajan, I have spent the weekend in Ahmedabad contributing my two-bits worth to the election campaign. It is hard to tell that it is election time in Ahmedabad.
- Victims keep BJP doubtful in its den
Seeking his third consecutive term, Home Minister not yet home in Rakhial
Meghdoot Sharon, The Indian Express, December 10, 2002
Ahmedabad, December 9: Voters of Rakhial constituency in the eastern labour-dominated part of Ahmedabad are well-acquainted with their candidates — Gordhan Zadaphia of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Himmatsingh Patel of the Congress.
Both had contested the elections in 1998 as well, with Zadaphia emerging the victor. But this time, one over-riding issue could change all equations — the riots which killed many and left thousands homeless and jobless.
- Is Hinduism facing a crisis?
C.P. Bhambhri, The Hindustan Times, December 10, 2002
The Sangh parivar is hostile to any special minority rights. Cultural pluralism is unacceptable to those who believe in ‘one country, one culture, one nation’. How does one explain the violent attitude of the self-appointed custodians of Hindus against Muslims and Christians? Why is the parivar worried about protecting the 80 per cent population from small and scattered minority groups?
- It’s a VHP election in Gujarat
Neerja Chowdhuri, The Indian Express, December 9, 2002
Rarely has a state election acquired such a national dimension as has Gujarat. The outcome will decide the quantum of freedom and flexibility Prime Minister Vajpayee will have to take decisions in the coming months.
- How Modi's appeal works
Smita Gupta, Times News Network, December 09, 2002
KARAMSAD: In Sardar Patel's ancestral village, a group of men are playing cards beneath a banyan tree. At first, they mock Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's attempts to project himself as "Chhote Sardar". But within a few minutes, they open up: "Modi who protected the honour of the Hindus. Otherwise, after Godhra, Gujarat would have been converted into a mini-Pakistan. Modi is a true follower of Patel."
- Politics of Memory: Reliving the Pain
Harsh Kabra, December 09, 2002
In the wake of the overwhelming atrocities of our age, memory appears more debilitating than liberating, a force more for revenge than for reconciliation. We are indeed remembering the victims today, but in flawed contexts for the wrong reasons.
- Ride the failure curve
Rajni Kothari, The Hindustan Times, December 8
In this article I want to dwell further on the fast changing atmosphere — and atmospherics — in Gujarat. More recent events in Gujarat point to a further accentuation of the processes described by me earlier. It has, in fact, led to an even deeper — and far more extensive — thrust of the communal virus, and with it of communalism in practice, as is found in day-to-day life, ranging all the way from a leadership charged by a vitriolic build-up of feelings and emotions to the spread of the virus among the ordinary people, spreading across social segments and regional identities.
- Now NGOs take up the battle against BJP
Smita Gupta, Times News Network, December 09, 2002
Ahmedabad: Gujarat does not have a political third force, but its vast network of NGOs — working in areas ranging from water conservation to the upliftment of Dalits or providing employment to craftswomen for a social third force — will play a role, albeit small, in the make-or-break assembly elections slated for December 12.
- Hindutva magic may fail in Anand
Jahnavi Contractor, Times News Network, December 09, 2002
BORSAD, Anand: While BJP is using 'Hindutva' as its main campaign point in the villages of Anand and Kheda, Congressmen here say that the very campaign that focuses on Hindutva as their strong point, might well be the BJP's undoing on December 12.
- Temple towns junk Hindutva
Somnath/Dwarka, The Hindustan Times, December 9, 2002
The irony would not have escaped the BJP's election strategists. The party is unable to sell its brand of aggressive Hinduism even in Hinduism's sacred cities of Dwarka and Somnath.
- Missing: The Muslim link
Hindutva makes Cong, BJP gag, tie down Muslim campaigners
Ajay Suri, The Indian Express, December 8, 2002
New Delhi, December 8 AS Narendra Modi and Shankar Sinh Vaghela battle it out in Gujarat, in the backdrop of the bitterness generated by one of the worst communal riots that the country has ever witnessed, few can miss the absence of any noteworthy Muslim campaigner.
- PM stands for Prime Minister & Praising Modi
‘I’m his advocate, I’ve to plead his case’; blames Cong for not helping riot control
Milind Ghatwai & Janyala Sreenivas, The Indian Express, December 8, 2002
Vadodara, Jamnagar, Dec 7: Godhra, Akshardham and ‘‘Miya Musharraf’’ took a backseat today as Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi shared the stage with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on his first campaign stop in the state.
- VHP barred from showing film in Gujarat
Reuters, December 07, 2002
AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat government on Saturday banned the Vishwa Hindu Parishad from showing a film on the Godhra carnage, fearing it might reignite religious tension ahead of the Assembly polls.
