BJP workers hone talent in effigy-making

SURAT, JUNE 17: The war in Kargil has brought out the best among the Bharatiya Janata Party's cadres in South Gujarat. Their immense tale...

SURAT, JUNE 17: The war in Kargil has brought out the best among the Bharatiya Janata Party8217;s cadres in South Gujarat. Their immense talent for making effigies of political opponents, and burning them in public at the drop of a hat, has stood them in good stead in these testing times.

The upsurge in patriotic feeling, in keeping with the developments on either side of the Line of Control, is reflected in the number of programmes being organised on the streets of the region. Surat has already seen more than a dozen of them in the last few days.

All it takes is a couple of bamboo stems, straw, a pair of trousers loin cloth, in a few cases, a shirt and a round clay pot for an effigy to be made. A dash of paint for the face, and voila! The effigy is ready8230; to be burnt, that is.

8220;It does not take more than 90 minutes to assemble things and put the effigy together. We have already got a Masters degree in the art of effigy making,8221; says BJP Yuva Morcha president Jitubhai Barot. But these protests aredefinitely different from the ones carried out to run down political opponents, he says, adding, 8220;It is mostly swayambhu.8221;

A green cloth, a mulla topi and a few vitriolic slogans denouncing Pakistan8217;s designs and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif are essential ingredients of these protests, some of which have the potential to trigger trouble. BJP activists say so high is the public enthusiasm that a Sharif-effigy-flogging programme in Udhna saw 600 onlookers participating, a couple of days ago.

The Congress, for reasons known only to the party, has proved to be relatively slow on the uptake. In fact, Sanjay Patwa, former president of the party8217;s youth wing, claims he was the only one from his party to burn a Pakistani flag in Surat.

8220;It8217;s very easy to make a Pakistani flag. The cloth is available from the Bhaga Talao area8221;, he says, adding, 8220;The cost per effigy is not more than Rs 100.8221; Criticising his own partymen, he adds, 8220;Either they are inactive or lack buddhi.8221;

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He shouldknow, for his party is in the Opposition in the State Assembly as well as the Surat Municipal Corporation and have burnt so many effigies on inconsequential issues that the cadres have lost count.

Incidentally, so far as the police are concerned, such hate acts are completely out of bounds in the best of times. And when the prime minister of a neighbouring country and its flag are involved, there is no way the police will give permission. 8220;But who needs permission anyway?8221;, asks an activist, adding, 8220;Even if the police arrive they watch silently from the roadside. It8217;s during political protests that we8217;re wary of the police, because they always have to appease the ruling party.8221;

The BJP youth wing has also set up a Kargil Brigade8217; to supplement its efforts. 8220;We have able to bring out the dormant feeling of patriotism among the public,8221; Barot says, pointing to the overwhelming response the support group has received. Within hours of being announced, more than 400 people signed up, a number that hassince swelled to 1700, he says.

A freedom fighter was among the first to join in. 8220;We fought against the British. I am going to die anyway, so I8217;m even ready to serve at the border8221;, he says. And who is to argue with that?