Modi, Muslims & Media

Manushi Publications
New Delhi

First published in 2014 by Manushi Publications
ISBN: 978-81-929352-0-1
Cover photo: Narendra Modi leading Jansampark Yatra during
Rajkot Municipal Corporation election, 2010.
Copyright © Madhu Purnima Kishwar, 2014
All royalties of this book are dedicated to Manushi Trust
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any
form or by any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
The author and publisher would like to see these essays translated in as many
regional languages as possible—both as a book as well as extracts from it in
newspapers and magazines. Those interested in translation rights may contact
at the following address:
madhukishwar@manushi.in
madhukishwar@csds.in
Website: www.manushi.in

Dedicated to the people of Gujarat
For gifting to the people of India a new hope
in the midst of deep despair
&
To my parents
For having encouraged me to stand for Truth & Justice,
no matter what the cost.

Contents
Foreword by Cho Ramaswamy 7
Introduced by Salim Khan 9
Why I Felt Impelled to Undertake Study of Post-2002 Gujarat 13
The Modi Myth Created by ‘Conflict Entrepreneurs’ 22
Gujarati Muslims Speak for Themselves
Narendra Modi Airdropped as CM in October 2001 51
NaMo’s First Message to the People of Gujarat
Learning the Ropes of Governance 66
Novice NaMo’s First Interactions with Bureaucrats
Modi’s First 19 Weeks as CM 75
“Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” in Action
Turning Disaster into an Opportunity 98
Transformation of Earthquake-Ravaged Gujarat
How Bhuj Rose Out of Its Own Ashes 126
A Survivor’s Account
Congress Panic at “Whirlwind” Muslim Support for NaMo 148
Modi’s First Election from Rajkot in February 2002
Of Muck Throwing & Lotus Blooming 164
Congress’s Lawless Sleazy Campaign in Modi’s Pre-Godhra Election
Aiming for Nirmal Gujarat & “We Can Do It” Spirit 177
Pre-Godhra Speeches of Modi
The Godhra Train Massacre 187
Accident or Conspiracy?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

Who Needed Post Godhra Riots? 211
The Congress or Narendra Modi?
Firm Action against Terrorists & Mafias 235
Why Modi Drove Congress to Desperation
Who Kept the Pot Boiling? 242
Four Phases of Post-Godhra Riots
When Tragedies are Spiced Up 264
The Accounts of Doers Vs Noise Makers Regarding Relief Camps
Of Skullcaps and Puppies 283
Media Distorts News, Adds Fuel to the Fire
Did Muslims Vote for BJP out of Fear in 2012? 304
Gujarati Muslims as Game Changers in Indian Politics
Of Peace & Prosperity 322
Are Muslims Part of Gujarat’s Growth Story?
Hindu Hriday Samrat or New Mehmood Gaznavi of India? 338
The Myth Versus the Reality of Hindu-Muslim Relations in Gujarat
Flimsy Opposition Over Non Issues 354
Why the Congress Lost Credibility & Support
Nightlife in Gujarat Cities & Picnics on Footpaths 364
Changing Role and Perceptions about Gujarat Police
Of Trusteeship, Dharma & Compassion 378
NaMo’s Connect with Gandhi ji & Gautam Buddha
Epilogue 390
Acknowledgements 396
Contents
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13
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15
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19
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22

Foreword
by
Cho S Ramaswamy
Editor, Thuglak
Ever since learning about the remarkable rehabilitation work
done by the Gujarat government after the earthquake in 2001,
which shattered the lives of thousands of men, women, and children, I
had become an admirer of Shri Narendra Modi. After reading Madhu
Kishwar’s Modi, Muslims and Media I have started adoring him. The
manner in which the author has gone about talking to officials and
people in detail, about the functioning of the Gujarat government under
Modi; her visits to various parts of Gujarat to know about the conditions
prevailinginthestate;herunbiasedandmasterlyanalysesofthematerial
she gathered through her tireless work, makes this book almost a thesis.
Butunlikeanacademicthesis,thebookmakesabsorbingreading;apart
from being an irrefutable answer to the prejudiced critics of Modi, it is a
page-turner too. Even the blinkered antagonists of Modi would have to
concedetheobjectivityoftheauthor,becauseherassessmentofModiand
his governance is based not on her own opinion, but on the perception
of the scores of diverse people whom she met.
How did Modi come to grips with the administration of a state? How
did he manage the after-effects of a devastating earthquake even as he
took charge of the administration? How does he manage to provide 24x7
electricity to all of Gujarat? How did he accomplish the participation of
the people in many of his schemes? How did he improve the agricultural
produce of state several times over? How did his administration come
to be known as one that puts technology to effective use? How is it that
while he is painted communal by the media and some political parties,
the Muslims of Gujarat look to him as a friend and a deliverer!
Theseandsuchotherquestionsmayagitatethemindsofevensupporters
of Modi. This book answers them all. From the moment the reader is
introduced to Zafar Sareshwala, the book becomes unputdownable.
When Modi tells Zafar, ‘you are mine. Among the five crore Gujaratis,
you are included. When I bring Narmada water into Sabarmati river, do
I stop it from flowing through the Muslim settlement of Juhapura? Who
are the biggest beneficiaries of Sabarmati waters near Nehru Bridge?’ The
reader realises that he is about to join a journey which would lead him

to a view point from where he could witness the majestic flow of facts
and truths that would annihilate all the false propaganda that has been
unleashed against Modi and his model of governance.
Madhu Kishwar’s work should convince any objective reader about
the dishonesty behind the anti-Modi propaganda that has been let loose
on our society. He is the man of the hour; and that is the clear message
delivered most effectively by Madhu Kishwar. The messenger deserves
thegratitudeofalltruthlovingpeoplewhowanttounderstandNarendra
Modi and his mission.
Modi, Muslims and Media8

Introduction
by
Salim Khan
Script writer & columnist
Inrecenttimes,mediatrialshavebecomemoreimportantthantrialsin
courts.Ourobjectivityhasgivenwaytosystematicunderminingoffacts.
Ittookusaboutfivethousandyearstocreatediverseanddeeplyprofound
versions of the Mahabharat and the Ramayana, but in our present era,
dubious versions ofeach contemporarytragedy,orfarce, are ready within
minutes. Truth, at various levels, has been the first casualty of the media.
Infact, reality gets distorted so rapidly that it becomes unrecognizable.
As a film person, I have a special fondness for Rashomon. In this classic
film of Japanese director Kurosawa, four persons claim to be a witness to
the same murder. But each one has a thoroughly different version of what
happened-each version is at total variance with those of the others. The
film doesn’t privilege any one version and leaves the viewer to decide for
her or himself which one, if any, appears most convincing. I believe that
hearing multiple versions of a story is always an enriching experience—
both emotionally and intellectually.
However, in recent years, our politics and public life have become
so polarised that people are not allowed to hear diverse voices. This is
especially true with regard to Narendra Modi–who has emerged as one
of the most controversial figures of our times. On the one hand are those
millions who admire him passionately and see in him a savior of India
who has the ability to rid the country’s polity of crime and corruption
and lead it towards a bright future.
On the other hand are those who project him as the biggest threat to
India’sminorities,aswellasitsdemocraticand“secular”fabric.Themain
evidence provided by those who see Modi as a scourge for India are the
2002 Gujarat riots. Their version, which presents Modi as a Hitlerian
mass murderer, has come to dominate political discourse. Those who
have convinced themselves of this “truth” are not willing to change their
opinion even after the Special Investigative Team, (SIT) appointed and
monitored by the Supreme Court, has given Modi a clean chit which has
also been endorsed by lower courts.
The value of Madhu Kishwar’s book Modi, Muslims and Media lies in
the fact that she has taken the trouble to actually study Modi’s tenure as

the chief minister of Gujarat and gathered a wealth of evidence to show
that the demonisation of Modi is altogether unjustified.
This book gives objective facts back their proper central place in our
political life. Madhu visited Gujarat many times in the course of her
study of post-2002 Gujarat, and worked very hard to collect accurate
material for this well-researched book. She is a renowned investigative
journalist; her evidence is painstaking, it deserves close examination.
The enormous amount of important research that went into this effort
demands that all those who care about the well-being of India’s people
andhealthyinter-communityrelationsshouldreaditcarefullyandweigh
its conclusions fairly.
Her book builds the case, on the basis of verifiable evidence and facts
thus far brushed under the political carpet, that far from being guilty
of engineering the 2002 riots, Modi in fact worked to bridge communal
divides which had been assiduously cultivated by previous regimes
through politically-instigated riots. She describes in concrete detail with
easily-verifiable facts, the swift and unbiased actions Modi took to end
the riots. She describes how in a state that has had so many riots during
earlierregimes,ModimanagedtocleanseGujaratofcommunalviolence.
He is the first chief minister of Gujarat to have given the state a totally
riot free decade after 2002.
Reading Kishwar’s account, one wonders why the media never told us
that Modi won his first election from Rajkot in February 2002, (just a
couple of days before the Godhra incident) with huge support from the
Muslim community.
OnewonderswhyweweremisledintobelievingthatModi’sagendawas
to convert Gujarat into a laboratory for devising ways to crush Muslims
when the evidence put together by Kishwar clearly shows that, from the
verystartofhistenure,Modiprioritisedaninclusivedevelopmentagenda,
a prime example of which was his plan for the reconstruction of Kutch
after the devastating earthquake.
Thus far, we have heard the voices of those who, in condemning Modi,
claim to speak on behalf of Gujarati Muslims. The value of Kishwar’s
narrative is that she has let Muslims speak for themselves by quoting
extensivelyfromhervideo-recordedinterviewswithbothruralandurban
Muslims.
Therefore, this is not just another Rashomon story. It actually reveals
how a systematic misinformation campaign took form and shape to

project a totally misleading picture of the 2002 riots and the status of
Muslims in Gujarat.
AttimesIfeelthatmybelovedIndiaisbeingdisplayedonalarge70mm
screen with seats given to the audience from which to watch the 3-D
effect–butsomepeoplehavegottenusedtowatchingthescreenwiththeir
glasses manufactured out of fear and clouded with prejudices. Kishwar’s
book serves to remove the distorted glasses and instead offers a pair of
clear spectacles with which to watch the great film unfolding itself on the
wide screen of the nation. The film’s ultimate success will depend on its
totalimpact,onreplacingdistortionswiththefacts.WhenIwasclimbing
down the staircase of the theatre after watching Richard Attenborough’s
Gandhi, I felt that after seeing the film, I was a better human being.
The film that is being screened via this book in some ways has a similar
impact on me.
Kishwar speaks from the heart; that is one reason why her readers are
likely to find it honest. Modi’s words and deeds, as reported in this book,
have great force and integrity and are relevant to the political challenges
facing our country.
This book does not claim to be the final truth. But it presents evidence
thatwecannotaffordtoignore,especiallysincethemeticulousworkdone
by the SIT supports Kishwar’s facts and conclusions.
I sincerely hope Kishwar’s work will motivate people to look afresh at
NarendraModi’sregimeinGujaratandundertakemorein-depthstudies
of the State. An honest understanding of this phase of contemporary
historyisvitalforthehealthofdemocracyandamicableinter-community
relations in India.
Introduction 11

Why I Felt Impelled to
Undertake Study of Post-2002 Gujarat
Does anyone remember who the chief minister of Maharashtra was during
Mumbai riots, which were no less deadly than the Gujarat riots of 2002? Does
anyone recall the name of the chief minister of UP during the Malliana and
Meerut riots or who the Bihar CM was when the Bhagalpur or Jamshedpur
riots under Congress regimes took place...How come Narendra Modi has been
singled out as the devil incarnate, as if he personally carried out all the killings
during the riots of 2002?
Salim Khan in personal interview, 2013
The political discourse in India is so vitiated by Modi phobia that even if one
expresses appreciation of the quality of roads in rural Gujarat or the 24x7 power
supply in the state’s villages and towns, one is branded a ‘supporter of fascism.’
It is politically fashionable to defend Kashmiri secessionists, press for peaceful
engagement with the Pakistani establishment, which sends terror brigades to
India, and project murderous Maoists as saviours of the poor. But, to say a word
in appreciation of governance reforms in Gujarat, or to credit Modi for having
given Gujarat its first ever riot-free 12 years since independence, is to commit
political hara-kiri—one is forever tainted and tarred with the colours of fascism.
This intellectual terror created by the anti-Modi brigade pushed me to find out
for myself the reason behind this obsessive anxiety about Modi.
CHAPTER 1
When violent riots convulsed some pockets of Gujarat in
February2002,Itooacceptedtheversionpresentedbythenational
media and our activist friends, and assumed that Modi was complicit in
the post-Godhra riots of 2002. Therefore, I too signed statements against
Modi, and published articles, submitted to Manushi, that indicted the
Gujarat government. We also raised funds for the riot victims.

However, barring a brief mention in an article analysing the defeat of
NDAin2004,IrefrainedfromwritinganythinginmynamebecauseIdid
not get the time to visit Gujarat and experience and assess the situation
first-hand. My earlier experiences of covering various riots as well as
conflict situations in Kashmir and Punjab had taught me that media
reports cannot be trusted enough to take a definitive stand on such issues
without personal verification. This is because media reports are often
colouredbytheideologicalprismusedbythewriter.Therefore,Irefrained
from making common cause with anti-Modi campaigners.
I spent a lot of time covering major riots—including the 1984 massacre
of Sikhs, a series of riots in Meerut and Malliana in the 1980s, Bombay in
1993, and Jammu in 1989. In addition I had also closely studied several
others like Biharsharif, Bhiwandi, Jamshedpur, and a series of riots
in Ahmedabad, Surat, etc. Based on my experience of covering these
riots, I knew that barring the 1984 Delhi riots, which was the Congress
Party’s solo performance, almost all the other riots saw the complicity of
both the BJP and the Congress. Even in the communal polarisation that
followed the Babri Masjid demolition, the Congress Party had been an
equal partner in crime with the BJP. This dubious role of the Congress
Party, which was at total variance with the ideological grounding of the
grand old party crafted by Mahatma Gandhi, played an important role
in marginalising the Congress in large parts of India. Knowledgeable
Gujaratis had revealed in private conversations that, even in 2002, a
section of Congressmen avidly joined, and even instigated, riotous mobs
just as sections of the BJP, VHP, and RSS were egging on frenzied mobs
to murder, arson and loot. Therefore, when the BJP in general, and Modi
in particular, began to be singled out for attacks and demonised, one felt
an instinctive uneasiness about the Hate-and-Oust Modi Campaign.
This uneasiness grew as it became obvious, over the years, that almost
all the NGOs, activists, journalists, and academics involved in Modi’s
demonisation enjoyed active patronage of the Congress Party. In fact,
most of them were getting huge financial support for this purpose.
Duringtheanti-Sikhmassacreof1984inNorthIndia,thesloganofthose
of us who worked with the victims and documented the unprecedented
massacre was ‘Punish the Guilty’, though the complicity of the then
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Home Minister Narasimha Rao, and the
Lt. Governor of Delhi was brazen. Nevertheless, neither the PM, nor the
Home Minister, or the Lt. Governor were personally demonised. But, in

the case of the Gujarat riots of 2002, the entire discourse came to centre
round just one man.
During the course of an interview with me, film scriptwriter Salim
Khan made an interesting comment:
Does anyone remember who the chief minister of Maharashtra was during
Mumbai riots, which were no less deadly than the Gujarat riots of 2002? Does
anyone recall the name of the chief minister of UP during the Malliana and
Meerut riots or who the Bihar CM was when the Bhagalpur or Jamshedpur
riots under Congress regimes took place? Do we hear the names of earlier
chief ministers of Gujarat under whose charge hundreds of riots took place in
post-Independence India? Some of these riots were far more deadly than the
2002 outburst. The state used to explode into violence every second month.
Does anyone remember who was in-charge of Delhi’s security when the 1984
massacreofSikhstookplaceinthecapitalofIndia?HowcomeNarendraModi
has been singled out as the devil incarnate, as if he personally carried out all
the killings during the riots of 2002?
Why just distant riots, there is wilful amnesia about the fate of hundreds
of thousands of Bodos and Muslims who were uprooted from their
villages in July 2012 because their homes were torched and destroyed.
As of August 8, 2012, over 4,00,000 people were still reportedly taking
shelterin270reliefcamps,afterbeingdisplacedfromalmost400villages.
Byallaccounts,theserefugeecampsprovidedthemostsub-humanliving
conditions. The Assam chief minister delayed deployment of the army
by four days even though a large number of army units are stationed
right there in Assam. Those riots have been erased out of memory only
because they happened during Congress regimes. This is not all to justify
the2002riotsorsuggestthattheybepushedintooblivionsimplybecause
others have been shoved under the political carpet. This is only to plead
for non-partisan treatment of all such crimes.
I found it disturbing that almost all of those who have led the ‘Hate
Modi’ campaign are neither Muslim nor residents of Gujarat. Teesta
Setalvad, Shabana Azmi, and Javed Akhtar are from Mumbai while
Shabnam Hashmi, Prashant Bhushan, and Harsh Mander are based in
Delhi. Four of the most prominent figures of anti-Modi brigade from
within Gujarat—Mallika Sarabhai, Aakar Patel, Ami Yagnik and Achyut
Yagnik—arenotMuslims.WheneveraGujaratiMuslimhastriedtospeak

in a different voice, he has been attacked viciously and made to pay such
a heavy price that people just shut up in terror.
The eminent Muslim scholar, Maulana Vastanvi was forced to resign
as vice chancellor of Deoband University simply because he shared
the thought that Gujarati Muslims had benefited from the inclusive
development policies of Modi’s government. Shahid Siddiqui, the editor
of Urdu daily, Nai Duniya, faced severe attack and abuse for simply
doing an interview with Modi in which Modi defends himself against
various charges leveled against his government. Siddiqui had asked him
all the stereotypical questions hurled by anti-Modi groups and was in
no way soft towards Modi. Yet, he was vilified for simply allowing Modi
newspaper space to state his version, so much so that he was expelled
from Samajwadi Party. It is not surprising that Siddiqui fell in line
within no time and began mouthing anti-Modi rhetoric. What kind of
journalism do the self-appointed defenders of minority rights want to
promote in India that does not give a journalist the right to interview a
thrice-elected chief minister simply because the Congress and the Left
parties feel threatened by him?
Likewise, Amitabh Bachchan was attacked viciously for merely doing
an ad campaign for Gujarat’s tourism department. If the Congress Party
proxies like Teesta Setalvad, Shabana Azmi, and Shabnam Hashmi had
their way, they would have wanted economic and political sanctions
against Gujarat of the kind faced by South Africa during the apartheid
regime.WithoutdeclaringanopenwaragainsttheStategovernment,the
UPAgovernmentattheCentrehastreatedtheGujaratgovernmentunder
ModiwithmorelethalhostilitythaneverdisplayedtowardsPakistaneven
after repeated attacks by Pakistan-trained terrorists. The Congress-led
government has tried its best to crush Gujarat economically by stalling
its development programs through many devious means. Some of this
will be covered in my subsequent book.
The political discourse in India is so vitiated by Modiphobia that even
if one expresses appreciation of the quality of roads in rural Gujarat
or the 24x7 power supply in the state’s villages and towns, one is
branded a “supporter of fascism.” It is politically fashionable to defend
Kashmiri secessionists,press for peacefulengagementwiththe Pakistani
establishmentwhichsendsterrorbrigadestoIndia,andprojectmurderous
Maoists as saviours of the poor. But, to say a word in appreciation of
governancereformsinGujarat,ortocreditModiforhavinggivenGujarat

its first ever riot-free 12 years since independence, is to commit political
hara-kiri—one is forever tainted and tarred with the colours of fascism.
This intellectual terror created by the anti-Modi brigade pushed me
to find out for myself the reason behind this obsessive anxiety about
Modi. Why do “secularists” hate to be reminded that Gujarat has been
riot-free since 2002? Why don’t they ever acknowledge and document
what made Gujarat—a state that witnessed hundreds of riots in post-
Independence years leading to deep mutual estrangement between
Hindus and Muslims—experience its first communally peaceful decade
under Modi’s rule? Why are Gujarati Muslims not allowed to speak for
themselves?
Since2001,theanti-Modicampaignhascenteredroundthefollowing
charges, which are used as proven facts even when the ground reality
or the court judgments do not sustain them:
Modi is inherently anti-Muslim and anti-Christian because he belongs
to the BJP, and was nurtured by the RSS.
Modi allowed Muslims to be massacred in order to consolidate the
Hindu vote bank; that he has never shown any remorse for the same
and has never apologised for his alleged role in the riots.
Religious minorities live in terror under Modi’s regime as second- or
third-class citizens because that is allegedly the intrinsic agenda of
Hindutva.
Muslimsarebeingghettoisedandimpoverishedthroughdiscriminatory
state action.
A section of Muslims have begun voting for Modi because of fear of
reprisals by Hindutva forces.
WheneverModihasbeenquestionedastowhyhehasrefusedtoapologise
for his alleged role in the riots, he has always stood his ground and said,
“If I’m really guilty of the crimes you attribute to me, then a mere apology
is not the appropriate response. I should be publicly hanged for it so that
I become an object lesson for all others and no one dares commit such
crimes again.” This response, in the face of numerous ongoing cases
in court, as well as inquiries by the Special Investigative Team (SIT),
which was appointed and monitored by the Supreme Court, indicates
tremendousself-confidence.Thisisusuallyasignoffirmconvictionabout
one’s innocence. However, nobody in the media or among our academia
was willing to give him as much as benefit of doubt as they generously
give to known terrorists.

In our jurisprudence, everyone is assumed innocent until proven
guilty. But, in the case of Narendra Modi, the media, all Left-leaning
intellectuals, and all the anti-BJP NGOs and political parties, including
those that have big massacres and crimes to their credit, were not willing
to even wait for the verdict of courts and inquiry commissions. It was as
thoughwithonemind,theyhadtheirverdictready—thatModiwasguilty
of having engineered the riots. The very same human rights activists who
fight for the rights of even known terrorists to a fair trial, declared Modi a
mass murderer before any trial even began. As Modi began getting clean
chits by courts, they attacked the concerned judges and moved higher
courts. When even the Supreme Court-appointed SIT exonerated Modi
on all charges, the anti-Modi lobby insisted that the SIT report be junked
and another inquiry set up afresh. This single-minded obsession with
punishing Modi, and not being satisfied with the fact that many of those
actually found guilty were already being sent to jail, puzzled me no end.
Therefore, I decided to undertake this study to figure out the source of
this obsession.
Questions that Triggered My Curiousity
What is unique about the Gujarat riots and about Modi that certain
political groups have made it a ‘do or die’ mission to pillory this man,
no matter what the actual verdicts of courts and inquiry commissions?
What was Modi’s personal role during those riots?
What do the Muslims of Gujarat have to say about those riots?
If Modi’s critics are right about Gujarat being a deeply communalised
society with Muslims living as a terrorised minority, how is it that the
state has not witnessed even a single riot since 2002?
Why is the percentage of Muslims voting for Modi increasing with
every election?
How come hundreds of Muslims have won panchayat, zila parishad,
and municipal elections on BJP tickets?
How valid is Modi’s claim that his Gujarat development model is
‘inclusive?’ Why do his critics reject it as ‘pro-corporate and anti-poor,’
‘pro-eliteandanti-farmer’aswellas‘majoritarianandanti-minorities?’
I looked closely at how the hitherto excluded or marginalised
populations—small farmers, tribals, Dalits, Muslims, Christians—
view Modi’s government. Has his government facilitated inclusion and
upward mobility for them or are they being further marginalised?

My study of Gujarat also covers the nature of governance reforms,
including police reforms since they are supposed to be intrinsic to his
economic development model. However, this volume confines itself to:
The vision and agenda announced by Modi on assuming office in
October 2001 and how far he delivered on his promises;
The model of governance he established during the reconstruction of
earthquake ravished Kutch;
The processes and reforms he set into motion within the first few
months of assuming office;
AnaccountofGodhraandpost-Godhrariots,asestablishedbyvarious
inquiry commissions and the Supreme Court-appointed SIT;
Modi’s relationship with the Muslim community in the words of
Muslims themselves;
The role of media in projecting a partisan and misleading version of
Gujarat riots and subsequent developments.
As I started with this study, I decided to avoid meeting or talking to
NarendraModi,tillsuchtimeasIgotagoodgraspofthegroundreality.I
optedtofirstgettoknowhimthroughhisworkatthegroundlevel.Hence,
ItravelledtoseveralvillagesandtownsofGujaratandmetawholerangeof
people, which included farmers (including in tribal districts), fishermen,
artisans,schoolteachers,village-levelhealthworkers,doctors,panchayat
representatives, municipal counsellors, political party activists, MLAs of
both the Congress and the BJP, government officials, professors, writers,
journalists,smallentrepreneurs,streetvendors,taxidrivers,shopkeepers,
hoteliers, and restaurant owners, urban housewives, and general people
on the streets. I made a special effort to reach out to Muslims, both in
rural and in urban areas. I also met several Christians, especially those
running missionary schools.
TheentirerangeofpersonsIinterviewedforthisbook,andthefollowing
volume, are those whom I met for the first time. Since I had no prior
interactionwiththem,Icouldnothavepredictedwhattheyweregoingto
share with me. Most of the meetings were fixed impromptu after, or just a
couple of hours before I arrived at a particular village or town. Therefore,
theyalsodidnotknowwhatquestionsIwasgoingtoaskofthem.Iavoided
meeting people I knew from before because I already knew their views
and did not expect any new information to come from them.
Someofthemostinsightfulaccountshavecomefromofficialswhohave
worked closely with Narendra Modi over the years. They include several

senior and junior IAS officers, police officials, as well as local government
officials at the district level. Equally important are the accounts of
Congress and BJP politicians—in villages, towns, and big cities. In
addition, I talked to some BJP ministers and MLAs to get a glimpse into
Modi’srelationshipwithhisCabinetandpartycolleagues.Allthishelped
me get a good glimpse into Modi’s work style, his communication skills,
personality traits, and personal relations with those he interacts with on
a regular basis. They provide fascinating insights into his administrative
style and organisational acumen. I have also relied on reports of various
commissions, committees, various court orders and judgements, as well
as the report of the Supreme Court-appointed SIT set up to inquire into
Godhra carnage and the post-Godhra riots.
ImetNaMo(commonlyusedappellationforModiusingfirsttwoletters
of his name and surname) for a series of interviews nearly six months
after I began my study of Gujarat and had already gotten a good idea of
his persona. I talked to him for over 15 hours spread over six sessions.
Most of my conversations with Modi were video-recorded. For the rest,
I took careful notes. In many of the chapters, I have quoted extensively
from his recorded conversations.
Since much of this information was springing daily surprises at me, I
video-recorded my conversations with hundreds of people so that I did
not omit details and nuances of what I was being told. Barring some
IAS officers who did not want to be video-recorded, almost all others
readily agreed to speak on camera. My assistants transcribed all the
video-recordedinterviewsverbatim.Apartfromseniorofficialsandafew
others, most people I interviewed spoke to me in Hindustani tinged with
some Gujarati. I took the trouble to personally translate each interview
into English so that inaccuracies don’t creep in inadvertently. This
cumbersome process has unfortunately delayed the publication of this
and subsequent books because I was myself overwhelmed by the richness
of material, which ran into thousands of pages.
However, I felt this lengthy process was necessary because I did not
want this to be a book about my impressions of Modi. I wanted this to be
an account of what I learnt about him through diverse people of Gujarat.
I wanted those voices to be heard directly without intrusive intervention
on my part. This is important because given the systematic demonisation
of Modi by leading intellectuals, academics, media persons, and NGOs,
manypeoplefinditdifficulttobelieveanyaccountthatdoesnotpainthim

in devilish light. I believe these ground-level experiences and statements
deserve to be taken seriously. My appeal to all those who care for the
truth and have no vested interest in hating Modi is, please listen to these
voices carefully. To all those well-meaning people who have caught the
anti-Modivirussimplybecauseitisintheair,Icanonlysay:Iamsharing
with you factual accounts by people who are talking on the basis of lived
experience. They are providing concrete evidence of why they find the
demonisation of Modi unacceptable. Since they are identified by name
andplace,pleasetakethetroubletodouble-checkforyourself,ifindoubt.
I am well aware that many will dismiss this book as a hagiographical
account of Modi’s term as CM. To them I can only say, for 12 long years
you have swallowed uncritically poisonous propaganda against him
based on statements and testimonies which are being proven motivated,
cooked-up, and plain false by courts and the SIT team. Let this come
as a necessary antidote to that malicious smear campaign. I assure you
that, unlike most of Teesta Setalvad’s witnesses, none of the people who
spoke to me used tutored language. All of them spoke spontaneously on
video. Unlike Teesta’s many witnesses, none of these people are likely to
disown what they told me.
To those who have made a religion out of hating Modi, I can only plead
and say: Please challenge me on facts instead of countering me with
ideological attacks. I am very willing to be corrected, if better counter-
facts are brought to my notice.

My first visit to Gujarat for a study of post 2002 Gujarat
coincided with the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in January 2013. It
turned out to be a very different event from the stereotypical image I had
imbibed from the media and critics of Modi in academia. At the summit,
a chance meeting with Zafar Sareshwala, an Ahmedabad-based Muslim
businessman, introduced me to an altogether different perspective on
Narendra Modi and his model of governance in Gujarat—all based on
Zafar’s first-hand experience of Modi and his policies.
By contrast, the demonic image of Modi popularised by the Hate
Modi Brigade has been created by people who have never exchanged
even ten sentences with Modi, leave alone engaged with him in a serious
manner. Zafar Sareshwala was among those who led an international
The Modi Myth Created by
‘Conflict Entrepreneurs’
Gujarati Muslims Speak for Themselves
Muslims don’t have to vote for us but they should at least get their work done
from the government.
Narendra Modi to a delegation of Muslims in 2003
Maheshbhai, you want to come with five Muslims, or 50, 500, or 5,000—pick
a venue of your choice. I am ready to meet all of you. I am ready to solve all the
problems...I want you to know that I am available.
Narendra Modi to Mahesh Bhatt, film director & producer, in 2004
Unfortunately, some conflict entrepreneurs live off conflicts. It’s like the war
industries would cease to exist if human hatred evaporated. They have a
tremendous investment in this hatred, so to keep the demon alive is to keep their
God alive. They draw sustenance from this hatred.
Mahesh Bhatt in personal interview 2013
CHAPTER 2

campaign against Modi after the 2002 riots. He became a celebrity when
he announced his intention to take Modi to the International Court of
Justice. However, very soon he decided to change track.
Zafar started the process of engagement with Modi despite the fact
that his own family suffered huge losses in the riots of 2002. Their factory
was totally gutted. The building in which his family owned flats was also
attacked and set fire to. They had also suffered similar losses in numerous
earlier riots in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s—every time their
business establishment was burnt down, they had to start afresh.
I had heard small sound bytes of Zafar on TV debates on Gujarat in the
previous months. But since our TV anchors are committed to proving
Modi a fascist butcher, they rarely allowed Zafar to finish his sentences.
It often appeared as if he was being brought in as a token voice to make
the Hate Modi Campaign appear more “balanced”.
Myvideo-recordedconversationswithZafarSareshwalarunintoseveral
hours over several meetings. During my subsequent travels to different
regionsofGujarat,IfollowedleadsgivenbyZafartodouble-checkfactsfor
myself and found no discrepancy between what Zafar told me and what I
sawandheardontheground.Zafar’sownbackgroundisalsonoteworthy:
I belong to the Sunni Bohra community, which migrated from Saudi Arabia
about250yearsback.SunniBohrasarenottobeconfusedwithDaudiBohras,
who constitute a very small and insignificant part of the Muslim population.
By contrast, Sunni Bohras are a huge community of orthodox and puritan
Muslims spread all over Gujarat. We are successful as small and medium
entrepreneurs. Most of the madrasas in Gujarat are run by the Sunni Bohras.
Islamic scholar Maulana Vastanwi is also a Sunni Bohra. People only talk
of Deoband, but there is an equally old madrasa of Sunni Bohras in Dabhel,
which was set up more than 100 years back.
Despite being orthodox in religious matters, we are highly educated as a
community. My physical appearance and “image” is that of a stereotypical
Muslim. I havea beard,mywifewears a burkha, weprayfive times a day, we’ve
doneHaj,andwefolloweveryIslamictradition.Butourviewsareenlightened
precisely because we take the teachings of Islam seriously.
People who go on and on about the 2002 riots, choose to forget that it was
the culmination of an endless series of riots. The worst riots in post-partition
India happened in 1969 in Ahmedabad; more than 5,000 Muslims were killed
in that massacre. But because there was no 24x7 media, riots in those days

went largely undocumented, so no one outside got to know of the 1969 riots.
It was a small incident involving a cow but it led to a shocking outburst. At
that time, Congress Party’s Hitendrabhai Desai was the chief minister while
Indira Gandhi was in power at the Centre. During the 1969 riots, our office,
factory, everything was burnt down. There is an area called Kalupur, which
is the heart of a Muslim neighbourhood. In that locality, right opposite the
police station on Relief Road, there is a mosque and several Muslim shops. All
of these shops were burnt down. I still remember, I was five years old at that
time, when Mrs. Gandhi visited the riot-affected area and inspected that spot.
IwitnessedthescenewithmygrandfatherwhenIndiraGandhigotdownfrom
her car and said, “How on earth did it happen that a mere 40 meters from a
police station, a mosque and Muslim shops are set on fire?”
Forget about punishment, not even a single charge sheet was filed after
that massacre. The Jagmohan Commission report is there for everyone to
see. Entire communities were wiped out, without a trace. Why are people
not talking about those victims? Has anyone documented what happened to
those 5,000 families?
Another major riot took place in 1985 preceded by several smaller ones. It
went on for months on end. Again, our factory and our house were set on fire.
In 1985, Madhavji Solanki of Congress Party was in power in Gujarat and
Rajiv Gandhi at the Centre. Between 1985 and 2002, people came to expect
that after every 2-3 months there would inevitably be a riot. At one time, the
curfew lasted 200 days.
During the 1987 riots also, Amar Singh Chaudhury of the Congress Party
was the CM. This was followed by riots in 1990. At that time too, Congress
Party’sChimanbhaiPatelwasthechiefminister.Again,ourfactorywasburnt
down. In 1992 also, it was set on fire. Chimanbhai Patel was the chief minister
even at that time.
Every anti-Dalit riot was also converted into an anti-Muslim riot whether
in 1981 or in 1985. In every riot, our office and factory were burnt down
and we were subjected to great indignities because the police would not even
registeranFIR.Thiswasfollowedbyhumiliationbytheinsurancecompanies.
I remember, in 1992, my business was in full bloom. But our entire factory
was reduced to ashes. We had an insurance of Rs 1.5 crores but the insurance
company gave us a cheque for only Rs. 9 lakhs. Has anyone documented how
Muslims pick up the threads after each such tragedy?
The truth is that while the earlier governments remained indifferent; after
eachriot,theHindusthemselveshelpedtherehabilitationofMuslims.Ialways

say that if the Gujarati Hindus were 100 per cent communal, the Muslims
would have been destroyed long ago. It is because Hindus are not communal
that Muslims continue to prosper in Gujarat. All those riots were politically
engineered and the Congress Party was the prime culprit.
After the 2002 riots, we were financially wiped out because we were in the
stock market. At least 250 families earned their livelihood through me. Our
bank guarantee had to be encashed. Narendra Modi does not control the
nationalised or private banks that turned down Muslims’ requests for loans.
Forinstance,inordertorestartourbusinessafterthe2002riots,Iapproached
ICICIbankandofferedtomortgagemyhouseforaloan.Atthelastminute,the
relationship manager told me, “Zafarbhai, the letter ‘M’ will bite you. There’s
anunwrittenlawtorefuseloansto‘Ms’whohavebeenputonthenegativelist.”
Does Narendra Modi make those lists? Only Muslim areas such as Kalupur
and Jamalpur used to come under negative lists. If you had a house there, you
were put in the negative list. In the entire Paldi area where the vast majority of
residents are Hindu, they only kept Faiz Mohammed Society in the negative
list because that’s a Muslim colony. They did not give us a loan although we
fulfilled all other qualifications.
Even though I was in England at the time of the 2002 riots, I was closely
involved with our main family business in Ahmedabad. One felt a sense of
despair that there is no one to speak for us. During my time in England, I used
to live in Dewsbury. Three Gujarati Muslims from Dewsbury, along with two
others, were murdered near Himmat Nagar during those riots. They had gone
to visit their ancestral village in Surat district and got caught in the frenzy
of that fateful night on February 27. One of them, named Aswal, was my
neighbourinEngland.Peoplewereshakenandhorrifiedandwethoughtitwas
time to do something. Therefore, we decided to take the Gujarat government
to the International Court of Justice. L.K. Advani, who was then the home
minister, was due to come to the UK around that time. I filed a case in the
London High Court that Advani should not be allowed to enter England
just as Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam—an ultra-right wing black
movement—was denied entry by the UK.
Since my case was admitted in the London High Court, Mr. Advani went
back from Spain because he did not want the embarrassment of having to
face hostile demonstrations and negative reports in the international media.
Therefore, the case was dismissed, but I had succeeded in making a point.
We then hired a leading British law firm to prepare a case against Modi
before the International Court of Justice. That made me an instant hero but

gave me a very uneasy feeling. I asked myself, what are we going to get out of
filing this case? Ok, it would come on TV and become a poster boy of the anti-
Modimovement.Butwhatisthelikelyoutcome?Atthattime,eventhoughthe
Intefada movement was at its peak, a peace movement between Palestinians
and Israelis was being initiated by the US. In fact, exactly at that point of time,
thePalestiniansweregoingtositdownfornegotiationswithSharonandPerez
and this whole meeting was to be facilitated by George Bush. The Palestinian
issue had been dragging on for at least 60 years. But what did they achieve?
We were also watching the condition of Muslims in the rest of the world.
Muslims had fought wars, and battled everybody. What did they get from it
all? I used to feel very disheartened looking at the fate of Palestinians. Three
million refugees in Lebanon were living in terribly squalid conditions. Even
the slums of Mumbai are heaven compared to those poor Palestinian camps.
If they had entered into negotiations earlier, these three million refugees
could have lived settled lives. And who decides what Palestinians or Gujarati
Muslims should do? These armchair critics? They are sitting in their plush
offices in nine-to-five jobs and drawing seven-figure salaries. All they do is
sendoffemails.ItiswewhohavetoliveanddieinGujaratandyetthesedistant
guys control our destiny. They don’t want to come to India, they don’t want to
visit Ahmedabad, and they don’t care to do anything concrete.
Those years in England it also broke the myth I had cherished about pan-
Islamicunity.IusedtothinkIslamisone.ButIcametorealiseArabsareArabs
and Pakistanis are Pakistanis. Forget Gujarat, even within India, Lukhnow
Muslims are Lukhnawi. They don’t care if Gujarati Muslims die. The worst
was when I realised that if you are an Ahmedabadi, even Surat Muslims will
not come to save you.
I used to go from mosque to mosque in England to beg money for the 2002
riotsvictimstellingthemthatyoudon’tneedtogivememoney.Senditdirectly
to the victims or community NGOs working for them. People need money;
we need to build houses. But we got very little help.
My immediate reaction at that point of time was that we should not
make beggars of our community. I would tell my brother who was involved
in Ahmedabad’s relief camps, for God’s sake, do something to get these
refugee camps closed at the earliest. Don’t allow Muslims to become a beggar
community.
I could have continued with my cushy life in England. I was running a
financialservicescompany.But,whenIsawtheapathyofMuslimsinEngland,
it hit me very badly. Nobody cared about those dead, or those whose dear ones

had died. The rest were happy in their own world. Gujarat had become a topic
of drawing room conversations over kebabs. I told myself that we don’t want
the sympathy of such people. But I had already waged this war against Modi.
I could not even return to Gujarat. With that as a backdrop, I thought unless
and until we sit down and talk, the problem can’t be solved. But who do we
begin this dialogue with? Why not Modi himself?
I discussed this with two-three prominent Muslim scholars. At that very
time, we came to know that Modi sahib was coming to England on August
17, 2003, in connection with the first Vibrant Gujarat Summit. I thought, let’s
meet him and ask, you are yourself from Vadnagar where you have lived with
Muslims. What is your problem with us? I put forward this idea to some wise
Islamic scholars in England. They said, If you want to solve the problem, then
it is best to talk to Modi. But remember, you are going to face a lot of flak. I
said, Forget all others. What do you think is the right thing to do according
to Islam? Guide me on the basis of the Quran and Hadith.
They recited the tenth Hadith to me and read ayats from the Quran and
advised that I should go ahead for a dialogue in the interest of peace. One of
them quoted Suleh Hudaybiyyah and asked me, “What is your intent behind
this move?” I said, Maulana, in the post-riots situation, Muslims have lost all
connectionwiththeadministration.Wecan’tliveinanenvironmentwherewe
are totally cut off from the administration. We have to run schools, hospitals,
and we have madrasas. At every single step, we need the government’s help.
These wise maulanas gave me courage to go ahead. Then I asked myself as
to how I could meet Modi? I was already notorious for leading the anti-Modi
campaign. So, I approached my friend Mahesh Bhatt, a prominent Indian
film director and producer, who has also been active on these issues. He had
reached Ahmedabad on the very third day of the riots and stood consistently
by the Muslim community.
Over the years I have seen that Bhatt sahib is an honest man. So I told him
of the new developments and added, that Narendra Modi sahib is coming to
England. It is my desire that we meet and talk to him. Bhatt sahib said, “Sure
you must meet. All problems finally can only get solved through dialogue.
They had World War I and World War II but, ultimately, all decisions were
taken on the negotiating table.”
I asked him, but how do we meet Modi? He promised to figure out a way to
help me. Some days later, Bhatt sahib called back saying, “I’ve talked to my
friend Rajat Sharma, who is very close to Modi. Rajat says you should send
him an email stating why you want to meet Modi.”

So I sent an email admitting openly that we had fought Modi. But now we
feelthatwehaveexhaustedallthebattleoptionsandrealisenothingwillcome
out of it. Therefore, I want to meet Modi and ask him what is his problem with
Muslims. Rajat forwarded my email to Modi sahib. I think Modi ji must have
looked into my family background and found that we are good people.
PleasenotethatwhenweaskedforameetingwithModihewasnotyetahero
but one of the most hated figures; he was called Milosevic, Hitler, and so on.
Now, there is a long line of people waiting to meet Modi sahib and competing
with each other to praise him to the skies, but at that time no Muslim was
willing to approach him openly.
Soon a meeting was fixed through Rajat. At my insistence, Rajat agreed to
fly to London with Modi and be present at that meeting.
We were asked to come and meet him in some hall in Wembley. I replied
saying we want to meet him in private. He agreed and called us at 5 p.m. to
St. James Court where he was staying. Here we were praying in anxiety about
our first meeting with Modi, when bang came the first headline against me:
“ZafarSareshwalatakesaU-turnonModi.”Theverysamepeoplewhotreated
me as a hero earlier, now attacked me furiously.
I said to my critics that if you are so opposed to Modi, then you should have
found a way to defeat him in elections. After all, Modi has won the election
withatwo-thirdmajority.Thiselectionwasnotrigged.Youcan’tdefeathimin
elections but sit here opposing him? You will not even let others talk to Modi!
All hell broke loose when I issued a statement saying, “We welcome the
visit of Narendra Modi, who is the democratically elected chief minister of
Gujarat.” Suddenly, from a hero, I became a villain. Many of the big shots of
England came to dissuade me from meeting Modi. I did not listen to anyone.
I told them when the Palestinians can sit down with Sharon, why can’t we sit
down with Modi? And you cannot call Modi Sharon by any yardstick!
Themaulanassupportedmesaying,“Whenwecantalktoourenemies,why
not Modi? He is, after all, our own. We can catch him by the collar(girehbaan)
because he is one of us.” It was the courage of these few maulanas and the
guidance from the Quran and Hadith that gave me the strength to say, Even
if 100 crore Muslims are against me, I am not going to give up this path. But
I faced hell even before I met Modi and received 1100 hate mails from across
the world. I thought this was my jehad.
We were to meet Modi sahib at 5 p.m. on the appointed day. Five minutes
before that I received a phone call from Mahesh Bhatt. In his inimitable style,
he said: “Zafarbhai, if you cannot look at Modi straight in the eye and say that

there cannot be peace without justice, then don’t go for this meeting.” I told
Bhatt sahib that he is the chief minister of Gujarat. I have no idea whether he
will give us two minutes or five. He might just ask me to submit my petition
and leave. He said: “OK, we will pray that you get to say it all. Just go.” So I,
my brother, and a renowned Muslim scholar went to meet Modi. Because I
am a businessman, I could absorb the attacks on me by the anti-Modi lobby.
But the poor Maulana, oh my God, he was branded askaafir. Bahut zaleel kiya
unko. He was humiliated no end!
Since Mahesh Bhatt has been one of the fiercest critics of Modi in the
media, I found it hard to believe that he had encouraged Zafarbhai to
start the process of engagement with Modi. Therefore, I made a special
trip to Mumbai to confirm Zafar’s version and also to find out whether
Mahesh Bhatt had come to assess Modi differently after the new process
of engagement between Modi and the Gujarati Muslim community
following Zafar’s first meeting in August 2003. Mahesh Bhatt endorsed
every word of Zafar’s account. This is how Zafar describes his first ever
meeting with Modi:
See how Modi met us! He kept track of what time we arrived in the building
and came to the elevator to receive us. I was really nervous about the outcome
of this meeting. He shook my hand and broke the ice saying in Hindi, “Aayo
yaar!” Inside, there was a jhoola (a stylish swing found in most Gujarati
households). He made me sit next to him on the jhoola. Because at that time
Modi ji used to talk of Gujarati asmita (identity), I began the conversation by
saying that you are a slightly diluted Gujarati than me. I am an Ahmedabadi
and Ahmedabadis by all accounts are the purest of all Gujaratis while you are
from Vadnagar. You are comparatively an impure Gujarati. He laughed and
said, “Yes, you have a point.”
About eight-ten people were present during that meeting, including Rajat
Sharma and Talha, my younger brother, who had come all the way from India
for the meeting. Talha had seen it all, and he was actively involved in relief
work.
We did not beg for any concessions from Modi. We did not say, do this, or
do that for us. My first statement to Modi was, You talk of five crore Gujaratis.
Are the 60 lakh Muslims included in the five crores? If the answer is ‘Yes’, then
we talk further. But if you say that ‘I am the chief minister of only the 4.5 crore
Hindus of Gujarat, then there is nothing to say.

He said, “Of course you are mine. Among the five crore Gujaratis, you are
definitely included. When I bring Narmada water into Sabarmati River, do I
stop it from flowing through the Muslim settlement of Juhapura? Who are the
biggest beneficiaries of Sabarmati waters near Nehru Bridge?”
My next statement was: You have come here for Vibrant Gujarat, for the
economic progress of Gujarat. But this economic progress will mean nothing
without justice. The West rules the world because these countries ensure
justice to their citizens. And our country is in a mess—here I am not talking
of Muslims alone, because every one of us faces injustice in our country. There
cannot be peace without justice.
After that the maulana gave a long sermon to Modi on the value of justice.
A very top-notch industrialist from Gujarat who was also sitting there, kept
looking at his watch. Modi had some other big programme fixed for that
evening. But Modi told him, “Stop looking at your watch. I am going to spend
time with these people now.” He then told us, “Take all the time you want, and
say all that you want to tell me.”
Then we began talking of the riots and asked him, What were you doing on
the morning of February 27, 2002? Why did you not call your police and the
army? Why did you not go to Juhapura? Why did you not visit refugee camps?
That day, we confronted Modi with all those questions which the SIT asked
him much later. And yet, we were accused of going to meet Modi to curry
personal favours with him!
Maulana Isa Mansuri was very tough on Modi, but Modi treated him
with great respect. He listened quietly, which we had least expected from the
“HinduHridaySamrat”(TheEmperorofHinduHearts).Maulanasaidtohim,
“Modi sahib, forget everything else, help us get justice. If you do that, you will
automatically surge ahead. We are not talking of justice only in relation to the
Muslims who are only 15 per cent of India’s population. Hindus are bigger
victimsofinjustice.Makejusticeavailabletoall.”MaulanaliterallymadeModi
stand in the dock. It is Modi’s maturity that even after winning the election
with a thumping majority, he respectfully listened to all of that.
I told Modi, look, no one can deny that nearly a 1,000 Muslims were
killed. Whatever happens between Palanpur and Vapi, between Bharuch
and Jamnagar—good or bad—the buck will stop with you. You are our chief
minister. Whenever there is a problem, whoever is put in trouble—whether
Hindu or Muslim—it is your responsibility. We will always have the right to
ask you, why did this happen under your charge?’To this Modi replied, “Yes,

this blot happened during my tenure and I have to wash it off.”(Haan ye mere
kaal ka kalank hai, aur mujhe usko dhona hai).
People told us Modi never says sorry. I tell such people, what is the value
of merely saying “sorry” in such matters? If a known mass murderer comes
and just apologises to Muslims, should he be forgiven? We have a criminal
justice system in this country, which does not accept ‘sorry’ as an appropriate
punishment. What will Narendra Modi’s sorry mean to us? We will judge his
‘sorry’ from his actions on the ground.
After hearing us out with patience, Modi acknowledged that some of our
pointswerevalidbutmanywereexaggerations.Hedescribedhow,inFebruary
2002, he was very new to the administration after being suddenly sent as chief
minister in October 2001. He had been in government only four and a half
months when the riots broke out. His mandate was to clean up the mess left
by the previous government and win the December 2002 elections for the BJP.
Then he explained to us all the steps he had taken to put down the riots from
February 27 onwards under very challenging circumstances.
We saw his point because in contrast to the 2002 riots, which lasted just
three days, the riots during Congress regimes used to go on for months on
end. Many of these earlier riots had resulted in a far higher death toll than that
of 2002. The police as well as the administration in Gujarat were thoroughly
communalised. It was widely known that the BJP, VHP, Bajrang Dal etc.
patronised Hindu dons while the Congress Party patronised Muslim mafias.
Theseorganisedcriminalsyndicatesfunctionedwithimpunityduetopolitical
patronage. The coastal belt of Gujarat, in particular, was dominated by mafias
which were involved in smuggling gold and other contraband from Dubai.
This was the Gujarat inherited by Modi, a virtual outsider to governance, in
October2001.HewasrightinsayingthatbyFebruary,hehadnotacquiredreal
control over the administration. He was saddled with the baggage of previous
regimes. We were touched by the fact that he listened very carefully and gave
us proper answers. He had all the facts on his fingertips.
We had thus far experienced that Muslims don’t get a proper hearing from
anyone.Aftertheriotsof1969,of1985,1987,andof1992,nochiefministerhad
listened to us. All those were Congress chief ministers. I remember when after
the 1992 riots, a delegation comprising top echelons of Ahmedabad’s Muslim
community went to meet Narasimha Rao; he made them wait for four days
without the slightest thought that they had come in the month of Ramazan.
My uncle was part of that delegation. When Rao did not meet the delegation

on the day of the appointment, my uncle came back saying, “What is the point
of meeting a man who does not meet you on the day he has given you time?”
Other delegation members kept waiting for four days. On the fourth day,
they were given 2 minutes. That was the status of Muslims in the Congress
Party! And what kind of Muslims were these? The top echelons of Gujarat
society—the Tatas and Birlas of the Muslim community. Ehsan Jafri, who
was my father’s closest friend for 60 years, had fixed this appointment. Do
you think we are not pained at the way Ehsan Jafri was hacked to death on
the very first day of the riots? He talked to my father that very morning before
he was butchered.
Ehsan Jafri was a former Congress MP of Gujarat. He had joined the
CongressofIndiraGandhiin1960andwasheadingthecityunitby1972.
In 1977, after the Emergency, when the party was routed in most Indian
states, Jafri managed to win the Ahmedabad seat and became a member
of parliament in the 6th Lok Sabha. Thereafter, he remained active in
the party and held several key organisational posts in the Congress
governments in Gujarat. His house was also burnt down in the 1969
riots during Congress rule. To continue with Zafar’s story:
Ehsan Jafri was one of the oldest leaders of the Congress. He was their MLA.
But how did the Congress Party treat him? Congress had a lot of power in
GujaratevenduringBJPregimes.TheydominatedtheMunicipalCorporation.
The Mayor of Ahmedabad was a Congressman. Why did they not save Ehsan
Jafri? Who stopped them? He phoned his party people for help but they didn’t
go to rescue him. Some Congressmen were in fact part of the mob that killed
Jafri.
Coming back to our interaction with Modi, even for a second it did not feel
as though we were talking to a chief minister. After explaining his position,
Modi said to us, “OK, tell me about the problems of today. Tell me, is there
any mosque still under illegal occupation of the Hindus; give me the names
of those who have not received compensation. Come to specifics.” I said,
“Modi sahib, we did not come prepared for this.” Modi then took out a paper,
wrote down his phone number and said, “Narendra Modi is available for you
24x7—whether you need him at midnight or at 5 a.m. I give you my promise,
I will ensure that you get justice.”

When I asked Zafar if he made any audio or video recording of that
meeting, he said:
Wedidn’trecordanythingbecausewedidnotthinkthatthemeetingwouldlast
two-and-a-half hours. We thought we would only get five minutes. Normally,
a chief minister or prime minister does not talk to a common man at such
length. They only ask them to submit a petition and leave. We spoke with him
for two-and-a-half hours; every small detail was discussed.
To cross-check the facts, I met Rajat Sharma editor-in-chief of India TV,
a Delhi Hindi news channel. This is how he described the meeting:
Maulana Isa Mansuri did not let Modi speak for an hour; he spoke in the
harshest tones and words. Unhone to bakayda Modi ki class laga di (He gave
Modi a real dressing down). But Modi did not interrupt any of them for
a minute. After they had finished, Modi responded in detail with facts of
each case they narrated. He knew each incident in depth and challenged the
veracity of many of the alleged atrocities while conceding several lapses where
government failed to reach help. Then he told the Maulana, “You know very
well, I had been chief minister only for four-and-a-half months. When this
happened,Ihadnoexperienceofadministration.IhadnotevenbeenanMLA
till then. Therefore, I did not have full grip over the administration. But think
of the number of Hindus that got killed in police firing. Count the number of
places I sent the army.” He convinced them that government investigations
had found several gory stories, such as that of a pregnant woman’s womb
being ripped open, to be an outrageous exaggeration. He also narrated how
many relief camps he visited, and how he helped Muslims in rehabilitation.
The maulana then said, “If this is all true, why don’t you say it openly?”
Modi replied, “You will not see me fail you in action. But don’t ask me to say
it openly. VHP types will wipe me out. Elections are right round the corner.”
Rajat Sharma also described incidents involving certain madrasas and
Muslim housing complexes, which corroborated Modi’s claim that he
had responded promptly to all calls for help. I cross-checked some of
these incidents with people in Gujarat and with other sources. Each one
was corroborated by knowledgeable people. Syed Shahnawaz Hussain,
who is one of the most prominent Muslim leaders of the BJP, described
one such incident:

ThereisamadrasanearChhotaUdaipurrunbyGhulamVastanvi’seducational
trust. During the 2002 riots, this madrasa was surrounded by a riotous mob.
About 400 students were trapped inside the madrasa. Some Muslims of the
area phoned me since I was a minister in the Vajpayee cabinet. I, at once,
informed Narendra Modi about the imminent danger to the lives of all those
students, and requested quick action. In this, as well as in all other such cases,
Narendrabhai fully cooperated. But the news that came out was all negative.
They talked of killings but made no mention of all those who were saved due
to Modi’s timely interventions.
Why have there been no convictions of those who carried out massacres
in Moradabad, Bhagalpur, Meerut, and numerous other places? During the
regime of Nehru, India witnessed the maximum number of riots. There were
terrible riots during the rule of Indira Gandhi and even Rajiv Gandhi. Gujarat
wasriot-proneevenbeforeindependence.Buttheymadeitoutasifriotsduring
Modi regime were communal and all others in Congress regime “secular”.
Hearing the account of Shahnawaz Hussain, I recalled an incident
narrated to me in 2003 by Najma Heptullah about approaching Modi
during the Gujarat riots. At the time, she was the deputy chairperson of
Rajya Sabha as a Congress member. She is the grand-niece of Maulana
Abul Kalam Azad, a prominent Indian freedom fighter, a close colleague
of Mahatma Gandhi, and a strong proponent of united India. Azad was
the first Education Minister after the independence. Heptullah joined
the BJP in 2004. I phoned and reconfirmed the following account in
February 2013:
At the height of riots, I got a phone call from Aga Khan’s office that a colony
of Khoja Muslims, in the midst of Hindu areas, feared attacks. I phoned
Advani ji who was then the home minister in Vajpayee’s NDA government.
Advani ji in turn talked to Modi. Within minutes, Narendra Modi called me
and said, “Najmaben, please don’t worry. I will personally oversee this and
ensure their safety.”
Andtruetohisword,Modiimmediatelysentthearmytoprotectthatcolony
and no harm came to it. Local Muslims told me that since it was on all sides
surrounded byHindu neighbourhoods,ifriotous mobs had actually managed
to attack this area called Kankadiya, there was no way it could escape being
another Naroda Patia. My experience was that Modi personally attended to
whatever complaint was brought to his notice very expeditiously. Modi has

helped the Bohras and Khojas a great deal. He even went to meet the Syedna,
theleaderofDawoodiBohras,onhis100th
birthday.WhentheAgaKhancame,
he came to personally thank me and perhaps even met Modi. That is when
I realised that Muslims will find a respectable space only in the BJP. I asked
Modi during the 2007 election whether he wanted me to come and campaign
for him. He said, “There is no need for you to come to Gujarat. Since you know
my attitude, do what you can from Delhi itself.”
To continue with Zafar’s story:
We took Modi’s phone number and the matter ended there on that day. After
about two months, in October, I called Modi sahib’s office from London and
gave my name and number to his office. Within three hours, I received a call
with Mr. Modi on the line. I couldn’t believe it because I had never heard of
a chief minister who receives or responds to phone calls from the ordinary
citizens and that too with such speed.
He said, “Arre, you took so long to remember me! We met in August; it is
October now.” I said I was just checking see if he would actually respond to my
call and talk to me. He said, “Tell me, when are you coming back?” I replied,
Modi sahib, there is a problem. Since I created so much ruckus against you
(humne aapki pehle jo band bajayi thhi),yourpolicemustbereadytohandcuff
me on arrival. If I get locked up, you are not going to come and save me! He
repeated, “Tell me when you plan to come?” I gave him the date and he made
full arrangements for my safe return to Ahmedabad when I landed in India
in November 2003. A Gujarat government official received me at Mumbai
airport to see me through safely.
AssoonashecametoknowthatIhadarrived,hegothissecretarytocallme
andfindoutwhenIintendedtoseehim.WhenIwenttomeethim,hesaid,“Tell
me about specific problems of the Muslim community. Muslims don’t have to
vote for us but they should at least get their work done from the government.”
These were the exact words of Modi. Why should I praise him needlessly? I
mentionedasmallproblemrelatingtosomeMuslimdoctorinHimmatNagar.
He knew by name the man who was at that time the sarpanch of the area. He
asked me to tell my doctor friend to go and meet Ramanbhai. My friend did
as he was told, and the person to whom Modi sent him did the required work
immediately. Later, Ramanbhai also told the doctor, “You don’t have to vote
for us but at least come to us for your work, your genuine requirements. After
all, I am also your elected representative!”

I had never before seen a chief minister talk to citizens in this manner. I am
not a Tata or a Birla of the Muslim community.
I asked Zafar whether he was the only one to get this open-hearted
reception. Have other Muslims been dealt with similarly? Zafar said,
“I can cite numerous such instances where Modi responded to the calls
of the most ordinary Muslims with similar alacrity.1
But you will find
Mahesh Bhatt’s account very revealing. He got a call from Modi within
hours of him having publicly attacked Modi in Surat.”
HereisanaccountIheardfromMaheshBhatt,oneofthefiercestcritics
of Narendra Modi. This is from a video-recorded interview I conducted
with Mahesh Bhatt in Mumbai on January 28, 2013. I have made minor
editorial changes without compromising the meaning one bit:
In 2004, I had gone with Mehmood Madni sahib to Surat to make an anti-
Narendra Modi speech. There were innumerable problems that the people of
Gujarat were facing at that time. There is a Hadith of the Prophet, which I had
memorised because I loved it. It says, “Mazloom ho to madad kar, zaalim ho to
wo bhi madad kar.” I asked the Maulana what it means. He explained that the
Prophet says, “Zaalim bhi bhai hai, zaalim ko uske zulm se mukt karaana is
your farz, your duty.” (Even the tyrant is your brother. Helping him get rid of
his tyranny is also your duty). I asked if this was enshrined in the Hadith and
had the Prophet actually said it. He said, “Yes, everyone will help a mazloom,
but not a zaalim and when the zaalim is liberated from his zulm, then that is
a real breakthrough.”
I remember speaking from the Jamaat-e-Islami platform and saying,
“Narendra Modi, sun rahe ho? Jis mazhab ko tum aaye din kehte ho ki ye
aatankvadiyon ki ek gangotri hai, uske Rasool ne kya kaha hai.” (Narendra
Modi, are you listening? The religion that you describe as the fountainhead
of terrorism, do you know what its founder has said!)
I have checked numerous speeches of Modi and confirmed with several
people. Modi has never used offensive words against Islam. This kind
1 I received proof of this from the account of a Bihari Muslim student who was given an
appointment with Modi on the basis of a message he posted on Modi’s Twitter handle.
Read: Sultan Alimuddin, “My Tweet to Narendra Modi,” Manushi, February 1, 2014,
Web. http://www.manushi.in/articles.php?articleId=1750#.Uw3cNPSSxJM.

of vituperative language has been used by the likes of Praveen Togadia
and Haren Pandya. Bhatt seems to be saying this under the mistaken
assumptionthatModiheldsimilarviews.TocontinuewithBhatt’saccount:
I recited the Hadith with passion, which also harked back to what I had
understood of Gandhi. Little did I know that what I would say would result
in a phone call! It said, “Mahesh sahib, the chief minister of Gujarat wants to
talk to you.” I thought it was a prank call because I was overtly at loggerheads
with him, so why would he call me? Before I could even recover from that, he
came on the line and started talking in Gujarati with me, “Maheshbhai kem
chho?”(Maheshbhai, how are you?)
I said that I understand Gujarati but cannot speak it. My father was from
Gujarat but I never spoke the language. So Modi switched to Hindi and said,
“Suna hai ki aap humse bahut khafa hain.” (I hear that you are very angry
with me). I said, yes, there are many problems. The atrocities committed on
Muslims in Gujarat have not been redressed. They are running helter-skelter,
mourning, and crying.
He heard me out and said, “Maheshbhai, 5 aaiyye, 50 aaiyye, 500 aaiyye,
5,000 aaiyye, jahan aana hai aaiyye. Main milne ko taiyyar hoon. Main aapki
saari problems ko solve karne ke liye taiyyar hoon. Main aapko yehi kehna
chahta hoon ki main available hoon.” (Maheshbhai, you want to come with
five Muslims, or 50, or 500 or 5,000—pick a venue of your choice. I am ready
to meet all of you. I am ready to solve all the problems you bring to my notice.
I want you to know that I am available).
Don’t ask me why I say so, but I felt there was sincerity when Modi said
this to me. The heart listens to a voice and knows whether it is sincere, even
though it comes from a person who you have taken on in public. I said thank
you for saying that. But since I spoke from the platform of Mehboob Madni
of Jamiat, I will communicate your message to Mehboobbhai and get back to
you. I immediately called Mehmood Madni and said, ‘Mehmoodbhai, Hadith
ne apna kamal kar dikhkaya hai, lagta hai Rasool ki Hadith jaake zaalim ki
chhaati cheer ke nikal gayi hai, kyunki zaalim ne phone kiya hai.Modisahib ka
phoneaayathha.Unhonekahathhakiaaplogonkojahanaanahaiaaiye,main
aapki saari problems ko solve karne mein interested hoon.’ (Mehmoodbhai,
looks like the Hadith has worked its wonders. It seems Rasool’s words pierced
throughthechestofthetyrantandhithisheartbecausethetyranthadphoned
me. Modi sahib called me and said we could go and meet him whenever and
wherever we wanted. He is ready to solve all our problems.)

