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Saturday, December 28, 2013

Narendra Modi's Open Letter on 2002 Gujarat Roits to Nation

Gujarat Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has written a lengthy blog post to "share his harrowing ordeal" in the aftermath of the post-Godhra riots in 2002.

Modi's musings come a day after a metropolitan magistrate's court in Ahmedabad upheld the clean chit given to Modi by a Special Investigation Team in the Gulbarg society massacre case.

In his blog, Modi claims that he was shaken to the core by the communal riots and by the "pain of being blamed".

Here is the full text of Narendra Modi's blog post:

Dear sisters and brothers,

The law of nature is that Truth alone triumphs -- Satyameva Jayate. Our judiciary having spoken, I felt it important to share my inner thoughts and feelings with the nation at large.

The end brings back memories of the beginning. The devastating earthquake of 2001 had plunged Gujarat into the gloom of death, destruction and sheer helplessness. Hundreds of lives were lost. Lakhs were rendered homeless. Entire livelihoods were destroyed. In such traumatic times of unimaginable suffering, I was given the responsibility to soothe and rebuild.

And we had whole-heartedly plunged ourselves into the challenge at hand.

Within a mere five months however, the mindless violence of 2002 had dealt us another unexpected blow. Innocents were killed. Families rendered helpless. Property built through years of toil destroyed. Still struggling to get back on its feet from the natural devastation, this was a crippling blow to an already shattered and hurting Gujarat.

I was shaken to the core. 'Grief', 'Sadness', 'Misery', 'Pain', 'Anguish', 'Agony' -- mere words could not capture the absolute emptiness one felt on witnessing such inhumanity.

On one side was the pain of the victims of the earthquake, and on the other the pain of the victims of the riots. In decisively confronting this great turmoil, I had to single-mindedly focus all the strength given to me by the almighty, on the task of peace, justice and rehabilitation; burying the pain and agony I was personally wracked with.

During those challenging times, I often recollected the wisdom in our scriptures; explaining how those seating in positions of power did not have the right to share their own pain and anguish. They had to suffer it in solitude. I lived through the same, experiencing this anguish in searingly sharp intensity. In fact, whenever I remember those agonising days, I have only one earnest prayer to God. That never again should such cruelly unfortunate days come in the lives of any other person, society, state or nation.

This is the first time I am sharing the harrowing ordeal I had gone through in those days at a personal level.

However, it was from these very built up emotions that I had appealed to the people of Gujarat on the day of the Godhra train burning itself; fervently urging for peace and restraint to ensure lives of innocents were not put at risk. I had repeatedly reiterated the same principles in my daily interactions with the media in those fateful days of February-March 2002 as well; publicly underlining the political will as well as moral responsibility of the government to ensure peace, deliver justice and punish all guilty of violence.

You will also find these deep emotions in my recent words at my Sadbhavana fasts, where I had emphasised how such deplorable incidents did not behove a civilized society and had pained me deeply.

In fact, my emphasis has always been on developing and emphasising a spirit of unity; with the now widely used concept of 'my 5 crore Gujarati brothers and sisters' having crystallised right at the beginning of my tenure as CM itself from this very space.

However, as if all the suffering was not enough, I was also accused of the death and misery of my own loved ones, my Gujarati brothers and sisters. Can you imagine the inner turmoil and shock of being blamed for the very events that have shattered you!

For so many years, they incessantly kept up their attack, leaving no stone unturned. What pained even more was that in their overzealousness to hit at me for their narrow personal and political ends, they ended up maligning my entire state and country. This heartlessly kept reopening the wounds that we were sincerely trying to heal. It ironically also delayed the very justice that these people claimed to be fighting for. Maybe they did not realise how much suffering they were adding to an already pained people.

Gujarat however had decided its own path. We chose peace over violence. We chose unity over divisiveness. We chose goodwill over hatred. This was not easy, but we were determined to commit for the long haul. From a life of daily uncertainty and fear; my Gujarat transformed into one of Shanti, Ekta and Sadbhavana. I stand a satisfied and reassured man today. And for this, I credit each and every Gujarati.

The Gujarat Government had responded to the violence more swiftly and decisively than ever done before in any previous riots in the country.

Yesterday's judgement culminated a process of unprecedented scrutiny closely monitored by the highest court of the land, the Honourable Supreme Court of India. Gujarat's 12 years of trial by the fire have finally drawn to an end. I feel liberated and at peace.

