Re: And the Bohris fall at the feet of Narendra Modi too
Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 5:46 pm
Modi Goes To London
Good news is followed by a flood of bad news.
Narendra Modi, the ‘architect’ of today’s Gujarat, must be realising the truth of this dictum despite the fact that the corporate media – to quote an analyst – ‘loves’ him.
Whether it is the growing resistance of the peasantry inside the state to his vision of development, compelling him to withdraw a major chunk of villages from the much discussed Mandal-Becharaji Special Investment Region (SIR), or the crude manner in which his government’s anti Dalit stance is coming to the fore, the signals are definitely ominous.
And now comes the news that in the recent elections to the students’ union at the Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSUSU ) of Baroda, the ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) – part of what is popularly known as the ‘Sangh Parivar’ – has been completely wiped out, after a gap of ten years, and the gainer has been the student wing of the main opposition party. Interestingly, the BJP, which had put up Modi posters around the campus describing him as a ‘youth icon’, began removing them after the results started coming in. Around a dozen hoardings with Modi’s photo, asking people to join the “Youth for Change” Facebook page, had also come up in the city two weeks ahead of the MSUSU polls. It was absolutely clear that the BJP’s attempt to project Modi as a youth icon had backfired. Neither did the posters find any takers nor could the hoardings influence the students.
And this was not the first time that the youth in Gujarat had exhibited its growing dislike for the brand of politics propagated by Modi. Only few months back in the Gujarat University student senate elections, the ABVP had similarly lost its majority.
Undoubtedly, at a time when the BJP is tapping into new communication platforms in a big way as it prepares for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, and also aims to use new media for “crowd sourcing” (obtaining ideas from online community), portraying Narendra Modi as a “youth icon”, these results are further proof of the great hiatus between what the Party/Parivar thinks about Modi and what is the actual situation on the ground.
And now it is learnt that Modi’s much awaited London sojourn is also facing rough weather.
While he could not hide his glee when British MP Barry Gardiner invited him to the United Kingdom – supposedly signaling the end of his isolation in the Western world because of his alleged complicity/inaction during the 2002 carnage – there came the news that another UK MP has launched a protest against the invitation claiming that Modi will receive a “hot reception” in the country. It may be noted that George Galloway, who is an MP belonging to the Respect Party, has been a consistent critic of the attacks by US-led coalition forces against Afghanistan and Iraq and a long time supporter of the Palestinian cause.
In an exclusive interview with CNN-IBN, George Galloway of the Respect Party said: “Mr Modi, better come prepared with a spare jacket because I suppose the eggs and tomatoes will be flying.” Taking a dig at the Gujarat Chief Minister in the context of the 2002 riots, Galloway said, “I hope of course nothing more deadly than that. We wouldn’t like to reduce ourselves to his level but it will be a boisterous, vocal and hot reception.” He said that his party will rally protesters to ensure that the controversial visit “doesn’t go unmarked”.
It may be recalled that for more than eleven years Modi has been yearning to visit the UK, but because of a consistent opposition put up by the secular forces there exposing his alleged role in the 2002 ‘riots’ and with the British government denying any guarantee for his security the plan could never materialise. In fact, he had to cancel his last planned visit to the UK looking at the massive protests which awaited him there accompanied by the inability shown by the British police to defend him as he was to go on a private visit. (2005)And since the families of two British Muslim citizens who had been killed by the frenzied mobs in Gujarat in 2002 were thinking of filing a case against Modi in a British court then, it was considered risky for him to travel there.
A leading journalist N Jayaram tells us why ‘for human rights groups, the prospect of Modi’s London visit is not a crisis but an opportunity.’
According to him
“Should he take up the invitation, they could move courts for his arrest and trial under the principle of Universal Jurisdiction for crimes against humanity.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_jurisdiction) Although Universal Jurisdiction was not invoked in the 1998 arrest of Chile’s former dictator Augusto Pinochet in London, it put worldwide focus on the principle. Judge Baltasar Garzon in Spain called for his arrest on the ground that some of the thousands of victims of human rights abuses in Chile after the 1973 coup were Spanish citizens. Britain’s Law Lords ruled that Pinochet could not cite diplomatic immunity as certain crimes were too serious for that international arrangement to be invoked. Pinochet spent nearly a year and a half under mostly house arrest.
India has not signed the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court in 2002. China, the United States and Israel are among a number of countries that have chosen to stay out. Thus far the ICC, which has 122 members, has only been able to net perpetrators of mass crimes in Africa. The idea that crimes against humanity such as those that occurred in New Delhi in 1984 or Gujarat in 2002 need to be investigated and punished has yet to catch on in India. But it is an idea whose time may yet come.
http://kafila.org/2013/09/01/modi-goes-to-london/
Good news is followed by a flood of bad news.
