Winds of intolerance blowing from banks of Sabarmati to Riverfront

Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary was celebrated earlier this week as international day for non-violence across the world, but ironically politics in his homeland, Gujarat, still revolves around violence. And we are not even talking about the 2002 communal riots just yet.

After supposedly evolving as amongst the most developed states in the country, Gujarat’s ruling establishment feels the only way to get a point across effectively, is through a shock campaign. And they have apparently failed to find a shocker better than violence.

The BJP’s flagship advertisement campaign this poll season talks of injustice to Gujarat at the hands of Congress’s UPA government. Though veracity of all allegations is disputed, the ‘creative’ for this concept is brought onto voiceovers for radio adverts and hoardings through a resounding thappad (slap).

Congress and activists sharply criticized both the campaigns as inherent tactics of BJP’s divisive politics of violence. And then when their defenses failed to cut ice, lo and behold, Congress (Bapu’s own party) aired its own ads with multiple slaps woven in the script.

Whatever happened to Bapu’s famous philosophy of offering your other cheek if you are slapped!

In a clear indication that the ads were ‘inappropriate’, the Election Commission banned it as soon as poll dates were announced.

The other fast emerging poll agenda is that of allowing beef exports by the UPA government – as claimed by Modi, but a fact disputed by Congress, insisting that buffalo meat export has been allowed since 1969. Implied violence.

At one go, it’s a subtle and then not so subtle effort to polarise votes on a sensitive issue, given Gujaratis’ inherent dislike for non-vegetarian food. Modi’s statements may strictly stick to the policy of allowing beef exports, which implies that it gives more incentive for cattle to be slaughtered, but the intended domino effect is on people’s psyche to incite the latent dislike for non-veg eating communities – primarily the Muslims but not singularly.

Non-Gujarati meat eating communities reside mostly in urban areas. The countryside is dotted with cattle rearing pastorals. Gujarat has in the past witnessed violence over this issue, especially with the temperamental Maldhari community; not to mention that the cow and bull are revered sacred animals in Hindu scriptures.

That be as it may, there may well be some need for deep introspection of psyche here.

Why does a popular politician like Modi need to resort to such gimmicks to catch attention? Has Gujarat’s mass psyche come to such levels that one can only make a point through aggression?

Can the fact that Modi a popular leader in Gujarat, who wins one election after another on one or the other such agenda, considered a reflection of a society which imbibes violence – in implicit or explicit forms? What does it say about our moral fabric?

Does the situation appear worse than it is or we are yet to even realize the full impact of it?

Bapu’s 143rd birth anniversary might be an opportune time to reminisce on this. Gandhi was called Maha-atma because he had some coveted traits – and immense tolerance was amongst them. History books tell us that Gandhi was a devout vegetarian and has in fact written extensively on the subject of vegetarianism.

At the same time, he was not intolerant towards someone who was not in agreement. In fact, in one instance, when Abdur Gaffar Khan was living at Wardha Ashram, he was craving for his staple non-vegetarian food. When Bapu learnt of it, he allowed Khan to have what he desired. Another known fact is that though he did not smoke, he indulged Jawaharlal Nehru and others who did, with the cigars he received as gifts from various visitors.

This mahatma’s era was not so long ago. It was on the banks of this Sabarmati River that Bapu started his Satyagraha. From the banks of Sabarmati to the Riverfront, why have things changed so much? Why do such gimmicks work? Or do they?