I personally found this dialogue of Bhatt rather filmy and self-righteous
butadmirehishonestyinnarratingtheincidenttruthfully.Hecontinued:
Madni said, “Very well. We will have a meeting of our Governing Body and
discuss this offer.” His father was alive at that time. So he said, “I will also talk
to my father and get back to you.” The fact is he never got back to me.
Even now when Mehmoodbhai and I talk, I say to him that Mehmood bhai,
itihas pe jab main kitaab likhunga to ye to bolna padega ki usne mujhe phone
kiya thha, maine aap se kaha thha, aap ne governing board se meeting kari thhi
magar aap ne jawab nahi diya. (When I write my book on the history of this
period, I will have to say that Modi had called me, and I told you about his
offer. You had a meeting of your governing board but did not get back to me).
He said, “Haan maine jawab nahi diya. Mere walid ne kaha ki haan baat
karni chahiye. Mere jo aas paas ke log thhe, unhone kaha ki ye nahi karna.
Iss baat par koi bhi baat karna sahi nahi hoga. Tum unki rajneeti mein mohra
ban jayoge.” (Yes, I did not respond. My father had said we should talk. But
all those around me said that it will not be right to take Modi’s offer. You will
become a mere pawn in their politics.)
Even now if I speak to Mehmoodbhai and I ask him why he didn’t meet
Modi, he will have the same response. That was my first interaction with
Narendra Modi.
When I asked Mahesh Bhatt why he himself did not go and
meet Modi to tell him about the grievances of Muslims, he said,
“I did not meet him because I was not a part of that organisation. It was a
rallyoftheJamiat.”Ipersistedandsaidthatyouknewabouttheproblems
of the Muslims; why only Jamiat? You could have gone with XYZ. Bhatt’s
unconvincing response was, “See, I was not aligned to any group. Teesta’s
group was self-sufficiently acting on its own. I had chosen to speak from
thatplatformbecauseIhadmetMehmoodbhaiduringtheIraqinvasion.”
But not being aligned to any Muslim group has never prevented Bhatt
from abusing and accusing Modi of heinous crimes on prime time TV.
Why did Bhatt not tell this to Teesta Setalvad that Modi is willing to
redress all her legitimate grievances? Bhatt replied:
I told Teesta because she and others had got to know about me helping Zafar
to meet Modi. They thought I was responsible for engineering some kind of
backdoor peace process. But there was no backdoor; why should there be one?

The community has a problem. Zafar lives in Gujarat, he knows about the
problem, and Modi is the elected representative of his state. Zafar ran from
pillar to post; he didn’t seem to get help from anybody, so what does he do?
He has to open a dialogue process with the government. That was perhaps
perceived as some kind of softening of my stand.
I asked him if Teesta can go to the Supreme Court, or to the High Court,
why not meet the elected CM? Why did Teesta never try to meet Modi?”
Bhatt replied, “I don’t know. I’m not so close to Teesta to know that,
and I normally don’t ask people what they do.” When I asked Bhatt why
Shabnam Hashmi, who he works very closely with, had not gone and met
Modi, when there was an offer that anyone could go with the problems
of Muslims, his answer was:
I don’t think she would ever do that because she is convinced that all these are
ploys.Infact,whenshegottoknowthatShahidSiddiquibhaiwasinterviewing
Modi, she thought we manipulated it. I told her that she was only imagining
things. I was not responsible for it
I asked Bhatt why shouldn’t journalists interview Modi? When she has a
list of grievances on behalf of Muslims and you have let it be known that
Modi is willing to solve problems, why does she not go with the list and
say, “I’m giving you a list of demands of such and such group of Muslims,
show me that you mean well.” Why does she not ever do that?
At this point, Asifa Khan of Bharuch, who left the Congress to join the
BJP, intervened to say, “Shabnam will never engage with Modi because
she is politically associated with the Congress.” Mahesh Bhatt defended
Shabnam by saying, “I think she has a clear-cut ideology. She will never
go to the BJP, just as I’m not close to the BJP ideology.”
Isaid,Maheshbhai,wearen’ttalkingaboutideology;we’retalkingabout
the Muslim community’s legitimate grievances. If you and I were angry
at the 1984 riots, it is not as if we were fighting the Congress ideology. We
were angry that the Congress leaders led and instigated hired hoodlums
to kill innocents. If you murder people, whether you go chanting ‘Bharat
mata ki jai’ or you shout ‘lal salaam’ (red salute of Maoists), killing is
killing. Since you allege discrimination against Muslims, why not take a
checklist to Modi saying that these are their grievances, show it that you
mean well and alleviate these? To this, Bhatt said:

I somehow never asked Shabnam to meet Modi. However, the next time I
went to Gujarat was with the Red Cross Society when floods hit the state in
2005. We were looking out for Muslim pockets to find out whether they were
gettingstatesupportduringthatnaturaldisaster.IwasdelightedwhenMuslim
families came up to me and said that they had gotten their due compensation;
in fact, they had gotten it earlier than Hindus. I also met Muslims in Baroda
who said the same thing. In a way, it kind of takes the wind out of your sails
because you are riding on the wind of anger, and then you find out that your
angerisbasedonthememoryof2002.Thegroundrealityhadchanged.Flood-
affected Muslims were given the same rations and monetary support that
othersgot.IremembertellingRajatSharma,pleasedotellMr.ModithatIhave
personallygoneandcheckedinfloodaffectedregions.In2002,Isawacomplete
breakdown of law and order in Ahmedabad, and the Muslims were living
in terror. This time, I saw a very hopeful face of Muslims during the natural
disaster. They were dealt with compassion and care by the establishment. That
gave me hope that the river was changing its course.
Unfortunately, some conflict entrepreneurs live off conflicts. Just as the
war industries would cease to exist if human hatred evaporated, conflict
entrepreneurshaveatremendousinvestmentinthishatred.Tokeepthedemon
alive is to keep their God alive. They draw sustenance from this hatred. Those
who talk of secular values need to go back and study the Mahatma because in
the pages of the Mahatma, there is no concept of the kshatru (enemy).
Of the entire anti-Modi brigade, Mahesh Bhatt is the only one to have
acknowledged such facts truthfully. However, even he has not been able
to break with his ideological prejudice and continues to attack Modi on
TV channels. To continue with Zafar’s account:
The charge that Modi hates Muslims, or that he engineered the riots to win
elections has been proved to be bunkum by the enquiries of the highest
court. Due to decades of recurrent politically-engineered communal riots
during previous regimes, Gujarat police and administration were also heavily
communalised. And yet, Modi managed to mobilise all the forces he could to
restore normalcy within three days.
An important aspect of this riot was that it was not as simple as BJP vs.
Muslims or just VHP vs. Muslims. Many Congress workers were equally
involved. Some of these workers have also been convicted. I personally know
of many Congress workers who took an active part in the riots. Even outside

Ehsan Jafri’s house, there were a lot of Congressmen among the murderous
mob.ThosefoundguiltyofmurdersinGulbergSocietyincludeCongressmen.
ThemostnotableamongCongressmeninvolvedinJafri’smurderisHimmat
Singh Patel who was the mayor of Ahmedabad at that time. It is a travesty
of justice that he has escaped punishment. Teesta will never name him. In
Ahmedabad, there was a very famous mausoleum of Wali Dakhani, who was
a renowned poet of the 18th
century. This mausoleum, near Subhash Bridge,
was desecrated by the rioters along with a mosque in Paldi. At that time, the
Congress, with Himmat Singh Patel as the mayor, controlled the Ahmedabad
Municipal Corporation (AMC). Overnight, the AMC completely demolished
the mausoleum, ran a bulldozer on that land, and built a road on it. While
the rioters had merely vandalised it, the AMC completely erased traces of the
mazaar. Such a hue and cry was raised over Babri Masjid. Wali Dakhani’s
mazaar was no less important. Babri Masjid was in shambles when they tried
building a temple over it. But here they ran bulldozers over a popular mazaar
as well as over the nearby mosque and built a road on top of both.
Muslim delegations went to Mayor Himmat Singh Patel to protest against
this and told him, “The riotous mobs only caused some damage. Why did
you bulldoze those two sacred structures? We want permission to restore the
mazaar.” His answer was, “I don’t want to talk about this.” At this, one of our
memberssaid,“ThenwhatisthedifferencebetweenyouandtheVHP?Itwould
appear as if you are working in unison with them.” He said, “You can interpret
it any way you like.” He had the cheek to tell us that to our faces. Just imagine
the arrogance of the Congress! When Muslims took similar complaints to
Narendra Modi, the response was altogether different. He redressed each of
our grievances with speed.
This Himmat Singh Patel is the blue-eyed boy of Sonia Gandhi. In 2007,
whenever Madam Sonia came to Gujarat, he used to be there all around her.
For us, he was our maut ka saudagar (merchant of death). Muslims were
enraged at Sonia Gandhi’s proximity to Himmat Singh.
The Congress knows it was complicit in riots. This is the reason why the
Congress does not want to mention 2002 in Gujarat but they scream about it
only on national television. Even now when there are debates on TV channels,
the Congress does not get even one Muslim to represent them while the BJP
has four to five credible Muslims from Gujarat to speak for them. It seems the
Congress feels that if they let Muslim faces represent them, they would lose
votes since they have been banking on the VHP and a section of RSS types to

help them fight elections. The Congress has been acting as the B team of the
VHP in Gujarat.
Rais Khan, who was the right hand man of Teesta Setalvad till 2008,
endorsed Zafar’s statement by the following account. While Teesta
Setalvad, who led the campaign against Modi, lives in Mumbai, Rais
Khan was made to stay in Gujarat and send daily reports to Teesta and
also mobilise victims to join her anti-Modi campaign. He fell out with
her in 2008. In a video-recorded interview he said:
I had given numerous photographs to Teesta Setalvad of rioting mobs during
that period. They clearly showed faces of known party workers and leaders of
the Congress Party along with VHP/Bajrang Dal and BJP cadres. Teesta has
never released those pictures that implicate Congressmen. Those particular
photographs have simply disappeared. She has refused to give me copies of
pictures I sent her from ground zero. Likewise, she never mentions or shows
picturesofMuslimmobsattackingHinduhomesandbusinessestablishments
during that period. When I began pointing out to Teesta and Co. that they
were presenting a one-sided picture of the riots, and that they studiously
avoided talking of attacks on Hindus, the losses they suffered, the thousands
that were rendered homeless and sought shelter in relief camps, she let loose
a propaganda campaign that I had been bought over by the VHP. She finally
threw me out of the organisation without as much as giving me notice or
a chance to explain myself. Moreover, Teesta got false affidavits signed on
behalf of riot victims. That is why many of the victims have openly distanced
themselves from her. Only those Muslims who are on Teesta’s payroll are still
standing by her. She gives them monthly doles to remain as showpieces of
the Gujarat riots and give tutored testimonies. Till 2007, as the ground level
worker of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), I was in-charge of distributing
cash to such families—all of which was part of hawala money Teesta got from
various Muslim countries—bulk of which she kept for herself.
Rais Khan is currently fighting court cases against Teesta Setalvad, and
says he has submitted before the judges a great deal of evidence of Teesta
committing perjury and misleading the courts. A fuller interview of
Rais Khan appears in my next book. To continue with Zafar’s account:

Let me provide you yet another example of the difference between Modi and
the Congress leaders. When SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India)
started troubling me a lot, Mahesh Bhatt suggested that I contact Salman
Khurshid, as he was not only the Minister for Minority Affairs, but is also
a lawyer at the Supreme Court. I told Mahesh Bhatt that I did not want any
personal favours. I just wanted to show him my papers. SEBI spells doom for
small companies. They harassed me a lot, levelled many false charges against
me, and gave me no hearing. The government has made the Minority Affairs
Ministry with a clear mandate that if any member of the minority community
hasanyproblem,thenthefirststopshouldbetheMinisterforMinorityAffairs.
Mahesh Bhatt got an appointment for me, and Khurshid told me to come to
Delhi on such and such date in the year 2009.
So we went all the way to Delhi from Mumbai to meet him. He made me
wait for hours but did not even give me 15 seconds to state my case. All he said
was that since the matter was related to the SEBI and the Finance Ministry,
he could not do anything about it. I told him that I did not want any favours
but as the minister, he could at least listen to my problem. But he refused to
even listen to me. Whether your work is done or not is a different issue, at least
you deserve to be heard. On the other hand, we have Modi sahib—if you call
his office and leave a message, you will receive a call within a few hours. This
response system has not failed us for ten years. This is true not just for me but
foreveryone;theCM’sofficewillaskforyournameandnumber,andModiwill
call you back personally. They have a standard procedure for appointments.
AfterthatencounterwithKhurshid,Iwasleftwonderingaboutourstanding
asMuslimsinthiscountry.WhenI,asapersonofsomestature,gettreatedlike
this, imagine the fate of an ordinary Muslim! We know what we want—shut
down the Ministry for Minority Affairs; just give us our constitutional rights
as ordinary citizens. The problem is that they do not give me my rights as an
ordinary citizen and then they create the Ministry for Minority Affairs and
giveusa15-pointprogramme,whichtheyhavenointentionofimplementing.
My message to the Congress Party is: Just give me my basic rights, as is being
done by the Gujarat government; we want no special treatment.
LetmerecountanotherinstanceofthecontrastbetweenhowModiresponds
to grievances as compared to the high and mighty in the Congress Party. Even
while we were assisting in the rehabilitation work and legal cases of Muslims,
we decided that while the justice system will do its own work, our main job
is to make our community stand on its feet. For that to happen, we have to
launch a jehad for education. Till 2001-02, there were only three Muslim

schools in this city. Today, Ahmedabad alone has 17 Muslim schools as well
as several Muslim colleges. There is FD College in Jamalpur, where more than
1,000 girls are studying. My sister-in-law and my sister, run a school in a poor
neighbourhood of Shahpur, where more than 650 girls receive education. We
want this work to get priority—not simply go on some television channel and
abuse Modi and become secular heroes.
As you well know, the license raj is terrible for schools anywhere in India.
But in Gujarat, opening schools in Muslim areas has started happening with
easeonlyafterModitookcharge.Untilsomeyearsago,therewasanunwritten
lawthatnopermissionwouldbegivenforopeningMuslimschools.Therefore,
no Muslim even thought of it. What was the point when, you knew, no matter
how hard you tried, no permission would be forthcoming? Now things are
different—you get a lot of encouragement from the government if you want
to do anything in the sphere of education.
We told Mr. Modi that we needed only two things from him: logistical
support and the promise that the administration should not put a spoke in
our wheels. For logistical support of the government, approvals are needed.
You just cannot start a school wherever you want. Modi has indeed been true
to that assurance. The administration is today very responsive towards the
educational initiatives of the Muslim community.
Opening schools has been made easy because the Gujarat government
has set a transparent rule-based system which eliminates the scope
for arbitrary denial of permission. The education department has laid
broad guidelines and listed basic requirements to be fulfilled before
an application is accepted by the department. All this information is
available on the website. Applications have to be submitted online with
documentary evidence, such as proof of land ownership and completion
of the school building. The Committee that gives sanction gets to see
the applications only on the day of the meeting. Those meeting the
requirements cannot be denied permission, and those who don’t meet
the requirements cannot get a license. The department has to put reasons
for denial online so as to build in accountability. If anyone still feels
aggrieved, he can use the well-crafted SWAGAT (literally meaning
‘welcome’) system of grievance redressal which provides systemic access
andpersonalhearingbythechiefminister.Thisiswhathaseliminatedthe
bribe-friendly discriminatory treatment which also allowed communal
prejudices to influence decisions. Modi doesn’t make adminstration

revolvearoundhispersonalinterventions;achiefministercentricsystem
would not have delivered the speed and impartiality that a rule-based
transparentsystemdoes.Moreover,themandategiventothedepartment
is to encourage opening of schools and not to put needless hurdles.
However, there are times when the chief minister’s intervention been
necessary. Zafar describes how Modi handles such situations:
I can give you several examples of how Modi goes out of his way to ease things.
For instance, Nutan School run by a Hindu trust was located in Bapu Nagar,
which is in the heart of a Muslim area. But, when the number of Muslims
increased, they sold it to a Muslim management. It has 1,400 Muslims girls
studyinginthemorningshift,and1,400boysintheafternoonshift.Onenight,
suddenly on a Sunday, at 10.30 p.m., I received a phone call from one of the
gentlemen who runs the school saying, “Zafar miyan, there is a big problem.
Our school building is going to be demolished. The police is already here and
they plan to demolish it at ten in the morning. No one except Modi can save
our school.” I replied in jest that there is only Modi for you now, as though
Allah miyan has vanished. As if Modi is God! It is now 10.30 p.m. How can I
call Modi at such a late hour? He insisted that I phone him right then.
This happened in 2007. You won’t believe it, at 10.45 in the night, I called
Modi at his residence. His secretary told me, “Sahib has gone out.” I told him
to please get Modi sahib to phone me before seven tomorrow morning. Next
morning, at 6:59, Modi called me and said, “How come you wanted to talk to
meearlymorning?”Isaid,Sir,thereisaMuslimschoolinBapuNagar—Idon’t
knowwhetheritsbuildingisillegalorlegal.AllIknowisthatthemunicipality
is about to demolish it. But you have to save it. He said, “You people put me in
a tight spot. It is an illegal structure and there is a High Court order that the
MunicipalCorporationhastodemolishallillegalstructures.”Isaidthismatter
relates to a school, you have to help. Modi responded with a laugh saying, “If
theschoolgetsthedemolished,themuseebat (headache) ofdealingwith those
2,800 children will after all also come on my head! So I better do something.”
Sure enough, Modi stopped demolition that day. Later on, his officers advised
us how to get the school legalised.
Thereisanotherincidentworthrecalling.In2005,threeprominentMuslim
scholarshadbeenissuedwarrantsinconnectionwithGodhramurders.These
warrants had already been pasted on their houses. Those people came to me
and said, “Ahmedbhai is a prominent Muslim leader in Delhi; we will phone
him for help.” I told them, even if you phone him, he is not the one ruling

here. You will ultimately have to talk to Modi to help these scholars.’ They
said, “No, we will talk to our Ahmedbhai.” They called on four different phone
numbers but could not get through to him. So they left their phone numbers
at his office, saying, “We are sure he will call us back by tonight.” The next day
they called me and said, “He did not return our call.” That is when I offered
to call Modi’s office.
Per chance, Modi sahib was right there in his office then. He came on the
line right away. I told him about the three scholars and said that I could vouch
for them as well as I could about my own father. They were highly respected
and yet being harassed. Modi said, “Give me their names.” It felt like he wrote
down the names himself as I gave their details. As this conversation was going
on, one of the maulanas passed me a note saying such-and-such maulana’s
passport had been confiscated. So I told Modi, Sir, there is this passport case
also.Hesaid,“Tellthispersonthatwhenhehastogoabroad,itismyassurance
that we will give him a passport.”
Within eight hours of this phone call, the deputy commissioner went and
removed the summons that had been pasted on the houses of the maulanas
and officially withdrew the warrants of arrest. But it wasn’t just at the sultani
farmaan of Modi. He got the matter investigated and confirmed their
innocence before the collector withdrew the order. Likewise, there were cases
of Muslims in jail charged with Section 268. They had not been out for ten
years. We went to Modi and he allowed five such boys out on humanitarian
grounds but only after proper procedures.
Let me give you another instance of the difference between the functioning
of self-styled secular politicians and that of Modi. When Mahesh Bhatt’s film
Jism 2 was to be released, it faced trouble in Maharashtra and Gujarat. The
party workers of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), an alliance partner of the
Congress Party, threatened to attack any theatre that dared release the film.
Theytoreupfilmpostersanddefacedthefilm’spublicityhoardingssayingthey
would not allow the screening of such a vulgar film. Even though the National
Censor Board had cleared the film, the NCP’s moral police was adamant. So
Mahesh Bhatt called the senior most leader of NCP, Sharad Pawar, and told
him that his party cadres in Gujarat were threatening harm to cinema halls
that were to screen the film. I was present when that conversation took place.
Sharad Pawar laughed and said, “Do you want me to seek protection from
Narendra Modi even though I am his political adversary? Don’t worry.
Nothing of the sort will happen.” But two days later, I got a call from Mahesh
Bhatt saying that threats from the NCP workers had actually increased. I

assuredBhattsahibthatIwouldtalktoModionhisbehalf.EventhoughBhatt
remained a sworn enemy of Modi, Modi’s response was clear and forthright.
“Noquestionofthegovernmentallowinganyonetocreatedisturbanceonthis
issue. Rule of law will prevail. Since the Censor Board has cleared the film,
nobody has the right to obstruct its screening through lawless acts.” He told
metocommunicatetoBhattsahibtosleeppeacefullybecausethegovernment
would not tolerate hoodlum action.
Within minutes of this conversation, Bhatt sahib phoned me and said,
“The police commissioner of Baroda, the city in which NCP workers were
most aggressive, called to assure me that the government is committed to
taking strict action against any disruptive activity. When I told the police
commissioner that the theatre owners are petrified and therefore unwilling to
screen the film, the police commissioner personally went and met the owners
to assure them that they had no cause to worry.” And, indeed, the film saw
a peaceful release. Bhatt sahib told me, “Yaar, I have never seen any other
politicianorchiefministeractwithsuchalacrityanddeterminationanywhere
else in India.” He openly praised Modi’s conduct in the Film Federation
meeting saying, “one does not see any other state of India demonstrate such
strong commitment to the rule of law.”
I did confirm these facts with Mahesh Bhatt. He agreed Modi had
ensured peaceful release of Jism 2. But he was still angry about Jism 1
getting into trouble, and his son facing difficulties on account of his
supposedly innocent friendship or association with David Coleman
Headley, a Pakistani-American from Chicago who conspired with the
Lashkar-e-Taiba group and Pakistani military officers to launch multiple
terrorattacksinMumbaiandpromoteotherterroristactivity.Isomehow
failed to understand what Modi had to do with his son’s case since David
Headley case is being handled by central agencies.
I asked Zafar, when the VHP types created a similar ruckus against a
painting exhibition in Baroda or when the film Parzania’s release was
stopped, Modi had not behaved with similar determination. So why this
change? Zafar replied:
Modi admits that it was a mistake not to let Fanaa or Parzania run in Gujarat
theatres or let hoodlums get away with disrupting the Baroda College of Art
exhibition. The VHP, Bajrang Dal etc. had created a lot of trouble for him at
that time. So, he had decided that the rule of law would prevail henceforth, no

matterwhatthepoliticalcost.Myimpressionisthatthoseincidentstookplace
whenGujaratwasstillundertheVHPcontrol.TheParzaniaincidenthappened
in 2003 when Modi was not in full control of the state administration. The
police force was still under the influence of previous regimes at that time. It
took him 2-3 years to put governance on track. Now, Modi has a grip over
the administration. Even the police know it is on watch, and Modi will not
overlook any laxity or partisan conduct. That is the reason why today the
Muslims feel very secure and safe in Gujarat. They know that no injustice will
be done to them. Hundreds of Muslim groups have met him on various issues.
Each has had a similar experience of being listened to respectfully and having
their grievances addressed expeditiously. Modi delivers what he promises.
Since Zafar’s account seemed so much at variance with the demonised
image of Modi, I double-checked with several persons, including officers
who have worked with him. Every single person who had actually taken
some genuine issue to Modi had an identical story to tell. A very telling
account came from V.V. Augustine from Kerala, who interacted with
ModifrequentlyduringhistenureasamemberoftheNationalMinorities
Commission:
Contrary to the propaganda that Modi ji is supposed to be anti-minority, my
experienceisthatModiisaveryminorityfriendlyperson.WhenIwasmember
of the Minorities Commission, the Christian community of Vapi district in
Gujaratbroughtaseriousissuetomynotice.Theynumberaround7,000inthat
area. There are several churches in Vapi of different Christian denominations
that include Catholics, Protestants, Syrian Christians, and several others.
Since the last 40 years, they had been trying, without any success, to get a
piece of land for a cemetery for burying their dead. They had even approached
the Central government for helping them acquire a piece of land, which they
were willing to pay for. But the administration kept dragging the matter for
decades. This caused enormous inconvenience because they had to take dead
bodiesforburial40milesfromVapi.Inordertolobbycollectively,theyformed
a Vapi Christian Association and approached me for help as a member of the
Minorities Commission.
Iaskedthemtowriteonemorefreshapplicationaddressedtothecollectorof
thedistrict.Iwenttomeetthecollectorpersonallyandhetoldmefrankly,“This
has to be a government decision because the local people have a problem with
having a graveyard in their midst. Please approach the appropriate authority.”

I therefore decided to talk straight to Modi ji and explained the matter to
him. He listened to me with full attention and said, “Yes, you have a genuine
issue. Tell me, have you identified a piece of land you want?” I told him that we
haveaplacebutthelocalpeopleareresistingouracquiringit.Modisaid,“That
is not your problem; that’s mine. Just tell me where you want the land and I
will call for a report.” Within a matter of hours, he had the full report from the
collector, who told him that since that particular piece of land was right in the
middle of the town, the local people were resisting having a graveyard there.
Modi then asked the collector to work in coordination with the Vapi
ChristianAssociationandidentifyasuitablepieceofland.Withinnotime,the
land was identified on the outskirts of the town and the Christian community
wasgiftedone-and-a-halfacresoflandbytheStategovernmentfreeofcharge.
I have interacted with him on numerous issues since then, and have always
found him extremely helpful and responsive. For instance, in the Dang tribal
areas, there are settlements of neo-Christians. The VHP had become very
active in the area resulting in a lot of tension. When they planned to organise a
bigShabariKumbhMelainthatareain2006,theChristiansbecameextremely
nervous and feared that they would be attacked during that period. We went
to Modi with our apprehensions. Christian organisations demanded a ban on
the Shabari Mela. Modi did not ban the mela because that would have given
the VHP an excuse to create a ruckus that Hindus were being put down at
the behest of Christians leading to more tension. He assured us that nobody
would be allowed to indulge in violence or other forms of lawless behavior
and issued firm instructions to the police commissioner of the area. Indeed,
the mela passed off peacefully, this despite the fact that, during 2002, non-
Christian tribals had attacked Christian settlements leading to a great deal
of mutual hostility and suspicion. Not surprisingly, most Christians vote for
Modi. They have never complained against his regime.
WhenImetModievenonsmallmatters,hesupportedallgenuinedemands.
In another incident, there was a problem with Hindus and Muslims in a small
village near Baroda in 2004. He gave me a free hand to act as an intermediary.
Icalledajointmeeting.AMuslimhadkilledaHinduoverbusinessfalloutand
Hindus retaliated. They were not even on talking terms. But I brought them
together and made them talk to each other while keeping the media out. The
collector was also given instructions by Modi ji to extend full cooperation.
We conducted peace meetings to bring in communal harmony. Gujarat
newspapers gave prominent coverage to how the ‘Augustine Mission’
was successful. But the peace mission could not have succeeded if the

administration had not been fully supportive. People who spread the canard
that Modi is against minorities are reflecting their own political biases. My
experience is entirely different. He listens very carefully and acts very fast in
case of genuine problems.
As a member of the Minorities Commission, I dealt with several states. The
governmentsofOdishaandMadhyaPradeshhavealsobeengood.Butnochief
minister is as good, as strong and determined as Modi. Once he takes up an
issue, he sees it through to its logical conclusion.
Now, even Muslims realise that Modi is good for them. There are two kinds
ofMuslims inGujarat—the richand the poor.Myexperiencetellsme the poor
Muslims are solidly with Modi because a riot-free Gujarat and a resurgent
economy with new opportunities have benefited these poorer Muslims far
moredramatically.Ithasprovidedthemavenuesofupwardmobility.Iadmire
Modi and I want him to be the prime minister. I always go by factual accounts.
Thosewhoareobsessedwithinjusticedonetominoritiesshouldaskourselves:
Who has given the minorities full rights? It is the Hindu majority. Who wrote
the Constitution? Mostly Hindus! We must appreciate Hindus for this and
give them their due credit.
Some months later, I travelled to Vapi and to the Dang area to confirm
Augustine’s account with Christian community leaders. They endorsed
Augustine’s statements as far as the graveyard and other related issues
were concerned. However their responses were far more complex than
that of Augustine. I will provide a fuller account of that interaction in
my next book.

On October 7, 2001, Narendra Modi who had never even held the
office of sarpanch suddenly became the chief minister of a big state
undergoing serious crisis on diverse fronts.
He had neither fought any election for himself nor held any position in
the government. Even though he had worked as an organisational man
in BJP, he had no direct exposure to the ways of the bureaucracy and the
system of administration. Modi says, during the regimes of earlier chief
ministersofBJP,hehadnevereversteppedintotheCM’schamberdespite
being the general secretary of the party. During some part of Atal Bihari
Vajpayee’s tenure as prime minister, Modi was in Delhi as the general
secretary of the BJP. He says he saw the prime minister’s office only when
he was appointed as spokesperson of the Party. At that time he needed
to remain in touch with the PMO since he had to brief the media on a
daily basis.
Modi’s appointment as the chief minister of Gujarat was rather
dramatic. After having worked hard to build the party organisation for
several years, which helped the BJP come to power, the Gujarat state
BJP led by the then state BJP President, Sanjay Joshi and former Chief
Minister Keshubhai Patel, banished Modi from Gujarat. For six years,
Modi was barred from entering the state, even when he was the national
secretary of the BJP. Vijay Rupani, his old colleague from Rajkot, says
Narendra Modi Airdropped
as CM in October 2001
NaMo’s First Message to the People of Gujarat
The mantra of my entire work style is ‘Our Gujarat’. This sense of ‘ourness’
means everything to me—‘Our Gujarat, Unique Gujarat’. How do we further
highlight the diversity of Gujarat, how to make it shine brighter, how do we
strengthen the sense of ‘Ourness’?
NaMo’s first statement after assuming office as CM, October 7, 2001
CHAPTER 3

that Modi used to joke about it saying, “I am the national secretary of
the Party minus Gujarat.”
Therefore,hisappointmentasCMofGujaratwasasmuchofashockfor
Modiasitwasforhisopponents.HewassenttoreplaceKeshubhaibecause
the Gujarat government was in a total mess. Gujarat Assembly elections
were due towards the end of 2002. This had put the central leaders of BJP
in panic. Defeat in Gujarat would have meant a terrible setback for the
Vajpayee-led NDA government at the Centre. How Narendra Modi got
the news that he had been chosen to replace Keshubhai is well described
by M.V. Kamath and Kalindi Randeri:
The field had been left open to his [Modi’s] one-time colleagues who were
indulginginin-fightingandpettypolitics…From1995to2001,exceptduring
the 1999 elections, Gujarat was out of bounds for Narendra for all purposes,
whose work as party general secretary kept him in Delhi…[Modi] spent most
of the time travelling across India for organisational work…
Politically,Gujaratwasinthedoldrums.TheBJPgovernmentandtheParty
wereactingandworkingliketwoexclusiveentities—passingthebuckto each
other when they failed to deliver. The people of Gujarat, who had given the
BJP an absolute majority, felt cheated. And while the people felt cheated,
the ministers and leaders seemed to continue working for personal stakes.
The BJP in Gujarat needed someone to re-inculcate a sense of discipline
and unity towards the organisation… Indeed, matters had come to such
a pass that in one whole year (2000-01), the party could not win a single
by-election in the state. Losing the prestigious Sabarmati assembly seat,
Sabarkantha Lok Sabha seat, and all local self-government, taluka, nagar
palika (municipal corporation) elections to the Congress came as a wake-
up call for the BJP. It decided to act. And the only man, according to the
senior party leaders, who could set matters right was Narendra. He was
peremptorily told to proceed to Ahmedabad to take over the reins of power
as chief minister from Keshubhai Patel.1
It happened in a somewhat unexpected manner. Madhavrao Scindia had
died in a plane crash on September 30, 2001. Four journalists travelling
with him also perished in that crash. Among them was a cameraman
1 M.V. Kamath and Kalindi Randeri, Narendra Modi: The Architect of Modern State,
New Delhi: Rupa & Co, 2009, pp. 80-1.

of Aaj Tak, Gopal, whom Modi knew well. So on October 1, 2001 Modi
had gone for Gopal’s cremation in Delhi when he received a call from
the prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who asked Modi to see him
later in the evening.
When Vajpayee told Modi to leave for Gujarat, and work there, Modi
thought he is being sent for organisational work. So he asked whether
he would be in charge only of Gujarat or of some other state as well? But
Atalji said, “No, no, you will have to contest elections. You have so far
helped others fight. Now you will have to fight one for yourself.” As he
came to know that he was being marked out for chief ministership, he
told Atalji, “That is not my work. I have been away from Gujarat for six
long years. I am not familiar with the issues. What will I do there? It is
not a field of my liking…”2
But both Advani and Vajpayee prevailed upon Modi to accept the
responsibility. The choice had fallen on Modi because he was the one who
had built the party organisation from the bottom-up and led it to many
electoral victories. Given the circumstances under which Keshubhai and
Sanjay Joshi had banished him out of Gujarat and the state of affairs in
the Party, NaMo knew he was not going to have an easy time in Gujarat.
This is how he described in an interview with me his first moves as he
left for Gujarat:
Since I didn’t have any place to stay in Gandhinagar, I called the party office
and asked them to book a room for me in the Circuit House. I did not want
to stay in anyone’s house as I used to earlier. Staying in the Circuit House
also meant that people would be able to meet me freely. But I told my party
colleagues not to book the room in the name of any MLA because that comes
at a concessional rate. I asked them to book it in my name as a citizen so that
I make full payment. At that time I had no idea how many days I would have
to stay in the Circuit House and what all I would have to do since I didn’t
know the nitty-gritty of processes involved in government functioning. I had
returned to Gujarat after six years. Since the media is hyperactive on these
issues, the news spread fast. My plan was to go and meet my mother straight
after landing in Ahmedabad. That is exactly what I did.
Fromtheveryfirstday,thepeoplewhocametomeetmeattheCircuitHouse
2 Ibid., pp. 81-2.

had one common refrain: “Modi ji why are you accepting this post? The party
is sinking in Gujarat and has lost its pratistha (respect).” The second message
people gave me was: “Whether you manage to do any other worthwhile thing
ornot,just ensurethatwegetelectricityatthetimeofoureveningmeal.There
is so much distress in villages because of lack of electricity.”
The third refrain was: “Well it’s good that the party decided to bring about
a change. You have very little time and, therefore, it is difficult to say whether
you will be able to change much. But at least you will try.”
On October 4, 2001, NaMo was elected leader of the BJP legislative
party. Even though the outgoing Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel
proposed NaMo’s name for the post, he never really made peace with
Modi and worked steadfastly to damage his successor. However, there
was widespread jubilation among the party workers. On October 5,
2001, Express News Service carried the following report: “National
BJP General Secretary and RSS strongman Narendra Modi, who is
scheduled to be sworn in as chief minister on Sunday, appears all set to
make sweeping changes in the ministry to resurrect the Party’s image
in Gujarat.”
However, Modi did not make any sweeping changes in his cabinet. To
quote his party colleague, Vijaybhai Rupani:
When he first came to Gujarat as CM, I was in the BJP core group of Gujarat
state. Sanjay Joshi was our president. Even at that time, Narendrabhai sat
with party colleagues and said, “We have to jointly decide on the ministry.
The core group of the party should hold a meeting and prepare a list of names
for the Cabinet.” And he announced exactly the same list of names that the
party had collectively decided on despite the fact that he had doubts about the
integrity and performance capacity of 3-4 people. For example, Narendrabhai
had serious misgivings about Gordhan Zadaphia and he told us to rethink
on his name, saying he is likely to create mischief. But all of us insisted that
he include Zadaphia in the Cabinet in order to avoid inner party conflicts. It
was Sanjay Joshi as our state party president who pushed for Zadaphia’s name
as the home minister. Narendra bhai accepted without fuss whatever names
the party gave for inclusion in his and said, “Chalo yehi hai agar panchon ki
rai, to theek hai aage badho” (Fine, if this is the opinion of the panchas, so be
it). He is quintessentially a team player. Those who speak against him saying

he is authoritarian are telling lies. I have known him for long and know that
he is far from being dictatorial.
Though Modi ji accepted the Party’s advice and included Zadaphia in the
Cabinet, but when the Governor announced his name, Zadaphia refused to
come on the stage to take oath, saying, “I will not work with Narendra Modi.”
He created a big ruckus even after accepting a ministry – just because he
wanted to defame Narendrabhai. In the very first TV interview he gave after
the oath taking ceremony, he was asked why you didn’t go for oath taking. His
response was to level all kinds of false charges against Narendrabhai and say,
“Iwill neverworkwith him.”He wasouttoharm Narendrabhai fromdayone.
AndsureenoughZadaphiaprovedModi’sreservationswerewellfounded
because during the 2002 riots, he is alleged to have played a very sinister
role in fomenting violence. Within no time he left the BJP and joined
Keshubhai’s breakaway party which has been working closely with the
Congress Party to defeat Modi in election after election.
As the account in the later part of the chapter shows, Modi neither
shook up the bureaucracy nor handpicked his ministers. But since the
mandategivenbythepartyhighcommandtoNaMowastopullGujarat
BJP out of the deep morass and redeem the prestige of its government,
NaMo made his priorities clear soon after he arrived from Delhi by
announcing: “I have come here to play a one-day match. I need fast and
performing batsmen to score runs in the limited-overs game.”3
On His Way to the Swearing-in Ceremony
OnOctober7,2001:WhenModihadtogotoRajBhawanfortheswearing-
in ceremony, he did not use a brand new snazzy car as chief ministers are
pronetodo.HewentinanordinaryfairlyoldnavyblueMaruti800,which
was even in those days considered one of the cheapest models of cars.
On his way to the oath taking ceremony, Modi stopped to seek the
blessings of 5 leading figures of the freedom movement. He began with
a silent prayer at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, followed by a similar
floral tribute and prayer at the statues of Sardar Patel and Babasaheb
Amebedkar.4
All these three figures have left a deep imprint on Modi and
3 Kamath & Randeri, Narendra Modi: The Architect of Modern State, p. 83.
4 TowatchNarendraModi’sfirstoathtakingceremonyonOctober7,2001,seethelink:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd0Ndc3mQ4Q.

played an important role in shaping his vision and agenda. Thereafter, he
went to seek blessings at the statues of Ravi Shankar Vyas and Vithalbhai
Jhaverbhai Patel. The first three names are well known. Here is a brief
description of the other two Gujarati stalwarts.
Ravi Shankar Vyas (1884–1984), also known as “Borinvala Maharaj”
and “Muksevak”—or “silent worker”, was one of the earliest and closest
associatesofMahatmaGandhiandSardarVallabhbhaiPatel.Inthe1920’s
and1930’s,hewasoneofthekeyorganisersofthefreedommovementand
revolts against the British rule in Gujarat. His political stature is evident
from the fact that he was the one chosen to inaugurate the formation of
Gujarat as a separate state in 1960.
Vithalbhai Jhaverbhai Patel was the elder brother of Sardar Patel.
Vithalbhai also joined the Congress Party but left it to form the Swaraj
Party with Chittranjan Das and Motilal Nehru.
Both these stalwarts have been universally revered among Gujaratis
of all hues, cutting across party lines. I asked NaMo, how come he was
travelling in a small Maruti car the day he went to take oath as CM in
2001 given that the government doesn’t have small Maruti car in its fleet
of official vehicles. This is how he explained the choice of his vehicle:
When Chimanbhai Patel became CM and Keshubhai was No. 2 in his cabinet,
during the oath taking ceremony I remembered having seen a photograph of
a fleet of new cars for the ministers published in all Gujarati newspapers. I
was disturbed by the spectacle and felt it gave a wrong message. Even though
such things are routine in government but I felt such images annoy people.
So I told my officials, I don’t want all that taam-jham around my swearing-
in. When I returned to Gandhinagar after six years, I didn’t have a vehicle of
my own. Therefore, I asked the party to send me a party worker’s car along
with a driver so that I could move around freely. That is the car that took me
for the oath taking ceremony.
First Press Interaction on Becoming CM
It is customary for new chief ministers to hold a press conference soon
after the oath-taking ceremony. But Modi avoided doing that. Instead,
he made a short statement to the press almost in bullet form followed by
very few questions which he answered equally tersely. However, even in
this brief interaction, he clearly sets out his government’s priorities. They

are further elaborated in a “Message” he delivered to fellow Gujaratis
through TV on October 10, 2001.
I am meeting you after many years and that too in a new role… This year we
got enough rain for the needs of agriculture but the drinking water crisis
continues to stare at us. Due to the natural calamity we faced in the form of an
earthquake,theGujaratgovernmentfacesthemammothtaskofrehabilitation
of earthquake victims.
My message to my farmer brothers in Gujarat villages is, I am well aware
of the problems you face on account of power shortage. I will soon come up
with a concrete plan and take steps in the direction of resolving this problem.
The new government wants to make the service delivery system more
impactful to make governance effective. I also have a vision for creating a
mechanism for resolving centre state conflicts. It will be our endeavour to see
that Gujarat gets maximum possible cooperation from the Centre.
Ihavegivenanotificationtodaythatpanchayatelectionsbeorganisedatthe
earliest. We have also decided that all those villages that elect their panchayats
throughtotalconsensuswillgetthestatusofSamras5
Grams(mutualharmony
villages) and given special incentives for development. The government will
make all possible efforts to help create conducive environment for samras
villages. This will enable villages to rise above divisive political machinations
and create a conducive environment for development.
After September 11, 2001, the war against terrorism needs to be speeded up.
Therefore, starting yesterday, the [Gujarat Government] has started taking
some concrete steps. A border state like Gujarat needs to be alert and make
advance preparations to preempt any further attacks. Today, I spent the entire
day discussing these issues. I met the officials of the army, the Border Security
Force, as well as of the Air Force. I also sat with a high powered committee
looking into the internal security of Gujarat to discuss what we need to do in
case of any sankat (crisis) in the border areas of Gujarat and to discuss what
kind of coordination there needs to be between defense and civil authorities
in the state so that we have a vigilant and proactive institutional mechanism
for intelligence exchange. We have discussed how all departments of Gujarat
government that deal with security related issues should remain alert….
5 ‘Sam’ means equal or togetherness and ‘rasa’ refers to nectar. The two words, with
roots in Sanskrit, when joined, mean spirit of consensus based on shared feelings,
values, and goals.

Narmada is the prime agenda for the 36 lakh hectares of parched earth of
Gujarat.Narmadaistheprimeagendaofcroresofspeechless,thirstyanimals.
Narmada is the prime agenda of 5 crore thirsty Gujaratis.
He went on to inform the press that the very next day he has fixed a long
meeting with departments concerned with earthquake rehabilitation.
After this first briefing, he will himself go to Kutch. “After understanding
thecurrentstatus,direction,andspeedofrehabilitationwork,Iwillcome
back to the media only if I have something worthwhile to communicate
and I have something concrete on the agenda. It must demonstrate
courage, forbearance, goodness of heart, saujanyata (capability), the
power of ‘Ourness’—these things will be decisive in creating the Gujarat
of tomorrow…”
When one of the reporters asked Modi what kind of changes he would
like to bring about in the state administration in order to achieve his
targets, Modi’s response was very telling:
Idon’tbelieveeverythingintheadministrationrequirestobechanged.Itisall
amatterofchangingpriorities.TheforemostneedofGujaratisspeedydelivery
of services and I have faith that all the officials and employees of Gujarat
governmentwillcooperatewithmeinincreasingthespeedofservingGujarat.
And this is exactly what Modi set out to do: no suspensions, no wholesale
transfers, no big shake ups nor too many new laws. As we will see in
later chapters, Modi went about changing the face of governance using
the same personnel, same government rules, even though he changed
many archaic regulations along the way. But for specific projects, he
also inducted a good amount of professional talent from outside the
government system in order to bring in fresh ideas and energy.
The video footage of that occasion shows a very guarded and visibly
tense Modi rattling off what he had to convey in a monotone. When I
asked him the reason for this he explained it as follows:
When earlier chief ministers took oath, on that very evening they would have
special meetings with media persons—some even visited the chambers of
newspapereditors.Ididnotevenholdapressconference,thereasonbeingthat
IhadreturnedtoGujarataftersixyears.Ihadnoclueaboutthiscreaturecalled
‘the government.’ Moreover, I was already aware of the hostile environment

againstme.IwasapprehensiveandworriedthatifIaddressapressconference,
I may get trapped in a web of words.
I was not comfortable addressing the media because they had maligned
me without any cause. In any case, in that press conference, I could not have
madebigstatementsbecausetheperformancegraphofmypartywasverylow.
Moreover, I had been given that post after removing someone else. One loose
word from me and it would have created a ruckus. That would have further
harmed my party. All these anxieties loomed large over my mind.
Modi’s first Message as CM to Gujaratis
Instead of a press conference, on October 10, 2001 Modi conveyed the
following message to the people of Gujarat listing his government’s
priorities. It has no bluster, no divisive rhetoric, no communal appeal:
I don’t know what the people expect from me. All I can say is that I am
passionateaboutservingthepeopleofGujaratwithsincerity.Ihavebeengiven
this opportunitytocomeamidst youin acompletelynewrole.Evennowthese
two words—“Narendra Modi’ and “chief minister”—don’t sit well together.
Respecting the sentiments of numerous friends who want me to assume the
charge of governance, I have taken on this job because it has given me once
againtheopportunitytoservemyjanmabhoomi(landofbirth),karmabhoomi
(land of karma), and the people of Gujarat in a new role.
However, I have a big challenge to meet. I have come to you with full
shraddha (faith) that with your love I will be successful in earning a good
name by fulfilling this duty. This is an altogether new job in my political life…
I will never forget this utkantha (eagerness), utsah (enthusiasm), and prem
(love) I have received from the people of Gujarat. Your love will always remain
a source of inspiration for me. Your continued cooperation will enable me to
tread the path of progress…
Be it a function to honour me or the oath-taking ceremony last week,
wherever I went I felt that the love that is being expressed for me is combined
with an expectation… I am firmly determined to make the people of Gujarat
as well as those of you who have settled outside the state as partners in the
new responsibility I have undertaken.
Sense of “Ourness” for “Unique Gujarat:” For the last six years, I have
stayed away from Gujarat but I have kept a close watch on the sunshine and
shadows of developments in the state as well as the aspirations of its people.
Gujarat has incredible potential for development and the people of Gujarat
have anant karyashakti (endless work potential). This is the uniqueness of

Gujarat.IstronglybelievethatGujarat’spotentialliesinthe‘powerofoneness’
(apnepan ki shakti).
Hence, I am presenting the mantra of purushartha (initiative and the
capacity to work hard) before you. The mantra of my entire work style is
‘Our Gujarat’. This sense of ‘ourness’ means everything to me—‘Our Gujarat,
Unique Gujarat’. How do we further highlight the diversity of Gujarat, how to
make it shine brighter, how do we strengthen the sense of ‘ourness’?
‘Our Gujarat, Unique Gujarat’ is not a political agenda or slogan of a chief
minister. It is an inner call of purusharth to every Gujarati to feel a sense of
pride in our watan (homeland), and our society. I have full faith that all of
you will share this sentiment.
It has endless potential for enterprise; it has utkantha (eagerness) and
wisdom, sanskars of compassion, limitless strength that comes from mutual
cooperation,desirefordialogue,capacitytomaintainpeaceandsafety,andan
irrepressible desire for prosperity and development. Our Gujarat is a creative
mix of all these social values…
‘Unique Gujarat’ means that each of us internalise all these sanskars. We
do not need to follow anyone; nor are we competing with others. Our Gujarat
wants to show a path which others would want to follow and adopt. That is the
kind of Gujarat we are going to create. I am fully aware of the problems and
challengesconfrontingmyadministration.Butitisinmytemperamenttoface
problemsheadon;itismynaturetochallengethechallenges.Iknowtheclimb
is steep but my political will and the support of Gujarat’s people will ensure
that my aims and targets remain high. Normally, in a democracy, a party gets
a ruling tenure of five years. Out of those, three-and-a-half years have already
passed and we are left with only one-and-a-half years. I am counting it in
hours—less than 12,000 hours are available to me. My desire and my aim is
to serve the people of Gujarat to my utmost capacity.
I’veanalysedthecurrentsentimentsofpeopleandwhatcorrectivemeasures
are needed. The government has to answer numerous questions all of which
require immediate solutions. I am aware of the expectations people have of
the administration and from the government.
Towards Pro People Governance: The devastating earthquake, the
continuousdroughtofthelasttwoyears,andtheinternationaldownturnhave
createdsevereproblemsinpeople’slives.Oureconomyhasalsobeenadversely
affected.Onlyiftheprocessofreconstructionprocessdemonstratesspeedand
purusharth to alleviate the pain inflicted on Gujarat by natural and manmade
tragedies,willthefaithofthepeopleofGujaratintheirgovernmentberestored.

It is my foremost priority to restore the faith of diverse people in the
administration at all levels. I want to assure you that the administration will
work towards creating a clean image. The government machinery must own
full responsibility if its image is sullied in the public mind. As the head of the
administration, I will not accept even the smallest blot in the areas under my
charge.Fromtheveryfirstdayofmytakingcharge,I’vestartedtakingdecisive
steps in this direction. I will always remain committed to ensuring that the
entire administration has a clean image; and to take effective measures to
make its functioning transparent and efficient. I am and will always remain
committed to salutary disciplinary action against those who are responsible
for tardiness in administration.
The primary duty of a government official is to serve people. It is my
constitutional responsibility to motivate and inspire them to work efficiently
and demonstrate decisiveness and enthusiasm in their work in order to earn
people’s confidence…I will keep the administrative machinery constantly
alert and ensure that the decisions taken by the government are sincerely
implemented by removing the tardiness in administration and by breathing
new life into the government machinery.
ItisunacceptabletomethatanyoneamongmyCabinetcolleaguesdisplaysa
“takeforgranted”attitudetowardstheirjob.Iwanttosensitisethegovernment
machinery at every level to respond to people’s problems with sincerity. I don’t
want officials to fail at any stage of decision making.
On Combating Corruption: Corruption pollutes the atmosphere and
damages the image of administration, the blame for which falls squarely on
the government. It is not my nature to protect anyone when made aware of the
slightest hintof corruption. I amgiving decisivesignals to the administration.
It is my aspiration to provide an all round, effective and gatisheel (progressive)
administration.
There are numerous public issues that my government faces, and these
issues require immediate attention. Keeping the gravity of these issues in
mind, my first priority will be to make the administrative machinery worthy
of the tasks at hand.
EarthquakeRehabilitationFirstPriority:Toalleviatethehavocinpeople’s
lives due to the unprecedented devastation caused by the recent earthquake,
I have made a firm resolve to create mechanisms for speedy and decisive
rehabilitation, to create a sense of confidence in the measures being taken [by
thegovernment]andtoensurethatallofitisimplementedthroughasamanvay
(bringingtogether)oftheadministrationandpeople’sinitiative(purusharth).

Our main concern is to bring about effective and quality rehabilitation of the
victims of the recent earthquake. The problems created by natural disasters
alsoactasalitmustestforanysociety.Therecentearlyrainsbroughtwaterbut
the drinking water crisis remains unchanged. We are giving highest priority
to long term measures that will permanently remove water scarcity.
Farmers’ Concerns, High on Agenda: The second big problem for the
farmers here in Gujarat is that of power deficit. I understand the anguish
and pain of our farmers whose crops are wilting despite all their hard labour
because we don’t have enough power to pump out water for irrigation. My
government is not going to rest until we become partners in the anxieties
and concerns of our farmers. We will spare no efforts in ensuring that the
maximum possible share of limited power that is currently available goes to
agriculture. We will make result-oriented arrangements for this within a set
time-frame.
I consider the Narmada Project a turning point in Gujarat’s development.
The Sardar Sarovar Project is not just my priority but it is foremost on the
agenda of five crore people, of crores of animals, birds and lakhs of hectares of
parched earth of Gujarat. It is our collective resolve to deploy our full strength
and purusharth to complete the Narmada Scheme within a set time-frame.
Ensuring Border Security: I would also like to bring to your notice that
as a border state, Gujarat is shouldering a sensitive responsibility. America
has declared a war against terrorism in Afghanistan. No one can possibly
escape the consequences of this war. As citizens of India, we are all imbued
with a sense of patriotism. Our brave soldiers and officers of the armed forces
are taking care of Gujarat’s international border. But the domain of internal
security is no less important. If the nation and society are powerful and fully
alert against anti-national activities, then no one dare violate the line of
internal security. Even if we don’t face the direct consequences of war, we still
need to be vigilant about the internal aspects of security. Citizen’s vigilance is
the need of the hour. People should not be fearful or panicky but I appeal to
you to display vigilance in every respect. Be vigilant and ask others to be alert.
Our mantra should be: ‘Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.’
Culture of Lok Seva: I am the kind of person who lives among ordinary
people. I’ve experienced the limitless potential of citizen’s power. Gujarat has
established high traditions of service to humanity. Voluntary organisations
and social service institutions have shown the path of lok seva (service to the
people). It is my aspiration to make the government a vehicle of channeling
the innate initiative of people into playing a decisive role in the development

process. Gujarat’s potential will fly high only when each of us, be it farmers or
employees, traders or industrialists, labourers or social workers, are inspired
to do our duty. This government will not rest until people get the feeling
that this is their government. If I succeed in making it ‘our government,’ if it
becomes the government of five crore Gujaratis, only then can we consider
it successful.
On Unemployment & Poverty: I’ve started studying in depth the main
issues confronting Gujarat—problems like unemployment and poverty can
destroyanysocietyandcreateanenvironmentoftotalnihilism...Iamfocusing
my attention on the programs that can resolve these issues. In this context,
I am aware of the mindset of dependence on central government assistance
in this regard. It is my resolve to do away with the present atmosphere of
demoralisation by creating concrete institutional arrangements that will
inspire confidence in government.
It will be my constant endeavour to deploy science and technology for the
long-termdevelopmentofGujarat,toputtooptimumusethenaturalresources
available to us and ensure their benefits reach people who are today at the
farthest margins of society.
Mobilising Gram Shakti: Right now I am guiding the administration to
speed up the delivery of existing development-oriented programs for the
benefitofpeople.However,Iwillcomeagainbeforeyoutopresentalong-term
vision and direction.
Iamawarethatduetoprevailingdisturbedconditions,theGramPanchayat
electionshavebeenstalled.Itwillbemyendeavourtocompletethisdemocratic
exercise at the earliest. In addition, I will endeavour to instil new strength to
gram shakti (village power) to combat the culture of political conspiracies,
enmities, and mutual jealousies in village politics. That is why I am presenting
before you the proposal for samras panchayats.
Any village which elects its representatives through general consensus
will be given the status of a samras village and to encourage this process, I
am announcing special incentives for samras villages to bring about speedy
development of such villages. It is my aspiration that these samras villages
emerge as symbols of social unity and move from Gram Raj to Ram Raj and
explore new horizons of development.
Reins of Power in the Hands of 5 Crore Gujaratis: After assuming power,
I’ve set this as the foremost agenda of the administrative machinery. But, the
government intervention will be limited to playing a motivational role. I want
the force of citizen’s initiatives to become more widespread. We want to build

a Gujarat in which the citizen is fearless but is not indifferent towards social
good;theyouthisfilledwithenthusiasmandnotdepressedbyunemployment;
where women acquire their rightful position in society and will not remain
uneducated;whereadministrationistransparentandenergetic;wherecitizens
do not feel helpless about their rights. The administration will be sensitive
and people-centric; every Gujarati will be dedicated to the nation with his
head held high. We will never let you feel helpless. The baagdor (reins) of the
movement for development will be in the hands of five crore Gujaratis. This
Gujarat of ours will be a unique Gujarat. I invite you all to become partners
in this. Jai Jai Garvi Gujarat, Vande Matram, Jai Hind!
Modi’s Uniflying Agenda Petrifies Congress
I have translated from Gujarati the first statement of Modi on October
8, 2001 and the first public “Message” he issued on Doordarshan to the
people of Gujarat on October 10, 2001 almost in full to give the readers
first hand idea of the vision and agenda that Modi set from day one of
assuming office as Gujarat’s chief minister. I challenge people to point
out even one line to support the devilish stereotype manufactured by the
Congress Party and its allies who project Modi as a divisive polarising
politician turned Gujarat into a laboratory of Hindutva—Hindutva
definedbytheCongressanditsLeftsecularalliesasbeingquintessentially
Hitlerian and fascist in orientation.
On the contrary, far from unleashing divisive forces, from the very first
day of taking charge, NaMo addressed the five crore people of Gujarat,
which obviously includes Hindus, Muslims, Christians as well as all
classes and castes. There is not a hint of chauvinist sentiments against
anycaste,classorreligiouscommunity.Hisvisionisdevelopmentcentric
with a focus on making the government machinery an honest and able
instrument for serving people rather than lording over them.
He wants to make Gujarat a world leader and therefore, doesn’t operate
with third world standards. This aspiration rests on the foundation of a
clean, efficient, and people-oriented administration whose litmus test is
winning the respect and confidence of people.
The following chapters will show how he began to deliver on each of his
promises. These included:
High quality and speedy rehabilitation of earthquake-affected people
was taken up on a mission mode along with devising enduring
mechanisms to mitigate the effects of such natural disasters in future.

He transformed every development program into a mass movement in
order to involve the creative energy of people and make them partners
in government endeavours for the development of the state.
One of the first steps towards putting reins of administration in the
hands of the people was the process of empowering and rejuvenating
Gram Panchayats and Gram Sabhas. In the coming months and years,
he worked hard to promote samras panchayats urging villages to rise
above partisan politics in order to make panchayats an instrument for
all round inclusive development.
And since NaMo took his promises very seriously, he expectedly made
enemies of all those within his party and in the opposition camp whose
idea of holding office of power is loot and plunder. They are the ones who
found him authoritarian and dictatorial.
Modis’s troubles arose not because he came with divisive agendas, but
because he put an end to the politics of divide and rule and plugged the
loopholes that facilitate coruption. He made enemies both within BJP
and outside because he set about making administration answerable to
people, instead ofbeing hostage to politicians and their partisanagendas.
The following chapters describe how his opponents have made
endless attempts to derail him from his agenda and present him as a
divisive, polarising figure while he remained steadfast in his vision and
commitment despite the politically engineered Godhra carnage and the
riots that followed.
The demonisation of Modi did not start with the 2002 riots. “Smear
Modi Campaign”started from day one and was carried out in the same
do-or-die spirit that one witnesses today when Congress Party wants to
eliminatehimfromtheprimeministerialrace.Thiswillbedemonstrated
clearly in the chapter on Modi’s first election from Rajkot in February
2002. 6
6 See chapter 9, “Of Muck Throwing and Lotus Blooming”.

