Who will join the 'Main Narendra Modi Hoon ' chorus?

Mahatma Gandhi did it, Sardar Patel did it and recently even Anna Hazare did it. So why Modi should be left behind? Fasting is always good. Period.

Be it for health, be it for making your opponents kowtow or be it for a social change, everyone loves a good fast.  But the three-day sarkari fast of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi is different in it that it aims at an image make-over. From communal to communal harmony.

It will take a few days to determine what Modi achieved from the fast which is likely to cost the exchequer a sum of Rs 5 cr to Rs 10 cr. But it's a good idea to skip meals and get so much of prime time on news channels for free - maybe as a gift for his 61st birthday which falls on September 17! Besides, cutting down calories is a great idea to stay fit for a longer political career ahead! Now we know why you are fasting Mr Modi!  

And this unique birthday bash has got the cash registers ringing at the five-star check-ins. The airport is going to be too crowded for the common people with all the charters.

The grand, air-conditioned  convention centre is now out of bounds for many event organisers who had it booked in advance. The babus have found something to stay busy during the weekend. The Bollywood celebs and the business honchos from Mumbai will have to skip socialite engagements as they want to express solidarity with Modi.

What Modi certainly stands to gain is the precious national attention. He knows the art of staying in news. Seasoned in holding big ticket events his PR team is working overtime to ensure he gets as much of prime time as Anna did - be it in news or debates.

But will it win the same respect for him as Anna did? Or will he get lakhs of followers to celebrate his cause?

The stated goal of the fast is to reach out to the muslims and bury the communal identity. His very very abrasive and arrogant posture against his critics is unlikely to change. Muslims, at least some sections, may not be averse to build a functional rapport to end many a miseries, isolation and insecurity. But will that mean he is forgiven?

"If he hasn't apologized how can we forgive him?" said a muslim youngster. That exactly is the issue - no one has heard any apology coming from the CMO over the riots. And a little observation from the past suggests that its unlikely to come. "He has been projected as a strong person jo jhukta nahi hai. His arrogance will be his strength," this is what Arun Jaitley had observed a decade back in an editor's cabin. An apology has to be felt and driven from within, it cant be just spelt out for benefits. But if its not even spelt out, its an apology of an apology.

Can Modi - though elected democratically - ever resist the temptation of not chasing his critics and thus respecting their democratic rights to not like him? Can he give dignified existence, education and more importantly social acceptance to millions of muslims who live in ghettoes and feel wobbly when they step out? 

Most of the people outside Gujarat have a very reverential view of Modi - as a giver of good roads, wealth, great development, flourishing businesses, safety for women etc.

But its an insult of 6 crore Gujaratis to say all this is thanks to one person and Guajrat never had any of these. India, please note that Gujarat was not exactly in the dark ages before Modi. And such fasts offer no immunity against dark ages heralded by corrupt and autocratic governments.