Narendra Modi, the ‘architect’ of today’s Gujarat, must be realising the truth of this dictum despite the fact that the corporate media – to quote an analyst – ‘loves’ him.
Whether it is the growing resistance of the peasantry inside the state to his vision of development, compelling him to withdraw a major chunk of villages from the much discussed Mandal-Becharaji Special Investment Region (SIR), or the crude manner in which his government’s anti Dalit stance is coming to the fore, the signals are definitely ominous.
And now comes the news that in the recent elections to the students’ union at the Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSUSU ) of Baroda, the ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) – part of what is popularly known as the ‘Sangh Parivar’ – has been completely wiped out, after a gap of ten years, and the gainer has been the student wing of the main opposition party. Interestingly, the BJP, which had put up Modi posters around the campus describing him as a ‘youth icon’, began removing them after the results started coming in. Around a dozen hoardings with Modi’s photo, asking people to join the “Youth for Change” Facebook page, had also come up in the city two weeks ahead of the MSUSU polls. It was absolutely clear that the BJP’s attempt to project Modi as a youth icon had backfired. Neither did the posters find any takers nor could the hoardings influence the students.
And this was not the first time that the youth in Gujarat had exhibited its growing dislike for the brand of politics propagated by Modi. Only few months back in the Gujarat University student senate elections, the ABVP had similarly lost its majority.
Undoubtedly, at a time when the BJP is tapping into new communication platforms in a big way as it prepares for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, and also aims to use new media for “crowd sourcing” (obtaining ideas from online community), portraying Narendra Modi as a “youth icon”, these results are further proof of the great hiatus between what the Party/Parivar thinks about Modi and what is the actual situation on the ground.
And now it is learnt that Modi’s much awaited London sojourn is also facing rough weather.
While he could not hide his glee when British MP Barry Gardiner invited him to the United Kingdom – supposedly signaling the end of his isolation in the Western world because of his alleged complicity/inaction during the 2002 carnage – there came the news that another UK MP has launched a protest against the invitation claiming that Modi will receive a “hot reception” in the country. It may be noted that George Galloway, who is an MP belonging to the Respect Party, has been a consistent critic of the attacks by US-led coalition forces against Afghanistan and Iraq and a long time supporter of the Palestinian cause.
In an exclusive interview with CNN-IBN, George Galloway of the Respect Party said: “Mr Modi, better come prepared with a spare jacket because I suppose the eggs and tomatoes will be flying.” Taking a dig at the Gujarat Chief Minister in the context of the 2002 riots, Galloway said, “I hope of course nothing more deadly than that. We wouldn’t like to reduce ourselves to his level but it will be a boisterous, vocal and hot reception.” He said that his party will rally protesters to ensure that the controversial visit “doesn’t go unmarked”.
It may be recalled that for more than eleven years Modi has been yearning to visit the UK, but because of a consistent opposition put up by the secular forces there exposing his alleged role in the 2002 ‘riots’ and with the British government denying any guarantee for his security the plan could never materialise. In fact, he had to cancel his last planned visit to the UK looking at the massive protests which awaited him there accompanied by the inability shown by the British police to defend him as he was to go on a private visit. (2005)And since the families of two British Muslim citizens who had been killed by the frenzied mobs in Gujarat in 2002 were thinking of filing a case against Modi in a British court then, it was considered risky for him to travel there.
A leading journalist N Jayaram tells us why ‘for human rights groups, the prospect of Modi’s London visit is not a crisis but an opportunity.’
According to him
“Should he take up the invitation, they could move courts for his arrest and trial under the principle of Universal Jurisdiction for crimes against humanity.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_jurisdiction) Although Universal Jurisdiction was not invoked in the 1998 arrest of Chile’s former dictator Augusto Pinochet in London, it put worldwide focus on the principle. Judge Baltasar Garzon in Spain called for his arrest on the ground that some of the thousands of victims of human rights abuses in Chile after the 1973 coup were Spanish citizens. Britain’s Law Lords ruled that Pinochet could not cite diplomatic immunity as certain crimes were too serious for that international arrangement to be invoked. Pinochet spent nearly a year and a half under mostly house arrest.
India has not signed the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court in 2002. China, the United States and Israel are among a number of countries that have chosen to stay out. Thus far the ICC, which has 122 members, has only been able to net perpetrators of mass crimes in Africa. The idea that crimes against humanity such as those that occurred in New Delhi in 1984 or Gujarat in 2002 need to be investigated and punished has yet to catch on in India. But it is an idea whose time may yet come.
http://kafila.org/2013/09/01/modi-goes-to-london/