Iheard many interesting stories from Narendra Modi’s officers
about his first interactions with bureaucrats. But I decided to also get
NaMo’s own version of his first few days as CM. The first officer who went
tomeethimwasoneMr.AshokBhatia,thethensecretaryofGAD(General
Administration Department). To quote NaMo’s account of that meeting:
While I was in the Circuit House, a party worker announced that CS of GAD
has come to see me. I heard it as GOD and assumed it was some holy man or
somesainthascometomeetme.SoIstooduptoreceivehimbutwassurprised
to find that the man who entered the door was wearing a pant and coat and
introduced himself as Mr. Bhatia. [Ashok Bhatia was the additional chief
secretary of GAD at the time]
I invited him to sit down but he would not sit till I sat down because
bureaucrats go by a certain discipline. I didn’t know any of this. He told me,
“Sir it is my job to look at GAD requirements. Please let me know if you want
Learning the Ropes of Governance
Novice NaMo’s First Interactions with Bureaucrats
When I became CM, I felt that one of the basic problems with the government
is the habit of compartmental thinking and absence of coordination.
Convergence is the need of the hour... When I first joined the government,
officials were so secretive that they would not share with anyone the policy-
making files under the assumption that they were meant to guard them from
getting “leaked”. I asked them to explain why should policy-making not
become public knowledge? I put an end to the culture of secrecy by insisting
that each policy draft be put online to make it available in the public domain.
My idea was that it will give us good feedback at the formative stage itself...
Openness automatically brings in transparency. It is a step ahead of what the
Right to Information Act promises.
Narendra Modi in personal interview, 2013
CHAPTER 4

any changes in the chief minister’s chamber.” I told him, I have never seen the
CM’s chamber. How can I order any changes in it?
As long as I lived in Delhi, I only had one khatiya (cot) and a copper vessel
for storing water. This remained my lifestyle even when I was the general
secretary of the then ruling party. So when Mr. Bhatia asked me what kind of
changes he wanted in the CM’s chamber, I said, I have heard that Keshubhai
used to sit on a very royal, maharaja type of chair. See if you can change that.
But there is no need to buy a new chair, just bring any simple chair that may
be lying spare in the Secretariat.
Apparently, it did not take even one hour for this story to spread in the
Secretariat.EveryonewassurprisedthatthenewCMsaysdon’tundertake
any extra expenditure for him—this when he was a first time CM. This
was in a way the first message Modi conveyed to the administration: No
wasteful expenditure. To this day it has stayed this way. His officers say
his, personal life style is extremely spartan; a trustee of public money and
guards against its misuse vigilantly.
The first conversation between Modi and the then Chief Secretary,
Subba Rao has become part of Modi lore. Here is Modi’s own version,
which I also cross checked with Subba Rao:
When the Chief Secretary Subba Rao came to meet me, his first question
was, which officers I wanted posted as part of the chief minister’s staff. I was
genuinely puzzled and asked him: Don’t you already have some officers in the
CM’s office? Rao explained that each chief minister has the power to handpick
a certain number of officers of his choice.
I told him: Look I don’t know any of the government officers. You decide
and post the officers you consider suitable. But I want you to keep in mind
the following criteria:
Officers you pick should be persons of unquestioned integrity.
TheyshouldhavethestaminatoputinlonghoursbecauseI’maworkaholic.
They should be techno-savvy because I intend to use a great deal of
technology to streamline governance.
They should be capable of teamwork.
My entire life as an RSS worker had been devoted to human resource
management. Even when I came to the BJP, I used to put emphasis on these
aspects- how to prepare karyakartas, create teams and put them to work, give
each worker tasks that match his own qualities. My basic training has been to

assess people, understand their difficulties, and assign jobs to them according
to their capabilities. Since I’m basically nurtured by the RSS where teamwork
is the foundational principle of the entire organisational structure, it has a
central place in my scheme of things.
The fact that Modi neither handpicked officers to work in the CM’s office
nor transferred out any officer who was close to Keshubhai or other chief
ministers, gave a very positive message. However, several senior officials
told me that when Narendra Modi’s name was announced, there was
a great deal of anxiety within the bureaucracy about his total lack of
experience in governance. But the first thing that struck his officers was
his courtesy to one and all. I was told that he addressed officers older than
himinageas“Sir”.Theyalsonoticedthathedidnottrytocoverupforhis
lack of information or knowledge about the working of the government
machinery. He let his officers guide and train him through the maze of
administration. But he learnt fast and soon acquired such a grasp that
many of his officers found it hard to keep pace with him. Another quality
that put his officers at ease was his habit of listening calmly and carefully
to whoever he engaged with. Without a single exception, each officer I
talked to said, that NaMo never loses his temper. He never scolded or
humiliated anyone and gave even the junior-most officer a quiet patient
hearing. They were used to chief ministers who threw tantrums at the
slightest pretext. But, though NaMo faced a very tough and turbulent
situation when he became CM, by all accounts he always remained calm
and focused.
Subba Rao says, “When he became CM, I was very anxious because of
his RSS background. So when I met him in the Circuit House I told him,
‘Sir, please don’t say anything against the law or the Constitution.’ But I
soon realised that he is very careful and never exceeds his limits or his
brief. He is not given to demagoguery or irresponsible and thoughtless
statements.”
Among the three officers assigned to Modi was P.K.Mishra- a
diminutive and unassuming looking man who was appointed principal
secretary to the CM. who is reputed to have the knack of getting things
donewitheaseandquiet.ThisuprightofficertaughtModithenittygritty
of administration, how to examine files, where to sign, and even little
details like what colour ink to use for his signatures. Modi says Mishra
trained him in official procedures like you teach a kid. When I asked

Modi whether the officers assigned to him by Subba Rao turned out to
be the right choice, his answer was revealing:
I’ve never bothered to analyse that. I’m of the view that what I get out of my
officers depends on me. I’ve never changed my peon or driver or any other
functionary. My job is to get work done by whoever is assigned to me by the
government. No questions of saying- give me such and such officer.
Hedidnotevenchangethechiefsecretary,orthedirectorgeneralofpolice
and worked with same officers, same staff and same driver and telephone
operator that were serving Keshubhai. This became the signature tune of
Modi’s administration- he doesn’t cultivate any coterie, none who can
claim to be such favourites, claim to be so close to Modi that they can get
what they like done through him. The moment any officer tries to do so,
he will find himself distanced.
Synergising the Bureaucracy
Getting the bureaucracy to deliver on his ambitious schemes required
creatinganewworkculture.Asluckwouldhaveit,theAnnualConference
of Collectors and District Development Officers (DDOs) was scheduled
to meet within the first 3-4 weeks of Modi’s coming to power. When the
Chief Secretary Subba Rao, came to inform him that he is expected to
inaugurate that conference, Modi asked him, “Sahib, what am I expected
to do in that function?” Subba Rao told him, “Sir, you come and light the
inaugural lamp and address the officers to give any suggestions you may
have for them. After that you may leave and we will conduct the rest of
the conference.”
When Modi asked him what actually happens in the conference, Rao
said,“Wereviewthefunctioningofeachdepartmentunderthecollectors
and DDOs.” Modi agreed to come and told his office to keep that entire
day free from all other engagements.
After the ceremonial lightling of the lamp and welcome, it was
announcedthattheCMwouldaddressthegatheringanddomargdarshan
(offer guidance). Modi surprised them by saying; “I am new to the job
and need to learn from you. How can I do your margdarshan? You carry
on with your meeting. I want to sit and listen for a while.”
The earlier practice was that the annual review of collectors and DDOs
would start at around 10:30 am and be over by 1 pm. All those officers

who camefromvarious districts after travelling hundredsofmiles would
return to their respective districts after lunch. The secretary of each
department –be it education, agriculture, transport, sanitation--would
walk in when it was time for district officials to report on the work of
that particular department. He would hear them, ask a few questions,
pull them up for this or that and leave. That day Modi had no idea of how
these meetings are conducted nor did he know that they were meant to
be mere ritualistic exercises that went on year after year.
But since he sat through the meeting, none of the secretaries could
leave. Every senior officer had to sit as long as Modi sat. As each collector
and DDO made his or her presentation, Modi listened intently and took
notes to get an idea of what was going on in each district. Thus, he turned
this one meeting into a crash course in getting to know all his officers
and assessing the direction of their work. When lunchtime came, he told
them, “We are going to continue after lunch.” All day he did not speak a
word and the meeting continued till 11pm. They hadn’t even made prior
arrangements for dinner and had to rustle up something impromptu.
At 11 pm, he apologised for making the meeting go on for so long and
told them, “I am sorry; I’ve upset your schedules but it has been a very
good day for me because I learnt a lot. Please accept my appreciation for
all the work you do and handle with such minute care. We can now wind
up.” But the officers insisted that he address them. When I asked Modi
about this meeting and what he told the officers, he said:
I told them that thus far I had known government functioning only as an
outsider. For the first time I was getting minute details about the inner
functioning of the government. When you are learning something new, it is
always an enjoyable experience.
I knew that these are the very people through whom I’ve to get work done.
The sanskar (philosophy) of human resource management says that I must
give them encouragement- whether they are good or bad, whether they’ve
managedtoconvincemeornot.Myjobwastoencouragethembyappreciating
their work. I told them, I am a workaholic and going to tour a lot. Take it that
I’m likely to visit each district twice in a month. But I’ve a simple request to
make- when I come visiting, please do not collect entire caravan of officials
of your district. Secondly, don’t waste your time and energy into fixing the
Circuit House, in bringing new curtains or new bathroom fittings, repainting
the room or renovate this or that for me.

I said all this because in the first fifteen days I had seen how my officials
had brought in a lot of new things for me- new taps, new buckets, and so
on. So I told them, I’m an ordinary person and can make do with existing
arrangements. Please don’t spend extra money on me. All I want is cleanliness
in the place I stay. Thirdly, I’m not going to attend lavish lunches. I will
carry my own lunch box. Lastly, don’t bother about getting special vehicles
for me- I don’t want you to send special convoys from Gandhinagar for
taking me around. Whatever vehicle you have available in your department
will do. Your routine arrangements are good enough for me. Next, I asked
them to make sure that they should slot some time for me to meet the local
MLAs and other elected officials. I believe it is my job to give time to people’s
representatives.
Such unusual instructions in the very first meeting warned the officers
that they were dealing with a man who doesn’t traverse the beaten track.
Every single officer of Gujarat government– senior or junior – that I’ve
met during the last year testified that quiet listening was not confined to
that first meeting. This is his routine trademark style. He listens intently
to his officers, political colleagues, and whoever else comes to him with
suggestions. Only after hearing all sides does he arrives at a decision.
Breaking Silos for Better Coordination
This was followed by another unusual step. He began the practice of all
seniorsecretariessittingtogethertolistentoeachother’splanofactionto
break down silos and promote convergence. This is how Modi explained
the purpose behind this move:
When I became CM, I felt that one of the basic problems with the government
is the habit of compartmental thinking and absence of coordination.
Convergence is the need of the hour. I believe that 30 per cent of our country’s
problems can be solved by simply bringing about convergence.
Making officers of different departments sit and participate in planning
processes together, also combats the culture of secrecy which is deeply
entrenched in governments. When I first joined the government, officials
were so secretive that they would not share with anyone the policy-making
files on the assumption that they were meant to guard them from getting
“leaked”.Iaskedthemtoexplainwhyshouldpolicy-makingnotbecomepublic
knowledge? I put an end to the culture of secrecy by insisting that each policy

draft be put online to make it available in the public domain. My idea was that
it will give us good feedback at the formative stage itself.
To begin with, everyone was startled. But they realised soon how it opened
the doors for fresh thinking and helped us overcome limitations that are
inherent in the thinking process of government. Another beneficial effect of
this openness was that it curbed the power of vested interests in manpulating
government policies in their favour. Once in the public domain, not just
businessrivals,butevenordinarycitizenscouldexposeundesirableinfluences
on specific policies. This way we built corrective mechanisms to remedy the
flawsandlimitationofeverypolicyinitsformativestageitself.Thishaspaidus
rich dividends in the long run. Since we began taking public suggestions and
criticism on board while formulating our plans of action, by and large there
is very little opposition and controversy with regard to government policies
in Gujarat. I don’t claim all our policies are perfect but since they are made in
an open and transparent manner, they don’t become contentious.
Forinstance,normally,DevelopmentPlans(DPs)orTownPlanningSchemes
(TPS) provide money making opportunities for politicians and bureaucrats.
I made DPs and TPS open in the public domain. Earlier whenever DPs and
TP schemes came into the market, there would be thousands of complaints
against them. But we get no more than 300 to 400 complaints and those are
genuine ones – not from vested interests. Openness automatically brings in
transparency. It is a step ahead of what the Right to Information Act promises.
P.K. Mishra who worked closely with Modi during that period, says,
He set a system whereby twice or thrice a week at six in the evening, the
heads and secretaries of all the departments, along with ministers would
meet with him. And every day one department had to give a presentation
about the activities and plan of action for the next six months or one year.
That provided lots of insights to the chief minister. Officers also felt that for
the first time they were getting such a comprehensive picture of the inner
workings of government.
Several other bureaucrats also endorsed this saying that this helped
create spirit of teamwork. Every department got to know about other
departments and the same happened with Cabinet ministers as well. As
agendas were set collectively, the secretary of each department was given
the space to provide suggestions to other departments in order to bring

about cross-fertilisation of ideas. It also brought synergy since decisions
were taken collectively and goals set by consensus. It controlled turf
wars and ensured that officers did not obstruct each other’s work as often
happens in government. The brain storming sessions were long, serious,
and intense. Modi would listen intently to each officer and put forward
even his own suggestions for discussion. Mishra says:
The CM’s main focus in those days was to speed up and streamline delivery of
services. He set the tradition of making systematic long-term plans with set
time frames for each department. Even while Modi did hands-on monitoring
of each department, at the same time he gave long rope to each department
head to take full responsibility and cut out bureaucratic red tape. After a
certain road map was agreed upon and the goal set in the presence of all, the
chief minister would leave the officer-in-charge free to implement it in his
own way. However, just a couple of days before the agreed upon deadline, be
it 6 or 8 months, CM would send a message reminding the officer that he had
to come and make a presentation. So there was no question of forgetting or
lettingmattersdrag.Ifduringthecourseofimplementation,anofficerbrought
to the CM’s notice any difficulties or extraneous pressures he was facing, CM
wouldbackhimfullyandhelphimfindsolutions.Onceadecisionwastakenby
common consensus he never let politicians or other vested interests derail the
work.Thereviewmeetingsforeachprojectwereequallyintenseandthorough
so that the officers learnt to come fully prepared.
Making the Old System Work Anew
Just as after becoming CM, Modi did not bring any coterie of officers
to take charge of the CM’s office or other key portfolios, he also did not
bring about any changes in the Cabinet. He retained those who were part
of Keshubhai’s Cabinet and let the Party decide who they wanted as his
ministers. Modi says, that since he had been out of the state for 6 years,
he didn’t know about the performance calibre of most of the MLAs.
Therefore, he told his party leaders, he would work with whatever team
they gave him. But he added some more people to the team both in the
party as well as in the government departments he considered of key
importance. However, he gave clear signals that he was not going to allow
thecorruptofficerstoflourishanddominatetheadministrationasbefore.
For instance, soon after taking over charge Modi is supposed to have
made discreet inquiries to find out who among his officers were of

doubtful integrity, whose tenures had been controversial on account of
scams. Most of them were occupying certain key positions for years on
end. He consulted some of his ministers as well as the secretary of GAD
and asked them for their assessment of those officers. In addition, he got
inputs from media friends as well as his own independent sources. With
thatinformationinhand,Modimadealistofaboutadozenofficers-some
were secretary level top officers while some were junior IAS officers - and
transferred them all in one go to inconsequential positions.
This proved to be a big blast because these officers had seen several
CM’s come and go; they had such clout that nobody had dared touch
them no matter how serious the charges against them. This gave a clear
message that Modi would not protect the corrupt. Therefore, some of
them, decided to move out of the government to take on other jobs. They
were allowed a graceful exit.
AlmostallbureaucratsIinterviewedsaidthatModiavoidsusingthreat
of punishment, suspensions or dismissals as a way of disciplining the
officials. When I asked Modi about it he said: “I believe in giving people
chance to improve, that’s my mool sanskar (root value).” His officers
tell me, this tendency to avoid punitive measures has cost him a lot at
times because some of the corrupt officers became willing allies of his
adversaries and joined the anti- Modi lobbies.
All in all, even though Modi did not start with any dramatic changes
and reshuffles in the composition of his cabinet or his bureaucratic team,
his work style and his determination to make government an energetic
instrument for economic development and social transformation, did
come to ruffle many feathers both within BJP as well as in the Congress
Party.

The Congress Party and the Left have studiously built a
demonologyaroundNarendraModiallegingthat,fromthemoment
he took charge as CM, he began his mission to polarise Gujarat on
religious lines and orchestrated the 2002 riots in order to consolidate
Hindu votes and force Muslims to live as terrorised second class citizens.
EventhosewhorespectModi’sgoodgovernanceanddevelopmentrecord
are of the view that Modi turned development-oriented only after he had
successfully garnered a solid Hindu vote bank.
BeforeIundertookthisstudy,ItoowasinclinedtothinkthatModikept
Gujarat riot-free after 2002 only because he learnt that the 2002 riots had
boomeranged on him. However, when I looked closely at Modi’s tenure
from the moment he took oath as chief minister on October 7, 2001, I
realised how completely off the mark I had been.
Anyone who wants to understand the quintessential Modi needs to
look at how he defined his political, social, and economic agenda, how
he set his priorities, and the programs and reforms he initiated in the
CHAPTER 5
Modi’s First 19 Weeks as CM
“Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” in Action
When the Sachar Committee members met and asked me, “Mr. Modi what have
you done for Muslims in Gujarat?” I told them: Nothing, I have done nothing
for Muslims. But please go on to note that I have done nothing for Hindus or
Jains or Sikhs either. I am responsible for 5.5 crore Gujaratis and whatever I do,
is aimed at serving the interests of all these 5.5 crore people of my state. When
the pure waters of Narmada flow into Sabarmati on account of our river linking
project, do you expect me to measure how many litres are consumed by Hindus
and how much water goes to Muslim households? My job is to ensure that every
person, every household gets adequate supplies of clean drinking water. Please
don’t expect me to adopt your divisive terminology and vision.

19-odd weeks of his tenure before the outbreak of Godhra and the post-
Godhra violence. This was also the crucial period within which he had
to win a bye-election (February, 2002) in order to remain chief minister.
Politicians usually turn demagogues during election time. But Modi’s
election campaign as described at length in chapter8wasnotoffensive or
vituperative . In this chapter, I focus on the priorities unfolded by Modi
in the first four months of his tenure.
Modi has repeatedly reiterated that his primary motto is “sabka saath,
sabka vikas.” (Participation of all, for the development of all). One of the
distinguishingfeaturesofModi’sgovernancestyle,asperhisofficialsand
politicalcolleagues,isthathedoesnoteverpubliclyannounceanyproject
or programme until the entire road-map has been chalked out to the last
detail, and till he has created an appropriate institutional mechanism
for the programme’s implementation. The timeline for its completion is
also fixed in advance. This is true for small as well as big projects. The
performance level of various programmes and projects may vary from
districttodistrictdepending ontheofficerunderwhose chargetheywere
executed. But Gujarat doesn’t produce high-sounding programmes that
stay only on paper or falter and collapse when sought to be implemented.
Among the first things that Modi did after assuming office was to get
the Ahmedabad-based Indian Institute of Management (IIM) to devise
a special course for him and his officers in order to hone their collective
management skills. Since then he has used the IIM’s guidance several
times to promote professionalism in administration.
Primary Focus on Earthquake Rehabilitation:
In the first 19 weeks Modi travelled extensively to cover literally every
district of Gujarat to review the local administration. He brushed aside
all ceremonial functions and extravagant receptions that any new chief
minister invariably gets invited to.
SinceModihadannouncedthatsolvingthewatercrisisandearthquake
rehabilitation were to be his highest priorities, in his very first cabinet
meeting held on October 8, 2001, he decided that matters relating to
energy,theNarmadaDamProject,watersupply,earthquake,andcentre-
state relations would be reviewed at the chief minister’s level from the
very next day.
Earthquake rehabilitation itself took an enormous amount of Modi’s
time.Hepersonallyvisitedtheareasfrequently.Duringthefirst19weeks,

heconvenedmorethan20state-levelreviewmeetingsandseveraldistrict-
level meetings to expedite the rehabilitation process. Even a casual time
audit would show that 60 per cent of Modi’s time was spent in visiting
earthquake-affected areas; the rest went into trying to learn the ropes of
administrative work.
A new governance style, which made people active partners in
development, was initiated during thisverytrying period. Asa result, the
earthquake-devastated and backward desert region of Kutch emerged as
thefastestgrowingdistrictinIndia—inbothindustryandagriculture.In
mynextbook,Iwillalsodescribethefar-reachingsystemicreformsModi
set into motion during these first few weeks to make Gujarat overcome
its perennial water crisis.
Gram Rajya and Samras Panchayats
One of the first decisions that Modi took after assuming office was to
make panchayats the key instrument of rural development. On October
11, that is, within four days of swearing-in—and on the birthday of
eminent Gandhian leader Jaiprakash Narayan (popularly known as
JP)—he announced the Samras Panchayat Yojana for creating samras
villages. As an active part of the anti-Emergency movement, NaMo had
worked closely with JP. He defined ‘samrasa’ as ‘united and cohesive.’
A Samrasa village refers to a village where the panchayat is constituted
through consensus and not competitive elections. Modi explained its
importance saying that he wanted to:
Unite society, and not divide it.
Use the energy of the people in a constructive manner.
Reduce the ill-will created by party-based elections.
Modi’smessagetothepeoplewas:‘Villagesareareservoirofenergy.Let’s
notwastethisenergybyin-fighting.TheGramSabha(villageassembly)is
theonlyinstitutionwhichcanreach‘untothelast’;itisthebestinstrument
for people’s empowerment as well as for social and financial audit of
village panchayats. It ensure the involvement of people in the process
of development. With the help of samras—where the sarpanch and the
Gram Panchayat are elected unanimously—social harmony would be
restored, which invariably gets disturbed due to the hostilities created
by competitive majoritarian elections.’
Despite much rhetorical commitment to the panchayati raj, most other
states in India have yet to bestow meaningful powers to the panchayats.

They remain subservient to the bureaucracy on the one hand, and the
political establishment in state capitals on the other. The latter uses
them for establishing their political clout in villages and, in the process,
lets party politics tear asunder the social fabric in villages. This began
changing in Gujarat with firm measures to restore to panchayats some
of the powers that are necessary for their effective functioning.
Panchayat elections had not been held in the previous ten years
therefore the system was in a moribund state. Within a week of assuming
office, Modi began re-tuning the whole administration to revitalise the
institution of the Gram Sabha and ensured as many samras elections as
possible. The first round of Gram Sabhas was held on October 11, 2001.
Modi addressed numerous public meetings to drive home the message
that for democracy to become people-centric, a Gram Sabha should have
thesameimportanceastheLokSabha(Parliament).Inordertohighlight
theimportancehegavetoGramSabhas,Modimobilisedthefullpowerof
the political and administrative machinery to galvanise these meetings.
NaMo himself began attending the Gram Sabhas physically as well as
throughvideoconferencing.Allhiscabinetministers,seniorbureaucrats,
anddistrictofficerswerealsomadetoattendGramSabhas.Thistradition
continues till date. A minimum of six Gram Sabhas are held every year
in each village.
Gram Sabhas were organised in more than 18,000 villages within the
first few weeks of Modi’s coming to power. Between October 2001 and
2008, they disposed of 92 per cent of the total grievances and conflicts
pertaining to infrastructure, resolution of social conflicts, technology,
information dissemination, and so on. During the same period, of the
village panchayats where elections were scheduled, 7,793 were elected on
aconsensusbasisandwerehencedeclared‘Samras’.Thegovernmentpaid
Rs. 65.30 crores by way of incentive to these samras villages.
In 2013, I visited several villages which had elected samras panchayats.
They seemed to be working far more actively than those with bitterly-
foughtelections.Oneofthereasonsyoudonotfindtoomanydisgruntled
people in Gujarat villages today is that Gram Sabhas have been given
adequate powers to handle many vital functions of their village.
Bureaucrats have been given clear instructions that neither they nor
the MLAs or ministers should reverse decisions regarding development
works decided by Gram Sabhas. This freed development processes from
the clutches of politicians, especially those of the ruling party.

That the idea of samras should be given primacy by Modi, a politician
demonised as a divisive hate-monger, speaks volumes. In response to the
Congress Party’s attacks against the politics of samrasta, Modi reminded
themintheassemblythattheywereusingdouble-standardsinthismatter.
…FortheRajyaSabhaelections,nomemberofthisaAugustHousehadtotake
the trouble to cast his vote. Four members were elected unanimously to the
Rajya Sabha from Gujarat. I congratulate them on behalf of all of you. I wish
that they will make constant and sincere efforts for the well-being of Gujarat.
IwishtothankmyCongresscolleagueswho,despiteopposingtheprincipleof
samras[forGramPanchayats]acceptedthesameprinciplefortheRajyaSabha.
This indicates that Modi was not looking for confrontation even with the
Congress Party, and preferred rising above partisan considerations on
key issues. In my next book, I will provide examples of how, even today,
Modi encourages samrasta in village politics and responds to the needs
of Congress-dominated municipal corporations and panchayats with as
much alacrity as that of BJP-dominated panchayats.1
Lok Kalyan Melas: Government at People’s Doorsteps
Among the earliest important measures initiated by Modi was to set
up a system of providing services to the poor at their doorsteps while
building a transparent and accountable system for their delivery. Every
state government in India has an endless number of social welfare
schemes for the poor—from scholarships for poor children to pensions
for widows, to subsidies for building homes or toilets. Unfortunately, a
large section of the poor neither gets to know of these schemes, nor do
they know how to avail them. This is where corruption seeps in and the
bureaucracy siphons off money meant for the poor.
On assuming the CM’s role, Modi had asked his officers to make a
comprehensive list of all the existing welfare schemes and subsidies for
the poor. When the list was brought to him, he asked his officers whether
they could give him a clear idea of how an old, uneducated widow or a
handicapped person from a poor family could go about claiming what
was their due. Apparently, none of the senior officers could provide a
1 In chapter 22 on “Of Trusteeship, Dharma & Compassion,” Narendra Modi has
explained the source of inspiration behind his emphasis on samrasta.

clear answer because such matters are usually left to the caprices of the
lower level staff. He told them, “If those of us who make these schemes
can’t properly guide a person on how to get the promised welfare benefits
from the government, how can we expect the poor and destitute to avail
them on their own? Therefore, from henceforth, no poor person should
have to come begging for benefits announced for them. The government
is going to take them at their doorstep every year—all in one go.”
This resolve resulted in institutionalising Lok Kalyan Melas (People’s
Welfare Fairs). They proved to be among the most popular innovative
programmes that not only curbed corruption but also introduced the
concept of government service delivery at people’s doorsteps.
But the ground work involved prior identification of individual
beneficiaries through proactive outreach and proper surveys. Senior
officers directly supervised the exercise. After a careful scrutiny of the
lists of intended recipients of welfare schemes, the chief minister, as well
as his cabinet ministers, personally visited various districts to hand over
to the selected individuals the welfare benefits by way of cheques or in
kind. All this took place in well-attended public functions. This brought
in automatic transparency and eliminated arbitrary selection processes
and avenues of corruption.
Those who came to receive the cheques or other benefits due to them
had to appear before all. The entire public witnessed whether it went to
the right person or not. This left much less scope for undeserving people
cornering benefits meant for the poor or corrupt officers siphoning off
money by showing bogus beneficiaries. This proved a better form of
instant public audit than those that rely on catching the corrupt long
after money has already been stolen.
FormerChiefSecretarySubbaRaosaysthatwhenthefirstroundofLok
Kalyan Melas were organised starting from the first week of February
2002, Modi told his officials that he wanted mass participation so that
the message was clear to all that the government would come to them,
rather than they having to go and grovel before government officers. The
officers were very puzzled because they thought that organising big mass
meetings was the job of politicians, not bureaucrats.
The first Lok Kalyan Mela was organised in Deesa. Everyone was
surprised at such mass participation in a government function.
The following report published in The Hindu on January 5, 2002, by

correspondent Manas Dasgupta, described the first Lok Kalyan Mela
held in the tribal district of Banaskantha on January 4:
The Union Tribal Development Minister, Joel Oram, today announced a
special sanction of Rs. 100 crores from the Centre to Gujarat for the welfare
of the tribals in the state. The announcement was made at an unprecedented
gathering,theLokKalyanMela,heldforthefirsttimeinthestate,andperhaps
in any part of the country, in the remote town of Deesa in the border district
of Banaskantha in north Gujarat.
Not only was the event unique in terms of bringing the beneficiaries of
various central and state government schemes directly in contact with the
administration, the turnout of over three lakh people from nearly 1,300
villages and towns in the district surpassed all modest estimates.
The ‘mela’ a brainchild of the chief minister Narendra Modi to expose the
administrationtothepeople,andtoinformtheignorantvillagersintheremote
areas what benefits they could expect and demand from the officials under
various schemes floated by the Central and the State government, is intended
to be held one in each district in the state.
A large number of people, while visiting various stalls giving details of the
government’s welfare schemes admitted that they never had any idea about
many of the schemes, and so far did not make any attempt to derive benefits
from these. It was for the first time that many of the welfare schemes confined
to the statute books were brought out in the open and people were educated
about how to claim benefits from these.
In addition, 54,721 beneficiaries were disbursed on the spot more than Rs.
49.75 crores as grants under 94 welfare schemes. They were surprised to learn
that there were about 200 other welfare schemes floated by the governments
under which the eligible could claim benefits. There also were more well-
known schemes like the Sardar Patel and Dr Ambedkar Avas schemes,
insurance protection, bankable schemes, loan credit, student scholarships,
and others of which they were aware but could not derive benefits due to the
procedural wrangles.
Immediately after taking over as the chief minister, Mr Modi had floated
the idea of holding such melas in each district to bring the people and the
administration closer to each other. ‘It is time the administration needs to go
to people and not the other way round,’ Mr. Modi maintained.

The Lok Kalyan Melas have continued year after year till now. They may
nothaveproducedfoolproofresultsbuttheyhavecertainlycurbedmisuse
of BPL (Below Poverty Line) funds and created a system which allows
transparencyandconstantimprovements.Insomeways,thehandsofthe
State government are tied because the BPL criteria are set by the Centre
and have many intrinsic flaws in them.
Inmost states, BPL familiesare handpicked bysarpanchesand usedfor
doling out patronage rather than helping the really poor. But in Gujarat,
the surveys undertaken for identifying beneficiaries are done through a
well-defined process by a certain set date every year. Modi, along with
his entire cabinet and senior officials, are out in the field on pre-set dates
every year to deliver what is due to the poor.
These melas define the characteristic approach of Modi in combating
corruption and changing the basic orientation of the government
machinery to make it people-centric. Modi avoids using punitive
or theatrical approaches—sting operations, suspensions, threats of
dismissal—to punish officers. Instead, well thought out systems are put
in place through well-crafted institutional mechanisms that bring in
transparency and curb the discretionary powers of the bureaucracy that
controlsuchfunds.Theperformanceofsuchsystemsismonitoredclosely
to improve and hone them further as glitches or new challenges arise.
Kanya Kelavani and Shala Utsav Programme
These complementary programmes introduced in the first three months
of Modi’s tenure aim at enrolling every single child into school in a way
that makes school admission a happy and memorable experience for the
children. The programmes lay a special focus on the girl child. Within
a month of assuming power, Modi explained in a press conference that
he had set up a special fund called Mukhya Mantri Kanya Kelavani
Yojana to lend personal support to girls’ education by depositing into the
government treasury all the gifts he had received thus far after becoming
CM and might receive in future. These would be auctioned off and the
moneygiventoKanyaKelavaniFundtogivescholarshipstogirlstudents
in the poorest districts in 100 backward talukas of the state. To quote
Modi:
Today is Labh Panchami. I thought that, on this auspicious day, the Gujarat
treasury should get some labh (profit) through me. After becoming the chief

minister, I too am government property. In the last few weeks, wherever
I have gone I have been offered some gift or the other. Those things don’t
belong to me; they belong to the people of Gujarat. That is why I thought
they should all be deposited in the government treasury. I’ve requested the
government that whatever I’m giving to you should be auctioned at the best
possible price and all the money that is collected should go for girls’ and
women’s education. If this money is used for women’s well-being, it will
give me great satisfaction. The government will soon make arrangements
to implement this suggestion.
When a journalist asked how the price of these goods would be decided,
Modireplied,“I’veneverpurchasedsuchthings.NorhaveIlookedatthem
from that point of view. When people give you gifts in public functions,
you can’t refuse them. I could have distributed them on the streets, but I
felt it is best to give them to the government treasury.”
Anotherjournalistcommented,“Wehavebeeninformedthateversince
the founding of the state of Gujarat in 1960, a total of 164 items have been
deposited in the State Treasury but you have deposited 165 items within
a month of taking over as CM.”
Modi’sresponsewas:“I’mnotgoingtocommentonwhathashappened
before me because I don’t believe in one-upmanship. I’m not doing this
because no one else has done this before. I am doing it because this is my
conviction. As I’ve just said, Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of trusteeship
is what inspires me. That is why I am doing this.”2
The first auction of
Modi’sgiftsraisedRs.17,00,000.Thatfundhassincethencollectednearly
Rs. 100 crores worth of gifts and money, and continues to grow—all this
in a country where there are known cases of chief ministers who have
actually stolen precious antiques from the stare treasury.
Modi has led the Kanya Kelavani and Shala Utsav campaign year after
year since 2002. Just before the yearly admissions in the schools, senior
officials in charge of various districts fan out to the assigned villages
and towns to oversee that local officials and gram panchayat members
reach out to the families of all the children who are of school entry age,
especially among the poor and marginalised groups and persuade them
toenroltheirchildreninschool.Then,forthreedaysintheblisteringheat
2 FormoreonNaMo’sConnectwithMahatmaGandhi’sideaoftrusteeship,readchapter
22.

of June, every single year since 2002, the chief minister, all his cabinet
ministers, senior IAS, IPS, and other state government officials go and
preside over well-attended public functions in different villages where
the new school entrants are brought with much fanfare in a procession
to a celebratory public meeting. Each child receives free school uniforms,
a school kit, including a bag, books, pencils, colour boxes, specially-
preparednutritiouschocolatescalled‘BalBhog,’andtoystocelebratetheir
entry into school. Every girl child is also given a Narmada Bond of Rs
1,000 in her name, which can be enchased when she finishes class seven.
Similar programmes are held in urban areas to cover primary schools
run by nagar palikas and mahanagar palikas.
In 2013, I travelled to witness several Kanya Kelavani meetings, which
Modi personally addressed from June 14 to 16 when temperature was
soaring to 45-46 degrees Celsius. His motivational speech in these
events, urging all parents and panchayats to ensure that all children get
proper education, is telecast in all the schools. Among the noteworthy
things about these events is that ordinary farmers, shopkeepers, milk
producers, taxi drivers, etc., donate money for Modi’s Kanya Kelavani
Fund indicating growing public support for this campaign. Recognising
the use he puts his gifts to, in most places I saw people gifting him a thick
silverbangle,possiblybecauseitiseasytoencash.Asaresultofconsistent
efforts,thedropoutrateofschools,whichwas17.83percentin2002-2004,
has come down to 2 per cent in 2012-2013. Female literacy has increased
from 57.80 per cent to 70.73 per cent between 2001 -2011.
This target of 100 per cent enrolment and retention has been backed
by major improvements in school infrastructure and the performance of
teachers. I will deal with this dimension in a subsequent book.
Quality of school education could not have been improved without
enough teachers in each school. Soon after Modi took charge, the
government recruited 1,20,000 school teachers in one go. The state of
affairsinearlierregimescanbegaugedbythefactthat,inthetenprevious
years, not a single new teacher had been recruited. Since then, important
systemic changes have been brought about to put an end to corruption
in teachers’ recruitment and transfers by bringing transparency in the
processesofmerit-basedselectionandexchangetransfers.Inasubsequent
book, I will describe the measures taken for improving the quality of
education in both rural and urban schools.

At the Shala Utsav progammes, I saw Modi presenting a big milk
canister to each village with the appeal that each family that owns cattle
shouldpourintothatvesselasmallportionoftheirdailymilkproduction
as a voluntary gift for the children attending the local aanganwadi (the
crèches managed by the Child Welfare Department through village
panchayats). The canister is placed strategically at the cooperative milk
procurement centre of each village. This is not because the government
does not provide sufficient supply of quality food for the children who
come to these anganwadis. Gujarat’s anganwadis, both rural and urban,
are among the best in the country. It is Modi’s way of making every
social development measure into a mass movement. by persuading every
family in the village feel to responsible for the health of all the children
of the village. This appeal has not gone in vain. At Modi’s call, wealthy
individuals and corporate houses have also adopted many of these
anganwadis. Even his toy collection campaign for anganwadis became a
mass movement. He asked his party workers to go from house to house to
collect toys as donations. He could well have asked a rich industrialist to
donate toys in bulk but by involving lakhs of party workers and ordinary
middle class families, he wanted to drive home the message of social
responsibility towards disadvantaged groups.
I paid surprise visits to numerous anganwadis in the villages: not one
of them turned out to be disappointing in terms of quality of food or
general infrastructure. I hope to do a more detailed study on this issue
in the coming months.
Separate Department for Women and Child Welfare
To mark Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birthday, a dedicated Department for
Women and Child Welfare was created on December 25, 2001. Such
departments are common in almost every state. However, unlike in
most other states, Gujarat’s Department of Women and Child Welfare
is not a lazy listless bureaucratic institution. It has been forced to become
a fighting-fit instrument for undertaking numerous special and well-
targeted measures for reaching out to serve vulnerable women and
children.Unlikemostotherchiefministerswhotreatthisasalightweight
inconsequentialdepartment,inModi’sschemeofthings,itiscentraltohis
development model. Even a casual time audit will show that Modi spends
more time every year on programmes connected with this department
than he does in dealing with industrial policies of the state.

Some of Modi’s most effective initiatives and campaigns, such as
creation of 50,000 women’s self-help groups for better awareness among
the rural women; provision of relief in the prison term for women
prisoners; and ‘Save the Girl Child’ campaign were conceptualised and
launchedinFebruary2002itself.Toreducematernalandinfantmortality
rates, the government of Gujarat launched Chiranjeevi Yojana. This went
on to win the Asia Innovative Award for its successful implementation.
In addition, Gujarat introduced many significant schemes:
Insurance cover to 1.25 crore students against accidental death under
the Vidya-Deep Yojana.
Healthcare for 1 crore children, involving health check-ups, treatment
ofseriousailmentsandmedicalfacilitiesincludinghigh-costsurgeries.
By integrating the medical, fire brigade, and police departments,
Gujarat became a pioneer in implementing comprehensive emergency
management. As part of disaster management systems, it began
the process of setting up an efficient ambulance service backed
up by hospital services and primary health care centres. Today, in
the farthest village of Gujarat, a well-equipped, air-conditioned
ambulance service with appropriate facilities for handling
emergencies, including child birth delivery, is available free of cost.
It is closely monitored through IT to ensure that it doesn’t take more
than half an hour to reach even the remotest of villages. The system
is now aiming to reduce the response time to 20 minutes. Every little
school-going child in Gujarat knows that one should dial 108 for
calling the ambulance.
Engagement with Border Areas
Within a few days of becoming chief minister, Modi visited the border
areasofKutchdistrict.HeinitiatedmeasureswiththeCentralgovernment
tobringaboutbetterfencingandpatrollingofborderareaswithPakistan
to check cross-border terrorist incursions from Pakistan.
Simultaneously, he made special development plans for the border
areas including that of coastal areas. I will describe some of these in my
subsequent book. But these visits were not just about “national security”
issues-theywerealsoaboutthewell-beingofsoldierspostedinthedesert
regions bordering Pakistan and, therefore, operating under very hostile
weather conditions. To quote Modi:

In my first few weeks as CM, I had gone to the border areas to interact with
the members of defense forces because I felt it was my duty to let them know
I’m there to attend to any problems they might be facing.
Ibelievethateventhoughdefencepersonnel—army,navy,orairforce—posted
in my state are central government employees, it is also my job to take care of
their needs so that they have a good coordination with the state government.
One of the biggest problems faced by our jawans at the border is acute
scarcity of water, since the border area in Gujarat is desert land. The Border
Security Force (BSF) had to deploy close to 900 camels just for transporting
water to the various defence posts. But, as we created the new water grid in the
following years, we found a way by providing piped supply of Narmada waters
to these border posts. I got to know through those interactions that they find it
difficult to get fresh vegetables. The transport cost of bringing vegetables was
turning out to be far more than the actual cost of vegetables. So, we created
facilities,includingregularsupplyofwaterforthemtogrowvegetablesaround
their own border posts. They also had a big problem in accessing telephones. If
they used mobile phones, they got connected to Pakistani towers. We got high
powertelephonetowerserectedfortheGujaratbordertoenableoursoldiersto
remain connected with their families. Earlier, our soldiers could only receive
Pakistani TV since Indian TV channels don’t reach our border areas. But we
provided them with Dish TVs.
Likewise, when Modi found out that in that blistering heat the army
jawans did not even have refrigerators for food storage, he came back and
organised refrigerators for them. Modi’s visits to border areas to assess
the needs of soldiers have continued year after year.
On August 15, 2013, I was witness to his celebrating Independence
Day with the soldiers manning border posts. He inaugurated a water
supply system that brought fresh water of Narmada to the farthest border
post. In addition, he also inaugurated, on the Kutch border, the first ever
memorial to soldiers in the country built in post-British India. The one
at India Gate was built by the British. The Government of India simply
put ‘Amar Jawan Jyoti’ underneath the canopy. Modi says he found that
inadequatesince,inhisview,thosewhosacrificetheirlivesforthecountry
need better recognition.
WithinfirstfewweeksofModi’stenure,thecoastalareasalsosawmany
new measures to tighten up security in sensitive areas, including joint
patrolling with the coast guard.

The Five Nectars of Development
In one of NaMo’s early announcements, he declared that the guiding
principle of his development agenda would be the Panchamrut Yojana
or the ‘five nectars for development.’ These were defined as Jal Shakti, Jan
Shakti, Gyan Shakti, Urja Shakti, and Raksha Shakti.
Jal Shakti involves development and conservation of water resources.
Since large parts of Gujarat fall under the desert region, Modi inherited
a state with perennial water crisis. He had declared that Narmada
project would get top priority. In the first 18 weeks, he held nine high-
level meetings to review and fast track its progress and speed up the
rehabilitation process. Despite determined obstructions by Medha
Patkar’s Narmada Bachao Andolan backed by the Congress Party, Modi
has battled hard to complete the Narmada Project
But water security was taken up as a mass movement. A special
purpose vehicle named WASMO (Water and Sanitation Management
Organisation)wascreatedwithinthefirstthreemonthsofModi’scoming
topowerinordertopromotecommunitymanagementofwaterresources
and sanitation—this was done through the creation of empowered
Pani Samitis (Water Committees). Today, 70 per cent of rural families,
including in the desert areas, are getting piped water supply at home,
while Gujarat is moving fast towards 100 per cent coverage. The story
of how Modi set about reducing dependence on drawing out ground
water through tube wells—a practice that had lowered the water table
to dangerous levels—will be told at length in my subsequent book. But
initiatives taken by Modi in the first few weeks set into motion enduring
changes. Water harvesting, which was taken up as a mass movement
beganinthefirstfewmonthsofModi’stenure,hasledtotheconstruction
of lakhs of khet talawadis (farm ponds) and check dams. Consequently,
Gujarat is one of the few states where the water table is rising despite it
being a rain-scarce region. By 2011, the average statewide increase in
groundwater level was 3.62 metres.
This experiment has become a global role model for countries with
scarce water resources. The participatory system of managing the supply
of drinking water bagged the UN public service award in 2009.
Jan Shakti (mobilising human resources and the inner strength of
society): Even a cursory exposure to Modi’s working style shows that he
converts everything, be it school enrolment programme or water policy
reforms,intoapeople’smovementbornoutoftheconvictionthatwithout

prajashaktiorjanshakti(citizens’power),rajshakticannotgainlegitimacy
or function effectively. Chapters six & seven on the reconstruction of
earthquake-affected areas demonstrate this philosophy in action. An
offshootofthiswasthe‘GarviGujaratCampaign’topromotetheheritage,
culture,cuisine,andcraftsofGujaratasmajortouristattractions.Theplan
wastoputGujaratonthetourismmapwhereearlier,itwasalmostabsent.
‘Garba festival’ was revived to attract tourists in large numbers, cruise
servicesweresetup,andadventureandeco-tourismgainedpriority.Steps
were initiated to develop Somnath and Dwarka as heritage links. Sites
of national and international significance such as Gir forest, Mahatma
Gandhi’s birthplace Porbandar, Daman & Diu, etc. were earmarked for
focuseddevelopmenttohighlighttheirspecialsignificance.Mynextbook
will cover some of these in detail.
Gyan Shakti (empowerment through education): The following
indicators offer a glimpse of the high priority Modi gave to knowledge
production:
There were 11 universities in Gujarat in 2001. Today, there are 44,
includingaChildren’sUniversityandRakshaShaktiUniversity.Gujarat
has avoided the set archaic pattern of Indian universities whereby
they have become degree-churning factories in poorly-designed
social science disciplines without imparting any meaningful life or
employment-oriented skills to students. Gujarat, by contrast, invested
in opening up new knowledge arenas by introducing cutting-edge
disciplines whose expertise is sorely lacking in India. Even the lower-
end industrial training institutes in Gujarat are intimately linked to
imparting skills required by local industries of the area.3
AdecisiontosetupaSanskritUniversityandtheStateHigherEducation
Council was taken and followed up with quick speed.
3 Gujarat is today a leader in skill development programmes at all levels. That is why
thereishardlyanyunemploymentinGujarat.AccordingtothereportbytheMinistry
of Labour and Employment for the year 2011-12, Gujarat has lowest unemployment
rate in India at one per cent. The supposedly progressive state of Kerala has an
unemployment rate of 9.9 per cent. What distinguishes Gujarat from other states is
that the outmigration from rural areas and traditional backward regions of Gujarat
has been halted due to tremendous advancement in agriculture and industry. At the
same time, Gujarat is providing employment to lakhs of migrants from other states
whereas Kerala’s educated manpower is forced to seek employment opportunities
outside the state, especially in Gulf countries.

Steps were initiated to make the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad—the
largest in Asia—a leading institution in medical education.
Gujarathasendedtheneedforcasteoranyotherquotaforadmissionto
medicalandengineeringcollegesbyopeningsomanynewprofessional
colleges that it has surplus seats. It has also given a big fillip to higher
education among women, including Muslim women, because families
are far more willing to send girls to medical or engineering colleges if
it does not involve sending them to places far-off from home. Higher
education even in private institutions in Gujarat is far more affordable
than in other states of India where huge amounts are demanded by way
of capitation fee due to scarcity of seats.
Urja Shakti (harnessing and conserving energy): This led to the Jyoti
Gram Scheme that provides 24x7 three-phase power supply in each and
every village, and in each and every home—both urban and rural—
includingthoseinremotetribalareas.Thismeasure,alongwithimproved
water access, played a big role in turning Gujarat’s villages and small
townsintohubsofsmall-scalemanufacturingactivities.Thefarmersalso
get assured power through separate lines for a set number of hours every
day for agricultural operations. Gujarat has not only been transformed
from a power deficit to power surplus state, but has also become a leader
in generating wind, biomass, and solar power. How this came about and
the transformation it has produced deserves a whole book in itself.
RakshaShakti:Itisinterpretedcomprehensivelytomeansecurityfrom
illness, disasters, anti-social, and anti-national activities. This includes
far-reaching health sector reforms to provide preventive and medical
care facilities in every village and town, well-eqpped hospitals, effective
disaster management systems, as well as strengthened law and order
machinery to keep anti-social elements at bay. One visible outcome of
Modi’s emphasis on internal security is that from being a state which
had witnessed hundreds of riots in the previous decades, Gujarat has
been riot-free after 2002. More of this shall be discussed in later chapters.
In addition to the above five nectars of development, Modi began a
massive drive for quality infrastructure development with primary focus
on rural areas. As a result, today Gujarat has the best of roads down to
the last village.
Bringing investments and industry in backward regions: Simulta-
neously, Modi began to plan business partnership meets to invite

industrial and other investments in Gujarat, especially to the hitherto
backward regions like Kutch.
Apparel parks were planned for in Surat and Ahmedabad.
Plans were set afoot to give Surat airport was given a face-lift to match
international standards.
MOU with Astrakhan was signed in Russia—the first of its kind by
any state government in the country—with the support from the then
NDA government.
General Motors declared its plans of expanding its plant with an
investment of Rs. 500 crores (US$ 102 million).
Royal Dutch Shell Company announced an investment of Rs. 5,000
crores (US$ 1 billion) in Hajira port and LNG terminal.
Indo Gulf Corporation Ltd., a unit of Birla Copper, began the process
of setting up a world-class copper smelter in Bharuch.
A comprehensive policy in the country regarding the establishment of
Special Economic Zones was announced.
A high-powered Gujarat Industrial Promotion Board (GIPB) headed
by the CM was constituted to provide fast track and single-widow
clearance to large industrial units.
Agreement for a Gas Pipeline Project was signed between M/s Cairn
Energy (CEIL) and Gujarat Maritime Board (3.4 million cubic metres
of gas would be produced and distributed with an investment of over
Rs. 600 crores).
Resurgent Gujarat Mega Event was organised in February 2002 in
quake-affected areas to give a boost to the economic and industrial
climate in the region.
Major reforms in the policy and regulations for cooperatives were
undertaken to curb corruption, make their functioning more
transparent, and remove needless bureaucratic controls.
This is how the new initiatives were reported in the media. The Times
News Service published on February 11, 2002: “Prospective investors
come calling again.” It goes on to say:
What happens when the economy looks bleak and prospects gloomy? The
government takes immediate measures to kick-start the economy. This is
exactly what is being aimed at by the Modi government in their three-day
resurgent Gujarat programme. And with the United Kingdom being the

‘partner country’ along with top corporates, the state can look forward to
some positive prospects. Apart from foreign (mainly UK) delegations, there
were quite a few NRGs (Non Resident Gujaratis) and NRIs who have found
the whole experience quite exhilarating…Resurgent Gujarat - Business
Partnership Meet-2002 was organised jointly by Industrial Extension Bureau
of the Government of Gujarat, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of
India, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and the
Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry. United Kingdom had joined
as a partner country.
A very large number of delegates, technical experts and senior executives
of different industries from all over India, high-ranking government officials,
delegations from many countries, leading businessmen and industrialists of
India participated in that event. Resurgent Gujarat - Business Partnership
meet proved to be the seed of Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summits.
Five biennial Vibrant Gujarat Summits held so far have helped Gujarat
emerge as a global business hub, a preferred destination to live in and
to do business, including for Muslims, from other states of India. The
swiftness with which the drought- and earthquake-devastated Gujarat
was changing can also be gauged by the following The Times News
Network report on February 5, 2002:
Corporates make a beeline for Kutch: Gujarat is doing in Kutch what it
does best—seeking a solution to all its problems through industrialisation
and wealth creation. With the feeling running high in official circles that
fresh investment in industry is the best way to rebuild Kutch from the quake
rubble,it’shearteningforthegovernmenttofindthat34investorshavealready
pledged Rs 768.87 crores, which is more than the investment made in the
past 50 years in the district. And, this could be just the beginning of a rapid
industrialisation process in Kutch, riding high on sales tax and an excise
holidaydeclaredbythestateandcentralgovernments.Sourcessayinvestment
in the next few weeks and months could touch or even exceed the Rs 3,000
crores mark. Big names in the corporate world are trying to acquire land
to take advantage of the five-year tax holiday. Out of the 300-odd inquiries
made so far, 13 have filed their memoranda, ten have acquired land and eight
are such which are in the process of acquiring land. Investment of Rs 2,000
crores would be from known houses like Reliance, LG, and Excel, while the
rest would be on a small and medium scale.

The industrial development of the quake-hit district will be a prime focus of
resurgentGujarat,saysPrincipalSecretary,IndustriesandMinesDepartment,
I. Mansingh. Principal Industrial Advisor to the Gujarat Government R.J.
Shah,whoisco-ordinatinginvestmentinKutch,says,‘Wehaveputclearances
in Kutch on the fast track.’ Of the 34 projects that have been confirmed,
engineering units top the list, followed by mineral processing and plastics.
He says the process would get a further boost after the Gujarat Industrial
Development Corporation’s three Estates of Anjar, Nagor (near Bhuj), and
Mandvi are ready. The government also expects the proposal for a new Special
Economic Zone (SEZ) mooted by the Adanis near Mundra port to be cleared
by the Centre soon so that the industrial activity picks up in Kutch. Kandla
SEZ with an export of Rs 800 crores from 140 units is the only important
centre of industrial activity in the district so far….
This is the same region which till then was considered the backwaters
of Gujarat’s economy and had witnessed large-scale outmigration in the
previous decades. The following two chapters describe how people in the
earthquake-devastated Kutch experienced the impact of these policies.
Modi’s policy of promoting industrial investment or with regard to
NarmadaProjectmaynotfindfavourwithpeoplefromtheLeftspectrum,
but it has certainly found favour with the people of Gujarat. It is not as if
the Left- or Congress-ruled states have shunned corporate investments
or the setting up of Narmada Dam type of development projects. The
only difference is that Modi has brought efficiency and transparency
into the industrial and development policy, whereas in the Congress-
and Left-ruled states, they are mired in scams and delays. By contrast,
there are relatively few controversies within Gujarat regarding Modi’s
development model. That is why Congress has not been able to rustle up
enough opposition within Gujarat to Modi’s economic agenda.
Follow-up on Key Decisions
In the very first Cabinet meeting, the following decisions were taken and
implemented with speed:
E-governance for Transparent and Efficient Administration:
Within days of assuming power, Modi began video-conferencing with
collectors. In addition, he personally visited every district of the state for
a review of each and every district administration. New departments of
Information Technology and Bio-Technology were set up on October

27, 2001, and the process of computerisation and e-governance were set
into motion to ensure easy and effective governance. Gujarat State Wide
Area Network (GSWAN), the largest IP-based e-governance network
in the world, connecting 25 districts of the state to the Secretariat and
Gandhinagar and connecting 225 talukas to these districts was put into
operation. Satellite communications wereset up, enabling productiveuse
of hardware and software technology.
Arrangements were made for tenders for procuring government
contracts to be posted online to bring transparency and to curb
discretionary awards. From there on, Gujarat went on to introduce
e-governanceindiversedomains,suchasthesanctionforbuildingplans,
or permission for opening new schools, which in other states work only
through bribes and political patronage.
Revamp of PDS: Modi took extensive review meetings of all the
government departments responsible for delivering various services to
the rural population and urban poor. This effort led to streamlining of
thePublicDistributionSystem(PDS),pluggingleakages,andsynergising
various rural development schemes.
JanSewaKendras: All service deliveries began to be computerised and
the seeds of e-governance were sowed. The processes that were set into
motion led rapidly to the creation of Jan Sewa Kendras (Public Service
Centres),whichprovidetime-bounddeliveryofnearly72services—from
birth and death certificates, ration cards, passports, land registration,
to hotel licenses, etc. under one roof so that citizens do not have to run
from office to office. Such measures eliminated, in one go, the scope for
daily harassment and extortion that ordinary citizens normally suffer
in India at the hands of petty officials who have to provide those licenses
or services.
Tele Fariyad: A complaint registration system was launched on a pilot
basis, wherein people from far-flung areas could lodge their complaints
by telephone.
Grievanceredressalmachinery:Aneffectivegrievanceredressalsystem
called SWAGAT ( literal meaning ‘Welcome’) was set up whereby, on
dedicateddaysandtimes,thechiefministerpersonallyheardcomplaintsof
aggrievedcitizensthroughawell-craftede-governanceprocessdesignedto
ensureaccountability.ItisnoteworthythatModididnotgoforanimperial
Janata Durbar of the kind Indira Gandhi used to organise, or the kind of
feudal tamashas Laloo Yadav and Nitish Kumar popularised.

SWAGATstartedwithastreamlinedsystemofIT-enabledmechanisms
forcomplaintredressalatthetalukaanddistrictlevels.Ifapersondoesnot
get justice at those levels, they can write to the chief minister’s SWAGAT
portal. The concerned officers are then asked for an explanation. If the
matter does not get sorted out, the chief minister simultaneously hears
the complainant and the officer concerned through tele-conferencing.
Often, on-the-spot decisions are taken, or a timeline is set for sorting out
the issue. This may include tweaking or changing archaic rules that tie
the hands of a bureaucrat in redressing that grievance. People tell me that
whencitizensoccasionallyfacecussedofficials,theverymentionthatthey
willusetheCM’sSWAGATportalgetsthingsmoving.Thechiefminister’s
involvement is not fitful; it has been consistent and well-organised over
theyears.Therefore,thesystemisnotover-cloggedwithpettycomplaints.
It is open and transparent, and avoids making scapegoats of a select
few officials to terrorise others. Equally, it protects honest officers from
motivated and malicious complaints. This system won the UN Public
Service Award in 2010.
Measures to Deal with Economic Offences: Gujarat Control of
OrganisedCrimeAct(GUJCOC)startedbeingenforcedwithmorerigour
andseriousnesstocontrolorganisedcrime.GujaratProtectionofInterest
of Depositor’s Act was implemented for protection of common investors.
Qualitative and administrative changes were brought in the functioning
of cooperatives through ordinances.
Disaster Mitigation Plan: On February 12, 2002, the Gujarat
governmentdecidedtosetasideRs.350crorestohaveafull-scaledisaster
mitigation plan for implementation over the next two years. Since then,
the state governmenthas notonlyincluded disastermanagementcourses
in all schools and colleges, but also set up a fighting-fit system of disaster
management to deal with a variety of situations—from earthquakes
to fires, accidents, and floods, among others. It has also created new
institutions to imbibe and develop new knowledge and technologies
in this area. Some of it will be discussed in the chapters on earthquake
rehabilitation in Kutch.
PASAAgainstLandGrabbers: On November 7, 2001, the government
announced that it would invoke Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act
(PASA) against those who have illegally occupied land for commercial
purposesandrunningindustries.Itisnoteworthythatthereisnomention
of illegal encroachments by poor slum dwellers. The district collectors

were directed to initiate action against land grabbers if they did not
comply with the warnings by December. It was announced that even
politicians, if found involved in land grabbling activities, would not be
spared from the dragnet of the law.
Until then PASA had been used sparingly against land grabbers, but
underthenewdispensation,protectionwasdeniedtopolitciansandother
well-connected people. This expectedly made Modi unpopular among a
certain breed of politicians, including his own party colleagues.
Media’s Silence on Modi’s Development Agenda
I have given above small glimpses of the numerous governance reform
measures and development programmes launched by Narendra Modi
in a mere 19 weeks before the Godhra violence swept the state. All these
programmes aim at inclusive development. A chief minister focused on
all such programs is the least likely to want riots in his state.
The outcomes of Modi’s slogan, Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, were
visible on the ground. For instance, when 24x7 power supply was made
available to every village home, it is not as if Muslim villages or homes
were left out. If the Kanya Kelavani and Shala Utsav programmes aim
at 100 per cent enrolment and retention of school-going children, if free
uniforms, school books, and other educational materials are meant for
each and every child attending school, Muslim children cannot possibly
be left behind. If anganwadis provide nutritious meals to all children,
Muslim children can’t remain under-nourished. Since the commitment
in each such development programme is towards 100 per cent coverage,
it doesn’t leave scope for discrimination. It is the politics of quotas that
has discrimination in-built into it. From the very onset, Modi’s attempt
has been to eliminate scarcities, which give rise to the politics of quotas
and marginalisation of vulnerable groups.
The Congress Party got into panic because Modi refused to live up to
the negative stereotype of a rabid Hindutva-vaadi leader who spat fire
at the Muslims or Christians. He was neither speaking the language of
phobic nationalism, nor mobilising any caste or community vote bank.
The way he introduced transparency made it difficult to accuse him of
personal corruption, nepotism, or incompetence. Modi’s development
agenda had, in fact, depolarised the politics of Gujarat. In every speech
that he delivered, in every programme that he unveiled, he addressed all
the five crore people of Gujarat irrespective of religion, caste, or creed.

Andyettheentirespectrumofnationalmedia,bothprintandtelevision,
put their services at the disposal of the Congress and the Left parties to
launch a tsunami of misinformation peddled by NGOs against Modi and
made him into such a hate-object that no one, including the BJP, dared
defendModifirmly.Allhisgooddeedsweresystematicallybrushedunder
mounds of lies they fabricated. No one wanted to give him a hearing.
Barring exceptions like Ashok Gulati who researched and wrote on farm
sectorgrowthinGujarat,veryfew,ifany,amongacademicshavebothered
toundertakeresearchinGujarat.Witheminentacademicsbecomingpart
of the demonisation campaign, even young scholars kept away from the
state, even while it underwent major transfromation. That is how the web
of deceit constructed by NGOs under the guise of defending minorities
became not just the dominant but also the only acceptable narrative on
Modi and the 2002 riots.

One of the surest signs of new prosperity in the once neglected
Kutch, is the speed with which prices of land have sky-rocketed. The
land that Parvatiben bought 30 years ago for just Rs. 500, is today priced
at Rs. 30 lakhs an acre.
WhentheearthquakehitGujaratonJanuary26,2001,Modiwasneither
basedinGujaratnoritschiefminister.Itmeasured6.9ontheRichterscale
and was one of the worst in 180 years—more devastating than the ones in
Latur, Kobe, or Mexico. Its epicentre lay near village Chobari, 30 km from
Bhuj. In one go, the shockwaves unleashed a trail of massive destruction
causingwidespreaddeaths,injuries,anddevastation.Modi’sfirstreaction
was to call his mother, which he rarely did. She told him that their kutcha
mudhouseinVadnagarhadalsobeendamagedintheearthquake.During
the course of an interview, Modi had described how he could not hold
himself back from rushing to Gujarat on hearing about the earthquake
despitethefactthatKeshubhaihadpoliticallybanishedhimfromthestate:
The news of the earthquake moved me very deeply. So, on my own initiative,
I immediately set out for the earthquake-affected regions. Atal ji was in the
CHAPTER 6
Turning Disaster into an Opportunity
Transformation of Earthquake-Ravaged Gujarat
The entire Kutch was in deep mourning. Every eye was filled with tears. In our
small village of 150 homesteads, there were 35 deaths. Before Modi ji, no chief
minister, no minister had come to wipe our tears. Our entire village was still
covered with rubble and he had to walk over the malba (rubble) of collapsed
homes to move from one area to another.After the first few weeks of relief work,
everyone had abandoned us...Within three years Modi managed to reconstruct
Kutch from scratch. Look at our own house—it has two airy, well-constructed
rooms with a kitchen, bathroom, and a big courtyard. It is earthquake-resistant
Parvatiben, Trambo Village, Kutch

January 26 parade in Delhi at that moment. As soon as the parade got over, he
called for me to ask if I had any news of the earthquake. I said all I knew was
what my mother had told me on the phone from our village, but I thought I
should leave for Gujarat. He agreed and said that I should go. Advani ji was
also travelling to Gujarat. So, I went with him in his plane and headed straight
for Kutch.
At that time, I didn’t have smooth relations with Keshubhai. My visiting
Gujarat was politically not very sound. But hearing of so many deaths and
so much devastation, I could not stop myself from reaching out to people in
the affected regions.
I stayed in the villages of Kutch for about a month and did whatever little
I could on my own steam. For example, I saw that a lot of people had serious
injuries. It was also very cold. I gave people a simple suggestion that at night
they should use the waste materials lying around to heat some water and fill
it in empty Bisleri bottles. Put this hot water bottle in your blanket when you
prepare to sleep. This will give fomentation for your injuries and also keep
you warm. This really caught on, and all over the region, people began using
this technique. Their houses had collapsed. They were sleeping in the open.
Even those whose houses were still standing erect did not dare sleep indoors
because of continuing aftershocks.
I also noticed that there were no physiotherapists. This is when thousands
of people had broken bones. So, I advised the government teams working on
relief to teach primary physiotherapy to all NCC students. They implemented
this suggestion to good effect. After the basic treatment, a person with injuries
needed to practice certain basic exercises, which could be easily done with the
help of a new crop of amateur physiotherapists I helped train.
On becoming chief minister on October 7, 2001, Narendra Modi
announced that rehabilitation of earthquake victims and reconstruction
ofthedevastatedregionswouldbehistoppriority.Hesays,“Ifeltmorally
burdened by the fact that people still had no homes. They were living on
footpaths, or in fields. Winter was approaching and Kutch winters are
verysevere.Whatwerepeoplegoingtodo?Thisworrywasoverwhelming
me. So I focused maximum attention on infusing new life into those
devastated areas.”
Anyone who wishes to know the quintessential Modi needs to study
howhehonouredhispromisetotheearthquake-affectedpeople—bothin
letterandin spirit.Kutchandotherworst-affectedregionsalsohappened

to be among the most backward and impoverished regions of Gujarat,
known for distress outmigration, water scarcity, and perennial droughts.
Modi transformed these neglected and backward regions into vibrant
industrialhubsalongwithrapidagriculturaladvancement.Kutchbecame
Modi’slaboratoryforpeople-centricgrowthmodelandforredefiningthe
roleofgovernmentvis-a-vispeople.Hereisaglimpseintothedevastation
caused by the 2001 earthquake:
Itaffectedanareaof1,82,639sq.km.—morethanthegeographicalarea
of Assam and West Bengal put together. It released energy equivalent
to 45,00,000 tons of TNT approximating to over 300 Hiroshima-type
bombs.
As many as 13,805 people lost their lives; 7,633 villages were adversely
affected. All the towns of Bhuj and other towns of Kutch were totally
destroyed.
Around1,67,000peoplehadbeeninjuredwhilemorethan1,800health
facilities had been destroyed.
Over 12,00,000 houses had been damaged or totally destroyed and
needed rebuilding. Large number of high-rise and low-rise buildings,
including government offices and hospitals, collapsed.
Over10,000smallandmediumscaleindustrieswentoutofproduction;
50,000 artisans lost their livelihoods.
Over 50,00,000 people needed immediate relief.
Powersupply,watersupply,telephonicandothercommunicationswere
disrupted.
Infrastructurewasinshambles.Roads,railwaytracks,waterandpower
supply networks had collapsed. A total of 592 public buildings were
totally destroyed; 8,131 were partially damaged.
Even though the immediate response of the Gujarat government, and the
world community at large, was to reach relief materials and rescue teams
with a degree of urgency but, after the local and international relief teams
departed,thegovernmentperformedverypoorlyontherehabilitationfront.
Keshubhai had created the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority
(GSDMA), a dedicated agency to coordinate a comprehensive earthquake
recovery programme and to administer the rehabilitation, reconstruction,
andrebuildinginitiatives.Buthecouldnotmakeitdeliverwhatitpromised.
ThisiswhatRajubhai,anAhmedabad-basedMuslimtaxiserviceowner
and a very astute political observer, told me during one of my trips to
Kutch as we travelled through villages of the region in 2013:

I made several trips to Kutch following the earthquake because I used to bring
journalists, NGO workers, etc. in my taxi. It was shocking for me to witness
how Keshubhai and his ministers indulged in open loot and stole even the
relief material that came for the poor earthquake victims. Even the collectors
at that time indulged in a good deal of partiality in distributing relief material.
For instance, one day I had gone to Malia village with a trader’s association.
They were assigned Devadia village for distribution of the relief material they
had brought with them. Right in front of us, in Malia, a large cold-chain
containerarrivedwithforeignchocolatesandalotofotherfoodstuff.Whoever
brought in stuff for relief went to the District Collector, who in turn assigned
to some official the village where those food items needed to be distributed.
Those who were inclined to pilfer did so at the collector’s office itself.
On that particular day, soon after this big container of foreign food stuff
arrived, Keshubhai reached Malia in his Cielo car accompanied by a whole
caravan of vehicles. He enquired about the contents of the container. When
he came to know it had foreign chocolates and other such goodies, he ordered
the officials to take out the boxes and put them in his car. Right in front of us,
he loaded his Cielo with as many cartons of foreign chocolates as he could and
droveawaytoGandhinagar.Peoplewereshockedatthebrazennessofitall.The
police constable who was standing guard at the collector’s office commented,
“These politicians think they have the first right over whatever comes.”
IalsowitnessedhowM.P.RatilalVarma,whoisanativeofRanpur,tookaway
the fancy green-coloured tents that had come from Pakistan for earthquake
relief. He liked them so much that he went and put up one such tent at his
petrol pump to show it off to people. This shameful photograph was even
splashed in some newspapers. At that time beggars from neighbouring states
also descended in Kutch to collect relief materials that came for the quake
victims. But the most shameless beggars were some of our own politicians.
They really indulged in brazen loot. A lot of good NGOs had also come and
did very good work. I travelled with some of those as well. Among those
who did excellent work were Sikh Gurudwaras, Murari Bapu’s NGO, and the
organisation of Dangre ji Maharaj.
Equally important, Gujaratis in general, and the people of Kutch settled
overseas, had come forward in abundant measure to help the shattered
families of the affected region. Retired Indian Forest Service Officer R.K.
Sama, who played a key role with NGOs in the relief work, provides an
insightful glimpse:

There is something special about Kutchis; even those who have migrated out
of Kutch for three generations keep very close links with their homeland and
their villages. No matter how wealthy and well-settled a Kutchi may be in
far-away America or Europe, he will always maintain a house in his ancestral
village and stay connected with the happenings in Kutch. They are not just
talkers, they are big doers. Let me give you a concrete example. There is a very
wealthy Kutchi mercantile house in Oman named Khimji & Sons. He is one of
the richest in Dubai and Oman. He flew in his private plane. Since the NGO I
was working with was making inventories of relief materials being received as
well as what was needed, he asked us to provide him a list of things required
immediately. We quickly prepared a list of what we thought was required. All
otherphonelinesweredeadbuthehadasatellitephonewithhim.Withinfour
hours he told us that what we asked for had already left Dubai, and that the
next morning the ship would land in Kandla port. We were told to take care of
customs clearance. A couple of weeks later when we assessed the value of the
relief material he had sent us, we realised it was worth Rs. 85 crores—all of it
purchased and dispatched within four hours. That day I learnt an important
lesson: a man who cannot give cannot be considered rich. The habit of giving
has to be cultivated consistently over time, which is something the Kutchis
have in abundant measure. When I expressed my appreciation and thanks to
Khimji for his generosity, he replied: “Please do not embarrass me. There is no
place for thanks in this. In fact, I have called to tell you that I am waiting for
youtotellmewhatmoreisneeded.Iamreadytosendwhateverelseyouneed.”
Thereisanotherincident,whichisveryrevealingabouttheKutchicharacter.
Oneday,weprepared4,000foodpacketsandtookthemtoJawaharNagar,oneof
theworstaffectedareas.Whenwetrieddistributingit,thepeoplethererefused
saying, “We have received our share. Please go to the next village because they
haven’t received their share.” A sense of social responsibility among citizens
actually counts for far more than the government efforts. Several international
agencies also came for relief work and we NGOs did a good job of working in a
coordinated manner by creating a joint forum. And yet, barring a few pockets
wheregoodofficerstookpersonalinitiative,thegovernmentrehabilitationwork
was chaotic, fitful, and disorganised under Keshubhai.
After Modi Took Charge
Modi’s very first official meeting was about earthquake relief. It started
with a review of rehabilitation work in various districts. The next day he
left for Kutch. This is how Modi recounted how he put into motion a new

work culture for the government and tried communicating his sense of
caring to the people:
OnmyveryfirsttriptoKutchasCM,Istayedthereforthreedaysonend.Iwent
to each affected village and town and asked people to tell me why according
to them things were in such a sorry state eight months after the tragedy had
struck. But I did not allow any official or private receptions to take place. I
instructed the local administration in advance that they were not to issue a
single advertisement to welcome me.
Some of the officials who had accompanied Modi on this trip told me,
the bureaucracy was forced to change its work culture because Modi
observed very strict discipline. Earlier, if a CM fixed 10 a.m. as the time
for a meeting, he would rarely come before 12. Modi is of the kind who
arrives at 09.45. So the officers had to reorient their work styles.
Modi’s personal conduct conveyed important messages in small
but significant ways. For instance, he told them not to make any food
arrangements for him. As a rule when he goes touring, he avoids lunches
being hosted for him, barring in exceptional circumstances. This is
because, if the district administration has to organise lunch for the CM,
they end up inviting the entire sarkari clan and it eventually ends up
being a gala feast for 500-600 persons. He knows that they don’t have
budgetary provisions for such feasts. Therefore, officials end up taking
personal obligations by asking some businessman to sponsor the lunch.
Taking such an obligation also amounts to corruption. Therefore, he told
his officials to avoid doing any of that. He carried his own lunch box. This
also saved a lot of time because big luncheon feasts tend to take hours and
the entire administration comes to a standstill for that period.
Another change he introduced, in that very first trip, was to let the
district administration know that they should not collect the entire
sarkari brigade to hover around him. The general practice used to be
that when a CM would visit, all the officials would hang around with a
pile of files in hand not knowing what question the CM will ask from
which department. There is an atmosphere of terror surrounding such
visits. Modi told them, “I will let you know in advance which particular
department I need answers from. Then, too, only the department head
should be available. There’s no need to have an entire contingent from
that department waste their time hanging around.”

