By Jaspal Singh
“Gujarat is burning” ” Gujarat is on a boil”, headlines of TV and other media are screaming, with images of police attacking the people, stone pelting, buses burning and arson and violence. Another headline is asking why the Patels who were the bulwark of support of BJP and Modi are on war path with them? Some people abroad are asking that why those people who organized a big show in Madison square about Gujarat Model and Modi are now cursing them?
The same media last year was full of claims by Modi and his cronies that Gujarat is the most prosperous and best governed state in India. Some people claim that a large section of national media is owned by corporates, who wanted to promote Modi and BJP, so the channels and other media owned by them participated in fraud and deception about Gujarat and presented a false picture of Gujarat to rest of India. Many are now saying,” I told you so.”
The central government has dispatched thousands of paramilitary men to “control” the situation. It is claimed that property worth hundreds of crores has been destroyed and 8 persons have been killed and many cities across the state are under curfew. It all happened after a mammoth rally in Ahmedabad, where lakhs of people gathered to protest against unemployment, poverty and misery.
The leaders of the rally squarely blame the police for triggering the violence and attacking the people. They point out that police went to the homes of the people after the rally, dragged young men, women and children, attacked them and killed 8 people to drown this movement for their haqin blood. They are also expressing their resolve to continue fighting for their rights.
This is not the first time that the Gujarat police has done so. In the early seventies there was a Nav Nirman movement of youth and students that raised the same issues of unemployment, livelihood and Justice. Gujarat government, at that time led by Congress party killed thousands of young people and drowned their struggle in blood.
The state violence and horror of 2002 after the Godhra tragedy is still alive in the memories of people. Now once again, Gujarat is burning. Why? Why is that the Indian state can not solve the socio economic and political problems without resorting to violence?
The reason lies in the basic nature of paradigm that has been followed by the rulers, and that paradigm is the colonial paradigm, of land theft, genocide, plunder, devastation and destruction, to enrich a handful monopolies. This creates resistance by those, that is masses of people, who are victims of this plunder. This resistance is taking many forms in Gujarat and other places. It can not remain hidden for long, no matter how much disinformation, deception and demagogy, political parties, corporate media and the captains of industry engage in.
Every few years the rulers of India declare one or the other state of India as most developed, well governed and prosperous as part of their deception. Few years ago Kerala was being promoted as a model. I remember that in seventies Punjab was being promoted as a model of prosperity and affluence and when the people of Punjab rose up, they incited rest of India against them claiming that prosperity of Punjab had spoiled them. Just few years ago, Bihar was being promoted as a model and one of the national channels gave Nitish Kumar, man of the year award for the “development” of Bihar, and of course we all know Vikas Purush Modi and Gujarat model.
The fighting people of Gujarat have to realize that this state and government is not interested in solving these problems. They are part of the problem and not part of solution. Instead of begging the state and government, they should take control of their resources in their communities and areas and together find solutions to these problems. Together they can and will solve these problems.