Ignoring the original sin of ‘heroes’

By Soroor Ahmed, TwoCircles.net,

Power has its own advantage. Generals who come to power after overthrowing elected government and massacring people often end up doing some populist works to consolidate their hold. They would crack down on hoarders, blackmarketeers, petty corrupt officials etc to send a message that they are honest and mean business.

But this act of theirs does not absolve them of their original crime of murdering democracy as well as suppressing citizens and throttling their voice.

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi is not the only leader or bureaucrat who has, over the years, utlilized his post or influence, to metamorphose his image. Lal Krishna Advani too did so. Advani of 1989-92 was not the same Advani of 1998 onward. Years later he ended up praising Jinnah in Pakistan. All this for the sake of power.

Rulers often get opportunity to wash off their sins. But sometimes the blood-stains remain notwithstanding use of high quality detergent––that is propaganda.

Cornered by civilized society throughout India and abroad Narendra Modi did try to improve his image in his home state. He did so by making an effort to remove petty corruption. And to an extent he succeeded, though it is also true that big scams continue to flourish in the state.

Gujarati NRIs, always being an entrepreneur community, too came to his rescue and made huge investment in the state. Modi’s supporters in corporate houses and media––not to speak just of party––too contributed immensely to improve his image.

Today the state has the growth rate of around 11 per cent when the national GDP has been hovering around 10 per cent. What should not be forgotten is that Gujarat had the growth rate of 12 to 13 per cent two decades back when there was Congress government in the state and when the national growth rate was just around six or seven per cent. But then there was no systematic media campaign to praise any individual chief minister.

Gujarat, being a coastal state, always attracted investors and industrialists, right from late 19th century. Gujarati domination over the then Bombay province was always resented by the local people. This led to the creation of Maharashtra more than half a century back. So there is no point praising Modi to the sky for the rise of Gujarat.

Not to speak of Modi alone. Rulers do try to refurbish their image. But should this mean that the original sin be forgiven or forgotten? No, even if in future Modi gets a clean chit from the court on his direct involvement in the riots, his failure to check it for three months can never be ignored.

We have another example, that is, of T N Seshan. After becoming the Chief Election Commissioner of India in 1990 he started talking about electoral reforms and corruption. He tried to create a larger than life image for himself in the media.

Thanks to the post-Mandal politics, a sizeable section of Press then succeeded in carving out his name in the league of honest, upright and no nonsense officers.

But can one forget that he was the Defence Secretary and Cabinet Secretary of India when the Bofors controversy was at its peak? Since the media and a large section of public opinion-makers needed a personality like Seshan to fight their battle against the emerging pro-Mandal forces, he was hailed as a great reformer and his past was totally overlooked.

In fact there was no dearth of people who in 1991 alleged that he started his so-called crusade against rigging by countermanding the election of Inder Kumar Gujral, who was contesting the Lok Sabha election from Patna in Bihar. It was then alleged that he had personal grudge against Gujral, who as a senior minister in the V P Singh government reportedly played a part in getting him removed from the post of Cabinet Secretary on December 23, 1989. So a man, who is alleged to have started his innings by settling his score, emerged as a champion of electoral reform.

The then DGP of Punjab, K P S Gill, also got an opportunity to bail himself out from trouble. He pinched the bottom of a woman IAS officer Rupan Deol Bajaj in a party during the high time of militancy in that state. Though the lady complained and women’s right group strongly protested nothing happened as Gill soon got engaged in the damage limitation exercise. He intensified his campaign against the Sikh terrorists and to an extent succeeded in crushing them. Though human rights group alleged that he got killed many innocent people in the process he was hailed as the man who brought peace in Punjab. His original sin was almost pardoned.

The Supreme Court gave directions to Chief Judicial Magistrate, Chandigarh to take cognizance of his crime of sexual harassment eight years later. Gill almost got exonerated as he got too light a punishment and that too more than 17 years later.

If such a serious crime––outraging the modesty–– against an empowered lady, an IAS officer, can virtually be forgiven then the less said is the better.