In the recently concluded Pravasi Bhartiya Divas in Chennai, Narendra Modi reacted sharply to a delegate’s suggestion that he should affirm his secular credentials strongly. Mr. Modi contested that:
“No one should preach secularism (to me). I need no certificate on secularism from any corner of the world,” and that “Secularism is in our blood, our mythology, our philosophy. Harmony is part of our culture. We are dedicated to communal harmony and committed to the Constitution.” [TOI]
In the recently concluded Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit, industrialists Anil Ambani and Sunil Mittal supported Mr. Modi for national level leadership with Mr. Ambani arguing “Gujarat has seen progress in all the fields under his leadership. Now, imagine what will happen to the nation if he leads the nation.”
If you are Narendra Modi then you could lie through your teeth and get away with it. Apparently one could sully the fine name of India, its mythology, its philosophy, its tolerant cultural traditions, its great Constitution and still claim to stand for each one of these. And now the idea of him at the national stage is gaining currency! Between Modi and Mayawati I don’t know which one is worse.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Mohib….anyday..anytime I would prefer Modi as PM to any other politician.
Indeed his hands are blood soaked…but give the man his due. He is truly a decisive and progressive leader. And India needs such leadership to tackle poverty, terrorism and the like.
If only Godhra-Gujrat had not taken place he would have truly emerged as a pan-Indian leader as against the pusilanimous Manmohan or the devilish Advani.
Obviously Modi …
If Farooq Abdullah who played golf when the genocide against Kashmir Pandits happened …..and the Muftis who overtly / covertly support Hurriyat and other Pak Based Militants can play a active role in politics in state and centre …..Modi can
It will be interesting to see how Modi who is banned from entering US and if afraid to travel in Europe interact with world leaders if he ever becomes PM. If Modi becomes NDA candidate then they can kiss many of their partners goodbye.
Dear mate,
Just come and see what a Narendra Modi can do to Gujarat in 7 years. Do you think any of the Gandhians could have done it in their lifetime. And if you still blame Mr. Modi for godhra, then go and have alook at the Nanavati commission report (and for your information the members of the commission were selected by the then Chief Justice of India). Open your eyes people to development.
@Naveen : Are you an Indian?
Molaga, Srinivas, Arpit:
Even Modi’s biggest critics accept the fact that he is pro-business and there has been development under his chief-ministership in Gujarat. However, that is not the only criteria for selecting a leader especially when his hands are “blood soaked” as you mention. Modi not only didn’t prevent the loss of over a thousand innocent Indians but devilishly justified it in his post-riot rhetoric (Action-Reaction, Mian Musharraf et al) to gain votes. He still hasn’t shown any remorse for his acts and Gujarat 2002 violence is an albatross that will continue to be hung around his neck.
The pan-Indian appeal of Modi is yet to be seen. He hasn’t helped BJP/NDA win Maharastra where his appeal is supposedly the most. He recently campaigned for BJP in Delhi and wasn’t unable to prevent a hat-trick for Sheila Dikshit. Bihar NDA partners specifically refused to have him campaign in their state for assembly elections. His blatant opportunism in announcing Rs 1 crore to Karkare’s grieving widow hasn’t exactly endeared him to the people.
Under Adolf Hitler’s leadership Germany went from a defeated power after World War I to a military and industrial superpower in just a few decades. But at what cost? Did it do the people of Germany any good in the long run?
Naveen:
The world community will have to accept whoever is the democratically elected leader of India. It is up to us, the people of India, whether to allow a “mass-murderer” (in the words of respected columnist Vir Sanghvi) becoming the leader of world’s largest democracy.
This is hillarious…I PLEDGE TO VOTE FOR NARENDRA MODI BECAUSE HE IS PM MATERIAL AND I AS A CITIZEN OF INDIA ENDORSE HIM…here is my pledge…
Abhishek:
Would you care to elaborate why you think Modi is “PM Material” and why you support him?
Mohib..it is not my intention to oppose ur views..but he is my take on some of ur questions.
a) On the Pan-Indian appeal: Which of the other PM candidates have that appeal ??