AnotherincidentthatsentastrongmessageabouthisagendaasCMwas
that on his very first visit to the earthquake-ravaged Kutch, which took
place within three-four days of his assuming office, he suspended some
of the tainted sarpanches and officials who had indulged in corruption
in relief work. He says:
I’ve no idea how I took that decision because I’m not the kind to operate in
RobinHoodstyle.Butthemattertouchedmedeeply.Thisgaveaclearmessage
totheentireadministrationthatonsuchhumanitarianissues,therewouldnot
be any let-up. My basic priority was the empowerment of the people. During
my first three-day visit to Kutch, I tried to understand what was delaying
rehabilitation work. I was told: “Sir, this can’t be done, that is not possible
because rules don’t permit XYZ.”
On his return, Modi called a meeting of the concerned officers, which
included secretaries of all departments who had to contribute in some
way or the other to the earthquake rehabilitation work—be it irrigation,
housing,powersupply,roads,orbuildings.Hetoldthemthatlocalofficials
werecomplaining about too manybureaucraticbottlenecks,which made
it impossible for them to deliver results on the ground. He then asked
the state government officials in-charge of rehabilitation departments to
explain where exactly they stood at that point. What was their road map?
Modi described that first meeting as follows:
Their presentation was centred on all that they planned to deliver by the end
of the financial year, namely March 31, 2002. I told them that they should
get this financial year business out of their heads because on January 26, the
nationalandinternationalmediawoulddescendinKutchandsubjectGujarat
to critical scrutiny. In such a situation, we had to fast-track all that needed to
be done so that we could give a good account of ourselves to the whole world.
The officials were asked to advance their March plans and to tell me what
they could deliver by December 31. Each one came up with a fresh schedule
and a fresh target date. But I wondered how much they could deliver in two-
and-a-half months, since we were having this meeting in October. As is my
habit, all these problems weighed in my mind even when I went home at night.
Early morning I called the chief secretary and asked him to meet me at 9 a.m.
When he came, I told him to make a list of the affected talukas. The total
number was 38. I told him to put down the most adversely affected talukas at

the top and grade them A, B, C, and D according to the level of destruction.
He brought that list in an hour or so. I then told him to give me the names
of the most efficient officers so that I could make them responsible for the
worst affected talukas. I then called a meeting of those officers and told them
that from that day onwards each of them should consider themselves as the
chief minister of the taluka assigned to him or her. They would have the full
authority to take whatever decisions they thought necessary with regard to
those areas. They were told not to hesitate to take snap, on-the-spot decisions,
and do what they felt was right, and that I would back them fully even if they
inadvertently made some mistakes in the process. You would be surprised
to know how much this energised the officers. They were asked to go and
stay every Friday to Sunday in the taluka under their charge. The ‘C’ grade
villages, which were relatively less affected, did not need that kind of intense
monitoring. So they were handled as per normal routine.
Each of these officers went and spent three days over the weekend in their
assigned talukas and I held a review meeting with them on Monday at 11 a.m,
IntheveryfirstMondayreviewmeeting,theylamented,“Sorrysir,nothingcan
really move because we had earlier imposed wrong rules.” They admitted that
the circulars listing rules and regulations regarding rehabilitation measures
issued from Gandhinagar were such that even well-intentioned officers could
not deliver very much under those circumstances. I had heard similar things
from local people and district officials that government rules obstruct rather
than facilitate the work. For instance, people were expected to produce XYZ
certificate or documentary proof to claim relief. Most people didn’t have such
documents because their homes were totally devastated.
This is the mool prakriti (basic nature) of all governments—to look for ways
not to give to people what is their due. I had heard all such complaints already
and I was searching for an answer. So when I told them that I make each
one of you the chief minister or CEO of that area, they themselves identified
the problem correctly and admitted that their earlier GRs (Government
Regulations) were all wrong. They were designed to obstruct and deprive
peopleratherthandeliver.Isaid,nowthatyouknowwheretheshoepinches,it
is your duty to modify the very rules you made. Come back to me by Thursday
with all the modifications you require. But remember, your modifications
should not be contrary to our basic policies.
They all reported on Thursday with the changes required in government
rules. I told them that by the end of this day, let us issue new GRs so that they
can go and implement them by Friday, since they were to be in their taluka

fromFridaytoSunday.WhentheycamebackonMondayfromtheirfieldtrips,
they all said confidently, “Sir, we are now confident of delivering.”
So this is how, by paying attention to the nitty-gritty, we created a whole
new system. I had become CM on October 7 and, by October 15, I had already
started chalking a new path for the government. And all these officials spent
three days a week in the field in the midst of earthquake-affected people week
after week till we began to see actual results on the ground. So enthused was
the bureaucracy by this new work culture that some Christian officers came
on their own and said that they would not take a break for Christmas that
year. I used to hold them up as an example in many of my public meetings in
order to inspire others.
Restoring People’s Confidence in Government
As mentioned earlier, Modi had become chief minister when the anger
and estrangement against the BJP government was at an all-time high. In
order to mobilise the inner strength of people, he needed to reach out to
them and give them confidence in the sincerity of the government. The
gesture he made was both dramatic and effective.
To quote him, “Within days of taking over as CM, I announced that
this year we will not celebrate Diwali. My entire government—all the
ministers and officials—will go and stay in the earthquake-affected
villages, where people still had no houses. We will stay in tents.” This had
a profound emotional impact, which touched people very deeply when
they found the government officers and ministers sitting among them,
joining prayer meetings and bhajan kirtan (devotional songs)—focusing
especially on those villages where the toll of deaths was higher and where
the earthquake had caused excessive devastation. Modi himself went to
the worst affected villages. He says:
This emotional gesture was meant to communicate that their pain was our
pain.Thatishowwechanneledpeople’sgrief.However,duringtheNavaratris,
which come before Diwali, I had taken a slightly different approach to help
people come out of their shock and grief. I asked the collectors and district
development officers (DDOs) of those areas to make special arrangements to
celebrate Navaratris. This sent out positive vibrations since Navaratris holds
a very deep significance in the life of Gujaratis. Diwali is celebrated in each
individual household. People who had lost family members were in a state

of mourning and would not have wanted any celebration in their houses.
But Navaratris is celebrated collectively in the public domain. That is why I
said that I too will not celebrate Diwali. I will go and stay with the mourning
families and eat with them. We stayed there for two days. Once they felt that
the government really cared, they put behind all their complaints and joined
hands with us to put the tragedy behind them.
I visited some of the villages where Modi went on the occasion of Diwali
in 2001. Here is an account from two of the worst-affected villages—
Chobari and Trambo.
Modi’s Visit to Grief-Stricken Chobari Village
Chobari1
was the epicentre of the killer quake. Here, 555 people (ten
per cent) out of a total population of 5,000 perished on that fateful day.
Apart from the 550-plus dead, numerous people had received serious
injuries—some had suffered fractures, others had lost their limbs. In
the immediate aftermath of the quake, they were airlifted to Mumbai
and Ahmedabad hospitals but thereafter, the rehabilitation work under
the Keshubhai regime was put in a limbo. All the houses, shops and
buildings had collapsed and were reduced to rubble. But, miraculously
enough, the welcome gate of the village remained intact. Today, Chobari
has 80 Muslim households 1,600 Ahir families, 400 Rabaris, and 300
Dalit families. In addition, there are Vanias, Lohanas, etc., who have
about500householdseach.ThiswasoneofthevillageswhereModispent
a considerable amount of time on Diwali, on November 14, 2001. S.K.
Soni, Deputy Director, Information Department in Bhuj, who witnessed
that visit, says:
The CM sat in the village square (chauraha) and joined in a prayer meeting.
Even though people were very angry with the government, there were no
protest demonstrations or slogan shouting against Modi when he visited
these villages. Over 3,000 people gathered for his prayer meeting in Chobari.
1 The name Chobari comes from an ancient and unique rectangular well within the
compound of an equally ancient and historic Shiva temple. Lore has it that the temple
dates back to the Mahabharata time and was built by the Pandavas. The temple
compound has an amazing array of ancient Sati idols and other carvings.

The atmosphere was one of total calm—unlike the hustle-bustle that is the
hallmark of official visits.
Bharatbhai Joshi, a local astrologer of Chobari, says:
When we got to know that the CM was coming to Chobari, we wondered at
what venue we could organise that meeting given the chaotic state we were
livingin.Then,byconsensus,itwasdecidedthatitwouldbeintheShivmandir
compoundsinceitbelongedtothewholevillageandcouldaccommodatelarge
numbers who were expected to come for the meeting.
HavingbeenincessantlyfedthepropagandaaboutHindu-Muslimdivide
in Gujarat, my reflex action was to say, but Muslims wouldn’t have come
to a mandir? Why did you pick on the mandir compound? As soon these
words escaped my lips, I felt embarrassed looking at the incredulous
expressions on their faces. One of the villagers posed a counter question
tome,“WhywouldMuslimsnotcometoamandir?Thisisnothowpeople
live in this village. We all go to mandirs and we all go to masjids too.”
Bharatbhai said that Muslims of their village also used ‘Ram Ram’ as
their greeting. To embarrass me further, he added, “Why do you talk this
divisive language? We are surprised that you Delhi people think in those
terms.” The way Chobari residents freely went into each other’s homes,
the ease with which leading Hindus of the village took me to the homes
of Muslims late at night, provided enough evidence that their village had
retained the old bonds of bhaichara (brotherhood).
While the historic Shiv mandir of that village had collapsed, the Shiv
linga had remained totally unharmed. Modi came, performed Shiv puja
in the temple, and held a prayer meeting within the temple compound.
The place at which Modi performed Shiv puja has become another
memorable spot for the village. He made it a point to visit Dalit and
Muslimhouseholdseventhoughthesetwocommunitieshadparticipated
equally in Modi’s prayer meeting held within the precincts of the temple.
He inspected the damaged fields, bore wells, etc., and spent over half a
day in this village alone. He also lit a lamp in the chowk in the memory
of those who had died. So it wasn’t a touch-and-go VIP visit.
From a population of over 5,000 in 2001, today Chobari has 10,000
residents. Ramji Mariya, a young and enterprising Dalit farmer, who is
also a semi-professional photographer, was among the most articulate in

describing what Modi’s visit meant to the village. He showed me several
photographs he took of Modi’s visit and gave the following account:
During the course of that meeting in which Modi listened to the local people
instead of giving a speech, correspondent Dhimant Purohit of Aaj Tak TV
channel asked Modi, “Today, the country is lighting lamps and celebrating
Diwali,butyouhavecomehere.Whatisyourmessagetothepeople?”Heasked
this question thrice. But Modi could not complete his sentence in response to
Dhimant’s question because he was choked with tears. Narendrabhai started
three times saying, “While the rest of the country has lighted diyas, so many
diyas of this village have been extinguished.” As he said this, tears rolled
down his eyes and he could not speak one more sentence because he was so
overwhelmed by the grief around him.
Hespenthourslisteningtopeopleabouttheirproblemsandwentaroundthe
different segments of the village, including the Dalit and Muslim households.
He paid special attention to what women had to tell him and assessed the
overall situation for himself. In Chobari, we don’t live in segregated bastis.
People of all castes and communities intermix freely and live in common
neighbourhoods though there are areas where there is a larger concentration
of one or the other caste or community.
Thisiswhathehadtosayaboutthenewsystemsandprocessesimplemented
by the Modi-led government that helped speedy reconstruction:
Before Modi ji came, the entire village was still in a state of shock and grief.
The first thing he focused on was to get the village cleared of the mounds
of debris that were still lying around as a daily reminder of that tragedy.
Till then, only a negligible amount of work had started in the direction of
rehabilitation. Modi ji personally checked every street, every gali of this
village. He fast-tracked everything by putting the whole machinery to work
in an emergency mode. We were immediately provided solid temporary
shelters to protect us from winter chills. Till then we were living in the open,
with the sky above as our ceiling. Many didn’t even have tents till then. We
had received plenty of relief by way of food, clothes and even some small cash
dole but we had no real shelters.
Several villagers joined in to describe how in that meeting everyone cried
and Modi cried with them. After listening to the villagers for several

hours, his message was: “Please don’t give in to pessimism. Your village
will rise again and you will prosper as never before.”
Trambo Women Recount Modi’s Diwali Visit
Another village visited by Modi on Diwali of 2001 was Trambo, which
was also the epicentre of the earthquake. Out of the 450 houses in this
village, 400 were razed to the ground while the remaining were damaged
to different degrees.
One of the first persons I talked to at length was Parvatiben, because
people in the village directed me to her house as the respected matriarch
of the village. Her house was totally destroyed during the quake and
narrated similar stories of neglect as I had heard in Chobari. Nine
months had passed since the D-Day, but they were still living in tents
or makeshift shelters. The disaster was doubly-hard on her because
she was widowed 40 years ago and has brought up her children as a
single parent. However, for her, the traumatic memory of that disaster
is mixed with the proud recollection of Narendra Modi having visited
her makeshift shelter and partaken the modest meal of bajri roti and
chilies cooked by her neighbour. One of her proud possessions is the
fading newspaper photograph of Narendra Modi eating the food that
she served him.
The caption underneath the photograph reads as follows: Tum chinta
na karo, pura desh tumhare saath hai. (Please don’t worry; the whole
country is with you). She says:
The entire Kutch was in deep mourning. Every eye was filled with tears. In our
small village of 150 homesteads, there were 35 deaths. Before him, no chief
minister, no minister had come to wipe our tears. Only Narendra Modi came.
Our entire village was still covered with rubble and he had to walk over the
malba (rubble) of collapsed homes to move from one area to another. After
the first few weeks of relief work, everyone had abandoned us. The only ones
who came to help were the volunteers of Ram Rahim Sant (the Sacha Sauda
sect of Punjab). They are the ones who saved us from the severe winter by
providing us tents and also gave us three months of provisions. We also got
help from people of this area settled in Mumbai. They had sent us truckloads
of relief material, including food. We got adequate supplies of ration, etc. but
the task of rehabilitation and helping us start our lives afresh began with the
coming of Narendra Modi.

He went around the village and realised that houses could not be
reconstructed at the same location because the old village was very densely
located. He wanted these villages reconstructed to give them the benefits
of planned development with all possible civic amenities—piped water,
sanitation, open spaces, community centres, proper anganwadis and schools
with playgrounds along with power, internet connectivity, and all else.
Within 15 days of Modi ji’s visit, bulldozers came and cleared the malba.
Whileourhousesandvillageswerebeingrebuiltfromscratch,thegovernment
provideduswithtinroofs.Modiorderedtheschoolandhealthcentresbegiven
first priority in the reconstruction process. Next in priority was providing
proper water supply system. Bore-wells were dug and water tankers began
to reach every village. Each family began getting a monthly cash grant of Rs.
2,000.
An old Harijan of our village had lost four members of his family—his
son, his brother’s son, wife, and daughter. He was totally devastated because
while his son had died earlier, he lost both his grandsons in the earthquake.
But Modi ji sat on the same cot as him and said, “Bapu, don’t be afraid, I am
also your son.” Such a sentence can only be spoken and meant by someone
like Narendra Modi. And he was true to his promise, not just to the old man,
but to all of us. That old man is no more. But his family lives in nearby Rapar.
When we offered him food, he did not touch anything other than bajri
roti, mirchi, and chhachh. We had prepared dhokla, etc. but he only had roti
and chhachh. [The food Modi ate in Parvatiben’s tent was actually cooked by
a Harijan woman, the neighbour of Parvatiben]. My neighbour’s wife had
made some pedas for him but he did not even touch those. He also refused
to drink milk and did not let us put some ghee on the roti—he ate just plain
bajri with red chilies and chhachh. This is because he had come to apply balm
on our wounds and understood that we were all grieving and it was no time
for eating mithai.
That day itself I said in my heart, such a chief minister is next to God.
Within three years he managed to reconstruct Kutch from scratch. Look
at our own house—it has two airy, well-constructed rooms with a kitchen,
bathroom, and a big courtyard. It is earthquake-resistant. Earlier, we lived in
mud houses. There was an earthquake in 1998 also. At that time, no one had
bothered to even look at us or find out how many died. But this time families
got due monetary compensation for members who died as well as those who
were injured. I have four sons and each one of them got a separate house for
their families.

Mobilising the Inner Strength of Society
Modi not only re-oriented and re-energised the bureaucracy, as with
everything else, he tapped into the inner strength and creative energy of
his own Gujarati society. To quote him:
The reconstruction work that had to follow was of mammoth proportions.
I will narrate an interesting incident from the days of relief work in the
immediate aftermath of the tragedy. It provides a valuable insight into the
nature of our society. A lot of foreigners had come for the relief work. They
werewell-organisedandworkedverysystematically.Betweenfiveandsixp.m.,
they would wind up the day’s work, have a bath, and return to their tents. So I
used to go and chat with them after they had finished the day’s work. Among
many other stories, they shared these two experiences with me. They said,
“We travel to many countries in the world. In all those places, relief work is
generallyconfinedtoorganisationslikeRedCrossandWHO.Wearesurprised
to find that in Gujarat, every gali, every mohalla has a voluntary organisation.
Some are cooking food for others, some distributing milk. We are seeing such
a samaj(society) for the first time; we have to do very little here because people
are doing so much of the required work themselves.”
This is the inner strength (shakti) of our society. We need to understand
and tap into this shakti. When I returned as CM, that thought had stayed
with me. Hence, while undertaking the reconstruction work, I made sure to
channelise this asset. I had also made up my mind that we won’t do shoddy
reconstruction. We will set high standards. I was very strict on that count and
it paid us big dividends. The entire infrastructure you see in Kutch today is
far better than in the rest of Gujarat because so much was built from scratch.
Iappealedtovillagepeopletopayhighestprioritytobuildinggoodschools.I
wasconvincedthatifwecouldmakethechildrenhappy,therestofthefamilies
would also return to normalcy. So we managed to fast track the rebuilding
and reopening of schools.
Instead of going through the usual government process of inviting tenders
and hiring contractors to construct school buildings, we opted to make a
village committee and hand over the building plans to them. We created
‘materialbanks’forsuppliesofcement,steel,etc.Thevillagecommitteescould
take all they required from the nearby ‘material bank’ without any payment.
These six-member village committees included the sarpanch, a teacher, and
other members chosen by the village. We handed over the money for school
reconstructiontothem,inadditiontosupplyingfreebuildingmaterials.Since

full authority was given to village committees, they were committed to doing
a good job because all this was for their own children.
I can say with confidence that these school buildings turned out to be far
better than what could have been constructed by the government through
the usual process of tenders, rules, regulations, and contractors. Where we
expected one-room construction, they managed two. Where they were short
on space, villagers voluntarily donated land for the new schools. The schools
constructed by village committees are far better in terms of quality than the
earlier government-constructed schools. This is how we converted the Kutch
tragedy into an opportunity. You will be surprised to know that the village
committees did this work with such integrity that many of them returned the
excess money to the government. This in itself was deeply moving.
This is our mool sanskriti (root culture), and if we can tap into it, we
can achieve a lot. Thus, by January, we had succeeded in bringing about a
major transformation in the ground situation. That is when I decided to
make a comprehensive presentation to the prime minister through video-
conferencing. As you know, it is my nature to use the available cutting-edge
technology. So I worked out my presentation accordingly. Next, I invited all
the Embassies in Delhi on the nights of January 23 and 24 and gave them a
detailed account of how we had utilised funds or materials provided to us by
each country. I expressed my appreciation and gratitude to those countries
and described to them all that we had been able to achieve with their help.
On January 26, the entire country’s media was in Gujarat and after one year,
they actually praised the work of the government and acknowledged that the
work was heading in the right direction, though there may have been minor
lapses here and there. This gave a major fillip to the self-confidence of our
officers. They had taken a lot of flak for the first eight months. The positive
response and praise they got gave them more strength to work hard. They saw
that the strategy of advancing from March to end-December, and taking a
pro-active approach in presenting our report card, had paid off well.
Creative Use of Social Organisations
P.K. Mishra, an IAS officer who is today acknowledged as a leading
authority on disaster management on account of his experience of
handing the Kutch rehabilitation, writes in his book that a joint platform
ofNGOscalledAbhiyancametoplayanimportantroleintheearthquake
relief and reconstruction. It set up resource centres named Setu (bridge)
for each cluster of 25 villages to facilitate information linkage between

the government of Gujarat and local communities. These Setus gathered
information from the villages under their charge and transmitted to
Abhiyan once in a week, or once a fortnight. Abhiyan provided necessary
guidanceandsolutionstotheSetus.Wherevernecessary,theinformation
was passed on to the government so that relevant issues were addressed
speedily. At the peak of the reconstruction work, 33 Setus covered 400
villages.
In Bhuj, an NGO named the Bhuj Development Council played an
important role in the process of town planning. It set up small offices
at eight locations in the walled city, with personnel and computers, and
displayed their plans. The affected people could file objections and offer
suggestions.ThisNGOinteractedregularlywiththeplanningconsultants
and government agencies. Similar efforts were made in Bhachau and
Anjar.2
IAS officer Mansingh, who was appointed as the secretary
(Rehabilitation), was instrumental in enabling NGOs and a range of
religio-social organisations to work in unison. Eighty such organisations
adopted285villagesinfivedistrictsforconstructionofhouses.R.K.Sama,
a retired government officer, also played a vital role in the synergising
NGOs who took on rehabilitation work in Kutch. He provides the
following insightful account:
It was at the persuasion of Mansingh that I accepted the responsibility even
though I did not have any experience of rehabilitation work. He persuaded
me saying, “You have done well in relief work. If you can help set up a model
for NGOs on how to do effective rehabilitation, it will improve the quality
of their work. Since you have recently retired from the government, you can
act as an effective link between the government and the NGOs.” I told Mr.
Mansingh that I would take on only that amount of work for which money
would be released to me within four-five days. And I was surprised when
we got nearly Rs. 80 crores sanctioned within four-five days from the funds
that had come from HDFC, Hindustan Lever, The Times of India, and the
Government of Israel.
I will give you an example of how policies were speedily revised and
improved upon after Modi came in. During Keshubhai’s time, a very faulty
2 Pramod K. Mishra, The Kutch Earthquake 2001: Recollections, Lessons and Insights
(New Delhi: National Institute of Disaster Management, 2004), p. 163.

policy decision had been taken that in the new villages being reconstructed,
families would be given plot sizes according to their economic status. Those
who had bigger landholdings were to get a bigger plot of land.
Four different categories were created through a GR. I was against this GR
from the very beginning for the simple reason that the livelihood of those
who were dependent on agriculture had not been affected. Villagers had only
lost their homes and not their fields. I was of the opinion that every family
should be provided proper shelter with no differentiation between the size
of the plot or the size of the newly-constructed dwelling unit. As soon as the
matterreachedNarendraModi,anewGRwasissuedinnotimeandthepolicy
speedily was revised.
The government ensured that we got the required infrastructure support,
such as water and electricity, for constructing homes in villages. The system of
localcoordination,headedbyIASOfficerMr.MaheshwarSahu,wasexcellent.
Iwasin-chargeofconstructing52villages,whichmeantnearly10,000houses.
Sahu held coordination meetings with all the NGOs twice a week. Whatever
problems or hitches arose, were resolved on the spot and a fresh GR would be
issued within 24 hours. Modi sahib had given orders that whatever decision
wastakenbythedistrictcollectorinresponsetotherequirementoftheaffected
peoplewouldbeinstantlytranslatedintoGRfromthestatecapital.Twosenior
officersin-chargeofthiswork—Mr.MansinghandMr.MaheshwarSahu—had
fullauthoritytotakespotdecisionsinordertoavoiddelays—justthattheorder
had to be issued from the local collector’s office. This is how everything was
put on fast track. The close coordination made possible by genuine devolution
of powers resulted in Gujarat doing faster rehabilitation than even Japan.
According to the World Bank it normally takes seven years for a country to
rebuildanareastruckbysuchavasttragedy.ButGujaratgovernmenttookonly
three to four years for reconstruction work to set a world record in this regard.
Let me give you my own example; I made a commitment to myself, as
well as my organisation, to complete my assigned work of reconstructing 52
villages, including homes and other infrastructure, within one-and-a half
years, and return to Gandhinagar. The reconstruction work included road
connectivity, power, and water connections. Believe me, everything was
accomplished within that committed time frame, including final accounts,
payment settlements, documentation, and all the rest of paraphernalia. I had
to recruit engineers, masons, and the entire team of workers required for such
large-scale reconstruction. The 52 villages I reconstructed were 100 to 150
kilometers apart from each other. And yet, we could deliver as per schedule

because the government facilitated speedy work instead of slowing us down,
as normally happens with the bureaucracy.
An important part of my intervention to create a good role model was the
insistence that the electricity cables should be laid underground. I argued that
if it could be done in Ahmedabad, why not in Kutch? That gave rise to a major
controversy. People said that it was not possible to do this in such scattered,
far-away villages. It would cost too much and so on. But I held my ground and
said that when we were reconstructing the entire region, why not go for the
best quality infrastructure? The chief minister fully backed my idea and, at
his insistence, they laid underground power cables in two of the big villages
on a trial basis. Once this was completed, the outcome was highly appreciated
by everyone. The idea caught on, and underground cables gained acceptance
for other villages as well. This has ensured stable 24x7 power supply to the
remotest village.
It seems to me that doing such a fantastic job of rehabilitation and setting
a world record in speed gave Modi sahib a lot of self-confidence, not only in
himself but also in the potential and capacity of his bureaucracy to deliver.
Chobari & Trambo Today
Today, as one enters New Trambo, one sees large modern bungalows at
the very entrance road leading to the village. Even though majority of
the residents of Trambo belonged to scheduled castes and poor Muslims,
who lived off wage labour and other low-paid rural occupations, the kind
of houses that were built by the government, as part of rehabilitation
package, today wear the look of middle-class homes. Since everyone
got treated at par and got the same monetary and material support to
build their homes, a new culture of egalitarianism took root. There was
no difference between the housing quality of the rich and poor, Dalit or
upper caste, Hindu or Muslim. Every neighbourhood got identical civil
infrastructure—wide well-paved roads, 24x7 power, identical system of
tapped water supply in every home. Each family—irrespective of caste,
class, or religious affiliations—got the same kind of house and the same
plot size. Each house consists of two rooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom
set with a small verandah and a large walled courtyard. As incomes
increased in the following years, many improved and expanded these
houses further. But the baseline is still egalitarian.
Before the earthquake, large tracts of land in Kutch were lying waste
and people were migrating out in droves because the land was unable

to sustain even the sparse population of the region. But now land prices
are sky-rocketing due to massive improvements in agriculture, owing
to the availability of water, 24x7 power, and excellent road connectivity.
In particular, I visited the house of the Harijan man to whom Modi had
said, “Don’t worry; I am like your son. We will take full care of you.” His
wife told me she couldn’t speak a word to Modi because she couldn’t stop
crying since the family had lost four adults in the tragic quake.
Young Muslims of the village who were with Parvatiben when Modi
had lunch in her tent, said that the government honoured every promise
Modi ji made. The choice was left to each family whether they wanted all
of it by way of cash or take building material from government depots.
For instance, Yameen’s family opted for cash instead of assistance in
rebuilding the house. He was emphatic that there was not the slightest
discrimination in the government’s treatment of Muslims, Harijans, or
others.
The entire row of these Harijan and Muslim houses carried an
acknowledgmentstatingthatitwasbuiltbyCareIndiaincollaborationwith
theGujaratgovernmentandTrambogramsamuday(villagecommunity).
Each family participated in the building of their own house by getting
money in installments. For instance, the total amount sanctioned was
Rs. 90,000; the family got Rs. 20,000 in the first installment. They could
go and get the required construction material from government depots
and as they proceeded with construction, they kept getting the balance
installments. Not a single family complained about delayed payments or
bureaucratic harassment in getting their dues.
Similarly, in Chobari, Ramji Mariya says, “It is only when Modi
set up scores of depots for providing construction material, that the
rehabilitation work caught speed. The engineers would come and check
the building process at every stage and we were reimbursed money by
the government accordingly. These ‘material banks’ were conveniently
situated between groups of two-three villages so that villagers did not
have to go far for procuring them. For building schools, etc., a contractor
was hired by the village committee, which had total supervisory control.
It was the good coordination between the government, the citizens, and
the social work organisations that speeded up the entire rehabilitation
programme.”
Bharatbhai, who also lost everything in the earthquake, says, “In order
to facilitate planned redevelopment of the village, several new housing

enclaves were created, as a result of which, we are not living in the old
congested style village like before. We have proper wide streets and lanes.
Today, the village has ten vistaars (sectors). That means it has grown
manifold geographically. Modi has visited Chobari more than once after
the November 14, 2001 visit. He even remembers the name of Purviben,
who was our sarpanch earlier. He once mentioned in Vidhan Sabha how
the mava (delicacy made from milk) of Chobari is the best in the region.
On one occasion, he took milk cake from Chobari and distributed it
among the MLAs in the Vidhan Sabha.”
Ramji Mariya added, “In fact, after Modi’s coming to power, several
new welfare schemes have been created for Dalits. No one before him
has given the kind of importance Modi gives to Baba Saheb Ambedkar.
For instance, there is the Ambedkar Aawas Yojna (housing scheme in the
name of Ambedkar) and several others for uplifting the status of Dalits.
HehaslaunchedaschemeforbuildingpropertoiletsinDalitsettlements.
The Gujarat government has been extremely sensitive to Dalit issues—
you won’t find any evidence of discrimination against them in Gujarat.”
He then took me to his own house, which had the most elegantly
maintained exterior in the entire village. It was a little bungalow-style
house loaded with beautiful plants and flowering trees making it look
more like an elegant cottage in a European village than an Indian village
home. The construction quality of Ramji’s house, as well as the other
houses I visited, was uniformly good because the government provided
high-qualityearthquake-resistantmaterialsanddesigns.Ramjisaidtheir
post-earthquake homes had withstood five to six Richter scale tremors.
However, minor cracks had developed in Ramji’s house from subsequent
tremors, but they caused no damage to the house. Almost everyone I
talked to said that one of the best things Modi did was to ensure that
every single house and building constructed in the area was earthquake-
resistant. This would never have happened if the government did not
monitor the construction through specially trained technicians.
Dalitsconstitute30percentofthetotalpopulationofChobari,buttheir
houseswereasgoodandasspaciousasanyoneelse’s.SinceIkeptpressing
Ramji and others to recall likely instances of discrimination against
Dalits and Muslims in the rehabilitation work, Ramji remonstrated me
once again saying: “We are surprised why you keep raising this issue
again and again. There were 100 other Dalit homes around my house.
They have all migrated to the new planned enclave of houses created for

them after the earthquake. But I chose to stay right here. Around me are
non-Dalit families. But I have never experienced the slightest touch of
discrimination in their attitude towards me. Go and see for yourself the
new enclave of Dalit homes. Our panchayat saw to it that they were the
first ones to get wide RCC lanes, streetlights, water supply, drainage, etc.
I will take you around that area myself.”
Sure enough, when I visited the area, I saw neat and wide RCC lanes,
large walled compounds with well-constructed rows of airy homes. Each
compound had enough empty space to allow for expansion of the house
as the family size grew. Chobari has acquired the characteristics of a
planned little township, instead of the old-style congested village. With
sharp rise in incomes, in the last eight-ten years, the living standards of
these families had also risen dramatically. Given 24x7 power supply in
these remote villages, every family I visited had refrigerators, TV sets,
and other gadgets typical of urban middle class homes.
Belji Maria is another young Dalit of Chobari who lost his daughter
and grandmother in the quake. He owns a little provision store in the
village. The family owns some land but it is not the irrigable variety. He
too expressed contentment with the rehabilitation measures. Arvind
Meria, who is engaged in making cement blocks, confirmed what Ramji
had said—that the Dalit enclave was the first one in the village to get
electricity, new water supply system, and RCC roads.
The former sarpanch of Chobari, Nameribhai Jetha explained that
he brought all these services to Dalit neighbourhoods as part of Modi
government’s Angabhoot Yojana, which mandates priority in providing
civic amenities to Dalit settlements. Angabhoot also provides for a
comprehensive approach to reaching several affirmative action measures
and other benefits to Dalit communities.
I then visited some Muslim families who had moved out to the new
enclave created during rehabilitation. One of the leading members of
the Muslim community is Suleimanbhai. As with the Dalit enclave,
the houses in the new Muslim enclave are also well-built, spacious, and
surrounded by a large compound.
Suleimanbhai is a farmer and his family owns ten acres of land. The
family had two houses. But both of them were destroyed during the
earthquake,whichalsokilledSuleimanbhai’sfather.Hesaystheyreceived
compensationforboththehouseswithwhichtheybuilttheirnewhouses.
The government gave a grant of Rs 90,000 for each house. Everyone,

including Suleiman, said the money was enough to build quality homes
with a bathroom, toilet, and kitchen because the government system of
providingconstructionmaterialprovedverycost-efficient.Suleimanhad
highpraiseforthethenvillageSarpanchNimeribhaiwho,hesaid,worked
hard and with passion for the rehabilitation and new development of the
village. “He promised us that we would get the best of facilities and he
truly lived up to his promise. We got water, electricity, good roads, and
all the rest,” says Suleiman.
Most of the houses in the new Muslim enclave are away from the
relatively congested inner areas of the old village. Every Muslim family
today owns some or the other motor vehicle, in addition to TVs and
refrigerators—things considered beyond reach a decade and a half ago
for most rural households of this area.
Suleiman also spoke about the increase in agricultural output in the
villagethankstobetterwatermanagement,buildingof50-60checkdams
around the area, and construction of a huge pond for irrigation purpose.
Like many others, he too swore by the culture of mutual support and
inter-community harmony in the village.
Samras Approach in Action
My visit to Chobari concluded with a late-night visit to the house of
Nameribhai Jetha Ahir, who was the sarpanch of the village when the
rehabilitation programme set into motion after Narendra Modi’s visit,
was being implemented. He described his own political journey and how
this area turned from a traditional Congress stronghold to a BJP bastion:
At the time of the earthquake, I was an ordinary BJP worker. I had never held
any office nor fought any election till then. But I devoted myself with full
energy to serve the people of my village after the earthquake. When election
time came, my fellow villagers insisted on my filling in the nomination form
for the post of sarpanch. I refused at first, but they prevailed upon me to
contest elections. I was to be elected with samrasta (unanimous consensual
choice). But, at the last minute, Congress people put up a candidate against
me. So we had an election and I won with a lead of 1,000 votes in a total voter
list of 3,000. My opponent secured only ten per cent of the votes. This used to
be a totally Congress loyalist village and yet it elected a BJP worker with such
overwhelming majority. After the election, I called a meeting and assured
people that this village will lack nothing—be it roads, electricity, water, health

facilities, or other development works. For the next four years, I put all my
energy into the comprehensive development of the village.
Later, I fought and won the district panchayat election. People had seen
that due to my good work as a sarpanch, several ministers had come to this
villagetooverseeitsreconstructionandthedistrictadministrationcooperated
fully in meeting with our requirements. I won the district election also with a
handsome lead. As a member of the district panchayat, I could ensure higher
monetary grants for our village. That too helped in its speedy development.
When I fought for district panchayat, I resigned as the sarpanch of the
village.ButIensuredthatagoodpersonwaschosenunopposedasmysuccessor
through the samras process. Twelve months later, when the regular elections
came, I was by then the taluka president of BJP. At that time, I persuaded
fellow villagers to elect unopposed an old Congressman as a samrassarpanch.
We chose him because he is a good and honest human being and could carry
everyone along rising above party considerations. I felt that if as a taluka
president, I could not bring about samrasta in my own village, how would
anyone trust me to work with samras spirit (building consensus, carrying
everyone along) at the taluka level?
But in the third election, there were multiple candidates. So we could not
have samras election. In the last few years, the amount of money coming in for
developmentworkinvillageshasincreasedmanifold.Thesegrantscometothe
account of the sarpanch. Therefore, there is now greater tussle over this post.
But, despite these electoral battles, in our village we maintain the spirit of
samrasta. That is an old tradition of Kutch. We have very deep-rooted inter-
community goodwill and tradition of mutually supportive relationships in
our village. One example of it is the yearly Padelsa Pir Mela, which is jointly
organisedbyallthecommunities.Everyyear,50,000to100,000people—both
Hindus and Muslims gather for that mela in the month of March.
The How and Why of Economic Resurgence
A village elder, whose name I missed recording, provided the following
overview of the new prosperity in the previously impoverished region:
Earlier, all we had in Kutch was rain-fed agriculture in some pockets. Nature
had not been kind to this region. But in the last ten years, even agriculture
has transformed magically, as was done in the desert region of Israel. Nobody
had ever thought that Kutch could develop agriculture simply by rain-water
harvesting. Modi has hammered the message that not a single drop of rain-

water should be allowed to go waste. He gave farmers 60 per cent subsidy to
incentivise them to build check-dams and talawadis on their land so that
every drop of water that comes in the form of rain is retained and not allowed
to flow out. He also undertook the repair and renovation of all the old dams
that had become dysfunctional due to administrative neglect over the years.
It was assumed that since nature had been harsh on Kutch, we had to either
live with it or migrate in search of better life opportunities. But it is not so any
more.Kutchhaslargetractsofgreeneryandarapidlygrowingagricultureand
dairy farming. This was made possible because Modi ji began organising Van
Mahotsav (Festival of Forests), Cattle Festival, and Water Festival. Nobody
had ever thought of these things before. During Van Mahotsavs in different
districts, tree planting is launched as a social movement, including planting
trees on both sides of the road.
There has been massive investment in developing horticulture. Farmers get
assured electricity; they are given quality fertilizers at subsidized rates. Who
could have imagined green houses, white net houses being set up by ordinary
farmers in Kutch to undertake new experiments in agriculture? Government
officers and agricultural scientists proactively reach out to farmers, not only at
the time of the annual Krishi Mela (Agricultural Fairs) but also on a regular
basis.
The cattle breeders of this area had started giving up their centuries-old
occupation because of the absence of infrastructure for marketing and other
facilities.Butinrecentyears,therehasbeenamassiveboosttomilkproduction
because farmers are getting help in improving their breed of cattle. Affordable
veterinary services have been provided by the government along with efficient
channels of marketing of milk. That is how people’s interest in this traditional
occupation has revived and has resulted in a substantial improvement in their
income levels. What is remarkable about the Kutch development story is that
the growth in agriculture and animal husbandry is almost at par with the
industrial growth.
According to Nimeribhai, in the last ten years, his area has witnessed
nearly 80 per cent increase in agricultural production. This did not seem
an empty boast given the visible improvements in the standard of living
in the village, the number of new motor vehicles, and tractors one saw
in Chobari. Nimeribhai attributed the increasing agriculture prosperity
to the following factors:

One major factor for the massive improvements in the farm output is due to
the sustained efforts of the government through Krishi Utsavs (Agricultural
Fests). In the summer months, before the harvest, officials connected with
issues related to farming, along with agricultural scientists, travel extensively
from one village to another organising agricultural fairs. Their purpose is
to provide the best quality certified seeds, safe fertilizers, pesticides, and
informationaboutlatesttechnologiesandtechniquesinscientificandefficient
farming—from tissue culture to setting up green houses, drip irrigation,
and organic farming. Modi ji himself addresses several such Krishi Utsavs
every year where farmers also get to share best practices. Those who have
undertaken successful innovations are given awards. Even during normal
times,agriculturalscientists,andextensionworkersarejustaphonecallaway.
Krishi Utsavs popularised the idea of regular soil testing and made it easy
for farmers to get it done. After soil testing, the agricultural scientists not only
advise farmers on what nutrients their soil needs, but also the amounts to be
fed to the soil. They teach the farmers latest techniques of pest control and the
appropriate quantities of fertilizers needed for the soil. Secondly, the rapid
spread of drip irrigation, with massive government subsidies and inputs, has
also proved to be a boon for our arid region.
Today, numerous families in the village have their own tractors. These
hundreds of tractors have been purchased in the last six-seven years. This is
because the farm output has increased manifold and labour become scarce.
Depending on the horsepower of the tractor, each farmer gets a subsidy of
Rs. 45,000-60,000. The village has nearly 2,500 households and more than
400 tractors. But not every one of the 2,500 families own land. So the ratio of
landowners to tractor owners is much higher. Now the government has come
up with a new scheme to provide 50 per cent subsidy on the ten additional
agricultural implements, such as tractor trolley, harrow, cultivator, etc.
Altogether, they cost Rs. 15 lakhs. This subsidy is spread over four years so
that farmers can buy them with ease.
The government has also invested heavily into water harvesting structures.
All this has created a new interest in farming. My own son, who has finished
class 12, insists on taking up farming and convert it into a hi-tech enterprise.
Nameribhai’s teenage son Dharmendra confirmed this and said, unlike
the earlier generation of Kutchis who felt the need to migrate in order
to make their fortunes, now far fewer young people want to leave their
villages. “I will study further through a correspondence course, but my

real interest is in hi-tech agriculture,” he said. Dharmendra has already
visited the Agricultural University at Anand to familiarise himself
with the ongoing research there. Given the massive effort put in by
the government to build intimate links between the farmers and farm
scientists, such visits are encouraged by agricultural universities. The
district panchayats are also actively sponsoring such trips.
AnumberoffarmersfromthisregionhavevisitedIsraelwithgovernment
support for training in drip farming and other latest techniques for arid
regions. Nameribhai said that, in recent years, their region has started
growing high value crops like jeera (cumin seeds). They have also started
growing cotton, which was impossible earlier. Arandi was grown here
evenearlier,buttherehasbeentremendousincreaseinitsoutput.Farmers
have also begun experimenting with high value fruits like dates and
pomegranates because soil tests by the agricultural university scientiests
showed that their land is suitable for these two fruits. The government
hadfirstimported datesaplingsfromIsraelandalsodevelopedimproved
varieties in Gujarat’s own agricultural universities. Nameribhai says:
Another important initiative of Narendrabhai is that he has revived and
provided new vigour to the dairy industry of Kutch, which had started
declining. I took the cue from him and decided our village and taluka should
also develop our milk production. So I began a small milk mandali with
about a dozen cattle owners and slowly created several more. We then got an
engineering graduate, Vallabhjibhai, to create an all-Kutch cooperative of
milk producers. When the chief minister got to hear about our cooperative,
he took a great deal of personal interest in it because increasing cattle wealth
and milk production is a cause very dear to his heart. He ensured that our
cooperative got registered within ten days.
However, when we began our first co-operative mandali with 11 members,
we did not have much money to create the requisite infrastructure. We began
bycollectingthemilkofthreevillagesofthisareaandsupplyingittoDangdra.
Slowly, we got a refrigeration system at Rapar and gradually spread it to each
village. It all started with supplying a mere 30 litres of milk and today we
have reached 2 lakh litres a day. In the hot summer months, the milk supply
reduces to half, but in cooler months, it is 2,00,000 litres per day. This in itself
is bringing in crores of rupees worth additional income in our villages. When
we began our cooperative, the milk was selling at Rs. 15 a litre. Now it ranges
from Rs. 40-50 depending on the fat content.

Even in Krishi Melas they guide farmers on how to keep cattle healthy and
improve milk output. Veterinary doctors are only a phone call away. The vet
of our area covers ten villages. He charges a nominal fee for home visits to
cover his commute expenses. But if a farmer takes the animal to the vet then
his services are free. The vet department has also been trained to do cataract
operations andothercomplexsurgerieswith hi-tech equipment. We aregoing
to get an ambulance service for animals fairly soon. It already exists in many
areas. The routine medicines and vaccines for animals are free. But for serious
ailments requiring special medicines, the cattle owner has to pay the cost of
medicines.
Nameribhai’s wife is the chairperson of the Irrigation Board and
has, therefore, become active in public life. She was earlier a member
of the district panchayat as well. They both work together as a team.
Unfortunately, I did not get enough time to talk to Nimeribhai’s wife
independently.
ThosewhohavebeenledtobelievethatModihasmadeBJPanaggressive
instrument of divisive politics, of discrimination against Muslims, and
pitched Hindus against Muslims in Gujarat, will be pleasantly surprised
to find numerous Nameribhais in the towns and villages of Gujarat who
are practicing the politics of samrasta—not just between Hindus and
Muslims but also with their main political rivals in the Congress Party.
Not surprisingly, numerous Congressmen have started gravitating
towards BJP.
ModihasbeenabletochangethefaceofgovernanceinGujaratbecause
he has been able to motivate a sufficient number of his party men to
facilitatetheagendaofmakinggovernancecitizen-friendly—ofproviding
various government services at the doorstep of people rather than people
coming as supplicants to government offices. He has tried to convert
every government programme into a mass movement by energising his
party cadres to act as effective bridges of communication between the
government and citizens, down to the remotest villages of Gujarat. These
were his starting points when he took over as CM in October 2001. None
of this indicates that Narendra Modi was itching to engineer riots to
consolidate a Hindu vote bank.

The historic town of Bhuj was also reduced to rubble on January
26, 2001, when an earthquake of unprecedented fury shook Gujarat.
Earlier quakes, such as the ones in Latur or Chamoli district, had only
hit rural areas. But, in this case all the towns of Kutch—Bhuj, Anjar, and
Bachau—were also razed to the ground.
Of the many accounts of how these towns came to life again, that of
RajeshBhatt,nowpresidentoftheKutchBusinessChamber,anillustrative
narrativethatgoesbeyondhispersonaltragedyandrecoverytoencompass
the phoenix-like rise of Bhuj from its own ashes. Like numerous others,
his family of 12 was also devastated. I reproduce below an account based
on his video-recorded interview on August 16, 2013:
I was a manager in Dena Bank up to 1995 and started my own business of
tradinginconstructionmachineryandpowergenerators.But,with24x7power
supply in Gujarat, the power generator business has altogether collapsed. In
2001, when the earthquake hit, two floors of my 13-bedroom three-storey
bungalow simply collapsed and the house was flattened. The third floor tilted
at an angle of 45°. As luck would have it, I was in my bedroom on the third
floor. It was nearly 40 ft above ground level. But, when the two floors below
crashed, the third floor was left hanging just 3 feet above ground. That is when
I jumped out on to the street. The building next to my house had 10 floors. It
too collapsed like a pack of cards killing over 170 persons.
CHAPTER 7
How Bhuj Rose Out of Its Own Ashes
A Survivor’s Account
I am telling the people of Kutch, don’t sell even one inch of your land; your
Kutch is going to become such a Nandanvan that you will forever regret that
you sold away your ancestral land. So please avoid the temptation of selling,
since this land is going to become extremely valuable.
Narendra Modi to people of Kutch in 2002

Mywifediedinthattragedy.Whenthetremorscame,shewasdoingpujaon
thegroundfloor.Iwasathomebecauseitwasanationalholiday.Inthemiddle
floor, my father, younger brother, and niece were watching the Republic Day
parade of Delhi on TV. The earthquake had the power of 100 trains travelling
at 100 kms per hour crashing together. My first reaction was that Pakistan has
fired some missiles at Bhuj because, until two days earlier, we were getting
news of hostilities at the border. But, when I jumped out and looked around,
I saw havoc beyond belief.
The blunt truth is that Keshubhai did not handle that emergency with the
care and commitment it demanded. Therefore, citizens were really in rage
against the government. The month of January is very cold in Kutch and even
well-off people had lost everything. But our greater grief was that of losing
our dear ones. There were families where nine out of 10 people had perished.
Such people were deeply traumatised and couldn’t even make sense of what
was happening around them.
ThegovernmentofferedacompensationofRs.100,000perdeadperson.But,
forthesurvivors,moneymeantnothing.Theyhadlostthewilltolive.Speaking
for myself, our family lived under the open sky for at least two months in that
bitter cold. I was still in the same clothes in which I had slept on January 25.
We were all lying in the open when we were told a vehicle was distributing
bread. My daughter and I had to run after that vehicle to catch a loaf or two
of bread, which they were throwing at people. They didn’t even know how to
arrange for orderly distribution amidst that chaos.
That night, my 91-year-old guru ji phoned me and said that this was an act
of God, and asked me not to lose hope saying I was not the only one in this
plight. He also assured me that we would overcome this tragedy very soon,
and that Kutch would progress a 1000 times over in the years to come. But he
gave me strict advice that I should not take monetary help from any one even
if I have to take food from charity.
I told him I would adhere to his advice but I thought that he was giving me
these assurances about the future just to offer me comfort. When my brother-
in-law, who is a doctor in Ahmedabad, had come to help me, I requested him
to leave behind his stethoscope. I used to wear the stethoscope and go around
camps pretending to be a doctor. Before the disaster struck us, we had three
cars and a two-wheeler, all of which were also crushed. One of my friends
came one day and took us to his colony. Their house had also collapsed. But
there was some clear open space near their house. Our whole family stayed
in that open ground with temperatures falling down to zero degrees at night.

We had neither warm clothes to wear nor food to eat. I wore my stethoscope
and went to the cremation ground to beg for some wood. Pretending to be
a doctor, I lied to them that several dead bodies were lying in the open in
our area and I needed the firewood to cremate them right there since I had
no means to transport those bodies to the cremation ground. That’s how I
managed to get some wood from them. With that wood, we lit fires to keep
ourselves warm in those freezing nights. Both my father and brother had
fractured both their legs. There were no hospitals to treat them and I had no
other option but to tie straight pieces of wood around their legs to protect
the fractured bones.
Everymorning,Ihadtocarrybothofthemtohelpanswerthecallofnature.
For days on end, I would attend to them early morning and, by 6 a.m., go back
to our own neighbourhood to search for my wife. I would go and beg all the
humanitarian organisations that had come to Bhuj to help me search for my
wife or find her dead body. But, they too were helpless because everything was
buried under boulders and tons of debris.
At that time, three organisations did salutary work—the Indian Army, the
RSS, and the international rescue team. The foreign teams came with the
latest equipment. They had snake eye, sniffer dogs, RCC cutters, generators,
and a whole range of devices to lift the rubble and rescue buried people. Our
government had nothing of the sort at that time. For ten days, I kept hovering
around that place begging everyone to help me rescue my wife or recover her
body. My guru ji had told me that she was buried right under my collapsed
house. People kept telling me she may have been taken to some other city
hospital along with the other injured people, but since my guru ji had said
that I would find her right here, I refused to believe anyone.
When all else failed, my brother-in-law and I thought we would become
our own sniffer dogs. As we moved around sniffing, we found a foul smell
emanating from a particular spot. But, it was coming from 25-30 feet below.
As luck would have it, a naval team from the ship-breaking yard was passing
by that place at that time. I still remember that an officer named Dwivedi, who
saw desperation and depression writ large on my face, asked me whether one
of my relatives was buried under the debris. When I told him I was trying to
recover the dead body of my wife, he said had she been alive, his team would
have tried its best to dig her out. I said, call it my attachment but I want to see
her face even if she is no more. He said, “If we tell our workers she is dead,
they will use machines and her body will come out totally crushed. But, if you
tell them that you heard your wife’s voice two hours ago, they will work with

frantic zeal to bring her out intact.” I said, I am willing to lie, and begged him
to help me recover her body, no matter what it takes.
So, those people dug with full energy and care for the next five-six hours. By
the time they reached 20-22 ft, I saw her foot and nearly collapsed. That was
the worst moment of my life. When her body was taken out, my brother-in-
law insisted I don’t see her face, since it was badly mutilated. I could not even
provide a decent cremation for a woman who had given me so much support
during our married life. We had to place her body on a dirty mattress, which
was lying around in the rubble. As we scrounged around for some string to tie
her body to that mattress, we found some broken telephone and electric wires.
Using those to tie her up, it took us three hours to reach the cremation ground.
I knew one Rajeshbhai who worked in the cremation ground. He told me
“Your wife’s death is an act of God. This is no time or place for sentiments. It
is not possible to carry out the full rituals at this time. Please take her body
to the first floor and throw it down into the mass cremations going on.” We
had no choice but to go there and throw my wife’s body into the burning fires
below where nearly 300 bodies were being cremated together. I still can’t get
over the grief of having failed to do her antim sanskars (last rites) according
to Hindu rituals.
The bitter truth is that the government of the day offered us no help
whatsoever. It failed on every front. For one full year, we lived like beggars
andatewhateverwasofferedtousbycharitableorganisations.Thegovernment
did not run even one relief camp for that one year, nor provided rations to any
family. All this work was done by religious organisations and international
NGOs. Sikh gurudwaras, Swaminarayan Sect, Murari Bapu, RSS, and other
NGOs kept us alive. Our Swaminarayan guru ji ran a daily langar for 5,000
people. A similar number of people was fed by Dhyani Swami ji right behind
the collector’s office. Even government officials and ministers had to eat there.
Most of the able survivors, including my family, also joined the sewa work of
thesereligiousorganisations.Inanycase,therewasnothingelsetodo.Joining
sewa provided some relief from our collective grief. For one full year, we all
ate from those langars. Later on, our guru ji provided us temporary shelter
till we rebuilt our house.
But the scale at which reconstruction and rehabilitation was required
could not be done by charitable organisations alone. As far as Keshubhai’s
government was concerned, it could not get its act together to do an honest
job of even removing the hundreds of millions of tons of rubble lying all
around. The process was excruciatingly slow and inefficient. What is worse is

that, even at the time of such suffering, they indulged in scams in removing
rubble. Officers and politicians ganged up with contractors and indulged
in malpractices in rubble removal. For instance, if the debris of my house
produced ten truckloads, these contractors inflated the figures ten times over
to make a killing. The booty was obviously shared with the netas and babus.
They also played foul in the compensation money meant to be given to
families of the dead. The officials made bogus claim papers in the name of
people who were living outside Gujarat and pocketed that money. Officials
were presenting highly inflated bills for everything. It was very painful to
witness all that. We were mute witnesses to these rackets and brazen loot
of public money under the guise of relief works. We felt totally helpless and
demoralisedbecauseatthattimewedidn’thaveanypoliticalleaderwhowould
have listened to our complaints.
Ithinkitwasyetanotheractofgodthatatsuchagrimtime,hesentNarendra
Modi as his ambassador (doot). I have no links with any political party nor
am I against any party. But I am being honest when I say that Narendra Modi
came as a saviour for us. Before he became CM, we knew just a little bit about
him - that he is a man of ethics, he is pious and non-corrupt. He more than
liveduptohisearlierreputation.In hisfirst publicannouncement aftertaking
charge as CM, he said that his immediate priority was speedy rehabilitation
of earthquake victims. He put the government machinery on the right track
within days of taking over. Within three months of his taking charge, Bhuj
was cleared of all the debris in a very professional and systematic manner.
HestreamlinedthefunctioningofGujaratDisasterManagementAuthority
(GDMA) and brought his best officers to take charge of rebuilding Bhuj and
rehabilitation of victims. We saw how the same organisation acquired a new
persona. The same tasks which GDMA performed in 6-7 months, began to
be done, which in ten days after Modi took charge. That’s the kind of speed
and energy the new CM brought to the process of reconstruction of Kutch
and building houses for those rendered homeless. Most importantly, he lived
up to his promise of turning disaster into an opportunity. The Gujarat Urban
Development Authority (GUDA) was refashioned to provide high-quality
civic infrastructure to all the devastated towns. For example, the area I used
to live in had a maximum road width of three metres. Today, there is no road
in Bhuj that is less than 18 metres wide.
Wewereallleftwonderingwheresuchabigtaskforcehadcomefrom.Itwas
thesamegovernmentmachinery,thesameofficials,andthesamecontractors,
yet their working had been transformed as though with a magic wand.