I am truly grateful to all those who stood by me in these trying times; seeing through the facade of lies and deceit. With this cloud of misinformation firmly dispelled, I will now also hope that the many others out there trying to understand and connect with the real Narendra Modi would feel more empowered to do so.

Those who derive satisfaction by perpetuating pain in others will probably not stop their tirade against me. I do not expect them to. But, I pray in all humility, that they at least now stop irresponsibly maligning the 6 crore people of Gujarat.

Emerging from this journey of pain and agony; I pray to God that no bitterness seeps into my heart. I sincerely do not see this judgement as a personal victory or defeat, and urge all - my friends and especially my opponents - to not do so as well. I was driven by this same principle at the time of the Honourable Supreme Court's 2011 judgement on this matter. I fasted 37 days for Sadbhavana, choosing to translate the positive judgement into constructive action, reinforcing Unity and Sadbhavana in society at large.

I am deeply convinced that the future of any society, state or country lies in harmony. This is the only foundation on which progress and prosperity can be built. Therefore, I urge one and all to join hands in working towards the same, ensuring smiles on each and every face.

Once again, Satyameva Jayate!

Vande Mataram!


Saturday, December 7, 2013

Modi writes to Chief Ministers of various Indian states on Communal Violence Bill

Gujarat Chief Minister - Shri Narendra Modi has written to the Chief Ministers of several Indian states on the issue of the Prevention of Communal Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2013, which the Central Government plans to introduce in the ongoing Parliament session. In his letter, Modi has called upon his counterparts to deliberate on the issue, take up the matter with the Central Government and opposite this Bill. Modi wrote that it is important for all Chief Ministers to rise beyond political affiliations and come together to oppose the Bill, which is nothing but a blatant attempt by the Centre to interfere with and intrude upon the powers of elected State Governments.

Modi emphasized on how the Communal Violence Bill would polarize society on religious and linguistic lines and would introduce the idea of differential application of criminal law to citizens based on religious and linguistic identities. He wrote about how the Bill would demoralize public savants and even impact how the state government can deal with law and order situations in future.

The Chief Ministers Modi wrote to include Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Shri Prithviraj Chavan (Maharashtra), Shri Okram Ibobi Singh (Manipur), Dr. Mukul Sangma (Meghalaya) among others.

Earlier Shri Narendra Modi had written to the Honourable Prime Minister of India expressing his strong opposition to the Bill. In a comprehensive letter to the Prime Minister, he listed the grounds on which he opposed the Bill and even pointed out the various sections of the Bill that were flawed. He had described the Bill as ill conceived, a recipe for disaster and added that it was driven by vote bank politics not genuine concern for society at large.

Even for Muslims, Modi is next Prime Minister

Whatever the so-called secular Congress leaders say one thing is clear that Narendra Modi’s popularity has transcended all the barriers of caste, creed and religion. He is no longer a Hindu leader as now even the Muslims have started talking about giving him a chance. The Muslim leaders now are not mincing words in accepting that the Congress has used Modi’s name to traumatize Muslims.

Latest in the line is the oldest plaintiff in Babri Masjid case Hashim Ansari, 85, who said in Ayodhya that the Congress was creating a fear of Gujarat Chief Minister by saying that if he becomes the Prime Minister, Muslims will have to face the consequences. This statement emphasises the new thought process that is emerging among the Muslims.

The Muslims listened to him when he said, “Muslims have supported Congress from the last 50 years but the party has gifted them communal riots. If Modi wants to become the Prime Minister, he needs support of Muslims and we should give him that.”

"Muslims in Gujarat are happy and wealthy," he said.

"Congress is creating fear of Modi by saying that if he becomes the prime minister their will be consequences for the community," he said.

Muslims have supported Congress for over 50 years, but the party in return gifted the community a series of communal riots, he said.

He also attacked the Muslim ministers in the Samajwadi party-led UP government and called them "powerless".

"Muslim ministers in the SP government are speechless and don't have any position in the party," he said.

The SP government is following the path of Congress, which has "suppressed Muslims through riots", Hashim alleged.

"Over 100 riots have taken place since the SP government took over the reigns of UP. The party is following the path the Congress, which suppressed Muslims by orchestrating riots," he said.

Ansari is not alone who spoke his heart about negative Congress politics which revolved around creating a religious divide on secular and communal lines. Only a month and a-half back Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind general secretary Mehmood Madani had said that the Congress was raising fears about Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi only to secure support of Muslims.

Narendra Modi's Gujarat to get country’s first smart grid Project

NaMo's Gujarat to get country’s first smart grid:


Like cell-phone users, people may be able to pick a plan for
electricity consumption. The Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Ltd(UGVCL) will roll out India's first modernized electrical grid,
or the smart grid, in Naroda and Deesa in north Gujarat by April 2014.