Sonia Gandhi is disliked by the Hindus
Manmohan is disliked by the Hindu-Right
Advani is disliked by Muslims
Mayawati appeals only to the Dalits
Rahul disliked by everyone other than the downright stupid
But chances are that one of these people will be anointed the PM in a few months.
b) Winning elections – Correct me if I am wrong…Manmohan SIngh is yet to win an election. But he is our PM. And neither can Manmohan nor can Sonia or Laloo or Mayawati..or for that matter any politican guarantee an electoral victory outside their areas of influence. So Modi not pulling it for BJP in Maharashtra or Delhi should not be counted against him.
c) I support Modi for his decisiveness and incoruptibility. And he is truly hardworking and dynamic.
And please note that he single-handedly won the 2008 Gujrat elections by virtue of his performance in face of massive opposition within the BJP and outside from Congress. And the “Mia Musharaf” diatribe was not part of his lingo this time around.
d) Yes yes yes Gujrat2001 will permanently be the democles sword above his head. In fact even Modi has accepted this in one of Shekar Gupta;s walk-the-talk interviews.
what can he do about that ?? Perhaps he will play his cards well and applogise one day. Read this:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-new-narendrabhai/412396/
But is that all u want ??
Btw. I am curious to know from u – have to talked to any Gujrati Muslims off late ?? What are their perceptions on Modi and the way Gujrat is run ??
Their is no doubt to any body that Today in India Narendra Modi has come across as a Politician who is tough, honest and Visionary. He is also known for being Anti-Corruption.
He is one who thinks of people as a whole and not as Hindus or Muslims.
Muslims in Gujarat have made far more progress then those in UP and Bihar.
We need a PM like Narenra Modi today to wipe out Corruption from India.
All people of India are suffering from Corruption, the biggest cancer India is facing right now.
The law of the land should not depend on the actions on the CM alone. Modi is clearly on a sticky wicket when it comes to the Gujrat riots. The question is that can he rise above his narrow biases and emerge as a true leader in the category of a Vajpayee or a Nehru. Leadership has to go beyond competence – it needs to generate a vision on where the nation needs to go.
The communal “Narendra Modi” is a tragedy but the reformist Modi can be a boon for the nation. India as a nation belongs to all religions, but we should not blind ourselves to the fact that even people change with time. One can make mistakes – Nehru did, Rajiv Gandhi did and so did Vajpayee. The question is that can we learn and become better?
I m requesting to muslims brothers pls dont discuss Gujrat riots when ever we discuss N Modi,its past now, see the example of congress , In 1984 congress was responisble for massacre of sikhs but now sikhs have forgot all these things, shown that sikhs are working for welfare of country under congress,congress is ruling party in punjab beacause sikh think abt only for development. I dont think any muslim majority district will select any BJP MP,Muslims dont have any relation with development if that development comes by BJP government, they are happy muslim local parties but will not allow any educated BJP MP to come in power.
Let’s leave aside moral arguments for now. Is it practically possible for Modi to become PM? In my view it is only possible if the BJP wins an absolute majority. I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Without a majority on its own, the BJP will have to depend on alliance partners and I don’t see the possibility of alliance partners joining the alliance or extending support with Modi as PM. Not because they are morally great, but because of practical electoral considerations.
The only path I can see for Modi towards leadership at the national level is that the BJP/NDA comes to power, with somebody else as PM. He can then continue to play a behind-the-scenes role from his current position as CM, or if he loses that in an election, a move to the central Government. And like Lalu, he can consciously try to make himself palatable to everybody. Even in this scenario, it would take an outright majority or close to that, for Modi to eventually make it to PMship. And all this assumes that there are no slips along the way.
A transformation of Modi’s image with Muslims can happen (e.g. Jinnah has become more palatable with non-Muslims over the years despite his near Modi-like image since the 1940s) but it is highly unlikely. In Jinnah’s case, it took decades for that to happen and even now, he is not particularly palatable to non-Muslims, though he may not be seen as the villain that he was seen right after independence.
Regarding the international community – if they can make a hero out of Musharraf in 2001, after treating him like an international pariah after the coup in 1999, they can deal with Modi. Countries make their foreign policies based on their interests, not on moral grounds. Even those who appear to be moralistic in their posturing (e.g. Scandinavian countries or even India during the peak of the NAM days) are actually using that to shield some underlying objective.
Modi as PM would be an unmitigated disaster for India.
The amount of blood letting and violence that this man will unleash will make even partition look like a children’s quarrel.
It is unfortunate that nobody in the ruling alliance has the gumption to take on this man and see that justice is done.