The work gained momentum, the quality of rehabilitation work improved
dramatically, and people felt a surge of hope.
It was only after Modi took over that a policy declaration was made that
everyone whose home was destroyed would be relocated and given a free 120
sq. yards plot complete with all civic infrastructure—electricity, drainage,
water connection, etc.
Everyone got a 120 sq. yards plot free—whether they owned a modest hut or
abigbungalowworthRs.2crores.Thistooeliminatedthescopeofcorruption.
If people had been given plots of differential sizes, those with political clout
would have managed bigger plots. In addition, the government gave a cash
grantofRs.150,000foreachfamilytoconstructtheirownhouse.Construction
materialcouldbeprocuredatfarbelowmarketpricesfromthe‘materialbanks’
setupbythegovernment.Atthattime,themoneyprovedmorethansufficient
for rebuilding our homes because we could get good quality construction
material at very low prices from these government depots.
Best of all, there was no gap between announcements of schemes and the
commencement of the delivery process. Officials were empowered to take
on-the-spot decisions to speed up implementation of all that was promised.
Allocation of plots took place with lightning speed. Large teams of officials
were brought in to assess the damage to each building. They had been
instructedtotrustpeopleanddoawaywiththeusualobstructionistapproach,
or red-tapism. For instance, the officials who came to our area asked me to
provide them proof of ownership of my house plot by way of a ration card,
passport, electricity bill or any other document. I told them I was left with
nothing—there was no paper proof since we could not take out anything and
had escaped in the clothes we were wearing. They took our statements at face
valueandsaidthatallthatwehadtodowastogotothelocalmunicipalcouncil
and get a certificate that we were residents of that area. That certificate also
came easily. This approach of trusting citizens, rather than treating them as
potential thugs, acted as a soothing balm on our wounds.
Putting Systems in Place & Rejuvenating Economy
Anil Das, who was part of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) team
that joined hands with the Gujarat government in rehabilitation work
in 2001, says:
Even while Modi speeded up and streamlined the removal of rubble, giving
people proper temporary shelters so they could escape the freezing winters of

Kutch, and fast-tracked infrastructure development, one of his most dramatic
and controversial moves was to freeze and put on hold all housing and
reconstruction of public buildings because there was massive corruption and
mismanagement in the way money was being garnered from various sources
and siphoned off by vested interests within and outside the government. Even
I initially opposed this move of blocking all housing construction. But, once
he explained it, I was convinced he did the right thing.
His approach was to mobilise all possible resources and institutions,
includingcorporatehouses,religiousorganisations,andNGOs—bothnational
and international—to undertake this mammoth task. He said that there was
no way a single agency, no matter how large, including the government, could
undertakeswiftreconstructiononsuchascaleonitsownstrength.Therefore,it
wasnecessarytobringasmanyorganisationsaspossibletoworkwithsynergy.
To resume Rajesh Bhatt’s story of how the rejuvenation of Kutch led to a
dramatic reversal in his own fortunes:
Since the reconstruction was to be undertaken on such a gigantic scale, there
was acute shortage of skilled labour in Kutch. Apart from training of skilled
labour undertaken on a massive scale, the Modi government announced right
at the start that anyone wanting to go to Bhuj, or anywhere in Kutch, from
any part of Gujarat could travel free of cost in all state transport buses. That
was a remarkable initiative because at that time nobody was inclined to come
and work in Kutch since the area, considered backward even during normal
times, was badly devastated.
With this and other incentives, labour started coming into this area. Local
people also got employment, with the government investing heavily into
developingnewinfrastructure,world-classroads,electrification,watersupply,
sanitation, and mass housing projects.
I too got a chance to start my business afresh. As luck would have it, in 1998
when a big cyclone had hit this area, I had gone out of my way to help a total
stranger whose generator, which he had purchased through me, had been
washed away in the cyclone. He met me per chance and saw an earthquake
resistance pre-fabricated model house I had designed and constructed for a
housing project being undertaken by our guru ji.
Next day, this man came to my place and said, “Can you make another 100
houseslikethemodelhouseyoushowedme?”Hesaidthattheworkwasworth
Rs. 1 crore and he was ready to give us the work because he believed in my

integrity. I told him I didn’t have the capital required to invest in the business.
So, the very next day he transferred Rs. 25 lakhs into my bank account—this
at a time when my office had also been totally devastated. He said, “You had
helped me when I was in crisis. Now it’s my turn to help you stand on your
feet once again.”
RajeshBhattthenpioneeredthemanufactureofenvironment-friendlyfly
ash bricks and has become a world leader in that industry. Bhatt brought
his fly ash experiment to the notice of the then President of India, Dr.
Abdul Kalam, who acknowledged it publicly.
The first order of 50 lakh fly ash bricks came from the Gujarat Urban
Development Board. His eco-friendly bricks were found to be a better
substitute for lining manholes as compared to the red bricks, which
were an environmental hazard. To start manufacturing, he and his two
engineer brothers got a bank loan of about Rs. 10 lakhs. This, too, was
made possible because the Gujarat government had begun to encourage
setting up of industries in Kutch, as part of giving new direction and
energy to the shattered economy there. Very soon, they developed
their own hi-tech automatic fly-ash manufacturing plant. Today, he is
considered a leading expert on low-cost housing and has been sent by
the Gujarat government to Italy, US, UK, and several African and Asian
countries to demonstrate his expertise. He says:
Prior to the earthquake, there was no scope for trade and industry in Kutch. I,
too, was selling power generators, not manufacturing anything. But, because
Modi laid out the red carpet for those wanting to set up industry in Kutch by
declaring a tax holiday and providing quality infrastructure, both big and
small industries have mushroomed and are flourishing here. Since there was
an NDA government at the Centre at that time, we were also exempted from
excise and other central taxes. The state government also wrote off VAT and
otherlocaltaxes.Therapidgrowthofindustryinthisaridregionhasgenerated
massive employment.
WithinoneyearoftakingchargeasCM,ModigaveaspeechinKutchsaying,
“I am telling the people of Kutch, don’t sell even one inch of your land; your
Kutch is going to become such a Nandanvan that you will forever regret that
you sold away your ancestral land. So please avoid the temptation of selling
since this land is going to become extremely valuable.”

Rule Based, Pro-People Policies
This approach is at complete variance with how other state governments
have acted with regard to land transfer from agriculture to industry.
In almost every other state of India, politicians and bureaucrats keep
decisions about new industrial or infrastructure projects secret from
the public till they have purchased land from farmers of that region at
dirt-cheap prices. They then manage to make windfall profits because
as an industrial park or corporate businesses are set up there, the land
prices skyrocket. But Modi has insisted on corporates dealing directly
with farmers instead of the government acquiring land for them at
artificially depressed prices, thus robbing farmers of market prices. Land
use transfers are also not as tainted with scams in Gujarat as in other
states because of transparent, rule-based decisions. Earlier, there were no
buyers of land in Kutch even at dirt-cheap prices. But today land prices
have shot high because Modi’s planning was far-sighted.
As a result, once poor marginal farmers hit a jackpot and each is sitting
on a goldmine. This is not to say in land deals vanished. Despite, a clean
policy at the top politicians and bureaucrats did manipulate decisions
personal aggrandisement. But when caught, they did not get protection
from the top. Despite a transparent system put in place, some officers
misused the powers given to them for on-the-spot speedy decisions. One
such IAS Officer, Pradeep Sharma, sucked in others into a major scam—
some were willing partners while others got pulled in inadvertently.
However, the system caught up with Sharma when criminal cases were
filed against him by citizens of Kutch. Unfortunately, some of the honest
officers also got trapped in the process because, as their senior, Sharma
had made them sign cooked-up accounts.1
Futuristic Planning Kutch Becomes Leader in Solar &
Wind Power
To continue with Bhatt’s story of how Modi’s farsighted policies
transformed the once backward hinterland bordering Pakistan:
1 For details of Pradeep Sharma’s case, see: Madhu P. Kishwar, “Ulta Chor Kotwal Ko
Daante: Indicted IAS Officer, Pradeep Sharma’s Counter Offensive against Narendra
Modi,”December3,2013,Web.http://www.manushi.in/articles.php?articleId=1738#.
Uv3tQUKSxJP.

I have been a three-time president of the Kutch Chamber of Commerce. But,
in the very first meeting Modi addressed our Chamber, he told us that Kutch
was going to become the global hub of industry, ports, wind energy, solar
energy, and a world leader in producing electricity. He said to me, “Rajesh, I
don’t mind whether you follow my advice or criticise me. But I mean what I
say. It is my dream to have Gujarat produce 10,000 megawatts of electricity.
Given the huge coastal belt of Kutch, I am going to generate 10,000 megawatts
of power in Kutch alone by importing coal from the cheapest sources.”
Everyone, including leading businessmen and corporate honchos, laughed
at hearing this. Congressmen declared him a lunatic. The very next day, all
the newspapers published front-page news saying that Modi had gone mad;
that he didn’t even know the difference between megawatts and kilowatts.
Today, he has proven them all wrong. Kutch is now supplying its surplus
power to several neighbouring states. Both the Tatas and the Adanis have
4000-megawatts power projects each. The Tata Power project is still under
execution, but the Adani Power Project has been operational for some years
now, supplying power all over Gujarat.
Kutch is also producing enormous quantities of wind power. This region
always had high wind velocity but nobody before Modi thought of harnessing
it. Even we Kutchis never dreamt this was an asset we could use to our benefit.
Also, this region has enormous tracts of wasteland because the soil is not
fit for agriculture. All that wasteland has been put to good use by the state
government by encouraging investors to set up wind energy plants. Today,
they dot the entire coastal region. Coal-based power plants are not only eco-
hostile but the supply of coal is going to run out one day, while wind energy
is inexhaustible.
Secondly, Kutch has 300 days of sunshine a year. None of us ever paid
attention to how much potential this created for power generation. But Modi
made Kutch and Gujarat a leader in harnessing solar power. This is what he
meantwhenhesaidwearegoingtoconverttheearthquakeintoanopportunity.
Modicoulddofar-sightedplanningwhileundertakingthetaskofrebuilding
Kutch from rubble because he thinks big and has a long-term vision that is not
inhibited by short-term electoral considerations. Even our power cables are
nowbeinglaidunderground.Ourstreetlightsareallbeingrunonsolarpower.
There is no open sewage. Even old villages of Gujarat are being encouraged to
go for underground sewage system as a measure of promoting hygienic living.
The Magic of Narmada Waters: For decades, various governments kept
assuring us that the waters of Narmada River would be brought to Kutch.

But nothing happened. Kutchis were perpetually water starved. But Modi
came and gave an ultimatum to his officials saying he wanted to ensure that
clean drinking water reaches the farthest end of Kutch within a year. And it
happened. Today, we get zero TDS drinking water from Narmada. TDS is a
unitformeasuringhardnessofwater.Inpre-Modidays,weweredrinking1700
TDS. Now our water comes through very high quality giant pipes which don’t
corrode. In addition, the government has installed water filter plants in every
villagethroughtheNarmadaDrinkingWaterSupplyCorporation(NDWSC).
The people of Kutch could not even dream of something like this 15 years ago.
Now the government has started constructing canals to provide Narmada
water for irrigation also. It would have happened already but for the tussle
with the Central government, which is holding back permission to raise the
height of Narmada Dam. Once that happens, there will be enough pressure
for Narmada water to reach us through irrigation canals.
Economic Boost from Private Ports: Another factor that gave the Kutchi
economy a major boost is the coming of private ports. Earlier, there was only
one sarkari port in this region—the Kandla port—which, like all government
facilities of those days, was inefficient and shoddy in its functioning. But the
Mundra and Adani ports have brought about a sea change in the methods of
handling cargo ships. The incoming vessels are loaded and unloaded within
a day. Earlier, at Kandla, they had to wait forever before they were loaded and
unloaded, thus raising the cost of operations for cargo companies. Today,
Adani port has the distinction of being the biggest and among the most
modern private ports in Asia.
Theseportshaveworld-classfacilitiesandworkveryprofessionally.Somost
of the business has now shifted to these private ports that have created lakhs of
newjobsandbusinessopportunities—bothdirectlyandindirectly.Theurban
planning model adopted by Modi for Kutch was not the product of a rushed,
knee-jerk response to a disaster. It planned for future generations as well.
Preserving Valuable Haritage: Let me also tell you how creative Modi is
in dealing with heritage issues. Right in the heart of Bhuj, we have an old fort.
Ever since Independence, it had been occupied by the army. Our CM had long
negotiations with the army and was able to persuade them to vacate the fort.
They were given alternative space for the facilities they had to shift out. The
government spent Rs. 150 crores to make a Smriti Van - a memorial park - to
commemorate those who died in the earthquake. This Smriti Van is spread
over 60-70 acres of land. The army vacated the fort just a year ago but the work
of developing this memorial is already moving fast. The State government had

sent the Bhuj Collector to China and Europe to study such memorials along
with a team of disaster management specialists so that they not only picked up
the best creative ideas but also took care that the memorial was earthquake-
resistant. One of our local architects, Balkrishna Joshi, who gave the theme
of this memorial, was also part of this study team.
Making Neglected Kutch, Tourism-Worthy: However, bringing Amitabh
Bachchan as brand ambassador of Kutch was Modi’s masterstroke. He knows
how to make the best use of the talents of each person. Bachchan is an iconic
figure who is loved and respected by people of all age groups from a five-year-
old child to a 75-year-old man. Bringing such a great personality to promote
Kutch is in itself a big achievement. To top it, Bachchan sahib said, “Narendra
Modi ji is such a good man that whatever I do to promote Gujarat, will be
free of charge.” You won’t believe it, the ad campaign with the slogan: Kutch
nahin dekha to kuchh nahin dekha (If you haven’t seen Kutch, you haven’t
seen anything), has worked wonders to promote tourism in this area. But
Modi ji was wise enough to first create the required infrastructure and invest
in fixing the hitherto neglected heritage before launching the ad campaign.
ThatiswhyithascreatedsustainedtouristinflowandmadeKutchintoamajor
sightseeing destination, though till a decade ago, nobody even thought of it
as a possible tourist hub.
Take the example of Rann Utsav. When Modi ji first started it, our business
chamber used to beg people to come for it because no one came since it was
believedtobeagodforsakenbackwardregion.NowtheRannUtsavrunsfor90
daysandonlineglobalbookingfortentsstartsthreemonthsinadvance.There
is such a rush for bookings that numerous people have to be turned down.
That is precisely his special genius. He knows how to bring out the best out
of every situation no matter how adverse.
Multi-Hazard Resistant Construction
The owner-driven reconstruction of houses was probably the most
innovative aspect of the Gujarat reconstruction programme. The Modi
government ensured that the reconstruction process included people’s
participation, with the real stakeholders becoming lead players in this
process.
But, for that participation to become meaningful and creative,
people also needed to be educated on how to build quality houses that
are earthquake resistant. So, the government went full blast on an
Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) campaign in order

to train the people of Kutch in the basics of earthquake-resistant quality
construction. Anil Das says:
The mass contact campaign was so intense and thorough that even village
children were introduced to the required information. In those years, every
street corner, every bus, every public building and space had large hoardings
providing citizen-friendly capsules of information along with vivid pictures
and diagrams. We made videos of the ‘shake-table test’ for assessing the
earthquake resistance of any building. Scores of Tata Sumos fitted with video
projectors went around each and every village of earthquake-affected areas
several times over in a year during that period when people needed to be
made aware of what kind of construction would make them safe in future.
The outreach campaign was so rigorous that you could not have missed it even
if you were sleepwalking.
Guidelines prepared by the Seismic Adviser to the Gujarat State Disaster
Management Authority (GSDMA) were widely circulated in the
earthquake-affected areas. Many innovative construction technologies
were adopted while fully utilising local resources and local technology.
Well-crafted booklets in Gujarati were prepared in lakhs and distributed
in every town and village with the aim of reaching every family so that
they had this information at their fingertips.
School and college curricula were also modified to include this
information as a mandatory part of education at all levels. This way,
three generations were trained simultaneously by the mass education
campaign.
The Gujarat government also involved IIT professors in this work.
Construction at that scale needed thousands of trained technicians to
monitor the quality of construction and test its earthquake-cum-cyclone
resistance. India till then did not produce many such technicians. The
Gujarat government engaged IIT professors to train ITI (Industrial
Training Institute) students and those doing engineering diplomas to
learn the required skills. For ITI students, IIT professors are like demi-
gods. So they too were enthused to get such advance level training.
Within no time, Gujarat had an army of trained technicians—with each
ITI student supervising 5-6 houses each. The government paid for this
supervision but the cost involved was very small when compared to
the immediate gains by way of improvements in construction quality.

And in the same stroke, a very large pool of trained manpower was also
created.Today,allthosetechniciansarewellemployedintheconstruction
industry—not just in Gujarat, but all over India.
Anil Das says, “Modi has constantly built on that base and improved
it further by creating special institutions for the study and practice of
disaster management. For instance, there was a huge demand for masons
because of the widespread damage and destruction. They came from
neighbouringregionsandstates.Butmostofthemasonswerenotfamiliar
withhazard-resistantconstructionandretrofitting.Therefore,trainingof
masonswasundertakenonawar-footing.Morethan29,000masonswho
participatedinthetrainingwereprovidedwiththecostoftravelandfood
and given a free tool kit at the end. District Rural Development Agencies,
the Directorate of Employment and Training, the NCCBM (National
Council for Cement and Building Materials), and various NGOs were
involved in this process.”
Similarly, for government engineers, six-week training courses on
seismic retrofitting, seismic design of concrete and masonry structures,
and seismic design of bridges were organised. These courses, run at
Rajkot, Gandhinagar, and Bhuj, were provided by IIT Powai and IIT
Kanpur. In addition, a special course on earthquake engineering was
organised for architects.
This is how skill development through rigorous training and capacity
building has come to acquire very deep roots and has changed the face of
education in Gujarat. Modi has deep passion for improving the quality
of education at all levels and for imparting new cutting-edge skills to
the younger generation in order to make our young people be counted
among the best in the world.
New Approaches to Urban Reconstruction
Normally, the job of town planning is done by government agencies. But
most of our municipal corporations that manage the affairs of our towns
and cities are sorely lacking in expertise on planning or even managing
the civic and infrastructure requirements of urban centres. Had the
job of reconstructing these towns been left to government planners,
it would have taken far longer and would have resulted in a shabbier
job. However, by relaxing bureaucratic rules, Modi allowed a range of
private consultants, architects, and urban planners to speedily rebuild
the shattered towns of Kutch. Their mandate was to build in a manner

that would change the face of these old, decaying towns and give them
the best of modern infrastructure.
Among the star performers in the earthquake rehabilitation work is an
unassuming and now retired IAS officer, P.K. Mishra, who was principal
secretarytothechiefministerwhenModibecameCM.Hewasappointed
theCEOoftheGSDMA.Throughhisstellarworkinthereconstructionof
Kutch, he has today become one of the leading global experts in disaster
management.
The approach of the government of Gujarat and the GSDMA to urban
reconstruction, particularly those of the four towns of Kutch, was not
only systematic but also set new standards in citizen-friendly, scientific
planning.
Electricity connections and provision for piped water were inbuilt into
thehousedesignevenbeforeeveryvillagegot24x7powerconnectionand
waterpipes.P.K.Mishra’sbookTheKutchEarthquake2001,Recollections,
LessonsandInsights2
describestheprocessthroughwhichnewtownsrose
out of the rubble of old ones.
To begin with, the School of Architecture, Ahmedabad undertook a
study on the nature of the damage and approach to reconstruction in
urban areas, particularly the inner city of Bhuj. Faculty members and
students of the postgraduate programme in urban planning participated
in the study. They conducted field visits, interacted with the affected
persons, and undertook sample surveys in order to ascertain the views of
thepublic.Basedondiscussionswiththepeople,theycreatedaroadmap,
which included:
Improving layout of settlements and urban infrastructure.
Setting up of a local authority at Bhuj to offer technical assistance for
appropriate construction and monitoring of reconstruction.
Adoption of a town planning scheme for re-development of the inner
city.
Wideningofroadstofacilitatemovementofvehiclesatthetimeofcrisis
and development of a hierarchy of streets.
Reorganisation of old housing plots where necessary in order to widen
the roads; acquisition of plots that are cut more than 75 per cent.
2 Pramod K. Mishra, The Kutch Earthquake 2001: Recollections, Lessons and Insights,
(New Delhi: National Institute of Disaster Management, 2004), pp. 148-60.

The outcome of this study provided valuable inputs for planning
reconstruction of the four towns of Kutch district. It also enabled policy
makerstocrystallisetheirideasandtoformulateanapproachenvisaging
a mix of in-situ reconstruction and relocation of these four towns.
Area Development Authorities (ADA) for the four towns were set
up under the provisions of the Gujarat Town Planning and Urban
Development Act.
Trusting Citizens & Making them Real Stakeholders
Publicconsultationwithlocalcommunities,eminentcitizens,andNGOs
working at the local level was an important part of the planning process.
Inthefirststage,localcommunities,people’srepresentatives,andeminent
persons were consulted on the formulation of a vision document and
related aspects of development of the town. After analysing the views
and opinions of people, a vision statement and a conceptual development
plan were prepared. In the second stage, the conceptual plan was shared
with the public to incorporate their views and suggestions. After the
preparation of the development plan, written comments were invited
from the stakeholders. This was made a statutory requirement.
Thescaleofoperationsinevitablyledtotheneedforgrievanceredressal
mechanisms. For instance, there were some cases where people could not
prove their title and/or proof of residence. Another big challenge was
accommodating those who were living as tenants or had rented shops;
theydidn’townthem.About1,800legalliteracycampsin20talukaswere
organised by the government, in collaboration with NGOs, to provide
legal aid to the victims. In some cases, they were accommodated through
existing schemes like Indira Awas Yojana3
. But, more importantly, the
district judge was declared as an ombudsman to receive complaints
and petitions. Mishra says that, by October 2003, the Ombudsman had
received 47,156 petitions in various districts, out of which 46,182 (99 per
cent) had been addressed by 2004.4
There was also a state-level ombudsman appointed through the High
Court for attending to the grievances and complaints of citizens against
the government. The chief minister’s instructions were that if a citizen
3 Ibid., p. 150.
4 Ibid., p. 123.

goes to the ombudsman against any official or politician, the government
should not provide a lawyer to defend that official. There would be no
argumentsfromthegovernmentside.Iftheombudsmandecidesthatthe
governmentmustrecompensethecomplainantinsuchandsuchmanner,
the government would abide by the verdict without any argument. This
decisionwastakenwithinthefirstfewweeksofModi’stakingoverasCM.
Modi says, “We solved 33,000 problems through that process. It was
such a mammoth task of reconstruction; at the end of it, we did not have
a single case of complaint. It is possible those who wanted X amount by
way of compensation got only Y amount. Government schemes do not
allow for 100 per cent compensation. So, we could give only what the
established protocols allowed. No one complained that they did not get
what was promised. But, at the end of it, there wasn’t a single case where
a person entitled to get X amount did not receive his/her due.”
The Gujarat government has won international acclaim and awards
for its rehabilitation work in Kutch not just in the immediate aftermath,
but also for turning Kutch into an attractive tourist and investment
destination. These include the United Nations Sasakawa Award for
outstanding work in the field of disaster management and risk reduction,
as well as the UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Award for reconstruction
of a historic gurudwara damaged during the earthquake.
Independent Quality Control of Construction
Another interesting feature of the reconstruction programme was
independent technical audit and quality control of the houses through
a process of third-party audit, so that they conform to hazard-resistant
standards. There were three agencies, namely, NCCBM, the Central
Building Research Institute (CBRI), and IIT Powai, which developed
a manual for quality checks on the buildings being reconstructed.
They also developed a training programme for engineers who were
provided with mobile testing labs to undertake on-site quality testing.5
Anil Das says:
Initially, many of the NGOs—be it Action Aid or local ones—were opposed
to this outside monitoring. They acted high and mighty and said they needed
total freedom to implement the construction projects as they thought fit. In
5 Ibid., p. 151.

the early stages, there was a high degree of non-compliance by the NGOs.
But Modi did another smart thing to counter this arrogance. He gave full
powers to the GSDMA to take swift and firm action against those refusing
to comply with set quality standards—after giving each defaulter due notice
and opportunity to improve.
ThecompliancegraphimproveddramaticallyaftertheGSDMAdemolished
5-6 houses that did not meet the quality control test. That sent a very strong
message and there was a sudden improvement in the quality of construction
as well as earthquake resistance compliance. Moreover, once every family got
the required supervisory skills and knew the government backed them, they
too ensured discipline.
Mishra says, “By the end of January 2004, as many as 901,150 out of
928,369 houses were repaired and reconstruction of 186,967 out of
215,255 houses was completed. Overall, 95 per cent of the repair and
reconstructionofhouseswascompletedbyJanuary.Insomecases,house-
ownerslivingoutsidethestatedidnotstartreconstructionwork.Sothere
appeared a gap in reaching the full target.”6
Total Comprehensive Insurance Cover
The government also decided that all the houses that were reconstructed
would be insured. The GSDMA invited expressions of interest from
insurance companies, which would be willing to co-insure with the
Guaranteed Investment Funds (GIF). Five insurance companies were
selected, of which IFFCO-TOKIO is a private company and the other
four are public sector general insurance companies. Different districts
or parts of districts were allocated to the companies for the purpose of
insurance of houses.
The insurance covers 14 types of risks including fire, earthquake,
explosion, cyclone, and flood. The coverage is for a period of ten years.
All the houses had to be compulsorily insured, whereas it was optional
for other categories of houses. The premium rate was fixed by the Tariff
Advisory Committee at Rs. 349.10 for an insured sum of Rs. 1 lakh. The
premium amount was deducted when the third installment was paid to
thebeneficiary.TheamountofthesuminsuredrangedfromRs.50,000to
Rs. 2 lakhs, keeping in view the size of the dwelling unit and the location
6 Ibid., p. 126.

ruralorurban.Inordertospreadtherisk,differentdistricts/sub-districts
were allotted to different companies.
Village-wiselistsofinsuredpersonswerepreparedandgivenasagroup
insurance. A list of insured persons is kept at the taluka office and each
beneficiary was given a certificate indicating the insurance of his house.
Even if the insurance certificate is lost, the insured person can make his
claim based on the group insurance certificate available at the taluka
office. In the event of a disaster affecting a large number of people, the
Taluka Development Officer (TDO) is expected to facilitate completion
of procedural formalities in respect of the insurance claims.7
Thegovernmentalsobroughtin100percenteducationinsurancecover
for each and every student as well as household in Gujarat by purchasing
bulk insurance policies for the entire population so that if a student lost
his/her parents due to any mishap, his/her education is fully covered by
the insurance policy. It also means that if someone’s home is destroyed or
damaged in any calamity, they would also be covered by this insurance.
Kutch Reconstruction: A Global Role Model
Anil Das, who has worked in other states of India as well, in Bihar says:
Modi’s handling of Kutch reconstruction has become a role model for the rest
of the world. By contrast, the promised reconstruction of houses after the Kosi
floods is still dragging, though it has been 5 years since the floods ravaged
the region. The World Bank gave Bihar a grant of US$ 250 million for that
work. Till date, US$ 200 million are lying unspent and there is no system to
assess how well the money already utilised has been spent. Nitish is a control
freak because he is power obsessed, not outcome obsessed. He has no real
commitment to deliver, and he treats his officers with disdain. As a result,
Bihar governance is in doldrums. His officers have no freedom whatsoever.
People accuse Modi of being a control freak. But his control mechanisms
produce positive results because he is obsessive about outcomes and timelines
and monitors them very meticulously. However, after setting goals he leaves
his bureaucrats free to implement the agreed upon tasks in the manner they
find best. Modi gives them a long rope and all the freedom and support to be
innovative.Healsomakessuretomakepermanentinstitutionalarrangements
in each such arena so that there is a systematic transformation in Gujarat.
7 Ibid., p.153.

Institutionalising Disaster Management
But Modi did not rest at merely handling that one disaster well. He went
on to institutionalise a fighting fit system of disaster management in the
state,whichisalsoacknowledgedgloballybecauseitconstantlyupgrades
its capacities.
The efficiency of Gujarat’s disaster management system was put to test
in 2005, when there was a massive flood in Surat. Their emergency team
operated with lightning speed. The Institute for Disaster Management
set up in Gujarat is considered among the best in the country. Modi says:
During Atal ji’s government, we were promised Rs. 200 crores for our Disaster
Management Institute. But the UPA government, that came into power
subsequently, did not honour that promise. Therefore, we built it with our
own strength. We had already developed enough expertise on the subject to
lecture and teach the rest of the world.
For instance, many of the states in India did not know that they come in the
G5 zone, which is the most vulnerable as far as earthquakes are concerned.
So, we organised a seminar with the best international experts to educate
various state governments about the vulnerability of their regions. It is only
afterthatworkshopthatadministrationsinvariousmetrosbegantotakesome
constructive steps in this direction.
When Nitish Kumar was Railway Minister in Atal ji’s government, I told
him that we were willing to train railway employees in disaster management
since the railways have a big role to play in such situations. But, when Atal
ji’s government changed, it all collapsed. The training module for disaster
management we had developed could have been put to national use. But,
since the last nine years, the UPA government has not allowed it to serve the
country because they treat Gujarat as an enemy state.
However, the UPA government gave us an indirect compliment by copying
the Gujarat law on disaster management to enact national legislation without
altering a full stop or comma. Their team came and met me a couple of times.
WhenthetsunamihitsouthernIndiain2004,theirdisastermanagementteam
also came and spent 15 days in Gujarat to learn from our model of rebuilding
shattered lives.
Since Gujarat continued to hone its disaster management expertise, it
comes in handy whenever there is an emergency situation anywhere
in India or globally. When the big tsunami came in Japan, the Gujarat

government was the first one to inform Japan that they were willing
to send assistance teams. But such teams can go to foreign countries
only through the Government of India and Gujarat doesn’t fit into the
UPA’sschemeofthings.TheJapanesehadamassivenucleardisaster.Had
the Gujarat team been allowed to go, they could have picked up a lot of
knowledge about how to protect ourselves from similar disasters. But
the GOI did not like Gujarat’s offer and their team was not allowed to go.
Gujarat was the first state in India to have made a special act for the
purpose of assigning specific responsibility to lay down who is expected
to do what if a tragedy occurs at some place. The state also carried out
a full audit of school security. It trained children to respond in case
another disaster struck the area. The process of capacity building is an
ongoing one. The fire brigade of every nagarpalika has the most modern
firefightingequipment.Eventoday,yearlydemoanddrillsarecarriedout
for all school children, including for fire accidents. For capacity building,
Gujarat has trained all its officials and employees, including peons and
drivers, to respond to emergency situations. Its teams have travelled to
various countries tostudydisastermanagementsystems and incorporate
them at home.
Gujarat today has the best of equipment for handling disasters,
including slab cutters and all the rest. But, this is all combined with
lightning speed responses from Modi himself. I remember, while I was
travellingthroughVapidistrict,therewasaroadaccidentonthehighway.
But the collector with whom I had fixed an appointment cancelled all
work and was at the accident site within minutes so that he could report
first hand to Gandhinagar on the measures being taken to reach accident
victims to hospital speedily.
Modi who takes a great deal of personal interest in keeping the disaster
management system tuned to the latest advances in the field says:
The Gujarat government has played a key role in shaping the disaster
management module prepared by Sri Lanka. Similarly, Iran took 50-60 per
cent of our module for their rehabilitation measures after an earthquake hit
the region. The post-Taliban rehabilitation work in Afghanistan was based
on a plan prepared by an officer of the Gujarat government. The Taliban had
destroyednumeroushousesandoneofourofficersworkedoutaplanofaction
for them for effective rehabilitation. Even the Chinese government sent a
team recently to study the Gujarat model. They had a 7-day joint workshop

with the Gujarat team to share their respective experiences. The Gujarat
Disaster Management Institute has built a global reputation. The subject has
been introduced as a part of regular syllabus in all technology universities
in Gujarat. No matter what each faculty specialises in, they have to include
disaster management as an additional subject. The state has undertaken
intensive manpower training for this.
This is a continuously evolving process. We study the ongoing new
developments closely and try to include them in our own system. Whenever
a disaster strikes anywhere in the world, Gujarat is among the first to get the
information because they have the most modern technology and a proper
system in place, which is operational 24x7.
Modi says that in 2003, he had written to the governors of all states and
requestedthemaschancellorsofuniversitiestosendtwoPh.Dstudentsfor
research in Gujarat—to study various aspects of earthquake aftermath—
from the initial rescue work to later relief and rehabilitation. In any other
country, there would have been 100 Ph.Ds on this. He says, “I offered to
take care of the entire expense of those students including their stay—for
two years. My idea was that if such research was done, we would have got
an opportunity to understand the plus and minus points of the whole
process. The plus points would have provided a road map to others; and if
we found minus points, they would have helped us in making necessary
corrections for future. I am sorry to say that no one came. None of the
governors considered it a priority issue,”
Modi’s opponents have assured that none of this got any attention
outside Gujarat. Since our academia and the social science community
has deeply internalised anti-Modi propaganda, no social scientist has
bothered to study the story of Kutch rising out of its own ashes, of its
transformationfromasubsistenceeconomytoamongthefastestgrowing
economiesofIndia.Unfortunately,eventheBJPhasnottakenthetrouble
to let the rest of India know this story.

CHAPTER 8
Congress Panic at “Whirlwind”
Muslim Support for NaMo
Modi’s First Election from Rajkot in February 2002
There is an atmosphere of mourning within the Congress Party over the
declaration of support to the BJP by 28 Muslim organisations reputed to be
doing good work for the welfare of their society.
February 9, 2002, Sanjh Times
With what face are Congress leaders going to ask for the votes of the Muslim
community? If they have done even one thing for the Muslim samaj in the
last 35 years, they should present its account in two days. Rajkot’s nationalist
Muslim community is well aware of the amount of good works done by the
BJP government for the Muslim community in Rajkot. Congress leaders have
now realised that when they go for mass contact in Muslim areas, the Muslim
community is not welcoming them in any way.
Kaderbhai Salot quoted in Sanjh Times, February 11, 2002
In the booths with over 70 per cent Muslim vote, BJP is far ahead... Nationalist
Muslims seem to have had a big hand in the big victory achieved by Narendra
Modi ji in the Vidhan Sabha bye-election.
Sanjh Times on Modi’s election victory on February 25, 2002
Those who have come to believe the Congress and Leftist
propaganda that Narendra Modi is a “polarising” figure and that he
was sent to Gujarat to convert it into a laboratory for aggressive militant
Hindutva—involving systematic brutal suppression of minorities,
especially the Muslims and the Christians—would do well to study
reports of his campaign for getting elected to Gujarat Assembly within
weeks of his appointment as chief minister on October 4, 2001. Narendra
ModifiledhisnominationpapersonJanuary31,2002tofighthisfirstever

election from Rajkot. He had already set into motion enough governance
reforms to appear as a threat to varied vested interests. Therefore all such
forces joined hands to defeat Modi by means fair or foul. The following
account will show that the campaign against him was no different from
the current sleaze-soaked campaign against Modi to eliminate him
out of the prime ministerial race. The Congress went on a do-or-die
mission to finish him off politically not because he had done anything
bad, but because he had already set many new records, especially with
regard to earthquake rehabilitation. Their desperation reached hysterical
proportions when they found Muslims also deserting the Congress and
gravitating towards Modi.
Before filing his nomination, Modi gave a call to the people of Rajkot
that he will live up to the trust reposed on him by them. Responding to
various charges levelled against him by the Congress, he said,
…As a worker of the BJP I am trying to win the hearts of people. We don’t
believe in negativity. But I know very well that the Congress cannot give up
its negativity. It only knows how to attack and oppose—they have opposed
the introduction of POTO (Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance), they have
opposed Lok Kalyan Melas, opposed Samras Gaon, opposed strengthening
of Gram Sabhas. Will such negativity do good for Gujarat? Is it a crime for
the government to be proactive and work efficiently? Voters should give the
Congress Party a fitting reply…I want to assure the people of Rajkot that
whatever task you assign to me, I will not be found lacking in delivering
results...
During the course of my travels I had heard from various knowledgeable
MuslimsthatModihadveryclosepersonalrelationswithspiritualleaders
of many Muslim sects. But having been fed on negative propaganda, I
wasn’t quite prepared for the totally different picture that emerged out
of news reports of his first election campaign. Far from facing hostility,
there was actually a giant wave of support in favour of Narendra Modi
amongvariousMuslimgroupsandorganisations.Thiscreatedutterpanic
among Congressmen because he was taking away from the Congress
Party its most loyal and captive vote bank. Modi managed to accomplish
what even Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the most liberal face of BJP, had failed
in doing. Though Muslims liked Vajpayee personally, they never voted
for him or BJP under him.

Respected Muslim leaders who had spent a lifetime with the Congress
deserted the Party and began joining the BJP when Modi became CM.
Therefore, Congress leaders responded with unprecedented fury and
desperationtodefeatModi.ButbeforeIcometothatstory,letmedescribe
the circumstances under which NaMo landed in Rajkot for his first
electoral battle.
Rajkot-based Vijaybhai Rupani, who is currently secretary of BJP’s
Minority Front, had played a leading role in organising NaMo’s first
election campaign. He also knows Modi intimately from the time Modi
wasthegeneralsecretaryofBJPinGujarat.Thisistheaccountheprovided
me of Narendra Modi’s first election.
Narendrabhai had been sent to Gujarat as its chief minister without ever
having fought any election. But he had to win an election from some place or
the other within six months. So there was a discussion in our party about the
mostsuitableconstituencyforfieldingNarendrabhai.Thereweremanypeople
who wanted him to fight from their respective rural constituencies. But the
Party wanted a prominent urban constituency for him. Our first choice was
the city of Ahmedabad.
IaskedRupaniiftherewasanysubstanceintheallegationlevelledbyModi
opponents that Modi fell out with Haren Pandya because Pandya refused
to vacate his seat for Modi? This is Vijaybhai’s version, corroborated by
several other BJP leaders:
There is no truth whatsoever in the allegationthatNarendrabhai triedtoforce
HarenPandya out. Narendrabhai made itclearhewasnotgoing toaskanyone
to vacate his seat for him. He never once said to Pandya to give up his safe seat
for him. The decision to field Modi from Ellis Bridge was a joint decision of the
BJP and RSS because it was considered the safest seat for the Party. Everyone
felt that since Narendrabhai was fighting his first election, that too as CM, he
should be given a safe seat.
Itwastheparty’sseniorleaderswhocommunicatedthisdecisiontoPandya.
Since Narendrabhai had worked for long years in Ahmedabad’s Ellis Bridge
constituencyandhadintimatecontactswithseveralpeopletherefromhisdays
as RSS pracharak and later as BJP organising secretary, the Party decided to
field him from there. But Haren Pandya, who was the sitting MLA from that

area, refused to vacate his seat. At that time, there was intense discussion in
the Party over this blunt refusal to accept the Party’s mandate since everyone
felt the seat belonged to the Party not to any individual.
So the next choice fell on Rajkot where Vajubhai was the MLA. He in fact
volunteered to vacate his seat saying that he is a disciplined worker of the BJP;
this seat also belongs to the Party, not him He immediately resigned and went
with hundreds of party workers in a procession to Gandhinagar to personally
invite Narendrabhai to come fight from Rajkot. All these decisions were taken
in a party meeting held at my house. Vajubhai’s gesture and the manner in
whichhecelebratedNarendrabhaibeingfieldedfromRajkotgeneratedagreat
deal of enthusiasm among party workers.
The significant thing about that election campaign was that Narendrabhai
left the entire conduct of the election campaign to the Party since he was
focusingallhisenergyonrehabilitationofearthquakevictimsandputtingthe
systemofadministrationinplace.ItwasBJPworkerswhodidalltheworrying
and planning to ensure that he win the election. Narendrabhai had helped
lead numerous elections for others. But he had never fought his own election.
However,heknewallthatisrequiredtowinanelection.Sohesupervisedfrom
Gandhinagar what kind of programs, meetings etc. should be organised, as
well as the tone and tenor of the election campaign. But the real ground work
was done by party workers since he was handling his onerous responsibilities
as a newly-appointed first time chief minister.
BJP Dissidents Join Hands with Congress
By all accounts Keshubhai Patel made common cause with Congress
leaders to give hell to Narendra Modi. Rupani says,
When Keshubhai was asked to campaign for Modi in Rajkot, he plain refused.
Since he was from Rajkot and his entire political career had been built in this
city, everyone felt that he should have done his bit for Modi ji. The whole party,
including Narendra bhai, pleaded with him. But it had no effect. He was dead
against Narendrabhai from day one. In fact, he did all he could to instigate
his entire Patel community against Modi, saying Narendra Modi will destroy
the clout of Patels. But a substantial section of Patels supported Narendrabhai
because he avoided playing the caste card and talked of the collective well-
being of all Gujaratis. In the 2012 election also we got big support from the
Patels of Saurashtra.

A news report in the Sanjh Times on February 15, 2002 wrote: “Angry at
havingbeenremovedasthechiefminister,KeshubhaiPatel’sragehasnot
yet calmed down… He refused to budge despite the BJP leaders having
gone to placate him…” To continue with Rupani’s account:
The election was in February 2002 and that is the very month in which the
Godhramassacrehappened.HiswarmrelationswiththeMuslimcommunity
canbegaugedfromthefactthatNarendrabhaihadaddressedseveralmammoth
meetings in Muslim areas. In Rajkot there is a big Muslim population of
Dawoodi Boras who always dress in their traditional attire. Dawoodi Bora
youth organised a motor cycle rally in support of Narendrabhai. Dressed in
their traditional attires, they went all over the city asking people to vote for
Narendrabhai.. And sure he got a solid chunk of Muslim vote.
Another noteworthy thing about Narendrabhai’s campaign was that there
was no negativity in it. He did not even attack the Congress Party. In fact, he
would start by saying, “I haven’t come here to defeat anyone. I have only come
to present my views before you. Election is not just a matter of winning or
losing. But fighting elections is an integral part of democratic processes. That
is why I am here to fight this election. I haven’t come here to defeat or sink the
fortunes of anyone. I have come to assure you that if the people of Rajkot vote
for me, I will never let you lower your head in shame because of me.”
He gave very samvedansheel speeches during that election. No question of
Narendrabhai attacking any community or attempting to polarise the voters
on religious lines. He also reiterated that he will neither gobble public funds
not will he let anyone do it (mein khata nahin hoon aur na kisi ko khane
doonga.). The image he conveyed to the public at large at that time has been
maintained till date.
But he was able to give no more than four days for election campaign in
Rajkot. He would come once a week for one day. He could not give more
time because he was busy with earthquake rehabilitation in Kutch and other
government work.
This account by Vijaybhai Rupani was at so much variance with what I
had been led to believe, that I decided to check out contemporary news
reports published in local dailies that were reporting on the day-to-day
developments of that campaign. They provide a very insightful account
ofthegenesisandwellspringsoftheModidemonisationcampaignwhich
continues till date.

Prominent Muslim Leaders Campaign for Modi
KaderbhaiSalot,aleadingMuslimofRajkot,playedakeyroleinmobilising
support of Muslim groups for Modi and in turning the Muslim vote tide
in his favour. For example, a Rajkot-based newspaper, Sanjh Times, of
February 6, 2002 carried the following front-page news: “On account of
internal rifts in the Congress, Kaderbhai Salot and colleagues leave the
party. More than 200 Muslim workers of the Congress Party joined BJP.
Kaderbhai is in the mood for new hulchul (ferment) despite shortage of
time.” The report goes on to say:
Due to the efforts of Kaderbhai Salot, the vice chairman of the Gujarat State
Minority Finance and Development Department and the BJP Minority Cell
GeneralSecretariesforRajkot,AijazBapuBukhariandAltafbhaiSuma-more
than 200 young Muslims merged in the kesariya (saffron) colour... Kaderbhai
is in a mood to do some big things in a short time
The 200 Muslims who joined BJP were welcomed and congratulated by
senior leaders including Vijaybhai Rupani.
Itisnoteworthy,thatthefirstMuslimexodusfromtheCongresshappened
within 5 days of Modi’s filing his nomination papers from Rajkot. On
February9,2002,theSanjhTimespublishedthefollowingfrontpagenews
itemundertheheadline:“ChiefMinisterNarendraModigetsthesupportof
28socialservice-orientedMuslimorganisations:Deepdisturbancewithin
CongressPartyoverthissupportofMuslimorganisations.”Itgoesontosay:
There is an atmosphere of mourning within the Congress Party over the
declaration of support to the BJP by 28 Muslim organisations reputed to be
doing good work for the welfare of their society. [This happened] in a meeting
held at the residence of a very popular Muslim community leader - Kaderbhai
Salot, who is also the vice chairman of Gujarat State Minority Finance and
Development Department.
Since the last three days Congress leaders have been going into Muslim
neighbourhoods to contact people. But the Congress is alarmed by the fact
that the Muslim community is not giving them a good response. They now
realise that they are not going to get the Muslim community vote this time.
In the declaration of support to Narendrabhai by the Muslim community,
HussainCommittee,HaiderSabilCommittee,JamJamSabilCommittee,Ekta
Nayaz Committee of ward No. 1, Hussaini Voice Committee, Jam Jam Sabil

Committee, Panjeetal Sabil Committee, Ashiq Hussain Niyaz Committee,
Yuva Muslim of ward No. 14, Ekta Blood Donation Committee, Manzoor
HussainVoiceCommittee,KhwajaGarib-e-NawazCommittee,EktaSamooh
Lagnotsav Ayojan Committee of ward no. 11, and ward No. 16, along with
several other committees joined in a mammoth gathering.
In this meeting members who declared their support for Chief Minister
Narendra Modi shared information about the excellent work done by the BJP
- Its workers going from house to house in Muslim neighborhoods to provide
them proper arrangements for Haj. [In addition, the BJP has] upgraded the
MinoritiesBoardintoaCorporation,providedlandfor kabristan (graveyard)
in Muslim areas, provided loans worth crores of rupees to help 571 Muslims
to stand on their own feet.
[Muslim leaders] publicly took on the responsibility of taking members of
the Muslim community to the polling booths of their area. Kaderbhai Salot
said that nationalist Muslims will vote for the BJP; and this will be proven
when the votes are counted in those wards. This is how the name of Rajkot
and of Muslim samaj will shine bright (roshan hoga).
On February 11, 2002 the Sanjh Times reported that Kaderbhai Salot
issued the following challenge to the Congress Party: “If the Congress
leaders of Rajkot have done even one bit of work for the Muslim samaj,
they should announce it in two days or else I will announce the [good]
works done by BJP.” The report quotes Kaderbhai as follows:
The Vice Chairman of Gujarat State Minorities Finance and Development
Department Kaderbhai Salot has posed a pointed question to the Congress
leaders of Rajkot saying, “With what face are Congress leaders going to ask for
the votes of the Muslim community? If they have done even one thing for the
Muslim samaj in the last 35 years, they should present its account in two days.
I warn the Congress leaders, who pretend to be the well wishers/sympathisers
oftheMuslimcommunity,thatRajkot’snationalistMuslimcommunityiswell
aware of the amount of good works done by the BJP government for them in
Rajkot. Congress leaders have now realised that when they go for mass contact
in Muslim areas, the Muslim community is not welcoming them in any way.
Seeing this, Congress leaders should learn that none of their stratagems are
going to succeed with the Muslims.”

An “Earthquake-like” Situation for Congress
As described in earlier chapters, since after taking over as CM, Modi
was totally engrossed in earthquake rehabilitation work and fixing
the administrative machinery to become more responsive to people’s
needs, he came to campaign in Rajkot only on weekends. And yet he
created a whirlwind of support in his favour. Even Muslim women
joined to express support for him in public meetings. This is what the
Sanjh Times had to say on February 11, 2002:
The bye-election for the Rajkot assembly seat is warming up big time during
the second round of campaign on Saturday and Sunday. BJP candidate and
Chief Minister Shri Narendrabhai Modi spread a wave of enthusiasm among
the enlightened voters of Rajkot. In each of the small 12-14 ward meetings and
community meetings, wise and enlightened public was present. They gave an
indication of voting for the Lotus and give a big margin of victory to the chief
minister. While campaigning like a whirlwind in the meetings of Soni Samaj,
Darzi Samaj, Kshatriyas, intellectuals, and so on, Modi appealed to them to
make the BJP victorious.
Forthefirsttime,BohraMuslimsisterspubliclywelcomedthechiefminister
and appealed to the people to remain loyal to the country.
On February 13 the following news item with the following headline
appeared in the same newspaper: “A big Muslim sammelan (public
meeting) organised in favor of CM Narendra Modi. All attempts by the
Congress Party to stop this sammelan had failed. 50 Muslim leaders who
had worked for the Congress Party for the last 40 years joined the BJP.”
The news item goes on to say:
In Ramnathpara in the wada of the Ghanchi Samaj, a mammoth sammelan
was held. The presence of the heads of diverse Muslim communities and
respected leaders of Muslim samaj and thousands of young Muslims has
created an earthquake-like situation within the Congress. The sammelan
was organised by Kaderbhai Salot, the vice chairman of the Gujarat Minority
Finance and Development Department. [Empsis mine]
InthissammelanseveralMuslimleaders,whohada40-yearlongassociation
with the Congress, left the party to join the BJP on account of the divisive
politics of the Congress Party. These leaders had, for decades, mobilised the

MuslimvotefortheCongressParty.ThosewhojoinedtheBJPissuedanappeal
to Muslims to boycott the Congress in the coming election and resolved to
votefortheBJP.AtthistheMuslimspresentinthatmeetingdeclaredaboycott
of the Congress Party with thunderous applause and by shouting slogans….
Modi’s Promises & Muslim Response
I have already quoted Narendra Modi’s message to the people of Rajkot
on the day he filed his nomination. There wasn’t a touch of negativity
in it. Even in his later speeches his focus was on development issues
and an inclusive agenda of growth. Far from seeking religious or any
other polarisation, Modi either talked of the new agenda of governance
he had set into motion or of his vision for Garvi (proud) Gujarat.
This is how the Sanjh Times of February 14, 2002 reported his speech
that weekend. “Narendra Modi declares that Gujarat will be made into
a Nandanvan [the legendry forest where Krishna performed his leela].”
The news report goes on to add:
BJP’s Rajkot candidate Narendrabhai Modi was given a traditional welcome
amidst a mammoth gathering (Manav Samanvay) in ward no. 16. Addressing
agrandmeetingorganisedatPopatpraChowk,ChiefMinisterNarendraModi
said that for the parched land of Gujarat, the thirsty people, animals and birds
of Gujarat, the “Neer of Narmada” (waters of Narmada) is the ideal solution.
For the welfare of 5 crore people of Gujarat even bowing my head before
others will be a matter of pride for me. Saying this, he talked of comprehensive
development (sarvangin vikas) of Gujarat. Commenting sharply on the
Congress government, he said that what the Congress failed to do in 45 years,
has been done by the BJP in 45 days. Abjuring the bicholiya pratha (tradition
oftoutism)oftheCongressgovernment,theBJPgovernmenthasensuredthat
full payments reach the people through Lok Kalyan Melas.... We will not look
back in our endeavours to create a prosperous future for Gujarat. Saying that
in the hands of the BJP, Gujarat has a very proud (atyant gauravsheel) future,
the chief minister said in his inimitable style that BJP government has taught
a fitting lesson to those who are into conspiratorial activities....
Intheend,thechiefministersaidthatNarmadaNeeristhedreamofGujarat.
The government of Madhya Pradesh is dilly-dallying in taking decisions over
this issue. This is because if the Narmada waters come into Gujarat, the BJP
governmentwillgainstrength....Butthistime,RespectedAtalji’sintervention

andtheremarkabledecisionhetookregardingNarmadatohelpGujaratrealise
itsdreamoftransformingthisstateintoa Nandanvanhasmadeadifference…
OnFebruary16,the SanjhTimes rubbedfurthersaltinCongresswounds
byproclaiminginaheadline:“ASamarthanSabha(EndorsementMeeting)
for Narendrabhai - Muslim community organised a powerful public
meeting.” In the meeting Muslim leaders reiterated how Narendra Modi
had swiftly redressed long pending demands of the Muslim community
such as land for an additional kabristan and measures to strengthen
weaker sections among Muslim community. To quote from the report:
InsupportofChiefMinisterNarendrabhaiModi,Muslimbrothersandsisters
gathered together for a mammoth Muslim sammelan (public meeting) in
Bhomeshwar, in the prime area of Kaderbhai Salot, the vice chairman of the
State Minorities Finance and Development Department.
In this sammelan, Kaderbhai told the Muslims present there that the BJP
government has given a subsidy of Rs 20,000 per Haj pilgrim and made
arrangements for direct flights to Jeddah from Ahmedabad itself instead
of [hajis] having to go via Mumbai. In addition, Muslim women have been
provided training in tailoring, in zari work and so on in 15 different centres
in... In this sammelan people of Mir Jamaat were present in large numbers
and expressed open support for Narendrabhai.
On February 18, 2002 the Sanjh times headline says: “A vishal sammelan
(a mammoth gathering) of Muslims in support of BJP in the Sadar zone.”
Under the presidentship of Vajubhai Vada, a public meeting of Muslims was
organised in Sadar Zone, to declare support to Chief Minister Narendrabhai
Modi.InthismeetingMuslimwomenandmenwerepresentinlargenumbers.
Addressing Muslim women, the Chairperson of Gujarat State’s Tourism
Department Vasuben Trivedi said that the Congress Party has rendered
MuslimwomenilliterateandbackwardwhereastheBJPgovernment’sMinority
Finance and Development Department has set up sewing, embroidery, and
zari centres.
Seeing the presence of Vanjibhai Bada in this sammelan, Muslim leaders
became very emotional because he had given Rs. 60,000 for installing lights in
theMuslimkabristansituatedinSadar.Adecisiontogive7acresofadditional

land for the kabristan had also been taken [by the BJP government]. But given
the opposition to it by Congressmen, the process has been stalled. Various
Muslim leaders honoured Vanjibhai by donning shawls on him.
ThereportthengoesontolistthenamesofnumerousMuslimleaderswho
werepresentatthemeeting,whichwasconductedbyBashirbhaiMemon.
“I am Not a Ruler, I am a Servant”
The tone and tenor of Modi’s election campaign can also be well gauged
by the February 19, 2002 Sanjh Times report of Modi’s speech with the
following headline: “I am not the nath (ruler) of Gujarat, I am a das
(servant).” This is in the tune with his promise as the prime ministerial
candidate that people should not vote for him as PM but as a ‘chowkidar’
(security guard) on their behalf who would not let any dirty hand loot the
public treasury or public assets. The news report goes on to quote Modi
as having given the following promises to his voters:
“I’ve not come to defeat or to put down anyone…. I’ve come to win the hearts
ofthepeopleofRajkot.PeopleshouldrecognisethecharacterofCongressmen
who deprive people of Rajkot of water.”
Chief Minister Narendrabhai Modi who has established himself as a
winning candidate of the BJP has already found an unshakable place in the
hearts of the people of Rajkot. He displayed a very soft heart today when he
gave a message to the people of Rajkot saying, “I am not the ruler of Gujarat,
I’m a servant of Gujarat. The environment in which I grew up, sewa is treated
as a dharma, not power.” He said, “In my entire life there has been no occasion
when I had to beg anyone for anything. This is the first time in my life that in
Rajkot I have the occasion to ask for votes. I assure the people of Rajkot that I
will return with interest whatever the people of Rajkot give me.”
Talking of his own temperament, Shri Narendrabhai Modi said, “Friends,
I’ve not come here to defeat anyone; I’ve not come here to put down anyone.
I’ve come here to win the hearts of the people of Rajkot and to live in their
hearts.”ExplaininghisdevelopmentperspectiveforRajkot,ShriNarendrabhai
Modi said“therearemany opportunitiesfordevelopment in Rajkot.Thereare
numerous avenues for growth in the domain of education. After the Gujarat
earthquake we have decided to develop earthquake management system in
Gujarat. One of the departments connected with that work will be set up in
Rajkot.IwantthatRajkotshouldbecomeashiksha dham(centre ofeducation)

and a centre of hope for the people of this region. Rajkot has the distinction of
being considered the foremost city of Saurashtra. Who doesn’t know that in
ordertoworkinthatdirection,Narmadawillbethefountainheadofprogress,
not just for Rajkot, but entire Saurashtra and Kutch?”
Presentingthe‘NarmadaSarvade’(Narmada,theupliftmentofall)chainof
thought before the people, Shri Narendrabhai Modi said that if the Narmada
Project is implemented, there will be an end to the water problem, fodder will
grow plentifully, godhan (cattle wealth) will become abundant, and the rivers
of milk and curd will start flowing again. Despite this, the Congress Party,
which had laid the foundation stone of Narmada Project in 1961, did not
complete it in 40 long years. Due to the [obstructions placed by] the Madhya
Pradesh Congress Party and the Congress government, there is shortage of
water in Rajkot. The wise citizens of Rajkot should ask the Congressmen, why
are you putting obstacles in Madhya Pradesh to prevent Narmada Project
from getting implemented?
Congress has complained that BJP government’s order for the closure of
the illegal butcher houses was a violation of the [election] code of conduct.
Referring to this Shri Narendrabhai Modi said, “Please ask Congressmen
whether their candidates are in favour of running illegal butcher houses? Do
they want to protect the hapless animals or the butchers?”
At the end, appealing to the people for taking their votes as puja flowers
in the temple of democracy (lokshahika mandir) on February 21 in order to
support the BJP electorally, Shri Narendrabhai Modi said, “I have come to
fight this election on a constructive agenda. Being constructive is part of my
nature. I have faith that looking at my constructive approach, the people of
Rajkot will assess very minutely, weigh carefully, measure accurately and
declare me successful in this agnipariksha (fire ordeal).”
On February 20, 2002 the Sanjh Times gave the following synopsis of
Modi’selectionspeechinRajkot.Withthecaption:“Sneh(affection)filled
message to the people of Rajkot by Narendrabhai Modi.”
Samaj Seva (serving society) and Rashtra Seva (serving the nation) is the
mahamantra(thebigmantra)ofmylife.Thiswilllaythefoundationfortaking
Gujarat to great heights. I wish that the waters of Narmada reach Rajkot and
Saurashtra. I seek your valuable co-operation through your votes in taking
my shraddha (faith) to its destination.

Itismytamanna(deepdesire)todosomethingforoursociety;Iaminspired
bythedesiretoliveanddieformycountry;…IwantthegloryofGujarattoreach
the whole world. …I’ve used the mantra of lokprem (love for people) through
Lok Kalyan Melas organised by the government to make the administrative
machinery an instrument of lokseva (service of the people). In less than 4
months, I’ve signed an agreement with Astra Mines in Russia’s Moscow to
connect Gujarat to the global economy. To dedicate the entire government
machinery to the service of people and for implementing Narmada and other
major schemes …has been my visible endeavor.
This is the beginning of my attempts to fulfill the responsibilities handed
over to me by the Bhartiya Janata Party. I need the co-operation of the people
of Rajkot for Gujarat’s well-being and all round development. Your vote is
invaluable for the Gujarat of tomorrow. I have faith that you will make our
state agrani (progressive) Gujarat by voting for the BJP and ensuring our
victory. We have to bring about total development of Gujarat through honest
hard work. In that endeavour your vote will generate a new self-confidence
in me. You have always trusted BJP. I pray that I be blessed with the strength
to live up to your faith. That is all I have to say to the wise citizens of Rajkot.
To the baseless propaganda of the Congress, I have only this to say: “Hey
Prabhu!, kuprachar karne walon ko subuddhi dena aur sadvichar karne wale
ko shakti dena. Aur bus Rajkot ki janata matraroopi shakti Bhajpa ko degi,
aisi meri shraddha hai.” (Oh lord! Please give wisdom to those indulging in
evil propaganda and give strength to those who live by good and good pure
thoughts). It is my faith that the people of Rajkot will bestow their votes to BJP.
Narendra Modi offers his pranam to the citizens of Rajkot.
A box item on the same page posed Narendra Modi’s challenge to the
Congress Party in the following words: “Congressmen, who are today
coming to you for votes in order to get into power, where were they when
a shroud of death had covered Gujarat following the earthquake?” The
The box item also carried the following promises made by Modi. He is
quoted as saying, “I will:
GiveRajkotamodernscientificinstitutionformeasuringandmanaging
earthquakes.
Make Rajkot the hub of tourism development in Saurashtra and Kutch.
Give priority to making Rajkot a centre for excellence in education.
Make Rajkot become the premier city, for not just Saurashtra, but also
for Kutch.”

Modi’s determination to complete the Narmada Project in order to take
its waters to the parched regions of Gujarat are a red herring for self-
styled environmentalists. But given its popularity within all sections of
Gujarati society, and given that Congress Party under Nehru had started
the construction of Narmada dam, the Gujarat Congress leaders dared
notopposeitopenly withinthe state.That iswhy theystarted patronising
NGOsandMedhaPatkar’sNarmadaBachaoAndolan (NBA)tomobilise
national and international opinion against it by launching a defamation
campaign against BJP government in Gujarat in general and Narendra
Modi in particular.
TeestaSetalvad,ShabnamHashmietccamesoonafter.Itisnoteworthy
that almost all of Medha Patkar’s protest actions and yatras were carried
out in Madhya Pradesh, where Congress chief minister rolled out a red
carpetforMedha’shighprofileprotestorslikeArundhatiRoyandShabana
AzmiwhomadetheantiNarmadamovementpoliticallyfashionablewith
generoussupportfromAmericanandEuropeanfundingagencies.Medha
dared not enter Gujarat for launching her protests despite solid though
covert support from the Congress Party.
Muslim Women Campaign for NaMo
TocontinuewiththeRajkotelectionstory,onFebruary19,2002,theSanjh
Times reported yet again on the growing Muslim support for the BJP.
First time in the history of Rajkot, a saffron environment has been created in
MuslimareasforgettingMuslimcommunityvotes.EducatedMuslimwomen
joined together for the BJP election campaign. In ward No. 1 where there are
more than 4000 Muslims voters, at 10 am, Anjaliben Rupani, Kheruben Salot
and the future Mayor of Bhavnagar Vibhariben Dave, under the leadership of
Manjulaben Joshi, along with more than 200 educated Muslim women, came
out in Muslim areas to appeal to the Muslim community to join hands and
garner votes for BJP’s Narendrabhai Modi.
Seeing all this, the district and national level Congress leaders began to run
helter-skelter. Today, in the afternoon, these women will go around in this
entire area and in Mochi Bazar and on the 20th
they will go around Nehru
Nagar, Bajrangbadi, Rukhdiya, Maftiapara, Popatpara areas to win over
Muslim votes for BJP candidate Narendra Modi on the 21st
[February].

On February 25, 2002, aSanjh Times headline announced Modi’s victory
as follows: “In the booths with over 70 per cent Muslim vote, BJP is far
ahead... Muslim youth leaders are expressing gratitude to the voters.
Nationalist Muslims seem to have had a big hand in the big victory
achieved by Narendra Modi ji in the Vidhan Sabha bye-election.” The
report adds:
In order to get Muslim community votes for the Congress, both the state
level as well as the national level leaders of the Congress Party had been
campaigning in Rajkot for the last 10 days. But all these leaders failed to get
Muslim vote for the Congress whereas Muslim leader Kaderbhai Salot, the
Vice Chairman of the Gujarat State Minorities Finance and Development
Department,hadorganisedthreemammothralliesindifferentareasofRajkot
as well as a Muslim women’s rally in support of BJP candidate Narendrabhai
Modi. He also organised 13 different group meetings in Muslim areas. To help
the BJP get the Muslim vote Vijaybhai Rupani worked very hard along with
Kaderbhai. As a result, election booths with over 70 per cent Muslim majority
population gave a big lead to the BJP.
Why Modi Swept Muslim Vote
The following factors had contributed towards this tectonic shift of the
Muslim vote in favour of Modi:
The pro-people model of governance he had delivered was inherently
inclusive – Sabka saath sabka vikas was being demonstrated on the
ground.
Hisablehandlingofthereconstructionworkintheearthquakeaffected
regions also demonstrated, through concrete actions, that Muslims
were equal beneficiaries of the new development model.
Modi had close personal rapport, built over decades, with a number of
ordinary Muslims as well as community leaders who came all out in
his support.
In Rajkot itself, he had responded to the specific requirements of the
Muslimcommunitysuchasthedemandforgraveyardlandwithspeed.
These requests, which had remained unsatisfied for decades, were
addressed within days of Modi’s coming to power.
He had upgraded the Minority Boards into full-fledged Corporations
with a view to helping new entrepreneurial activities and skill
development initiatives among Muslims.

And yet Modi never appealed to Muslims as a separate vote bank. He
responded creatively to their legitimate social, economic and cultural
requirements as citizens without pandering to their communal identity.
This approach threatened the very survival of the Congress Party. Not
surprisingly, the Congress Party retaliated with fury.
Thenextchapterdescribestheunethicalandlawlesselectioncampaign
Congress orchestrated in the very first election of Modi.

