Gujarat146;s grim march

The latest from Gujarat is that the ravaged state will be the staging post for grand religio-political yatras. The BJP is readying its state...

The latest from Gujarat is that the ravaged state will be the staging post for grand religio-political yatras. The BJP is readying its state unit to sally forth, Narendra Modi at the helm, on the 8216;Gujarat Gaurav Rath Yatra8217;, ostensibly to spread the message of peace. The Congress is preparing to launch parallel rallies, to counter the BJP. And then there is the annual Jagannath rath yatra, also coming up next month. The irony is grotesque. In a state where the constitutional machinery has all but withered away, where mob violence against the minority community raged unchecked for almost three months and survivors are still destitute, the ruling party plans to lead a triumphalist march to celebrate Gujarat8217;s gaurav pride, the Opposition is provoked to a knee-jerk counter offensive and religiosity will be ostentatiously on display under the pretext of an annual ritual.

But, then, Narendra Modi8217;s kingdom is like this only. It is a state where a reelection is plotted by the party in power as violence continues to erupt and normality is a distant dream for a large section of the people. The Gujarat Gaurav Yatra will arguably double up as an electoral campaign. And so what if the riot-hit are still huddled in make-shift relief camps, the ones that have not been dismantled by the state government in its anxiety to prove that all is well again, that is. So what if the conditions in these remaining relief camps remain unhygienic and unsanitary 8212; more so, in the monsoon downpour. So what if food and medical supplies are criminally scanty and rehabilitation packages are insultingly measly. So what if those survivors who do summon the courage to return to their homes to pick up the threads of their old lives are brought up short against humiliating conditions 8212; only if 8216;they8217; drop cases, only once 8216;they8217; change their lifestyle8230; Why, indeed, should Chief Minister Narendra Modi pay heed to the work yet undone when friends and patrons at the Centre continue to hand him certificates of good behaviour, Home Minister L.K. Advani being only the most recent one to do so?

Events in Gujarat confirm that a sick leadership cannot guide the state to recovery. It would be unfair to the people of Gujarat if the events elsewhere, howsover pressing they may seem, deflect the public focus from their continuing tragedy.