- BJP’s crunch time
The Hindustan Times, December 6, 2002
The electoral trends in Gujarat are still unclear. But a few assessments can still be made. For instance, it is obvious that the BJP no longer expects the kind of victory which made it eagerly opt for an early election till the idea was shot down by the Election Commission.
- Toward Hindu-Muslim militancy?
Swaminomics/Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar, The Times of India, December 07, 2002
Since independence, Hindu militancy has looked the biggest danger to our secular fabric. I have spent a long career combating the hate messages of groups like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Yet I have a nasty feeling today that Islamic terror may have become an equally great danger.
- Why everyone’s rushing to Saurashtra
PM’s first speech here today; bread, butter worry saffron
Himanshu Kaushik, The Indian Express, December 7, 2002
Atal Behari Vajpayee Ahmedabad, December 6: The war of words may be over Godhra and Akshardam but the war of votes in Gujarat is actually being waged in Saurashtra, where bijli and pani matter far more than Italian glasses and Miyan Musharraf.
- Godhra film screened during rath yatra
Times News Network, December 07, 2002
GODHRA: In a development that the district administration is yet to take note of, the VHP has rolled out its video 'rath' in Godhra which is now touring the villages of Panchmahals district showing gory visuals of the Sabarmati Express tragedy as well as bodies of the victims and their funeral procession.
- On the Tenth Anniversary of Ayodhya: at least one small victory
By Vijay Prashad, Zmag, December 06, 2002
Ten years ago, on 6 December 1992, a fascist spectacle enveloped northern India and the Indian Diaspora. In the small town of Ayodhya, a well-organized band of Hindutva activists demolished the 16th Century mosque erected by Mir Baqi. News came soon after about the blood that flowed from the outskirts of Delhi to the center of Bombay. The contempt for law and order on the part of the forces of Hindutva matched the disregard for the Indian Constitution exercised by Indira Gandhi and the Congress Party in the mid-1970s - neither cared for the rules or for peace, only interested in the exercise of their own power.
- VHP beckons Hindus to defend their religious sites
PTI, December 05, 2002
LUCKNOW: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal on Thursday asked Hindus to do something on their own to protect the religious shrines and demanded that arms licences be given to their activists for the purpose.
- EC curbs VHP's December 6 rally
Agencies, December 05, 2002
AHMEDABAD: The Election Commission has put curbs on the speeches of VHP leaders and limited their proposed Shaurya Divas rally to mark the 10th anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition on Saturday, at two places in the city under strict surveillance.
- Carnage posters mushroom in Godhra
Times News Network, December 06, 2002
GODHRA: Haunting images of the February 27 train carnage have enveloped the city overnight.
From auto-rickshaws and public transport vehicles to bus stops and shopping complexes across the city, posters of the burning Sabarmati coach, along with passport size photos of the Ram sevaks, carry a message that reads: "Ram sevako ne shradhanjali, etle sau taka matdan (Pay your respect to these Ram sevaks by ensuring 100 per cent voting)."
- Far away from Godhra, yet the violence hurt them
Smita Gupta, Times News Network, December 05, 2002
JUNAGADH: Far away from Godhra, Gujarat's Ground Zero, in the former princely state of Junagadh, which boasts some splendid examples of Muslim architecture, the impact of the state-sponsored violence earlier this year can be felt.
- Divided Gujarat
Editorial, The Times of India, December 05, 2002
It was billed as a battle for the soul of India. But half-way through a lacklustre campaign, Gujarat appears to have produced neither the anticipated frenzy nor the traditional fanfare associated with elections in the world’s biggest democracy.
- Hindutva strikes a chord with tribals
Bharat Desai, Times News Network, December 05, 2002
Call it the influence of Hindutva, but there has been a perceptible change in the tribal areas of Central Gujarat in recent years.
- Business, not riot is poll issue in Vadodara
PTI, December 04, 2002
Vadodara: Amidst all the hype over Godhra and talk of communal polarisation in the coming elections, contest in this constituency promises to be on different issues.
- Talk water, then safety: BJP land
Janyala Sreenivas, The Indian Express, December 4, 2002
If Saurashtra was considered a bastion of the BJP, North Gujarat was always counted as a dependable territory to add to the party’s tally. But not anymore.
- Fear lurks beneath Godhra's calm
PTI, December 03, 2002
Godhra: This small business town, the epicentre of the February 27 quake and the communal violence that followed in Gujarat, today appears completely normal, at least, superficially but an undercurrent of fear is said to pervade among the minorities as the Dec 12 deadline approaches.
- Lashkar tells its Gujarat story
Nilanjana Bhaduri Jha, Times News Network, December 03, 2002
NEW DELHI: Sangh Parivar offshoots are not the only ones telling their version of the Gujarat story. The website of the militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba has posted graphic "eyewitness accounts" and photographs of the riots in the state earlier this year.