CHAPTER 9
Of Muck Throwing & Lotus Blooming
Congress’s Lawless Sleazy Campaign in
Modi’s Pre-Godhra Election
This Narendra Modi is going to deal a deadly blow to the Congress. He is a
man of great talent and competence. He is going to prove to be a cyclone for the
Congress Party.
Congress leader, Ashwinbhai Kotwal to BJP leader Vijaybhai Rupani,
October 7, 2001
My philosophy is to use the stones hurled at me to make a bridge for myself; I
believe in proving my critics wrong through my work. I keep saying, the more
muck you throw at me, the brighter will the BJP lotus bloom. That is the nature
of the lotus, it rises out of keechhad (slush) to create exquisite beauty.
Narendra Modi in personal interview 2013
Congress Party’s visceral hatred of Modi came out in the very
first election he fought from Rajkot in February 2002. This is borne
out by the unethical and slanderous campaign they ran against him,
much before before Godhra. Their hysteria sprung from the fact that
their hitherto captive Muslim vote bank had abandoned them openly
and defiantly, in favour of Narendra Modi. In their desperation to defeat
Modi, they brazenly used lawless means to eliminate him from the race.
The unprecedented difficulties Modi faced due to Congress hostility,
despitebeingthechiefministerofthestate,areborneoutbynewsreports
of that period. In addition, Vijaybhai Rupani, an old BJP colleague of
Modi, who was in charge of the newly appointed chief minister’s Rajkot
election campaign in 2002, provided interesting insights into the reasons
why Congress and its NGO allies targeted Modi with single minded
obsession from day one:

Let me share an interesting incident which will explain why the Congress
Party was so desperate to destroy Modi. The Congress candidate Ashwinbhai,
who fought the election against Narendrabhai, is a personal friend of mine.
Narendrabhai had taken his first oath of office on October 7, 2001. On
October 8, the birthday of my son, the Ajit Rupani Memorial Trust created in
his name, had organised a Bal Sangam. We take care of poor children through
this family trust. At that time, Ashwinbhai did not have the slightest idea that
hewouldbepittedagainstNarendraModiinthecomingelection;neitherdidI.
I had invited Ashwinbhai as the special guest of honour in our function. After
the program, Ashwinbhai and I sat down for a chat. I distinctly remember his
prediction that evening. He said, “If Keshubhai had been allowed to complete
his five year term, the Congress would have surely come back to power in
Gujarat.YehNarendraModibharipadjayegaCongressko.Yehbahutkshamata
wala aadmihai. Yeh toh Congress Party ke liye bilkul cyclone siddh hoga.” (This
Narendra Modi is going to deal a deadly blow to the Congress. He is a man
of great talent and competence. He is going to prove to be a cyclone for the
Congress Party). I remember these were the exact words used by Ashwinbhai.
He assessed Narendrabhai so correctly because he had interacted closely
with him and knew his organisational genius. The Congress Party assessed
his potential very accurately and therefore did all they could to try and defeat
him in his very first election. The entire top brass of Congress camped in
Rajkot for nearly 10 days to campaign against Narendrabhai. Numerous top
leaders from Delhi also came to campaign against Modi including Kamal
Nath, Manmohan Singh. They defamed and abused him no end.
The concerted defamation campaign unleashed by the Congress Party in
collusion with the Keshubhai group in the BJP was in brazen violation of
the code of conduct mandated by the Election Commission. But, neither
the mighty Election Commission nor the Rajkot Police came to Modi’s
rescue despite the fact that he was the chief minister of the state. Rupani
describes what the Party went through at that time:
Narendrabhai had to put up with endless humiliations even at the hands of
the bureaucracy and police since he was new to administration. Those within
the police and bureaucracy who were allied to the Congress acted in openly
partisan ways against the new CM.
BJP lodged complaints with the police saying the brazen slander campaign
in print was against the guidelines issued by the Election Commission. Earlier

we had seen how when Shankar Singh Waghela fought his election from that
same area, the police openly worked for him and virtually ran his campaign.
The entire government machinery used to be put at his disposal to ensure his
victory.
ButinModi’scase,thepolicecommissionertooknonoteofourcomplaints,
leave alone take action against the offenders – this when Narendrabhai was
the chief minister. We complained to Narendrabhai regarding the partisan
conduct of the police commissioner but he said, “We are not going to pick up
cudgels against the police. Let them do what they are doing. I don’t want to
establish a precedent that the police commissioner or any other official has to
do my bidding. You handle the campaign as best to you can and present true
facts before the people.”
Thehostilityoftheadministrationwentsofarthatwhenweputuphoardings
in the city, the municipal commissioner had them forcibly removed;declaring
thatputtinguphoardingsisagainsttheguidelinesoftheElectionCommission.
This was totally bunkum because every party puts up hoardings to reach out
to people and there has never been any issue about it.
Narendrabhai’s hoardings were removed on the very first day. We went up
totheHighCourtonthisissue.WealsoapproachedtheElectionCommission
againsttheactionsofthepolicecommissioner.ButNarendrabhaiinsistedthat
we should not start a battle against the administration. That would create an
image of the CM trying to bulldoze officials. He said let them do what they
will.Weshouldfocusonourownworkandletthepeoplejudgeforthemselves.
Rajkot Administration Acted at Congress Behest
ThedistrictadministrationplayedalongwiththeCongressgamebecause
of their old links and the continuing clout of former chief ministers
Keshubhai Patel and Shankar Singh Waghela. For example, on February
4, 2002 Sanjh Samachar reported that following a complaint from the
Congress Party, the city administration had defaced the hoardings put
up by the BJP as part of its election outreach.
Yesterday, as per the orders of the Election Commission, water was sprayed
[to deface] the BJP hoardings put up in different locations in the city. In this
regard Vijaybhai Rupani said, “Since the chief minister is fighting the election
from Rajkot, BJP has ensured that the code of conduct should be meticulously
observed with full commitment at every step of the election campaign. As per
the regulations of the code of conduct, during elections hoardings cannot

be put up on the walls of institutions of local administration. We honoured
this restriction. BJP posted its election campaign material on the personally
owned spaces of various ad agencies for which they had previously obtained
contracts from the Municipal Corporation. The act of spraying water on the
election campaign hoardings was unworthy and unprecedented. The BJP is
conducting its campaign without violating the code of conduct. This action
of the Election Commission will be challenged in the Court.”
The Rajkot Municipal Corporation had a Congress majority. There the
municipal commissioner happily obeyed the dictates of Congress leaders
and passed an order that Modi’s campaign hoardings be defaced. The
Election Commission also supported the misdoings of the Congress.
On February 5, 2002 Sanjh Samachar again reported that following a
complaint from the Congress Party, the city administration had defaced
51 hoardings put up by the BJP as part of its election outreach. This was
in fact ordered by Rajiv Dube, Observer, Central Election Commission.
However,theBJPwonthisbattlelegally.OnFebruary9,2002,SanjhTimes
reportedthattheCentralElectionCommissionandtheRajkotMunicipal
Corporation have had to reverse the orders. The report goes on to say:
BJP’s senior leader Vijay Rupani announced that BJP has won the battle in the
controversy created by the Municipal Corporation over election campaign
through hoardings.... He said that the BJP [had put up hoardings] We did all
this while staying within the legal boundaries. Despite this, the State Election
Commission had interpreted the order of 29-02-1998 in a wrong manner and
declared that putting up hoardings in public places was a violation of the code
of conduct....
Without giving a proper hearing to BJP’s submission that it was within the
law to carry out election campaign through hoardings, the official machinery
had overnight removed all hoardings thus creating a big controversy. But,
the Central Election Commission has now given permission to the BJP
and cancelled its earlier order of 28-01-1998. This amounted to a victory
for the BJP.
Rupani also described how when Shankar Singh Waghela became the chief
minister and subsequently fought a bye-election, he had brazenly violated the
code of conduct. However, this time despite there being a BJP government
in the state and the chief minister himself fighting the election in Rajkot,
both the BJP as well as the chief minister were committed to staying within

the maryada (limits) set by the code of conduct and observe all its rules very
strictly while conducting their election campaign….
Smear Campaign of 2002 Foreshadows Current Tactics
InadditiontousinggovernmentmachinerytoputobstructionsinModi’s
campaign,theCongressPartyalsolaunchedano-holdsbarredsleazeand
slander campaign against Modi. This was in brazen violation of the code
of conduct mandated by the Election Commission. But, Modi got no help
from the State Election Commission nor the Rajkot police.
To quote Rupani, “They dragged in his child marriage accusing him of
abandoning his wife, tried linking his name with whoever they could.”
Anandiben Patel’s daughter told me during the course of an interview
that despite being an elder of the Sangh Parivar who had known her
mother for decades, Keshubhai did not hesitate to smear Anandiben’s
name by linking it with Modi. Anandiben is ten years senior to Modi
and is a grandmother.
In fact, the anti-Modi faction in the BJP managed to manipulate the
jealousy and resentment of Anandiben’s husband Mafat Lal with her
politicalsuccesstolevelthemostlibelliouschargesagainsthisownwifeby
alleging that she had risen high in politics because of her “close” relations
with Modi. The charge was absurd because Modi had been CM only for
four months and had returned to Gujarat after six years. Anandiben
was not a novice brought into politics by Modi. She had already been a
ministerinKeshubhai’scabinet.Butitdidn’tdeterModi’sopponentsfrom
casting sleazy aspersions on Modi using Anandiben’s name.
For instance, on February 16, 2002, there was a front page headline in
Sanjh Samachar saying that the police put up barricades (nakabandi)
following a secret report that a truck load of pamphlets levelling
defamatory personal attacks against Modi had been dispatched from
Ahmedabad to Rajkot. But the literature was not caught:
Huge quantities of literature with dushprachar (evil propaganda) have been
brought out… Very few days are left for the Rajkot Assembly bye-election.
At such a time the appearance of huge quantities of scandalous literature
indulging in venomous propaganda against the chief minister through
levelling scurrilous attacks on his personal life in brazen violation of the code
of conduct laid by the Election Commission had seriously upset BJP circles…
Suddenly, in every street, pamphlets carrying defamatory and venomous

attacks against Narendrabhai were being sold. This had created consternation
in the BJP camp. ...On getting this information, the police set up a picket at
Kawada Road. But it went deep into thought (soch mein doob gayi) since no
vehicle passed that way.
These trucks seemed to have vanished into thin air but not without
offloading all the defamatory literature in Rajkot because the same
evening all of it was being distributed at every street corner in Rajkot.
This too indicated police complicity.The report goes on to say that the
circulation of a relatively unknown paper calledBindu Patrika published
from Ahmedabad had suddenly skyrocketed because it published highly
calumnious material against Modi.
The special increase in the circulation of Bindu was attributed to the bizarre
collation of news clips, pictures and clips of information published in various
newspapers. As per information received, lakhs of copies of this daily paper
from Ahmadabad have been circulated all over the city [Rajkot]….…After the
Congress Party’s press conference on February 16, photocopies of another
pamphlet regarding the personal life of the chief minister were sent to various
offices in Rajkot.
On receiving complaints from the BJP, the police made a pretence
of ordering an investigation into the publication of a defamatory
advertisement in various Gujarati papers with the caption, “Pratham
Shreni ki Jamaat.”Butsincethat wasonlyapretence, nothingreallycame
of it. On February 17, 2002, the Sanjh Times wrote:
Even while the tension over the distribution of scurrilous material published
in a daily newspaper had not calmed down, the distribution of multi-coloured
pamphlets against the State and Central government in different parts of the
city created a big stir…As the campaign for the Rajkot bye- election reaches
a crescendo, a BJP worker clashed with Congress workers distributing anti-
Modidefamatoryliterature.AsthepolicetriedtotaketheseCongressworkers
in its mobile van, Congress Party workers Umesh Rajguru, Kashyap Shukla,
and several others rushed to the chowk…that heated up the atmosphere still
further …
Congress workers climbed on to the bonnet of the police jeep. But the police
did not indulge in lathi charge. Instead it dealt with these Congress workers

with gentleness. … It is noteworthy that the former presidents of the Congress
Party were personally distributing these pamphlets in the Race Course area.
There were three-four different kinds of pamphlets being distributed by the
Congress Party, including one addressed to the Patel community in the name
of the Panchayat Vice President Lalitbhai Kagthara and Vajubhai Boda.…BJP
tried to put pressure on the police to stop the circulation of these pamphlets
but police declined to do so saying that they did not contain the name of
the printer or publisher and that the pamphlet was simply a cut and paste of
old reports, news clippings and cuttings. These pamphlets continued being
distributed till late in the evening.
Police Complicity with Congress
These colour booklets were described in Sanjh Times reports as vikrit
tareeke se chhapi (published with a perverse mind set). The newspaper
reports clearly show that the police was acting in a partisan manner by
going soft on the Congress Party workers creating havoc for the BJP
candidate. This gives an idea of the state of policing in Gujarat when
Modi took charge and the partisan conduct of the police in favour of
the Congress Party.
On February 17, Jaihind, another local daily of Rajkot, reported
that Congress workers had been boiling in rage because Rajkot police
commissioner had passed an order restricting the distribution of
denigratoryandobscenepamphletsagainstNarendraModi.This,despite
the fact that the order had been passed in the penultimate phase of the
election, by which time the objectionable literature had been widely
distributed.
OnFebruary18,Jaihindreportedthatafewhoursbeforetheconclusion
of the election campaign, Congress workers clashed with the police
because a large mob of them insisted on rushing into the Rajkot police
commissioner’sofficetoprotestagainstanorderbanningthedistribution
of literature targeting Modi. Their behaviour was so rowdy right inside
police commissioner’s compound that the police had to lathi-charge the
mob. However, the news report also says that the lathi charge was mild,
meantmoretoprotectthepolicecommissioner’sofficeratherthancontrol
lawless actions of Congress workers.
On February 18, the Sanjh Times reported that BJP’s demand for
the arrest of the publisher of Bindu magazine which had published
defamatory material against Prime Minister Vajpayee and the Chief

Minister Narendra Modi was dismissed by the Chief Magistrate Shri
Dave because the IPC sections under which the police filed the case do
notallowforpunishment.Therefore,arrestwarrantscouldnotbeserved.
This too indicates that the Rajkot police was deliberately going soft on
all those indulging in a perverse campaign against Modi and even Prime
Minister Vajpayee. The police did pretend to order an investigation since
BJP leaders kept knocking at their doors. But as Vijaybhai Rupani says
they did nothing to stop those smearing Modi’s name through baseless
allegations, even though the law of the land and the election code of
conduct merited strict action.
On February 19, 2002 just four days before the election date, the Sanjh
Times had the following headlines: “Two arrested while distributing a
controversial pamphlet and other material indulging in personal attacks.
Policeraidedseveralplaces.Thosedistributingthematerialescapedfrom
some places.” It adds:
Keeping in view the impending elections, after the Police Commissioner
Upendra Singh issued a farman (order) last night, two separate complaints
were registered with the Malviya Nagar police. Two persons connected with
violating this farman were held by the police for selling the controversial
newspapers and the colour printed pamphlet near Saurashtra High School.
Eventhispretenceofactionbythepolicewasonlytakenagainstahandful
ofthosesellingthepamphletsnamelylowerlevelfunctionaries.Noaction
was taken against those who had written or published the pamphlets and
those really behind its distribution.
The Congress Party had also succeeded in instigating government
employees against Narendra Modi who was trying to streamline
administration, curb wasteful expenditure, combat corruption and gear
up administrative machinery to deliver good governance. On February
19, 2002 the newspaper Jaihind reported as follows:
Government employees have declared that they will vote against the BJP
becausetheyarereallytiredofvariousmeasuresofharassmentinitiatedbythe
Gujarat government. These include a moratorium on filling 35,000 back-log
vacancies,20percentcutinDearnessAllowance,newtransferpolicywhereby
any government employee can be sent to any post. The Congress government
had introduced a policy of giving bonus to government employees. But the

new BJP government has stopped this tradition. The families of government
employees are in dire distress because they did not get the Diwali bonus. On
the other hand, the government is spending crores of rupees in Lok Kalyan
Melas (People’s Welfare Fairs) in order to win votes. Due to these misdoings
both the government as well as semi-government employees of zila panchayat
schools and colleges as well as of municipal corporations are very angry.
The chief minister will have to face the wrath of employees who carry
thousands of votes.
Using Sleaze & Instigating Communal Polarisation
Even though defamatory and salacious material against Modi were
circulatedbywell-knownCongressmenfromtheverydayhisnomination
from Rajkot was announced, yet it was only in mid-February that the
policecommissionerputabanoncirculationofmaterialthatviolatedthe
code of conduct established by Election Commission. But, on the ground
the police did precious little to curb slanderous material. Narendra Modi
could have used his executive powers as the chief minister to impose a
ban but he did not do so. Instead, the BJP unit in Rajkot was instructed
to follow due process in handling the issue. So they kept appealing to the
relevant authorities for legal action against wrongdoers.
As reported by Jaihind on February 19, 2002, The Congress Party
was brazen enough to challenge in Court the belated order of the police
commissioner restraining the circulation of obscene literature as a
“restriction on their freedom of speech.” The Government lawyer argued
that the order of the police commissioner does not put any restrictions
on healthy campaigning, and that the order only restricted circulation
and publication of false defamatory material. On February 19 Jaihind
again named senior Congressmen involved in printing yet another anti
Modi pamphlet:
Apamphletentitled,Natumama,lampooningthecharacterofNarendraModi
written by the former speaker of the Gujarat State Assembly Harish Chandra
Patel, has now become notorious. It has created a big stir in Rajkot. This is the
third such pamphlet after the first one distributed by the Bindu weekly and
the second one by Yatin Ojha. A Congress worker named Mahendra Shah was
distributing this pamphlet when he was nabbed by the police… After this, a
gang of Congress workers proceeded towards the police commissioner’s office
and tried to force entry.

ThereportgoesontomentionthenamesofseveralotherCongresspersons
whoweredistributingthispamphletinviolationofpolicecommissioner’s
orders but only a couple of them were booked by the police. On the same
day, another news report says, “Alleging that the police is dancing to
the tunes of the chief minister, the Congress has demanded the transfer
of several police officers.” It adds that a petition was handed over to the
Chief Election Commissioner Mr. Lyngdoh, by former Chief Minister
Shankar Singh Waghela and several Congress leaders including Narhari
Ameen. These leaders threatened that if the named police officers were
not transferred, they would go on hunger strike.
On February 21, 2002, it again reported that Congress leader Narhari
Amin has demanded transfer of the police commissioner for trying to
restrict circulation of its defamatory literature. The rage of the Congress
Party at the token actions of the police to stop the circulation of vile
literature in violation of the election code showed how habituated they
were to misusing the police for partisan ends.
Asthe statementsand publicspeechesofNarendraModiand other BJP
leaders quoted above clearly shows, there was not a trace of communal
poison or anti-Muslim sentiment in them. If anything, Muslims had
deserted the Congress Party in large numbers because both the BJP as a
party,andNarendraModiaschiefminister,hadconcretelydemonstrated
their sensitivity towards the community’s special needs as well as the
commitment to inclusive politics. And yet, the Congress created such a
vicious atmosphere that there were serious apprehensions of outbreak of
communal riots to polarise votes on religious lines. For example:
When the election campaign was at its peak the banner heading of
Jaihind on February 19, 2002 read as follows: “Rajkot under the grip of
election fever, fear of communal riots.” The report goes on to say: “Only
three days are left before the bye-election and the city is in the grip of
election fever. All the state-level BJP leaders have descended on Rajkot.
The administration is under severe pressure from both sides. Today there
is the last public rally of the BJP and tomorrow the Congress rally will be
addressed by film star Sunil Dutt. In the coming days, incidents of arson
may be reported from any number of areas in the city.”
Why Modi Became the Bête Noire of Congress
Despitethedo-or-dieeffortsandvenalcampaignlaunchedagainsthimby
his enemies in the Congress and within sections of the RSS and the BJP,

Modi won his first election by a comfortable margin. That only added to
his difficulties because their desperation took dangerous forms.
Eveninhisfirstelection,thePartyusedmainlysleazeanddefamationas
its weapon against Modi. While his speeches focused on his development
agenda and giving an account of constructive initiatives he had launched
in the 19-odd weeks he had been in power, the Congress campaign
centredaroundModi’spersonaandthrowingmuckathim instead ofany
constructive criticism . The loss of Muslim vote bank made the Congress
neurotic and they began using the most incendiary means to destroy
Modi.
Today,toputdownModi,Congressmendon’ttireofpraisingAtalBihari
Vajpayee as a moderate consensus builder. But while Vajpayee was prime
minister he was targeted with as much ruthlessness as Modi—only that
it cut less ice with the media or the people at large because Vajpayee was
a well known national figure. By contrast, Modi was a relatively obscure
regional leader for most Indians, as well as for most media professionals.
Therefore,toprojecthimastherabid,monstrousfaceofHindutvabecame
relativelyeasy,thankstothewillingco-operationlentbycelebritiesinthe
national media. For example, during the same period while Vajpayee was
campaigningfortheUPelections,onFebruary19,2002, Jaihindreported
as follows on how Vajpayee had to deal with anti-BJP propaganda among
the Muslims in other states:
While Atal Bihari Vajpayee was campaigning in Varanasi, he was constrained
to say, “even if the Muslims don’t vote for the BJP, it will still be victorious.”
He also alleged that after the elections to the four state assemblies are over, the
opposition will try to bring down his government. While addressing a public
meeting in Uttar Pradesh, he compared this trait of the opposition to that of a
cat which eagerly awaits for the butter filled matki to somehow break. He said
they would not let this expectation to be realised. “There are some people who
are telling the Muslims not to vote for the BJP whereas the truth is that the BJP
has never worked against any minority, including the Muslims.”
Speaking about the Muslims, he said the BJP cannot be accused of being
anti-Muslim. The BJP-led Central government as well as BJP governments in
various states give equal treatment to Muslims. Therefore, Muslims have no
cause to go against the BJP. Despite this, if the Muslims don’t vote for us, the
BJP is still sure of victory.

It is noteworthy that, in contrast to the supposedly liberal Vajpayee, who
in hindsight is presented by Congress and the Left as the more acceptable
and inclusive face of BJP, the so-called poster boy of aggressive Hindutva
never for a moment ruled out Muslim support. He not only established
goodrapportwithMuslimsofhisconstituencyandelsewhereinGujarat,
especiallyKutchbutactuallygotsolidelectoralsupportfromalmostevery
section of the Muslim community for his very first election. As quoted
in the previous chapter, election booths with over 70 per cent Muslim
majority population gave a big lead to BJP and helped in Modi’s victory.
This is what singled him out as the most serious and potent threat for the
Congress Party. Modi had succeeded where even Vajpayee had failed!
Parallels Between 2002 and 2014 PM Election
Themaliciousattemptsatcharacterassassinationwhichstartedwayback
in2001,hasn’tstoppedtilldate.Today,evenrespectedsocialscientistsand
researchers claiming to write research-based treaties on Modi have kept
this industry alive. One of the latest in this extremely lucrative industry
is Nilanjan Mukhopadhyaya’s trivia tract named, Narendra Modi: The
Man, The Times1
. His is the latest valiant attempt to dig out some dirt
and link Modi’s name to some sex scandal or the other. But the poor man
could not get anything beyond whispers and rumours shared with him
by professional Modi baiters in Gujarat. But they too chose to remain
anonymous.HetriedhisbesttogetModi’ssupposedly“abandonedwife”
Jasodaben to provide him some juicy material. But like all others, he
failed miserably. So he relies on wily insinuations linking Modi with his
much older colleague and current revenue minister, Anandiben Patel.
Such insinuations have led nowhere and yet are resurrected before every
election. For the 2014 parliamentary elections, Congress Party has tried
to add a criminal touch to this character assassination by using Pradeep
Sharma, a suspended IAS officer charged with serious criminal offences,
to make wild allegations about his possessing an obscene video with
Modi and a young woman architect2
. No such video has been produced
1 NilanjanMukhopadhyaya,NarendraModi:TheMan,TheTimes(Chennai:Tranquebar
Press, 2013).
2 For details of Pradeep Sharma’s case, see: Madhu P. Kishwar, “Ulta Chor Kotwal Ko
Daante: Indicted IAS Officer, Pradeep Sharma’s Counter Offensive against Narendra
Modi,”December3,2013,Web.http://www.manushi.in/articles.php?articleId=1738#.
Uv3tQUKSxJP.

as evidence but Sharma, with the open connivance of Congress leaders,
prominentjournalists,TVanchors,andmanyotherworthiesfromNGOs
and media have pilloried Modi for months using this flimsy case. The
Congress Party also helped Sharma file a case in the Supreme Court
alleging he is being hounded because he has an obscene video of Modi.
The Home Ministry has set up an inquiry into the matter knowing full
well that nothing will come out of it. It is simply meant to keep the issue
alivetilltheparliamentaryelectionof2014.Asin2002,soalsonow,Modi
hasn’t condescended to issue a rejoinder or clarification.
During the course of one of my interviews, when I asked Modi how he
coped with all these vile attacks, he said:
This well-orchestrated campaign shows their desperation. If a person has big
flaws, it is easy to catch and portray them. But, if you cannot find any big flaws
then people go for making allegations for which no proof is required - call the
person arrogant, or allege some sex scandal. There is no way I can refute such
charges. My philosophy is to use the stones hurled at me to make a bridge for
myself; I believe in proving my critics wrong through my work. I keep saying,
the more muck you throw at me, the brighter will the BJP lotus bloom. That is
thenatureofthelotus,itrisesoutofkeechhad(slush)tocreateexquisitebeauty.

CHAPTER 10
Aiming for Nirmal Gujarat
& “We Can Do It” Spirit
Pre-Godhra Speeches of Modi
It is our endeavour to remove all kinds of divides—those between the high and
low, touchables and untouchables—as well as other aspects of discrimination
which have filled people’s hearts with conflicts and divided the entire humanity
into fragments…Rishi Valmiki taught us that in order to make progress in
society, you have to take along Shabari with you; if you want your society to
progress, you have to ensure that even vanars stand by you. If you want to move
ahead, you have to embrace Kevat. …We have come together at this place to
express our commitment to follow his message.
Narendra Modi on December 1, 2001
I have come to pray to the sants that their blessings may generate the creative
energy that enables the 5 crore Gujaratis and 100 crore fellow Indians to
acquire so much self-confidence that our society is rid of negativity and guilt.
Narendra Modi on January 1, 2002
Even while undertaking major new initiatives and spending
enormous amounts of time on earthquake rehabilitation, within
the first few weeks of his assuming power, Narendra Modi addressed
meetings of scores of citizens’ groups, especially the poor and the
marginalised. What he spoke to them about and the programmes of
actionheannounced,carry the stamp ofhis inclusive politicsofsamrasta
(social harmony through mutual love and respect), which gives primacy
to addressing the problems of the most disadvantaged.
I am reproducing my English translations of two of his speeches as
illustrative examples. Both these speeches are addressed to a Hindu
audience—the first one on December 1, 2001, at the occasion of Valmiki
JayantiandthesecondoneonJanuary1,2002,atthecentenarycelebrations

of Swaminarayan sect. As with the earlier speeches I have quoted from,
there is not a hint of divisive communal rhetoric in either these two
or several other of Modi’s speeches of pre-Godhra period that I heard
through video recordings. I invite the readers to judge for themselves
whether Modi really sounds like a man itching to engineer riots in order
to consolidate the Hindu vote bank, as alleged by Congress Party’s spin
doctors.
At Valmiki Jayanti, December 1, 2001
MaharishiValmiki,alsoreveredas AdikaviortheFirstPoet,istheauthor
of Ramayana, one of the foremost epics of India. The speech given below
was delivered by Modi to celebrate the legacy of Maharishi Valmiki:
Sharad Purnima arrives when the moon blossoms with 16 kalas (qualities
that make for perfection in divinity). Similarly, Valmiki Jayanti represents the
glow of 16 kalas resplendent with gyan (knowledge) that we have received as a
cultural legacy from Rishi Valmiki1
. They inspire even the present generation.
There are many popular myths and stories associated with Rishi Valmiki
that are alive through oral tradition. We have no authoritative basis to say
what kind of life Rishi Valmiki lived. But due to his visionary writing, the life
of Prabhu Ram ji has provided limitless inspiration for thousands of years.
Wheneverone’smindisdisturbedandonewantstofindananchorinlife,when
one wants to know what ought to be the inter-relation between one human
being and another, between individuals and society, between nar (humans)
and vanar (animals), between nar (humans) and Narayan (the Divine), what
kind of social organisation we need, Rishivar has given us the best possible
literature on these issues. The auspicious occasion of his birth anniversary is
the appropriate time to repay our debt to Rishi Valmiki, to bow before him
and live life according to the inspiration provided by him.
On this occasion, I join you in offering my naman (paying my respect) to
RishivarValmikiandfollowthepathofestablishingsamrasta.Thegovernment
1 Valmiki was born a Brahmin but raised by a sweeper woman. He became a highway
dacoittoraisehisfamily,untilhehadanencounterwithsageNarada.Bytherepetition
ofRamanamaorthenameofRam,heattainedthesupremestateofa‘maharishi’.Since
a ‘valmika’ or an anthill had grown over his body during his long period of austerities
andstateoftapasya,hecametobeknownasValmiki.Thecasteandcommunitiesthat
have come in recent centuries to be condemned to the job of cleaning human waste
and hence treated as untouchable, claim their ancestry to Sage Valmiki.

of Gujarat is committed to paying attention to the problems of each and every
community of Gujarat, especially those living in rural areas, as per the path
shown to us by Rishi Valmiki.
RishiValmikilaidcentralfocusonawakeningthepoweroftruthinorderto
destroyevil.Hedidnotdesireorenvisagetheslayingofdemonicforcesmerely
through the force of war. He has presented a whole vision of a well-organised
society in order to defeat asuri (demonic) powers. Prabhu Ramchandra was
competent to handle his adversary [Ravan] by himself. But Rishi Valmiki
inspired him to mobilise and carry along the power of the entire range of
vanjeevan (forest life) including vanars (monkeys), to ignite divine energy in
them for the purpose of destroying subversive forces in society that appear
in the form of asuras (demons). This social mobilisation of the good included
not just Ravan’s own brother and son, but his whole family. Rishi Valmiki
has taught us to live by energising and bringing together positive energies of
society in order to destroy asuri shakti.
Hetaughtusthatinordertomakeprogressinsociety,youhavetotakealong
Shabari2
withyou;ifyouwantyoursocietytoprogress,youhavetoensurethat
even vanars stand by you. If you want to move ahead, you have to embrace
Kevat3
. Rishi Valmiki gave all these messages. We have come together at this
place to express our commitment to follow his message.
When I was student of social sciences, I had read that there were people in
this country who forced our Valmiki brothers to tie a broom to their waist
when passing through their neighbourhood or street so as to avoid leaving
their footprints behind. These kinds of cruelties have been inflicted both
2 Shabari,ahumbleforestdweller,iscountedamongtheforemostdevoteesofLordRama
in the epic Ramayana. During his exile, while searching for Sita, Ram chances upon
Shabari’s hut. Out of her love for Rama, she wants to make sure that he only gets the
sweetest wild fruits that she had gathered from the forest. Therefore, she tastes them
before offering it to him. Seeing how lost she is in her devotion, Ram partakes them
lovingly. Shabari has come to symbolise pure love and devotion, which humbles God
himself. She also represents traditional forest dwelling communities of India, some
of whom were designated as ‘tribal’ by the British. This misleading nomenclature has
stayed intact even in post-Independent India. Modi is invoking her as a symbol of
marginalisedcommunitieswhosedevelopmenthisgovernmentpromisestoprioritise.
3 In the epic Ramayana, Kevat refers to a humble community of boat rowers. This
particular incident refers to a boatman, named Guha, who ferried Ram, Sita and
Lakshman across a river during their years of exile. Kevat achieved moksha- that is
liberatedfromthecycleoflifeanddeath,atthehandsofRamduetohisselflessdevotion
tohim.ThiscommunitybegantobecountedamongthemostbackwardcastesofIndia
on account of its economic marginalisation that began during colonial regime.

on your and my ancestors. We are just attempting to wash away those sins.
Friends, when we care about the problems of the marginalised sections of our
society, it is not part of party politics (rajkaran) but is a part of samajikaran
(strengthening society).
Genuine governance involves winning over the hearts of the poor, the
wretched. One has to wipe this sin through one’s sweat and blood. It is only
when we wash these sins that we become worthy of winning over the hearts
of people.
It is our endeavour to remove all kinds of divides—those between the
high and low, touchables and untouchables—as well as other aspects of
discrimination which have filled people’s hearts with conflicts and divided
the entire humanity into fragments. This creates enormous hurdles in the
progress of India. If we want to remove these obstacles, we have to engage
seriously with samajikaran.
It is incorrect to say that savarnas (certain upper castes) alone commit
atrocities on us. In our society, we have numerous horizontal divides as well.
Atonetime,weusedtoreadinnewspapersthatDalitsareallonehomogenous
community. But, if someone were to ask a Valmiki regarding his social status
after 50 years of independence, what kind of answer are we likely to get?
When I invited a Dalit girl to place a Kumbh at my residence on the occasion
of ‘Vijay Dashami’, it is not because someone asked me to do so. It is because I
believe it is the collective responsibility of all of us to change this mindset. This
disease is so deep rooted in our society that the mindset of even those who are
well-educated,smart,andconverseinEnglishhasnotreallychangedonthisissue.
Wehavedecidedtoconstruct100,000housesforourbrothersoftheValmiki
samaj, who have thus far spent their lives in jhopadis (hutments). In addition,
to changing social attitudes towards health issues, under the Nirmal Gujarat
programme, we are constructing 10,000 public toilets in urban areas as part
of our endeavour to provide all possible facilities to those who have lived in
jhopadis thus far.
This decision to construct 10,000 toilets was taken today itself on sage
Valmiki’s birthday. We will set up a Safai Karamchari Corporation for
the benefit of those whose ancestors have made vital contribution towards
keeping Gujarat clean. Taking inspiration from those who have worked hard
for centuries for maintaining cleanliness in society, we raise the flag of Nirmal
Gujarat (Clean Gujarat).
This government wants to transform Gujarat into a Nandanvan (the
legendary idyllic forest associated with Lord Krishna) with the initiative

and hard work of five crore Gujaratis. This government wants to awaken the
creative imagination of five crore Gujaratis to keep the flag of Gujarat flying
high. I am giving a call to all of you to make Nirmal Gujarat a reality…
Our ancestors have been in the forefront in their role as health service
providers. They have also been icons of sahan shakti (forbearance) besides
playing a key role in literary creativity. Bowing my head before such
a community, I have come to take your blessings that I may fulfill the
responsibilities you have all assigned to me, I express my deepest gratitude
to all of you. Please raise your right hand to join me in this slogan. I will say
‘Apna Gujarat’; you say, ‘Anokha Gujarat’ (Our Gujarat, Incredible Gujarat).
The following things stand out in this speech:
Though he identifies closely with the historic injustices suffered by the
untouchablesweepercommunitythatheisaddressing,especiallysince
Modi himself comes from one of the most impoverished “backward”
castes, he does not instigate anti-upper caste sentiment among his
audiences. Unlike most other lower caste leaders, there is no trace of
bitternessorhostilityagainstuppercastesinModi’sspeech.Thisdespite
the fact that the powerful Patel lobby and certain other upper castes
of Gujarat viewed Modi with a great deal of hostility when he became
chief minister. Instead he emphasises that redressing these historic
injustices has to be treated as the collective responsibility of the entire
society with government playing an active role.
Instead of playing on the inferiority complex thrust on the Valmiki
community on account of the “lowly” job of scavenging they have been
associated with, Modi gives it a positive spin to make them feel proud
of their vital contribution to society.
“We Can Do It” Speech on January 1, 2002
A similar compassionate, samras, and constructive worldview is evident
in the speech delivered on January 1, 2002, at the Swaminarayan sect’s
centenary celebrations in Rajkot. Here are key extracts from that speech:
I am familiar with the traditions of this institution… If we examine the
millennia-old gurukul tradition, we will find that most of those who became
immortal [through their great actions] in history received their sanskars from
thegurukulsystem.Thistraditionhadsomuchsamarthya(capability)because
itdidnotjustprovidebookknowledge,livelihoodskillsormerelytrainpeople

to acquire degrees. This tradition taught human beings to become humane.
This institution cultivates in men the capability to rise from being mere men
to becoming divine (nar se narayan).
This institution has cultivated an atmosphere that inculcates the sanskar of
rising above aham (self-hood) towards vyam (ourness), whereby people are
transformed from being self-centred to being inherently society oriented,
and inclucate sanskars (values) of collectivity to widen people’s perspective
towards life.
This great tradition teaches students to honour their gurus; it cultivates
shraddha towards sanskriti (culture) and the desire to dedicate one’s life to
doing good, whereby there is constant inspiration to sacrifice all one has for
achieving excellence. This institution carries out a nirantar (never ending)
yagya for crafting such a lifestyle. By giving primacy to the gurukul system
in Swaminarayan tradition, the light that has appeared in the land of Rajkot
has lit up the lives of not just the specially gifted students of Swaminarayan
but also created a new wave of awareness in all of Gujarat. For lighting this
lamp of social reconstruction, the entire people of Gujarat are indebted to
this institution.
It is the special genius of Hindu society that it has the capability to respond
to the needs of changing times and varied circumstances to set into motion
the required changes. There was a time when those who were rooted in this
sanskriti (culture) lived by this mantra. We converted the entire world into
aryas. The word arya doesn’t imply religious conversion. It means becoming
susanskrit (someone rooted in good cultural moral values). We gave good
values to the whole world. Times changed when we faced invaders. To protect
and defend itself from invasions became the biggest responsibility of society.
At that time, the sants of this land decided that we would not cross the seas;
we would endeavour to protect whatever we can within our land.
Times changed again after independence. With that change—be it through
the inspiration of Swami Vivekanand, the Swaminarayan tradition, the Hare
Rama-Hare Krishna movement or numerous other great men of this land—
people from diverse regions of India travelled all over the world to spread
spiritual awareness. They took this task on as a yagna to garner the collective
inner strength of society. As a result, the entire world was compelled to look
towards India. This gurukul system nurtures a tradition that has the power to
remove differences between the East and the West. It attempts to imbue the
strengths of the West with sanskars and endeavours to understand the West,
with the aim of bringing about the necessary changes in the East and to build

a world where there is no clash of civilizations and where there is no hostility
due to differences of ideology.
We need a new movement in our land to promote collective thinking,
wherebythebestaspectsofthetwocivilizationscanbedeployedforthebenefit
ofhumanity.Weneedanewthoughtmovementinourlandtogiveoursociety
a new direction
Undoubtedly, vysan mukti (freedom from harmful addictions) is essential,
and strength of character is necessary. In the last 50 years, we have tried to
instilthatinsomemeasureamongthe100croresIndians.But,ourendeavours
have somehow fallen short in many ways. Due to 1000 years of slavery, we
have developed a mindset that we are inferior. Those who ruled over us have
consistently carried out ideological assaults to remind us that we are useless as
people—thatwehavenothingworthwhileofourown.Thissenseofinferiority
and guilt has poisoned the social atmosphere and eroded our strengths. It is
very important that we recreate a sense of self-confidence in our country. This
sea of humanity has been living under the weight of guilt due to 1000 years
of slavery amidst an environment of negativity. It lacks sufficient awareness
of its own goodness.
Weneedtocreateawarenessthatthiscountryof100crores,immersedinthe
quagmire of pessimism and weighed down by guilt, is actually a very worthy
society. It has the ability to offer a lot of excellence to the world. This land
has the potential to do good to the entire world. Our ancestors had this faith.
How do we re-create that faith again? What kind of educational institutions
should we create? What kind of curriculum and syllabus should we follow?
Howdoesourentireeducationsystembringaboutsuchawarenessinthesocial
environment that inculcates nachiketa bhav (lack of attachment to material
gainandinclinationtowardsspiritualdevelopment)amongourpeopletohelp
develop the ‘we can do it’, ‘we will do it’ spirit and self-confidence in our own
society? This is a matter of grave concern today.
I feel that after independence, our society became rudderless. We could
win freedom because at that time people felt that even if they have to sacrifice
their all, they would not rest until they succeeded in winning independence
for India. But after independence, our leaders could not provide us a direction
norexplainedwhywefoughtforfreedom.Asaresult,thesenseofdutytowards
societybegantogeteroded.Thesenseof‘rights’becamestrongwhilethesense
of duty began to disappear. Wherever you look, one finds the same attitude:
“What am I going to get out of it? What is mine? What is there in it for me?”
This ‘ sense of rights’ (adhikar bhav) is making us indifferent towards ‘sense

of duty’ (kartavya bhav). Any society where the sense of duty is destroyed and
the sense of rights alone triumphs hurtles towards a dark future. Who is going
to take on the role of social reconstruction? It is not possible for politicians to
undertake this task. The sants of our rashtra (country), the gurukul tradition
of our rashtra, the acharyas of our rashtra have to nurture a new generation,
which combines self-confidence with a sense of duty. If we cultivate these two
qualities, the strength emanating from them will shape the future history of
our society….
[Modi then talks about India having joined the select few (ten) countries
with capability for making a nuclear bomb and yet, Indians feeling that they
have achieved nothing.]
We have acquired so much strength and yet we complain of having
achieved nothing… America is such a powerful nation; it has such an effective
intelligencesystemandyetterroristscameandblewupthePentagonaswellas
the Twin Towers—the heart of the American economic empire. The US could
not save these two mighty power centres. By contrast, the jawans of India
took death in their fists and sacrificed their very lives to protect the Indian
Parliament, to protect Indian democracy.
It is unfortunate that even after such mighty sacrifices, this country of
100 crores forgets the self-effacing spirit of those courageous men and keeps
singing songs of failure. This is all due to the habit of living under guilt and
mindset of negativity. During the Kutch earthquake, there was hardly any
region of this country that did not reach out to help the victims within hours.
A society trapped in the jaws of death rose up within a week to say ‘whatever
was willed by God has happened’…
Today, if you go and see the earthquake-affected areas, you will find
numerous temples of human endeavour (purusharth). I have known officials
who went out to save someone else’s child at a time when their own wife was
dead. There were officials who were performing their duty towards society
leaving behind the funerals of their own parents.
Is this not a sign of the inner resilience of our society? But, who is looking
at this strength? Just a while ago, I inaugurated a new 156-megawatt power
plant,whichwasreadiedwithin300days.Lookattheskillsrequiredtodothat!
I have come to pray to the sants that their blessings may generate the
creative energy that enables the 5 crore Gujaratis and 100 crore fellow Indians
to acquire so much self-confidence that our society is rid of negativity and
guilt. We Indians have our own limitations and flaws. Nevertheless, we can
collectively work to remove them.

Please help us in creating such an environment. There is no better way to
serve our country. In order to awaken this sense of duty among our people,
Mahatma Gandhi had once written a letter to someone, about which I feel
like talking about in this forum…
At this point, the video recording of Modi’s speech breaks. However, the
aboveextractsgiveusagoodglimpseintohismindset.Evenwhiletalking
to specific Hindu religious sects, Modi does not make any sectional or
divisive appeal. In both these, as in all other speeches, Modi talks of all
the 5 crore (now 6 crore) people of Gujarat and 100 crore Indians, that
obviously includes Hindus, Muslims, Christians et al. He focuses on
harnessing the creative energy of all sections of society for the common
good of all.
Even when talking of the 1000-year history of invasions that India
suffered, Modi does not use them to promote anti-Muslim or anti
Christian feelings. In fact, he doesn’t even mention the religions of the
invaders. His primary focus is on the defeatist mindset of most educated
Indians and the sense of “negativity” and erosion of self-esteem that has
come to characterise India of today.
This is actually aimed at the RSS and its allied outfits more than the
Congress and the Left. It is well known that many among the votaries
of Hindutva are the most inflicted with “negativity” and “sense of
collective guilt” on account of these foreign invasions. It is they who
stay traumatised by the question: What is lacking in Hindu society that
enabled small bands of foreign invaders to repeatedly defeat local rulers
and assume power over such a large population and country? The RSS
and other Hindutva votaries are the ones who have tried to din into our
heads that Hindus were subjugated because they were militarily inferior
and socially “divided” on account of social diversity unlike the culturally
homogeneous and therefore politically “united” nations of Europe. Modi
is also talking about the inferiority complex most Indians, including the
Leftists, have vis-a-vis the West which makes the educated elite blindly
emulate the ways of the West– be it in politics, scholarship culture or
social norms. But, Modi is not indulging in jingoistic nationalism and
promoting anti-West phobia. Instead, he proposes a creative partnership
and elimination of conflict between the East and the West by each
imbibing the best the other has to offer.

The tone and tenor of these two speeches pervades every single speech
that Modi delivered during the entire pre-Godhra period and continued
even after he became the target of a demonisation campaign. It defies
comprehension how a person who talks the language of samrasta and
‘ourness’tobuildanewIndiainfusedwithpositiveenergycanbeaccused
of being “divisive” leave alone itching to see bloodshed in Gujarat. It
is worth asking how and why the myth of Modi being a divisive and
murderous politician was manufactured considering all his actions
upheld the ideal of Sarva dharma sambhav—treating all religions with
respect even while being deeply rooted in one’s own.

The amazing distrotions introduced by Congress and its
leftist allies into the Godhra massacre which led to the roasting
alive, on February 27, 2002, of 59 women, children, and men travelling
on the Sabarmati Express point to their having a clear vested interest in
that gruesome tragedy.
The incident has deliberately been made controversial despite an
exhaustivereportbyanInquiryCommission,headedbyretiredSupreme
Courtjudge,JusticeG.T.Nanavati,appointedwithindaysoftheincident.
On the one hand are those who agree with the Commission’s findings
that the attack on Sabarmati Express was the result of a well-planned
conspiracy by vested interests to destabilise the BJP government in the
state. This report has established that a group of Kashmiri terrorists of
Jammu&KashmirincollaborationwithPakistan’sISIandsomeMuslim
fundamentalistsofGodhrahatchedandexecutedthisconspiracyinorder
to push the country into a communal cauldron. As documented by the
CHAPTER 11
The Godhra Train Massacre
Accident or Conspiracy?
If every time there is an inter-communal conflict, the majority is blamed
regardless of the merits of the question… the springs of traditional tolerance
will dry up.
K.M. Munshi, Freedom fighter and Congress leader, to Jawahar Lal Nehru
...no evidence to show that the chief minister and/or any other minister(s) in
his Council of ministers or police officers had played any role in the Godhra
incident or that there was any lapse on their part in the matter of providing
protection, relief...to the victims of communal riots or in the matter of not
complying with the recommendations and directions given by National
Human Rights Commission.
Justice Nanavati Commission Report, September 2008

NanavatiCommission1
,someoftheleadingaccusedandconvictedturned
out to be Congressmen of Godhra.
On the other hand, the version made internationally popular by the
Congress Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, their allied NGOs, and media is
that the Godhra incident was either an accident or engineered by the BJP
in general, and chief minister Narendra Modi in particular, to trigger
communal riots in the state with a view to polarise Gujarat on religious
lines. In order to understand the nature of the Godhra massacre and
the post-Godhra riots of 2002, we need to familiarise ourselves with the
social and political temper of Gujarat inherited by Narendra Modi and
the communally-charged history of Godhra.
As pointed out by Zafar Sareshwala and others in chapter two, under
decades of Congress rule, Gujarat had witnessed hundreds of communal
riots and also major caste riots. The BJP governments that came to power
in the 1990’s carried forward the same tradition of engineering divides
rather than working to bridge them. Modi thus inherited a highly
polarised society and polity. Towns and cities, which were witness to
repeated riots, were like a tinderbox even though rural areas, especially
Saurashtra and Kutch, did not allow riots or communal polarisation of
the kind prevailing in Ahmedabad or Surat.
Troubled History of Godhra
Godhra town in Panchmahal district may not have been a familiar
name for people outside Gujarat, but within the state it had a long and
troubled history of communal violence and strained relations between
Hindus and Muslims. A large proportion of Gujarati Hindus here is
of Sindhi origin; they migrated to Godhra at the time of the partition.
Even the Inquiry Commission, headed by Justice Nanavati, appointed to
investigateGodhrariotsbeginsitsreportwiththefollowing observation:
Godhra town is a very sensitive place. There is a high percentage of Muslim
population in various places in the district. Communal riots had taken place
in Godhra in the years 1925, 1928, 1946, 1948, 1950, 1953, 1980, 1981, 1985,
1 Justice G.T. Nanavati and Justice Akshay H. Mehta, “Part I: Sabarmati Express
Train Incident of Godhra,” Report by the Commission of Inquiry, Ahmedabad
(September18,2008),Web.http://home.gujarat.gov.in/homedepartment/downloads/
godharaincident.pdf).

1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1992. The communal riots that had taken
place in 1948 were very serious. Initially, the Muslims had burnt 869 houses
of Hindus. Thereafter, the Hindus had burnt 3,071 houses of Muslims... 2
In the book Gujarat: The Making of a Tragedy3
, journalist Jyoti Punwani,
oneoftheforemostmembersofthe“secular”brigade,andaclosecolleague
of Teesta Setalvad writes:
Stereotyping of communities is not only communal but also misleading.
Keeping this in mind, some attributes for which the Ghanchis of Godhra
are known among both Hindus and Muslims in Godhra and outside, may be
taken as applicable to a majority of them. They are known as an aggressive,
impulsive community, descendants of Afghan soldiers and Bhil women. They
were initially harvesters and traders of oil and later became farmers. Today
they are in the transport business. They are largely illiterate and poor, though
thenumberofeducatedamongthemisgrowing.TheGhanchishavehadalong
historyofviolentconflictswithGodhra’sHindus,pre-andpost-Independence.
Stereotyping communities is indeed pernicious. But stereotypes hold
only if the reality lends credence to the stereotype in some measure. The
Ghanchi Muslim community that is preponderant among the Muslims
of Godhra was feared and mistrusted even by non-Ghanchi Muslims.
Since many of them own workshops for repair of motor vehicles, a
significant section is allegedly involved in dismantling stolen motor
vehicles for use as spare parts. They also had a history of large-scale
theft of timber from neighbouring forests. Even Bohra Muslims would
earlieravoidvisitingGhanchiMuslimareas.MostpoliceandIASofficers
described it as a “difficult” posting until very recently.
Even though communal murders and attacks dating to the early
decades of the 20th century are still fresh in people’s memory, the
following incident has become part of Hindu fear-lore in Godhra: Four
Hindu teachers, including two women teachers, were hacked to death by
miscreants in Saifia Madrasa in Vhorvada area of Godhra on November
2 Justice Nanavati and Justice Mehta, “Part I: Sabarmati Express Train Incident of
Godhra”, pp. 12-3.
3 Jyoti Punwani, “The Carnage at Godhra,” in Gujarat: The Making of a Tragedy, ed.
Siddharth Varadarajan (New Delhi: Penguin Books India, 2002), p. 67.

20, 1990 in front of children. One Hindu tailor was also stabbed to death
in this area. All this was done by anti-social elements allegedly at the
instance of the Congress MLA of the area.
Fortunately, in the last ten years, with growing political stability and
massive improvements in the economic and educational infrastructure
of the area, the social and occupational profile of Godhra’s Ghanchi
community has changed noticeably. With stricter enforcement of law
and order and new economic opportunities opening up for this once-
backward community, criminal elements have been marginalised. This
has begun to change both the self view and aspirations of the Ghanchi
community as well as their image in the eyes of non-Ghanchis—both
Hindus and Muslims. But this change could not have happened if
Narendra Modi had not put in determined efforts to heal all wounds and
bridge communal divides. My forthcoming book will cover outcomes of
thishealingprocesssetintomotionbythegovernmentwhichculminated
in Modi’s Sadbhavna Yatra in 2011.
Nanavati Commission to Investigate Godhra Carnage
On February 27, 2002, an over-packed Sabarmati Express carrying over
2,000 karsevaks from Ayodhya reached Godhra station at 7.47 a.m., nearly
five hours late from its scheduled time. This train was stoned by a mob of
MuslimsasitpulledoutofthestationandstoppedafewmetersawayatSignal
Falia. Thereafter, one of the compartments was set on fire with passengers
trappedinside.Itledtoagruesomedeathfor59women,men,andchildren.
Theincident,whichwascoveredextensivelybythemedia,sentshockwaves
alloverthecountry.MostGujaratisbelievethattheGodhrakillingstriggered
off a horrific spiral of retaliatory violence in several parts of Gujarat.
On March 6, 2002, the government of Gujarat appointed Justice K.G.
Shahtoleadaone-manCommissionofInquiryintotheGodhramassacre
toascertainwhetheritwaspre-planned.Itsmandateincludedadequacyof
administrative measures taken to prevent and deal with the disturbances
in Godhra and subsequent disturbances in the state and recommend
suitable measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
But from day one of its appointment, the Congress Party and its allied
NGOs attacked the Commission and questioned the integrity of the
appointed judge. They alleged that the Godhra incident was due to
government’s failure or complicity, not a planned attack by Muslims.
The Commission was reconstituted and made high powered by a fresh

notificationofMay21,2002.AretiredjudgeoftheSupremeCourt,Justice
G.T. Nanavati, headed this two-member commission.
In response to unremitting attacks by Congress and its allied NGOs,
on July 20, 2004, the government widened the scope of the inquiry to also
probe the role and conduct of the then chief minister, cabinet ministers,
police officers, other individuals, and organisations in the Godhra
massacre as well as in dealing with the post-Godhra riots.
But even the appointment of Justice Nanavati became a target of wild
aspersions by Congress-supported NGOs, even though the judge had not
been arbitrarily chosen by Modi. This is how Modi explained the choice
of Nanavati to head the Commission:
My idea was to bring out whatever lapses occurred either by way of decision-
making or in the implementation of orders in both these cases. That would
help us learn from our mistakes. Justice Nanavati is a retired Judge of the
Supreme Court. I did not handpick him but I asked the Supreme Court to
suggestnames.TheynamedNanavatibecausehehadheadedtheCommission
ofInquiryintothe1984riots.Ipersonallydidn’tknowJusticeNanavati.Itook
whatever name was suggested by the Supreme Court because I wanted this
enquiry to be done through a proper judicial process.
In fact, I even added in its terms of reference that all the charges against me
should also be examined. If I wanted to escape scrutiny, why would I appoint
a commission to probe charges against me? They had given a memorandum
to the President against me. I handed over to the Nanavati Commission the
entire list of charges they had listed in their memorandum. And yet, they went
hammer and tongs at me.
During the six-year-long inquiry, the Commission examined a host of
eyewitnesses, documentary evidence, and forensic reports, and also
examined the facts and figures that were gathered by the investigating
officers. It received applications and affidavits from 44,475 persons and
another 2,019 statements and affidavits filed by government officers. All
the witnesses were duly cross-examined by lawyers. Those who opposed
the Gujarat government’s submission that the train massacre was part of
a larger conspiracy to destabilise the duly-elected government in Gujarat
were allowed to cross-examine witnesses and present counter-evidence.
The first part of the Nanavati Commission Report was tabled in Gujarat
Assembly on September 25, 2008.

Facts Established by the Nanavati Commission:
About 2,000-2,200 karsevaks, under the aegis of the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad (VHP), boarded the train at Ayodhya from where they were
returning after Purna Ahuti Mahayagna, organised by some Hindu
organisations as part of its ‘Ram Temple Nirman’ programme. This
movementtoconstructtheRamMandirhadearlierledtothedemolition
ofBabriMasjidonDecember6,1992bysomefromthesameorganisations,
leading to a deep schism between the Hindus and Muslims. However,
unlike the Babri Masjid demolition, Purna Ahuti Yagya had been a
peaceful affair. People from all parts of the country went to Ayodhya,
participated in the yagya and started heading back from mid-February
onwards to the end of February 2002.
That these karsevaks, including VHP cadres, were not out on a riotous
binge is evident from the fact that there were many women and children
among the families, which went for karseva in Ayodhya. It is a well-
established fact that men rarely carry young girls, women, and children
of their family along with them when they are out to foment riots. It was
alsoestablishedthatnotallthepassengersontheSabarmatiExpresswere
VHP cadres. There were many ordinary passengers in that train, which
was so packed that people were sitting on the floor and even outside the
train toilets. The railway checking staff had not been able to enter the
compartments to check ticketless travellers.
As the train rolled out of the station at 7.47 a.m., after the scheduled
five-minute halt at Godhra, some miscreants pulled the emergency chain
causing it to stop at Signal Falia, which is at a distance of about 500-700
metresfromtherailwaystation.Thisareaissurroundedbyhousingcolonies
of Ghanchi Muslims. Even as the train was coming to a halt, a mob of
about 1,500 people began stoning the train so mercilessly that people had
to down the window shutters and shut the doors of this chock-a-block
train. Many passengers took shelter on upper berths or crawled under the
lower berths to escape being hit by stones and fireballs, which were pelted
with such ferocity that many windowpanes were shattered. In addition to
stones, the attacking mob threw burning rags soaked in petroleum. The
trainwasmobbedandattackedfrombothsides,thereasonwhypassengers
could not rush out to save themselves from stones and fireballs.
Some among the stone-pelting mob cut open the canvas of S/6 coach,
thus delinking it from the adjoining coach S/7. Through that opening the
arsonists climbed on to the coach with carboys of petrol. They poured

huge quantities of inflammable liquid inside coach S/6 after forcibly
opening the inter-connecting door towards coach S/7.
This led to rapid spread of flames and smoke, which trapped the
passengers inside the coach and charred 59 men, women, and children
to death. Many more were severely injured while trying to escape.
Circumstantial evidence, testimonies of survivors, and eye-witnesses,
including the train’s driver, train guard, policemen stationed at Godhra
railway station, as well as vendors at the Godhra platform, the fire engine
drivers,andpoliceofficerswhorushedtothespotonhearingoftheattack,
plus confessions of some of the accused—all point to the fact that the
Godhra incident was pre-planned and it was part of a bigger conspiracy
inwhichnotableCongressleadersofGodhrawerenamed.JusticeTewatia
Committee went so far as to say, “The plan was to burn the entire train
with more than two thousand passengers in the wee hours of February
27, 2002. It was a terrorist action plan that partly failed. The perpetrators
oftheterroristactsreceivedsupportfromjehadielementsoperatingfrom
Godhra. These included some Congress members of the nagar palika.”4
The most prominent name mentioned in this regard is that of the then
chairman of Godhra municipality, Mohammad Hussain Kalota.
Kalota headed the Congress Minority Cell at Godhra for six years,
and had past links with Tablighi Jamaat and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen,
a Pakistan-based organisation active in Kashmir. It had also claimed
responsibility via an email for the Delhi blasts on September 7, 2011.
However, he was acquitted for “lack of evidence”. Other accused
Congressmen included Municipal Councilor Haji Bilal, Faroukh Bhana,
Abdul Rehman Ghantia, Salim Abdul Ghaffar Sheikh, Ayub Patalia,
Irfan Kalandar, Meboob Popa, Shankat Patadiya, and Siddique Vohra.
Two others—Ibrahim Dhantiya and Salim Panwala—are alleged to have
escaped to Pakistan.
The two main persons who executed this plan were Rajak Kurkur
and Salim Panwala, as “part of a larger conspiracy to create terror and
destabilise the administration.”5
To execute this murderous plan, they had procured in a tempo
4 Justice D. S. Tewatia, Dr. J. C. Batra, et al., Godhra Carnage-Justice Tewatia Report,
Council for International Affairs and Human Rights, Delhi, April 2002, pp. 35-6.
Godhra,” p. 159.

(small delivery van used for carrying goods) seven or eight carboys
of 20 litres each of petrol (over 140 litres) from the petrol station of
Kalabhai at about 9.30 p.m. on February 26, 2002. They assembled at
Aman Guest House in the Ghanchi Muslim area near Signal Falia,
mobbed the train from both sides and stoned the coaches so heavily
that the passengers could not come out. This was to ensure maximum
casualties when the S/6 coach of the Sabarmati Express was set on fire.6
The determination of the mob to cause mass killings is evident
from the account of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) B.R.
Simpi (Witness-25). When he reached the site of accident from
Vadodara at about 11a.m., hesawamobofabout2,000to2,500persons
near Ali Masjid. He testified, that they were “shouting slogans which had
the effect of hurting the religious feelings of the other community,” and
heard announcements like Islam khatre me hai, Maro, kato ( Islam is in
danger, let us cut them up and kill them)– coming from loud speakers of
the Ali Masjid. He had to order firing in order to control this aggressive
mob calling for the murder of more Hindus. This mob was demanding
that the persons who had been rounded up by the police earlier should be
released. Even with the police presence, they kept throwing stones on the
train and the stranded passengers, shouting, “Maar dalo, Kat dalo.” Six
policemen were also injured by the stone-throwing mob. Apprehending
that there would be another attack on the train and the passengers, DSP
Simpi had directed Police Constable Mansing to fire one round in the air.
It did not have any effect and, therefore, three more rounds were fired.7
Similarly, Police Sub Inspector (PSI) Gadhvi fired two rounds from his
revolver. Firing in the air did not have the desired effect and, therefore,
he directed his men to fire at the persons in the mob below their waist.
Two from the mob were injured. When the mob coming from the other
sidestartedpeltingstones,onemoreshotwasfired,whichhitoneperson.
By that time Reserve Police Force (RPF) Commandant Pande had also
arrived on the scene and ordered his men fire…
Police Inspector of CID Crime Branch, Mehbub Beg Mirza (W-19) had
reached Godhra at about 11:15 a.m. from Vadodara. He was asked by
DSP Simpi to make the passengers sit in the train. While he was doing
so, a mob of about 2,500 to 3,000 persons had come from the Signal Falia
6 Ibid., pp. 159-60.
7 Ibid., p. 123.

side. Persons therein were shouting, “Chhod do, mar dalo, kat dalo.”
while pelting stones. DSP Simpi and RPF Commandant first gave them
warnings and then ordered firing. At this point, some among the violent
mob were nabbed by the police.8
The Sabarmati Express was attacked twice—the first time when they
stopped it at Signal Falia; the second time some three hours after the
stone-throwing and burning incident, when the train was being shunted
to detach the two affected coaches. As per police testimonies, two sets
of mob resumed throwing stones on the surviving passengers waiting
in the yard for the train to resume its onward journey to Ahmedabad.
As per the instruction of the chief minister, the remaining passengers
were sent off to their respective destinations within four and a half hours
at 12.40 p.m. This was done to ensure that Godhra station didn’t get
flooded with thousands of anxious relatives and the normal train traffic
was not disrupted for long.
The 176-page report of the Commission concluded that the Godhra
train carnage was a ‘pre-planned conspiracy’ hatched a day prior to the
carnage. The purpose was to instil a sense of fear in the administration.
The Commission also concluded that: “There is absolutely no evidence
to show that either the chief minister and/or any other minister(s) in his
Council of ministers or police officers had played any role in the Godhra
incidentorthattherewasanylapseontheirpartinthematterofproviding
protection, relief, and rehabilitation to the victims of communal riots or
inthematterofnotcomplyingwiththerecommendationsanddirections
given by National Human Rights Commission.”9
It is significant that the Nanavati Commission was constrained to
record the strange and devious conduct of the railway ministry:
Strangely, the railway and its staff at Godhra did not file any statement or
produce any record (on their own), which would have helped the Commission
in finding out how the Godhra incident had actually happened, even though
the incident happened within the Godhra railway yard, there was a fire in the
train, large number of persons had lost their lives, many others had received
injuries,andtherailwaypolicewasrequiredtoresorttofiringtopreventfurther
damage.TheCommissionhadtoissuesummonstotheconcernedrailwaymen
8 Ibid., p. 125.
9 Ibid., p. 175.

to appear before the Commission and give evidence. The Commission was
also required to issue summons to higher officers to compel them to produce
certain relevant documents.10
It is noteworthy that Nitish Kumar was the railway minister when
the Godhra massacre took place. It seems, right from 2002, he was
busy making common cause with the anti-Modi lobbies to build
false cases against him. After Nitish lost the railway minister’s post
following the defeat of the NDA government in 2004, the Congress
Party-ledUPAgovernment appointed Lalu Yadavas thenewrailway
minister. Yadav played even worse games by appointing the UC
Banerjee Committee to give a clean chit to the Godhra accused.
UPA Plays with Fire, Appoints Illegal Banerjee Committee
Even during the NDA regime, the Congress Party did everything within
its means to obstruct the functioning of the Nanavati Commission.
Once the UPA government came into power in Delhi, they brazenly
violated all rules and regulations to sabotage the working of the Nanavati
Commission by:
GettingtheRailwayMinisterLaluYadavtoappointanothercommission
headed by Justice Banerjee to inquire into the Godhra incident, vide
GovernmentofIndianotificationdatedSeptember2,2004.This,despite
the fact that a railway ministry appointed committee had no power to
carry out an investigation under criminal law.
GettingtheSupremeCourttotakedirectchargeofinvestigatingallriot-
related cases and take away the jurisdiction of the State Government.
TheBanerjeeCommitteewasaskedtoneedlesslyduplicatetheworkscope
of the Nanavati Commission. As per the provision of the Commission of
InquiryAct,1952,Section3(b),onceacommissionhasbeenappointedto
inquire into any matter by a state government, the Central government
shall not appoint another commission to inquire into the same matter.
Thus, the appointment of the U.C. Banerjee Committee was both
unconstitutionalandagainstthegovernment’sownrulesandregulations.
The Banerjee Committee submitted its report on March 3, 2006 just
ahead of the Bihar assembly election with the barely-veiled purpose of
consolidatingMuslimvotesinfavourofLalu’sparty,theRashtriyaJanata
10 Ibid., p. 7.

