Recall and regret

The words have been so late in coming. But that is not the main reason why Atal Bihari Vajpayee8217;s admission will be met with some disillusion, a lot of sadness. In Kullu, he finally acknowledged that the Gujarat violence may have contributed to the BJP8217;s defeat at the hustings this May. His successor chose the same day to look back at another pogrom, with regret. At Delhi8217;s Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke of the 8216;8216;painful incidents8217;8217; of Delhi 1984 that his party presided over. No, it8217;s not just that those words have lost their power to heal the ravaged, in Gujarat and in Delhi. It is, more, that they do not seem to hold any meaningful, and accountable, promise for the future.

Both leaders speak of the need to take steps to prevent similar incidents from recurring. Even those with bad memories will be able to point to the many reasons for disbelief. The accused of 1984 still roam free. In the recent elections, Manmohan Singh8217;s party unabashedly handed out tickets to Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, and so what if both were allegedly involved in instigating attacks on Sikhs. Tytler has also found a place in Manmohan Singh8217;s council of ministers. The guilty of Gujarat 2002 have not been brought to book either. More curiously, no notable cases have come to light so far against the politician despite the fact that independent agencies and the media have extensively chronicled the role of the political leadership in blinking at the blood bath and encouraging it. After Gujarat, as after Delhi, the response of the parties in power was to call for elections. Rajiv Gandhi and Narendra Modi sought to make political capital from the death and destruction, and they did.

The people desperately want to believe in Vajpayee8217;s and Manmohan Singh8217;s expressions of regret. Both men inspire faith. Both have shown an ability to attract respect and confidence from across the political spectrum. But, sadly, their own parties have consistently underlined the need to keep the scepticism alive. There can be no moving on, and little hope in the future, unless the crimes of Gujarat and Delhi are punished.