- Time to payback Criminalisation of politics in Gujarat
Editorial, The Stateman, December 3, 2002
The BJP candidates in the upcoming election in Gujarat include those accused of murder, arson and rioting. Apart from Chief Minister Narendra Modi who has been indicted by the Citizen’s Tribunal for masterminding the anti-Muslim pogrom that claimed well over a thousand lives earlier this year, there are others on the BJP’s roll call of 182 who have actually spent time in jail as prime accused for murder.
- Gujarat Elections-I
Ground realities steal the scene from Modi’s script
Ajay Singh, Business Standard, December 3, 2002
In fact, all over north Gujarat and Saurashtra, the mood was one of disillusionment with the Sangh Parivar’s politics. In most of these villages, farmers were seething with anger because the government failed to ensure uninterrupted power supply during the crop season.
- Godhra, hide and seek
In Gujarat, a BJP-style manifesto, a VHP-style campaign. What next?
Editorial, The Indian Express, December 3, 2002
Everybody knows election manifestos mustn’t be taken too seriously. They are pious statements of unexceptionable intent, scarcely, if ever, consulted even by the parties that framed them. But, having said that, the BJP’s just-released manifesto is startling: it would appear to consign manifesto-making to a whole new political irrelevance.
- Who’s afraid of the EC? BJP to go to town with Godhra image
Calendars, posters, banners and almanacs to flood state; EC, police say they’re keeping a watch
Himanshu Kaushik, The Indian Express, December 3, 2002
Ahmedabad/ Gandhinagar, December 2: Starting Tuesday in Gujarat: the BJP’s Operation Flood that’s guaranteed to keep the police and the Election Commission on their toes until December 12. The BJP will tomorrow unleash the united sights, sounds and colours of its election campaign on the state in the form of calendars, handbills, posters, stickers and almanacs that are replete with images of the burning Sabarmati Express, the Akshardham temple and Narendra Modi as the ‘‘saviour of the interests of five crore Gujaratis’’.
- Modi kicks off Eleventh phase of Gaurav Yatra
Outlookindia.com, December 2, 2002
Gujarat caretaker Chief Minister Narendra Modi today kicked off the eleventh phase of his "Gavrav yatra" saying that his main objective was to "teach a lesson to messengers of death" who have disrupted peace in the state.
- BJP attacks Lyngdoh over poster removal
Times News Network, December 02, 2002
AHMEDABAD: The ruling BJP has once again targetted Chief Election Commissioner J M Lyngdoh for adopting a partisan attitude towards the BJP by ordering the removal of banners depicting Akshardham temple.
- Hate isn’t a trump card
Times News Network, December 02, 2002
AHMEDABAD: In what could be a clear case of desperation, the BJP has decided to continue with the Gujarat Gaurav Yatra, led by Chief Minister Narendra Modi, to areas of Saurashtra and Central Gujarat hitherto not covered under the earlier 10 phases.
- No full stops for Modi's yatra
By Amulya Ganguli, The Hindustan Times, December 2, 2002
Narendra Modi has already been awarded victory in Gujarat by some pollsters and commentators. Their contention is that the prevailing anti-Muslim sentiments among Hindus cannot but take him to success. But this argument is not irrefutable. Even a cursory look at the state’s recent past casts doubt on the claim.
- Shy of ‘G’ word, BJP seeks votes
MANIFESTO | Arms training, volunteer forces; and anti-conversion law promised
Express News Service, December 2, 2002
Ahmedabad, December 1 Putting up a joint front, the BJP on Sunday released its manifesto which skipped any reference to Godhra, the riots and the Akshardham attack but projected it as the only saviour of ‘‘five crore Gujaratis’’. The party has made safety and security its top priority in this border state.
- A Well Knit Parivar?
Mukul Dube, The Milli Gazette (India), Dec 01, 2002
A great deal of air time and much newsprint are nowadays devoted to analysing the relations between the different branches of the Sangh Parivar. They are easily seen to be supportive of one another. Where the BJP cannot take to the streets, it deputes this task to the VHP. Where the VHP finds itself short of muscle, it calls in the Bajrang Dal. Where the VHP falls short of respectability, it is helped out by the BJP. And so on. All this is under the watchful and mostly silent RSS, and in furtherance of the pitifully specious "cause" of Hindutva.
- One morning we set out from Godhra to Akshardham
The Sunday Express, December 1, 2002
This was the yatra that the VHP wanted and which the Election Commission banned. So as the Gujarat election campaign enters its last leg, The Sunday Express team of Tavleen Singh and photographer Praveen Jain arrive at the Godhra railway station and set out on a journey to see why the VHP wanted this journey.
More - Archive One (November, 2002)
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