Dalanditsally,theCongressParty.Thusfar,allevidencehadshowedthat
a Muslim mob had attacked and set fire to the Sabarmati Express. But
Justice Banerjee came up with the conclusion that the fire in Sabarmati
Express was “accidental” and that the train had not been attacked from
outside.11
Lalu Yadav, in fact, rushed the Committee to release its interim
report just ahead of the 2005 assembly polls in Bihar. The Gujarat High
Court passed an order on March 7, 2006 directing the Railway Ministry
and all others not to give any further publicity to the Railway Ministry
Committee and not to implement or take any further action based on
their report. The Railway Ministry challenged this order in the Supreme
Court,whichinturndirectedtheGujaratHighCourttodecidethematter
expeditiously.
On October 13, 2006, the Gujarat High Court passed a noteworthy
judgment declaring the Banerjee Committee illegal. It quashed the
notification by the Union Railway Ministry constituting the Banerjee
Committee. The court order also mentioned that releasing the interim
report before the Bihar elections was a mala fide act.
Bizarre Justifications in Defense of Godhra Accused
The Godhra accused were defended by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, the
Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, and a Congress proxy NGO, Jan
Sangharsh Manch. The arguments they put forth to rubbish the charge
of pre-planned attack by a group of miscreants (some with pronounced
Congress Party links) not only added insult to injury but also revealed
theextenttowhichtheCongressPartycouldgoindefendingthoseguilty
of mass murder.
OneofthemostbizarrechargesmadebytheGujaratPradeshCongress
Committee,initsstatement-cum-affidavitdatedJuly1,2002,signedbyits
thenPresidentChaudhariAmarsinghBhilabhaiwasthatNarendraModi,
with the help of a state minister, had himself conspired and instigated
this massacre to trigger communal riots in Gujarat. The absurdity of it is
clear from the fact that just three days before, Modi had won his first ever
electionfromRajkotwithamassivesupportfromtheMuslimcommunity
11 DNA Press, “Excerpts from the Justice U C Banerjee Committee Report,” DNA India,
March 3, 2006, Web. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-excerpts-from-the-
justice-u-c-banerjee-committee-report-1016092.

in Rajkot, which defiantly deserted the Congress Party to vote for Modi.12
Moreover,onFebruary27,2002,Modiwastopresenthisfirsteverbudget.
No chief minister would plan such a disruption on such an eventful day.
Mischievous Stories Spread by Congress Allies
The Nanavati Commission notes that, “Till July, 2002 neither the Jan
Sangharsh Manch, nor the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, nor
anyone else had suggested that the Godhra incident had not happened
in the manner reported by the media and as stated by the State
government and others including the concerned railway personnel and
the passengers...”13
Abduction of Muslim girl provoked Muslims? One of the devious
stories put into circulation by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (JUH) was that
one of the karsevaks had attempted to abduct a Muslim girl and that
the Muslim mob that attacked the train had only intended to recover
the girl. On December 27, 2002, advocate of JUH, gave an application
for calling one Sofiyabanu before the Commission to give evidence. She
was examined on January 13, 2003. She stated that she was a resident of
Vadodara,andwasonavisittoherauntJaitunbibiresidingatSignalFalia.
On February 27, at about 7:30 a.m., she had gone with her mother and
sister to catch a train to Vadodara. Suddenly, some karsevaks shouting
‘Jai Bajrang’ came out on the platform. “One person with a saffron colour
belt had put his hand on her mouth and by pulling her, had tried to take
her towards the train. On her raising shouts, he let go of her.”
TheNanavatiCommissionjunkedthisstoryasaspost-factofabrication
for the following reasons:
Aftercarefulscrutinyofherevidence,theCommissioncomestotheconclusion
thattheversiongivenbyherdoesnotappeartobetrue…Theallegedattemptto
abductherwasmadewhiletheywerenearthebookstall.Thatwouldmeanthat
theywerealmostinthemiddleofthecoveredportionoftheplatformandvery
close to the offices of the railway staff. The evidence discloses that there were
many persons on the platform. Apart from passengers, many Muslim vendors
12 See chapter 8.
Godhra,” p. 136.

were there. The railway staff was present in their offices. Some policemen were
also present. If she had raised shouts to save her then they would have been
heard at least by some persons who were near about. But not a single vendor
or anyone else has come forward to support her version. According to her
evidence, they had then gone inside the office of the booking clerk. They did
not inform anyone there about what had happened… Her explanation that
she was much frightened and had giddiness and, therefore, they had decided
not to go back to Vadodara on that day, does not appear to be true…
It is also difficult to believe that a Ramsevak had attempted to abduct a
GhanchiMuslimgirlfromGodhrarailwaystation,andthattoointhepresence
of so many persons. Likely consequences of such an act would have deterred
any Ramsevak from doing so. Her evidence is that they had gone away from
the railway station when Sabarmati Express train was about to start. By that
time, most of the Ramsevaks must have gone inside the train. As regards
when she had talked about this incident to anyone, she has stated that three
or four days after the incident, she was taken to a relief camp which was set up
in Iqbal school and there she was questioned by some press reporters. After
about a month her statement was recorded by the railway police. In her police
statement she had stated that after about five or six days somebody belonging
to their caste had taken her to Iqbal school. As she had not stated anything to
anyoneaboutthisincidenttillthennooutsiderwouldhavecometoknowabout
the same. Under the circumstances, it becomes doubtful and suspicious why
somebody had approached her after about five days and taken her to a relief
camp and that too at the time when press reporters were present.
Salim Panwala had ran shouting before Sabarmati Express train had
started from the station that one Ghanchi Muslim girl was being abducted
by the karsevaks. Salim Panwala was not present near that place and had
not seen the alleged attempt to kidnap Sofiyabanu and yet he had raised an
alarm that a Ghanchi Muslim girl was being kidnapped by the karsevaks.
This evidence discloses that Salim Panwala had appeared on the platform
at about the time when Mohammad Latika and Sidik Bakar had gone
running near the open space towards the engine side. For all these reasons
the Commission is inclined to take the view that such an incident had, in fact,
not happened and probably what Sofiyabanu has stated was at the instance
of Salim Panwala who had spread such a false rumour. It appears to be an
attempt to pass off the false rumour as true. If what Salim Panwala had said
was true, then an attempt would have been made to look for her while the

train was standing on the station for about eight to ten minutes thereafter.
Nobody had done that.14
Did Passengers pull the chain and not miscreants? The Commission
also rubbished the story put forth by the Congress and the Jan Sangharsh
Manch that the two-time chain pulling, which brought the train to a halt
near Signal Falia, was done by passengers who were left behind and not
by miscreants.15
According to the Inquiry Commission, this was a pre-planned move
by those who had conspired to attack the train to trap it at Signal Falia
as it was surrounded by a Ghanchi Muslim settlement where the rioters
would have a free hand unlike at the station where there was at least a
token presence of police and numerous other witnesses.
Did karsevaks invite death by attacking tea vendor? Defending the
accused,JamiatUlema-e-HindandtheJanSangharshManchhadinitially
argued that the Ramsevaks travelling by this train had quarreled with
some Muslim vendors at Ujjain and Rudauli stations and, therefore, by
way of retaliation, this incident took place at Godhra. Since the news of
this had reached Godhra, the Muslims were already upset. At Godhra,
the karsevaks again misbehaved with vendors leading to an altercation.
But all witnesses, including the railway staff, denied any such incident at
Ujjain. Even if there was a grain of truth that there was some argument or
fight with a street vendor at Ujjain or Rudauli, for an Ujjain street vendor
to organise a mob of 1,500 or more to burn a railway coach hundreds of
miles away would point towards the existence of a countywide criminal
mafia network rather than a simple story of “action-reaction”. In his
statement, the senior divisional manager of the Railways at Ratlam had
stated that the train moved peacefully up to Dahod.
The only other evidence on this point is that of Assistant Sub-Inspector
RatnabhaiandheadconstableLakhabhaiofDahodrailwayoutpost.They
stated that when the train had arrived at Dahod railway station, some
Ramsevakstravellinginthetrainhadcomeoutontheplatformfortaking
water, tea, etc. and they had raised slogans like “Jai Shri Ram, Mandir
wahin banayenge, Ram ka naam badhayenge.” (We will build the mandir
at the same spot and bring glory to Ram’s name). Since they saw so many
14 Ibid., pp. 48-50.
15 Ibid., p. 106.

Ramsevaks travelling in that train, they had thought it fit to inform the
Godhra railway police about the same.
The testimonies before the Commission, including that of the railway
staff, established that even though the train was packed far beyond
capacity, no altercation or fight had broken out at any of the previous
railwaystations.TheCommissionnotesthat,byallaccounts,themostthe
karsevaks did was to sing ramdhun and other bhajans. They also shouted
slogansinfavourofRamMandir.Butnoneofthisledtoanyaltercationor
fightsatanyofthepreviousrailwaystations.16
TheCommission,therefore,
concludes:
From the evidence of all these witnesses and other material on record, it
becomes clear that, except overcrowding in the train and occasional raising
of slogans inside the train and on platforms of the intervening stations, the
Ramsevaks had not done anything and no incident had happened earlier
which could have led to the incident which later on happened at Godhra.
In the absence of any evidence whatsoever indicating any incident on the
way, the Commission has no hesitation in coming to the conclusion that the
suggestion made by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind that a quarrel had taken place
between Ramsevaks andvendorsatUjjain railwaystationis withoutanybasis.
Its journey from Ayodhya to Godhra was trouble-free. 17
However, at Godhra railway station, some kind of altercation—
spontaneous or stage-managed—did take place. When the train arrived
at the station, there were about ten police constables of GRP and two
constables of RPF on duty at the platform. Deputy SS Yusufali Saiyad told
the Commission that whenever a train arrives at Godhra station, many
unlicensed vendors rush to the platform to sell tea, eatables, etc. This
business is controlled by mafia elements who decide which unlicensed
vendorscanentertheplatform,whointurnemployotherstodotheactual
vending. This is the typical story of India’s notorious license-quota raj
producing mafias wherever it is imposed.
Ajay Kanubhai, an employee of one of the tea vendors, in his statement
revealed the well-organised racket through which a small group controls
vendors’ access to the station. He said almost all vendors who sell their
16 Ibid., pp. 38-40.
17 Ibid., p. 41.

goodsontheplatformthroughemployeeslikehimwereGhanchiMuslims
whose leaders were Salim Panwala and Razak Kurkur. Both were good
friends and business associates. They controlled all the vendors who were
eitherforcedorinducedtosellfakepouchesofmineralwater,fakeaerated
drinks, and other articles of Razak Kurkur. All the vendors were afraid of
Salim Panwala and Razak Kurkur. The vendors themselves were strong-
headed persons, and neither the railway staff nor the railway policemen
were able to control them.18
During the five-minute halt of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra, some
passengers stepped out for tea. Sidik Bahar, a tea vendor, reportedly had
analtercationwith Ramsevaksregardingpaymentfortheteatheybought
from him. The Ramsevaks said they had paid, while Bakar said they
hadn’t. In this altercation, some Ramsevaks had allegedly given two
stick blows to Sidik Bakar.19
But instead of going to the police, the two
Muslim vendors (Latika and Sidik Bakar) ran out towards Signal Falia
and collected a crowd that stoned the train.20
This incident was used by the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee,
the Jan Sangharsh Manch and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind to argue that
the karsevaks had “provoked” the attack on the train by their aggressive
behavior.ThistheorywasalsoliberallypeddledbyTeestaSetalvad’sNGO
along with the fake story about the attempted abduction of a Muslim girl.
Shebrazenlydeclaredthatthekarsevakscouldhardlybecalled“innocent
passengers” since they were part of VHP mobilisation. This has now
become part of the Left-Congress apologia arguing that the karsevaks
had “invited” trouble on themselves.
The logical conclusion of such a perverse argument justifying roasting
aliveofawholecoachfullofrailpassengersbecauseoneortwopassengers
allegedlyhadascufflewithateavendorwouldbethatthereactiveviolence
that followed in the rest of Gujarat is also justified. In any case, it is
inconceivable that a 1,500 strong mob can be collected within two-three
minutes to attack a train after it has left the station and that this mob
could be so motivated by that small incident to fight pitched battles with
the police in order to take revenge. Given the rest of the circumstantial
18 Ibid., p. 42
19 Ibid., pp. 43-4
20 Ibid., p. 46

evidenceitseemshighlylikelythatthealtercationwasalsostagemanaged
by those who had already planned to burn the train.
Were karsevaks cooking on a stove that caused fire? Another absurd
argument put forward by the Jan Sangharsh Manch and the Congress
Party’s lawyers in court questioned the very existence of the mob that
set fire to coach S/6 and argued that the fire was accidental—caused by a
cooking stove being overturned in the moving train.
The Commission rubbished this on the ground that the entire train,
including coach S/6,was so densely packed that people were sitting on the
floor, lying under the berths, sitting outside the toilet, blocking access to
exit and entry doors. In such a situation, it is biarre to suggest that people
would find place to set up a makeshift kitchen for cooking a fresh meal.
Secondly, if a stove had caught fire at one end, people could have easily
moved out of the train from the other end. The fact that the doors were
locked from outside by miscreants, the fact that the windowpanes had all
been smashed, and the train carried visible signs of heavy stone pelting
clearly showed this was a cock and bull story.
Thirdly, unless large quantities of inflammable material had not been
thrown into the train, the nature of burns caused could not be as severe,
and a litre of kerosene from a stove could not have led to the very floor of
the compartment caving in.
Did electrical short circuit cause fire? The flimsy argument that a
short circuit in the electrical wiring of the S/6 coach led to the fire was
also junked by the Nanavati Commission on the ground that in case of
a short circuit, the passengers would not have climbed on the top berths
for shelter because all electrical wiring is situated near the compartment
ceiling. Moreover, a short circuit fire could not have engulfed the entire
coachinsmokeandflameswithinaminute.Itwouldhavegivenpassengers
enough time to escape.
Unfortunately, these bizarre stories about the self-ignition of the coach
were given respectability by the then Railway Minister Lalu Yadav who
appointed the one-man committee in September 2004 under retired
judge U.C. Banerjee. The Committee report declared that the train
compartment being so high above the ground could not possibly have
been set fire to by outside attackers and that it was a mishap or accident.
TheBanerjeeCommitteealsoarguedthatthemobatSignalFaliaconsisted
of “innocent” bystanders and that the fire could have been either due to
stove burst or electrical short circuit.

Media Spin: Ramsevaks Invited Trouble
ThespeedwithwhichtheCongressPartyanditsalliedNGOswereableto
spoon-feed a partisan version of the Godhra massacre to a pliant media,
points to the conclusion that this was a pre-planned script. In his book
Godhra: The Missing Rage,21
S.K. Modi says:
The television news channels showed the pictures of the burning S/6 coach
and the dead bodies throughout the day. But something was missing. The
rage was missing… There was no trace of indignation ...A few days after
the event, Jaya Jaitley of the Samata Party, wrote: “...on Godhra there was
stubborn silence when the Treasury benches begged the Opposition to join
in a unanimous condemnation of the event...” Sonia Gandhi did not feel the
need to call on the prime minister on February 27…The silence on February
27, 2002 was deafening. The indifference was complete. The insensitivity was
infuriating.
AnumberofjournalistsechoedtheslantgivenbytheCongressalliesthat
the karsevaks had invited the trouble; they had it coming because they
weremobilisedbyHindu organisations and werebentuponconstructing
a Ram Temple at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. NDTV, the
most steadfast mouthpiece of the Congress Party, played a key role in
creating a distorted discourse on Godhra carnage because of the prestige
it then carried. Its sanitised version of Godhra incident on February 27,
in sharp contrast to its hysterical coverage of post-Godhra riots, became
the standard template for all others:
At least 57 people are feared killed and 43 injured as unidentified persons
attacked and set on fire four bogies of an Express train carrying hundreds of
karsevaks near Godhra railway station in Gujarat. [Emphasis mine]
NDTV referring to the attackers as “unidentified persons” when the
leaders of the mob violence were known to the people of Godhra from
day one indicates intent to misinform.
The headline in The Times of India dated February 28, read: “Mob
attacks Gujarat train, 55 die.” The writer of this report, Sajjad Shaikh,
literally justified the mass murder on the basis of rumours floated by
21 S.K.Modi,Godhra: TheMissing Rage(NewDelhi:PrabhatPrakashan,2004),pp.26-9.

the perpetrators of the violence. “Karsevaks in the train misbehaved
with some washerwomen of Signal Falia.” He also cites: “The rumour
of an attack on a religious place in Dahod” as one of the reasons for
the Godhra incident. The implication is that the burning alive of 55
persons is somehow understandable since the karsevaks allegedly
invited trouble.
The Hindu reported as follows in its issue dated February 28, 2002:
“57 killed as a mob torches the train in Gujarat.” The writer of this
report, Manas Dasgupta, states that “eyewitnesses said that about
1,200 Ramsevaks were travelling in the train. The local people in the
Muslim-dominated Godhra town had been ‘irritated’ by the abusive
language used by the Ramsevaks while they were going to Ayodhya by
the same train a few days ago. They had reportedly raised slogans as the
train approached Godhra on the return journey this morning.” This
again implies that the karsevaks had provoked violence by their
slogans. The strangest part of this report is the implication that
Godhra vendors had waited for days to avenge the alleged abused
by karsevaks on their way to Ayodhya.
The Hindustan Times carried a front-page headline: “Gujarat hit by
Ayodhya backlash.” This too indirectly justifies the action of those who
set fire to the train.
The moment retaliatory violence sparked off in the rest of Gujarat, the
Godhra massacre was underplayed and sought to be erased from public
memory as if it had nothing to do with the riots that followed. On a
parallel track, reports in print media as well as TV began reiterating that
it was the logical outcome of the Ram Mandir movement. For example,
The Hindu, in its issue dated March 1, 2002, wrote:
The grisly Godhra episode of arson on Wednesday that left 50-odd passengers
of the Sabarmati Express dead—most of them karsevaks returning from
Ayodhya—and the backlash of mindless violence it had triggered elsewhere
in the state,as rampaging mobs in aseriesof reprisals hit back at the minority
community and its properties, are clear, disturbing pointers to the explosive
communal build-up across the country as a direct consequence of the VHP’s
provocative and destructive campaign for the construction of a Ram temple
in Ayodhya. What happened in Godhra, about which there are different
and conflicting versions, is a dastardly act and it deserves to be condemned
unequivocally.

Thissaid,onecannotbutpinpointthe harsh realitythat eventssuchasthe
horrors of Godhra were tragically predictable as a result of the wounding
andaggressivecommunalcampaignofVHP.Ithasbeenruthlesslypursuing
itsagendaofcommencingthetempleconstructionon15th
March,come-what-
may and whipping up communal passions through mass mobilisation of
Ramsevaks—someonemillionofthem—acrossthecountry.[Emphasismine]
In the March 1 issue ofThe Times of India, Siddharth Varadarajan wrote,
“While official enquiry will establish the extent to which the attack on
the Sabarmati Express was pre-meditated, there can be no doubt about
the planned nature of the violence directed against Gujarat’s Muslims
on Thursday (28 February).” As analysed by the www.gujaratriots.com22
team:
The double standards are evident from his report, which differentiates the
incidents of February 27 from the incidents of February 28. While examining
the pre-meditation behind the Godhra attacks on February 27, he says that
it is “official enquiry” which will decide whether the attack on karsevaks
was pre-meditated or not. But when it comes to violent reaction of Hindus on
February 28, he takes it in his own hands to pass a judgment that the attacks
by the Hindus on Gujarat’s Muslims were “pre-planned” in nature....
This news report was carried just two days after the Godhra carnage. The
gruesomemurderofthekarsevaksismentionedonlyoncein the450-plusword
report and rest of the report is full of gory descriptions of how the Muslims
are being brutally killed in the aftermath.
Reports by foreign correspondents also built on the version floated by the
Congress-allied NGOs. But few matched the inventiveness of a report in
the British paper, The Independent, by Peter Popham on March 20, 2002:
…What happened in car S/6 was the hideous finale. The story began nearly 36
hours earlier. Many were also drunk or stoned, or equipped to get that way:
flexible, tolerant Hinduism has no hard and fast rules about such things. And
they were coming back to Gujarat, the only state in the Indian union that is
22 “The Entire Happenings in Godhra: How the Massacre Occurred,” Gujarat Riots: The
True Story, May 22, 2008, Web. http://www.gujaratriots.com/index.php/page/3/?s.

still ‘dry’. All the more reason to have a bottle or two tucked away. … The train
was late: after a day and a half, it was running four-and-a-half hours behind
schedule. That’s why it arrived in Godhra not at 2.55 a.m., as scheduled, but
at 7.15 a.m. By this time, the karsevaks were much the worse for wear. Trouble
had started at Dahod station, nearly one hour and 75 km up the tracks. The
train had reached Dahod around 6 a.m., and a number of karsevaks got out
of compartment S/6 to have tea and snacks at a stall on the platform. Already
they were drunk and unruly. An argument broke out between the Hindus and
theMuslimmanrunningtheteastall–accordingtooneaccount,theyrefused
to pay unless he chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’, the chant of Lord Ram’s devotees. He
refused to oblige, and they started to smash up his stall, before climbing back
into the carriage. The stallholder filed a complaint with the railway police.
[The Nanavati Inquiry Commission found no evidence of such a complaint
at Dahod.]
Suddenly, the row took a dangerous new turn: the karsevaks grabbed hold
of a Muslim woman. Her identity and how she became involved remain
ambiguous but four different witnesses mention this event. One says it was
the 16-year-old daughter of the abused tea-seller. She ‘came forward and tried
to save her father.’ Another mentions a woman washing clothes by the railway
line being hauled away. A third describes how a Muslim girl wearing a burqa
and taking a shortcut to school through the station platform was pounced on
and dragged into the carriage. All agree that a Muslim woman was hauled
into the carriage by the karsevaks, who slammed the door and would not let
her go. Refusing to be quoted by name, a local policeman confirms the story.
Andsuddenly,whathadbeenjustanuglylittlefracas,adrunkenpantomime
ofpowerandsubjugation,becamesomethingfarmoreexplosive.Thekarsevaks
were too drunk for their own good or they would have chosen a different
station at which to pull such a stunt. Because now the social geography of
Godhra came into play. [Emphasis mine]
…Godhra station, to the regret of the Hindus, is located in an area that is
now entirely Muslim. And a huddle of Muslim-owned businesses sprang up
in shacks alongside the tracks, many of them motor-repair yards. This little
slum, known as Signal Falia, has all the material a riot could require: stacks of
bricks,petrol,andparaffinandcalorgascylinders.Butitalsohadthenecessary
human material: a community impoverished and bitter and surviving on the
margins of criminality.
Thewomanseizedbythe karsevakswasdraggedintocompartmentS/6,and

word of what had happened began to spread. ‘The girl began screaming for
help,’ said Ahmed, a wood dealer who was waiting for a train going the other
way. ‘Muslims who were travelling on the train got off. People began pouring
on to the platform to try to rescue her. I ran home – I could see trouble was
brewing...’
Thetrainmovedoff,andthegatheringcrowdbeganpeltingthecarriagewith
bricks.Insidethetrain,someonepulledtheemergencycord;thetrainstopped
then moved off again; the cord was pulled again one km out of the station,
and this time the train stopped and stayed stopped. ‘People in the vicinity...
started to gather near the train,’ says one witness. ‘The mob... requested that
the karsevaks return the girl. But instead of returning the girl, they started
closing their windows. This infuriated the mob...’
Thebrawlhadbecomeabattle,withthekarsevakspilinginwiththeirswords
and sticks, and a crowd now said to be 1,000-strong streaming in from the
slum,bringingpetrol,gas,rags–anythingthatwouldburn.Theirgascylinders
broke the bars on the windows and exploded inside; the petrol bombs flew
through and set the upholstery and the people trapped inside on fire. By the
time that the police arrived in strength one hour later, there was nothing to
be saved…
Unfortunately, the fabrication and spicing up of the story in The
Independent became the favorite version of “secularists” and was made
to spread like virus through the social media. Anyone who knows
Gujarat even casually would know that even those Gujaratis who violate
prohibition and consume liquor would never do so publicly, certainly
not in front of women and children- and that too while returning from
a dharmic yatra.
But the fountain head of all these devious interpretation was Teesta
Setalvad. She made it politically fashionable to say that since the
Hindus killed in the Godhra train carnage were “militant karsevaks,
they“couldhardlybedescribedasinnocenttravelers”. Thisimpliesthat
they deserved to be butchered. Even today, the website of Communalism
Combat peddles the same prejudice despite the fact that Nanavati
Commission has recorded that the karsevaks did not do anything to
invite being butchered.
At that time, Vir Sanghvi, Chief Editor of The Hindustan Times, was
one of the few journalists to have warned against the tendency to justify

the train massacre. His article23
written in response to the partisan TV
coverage of February 27, 2002, says:
There is something profoundly worrying in the response of what might
be called the secular establishment to the massacre in Godhra...Some
versions have it that the karsevaks shouted anti-Muslim slogans; others that
they taunted and harassed Muslim passengers. According to these versions,
the Muslim passengers got off at Godhra and appealed to members of their
community for help. Others say that the slogans were enough to enrage the
local Muslims and that the attack was revenge…it does seem extraordinary
that slogans shouted from a moving train, or at a railway platform, should
have been enough to enrage local Muslims, enough for 2,000 of them to have
quicklyassembledateightinthemorning,havingalreadymanagedtoprocure
petrol bombs and acid bombs.
Unfortunately, in the coverage of Gujarat riots, The Hindustan Times and
mostothernewspapersdutifullyallowedtheCongressPartybiastocreep
in all their reporting. Consequently, very few are aware that the Nanavati
Commission and courts found Godhra violence to be the handiwork of
mischievous elements within the Congress Party who also allegedly had
linkswithPakistanioutfits.WhenIaskedModiwhether,apartfromlocal
Congress leaders, any of the Delhi-based leaders were likely to have been
part of Godhra conspiracy, he said:
We arrested and tried those who were found guilty after due enquiries and
investigations. One part of the report done by Nanavati Commission has
alreadybeenreleased.Afterthat,theSITdiditsinvestigationandweproceeded
on the basis of those. If I bring in party politics into the Godhra incident, I
will be causing incalculable damage to Gujarat for years to come. I should
not bring in my personal assessment into these matters. Such things should
be handled professionally. Government agencies responsible for such issues
must be allowed to do their job without hindrance - be it the Gujarat police
or the SIT appointed by the Supreme Court. Modi has no business to give his
personal assessment.
23 Vir Sanghvi, One-way Ticket: My Take on the Godhra Tragedy When It Happened,
February 23, 2011, Web. http://virsanghvi.com/Article-Details.aspx?Key=611. (The
article was published in 2002 in the Hindustan Times, right after the Godhra train
burning incident occurred).

Modi won his first ever election on February 24, 2002 with massive
supportofMuslimsofRajkotleadingtoutterpanicintheCongresscamp
becauseModi’ssuccessinmobilisingMuslims’infavouroftheBJPwould
spell the doom for the Congress Party. It would rob Sonia’s Congress of
its one and only captive vote bank and trump card of “secularism” to trip
BJP. It is, therefore, not surprising that Congress Party used a tried and
tested method of pitching Hindus against Muslims by instigating anti-
social elements among its members and supporters in Godhra to set fire
to the train carrying VHP karsevaks returning from Ayodhya.
Decades ago, a prominent Congress leader, Kanhaiya Lal Munshi
(1887-1971)hadwarnedhispartycolleague,andthethenPrimeMinister,
Jawahar Lal Nehru (1889-1964) in a letter stating, “If every time there
is an inter-communal conflict, the majority is blamed regardless of the
meritsofthequestion…thespringsoftraditionaltolerancewilldryup.”24
Farfromheedingthiswarning,undertheguiseofupholdingsecularism,
the Congress Party has made demonisation of the majority its main
political plank. This perversion is unthinkable in any other country of
the world.
24 K.M. Munshi, Indian Constitutional Documents: Pilgrimage to Freedom, 1902-1950, 2nd
ed. (Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 2012), p. 312.

The post-Godhra violence of 2002 has been incessantly described
as a “pogrom,” a “state-sponsored massacre of Muslims” carried out
by the BJP, with Narendra Modi playing a key role in it. This has become
suchasetnarrativethatanyonewhodareschallengethisdistortedversion
is at once dubbed as a supporter of Hitlerian fascist politics and becomes
the target of a blind hate-crusade.
Difference between Pogrom and Riot
Assomeonewhohaspersonallycoveredseveralriots,Ibelievesomethumb-
rules are necessary for understanding the nature of intercommunity
violence and distinguishing between a riot and a pogrom. A ‘pogrom’
is defined as a violent massacre of an ethnic or religious group. The
term was originally used to refer to one-sided unprovoked attacks on
Jews by the Christians of Russia and East Europe. Jews remained a
brutally oppressed and hated minority who suffered endless violence at
CHAPTER 12
Who Needed Post Godhra Riots?
The Congress or Narendra Modi?
Do you know the total strength of police in Gujarat? At how many places could
the police have rescued people simultaneously? Why don’t they talk about the
role of the army and the paramilitary forces? Why don’t they ever talk about how
many lives were saved by timely action? Why only talk of those who got killed?...
If at each such place, there is a mob of 10,000 to 15,000 while the local thana only
has 10-20 policemen, how much can the police do, especially if out of these 20,
may be only five have rifles and one has a pistol… Most policemen only carry a
danda (staff). How does such a policeman confront an angry crowd of 10,000
who are pelting stones?... The Hindus as well as Muslims gave vent to their anger.
There were many places where Muslims ended up being the vulnerable side while
at some other places, the Hindus ended up as the weaker group.
Rais Khan, the right hand man of Teesta Setalvad from 2002-2008

the hands of Christians in all of Europe and Russia culminating into a
massive genocide in Hitler’s Germany. This cannot be said of Muslims
in India because for centuries, the Hindu majority was ruled by Muslim
invadersandmonarchs.ManyoftheseMuslimrulerswerebrutalintheir
persecution of their Hindu subjects.
Similarly, ‘massacre’ is defined as an incident whereby a community,
or a group, is killed by another, and the perpetrating party is perceived
to be in total control of force, while the victimised group is totally at the
mercy of its aggressors.
The killings of Sikhs in November 1984, under Congress rule in Delhi
and other cities of North India, can be accurately described as a pogrom
or massacre because the killings were totally one-sided. It was not a
Hindu-Sikh riot. In fact, the Hindu community was as stunned by the
murderous mobs, as were the Sikhs. Congress Party had hired goons
who pretended frenzy and butchered over 3,000 Sikhs in Delhi alone.
Many more thousands were killed or burnt alive in several North Indian
cities. The dead were all Sikhs; only Sikh women were raped. There was
not a single incident of Sikhs having killed Hindus or abducted women
of any community in retaliation. Sikhs are not a helpless community in
ordinary times, nor are they an oppressed religious minority. However,
since Congress Party politicians are known to have led murderous mobs
andthetopleadershipoftheCongressPartyisknowntohavedeliberately
immobilised the law and order machinery, the killing brigades and
arsonists got a free hand for three–four days.
Even though the army was ready at hand in Delhi Cantonment, it was
notcalledforthreelongdaystilltheworstwasover.Thepolicedidnotfire
a single shot at the murderous mobs. They were asked to look the other
wayoractivelyassistthekillermobs.Therewasn’tevenaninstanceoflathi
charge to disperse mobs. There were no arrests of arsonists during those
days. It was uncontrolled mayhem from October 31, 1984 to November 3,
1984. The loss of property was also one-sided. Only Sikh homes were set
on fire; the mobs looted only Sikh business establishments and houses.
No Sikh went on a looting spree.
However, the picture was substantially different in the Godhra and
post-Godhra violence in Gujarat. It all began with the unprovoked, one-
way, pre-planned attack on Hindus by a politically-instigated Muslim
mob. Even in the post-Godhra violence, neither the killings nor the
burning and looting of homes and business establishments was as one-

sided as came to be portrayed through selective filtering and reporting
of facts about the 2002 riots. This is not to deny that in the post-Godhra
violence, the Muslims suffered much greater losses—in terms of lives,
injuries, and property. This is also not to deny that in many cases,
leading politicians instigated and exploited the mass outrage, and in
several instances, the police looked the other way while mobs went on
to create mayhem.
However, despite obvious failures and lapses—some deliberate and
many unintended—facts established by subsequent inquiries clearly
show that the government as a whole did not look the other way. The
chief minister responded with speed and firmness even while some of
his cabinet and party colleagues acted in ways that added fuel to fire.
Unlikethe1984anti-Sikhmassacre,whichwasasoloperformancebythe
Congress Party, in the 2002 Gujarat riots, the BJP and Congress leaders
both played an equal role. Most people in Gujarat say that in those mad
days, most people forgot which party they belonged to and instead acted
as Hindus or Muslims.
For example, way back in 2003, Maulana Madni of Jamiat Ulema-e-
Hind, who is otherwise known to be a pro-Congress and an anti-BJP
Muslim leader, had publicly alleged Congress participation in the riots
and even named some Congress leaders who played an active role. To
quote a report by Rajesh Ramachandran of The Times of India, posted
on Times News Service on August 9, 2003:
The Congress has been going to town over Best Bakery and other instances
of the Narendra Modi government’s complicity in the anti-Muslim violence,
which shook Gujarat last year. But, when it comes to the involvement of its
own party cadre in the killings, 10 Janpath maintains a deafening silence.
According to the JUH, “most Congress corporators” and some Congress
leadersofGujarathadactivelyparticipatedinlastyear’sriots.MahmoodAs’ad
Madani, JUH general secretary told The Times of India: “We wrote letters to
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, gave a list of Congress leaders involved
in the riots, asked her to take action against them but to no avail.” On April
29, 2002, for example, the JUH received a list of 25 Congress leaders from its
Gujaratchapter,whichwaspromptlyforwardedtoher.Thisincludedaformer
Congress minister, a sitting MLA, and a former MP.
Then, on August 20, Madani reminded Gandhi, “Similarly our appeal
forwarded to you in respect of involvement of Congress MLAs, corporators,

and workers in the Gujarat carnage along with the list of culpable names
remains disregarded.”
The JUH insists it had accurate information from the ground. For instance,
its Gujarat branch had written to the police commissioner of Vadodara city on
March 21 that, “After the Godhra incident an urgent meeting of the activists of
the BJP, VHP, RSS, and Bajrang Dal was held under the leadership of Yogesh
Patel(MLA)andChimmanGandhi(Congresscorporator).Theyhadallottedthe
activiststheirjobs,madeaplan,andinstructedtheactiviststocarryoutthiswork
withoutanyfearandtoldthemthattheywouldgetfullsupportofpoliceofficers.”
The Gujarat JUH had mapped the Congress leadership even at the district
level. Mehsana and Patan districts’ list has eight names of Congress leaders
including local MP Atmaram Patel as having played a “negative role.” A fax
message sent on May 1 from Mehsana has this against Patel’s column: “Still
has not come to help Muslims; taking sides in favour of a criminal person of
Sardarpur and Ladoi villages.”
A list of 15 from Anand is headed by a secretary of the Gujarat youth
Congress. But to be fair to the Congress and the JUH, the report is all praise
for the ‘positive role’ played by Patan MP Pravin Rashtrapal.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind secretary NA Farooqui says, “The Congress has
committed sins of omission and commission during the riots. Former MP
Ehsan Jafri had called up Sonia Gandhi for help. She didn’t take a strong stand
in her subsequent visit to Gujarat. The local bodies were mostly headed by the
Congress which could have done a lot for relief and rehabilitation, but it was
all left to the NGOs.”
In 2002 itself, I had heard several people, including some leftist NGO
activists, tell me in private conversations that the reason why Sonia
Gandhi avoided meeting Zakia Jafri on her first visit to Ahmedabad after
the riots was that she knew Zakia would give her an earful about the role
of Congress Party leaders in the attack on Gulberg society that led to the
brutal killing of her husband. Several local Congress workers allegedly
joined BJP and VHP workers in the mob that hacked Jafri to death and
killed others on February 28. None of the senior Congress leaders had
come to Jafri’s aid though he phoned several of them.
ThemannerinwhichcertainCongress-supportedNGOsconvertedthis
into a Modi-engineered riot by cooking up false evidence and propping
up false witnesses has now been well documented even by the Special
Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Supreme Court.

Was it in Modi’s Interest to Have Riots?
Let us examine the charges against Modi, and see whether there is any
justification for believing that he instigated the 2002 riots.
The attack on Sabarmati Express at Signal Falia, just outside Godhra
railway station, took place around 8 a.m. on February 27, 2002. Narendra
Modi had won his first ever election from Rajkot on February 24, 2002
with a comfortable majority and with strong support of various Muslim
communitiesinRajkot.EventhoughtheCongressPartyhadusedvarious
underhand means to launch a defamation campaign against Modi, he
had not retaliated against them with counter slander nor indulged in
tit-for-tat. In the four months from his assuming power on October 7 to
the February 27 Godhra incident, every single government programme
he launched, every single administrative measure he initiated, and every
single speech he delivered, provided concrete evidence that:
Modi’s priority was all-round development of Gujarat.
Modi’s economic, social, and political agenda was inclusive. He
consistently addressed himself to five crore Gujaratis. He never made
sectional appeals to any caste, community, or religious group.
He was not hostile or vindictive even towards the Congress, which
attacked him incessantly, nor did he shun anti-BJP NGOs.
He was trying to build a base for the politics of consensus and samrasta
associatedwithMahatmaGandhi.Heevenensuredsamras(consensual)
election to Rajya Sabha by having the BJP and the Congress rise above
party divides to jointly agree on four names to represent Gujarat. He
sought the help of Congress leaders in persuading Congress Chief
Minister Digvijay Singh of Madhya Pradesh to allow the completion of
NarmadadamintheoverallinterestofparchedGujarat.Heencouraged
BJP workers to work together with Congressmen in Gram Panchayats.
He does so even today.
He had close personal relations with several ordinary Muslims as well
as Muslim community leaders.
Such a man had no reason to instigate riots within two days of winning
his first election and certainly no earthly reason to unleash such a
major catastrophe on the very day that he had to present his first ever
budget in the assembly. Considering that he was visibly committed to
fast-tracking economic and social development in Gujarat and proving
himself to be an able administrator, he had put in a great deal of energy
and effort into preparing his first budget. He had even less reason to be

vindictive towards the Muslims because they had defied the Congress
to support him.
Modi’s Response to Post-Godhra Riots
Here is a telling example of his concern for the Muslims. At the very start
of the riots, Narendra Modi gave instructions that no harm should come
to the 6,000 pilgrims who had gone for Haj from Gujarat. Officers were
toldthateachoneofthemshouldbemetattheairportandescortedsafely
to their homes. Several of them were from Rajkot from where Modi had
fought his first election with massive Muslim support. This was not just
a formal instruction. Each person and family of those 6,000 Hajis was
actually escorted by the police to 400 different locations of Gujarat, right
till their doorstep.
Normally, actions claimed to have been taken by governments during
riots are not trustworthy, because no proper inquiries are held to
authenticate those claims. There is usually a big disconnect between
what the government claims to have done and what is actually done at
the ground level. In the case of Gujarat, Modi’s claims are well backed
up by documentary evidence.
Measures claimed to have been put in operation by the Gujarat
government deserve to be taken seriously for the following reasons:
The state had appointed a two-member Commission headed by retired
Supreme Court judge, Justice G.T. Nanavati to investigate the riots.
JusticeNanavatiwasnothandpickedbyModi,butrecommendedbythe
Supreme Court, to head the inquiry. The mandate of the Commission
included inquiry into allegations against the chief minister as well as
the entire council of ministers. The Nanavati Commission has been
examining thousands of witnesses and documentary evidence in full
glare of media. Its work is ongoing but the Part one of the Nanavati
Commission Report released in 2008, has not pointed to a single bit of
evidence to implicate Narendra Modi in the riots.
Investigations by the SIT of the Supreme Court, which were rigorously
monitoredbytheApexCourt,havealsobeenundertheintensescrutiny
of zealous anti-Modi journalists. Some of the Supreme Court judges
hearing this case were openly hostile to Modi and brazenly favoured
the NGOs that had filed anti-Modi cases. Prashant Bhushan and Raju
Ramachandran,thetwoamicuscuriaeappointedbytheSupremeCourt
atdifferentpoints,havebeenclosecollaboratorsofTeestaSetalvad.The

SIT itself was appointed at the behest of anti-Modi NGOs in response
to a PIL filed by Teesta Setalvad and Zakia Jafri. Teesta Setalvad was
consulted when the Supreme Court hand-picked officers with a track
record of integrity to be part of SIT.
TheStategovernmentcannotfudgefactsaboutthedeploymentofarmy
and para-military forces because of elaborate protocols involved in the
movement of troops.
The number of bullets fired, pattern of arrests—how many Hindus and
how many Muslims were killed in police firing, and how many were
heldunderpreventivedetentionlaws—can’tbefalsifiedwhenhigh-level
inquiries by central agencies are going on, especially at a time when the
UPA’sCentralgovernmentisopenlyhostiletoGujaratgovernmentand
the CBI is, by all accounts, working as a political arm of the Congress
Party.
Inquiries and investigations into Modi’s conduct have gone on for
12 long years under unprecedented media glare, almost all of the
hostile kind. If even a small shred of evidence had been found against
Narendra Modi, there would have been any number of cases filed
against him by now. However, till date, neither the Congress Party
nor its allied NGOs have been able to file a single FIR against Modi.
Modi’s Handling of Godhra Train Tragedy
On February 27, 2002, the Sabarmati Express was attacked at around 8
a.m. as it moved out of Godhra railway station and within minutes 59
men, women, and children were roasted alive while many more were
severely injured while trying to escape. The chief minister was informed
about this carnage at around 9 a.m. This is how Modi described his
situation and his immediate response:
On February 24, I got my election results. I was determined to enter the
assemblyonlyaftergettingelectedasanMLA.ThatiswhyIfixedtheassembly
session for February 26. On the 27th
, I was to present my first budget. I got
news of the Godhra incident around 9 a.m. but could not leave for Godhra
immediately because the assembly was scheduled to meet in the afternoon.
Before going to the House, I called a small meeting and enquired about
the situation. However, even before that meeting, I had given directions
to Godhra officials that they should ensure that the rest of the passengers
and trains should resume their journey at the earliest or else there would be

thousands of stranded passengers at Godhra…. So my advice was that the
remaining passengers of that ill-fated train should be sent to their respective
destinations at the earliest possible. Our endeavor was to ensure speedy
return of normalcy.
As mentioned in the previous chapter, the train carrying the surviving
passengers left Godhra around 12.40 p.m. that is within four and a half
hoursoftheattack.ThisisintunewithModi’soverallapproachtospeedy
action in times of emergency to avoid further chaos.
ItwasGod’sgraceorwhatever,thatIorderedforpropersecurityarrangements
at every station in order to pre-empt further outbreaks in other stations en
route. This fact has not yet come to light anywhere. I also directed that when
the surviving passengers reach Ahmedabad, they should be escorted directly
to their homes—let there be no sloganeering on the way.
Theimmediateresponseofmyofficialswas,“NoSir,nofurtherdisturbances
are likely to happen.” Nevertheless, I insisted that they make advance
preparations and take nothing for granted. Yet, when that train arrived at
Anand Station, there was some trouble. That’s when my officials told me, “Sir,
you were right in your assessment.”
On reaching the assembly to present the Budget, Modi informed the
House about the tragedy and they held a two-minute silence to condole
the deaths. To continue with his account:
In the assembly, you don’t get phone signals. The Budget business got over
around 3 or 3.30 p.m. By this time, we heard the situation had turned worse.
T.V. channels were giving live coverage. I had to leave for Baroda to reach
Godhra. Our own helicopter was not in order. So we asked a private company
forahelicopter.Theyrefusedsaying,“Wedon’thaveadoubleenginehelicopter
andwearenotallowedtocarryVIPsinasingleenginehelicopter.”Itoldthem,
“I’m not a VIP” and insisted that they provide me a helicopter. I told them that
I would give them in writing that I was flying at my own risk.
ThegovernmentimposedcurfewinGodhraat9.45a.m.andissuedshoot-
at-sight orders in Godhra for those found indulging in mob violence. The
Nanavati Commission has documented how the police used firepower in
Godhra to control and scatter mobs out on a rampage.

Here is a small sample of news reports confirming that the state
government had acted promptly. The Hindu wrote, “The Chief Minister
Narendra Modi gave shoot-at-sight orders in Godhra” (February 28,
2002).TheTimesofIndiaalsoreportedthesame:“TheGujaratgovernment
imposed an indefinite curfew and issued shoot-at-sight orders in Godhra
after 57 people were killed and several injured when a mob set the
Sabarmati Express on fire. Four bogies of the train were set on fire by
miscreants at the Godhra station…”
This report was posted at 1.37 p.m. on February 27 itself, indicating
that curfew had been promptly imposed. The Tribune (published from
Chandigarh) reported on February 28: “Indefinite curfew was clamped
and the shoot-at sight orders issued in Godhra town immediately after
the incident...” (Notice the words ‘immediately after’)
All English dailies the next day reported on the same lines, including
manyforeign newspapers.SanFranciscoChronicle,aUS-newspaper,wrote
on February 27 online: “Fearing the attack would ignite sectarian riots,
Indianofficialsimmediatelysteppedupsecurityacrossthisvast,religiously
divided nation. The prime minister urged Hindus not to retaliate…”
Modi reached Godhra at about 4.30 p.m. and went to inspect the rail
bogies, which had been set on fire. He says:
When I reached Godhra, I sensed at once that a lot of shadyantrakari
(subversive) elements were already over-active. We realised the full extent of
that conspiracy much later. Within hours of the incident, an email was put
in circulation in the name of a journalist, which floated the story that some
of the karsevaks had sexually assaulted a Muslim girl. The media too readily
blew up that story within minutes of that email. Now that I look back, I realise
what perfect planning the mischief mongers had done because to run such a
story within an hour or two of the incident is not that easy. None of the media
professionals checked to find out who the girl was or if anyone had seen such
a thing happening.
When I met the media after taking a round of the railway station and the
hospitalwherethedeadandinjuredhadbeentaken,Isaidinmystatementthat
theguiltywouldbeappropriatelypunished,thatpeopleshouldmaintainpeace
and not take law into their hands. I didn’t fully understand the government
system till then, especially the police and security-related departments.
However, I did direct my officers to remain alert and be ready to handle the
situation if further trouble arose.

Preventive Measures Following Godhra Killings
The following pages provide a brief glimpse of actions taken by the chief
minister to pre-empt the riots. The actions taken on the day of Godhra
killings speak for themselves:
In addition to imposition of curfew at Godhra and other potential
troublespotswithininanhourandahalfofSabarmatiExpresskillings,
the first alert message by the Home Department was sent on February
27,2002itselftotakeprecautionarymeasuresincludingadequatepolice
bandobast. All this was done much before the outbreak of riots.
Allthepolicecommissioners,districtmagistrates,andsuperintendents
of police were directed to remain in the headquarters to monitor the
situation.
BeforeModirushed from GandhinagartoGodhra,thechiefminister’s
office had directed that shoot-at-sight orders be issued to control mob
violence where necessary.
The entire 70,000-strong police force was deployed all over Gujarat
even before a single retaliatory riot had taken place. The entire police
force of 6,000 was deployed in sensitive areas of Ahmedabad on the
very first day. The Hindustan Times, The Telegraph (of UK), and other
papers confirmed in their editions on February 28 that more than
70,000 security men had been deployed in Gujarat on February 27.
The Telegraph1
and other foreign papers had also reported that security
had not only been tightened in Gujarat, but in all places with a sizeable
Muslim population in India.
On the same day, all the companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF) in the
stateweredeployedinAhmedabad,Godhra,andotherareasconsidered
‘sensitive.’ CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) units were also
deployed. On the same day, the RAF was also sent out in Ahmedabad
and other sensitive areas.
The Times of India reported online on February 27 that the Gujarat
government had asked the Centre to send ten companies of CRPF
which were dispatched.
Modi himself issued more than one appeal for peace and harmony,
which was telecast on Doordarshan on February 27 itself, and repeated
1 Rahul Bedi, “Hindus Massacred in Blazing Train,” The Telegraph, February 28, 2002,
Web. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/1386341/Hindus-
massacred-on-blazing-train.html.

on subsequent days. The next chapter analyses how media willfully
distorted his statements and speeches.
On February 27 itself, 217 preventive arrests were made, out of which
137 were Hindus and 80 were Muslims. Nine Hindus were arrested for
acts of violence. Despite the fact that several BJP (and many Congress
leaders), were actively fomenting trouble, action was ordered against
all wrongdoers.
The district administration was directed to ensure that when the dead
bodies from Godhra arrive in their respective native places, keeping in
viewthelikelihoodofheightenedcommunaltension,police bandobast
shouldbeadequate,especiallyatthetimeofthefuneral.Directionswere
given that anti-social elements and instigators of communal violence
should be dealt with firmly.
The Central government sounded a nationwide alert in the evening.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the Gujarat government
appealed to the Hindus not to retaliate and maintain peace.
The director general and inspector general of Police appeared on
Doordarshan in the evening and appealed for peace.
OnFebruary27itself,beforeanymajorincidentofviolencewasreported,
the Gujarat government requisitioned additional para military forces
from the home ministry in Delhi through the following:
“MOST IMMEDIATE FAX MESSAGE” NO: (SB.V/ISS/102002/173)
Subsequent to the incident of arson of a railway coach of Sabarmati Express
nearGodhrarailwaystationtodaymorning,sporadicincidentsofviolencein
theformofstabbingandarsonhavebeenreportedfromAhmedabad,Baroda,
and Anand towns besides Godhra town (.) The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has
alsogivenacallforGujaratbandhon28.02.2002(.)Theexistingresourcesof
statereservepoliceforcehavealreadybeendeployedfully(.)Inordertocope
upwiththeemerginglawandordersituationduringtheGujaratbandhcall,
ten coys of central para military forces may please be provided immediately
even by airlift for law and order duties in addition to the four coys of R.A.F.
(.) already requested under fax of even number and date. (J.R. RAJPUT),
Under Secretary to Government, Home Department (Spl.)
On his return from Godhra, the chief minister held a late night review
meeting with the concerned high-level officers at his residence office to
undertake an emergency review of the law and order situation, including
officials of Home and Police Departments. To quote Modi:

That very night I told them to alert the army. I was told the army is at the
JodhpurborderonaccountofOperationParakramfollowingthePakinspired
attack on the Indian Parliament. The country was facing a war-like situation.
Therefore, Gujarat-based army units couldn’t be withdrawn from the border.
I said, Please explain to them that even if they don’t have proper army units,
let them send their dhobis, cooks, barbers in the army uniform and take
them around in vehicles. The mere presence of men in army uniform has a
psychological effect. Ask the army to do at least this much while we make
other arrangements. People both respect and fear the army.
Allthosepresentatthislatenightmeetingcalledtoassessthepreparedness
ofthegovernment,haveconfirmedtotheSITthattheCMimpressedupon
them to take all precautionary measures to maintain law and order in the
state. In that meeting itself Modi directed his officials to enquire about
the availability of the army with the local army headquarters.
Allegations Regarding Provocative Parading of Dead Bodies
While there had been a couple of stray incidents of stabbing on the 27th
,
the real violence erupted around noon of February 28. It has been alleged
that Modi was complicit in the riots because:
Modi did nothing to ban or stop the bandh called by the VHP on
February 28 to protest against the Godhra carnage. Its purpose was to
provoke riots and the State government took no action.
TheModigovernmentalloweddeadbodiesfromGodhratobebrought
intoAhmedabadand‘paradedaround’thecitytoprovokeanti-Muslim
sentiments among Hindus, which led to mass violence.
Modi ordered the police to ignore riotous mobs and let Hindus ‘vent
their anger’ on Muslims to revenge Godhra killings, which in turn are
also attributed to Modi.
This issue has been closely examined and dismissed by the SIT, and all
the charges found to be baseless. Here is a brief account of the actions
taken by the administration:
The post-mortem was conducted at Godhra hospital itself.
AllthedeadbodiesthatwereclaimedbyrelativesatGodhrawerehanded
over in that town itself. Only unidentified bodies and those whose
families lived in and around Ahmedabad were sent to Ahmedabad
underheavypoliceescort.Theremainingbodiesweredispatchedunder
heavy police escort around 3.30 a.m.

People canot be mobilised for creating a riot at that unearthly hour.
Moreover, unlike Civil Hospital, which is situated in the heart of
Ahmedabad, and is surrounded by Muslim bastis, Sola Hospital is on
the outskirts of Ahmedabad where hardly any Muslims lived in those
days.
Since the karsevaks had gone to Ayodhya, at the call of VHP leaders, a
few of them also followed the police vehicles carrying the dead bodies.
Thebodiesofunidentifiedvictimswerecrematedinacremationground
right behind Sola Hospital. VHP leaders present at the spot were also
asked to convince the relatives of the victims to agree to perform the
last rites of those bodies in the nearby cremation ground. However,
thisproposalledtorealoutrageamongthealreadyangryrelatives.They
insisted on taking them to their respective homes for proper rites.2
This is how Modi explained his decision of why a certain number of dead
bodies were brought to Ahmedabad and the precautions taken to avoid
worsening of the law and order situation:
The main Civil Hospital of Ahmedabad where Godhra victims would have
arrived in the normal course is in the heart of the city. I used whatever good
senseGodhasgivenmetoorderthattheybebroughttoSolaHospital,whichin
thosedayswasinthemiddleofavirtualjungleontheoutskirtsofAhmedabad.
That area has developed only in the last ten years. Since the train was coming
to Sabarmati, the dead bodies that belonged to Ahmedabad had to be brought
back to the city. If we had made the relatives of all those killed go and collect
their dead bodies from Godhra, thousands would have descended on the
already tense town and the situation would have turned more explosive. If the
relatives who went to Godhra in a fit of rage had attacked Godhra residents,
it would have created more trouble.
So, common sense told us that the dead bodies should be removed from
Godhra at the earliest and taken to their homes. We brought them all to Sola
Hospital and performed the last rites of nearly 30 unclaimed bodies in the
crematorium next to the Sola Hospital.
If anyone were to do an honest investigation, they would find that to
handle that explosive situation Gujarat did optimum utilisation of talent,
and whatever force was available with us in order to restore peace. One day
2 Uday Mahurkar and Shishir Gupta, “Sins of Modi,” India Today, March 18, 2002,
Web. http:// www.indiatoday.com/itoday/20020318/cover.shtml.

Gujarat may be remembered as a model for handling that explosive situation.
Unfortunately, the Gujarat tragedy of 2002 has till date not been seen from the
point of view of law and order or from the point of view of justice and social
harmony. Instead, it is being exploited for partisan politics and that too with
the intention of trapping just one man.
Despitetheseprecautions,fierceriotsbrokeoutnotjustinAhmedabadbut
alsoinseveralcities,townsanddistrictsofGujaratbecausethecarnageat
GodhrawastelecastliveonnationalandlocalTVchannelsthatentireday.
It provoked mass violence on an unprecedented scale. By all accounts, it
was a mass upsurge, which was ably exploited by unscruplous politicians
of the BJP, VHP, Bajrang Dal, as well as the Congress.
Some Deliberately Ignored Facts
India Today correspondent Uday Mahurkar, who wrote some of the most
graphic and insightful reports during those horrific days, told me in a
personal interview:
Rioting did not start in the morning of February 28. Hindus started with
pelting of stones on Muslim houses in Naroda Patia area. Muslims also
retaliated with stones.
Between 10.30 and 11.00 a.m., an auto driver named Ranjeet Vanjara was
parked near a masjid in Naroda Patiya. A group of Muslims dragged him into
the gali near their masjid. On seeing this, Hindus began shouting for help.
Police came within 20 minutes. When they went in the gali, they found the
dead body of Vanzara outside the mosque. His eyes had been gouged. This
inflamed the Hindus and they went on a rampage. This case has also been
registered in court but no action has taken place over it. No one is giving this
case its due attention because it is a case of Hindu killing.
Thesecondincidenttookplacearound11a.m.AMuslimownerofanEicher
truck was surrounded by a Hindu mob. In panic, he mowed down the crowd.
One person was crushed to death. This too enraged the mob and they went
on a rampage.
InthethirdincidentinNarodaGam,agroupofMuslimsmurderedaHindu
cyclist. Thus, the first three persons to be killed in mob violence on February
28 wereHindus.Therefore,thetheory thatthepost-Godhrariotsof2002 were
partofawell-craftedBJPconspiracyisallbunkum.Norweretheyasone-sided
as they came to be projected.

All these three incidents are reported in India Today3
I also confirmed
them with the home department of Gujarat government. However, to say
that the first three deaths were of Hindus is not at all to justify counter
violence—whether in response to Godhra killings or in response to these
threemurders.Nocivilisedsocietycanlivewithmobviolenceasameans
of redressing wrongs. Nor is it meant to undermine the fact that enraged
Hindu mobs had gathered in numerous places in Gujarat, which are
boundtohavecausedthepanicreactionofthekindthatledtothemowing
down of Hindus by a mobbed Muslim truck driver. The point of listing
these three killings is only to highlight the fact that our brazenly partisan
human rights activists showed no care or compassion for these and other
Hindu victims of violence because their sole agenda was to pillory Modi
and project him in a demonic light. Their main agenda is to terrorise the
Muslims who had started abandoning the Congress Party into believing
that they were unsafe without Congress’ “protection.”
By all accounts, these riots would have happened in response to the
Godhra incident even without these additional provocations on the 28th
.
The rumour network, as well as live TV coverage of Godhra carnage,
had spread the news like wildfire leading to unprecedented mass frenzy.
This was the first time that even in tribal districts of Panchmahal,
Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Dahod, etc., there were several murderous
outbursts against Muslims.
Army Requisitioned on the First Day of Riots
Around noon on February 28, a law and order review meeting was held
at the chief minister’s office.
In this meeting, the CM directed officers to mobilise additional
paramilitary force from neighbouring states. The Home Department
officials were asked to send a formal requisition letter to the Union
government. The Union Home Ministry decided to send 11 companies
of the central paramilitary forces by the next day.
By 2.30 p.m., the chief minister made a telephonic request to the union
home minister for army deployment. Withdrawing the army, when a
war-like situation existed at the border with Pakistan and Operation
3 Uday Mahurkar, “Naroda Patiya case: Mayaben Kodnani’s Fate Hangs in Balance,” India
Today,May25,2013,Web.http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/naroda-patiya-case-mayaben-
kodnani-judgement-narendra-modi-gujarat-riots/1/273065.html.

Parakram was underway involving ‘eyeball to eyeball’ confrontation
following the terror attack on Indian Parliament, needed a high-level
decision at the Centre.
At about the same time, the additional chief secretary (Home) sent
an official request to the union defence secretary to make the army
available for handling the internal security threat in Gujarat.
The Cabinet Committee on Security met under the prime minister’s
chairmanship. It approved the immediate movement of troops to
AhmedabadandotherpartsofGujarat.VajpayeedeputedthethenDefence
Minister George Fernandes to supervise the deployment of troops.
At 4 p.m., the chief minister publicly announced the decision of the
state government to call in the army. On February 28 itself, Fernandes
flew in to Ahmedabad and met Narendra Modi late at night. The next
morning, Fernandes was out on the streets and personally oversaw the
deployment of armed forces. He visited several riot-affected areas at
great personal risk and reviewed the situation personally.
Army personnel were airlifted to Ahmedabad in 40 aircrafts from the
forward positions of the country’s border and they started arriving by
the midnight of February 28. The first aircraft landed at Ahmedabad
by the midnight of February 28 and the last aircraft by 11.00 p.m. on
March 1, 2002.
The deployment of army commenced by 11 a.m. on March 1, 2002.
A high-level meeting with the chief minister and the union defence
minister along with senior officials of the army and the State
administration was also held. In Ahmedabad, a total of nine columns
of army were deployed in most of the sensitive areas on March 1 itself.
The supporting infrastructure and personnel required for the army to
act effectively were provided by the State government on a war footing.
This included 131 vehicles for their movement. In addition, seven
executive magistrates were provided to the army by 7.30 a.m. followed
by three more. A total of 32 executive magistrates were made available
to the army because it cannot use firepower on its own without orders
from an executive magistrate. Mobile phones were provided to the
army on the morning of March 1, to facilitate better communication.
In addition, liaison officers and escort officers from the police were also
provided to the army by the morning of March 1.
Six aircrafts were used to airlift army personnel to Baroda and the first
plane landed at Baroda by 4.30 p.m. on March 1. 14 aircrafts were used

to airlift army to Rajkot and the first one landed in Rajkot by 3 a.m. on
March 2,2002. Two columns ofthe armyweredispatchedto Godhraon
March 2, and they reached Godhra at 1.30 a.m. on the same day. Two
columns of army were moved to Baroda on March 1 at 6.30 p.m. Two
columnsofarmyweremovedtoRajkotonMarch2at11a.m.Asincidents
ofviolencewerereportedfromBhavnagarandSurat,armycolumnswere
moved to Surat on March 3 at 11 a.m. and to Bhavnagar at 10.35 p.m.
Thus, at the peak of deployment, there were 26 army columns in the
state.
A chief minister who has orchestrated riots is not likely to have the
army brought in with such speed. Similarly, a chief minister who wants
a particular community to be massacred is not likely to make desperate
pleas for additional police force from neighbouring states
March 1, 2002: Request to Congress States for Help
The following measures on March 1 also do not speak of inaction or
indifference by the state administration.
568 preventive arrests took place on the second day of riots with 443
Hindus and 125 Muslims taken into custody.
695 persons—397 Hindus and 298 Muslims—were arrested for various
offences.
80 companies of paramilitary forces, including 63 of SRPF and 17
companies of Central Reserve Police Force were deployed.
The chief secretary gave shoot-at-sight orders wherever necessary.
51 persons died in police firing, out of which 24 were Hindus and 27
were Muslims. Whether larger number of Muslims killed on this one
day was due to partisan conduct of the police or due to retaliatory
violent by Muslims is not clear. But given overall numbers, far more
Hindus were arrested and far more died in police firing than Muslims.
IntheirzealtocondemnModi,peopletendtoforgetthatsinceitwasnota
leap year, there were only 28 days in February. Thus actions on 1st March
mean the very next day after the outbreak of riots, not with two-three
days gap, as would be the case in months with 30 or 31 days.
Congress Ruled States Deny Help
Given the spread of violence, on March 1, 2002, itself, the Gujarat
governmentrequestedtheneighbouringstatesofMaharashtra,Rajasthan,
and Madhya Pradesh to lend some additional forces.