The pilot project will study consumer behaviour of electricity usage and propose a tariff structure based on usage and load on the power utility. Eventually, it will be rolled out across the state to disincentivize power consumption during peak hours. New meters embedded with SIM cards will be installed in 20,000 residential and industrial units in Naroda to monitor data every 15 minutes on how a particular consumer uses power.

The smart grid was first implemented in the US for efficient transmission of electricity. Like the internet, the smart grid consists of controls, computers, automation, and new technologies and equipment working in unison. These technologies work with the grid to respond digitally to the consumer's dynamic electricity demand.

"The smart grid will work on the 'time of day' concept, based on which tariffs will be set. For example if the demand is at peak during 7pm to 11pm, the tariffs will be higher for that period," said Nityanand Srivastava, and managing director, UGVCL on the sidelines of the 6th India Energy Conclave organized by CII.

"This will help us curb power theft substantially," said energy minister Saurabh Patel.


Why Ahmedabad is the safest place for women today.

By Zafar Sareshwala and Asifa Khan

A recent multi-city survey by CNN-IBN and Hindustan Times suggests that Ahmedabad may be the safest city for women, with 88 percent thinking so.

There is a reason for this. Safety is partly the result of the administration developing a firm grip on law and order, including control of organized crime. And there is a story to this development in Ahmedabad. As a dry state, Gujarat was once known for its underworld dons, with bootlegging being the main reason for their rise to criminal power. Powerful criminal dons cannot really exist without a nexus between them, the politicians and the police. This was the reality in the 1980s and 1990s, and this nexus was a critical factor in the rise of communalism in the state, since rioting turned out to be a profitable activity for the people concerned and it was usually stage-managed by the powers-that-be.
This nexus had vitiated the atmosphere so much that it was impossible for most people to venture out of their homes late at night. 

Towards the late 1990s, the law enforcers realised that things had gone too far, and soon many underworld dons from both sides of the communal divide were either put in jail or forced to wind up shop. They vanished. By 2003, boot-legging was on the decline, and the associated criminal enterprises also started folding up. In fact, when the authors of this article talked to a very senior police officer in Ahmedabad who also controls law and order, they were told that the previous hotspots of criminal activity had become safer. He said: “There has been no FIR registered in those police stations which were earlier epicentres of all criminal activities over the last eight to nine years.”

The fact that Ahmedabad and most of Gujarat has been riot- and-curfew-free after 2002 suggests that the overall peace dividend has resulted in improved safety for women too.
Meanwhile, the high growth trajectory of the state has improved job opportunities. Once the youth start finding a regular source of income and urban unemployment starts tapering off, the attraction of criminal activity diminishes. Ahmedabad's night life today has to be seen to be believed. In other metro cities, night life is confined to pubs, discotheques and star hotels, where excess imbibing of liquor is the mother of all vices and presumably critical to this form of relaxation. In contrast, Ahmedabad's night life is relatively free from liquor, and is lived out mostly on the streets – not in pubs or discos.

Manek Chowk and Law Garden are just two examples. Young girls on their Scooties hang out here long past midnight and various other lively spots in Gujarat’s capital city. There are very few places in the country where you will find women street vendors plying their trades as late as 2 am. You will also increasingly find scores of Muslim families, including burkha clad women, as pillion riders at various spots such as CG Road and SG Road. Once upto a time, even Muslim men would not venture out at night.

Don’t get us wrong. We are not saying people don’t drink liquor in Gujarat. They do so in private parties, but they dare not venture out after getting drunk because the police not only lock them up but are publicly named and shamed, with their photographs being published. The near-absence of drunkards in public places is an important contributor to women’s safety in Ahmedabad. In fact, Muslim women travelling alone is now a common sight in the city. The safety standard of any city will be judged by the safety of its women. In most cities around the country and particularly in the metros, the easy availability of alcohol (when even water is scarcer) and non-existent policing make public places unsafe. In Ahmedabad and several other cities of Gujarat, you will find visible police persons and patrols. This inhibits criminals.

The authors believe that night life ought to be about food and merriment and good behaviour, and not juiced by alcohol. This will bring families out to claim the night life rather than just criminals and mischief-mongers.

(Asifa Khan is a member of the Gujarat BJP, and Zafar Sareshwala is a Gujarati businessman who opened a dialogue with Modi to improve the lot of Muslims in Gujarat)