Dr Uma Asopa comments : Hi Sunanda I share with you the concerns you have expressed in your writing.You have indeed written a very balanced article. yes the result of election shows that this is what people of Gujarat want..and this definitely is a victory riding on wave of Hinduism.one has to probe deeper into the psyche of Gujarati masse to understand their homogenous polarization on line of religion,and not just leave it at Godhara or post Godhara events. Togadia's desire to carry forward this experiment should be a matter of great concern. but I do have a trust in the resilience and strength of our democracy and we do not hope that this should become a trend setter... I am a regular visitor at poetry site, rarely see other articles ,am happy I did today Please see my post today on Poetry site I have just posted something related to this.
1. If you feel Gujarat Govt had not done enough to quell the riots following Godhra, you should concentrate more on that angle rather than just touting Gujarat Elections as victory for democracy.
2. Kashmir Elections may be seen as victory for democracy. But Gujarat Elections, too? What exactly do you mean by victory for democracy anyway? It is a boring and often meaningless phrase. Did you really expect Gujarat to go without elections for years the way Punjab and Kashmir have been under cloud over the last 20 years ?
3. Victory for democracy and victory for Hindutva are not mutually exclusive.
4. With hand on your heart, ask yourself very honestly whether you would have deemed it a matter for concern if Congress had won the election instead and called it 'victory for secularism' ? It is not surprising that some people are calling it 'victory for Hindutva'. I daresay they are correct.
Someone could rightfully ask me what business a Pakistani like me has giving constructive criticism to India when my own country needs most of what I am about to say. Yet, with some hesitation and lots of goodwill, I wish to offer my comments on Gujrat elections and Hindu-Muslim riots.
Back in early 50s, the Pakistani politicians used the issue of Ahmadis who were condemned to be non-Muslims in mid 70s. The political dividends of a religious divide were reaped by our selfish politicians and our society was left to suffer. Then came more politicians who tried to use the Shia-Sunni divided and benefited at the cost of peace in Pakistani society. Now Pakistanis are undoing the mistakes of past at great costs. Jihadis are hard to control; and country's good name is at stake. My point to explain Pakistan's mistake of using RELIGION or RELIGIOUS fervor to national politics is to warn Indians that they must resist the temptation to support Hindu RELIGIO-POLITICAL ferver (HINDUVATA) creeping into the mainstream Indian politics; otherwise, it will undermine the secular nature of India.
Regards, Shaukat Khan, MBA
Guju Boy comments : HI, I DONT AGREE WITH YOU WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY DEMOCRACY WHERE PEOPLE CAN LIVE FREELY IN INDIA ONLY MUSLIMS CAN LVE FREELY I BELONG TO GODHRA I HAVE SEEN WHT THESE MUSLIMS DO TO HINDU TEMPLES AND HINDU GIRLS THERE R ONLY TWO WAYS U CAN LIVE U R LIFE EITHER U BEHAVE LIKE A COWARD (AS WE HINDUS ARE DOING) OR BE A BRAVE PERSON LIKE (JEWS) AND GIVE THEM A PUNCH. LET ME ASK U ONE THING IF YOUR FATHER OR BROTHER IS KILLED OR YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS ARE BEING RAPED BY TERRORIST IN KASHMIR.
KEEP HAND ON YOUR HEART AND ASK WHAT WILL YOU DO. YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS THAT TERRORIST WULD BEHANGED OR HE CAN GET OUT OF THE JAIL IF YOU TAKE THE CASE BACK
IF YOU ARE DOING THE SECOND OPTION BY TAKING YOUR CASE BACK THEN YOUR THE GOD DAMN HUMAN BEING
THINK ABOUT IT AND THEN YOU SHULD WRITE
WHEN IT IS GOING THROUGH ONE OF YOUR FAMILY MEMEBERS THEN U WULD REALIZE HOW HARSH IT IS??
JUST THINK ABOUT IT
I WULD BE WAITING FOR YOUR REPLY.
YOU GUYS SAY THAT IT WAS A BIG PATCH OR DIRT HOLE ON INDIA'S HISTORY
WHY YOU PEOPLE FORGET THAT THEY HAVE DESTROYED OUR TEMPLES THEN PEOPLE LIKE YOU PRAISE
I FEEL ASHAMED TO BE A CITIZEN OF THAT [bleep]ing COUNTRY I FEEL ASHAMED TO BE A HINDU
