The heart which forgives an injury is like an oyster which closes its wound with a pearl

Much has been scripted and the dying embers stoked on the 10th anniversary of the Godhra carnage and the subsequent riots. But I have yet to see a single line in the media written to condemn the burning of the 59 sevaks. Almost every day the print media had depicted trishul brandishing ugly rioter, put out sob stories of the victims-the pathetic conditions of their lives-the agony and the pain writ large on the face of Qutubuddin Ansari-pleading agonizingly to be left along -some stories of course how they have tried to string back what was left but not a single story on how the families of the 59 charred victims have reconciled and have pushed on in life.

It seems to me that the media does not want the past to be past. It does not want the Muslims of Gujarat to forget and forgive and to move ahead. Even if they want the media and some NGOs will not allow them to. This may look like an accusation of the media and I stand by it. Be it the print media or the electronic media it has been anti-Modi and gives the impression that Modi led the rioters from the front. Facts prove to the contrary. Can the media for the past ten years go on stoking the fires and making that Modi a suspect?? Is there not a duty for the media to be unbiased-to try and do all that is possible to bring in harmony and peace? Look at the TOI front page on the 27th Feb 2012-the headline flashed is ‘action. reaction, inaction’. Each of these words can be analyzed. What is truth and what are mere headlines. The unfolding of the events cannot be called action and the action here means the burning of the carriages and the 59 charred bodies of the kar sevaks. What is meant by the reaction-the subsequent events but that is depicted hour to hour. What is meant by the inaction-surely it points to the administration’s failure to contain the riots. If one is to understand the headline of the TOI.

What it conveniently forgot was the fact that the Indian Express 10 years ago acknowledged the fact that the administration of Modi did act and acted effectively. Riots cannot be contained easily. The fact that Modi was ‘quick on his feet’-that he made it clear that nobody would be allowed to subvert the law. It also published in detail the number of convoys, army personnel and paramilitary forces which were deployed. Will these come under ‘inaction’? Is it not strange that when it came to the lives thousands lost in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi assassination the media was lukewarm in its reaction. How long did it keep the remembrances alive? Why had P.Chidambaram requested the Sikhs to put the past behind and to move on? Why the same advice is not held out to the Muslims of Gujarat in particular and the Muslims of India in general?

The politicians see in Modi a threat to their own ambitions and they make use of this rift-of a tragedy that costs lives. It is not as though the 2002 riots of Gujarat was the first of its kind in the State. What happened during the regimes of the Congress earlier? Were not riots the order of the day? Was not curfew clamped almost every other day? Is it the same now? This suspicion and hate is not a result of the events of ten years ago. It has been a long festering wound. It goes to the credit of Modi that he is the only Chief Minister who did something positive to ease this deep rooted hatred. It is to his credit that the Muslims in this State have found prosperity and harmony. Forget the media and the a few NGOs.Narendra Modi is a victim of vilification and of false allegations and accusations.In that respect he is a victim too. How long he has borne the brunt and carried on irrespective of what the media and the Congress spokespers throw at him.
The reality is there for people to see. No amount of Modi bashing and false accusations can bring peace and harmony and it is entirely a falsehood and a betrayal of the people of Gujarat to say that there was a political conspiracy. No Chief Minister would want to take sides-especially not a sharp and intelligent person like Modi. He knows that he needs the support of all-especially of the minorities if he has to push forward and take Gujarat to these heights which it has today. This is exactly why I liked the ‘Time to move on’ stated by Zafar Sareshwala. From a Modi critic even a Modi hater he has evolved into a very understanding, a wise Muslim leader calling the Muslims for a ‘process of dialogue and refrain from confrontation and agitation’. ‘He is one of the few Muslim faces –especially from the puritan school, who wants the community to move on’. This is the right attitude and I hope that the Muslim brethren will heed to such leaders and not fall a prey to the few NGOs (who find in it funds flowing) and politicians for their own political gains. It is the unity of the Indian people of India that is at stake. The Congress especially must realize this. There is a moral duty for all political parties not to divide-quotas-sub-quotas-appeasement policy, all these are harmful and reveal a mindset that is alien to unity of the people.

Ultimately there is the heart which has its reasons- hatred and suspicion and disunity cannot bring in peace and harmony to persons and to the community. For it is in forgiveness and in reaching out that is a healing process. To those who have lost their loved ones it heals the wounds and brings consolation.-sets new horizons in living a full life. To those who have lost their livelihood it enables them to pick up the brokenness and not only mends but built new enterprises. It is heartwarming-reviving and healing. This is why it is said that the heart that forgives an injury is like an oyster which closes its wound with a pearl. May all wounded hearts heal and let new blood and new life resurrect the friendship of the Hindu Muslim unity.

This also pertains to Modi who has stood the test of accusations, bashing almost everyday and yet gone about his work making no difference between communities. This we owe to our beloved country.-this is patriotism of a high order. None shall tarnish that. Let us work towards that. This is the pledge we have to take on days of remembrances and commemorations. Let it be so for the Feb 27th 2002-that’s the Action we need to commit ourselves to.

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