A fast one

Narendra Modi wants a makeover like a brand that wants to pitch for a more mainstream audience,the first step is to erase old associations that have outlived their utility. The sadbhavana mission,and his three-day fast for peace and communal harmony,is an attempt to enlarge his field of possibilities with no real cost to himself. And,after all,a three-day fast is just detox,not radical penance or a willingness to waste away for a larger cause. The BJP,which was initially thrown by Modis abrupt announcement,has realised the value of this spectacle and so,the entire phalanx of senior BJP leaders and allies except Nitish Kumar showed up to heap praise on Modi. Many Muslim representatives were also drafted into the event,in skullcaps and burqas,to complete this picturesque sight of communal amity. Public officials have been enlisted to plan and supervise the event,work out the traffic logistics and minister to the many VIPs. Modis rhetoric was a blend of piety and self-pity while acknowledging the pain of 2002,he said that he used the stones thrown at Gujarat to construct a ladder of development.

Meanwhile,the Congresss fast at Sabarmati ashram is an attempt to deny him that virtuous glow,keeping alive the issue of Modis alleged complicity in the 2002 riots. Shankarsinh Vaghela and Arjun Modhvadia will fast in protest of the Gujarat governments alleged corruption and mendacity. It might be one of the rare occasions when the Congress in Gujarat appears to rally around and display some oppositional grit,but its satyagraha is little more than a mechanical counter to Modis move. Meanwhile,civil society opposition has been cornered by the dancer and activist Mallika Sarabhai,who pledged to feed malnourished children for the three days that Modi ostentatiously denied himself food her action is meant to reproach his waste of public money.

To most onlookers,these fasts are hollow-hearted and jarring sights. Supposed to be spiritual endeavours,these fasts keep a beady,calculating eye on the audience. They have taken a once-inspirational method,Mahatma Gandhis moral quest for purification,and rendered it ridiculous. Sadly,this travesty is probably not the last we will see of fasts being used for small,self-serving purposes.