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After the Special Investigation Team
appointed by Supreme Court submitted its report in December 2010,
a front page headline in a leading daily announced that SIT gives
a clean chit to Modi. This was picked up by a large section of the
media to hail Modi being the man for progress of Gujarat. The
industrialist’s chorus for Modi the potential Prime minster is on
from last quit some time. This news of ‘clean chit’ to Modi
gladdened the hearts of communal forces. The social activists
could not believe what they read. Number of Citizens inquiry
Committee reports has already worked overtime to bring forward the
truth of Gujarat carnage. It has been called as a state sponsored
carnage by social activists for no reason. The ground work of
activists, interacting with the hapless victims already had given
the precise picture of what took place in Gujarat. There are
scores of Citizens committee reports, and also the report of
Peoples tribunal, led by the leading legal luminary who had
concluded that the carnage went on the way it did due to the pro
active involvement of Modi Government which gave it the horrific
character.
Despite all the reports a
substantial section of the popular perception looked at Modi in a
favorable light. The way truth is undermined when it pertains to
the minorities and weaker sections of society was clear in the
case of Gujarat carnage. Though ‘social consciousness’ had some
doubts that the carnage was not handled well, the major focus was
shifted to Godhra carnage and the alleged role of Muslims was
highlighted. This projected role of Muslims seemed to be giving
justification to Hindus retaliating. Despite the Bannerjee
Commissions report, saying that Godhra tragedy was not preplanned
act by Muslims, in popular perceptions it could not make a dent as
already the media and other propaganda machinery led by Modi had
created the image of aggressive Muslims burning the train.
Now with SIT coming to investigate
some aspects of the carnage there was a hope amongst victims and
social activists that the truth of Gujarat, the truth of the state
sponsored carnage will finally come out and the guilty will be
punished and victims will get justice. With this hope in the
background when the perceptions were manufactured that SIT has
given a clean chit to Modi, it was a fake and bitter pill for the
victims and social activists doing their best to fight for the
cause of justice. With so called news of SIT giving clean chit
many further lost the faith in the system, with the feeling that
probably this is end of the road for justice in this country.
Fortunately that is not the case.
The Tehelka scoop (5th February 2011) clearly shows that the
newspaper headline was a concoction. The scoop shows that the
report has squarely put the blame of carnage on Modi. All the
charges against him stand vindicated in the SIT investigation
report. The report practically confirms all the findings of the
people’s tribunal and other Citizens committees who painstakingly
investigated the Gujarat violence and called it a pogrom. The SIT
report submitted to the Supreme Court tells that Modi had tried to
alter the situation in the Gulbarg society by saying, by now most
infamous, ‘every action has equal and opposite reaction’. SIT
report confirms that Gujarat Government had deputed ministers in
the police control room, a move which gave the management of
violence in the political hands making it more horrific and
motivated act. It was a common knowledge that few honest police
officers, who had stood by the call of their duty and prevented
the aggravation of violence, were transferred to insignificant
postings.
With this scoop now it stands confirmed that the Gujarat
Government had destroyed the records of wireless communication of
the period of the violence. Modi did display a discriminatory
attitude towards the victim minorities and he did not visit the
riot affected areas or minority camps till quiet late during the
carnage. Government appointed RSS affiliated lawyers in the
sensitive riot cases. Modi did not take any steps to stop the
Bandh call given by VHP and supported by BJP on 28th February,
this move of VHP gave a big start to the massacre and the attitude
of state to the bandh gave a signal to the rioters for doing what
they did. SIT confirms that the officials tried to mislead the
election commission in the wake of forth coming elections by
projecting that there is peace and atmosphere is conducive for
elections while the truth was that the violence was simmering in
the society. Police has carried out extremely shoddy
innvetigagation of Naroda Patia and Gulbarg society cases.
There are diverse reactions to the report. The social activists
are demanding that this is the sufficient ground for lodging FIR
against Modi. The BJP on the contrary is more worried about
investigating as to how the leak took place. Interestingly while
today this party is demanding probe into the scoop, BJP and no one
else raised the question when the news ‘SIT gives clean chit to
Modi’ was highlighted! Nobody in their best wisdom asked a
question as to when the report is confidential how come this
headline in the newspapers? In a classic display of double
standards BJP never questioned the first ‘leak’, as that suited
its political purpose. Now when the boot is in the other foot the
legality of scoop etc is being raised.
Meanwhile what is happening to the victim community? They have
been browbeaten in to second class citizenship, ghettoization is
going up by leaps and bounds, and the process of justice to
victims of violence is prominent by its absence, the efforts of
human rights activists succeeding in few cases, notwithstanding.
That raises the larger issue of how the popular perceptions are
modulated, how the mass consciousness is manufactured in the
society. Right since the Godhra train burning a particular view of
events put across by the murderers is dominating the media world.
Any doubts about the major erosion of the story have been treated
with contempt by large sections of media. In the case of headline
‘SIT gives a clean chit to Modi’, the same perception was boosted
that it is the minorities and social activists who are the cause
of trouble. The social perceptions are very crucial in making the
criminals of the of the ilk of Modi to rule with iron hand to and
to keep getting re-elected despite having a huge stock of
skeletons in the cupboard, despite there being blood on his hands.
In this battle for the minds of society the communal elements are
having the major manipulating power at present. Goebbels is being
outplayed in Gujarat. This whole episode should make us do the
introspection as to how to ensure that ‘truth shall prevail’ in
present circumstance. Also which are these forces, politics-media
alliance which can manipulate the mass thinking at will by
publishing that ‘SIT has given clean chit to Modi’? If we cannot
wake up to this stark fact of our society, such popular
perceptions will be laying the ground for the mass murderers to
keep ruling with the great appreciation form the communal forces
and captains of industry and they can also manipulate the opinion
of masses in their favor.
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