At that time, all the three states had Congress Party chief ministers—
Digvijay Singh in Madhya Pradesh, Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan, and
Vilasrao Deshmukh in Maharashtra. The text of the fax is all in capital
letters, indicating a sense of urgency. The request sent by fax reads as
follows:
Sir,asyouareaware,theghastlyincidentofburningdownof58passengersinthe
SabarmatiExpresson27th
Feb.,2002hashadseriousfalloutonthelawandorder
situation in Gujarat. Widespread incidents of arsoning, looting, murder, and
other violence have been reported from most parts of the State since yesterday.
The State government has been trying its best to utilise all its available
resources and has also requested the Government of India to spare additional
manpower for maintaining law and order. However, the Government of India is
notinaposition(sic)tosparemoreparamilitaryforcesinviewofitscommitment
elsewhere. As the situation is spreading to villages and major highways are also
being blocked, our resources are stretched to the maximum. We feel that the
services of additional forces from neighbouring states like yours would help
the State Government in handling this precarious law and order situation.
We would therefore request you to favourably consider our request for sparing
ten companies of your Armed Police to help the Government in handling the
law and order situation. Signed K. Nityanandam, Secretary to the Govt of
Gujarat, Home Department.
WhiletheMaharashtragovernmentlentsomeforces,bothDigvijaySingh
(Madhya Pradesh) and Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan) refused to come to the
aid of Gujarat. It is noteworthy that the government of Madhya Pradesh
took 13 days to respond and turn down the request. The exact text of
Madhya Pradesh government’s response dated March 13, 2002, and
marked ‘secret’ is given below:
Please refer to your letter No. SB.V/MMM/102002/769, dated 1st
March, 2002
regarding the subject cited matter. It is regretted that due to heavy commitments
of MPSAF within the State, it is not possible to spare the force at this moment.
Signed R.C. Arora, Secretary to Government of MP.
Do these letters indicate a sense of urgency on the part of Gujarat chief
minister in quelling the riots, or do they portray Narendra Modi as a
modern-day “Nero” who paid no heed while Gujarat burned?

It is puzzling why the response of the MP government was marked
“SECRET” while the request of Gujarat government for additional police
had no such noting. Today, Digvijay Singh is one of the fiercest critics of
Modi for his alleged “complicity” in the 2002 riots. However, Digvijay
Singh had no answer when Modi reminded him in a meeting of the
NationalSecurityCouncilthatasCMofMadhyaPradeshhehadsnubbed
the request for additional forces.
March 2, 2002: Peace Committees Activated
As on other days, at a law and order review meeting by the chief minister
heldinthemorning,previousday’sdevelopmentsandactionstakenwere
reviewed and the following developments reported:
Preventive arrests: 573 (477 Hindus, 96 Muslims)
Arrests for offences: 711 (482 Hindus, 229 Muslims)
Died in police firing: 16 (12 Hindus, 4 Muslims)
64 companies of SRPF (State Reserve Police Force) and 24 companies
of CPMF (Central Para-Military Forces) deployed. A second round of
official messages was sent out to the district officials to activate and
arrange for holding meetings of District and City Ekta Committees,
Peace Committees, and Mohalla Committees and to involve social
leaders, prominent members of all communities, and NGOs in the
process.
The chief minister held a law and order review meeting with all senior
officers at 8.30 p.m.
March 3, 2002: More Arrests & Police Firings
The chief minister visited Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and toured the
city en route to the Circuit House and the airport. He also accompanied
the Union Home Minister L.K.Advani to Godhra. The following figures
speak for themselves:
Preventive arrests: 363(280 Hindus, 83 Muslims)
Arrests for offence: 589(416 Hindus, 173 Muslims)
Killed in police firing: 10 (all Hindus)
Police Failure and Complicity
It was only on March 7, 2002, when the situation seemed to improve
markedly, that a decision was taken to send back the army to the barracks
on March 10, except in Panchmahal district. However, on account of the

continuing turbulence over the Ayodhya issue and ensuing festivals, the
army remained in a standby position. Later, owing to reports of some
incidentsinVadodaraandSurat,thearmywasdeployedagain.OnMarch
15,afterreviewingthelocalsituation,thearmywasusedforaflag-march.
Within two days of army deployment, the situation was brought under
control. There were stray incidents by agent provocateurs in the next
three weeks, but they were not allowed to last long and swiftly prevented
from spreading.
Uday Mahurkar provided an overview of the nature of the violence
and police response in the fortnightly magazine India Today issue dated
March 18, 2002:
That the police was ineffective is clear [on February 28]. But was this
intentional? Ahmedabad has a police force of 6,000, including 1,500-armed
personnel. In addition, the entire state has just four companies (530 jawans)
oftheRapidActionForce (RAF), ofwhich only one company could be spared
for Ahmedabad. Considering that the mobs that simultaneously surfaced at
nearly half-a-dozen places numbered from 2,000 to 10,000, the forces proved
woefully inadequate. At one point, on February 28 there were at least 25,000
people targeting the Muslim localities in Ahmedabad alone.
What’s more, the police was expecting trouble in Ahmedabad’s walled city,
which has been the scene of communal violence in every riot in the past two
decades.Thistime,however,itwasnotthewalledcitywherethetroublesbegan.
AtNarodaPatia,thesceneoftheworstcarnage,therewasnopolicepresence
worth the name to prevent the mobs from grouping in the morningand going
on a rampage. There were at least three mobs of 4,000 to 5,000, each attacking
Muslims. Among them were members of a tribe called the Chara, who have a
townshipnotveryfarfromNaroda.Tillnow,theCharaswereknownforthefts
and bootlegging. Last Thursday [i.e.,February 28], they earned a reputation
for rioting too.
In Chamanpura area, where nearly 40 persons, including former Congress
MP, Ehsan Jafri and his family members were killed, there were just a few
armed guards when the crowd began assembling. Reinforcements did arrive,
but by that time, the mob had swelled to 10,000 and even though police firing
killed at least five persons on the spot—in all police firing led to 40 deaths in
Ahmedabad alone—it didn’t stop the carnage. The situation was aggravated
further by Jafri firing from his revolver on the mob injuring seven. Others in
the housing complex are said to have thrown acid bulbs too.

Last Thursday [February 28], the Ahmedabad police received at least 3,500
calls for help from the fear-stricken residents, mostly Muslims, against the
normal average of 200. The fire brigade, which has the capacity to handle
100 fire calls, received 400 calls on February 28. Says Ahmedabad Police
Commissioner, P.C. Pandey: “In my 32-year career, I have never seen
something like this. It was an upsurge, unstoppable, and unprecedented. A
stage came when it became physically impossible for the police to tackle mobs
running into thousands.: Elsewhere in Gujarat, the problem was broadly
similar. The state police force is about 43,000 strong, though only 12,000 of
themarearmed.TheSRPnumbers14,000.ThemobsthattargetedtheMuslims
in rural areas, ranged in strength from 500 to 10,000.
Teesta’s Right Hand Man Speaks Out
The now-estranged erstwhile colleague of Teesta Setalvad, Rais Khan,
who did the entire riot reporting for her organisation from ground zero
made similar observations in a video-recorded interview with me:
At that time, I saw the riots first hand. I used to go alone in that jeep. At
many places, I saw how mobs gathered in so many places where there was
no police. At places, the police contingent was too small to tackle the big
mobs that gathered at so many different places. Even in their own FIRs, the
victims have mentioned mobs of 10,000 to 15,000. Do you know the total
strengthofpoliceinGujarat?Athowmanyplacescouldthepolicehaverescued
people simultaneously? Why don’t they talk about the role of the army and
the paramilitary forces? Why don’t they ever talk about how many lives were
saved by timely action? Why only talk of those that got killed?
If the police had not assisted the army properly, so many more would
have been killed because riots had spread simultaneously in numerous parts
of Gujarat. If riots are taking place simultaneously in so many different
places—located far away from each other—how can you make the army and
police reach each one of these places instantly? The number of policemen
in a typical thana is very limited. The police can only reach a place after
an incident has taken place, as the information reaches them, about mobs
gathering at such-and-such places. If at each such place, there is a mob of
10,000 to 15,000 while the local thana only has 10-20 policemen, how much
can the police do, especially if out of these 20, may be only five have rifles
and one has a pistol. They are also human and can be afraid for their own
safety when faced with an angry mob! Most policemen only carry a danda

(staff). How does such a policeman confront an angry crowd of 10,000 who
are pelting stones?
In Delhi, at India Gate, at the time of anti-rape agitation, the police was
present in huge numbers while the protestors were no more than a couple of
thousand. The police used all techniques barring the use of firepower. Yet, this
mobmanagedtocreatehavocforthepoliceandevenenteredthehighsecurity
President’s Estate. By contrast, in Gujarat, the mobs were enraged and out on
a killing spree. How could a few policemen bring them all under control at the
sametime?Bothsideswerespreadingdeadlyrumoursthroughmobilephones.
These rumours were, in large part, responsible for provoking mob violence.
The Hindus as well as Muslims gave vent to their anger. There were many
places where Muslims ended up being the vulnerable side while at some
other places, the Hindus ended up as the weaker group. You can examine the
documents to see for yourself that Hindus too suffered losses at many places.
ThekeydifferenceisthatHinduareasaremuchlargerinsizewhilemanyofthe
Muslim neighbourhoods are small and dispersed. A Muslim area might have
500 houses in a couple of lanes surrounded by Hindu neighbourhoods. Even
if they try protecting themselves by throwing stones at those who have come
to attack them, they are likely to be outnumbered. It would take a while for
the police to reach such areas because every lane and road could not possibly
have police presence. Even if the police are all set to stop riots, by the time the
police reached, some had already lost lives or suffered other losses.
I had submitted photographic evidence of Muslims also attacking Hindu
areas. Many Muslims suffered injuries from police firings because they were
also attacking Hindus where they could. But Teesta did not publicise that
evidence.
If the government had blocked all mobile services, the rumours would not
have spread so fast and furious on both sides. The rabid organisations on both
sidesalsoneedtobekeptundercontrol—beitRSS-VHPortheJamiat-e-Ulema
and Jamiat-e-Islami.
Now such elements are not only under control but Gujarat has also become
totally peaceful. When the head of the family becomes strict, the kids don’t
dare misbehave. Because the current head of the family is very strict, there
is no trouble in Gujarat. The day the head becomes lax, trouble is bound to
erupt again.
Several officials have also told me in long interviews how Modi was
caught off-guard because he had neither anticipated such a serious

outburst nor did he have full control over the administration. He
had been in office less than four months. In those few weeks, against
heavy odds, he had tried to set into motion far-reaching measures of
administrativereformstomakethegovernmentagenuineinstrument
ofservicetocitizens.Hehadnotbeenabletounderstandtheintricacies
of the law and order machinery. Yet, he recovered fast and called for
the army on the very first day of riots. Consequently, this was among
the few large-scale riots in Gujarat, which got put down within three
days. During earlier riots, violence would go on and curfew would
remain imposed for weeks or even months.
Gujarat Witnessed Riots, Not a Pogrom
As mentioned earlier, had it been a pogrom only Muslims would have
died in the disturbances of 2002. Apart from 59 Hindus who died in
Godhra, the following data shows that Hindu rioters were not allowed
to go scot-free:
Atotalof262Hindusand863Muslimswerekilledintheriotsincluding
those killed in the police firing.
In the first three days of violence, police firing led to 61 Hindus and 40
Muslims loswwing their lives.
Total number of rounds fired by the police: 10,500
Number of tear gas shells burst: 15,000
Total number of riot-related accused identified: 25,486 (17,489 Hindus
and 7,997 Muslims)
Total number of accused arrested: 26,997 out of which 19,198 were
Hindus.
The Gujarat police had registered a total of 4,274 cases. As on 31st
January,2012,246Hindusand92Muslimsaccusedhadbeenconvicted.
Itwasnotreallyaone-sidedmayhem,asportrayedbytheCongressand
itsallies.AsearlyasMarch5,2002,outofthe98reliefcamps,85werefor
the Muslims and 13 were for the Hindus. At one point, 40,000 Hindus
were living in refugee camps. Moreover, the first serious provocation
came from Muslims in the form of Godhra carnage.
We need to ask: why are the self-appointed guardians of minority rights
not willing to let these facts come out? Why has a distorted picture of
Godhra and post-Godhra riots been put in circulation? In this context,
it is noteworthy that when the first part of Nanavati Commission’s
report was tabled in the Gujarat Assembly on September 25 2008, Teesta

Setalvad’s NGO had the gumption to file a petition in the Supreme Court
demanding a ban on the publication and circulation of the report on the
specious plea that the State government would use it to go soft on the
Hindus accused of post-Godhra riots. Teesta also alleged that Modi had
appointed pliant judges to the Nanavati Commission to falsely implicate
Muslims, conveniently overlooking the fact that Justice Nanavati’s name
had been proposed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Fortunately, in this case the Supreme Court did not agree to put a
ban on the Nanavati Commission report. But, that hasn’t stopped the
anti-Modi NGOs from peddling the same old lies about Godhra and
post-Godhra violence.
TheCongress,theLeftpartiesandtheNGOsalliedtothemseemtohave
acquiredavestedinterestininculcatingasenseofpermanentvictimhood
and seige mentality among Muslims in order to prey on them as a captive
vote bank.

Inthepreviouschapterson‘Modi’sFirst19weeksasChiefMinister’
and ‘Modi’s First Election in Rajkot’, I have described at length how
Modi:
CHAPTER 13
Firm Action against Terrorists & Mafias
Why Modi Drove Congress to Desperation
The Gujarat police has caught narcotics being smuggled in from across the
border for distribution in other states through terror networks. Gujarat also
exposed a nationwide conspiracy... by nabbing those behind the nefarious
attempts to sabotage our national economy through fake currency notes and
the racket to print bogus stamp papers. The police also rendered ineffective the
criminal gangs of the mafia don Chhota Shakeel by cracking down on their
networks. Not only that, we exposed the sinister designs and operations of the
banned anti-national organisation SIMI. We arrested over 100 SIMI operatives
from all over India who had secretly gathered at Surat.
Because of the firm action taken by my government against anti-national
elements, the underworld of Dubai, diverse terrorist organisations, as well as
those elements in Gujarat who were providing them protection and shelter, are
outraged and fired with the resolve to revenge themselves on Gujarat. This is
a very serious matter and we need to demonstrate the capability to face their
challenge.
Narendra Modi in Gujarat Assembly in March 2002

instigating riots and destabilising his own state.
bhailog

(for setting off blasts).

face their challenge.
(daanv pech)

1
Web.
Web.

NeverbeforeinIndia,hasahomeministerbeenjailedforencounter
killings of criminals or terrorists by the police, as was Amit Shah.
This is not at all to justify false encounter killings even of dreaded
terrorists.

Though the Congress never tires of tarnishing the BJP as a
“communal” and “minority-hating party” in reality, its regimes
witnessedaseriesofcasteandcommunalriotstopolarisevotebanksinits
favour.Theyrefusetocometotermswiththefactthatthisdivisivepolitics
stopped working in Gujarat after March 2002. The following account
describes actions taken by the Modi’s government to quell violence and
the doings of Modi’s opponents.
There are four distinct phases in the way violence erupted and played
itselfoutduringthe2002Gujaratriots.Ananalysisofthetimingofviolent
outbreaks and their trigger points indicates a very different sinister plot
and pattern than the one peddled by the media thus far:
Who Kept the Pot Boiling?
Four Phases of Post-Godhra Riots
After meeting Mr Modi, I was moved by his sincerity. I found him to be fair and
sincere in terms of his intention to end the riots. He seemed worried and sad
because his police had failed him in ending this violence; he wanted me to take
whatever steps I deemed fit to end this violence and assured me whole-hearted
support… I realised that people of all political parties, who were anti-Modi
and anti-BJP, were taking advantage of this mayhem and making all efforts to
defame Modi one way or the other.
K.P.S. Gill, Central Government appointed special advisor to Gujarat CM,
May 2002
...Among other factors, Modi’s belonging to the OBC caste worked against
him. Gujarat had a well-established tradition that only a Patel can be chief
minister. Since he was sent as a replacement for Keshubhai Patel, those close
to Keshubhai were determined to bring him down. Some Muslim leaders also
joined hands and instigated their community.
A.I. Sayed, former ADG Gujarat Police
CHAPTER 14

The first phase of violence that began on February 28, 2002 and lasted
untilMarch3,2002wascharacterisedbyanti-socialpoliticiansofallhues
exploiting mass outrage against the Muslim community for the Godhra
train burning. However, the worst was over in 72 hours due to a swift
deploymentofthearmy.Bymid-March,thesituationstartedcoolingdown.
Schools,colleges,andotherinstitutionshadstartedfunctioningnormally.
The second phase of stray incidents of violence, from March 18 to
March 28, was part of a deliberate strategy by politically-patronised
miscreants to disrupt the board examinations at various centres, which
started from March 18, 2002. This was done to keep the pot boiling.
Thethirdphase,startingApril17,wasagainengineeredbymiscreants,
on the eve of the second phase of board examinations, to create subvert
return to normalcy conditions so that the world could be told that Modi
was unwilling and incapable of controlling the violence. But Modi’s
governmentwasbynowwiseranddidnotallowtheseincidentstoescalate
as happened on February 28 when it was caught off guard.
The fourth phase of violence starting May 5 saw attacks on Hindu
neighbourhoods by mischief mongers with the intent of provoking a
backlash. The idea was to influence the scheduled discussion on Gujarat
in the concluding session of Rajya Sabha the next day.
These stage-managed riots were aimed at misleading the Parliament,
as well as the outside world, to believe that the situation in Gujarat was
grim and to build a national hysteria around Narendra Modi in order to
browbeat Prime Minister Vajpayee into sacking Modi.
However, the target was not just Narendra Modi—the target was as
much Atal Bihari Vajpayee because, as the widely acknowledged “liberal
face” of BJP, Vajpayee had been able to end the political isolation of BJP
by attracting a wide range of allies in the National Democratic Alliance
(NDA), thus making Congress Party’s prospect of returning to power
very bleak. Vajpayee was not only a popular mass leader, but was also
able to inject new life in the economy by his agenda of liberalisation. The
politicallegitimacyofVajpayee’sNDAgovernmenthadtobedestroyedin
order to combat its growing popularity. The Congress Party desperately
needed communal riots in BJP-ruled states, especially Gujarat, as a peg
to build hysteria around the alleged demonic, anti-minority image of the
BJPandforceBJP’sselfstyled‘secular’alliesliketheTrinamoolCongress,
Biju Janata Dal, Telugu Desam Party (TDP), and the Janata Dal (United)
to withdraw their support and declare BJP untouchable.

This strategy worked perfectly since the TDP, BJD, Trinamool left the
NDA alliance to keep face with their Muslim voters. That helped Sonia
Congress in dethroning Vajpayee in 2004. Even though by all accounts
and yardsticks, Vajpayee led NDA government treated its regional allies
with far greater courtesy and consideration than the Congress has ever
done, the Gujarat riots became a convenient handle to manipulate NDA’s
“secular” allies to shun and isolate BJP. It was once again stigmatised as a
a political “untouchable” by the very same allies who merrily climbed on
the NDA bandwagon when BJP was voted in as the largest party in 1999.
AsaresultVajpayeelostpowerbutModisurvivedbecauseheunderstood
the game better than the central leadership of BJP, including Vajpayee.
The following account shows how the Congress Party used all possible
means to keep the pot boiling in order to create countrywide hysteria
against the BJP government in Gujarat.
The First and Most Intense Phase of the Gujarat Riots
As described in an earlier chapter, during the first phase of riots starting
February 28, 2002, politicians of both the BJP and the Congress fueled
the mob frenzy. People forgot their party affiliations and decided to
take revenge on Muslims. In this mad fury, innocent Muslims became
hapless targets. However, thanks to the speedy deployment of the army
and additional para-military forces, it was brought under control within
72 hours. From March 3 to 5, there were occasional outbursts of violence.
Out of the total 1,129 deaths attributed to the 2002 riots, 611 had
occurred during one-week starting February 28.
Out of the total of 199 deaths due to police firing, 101 occurred during
this period.
Around 5,450 out of a total 10,000 rounds of firing also took place
during these three days.
The deaths reported on March 4, 5, and 6 mainly consisted of the dead
bodies recovered on account of the violence up to March 3.
There were plenty of cases of police complicity, and/or inadequacy, in
dealing with the situation during this period, which witnessed the most
horrific episodes of violence. But it also saw tough police action. The very
fact that 101 persons died in police firing in the same period indicates
that the police was not altogether complicit or put out of action. It is
worth noting that, of those killed in police firing, 61 were Hindus and
40 were Muslims. There are hardly any other examples of people of the

majority community being killed in such large numbers during riots in
other states of India.
2nd Phase of Violence: Govt. Ensures Safety of Haj Pilgrims
It was during this phase that each of the 6,000 pilgrims returning from
Haj were received by the Gujarat police at the point of entry, and each
individual and family escorted safely to their respective doorstep in 400
different locations across towns and villages of Gujarat. During Modi’s
election campaign, Muslim leaders of Rajkot had expressed gratitude to
the new CM for making better arrangements for Haj pilgrims than the
Congress had ever done. As mentioned in an earlier chapter, one of the
first instructions from Modi’s office after the outbreak of riots was to
direct the police to ensure the safety of the 6,000 Muslim pilgrims that
had gone to Haj from Gujarat. This is how The Times of India reported
the matter on March 20, 2002:
The first lot of 287 haj pilgrims from Gujarat returned home after their nearly
55-day-long trip concluded on Tuesday. About 150-armed policemen were
deployed for their security. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police,
Pravin Gondia, arrangements have been made for the safe transit of the
passengers from the airport to their various destinations in 19 districts. As the
Saudi flight, SV 5418, arrived here from the Jeddah at 4 p.m., a heavy security
set-upwasseenoutsidethearrivalloungewithnearly200-armedmenguarding
the fortified arrival area at the international terminal. Speaking to reporters
at the airport, Haj Committee Chairman, S.K. Saiyad, said that satisfactory
transportation facility along with escorts had been provided. Heavily armed
escort parties waited to accompany the passengers. Four Gujarat State Road
Transport Corporation buses were deployed to escort the passengers.
The State government also ensured that Muharram and Holi passed
off peacefully thanks to precautionary measures. In earlier years these
festivals often triggered off communal clashes. Enough forces were
deployed, and adequate precautionary measures were taken, to ensure
that the miscreants did not get the opportunity to cause trouble on these
sensitiveoccasions.Panchayatelectionsindifferentpartsofthestatewere
held peacefully in thousands of villages.
After observing that the state had been more or less incident-free
for 15 days, and that the situation had stabilised, the State government

decided to go ahead with the secondary and higher secondary board
examinations. Elaborate security arrangements were made for the safe
conduct of the exams. The government requisitioned buses to escort
students from exam centres to their homes. Police escorts were provided
to the vehicles carrying students.
However,keysectionsoftheCongressPartyanditsalliedorganisations
opposedtheholdingofexamstoothandnail,asthoughitwasbeingdone
to spite the Muslim community. They used the pretense that Muslim
children would be unable to appear in the exams because the whole
community was terrorised. The government argued that, out of the 469
police districts, only 163 districts had experienced riots. Even during
the peak of the riots, only 95 police districts had been directly affected.
Postponing exams would mean lakhs of students all over the state losing
a whole year. That frustration would also prevent young people from
gettingbacktonormalroutine.Buttheanti-Modilobbieswouldnotyield.
So desperate were the Congress Party and its allied NGO allies in
preventing the return of normalcy that they approached the High Court
to get a stay order on the holding of exams—totally unmindful of the
unsettlingeffectitwouldhaveonthemindsoftheyoungpeoplewhowould
lose a whole year. However, after reviewing government arrangements,
the High Court ruled that it found them adequate. Therefore, a stay order
was not granted.
The first phase of examinations started from March 18, except in the
Police Commissionerate areas of Ahmedabad and Vadodara cities. But
in order to disrupt exams, miscreants were let loose to instigate group
clashes, arson, and killings. As reported in The Times of India on March
20, 2002, the second phase of violence was confined to the walled city
of Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Godhra, Modasa, and Himmat Nagar. An
indefinitecurfewwasclampedintheHimmatNagartownofSabarkantha
district, following incidents of stone pelting and arson. The police burst
teargasshellstodisperseamob,astensionmountedinthetownfollowing
rumours.
The Hindu reported on March 20, 2002 that, following the violence,
an indefinite curfew has been clamped in both Bharuch and Modasa,
which also forced the authorities to postpone the ongoing secondary and
highersecondaryexaminationsinthesetowns,inadditiontoAhmedabad
and Baroda where they were postponed earlier in view of the disturbed
conditions.

Riotsalsospreadtotheneighbouringareas.TheTimesofIndiareported
on March 22, 2002, that there was tension in Himmat Nagar following
the violence in neighbouring Modasa, where two people were killed on
Tuesday. The situation worsened after the son of a Kutchi Patel, who had
come shopping, apparently got lost. A resident said, “The local VHP and
BJPmembersblamedtheminoritycommunity.Theyhadgivenadeadline
of 2 p.m. to the police to fetch the boy.” Eyewitnesses said a group of more
than 1,500 people had surrounded the police station demanding the
recovery of the boy”. Soon arson and violence broke out and the exams
hadtobecancelled.However,despitedeterminedeffortsofthesaboteurs,
the situation was swiftly brought under control. The rest of the state, in
any case, stayed peaceful and therefore, in most parts of the state the
board exams were completed smoothly.
Violence stoked to influence the NHRC team: These incidents were
orchestrated keeping in view the visit of Justice Verma, the chairman
of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to Gujarat. Fresh
violence erupted the day he went to Godhra. This was in addition to
incidents in Ahmedabad. Manas Dasgupta reported in The Hindu on
March 22, 2002:
At least seven persons were killed, five in police firing and two in stabbing
incidents, as violence erupted once again in Ahmedabad since this afternoon,
even as most parts of Gujarat remained peaceful today. An indefinite curfew
wasre-clampedinKalupur,Dariapur,ShahpurandKaranjpolicestationareas
in the evening after at least six incidents of stabbing, large-scale arson, and
stonethrowingwerereportedfromvariousareasaffectedinrenewedviolence.
Curfew had been withdrawn from these areas only yesterday….the army was
again called out for a flag march and the security further strengthened….
At least 100 shops were destroyed in the Sindhi market area when a mob set
them on fire this afternoon following reports of stabbings….The police were
forced to open fire near Sakaria-ni-Pole in Kalupur area following a pitched
battle between people of two communities in which one person was killed
on the spot.
Those who engineered these disturbances had a clear agenda—to convey
to the NHRC team that Gujarat was still burning and Narendra Modi
was the key culprit. Any strictures on Narendra Modi by the NHRC lent
greatlegitimacytotheiroust-Modicampaign.AslongastheNHRCteam

stayed in Gujarat, stray incidents of violence, arson, and stone pelting
continued in parts of Ahmedabad, Godhra, and Vadodra with rumours
‘circulatinglikewild fire’. The Times of Indiareported on March 24, 2002:
Even as a NHRC team camped in the city and toured Godhra, fresh violence
eruptedhereonFridayleavingthreedeadandatleasttwoinjured.Curfewwas
imposed in six police station precincts of the city. …Following the incidents
of stabbing, people had started coming out on the streets and large mobs had
gathered in the walled city areas. Minor incidents of altercations between
people of different communities were also reported.
Government ensures peaceful Muharram and Holi: Despite all this
mischief, the government ensured that no untoward incident was
reported on March 25, 2002, namely the day of Muharram. This was
mainlyduetostrictpolicebandobast.Inearlieryears,riotsonMuharram
were common. On March 29, 2002, The Hindu reported, “The Gujarat
government is not taking any chances for the Holi festival tomorrow.
Even as sporadic violence continued, the situation had become tense
in view of the festival and the provocative leaflets that are making the
rounds instigating people to violence ‘to save Gujarat.’ A high alert is
being maintained in all sensitive areas…”
The Times of India, on March 29, 2002, also reported that “while no
extra reinforcements had been called for, the army and the BSF patrolled
AhmedabadcontinuouslyonHoli.Adaybefore,thearmyconductedaflag
marchinSarkhejwheretroublebrokeoutfollowingincidentsofarson…”
Gujarat celebrated a very low-key, but peaceful, Holi with no untoward
incident of violence reported anywhere. However, political miscreants
continued to spread sinister rumours to instigate communal clashes and
rumours cannot be controlled by deploying police or arresting people.
Manas Dasgupta reported in The Hindu on April 2, 2002, “The Police
Commissioner, P.C. Pandey, who attributed the renewed violence to
‘rumour mongering’, said that the police was devising new methods to
curb unruly mobs from coming out on the streets and creating panic
among rival communities…. mobile vans, fitted with video cameras,
would move round the city and film the mobs to identify the mischief-
mongers in case of any untoward incidents…”
Laying siege to PM Vajpayee: Barely a day before the prime minister’s
visit to Gujarat, bizarre incidents of violence flared up in the state with

people being burnt alive in different areas. On April 3, 2002, The Hindu
reported that the Vadodara Police Commissioner Deen Dayal Tuteja,
was injured when miscreants hurled a petrol bomb at him. In another
incident, police opened fire in Ankleshwar in south Gujarat following
stone-throwing, while tension also prevailed in Adipur-Gandhidham
in Kutch district. The Times of India reported on April 3, 2002, on the
anxiety of the state administration prior to the PM’s visit, “The fresh
spate of violence in Gujarat, especially in the Kutch region, which has so
far escaped communal frenzy, on the eve of Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee’sarrivalhasshakenthestateadministration,evenasauthorities
were geared up for the visit...”
The Hindu reported on April 4, 2002, that at least nine persons were
killed in violent incidents on the eve of Vajpayee’s visit. Six of them were
burntaliveinAbasanavillageinAhmedabaddistrict.Themethodbehind
this madness was clear: present such a fearsome picture to Vajpayee that
he would be compelled to sack Modi. But in these later phases, the State
government does not seem to have faltered in taking action.
OnApril7,2002,TheHindureported,“Thepolicehadsoughtthearmy’s
assistance to quell disturbances at Ghodasar where a mob attacked some
housing colonies, threw petrol bombs and burning rags after cutting off
power supply. Police fired 80 rounds killing two persons and burst scores
of teargas shells to disperse the mob…Police have arrested 25 persons in
connection with the burning alive of five persons of a minority family in
Abasana village under the Detroj police station in Ahmedabad district
on April 3….”
Panchayatelectionsheldpeacefully:Undeterredbythesesubversions,
Modi continued to focus on getting people’s energies directed towards
constructive politics. Therefore, he made sure that panchayat elections
were held as per the announced schedule. This was in sharp contrast to
how several chief ministers in India have used “disturbed conditions” as
an alibi for indefinitely avoiding holding of panchayat elections because
that gives them scope for concentrating all power in the state capital.
The Hindu, on April 8, 2002, carried the following report about polling
in panchayat elections: “A government spokesman cited the peaceful
polling in some 1,060 village panchayat elections as an indicator of peace
and normality returning to the state. An estimated 55 to 60 per cent of
the electorate cast their votes in the elections to the village panchayats,
which could not go to the polls in December for various reasons. The

polling was scheduled to be held [in March] but had to be postponed
due to the violence.”
With the law and order improving, the State Secondary and Higher
Secondary Examination Board recommended that the second phase
of the secondary and higher secondary examinations be held any time
after April 14.
The Third Phase of Engineered Violence
Following the decision of the government to hold the second phase of the
boardexaminationsfromApril18onwards,severalMuslimorganisations,
with the support of anti-Modi NGOs, gave a call to Muslim students to
boycott examinations. But the students defied their boycott call despite
threats of violence. The Times of India reported on April 17, 2002:
Citing‘unsafe’centresforsecondaryboardexaminationsstartingonApril18,a
MuslimgrouponTuesdaynightaskedstudentsbelongingtothecommunityto
boycotttheexamsforclassXandXIIevenasGujaratChiefMinisterNarendra
Modi assured them of adequate security. A meeting held here under the aegis
of ‘affected citizens of Ahmedabad’ resolved that the ‘minority community
shall not participate in the class X and class XII exams beginning from April
18.’...the minority community shall not participate in the examinations...
Meanwhile Chief Minister Modi appealed to the students to appear for the
examinations ‘without any tension.’ He said strict action will be taken against
those who would try to disrupt the examinations.
Muslim students defy exam boycott call: The government relaxed
rules for students coming from disturbed areas to facilitate their taking
the exams. Examination centres were earmarked to students on a need
basis; late entries in the examination were allowed, and students who had
lost their entry slips were also allowed. In addition, elaborate security
arrangements were made for students’ safety at exam centres as well as
for their travel to and from exam halls by providing buses with police
escort. Manas Dasgupta reported in The Hindu on April 20, 2002:
The efforts of the Gujarat government as also of the Defence Minister George
Fernandes, yielded better results today with more students belonging to
the Muslim community appearing for the on-going secondary and higher
secondary examinations in the state.

The large-scale attendance of Muslim students showed an immediate
improvement in the overall percentage of attendance in the examinations. An
officialspokesmansaidtheattendanceincreasedfrom93percentonThursday
to 96.16 per cent today, marginally less than the normal presence of about
98 per cent. Encouraged by the Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s assurance,
more Muslim parents have agreed to send their wards for the examinations.
Mr. Modi’s assurance, that the students who missed the examinations in
the last two days due to security concerns would be given another chance,
has boosted the morale of the minority students. Officials of the Education
Departmentvisitedthereliefcampshousingtheriot-hitMuslimsandMuslim-
dominated areas. They reassured the parents about security for their wards.
Mr. Fernandes, who arrived in Ahmedabad on Thursday night for a four-day
visit to the riot-hit areas in the state, visited a couple of examination centres to
review the security aspects and spoke to students. His request to the parents
met with instant response.
This is what Modi had to say about the harassment he faced from those
determined to disrupt exams:
Even though we made fool-proof arrangements to hold the annual board
exams peacefully, these NGOs and the Congress Party created endless
obstructions. But the courts came to our rescue. I had assured them that
I was willing to hold separate exams for those who, for some reason, were
unable to appear as per schedule. But they should not make lakhs of students
in the entire state lose one year. But they wouldn’t budge. We had organised
special tuitions in relief camps by setting up separate tents for holding classes
for board students with regular power supply. Teachers and doctors went
regularly to the relief camps; I ensured that the officer in-charge of each
area, where relief camps were situated, was a Muslim to give them a sense
of assurance.
The media joined the chorus that students were not willing to appear
for exams and were boycotting them. They even produced a picture or two
showing empty classroom benches to project that students were keeping away
from exams. But the truth is that the attendance was a bit higher, not lower,
thannormal.CongressPartyworkers,someMuslimorganisations,andNGOs
usedtoactivelystopstudentsfromreachingexamcentres.SomeoftheseNGO
activists were so desperate in dissuading Muslim students from appearing in
exams that they went around forcing Muslim kids out of buses that had gone

to pick them up for exams. So much so they even burnt a bus, which had come
to collect students in a Muslim basti.
They had to do this to prove to the High Court that their stand was right
since they had filed a petition to get a stay order on exams. But when the High
Court reviewed our arrangements, they found them satisfactory. Therefore,
they did not give a stay order on holding the board exams. Despite so much
pressure from all these disruptive elements, Muslim children performed well.
The average attendance was 98 per cent; Muslim students secured even better
results that year. Normally, the success rate of Muslim students used to be 60
per cent; that year it went up to 75. But these NGOs wanted to keep only one
rant going: Muslims are dying; they are being crushed and killed.
As the situation began to normalise, the Chief of the Army Staff, S.
Padmanabhan, told the media that it was time to pull out the army from
Gujarat. But then a new round of disturbances started as though on cue.
Deliberate disruptions on Ram Navami: When the examinations
had started smoothly, Ahmedabad witnessed another round of stage-
managed violent clashes on April 21, 2002, the day of Ram Navami.
Similar disruptions were instigated at Kadi in district Mehsana. Such
incidents on an important festival were clearly aimed at provoking
Hindus. The timing also betrayed their real purpose. The Parliament
was scheduled to resume its session on April 22. This fresh outbreak of
violenceprovidedmuch-neededammunitiontotheCongressandtheLeft
parties to go ballistic against the Vajpayee government at the Centre and
Modi’s government in Gujarat. On April 22, The Times of India wrote:
A fresh spate of violence gripped Gujarat on Sunday, leaving as many as 13
dead even as the Union Defence Minister George Fernandes was on a ‘healing
mission’tothestate.ThedeadincludebothHindusandMuslims.Apoliceman
was among the 12 killed in Ahmedabad on Sunday that marked Ram Navami,
as violence spread in the sensitive areas of the city, besides neighbouring
Kheda, Vadodara, and Mehsana districts.
One person died in police firing on Saturday night in Kapadvanj area of
Kheda district. Violence rocked Gomtipur area of Ahmedabad on Sunday as a
constable died of sword injuries and a person was killed in an explosion. Eight
others, including a woman, fell to police bullets, as tension refused to subside
in the city. The rioting mobs also set on fire a police post at Hardasnagar in
the Bapunagar area.

The report goes on to say that, according to the police, a Ramdhun
programme was disrupted by a group who allegedly pelted stones at
devotees, which provoked the reaction. Police fired at least 60 rounds in
whichsevenpeoplewereinjured.TheBSFandtheRAFhadalsobeencalled
in. The police arrested 74 persons in connection with the disturbance.
IndefinitecurfewwasimposedindisturbedareasofAhmedabadasmobs
refused to disperse following bouts of stone-throwing, arson, private
firing, and crude explosions that had begun on Saturday night. Mobs set
on fire the Nagpur Vohra Ni Chaali and then stopped the fire fighters
from reaching the place on Saturday night. Police opened fire on the
rioters. Arson and violence continued to spread to other adjoining areas
as the army was called in to take control of the situation on Sunday. A
constable, Amar Suresh Rao Patil, who was on law and order duty in the
area, was killed after being attacked by a sharp weapon.
Even though the report wisely does not name communities, reading
between the lines one can gather that Muslims are not just victims, they
are also among the aggressors in several areas. However, the tribals were
alwaysidentifiedwhenevertheywentonrampage.Forinstance,thesame
report mentions that there were various outbursts in Vadodra district,
includinginChhotaUdaipur,“wheretribalsarmedwithbowsandarrows
reportedly went on the offensive, but were checked by the police.” The
Hindu reported on April 23, 2002:
The Army, which had returned to the barracks in the cantonment area in
Ahmedabad, was back on the streets, staging flag-marches in the violence-hit
areas, along with the Rapid Action Force personnel and police. The renewed
violence had its impact on the ongoing secondary and higher secondary
examinations, which were held under tight security...
TheStateCongressPresident,AmarsinhChaudhary,favouringcontinuation
of the examinations, took a serious view of some of his party colleagues
joining hands with minority leaders to give a call to the students to boycott
the examinations. Talking to media persons here today, Mr. Chaudhary said
hewouldseekanexplanationfromthosewhowerebelievedtohavesupported
the boycott call.
Congress Double Speak on Examination Boycott
Though, the former Congress CM is quoted in newspapers saying that
Congressmen were complicit in the exam boycott call to foment trouble;

intheassembly,thesameAmarsinhChaudharyattackedNarendraModi
for having pushed through the exams on terrorised Muslim students.
Modi did not mince words in reminding the Congress leader of his
double-speak:
Sh. Amarsinh gave a big sermon on examinations. I do not wish to go into
the figures he mentioned. But I do want to read out a fax received by the state
government which says, “It was the right move to hold the examinations as
per schedule in order to safeguard the interests of students despite disturbed
conditions in the state.” It further says, “Even in our disturbed tribal areas like
Chhota Udaipur and Kwat, exams are being conducted in a well-organised
manner. We are happy about this.” This fax has come from Shri Sukhrambhai
Rathwa, respected MLA of the Indian National Congress from Chhota
Udaipur. The letter carries the signature of several people from the area.
All these years, the average figure for students appearing in exams used to
be 97 to 98 per cent. I say it with pride that today, wherever exams are being
held, 98 per cent of students are appearing for them. Some people are upset
because the violence was brought under control in three days. Some have
resolved not to let the government take credit for controlling riots within
72 hours. Therefore, they are determined to show that they can continue the
mayhem for 72 days. Those who harbour such dreams are making a mistake.
Their dreams will not be fulfilled. This government is determined to take firm
steps to establish peace.
Inspite ofeffortsatsabotage, the second phase ofthe board examinations
wentonwithoutinterruptionfromApril18,2002,onwards.However,stray
incidentseruptinginthemostunlikelyplaceskepttheadministrationon
tenterhooks. The Hindu reported on April 26, 2002: “For the first time in
two months, the Saurashtra region, which was relatively insulated from
violence,witnesseddisturbancessinceWednesdaynight....Themiscreants
also attacked two temples and damaged the idols. This led to a pitched
battle between the rival groups, forcing the police to open fire in which
six persons were injured…”
Despite determined attempts at preventing return of normalcy by the
opposition, once again, the government took special care of Muslim
students who were unable to appear for the exams after the orchestrated
violence. It announced that supplementary examinations would be held
in Ahmedabad and Baroda for the students who missed the April test.

The Times of India wrote on April 27, 2002: “The Government’s Counsel
Solicitor General Harish Salve and Additional Solicitor General Kirit
Raval assured the court that even those students who had taken the
examination would be allowed to appear in the repeat test, provided
they gave an undertaking that marks scored by them in the April test
would be forfeited…”
ButviolencebrokeoutyetagaininVadodara,whereatleasttwopersons
were killed and 19 injured. The Hindu reported on April 28, 2002, “In the
Vadi locality people from the rival communities came out on the streets
latelastnightandhurledstonesandbombsateachother.Policesaidthere
was no immediate provocation for the disturbances and the violence
couldbethehandiworkofgangsofcriminalsfromthetwocommunities.”
The Fourth Phase of Disturbances
The fourth phase starting May 5 saw even more aggression by rogue
elementsproppeduptoattackHindulocalities,withtheclearintentionof
triggeringlarge-scaleHindu-Muslimriots.Theseweredeliberatelystaged
on the eve of the concluding session of Rajya Sabha on May 6 to provide
ammunition to the Congress and its allied parties to attack the NDA
government. The morning of May 5, 2002, saw organised and aggressive
attacks on Parikshit Nagar area of Ahmedabad city. It was marked by
large-scale use of firearms and explosives. Miscreants used bombs and
rocket launchers in this phase of violence. This fuelled further mistrust
and animosity between the two communities.
The medical staff working in the relief camp bore the brunt of the
mutual distrust between two communities. The Times of India, on May
6, 2002, reported:
When a team of doctors visited the Aman Chowk relief camp in sensitive
Bapunagar area of the city on Saturday they were in for a shock. Their patients
in the camp accused them of being communally biased. “Tum Hindu doctor
ho na? Tumhare dimaag mein hamare liye zahar bhara hai” (Aren’t you Hindu
doctors? Your minds are poisoned against us), threatened a group of inmates
when the doctors refused to revise certificates of injury given to patients in
the camp.
The situation became so tense, recalled one of them, that we beat a hasty
retreat.‘Itwasahorribleandunnervingexperience.Thesepeopleaccusedusof
notgivingcertificatesshowingtheinjuryasmoreseriousthanwhatitactually

is. We tried to explain that if a person is hit by a stone then, according to the
guidelines, he’ll get a certificate of only ten percent injury. But they refused to
listen and started accusing us of being communally-biased,’ the doctor said,
pleading anonymity for safety reasons.
Attacks and threats like the one at Aman Chowk have left many of the
50 medical teams visiting relief camps worried about their security…The
trend started early in April when Dr. Amit Mehta was stabbed at his clinic
in Juhapura, sending a wave of panic in the medical fraternity. Subsequent
attacks and threats have only confirmed the fears of the doctors. The scene is
equally bad for those practicing in sensitive areas like Jamalpur, Behrampura,
Bapunagar, Gomtipur, Shah Alam, Shahpur, Dariapur, and Juhapura…
Super Cop KPS Gill Deputed to Quell Violence
In the first week of May 2002, K.P.S. Gill was appointed by the Vajpayee
government as a special advisor to the chief minister. His job was
to review the situation, supervise and initiate steps for the efficient
functioning and management of police force. By all accounts, the arrival
of this famed cop set a strong signal that both the NDA government at
the Centre, as well as the State government, was serious about cracking
down on those fomenting communal riots. K.P.S. Gill had a salutary
track record as an efficient, non-partisan cop who had earned kudos
for handling explosive situations in communally-divided Assam and
terrorism-infested Punjab. He may be controversial among certain
NGOs and among supporters of militants because of his all-out war
against Khalistani terrorists, but he is a highly respected and admired
figure among the general public in Punjab. As recorded in a recently
released biography1
, his arrival communicated to the rioters as well as
the policemen—right from the DGP to the constable—that irresponsible
actions would not be tolerated anymore.
Within days of his arrival, the city’s three top police officials were
replaced. K.R. Kaushik, the new police commissioner, said Gill
immediately issued orders for the police to arrest anyone gathering in a
mob. Even though 14 people were killed on the two days following his
arrival and the violence showed no signs of abating, Gill moved swiftly
to streamlinethe policeadministration. This phase witnessed blatant use
1 Rahul Chandan, K.P.S. Gill: The Paramount Cop (Noida: Maple Press, 2013).

of troublemakers among the Muslims to go on the offensive and provoke
inter-community clashes.
The Hindu reported on May 6, 2002 that violence once again broke
out in Ahmedabad and Vadodara today, shattering the fragile peace
in riot-torn Gujarat. According to UNI, six persons were killed, two of
them burnt alive in the renewed violence. An indefinite curfew was re-
clamped in disturbed areas. A couple of incidents of stabbing were also
reported from Vadodara where a police jawan was among the victims.
In the Behrampura-Shah Alam locality a violent mob set fire to a scrap
market and the fire engulfed a few adjoining houses. The rival groups
came out on the streets indulging in heavy stone throwing. Allegedly, a
number of bombs were also exploded.
Asviolencecontinuedunabatedinsomeareas,theStateSecondaryand
HigherSecondaryEducationBoardannouncedyetanotherexamination
schedule to begin from June 3. Students who could not appear in the
second phase of examinations held from April 18, and those living in
relief camps (even if they had appeared in the first two phases of the
examinations) were assured that they would be allowed to appear in the
third phase.
In continuation of the earlier attempts at sabotage, there were reports
of stabbing, mob attacks on passers-by, and on ambulances carrying
patients. The Times of India reported on May 8, 2002: “Acceding to a
Gujarat government request, the Centre has decided to send about 2,000
CRPF personnel, including nearly 200 commandos, to assist the state
administration in combating communal violence.” Eight companies of
CRPFwerealsotransportedtoGujaratfromvariouspartsofthecountry.
And yet sporadic incidents continued in select pockets. The Hindu
reported on May 9, 2002 that nine persons were killed and 25 injured
in overnight violence in Ahmedabad and some other parts of Gujarat
today. An indefinite curfew was clamped in disturbed areas. The police
unearthed a huge cache of bombs and other weapons from the town and
arrested 56 persons hiding in a place of worship. They had to open fire to
disperse mobs protesting against their arrest.
Maninagar also witnessed a free-for-all between the two communities
with the police reporting a “barrage of private firings” besides hurling of
bombs and other crude missiles at each other. Braving the firing, police
carried out combing operations and recovered a large quantity of arms

and ammunition from several houses. They claimed that but for the
recovery of arms and ammunition, the toll in Maninagar could have
been much higher.
The Hindu again reported on May 10 that eight persons were killed—
one of them burnt alive—and 35 injured as violence erupted once again
in Ahmedabad. The city witnessed large-scale arson as fire brigade staff
went on a flash strike late on Thursday night after three of their personnel
were beaten up and a fire brigade ambulance was set afire by a violent
mob. The police-housing colony in Gaekwad Haveli was also attacked
by a mob, which set fire to a police motorcycle and snatched a rifle. A
police constable who was dragged out of his house, however, escaped.
Four persons were killed in police firing in Jamalpur and the Gaekwad
Haveli, while one person was stabbed to death.
On May 12, 2002, The Hindu reported one of the last bouts of violence:
At least two persons were killed and 30 injured in police firing, bomb blasts,
and stone-throwing in Ahmedabad even as the city witnessed a marked
decline in the intensity of violence with the new police team taking over the
reins of law and order. Barring Ahmedabad, the situation elsewhere in riot-
torn Gujarat was peaceful, encouraging the minorities in some rural areas
to return home.
PatrollingbythearmyandtheRapidActionForceofthetrouble-proneareas
has been intensified. Police have also started implementing curfew strictly
and acting stringently against the law-breakers. And the known anti-social
elements from both the communities have been warned of dire consequences.
The new Ahmedabad Police Commissioner K.R. Kaushik, who went
around the troubled areas immediately after assuming charge on Friday,
visited the Shah Alam Roza camp, the largest relief camp of the minorities,
and personally inquired about the problems faced by the inmates. The
camp organiser, Mohsin Quadri, said that Mr. Kaushik’s inquiries about
the lodging of FIRs in connection with the violent incidents had a soothing
effect on the inmates…
On the brighter side, several instances of mutual amity were evident in the
villages.HindusinKanijvillageofAnanddistrictincentralGujaratwenttothe
Mehmadabad relief camp and brought fellow Muslims back…A report said the
Hindusarpanchevenraisedfundstoprovideinitialhouseholdkitstotheaffected
Muslims. This encouraged the people of some other villages to follow suit….

Uday Mahurkar in India Today2
sums up the nature of violence in the
fourth phase and the method behind the mayhem:
…Hindustoohavebeguntosuffer,thankstoanewbelligerenceoftheMuslims
whohavebeenundersiegefortenweeks.Therepeatedrecoveryofhugecaches
of weapons from Muslim pockets forced some of the ministers to ask Modi
about the steps the police was taking to flush out these armouries.
What is adding to the knife-edge tension is the growing evidence that
the violence has a deliberate pattern and there’s a motive to keep the flames
from being doused. Violence seemed to have been brought under control by
the second week of March until sporadic attacks on Hindus in Ahmedabad,
Bharuch, and Modasa in the midst of the state school board examinations
reignited the embers. But it escalated on Ram Navmi day when a police
constable was killed in Ahmedabad’s Gomtipur area. The sudden spurt of
violence followed a call given by local Muslim leaders to students from the
communitytoboycotttherescheduledstateschoolboardexaminationsfailed.
Significantly, among those who were exhorting the students to boycott the
exams were five local Congress leaders besides members of the radical Islamic
movement, the Tableeghi Jamaat.
Local BJP leaders point to other incidents to suggest there was a method
in the mayhem. Hours after Defence Minister George Fernandes led a peace
march in Ahmedabad violence broke out on the route he had taken. The area
hadnotwitnessedanyriotsintherecentpast.Strangely,theriotingstoppeda
daybeforeSoniaGandhi’speacerallyinAhmedabadonMay1.But,onMay
5, a day before the Rajya Sabha debated the censure motion, and barely 24
hours after Gill took over his Gujarat assignment, violence erupted again.
This time Muslim rioters attacked Bhilwas locality in the Shah Alam area.
Says political analyst Vidyut Thakar, “A pattern is visible in the new round
of violence. There is an impression that it has to do with the Modi-hatao
campaign…”[Emphasis Mine]
Contemporary news reports clearly show the government was no longer
accused of either laxity or complicity. In each instance, news reports
2 Uday Mahurkar, “Out of Control,” India Today, May 20, 2002, Web. http://indiatoday.
intoday.in/story/gujarat-riots-as-death-toll-rises-cm-narendra-modi-image-hits-a-
new-low/1/219805.html.

describe quick action by the security forces even while political mischief
mongers spared no efforts to sabotage efforts at restoration of peace.
Verdict of KPS Gill
Even in personal conversations with me, Gill told me that from day
one, he could see that Narendra Modi was dead serious about putting
down communal rioting. But his opponents had taken advantage of his
inexperienceinadministration.Inthefirstone-to-onemeetingwithGill,
Modi told him, “My first principle as a devout Hindu, and as a politician,
is Sarve Janah Sukhino Bhavanthu (May all the people in the world be
happy and peaceful). I will be thankful to you all my life if you can help
me end this mayhem at the earliest…” Gill says he was moved by Modi’s
sinceritytoendtheriots.Heseemedworriedbecausehispolicehadfailed
to measure up to the challenge. Modi backed him fully to take measures
necessary to end this violence.3
To make a proper assessment of the situation, Gill started touring
all those places, which had witnessed communal clashes, and listened
patiently to the victims of violence as well as to the policemen on the
ground. He found that a large section of policemen, as well as the
administration, was infected by the communal virus and there was
widespread anger against the macabre incident at Godhra. Since Modi
was new to the job, the police force was not in his grip. He says, he saw
evidence that “people of all political parties who were anti-Modi and
anti-BJP were taking advantage of his inexperience.”4
ThefirststepGilltookwastointeractpersonallywiththoseofficerswho
failed to prevent riots in their areas and transferred them out of sensitive
posts. Officers expected to be fair in their working were given sensitive
posts. This put the police force on alert that the top administration was
serious about ending this blood game, and dereliction of duty would not
be tolerated. He says, “Modi gave me full freedom to transfer ineffective
officers and appoint appropriate replacements. I introduced a number of
measures to discipline the force without any interference from Modi.”
WhereverMr.Gillwent,hegavehispersonalmobilenumberstopeople
and told them to call him directly in case of need. Whenever Mr. Gill had
a call from somebody in need, he made sure the grievance was attended
3 Chandan, K.P.S. Gill: The Paramount Cop, p. 226.
4 Ibid., p. 227.

to passing the message instantly to someone who could take care of the
complaint.5
K.P.S. Gill’s credibility among the Muslim community can
be gauged from the fact that long after completing his task, he received
numerous invitations to inaugurate reconstructed colonies meant for
Muslims and attend weddings in Muslim families.
Abdullah Ibrahim Syed was the director of the Police Academy when
Gujarat riots took place. However, he was handpicked by Narendra Modi
to be Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to K.P.S. Gill. In a personal interview
with me in the summer of 2013, he endorsed how effective Gill was in
bringing sense of accountability and professionalism into the police by
bringinginbetterofficerstosensitivepostsandtransferringcompromised
cops from key positions in order to discipline and streamline the police
functioning:
K.P.S. Gill is a thorough professional. When he went for inspection to any
district, the local officers broke into a sweat. I used to tell him jokingly, “Sir,
we should carry napkins with us.” He stayed in the CRPF camp during his
assignment in Gujarat. I found it intriguing that both the Congress and
some BJP leaders used to go and meet him in that camp. I also saw Haren
Pandya go and meet Gill sahib. He was always Keshubhai’s man. All these
people clearly had one agenda-to prejudice Gill against Modi so that he
gave a damaging report to the prime minister. But Modi never interfered
in Gill Sahib’s assignment. So Gill sahib could see for himself the difference
between Modi’s conduct and that of his opponents. In any case, he interacted
extensively with local people and police personnel at all levels and therefore
had his independent assessment.
Narendra Modi is the last person to indulge in the politics of riots. He is
from my home district. He is from Vadnagar and I am from neighbouring
Sitpur taluka. We have several relatives in his village. They tell me that from
the beginning Modi was always helpful to Muslims–be it for education or
on religious issues. The riots were engineered by his enemies to defame
him. Among other factors, his belonging to the OBC caste worked against
him. Gujarat had a well-established tradition that only a Patel can be chief
minister. Since he was sent as a replacement for Keshubhai Patel, those close
to Keshubhai were determined to bring him down. Disproportionately high
number of Patels in the list of the accused tells you who were the prime movers
5 Ibid., pp. 233-34.

in those riots. Patel lobbies both in the Congress and the BJP wanted to bring
Modi down. Unemployed youth among scheduled castes in poor bastis were
given Rs. 500 plus a bottle of liquor to go on a rampage. But I also know
numerous instances where Muslims living in Hindu areas were protected by
their Hindu neighbours.
Some Muslim leaders also joined hands and instigated their community.
Because of lack of education, certain sections of Muslims get inflamed easily.
Someone has to just start a rumour that such and such dargah or mosque
has been burnt and they will go and create mayhem without even waiting
to confirm if what they were told actually took place. Muslims are being
encouraged to become very intolerant and communal-minded.
Modi had been in power less than four months when the Godhra incident
took place. He neither knew the police officers by then, nor had he any idea of
policeadministration.Certainofficersowingloyaltytopreviousregimeswere
in key positions at that time. They worked at the behest of Modi’s enemies to
bring him down. Togadia’s VHP used to reign supreme during Keshubhai’s
timeandhadalotofcloutwiththeCongressregimesaswell.Nownobodydare
create trouble because Modi knows by name each and every officer of Gujarat,
down to the sarpanch level. He also has a very good network in Gujarat for
giving him proper feedback.
End of Nightmare & Beginning of Riot-Free Gujarat
Within three months, K.P.S. Gill had succeeded in his mission to tighten
the law and order machinery. Since then Modi has managed to keep
the police on a tight leash on this issue. Despite continued attempts by
disruptiveforcesbothwithinthepoliceandinthepoliticalestablishment,
Modihassucceededinhismissiontoensureariot-freeGujaratfromJune
2002 onwards. The state remained calm even after the Pak-sponsored
attack on Akshardham Temple on September 24, 2002, killing 33 and
injuring 70 people. Likewise, Modi did not allow any retaliatory violence
when Ahmedabad and Surat were targeted with serials bomb blasts by
jehadis in 2008, killing 56 and injuring 200 people.
Sonia Congress has been at war with Modi because he never obliged
them by playing the religion or caste card to consolidate the Hindu
vote bank, unlike L.K. Advani with his Ram Mandir campaign which
led to the demolition of Babri masjid. Such divisive figures serve the
Congress party very well. That is why Congress lobbied frantically to
haveAdvanideclaredasBJP’s PMcandidate instead ofModi. Modinever

attacked Islam or pour venom on Muslims, in sharp contrast to BJP’s
rabid elements like Haren Pandya and Gordhan Zadaphia. Modi was
dangerous because by his words and actions he had made even Muslims
overcometheirphobiaabouttheBJPandtheRSS.Inhisveryfirstelection,
he could inspire enough confidence in credible Muslim leader to openly
defy the Congress Party and support him with zeal. The Congress Party
understood that if allowed to continue unhampered, Modi would cause
a tectonic shift in Indian politics.
SincetheCongressfounditdifficulttocounterModipolitically,itended
up playing the divisive games it had perfected and made common cause
with anti-Modi sections within the BJP, VHP, Bajrang Dal, etc. who were
no less upset at Modi’s rise to power. That this charge is not far-fetched
becomes evident if we consider that all the anti Modi-elements in BJP,
VHP, Bajrang Dal, and even the RSS, joined hands with the Congress
Party one by one—some like Shankar Singh Waghela have been officially
leadingtheCongressinGujaratwhileotherslikeKeshubhaiPatel,Praveen
Togadia, Babu Bajrangi, Gordhan Zadaphia, and the late Haren Pandya
openlyhelpedtheCongressinlaunchingsmearcampaignsagainstModi.
All of them brazenly joined the Congress during elections in order to
topple Modi’s government.
Atthesametime,Congress’swell-orchestratedchoruscallingNarendra
Modi a “maut ka saudagar”, mass murderer, Hitler, snake, scorpion,
yamdoot, and worse kept getting shriller by the day, duly amplified by
propped up NGOs, pliable journalists, and patronised academics. So
much so, that many within the BJP also came to believe the charges
leveled against him and even demanded that he be sacked. Several BJP
alliesquittheNDAalliance,whichfacilitatedtheoustingoftheotherwise
popular Vajpayee-led NDA government in Delhi. The anti-Modi hysteria
ensured that no one gave him a hearing; no one was willing to look at
facts. How Modi retained not just his personal sanity but also emerged,
asanoutstandingadministrator,capableofdreamingbigforGujaratand
translating those dreams into action deserves serious study.

For years, we have heard versions of distantly placed NGOs alleging
that the Gujarat government treated Muslim riot victims with total
callousness and forced the closure of relief camps prematurely. It is time
people heard the version of actual doers on the ground—both within the
CHAPTER 15
When Tragedies are Spiced Up
The Accounts of Doers Vs Noise Makers
Regarding Relief Camps
In the first 2-3 days, the government response was disorganised but soon they
set up an efficient system and an up-to-date chain of supplies. This government
has a distinct way of functioning. If a rule is made today, within no time it
will be implemented through a proper, well established system in order to curb
corruption. So, the Gujarat government created a fine-tuned system, which
worked well for as long as the camps lasted, which was around six months.
Inamul Iraqi, who ran one of the largest relief camps after 2002 riots
The camps had also become important showpieces for certain NGOs. It had
become a daily ritual to bring in media persons, especially the foreign media,
to talk to tutored victims, who began to exaggerate and overstate their case in
order to garner more funds from abroad. Even in dealing with the government,
some of the camp organisers had started inflating figures regarding the number
of inmates.
K. Srinivas, former Collector, Ahmedabad
The relief camps had become a big scam. People started using them to garner
massive funds from within India and abroad. It became another political
platform for racketeers. There was no one to ask them for accounts. Therefore,
keeping camps going had become a lucrative business for some.
A.I. Syed, Chairman Waqf Board, Gujarat

governmentandtheMuslimcommunityleaderswhosetupandmanaged
some of the best relief camps.
In the peak period, around 121 relief camps were organised by various
social and religious organisations, most of which wound up by June 30,
2002,except10campsinAhmedabaddistrict.These10campsalsofolded
up on or before December 31, 2002. And yet, even today one hears anti-
Modi NGOs carry on a relentless campaign that thousands of Gujarati
Muslims are still languishing in relief camps.
To check on Modi government’s handling of relief operations, among
others, I spoke with a highly respected community leader, Inamul Iraqi,
who ran one of the largest relief camps. He rose from being an iron scrap
picker to a successful entrepreneur. A part of his rags to riches story is in
chapter17.IraqibelongstothegrowingtribeofMuslimswhohavejoined
the BJP in Gujarat. Since he does not live upto the stereotype image of
Muslims created by our media, we never hear sane voices like his. that
they pay no heed to people like him. This is what he had to say about the
government’s attitude towards relief for riot victims:
At first, the government was too stunned to comprehend what had hit them.
There was total chaos all around. But, once the government recovered, they
extendedallhelp.ThecampIsetupthroughacommunityserviceorganisation
was called Dariakhan Ghummat camp in Ahmedabad. It was one of the best-
managed relief camps. At times, we had up to 10,000 persons. On average, we
had about 5,000 inmates. We ran the camp for six months. For the first few
days, we had to manage on our own. But soon after, we started getting help
from the government. I am a businessman associated with the steel industry
and therefore, can afford to extend such help.
Due to my background as a party worker, I started getting phone calls from
various people reporting attacks on their mohallas or their homes. Since I
have a very big house, I thought I could shelter 100-200 people in my own
home. So, I proposed this to the administration. Soon after, I got a call from
the Assistant Commissioner of Police Mr. Jha, saying: “There is a lot of trouble
in Chamanpura. We have sent two vehicles to Jafri sahib’s house to rescue
people. Will you be able to handle them all?” I agreed to take care of them all.
This was around 2 p.m. on February 28. As soon as I announced this, people
started pouring in. By 8 p.m., 2000 people had come. Somehow, we managed
food for all of them.

The BJP people wanted me to declare our camp as a party run camp but I
refused to do that lest some mishap occurs in that charged atmosphere due to
the presence of BJP or VHP workers. If anyone got hurt due to the poisoned
atmosphere, I would have been blamed.
But, since many more people had landed than could be accommodated in
my house, I got the neighbourhood school opened up for their shelter. I have
a friend named Dr. Agarwal Chandramani. He is the VHP president of his
area. I phoned and described the situation to him. He said, “It is my duty to
come and rescue humanity. I will surely come.” He came with a team of 10
doctors to my camp and treated all the injured until 3 a.m.
IaskedhimwhyhecalledthelocalVHPpresidentdespitetheVHPhaving
the image of beng rabidly anti-Muslim. Iraqi’s response was:
We are friends; there is love between us. We have deep heartfelt bonds (dili-
lagaav). These things are far more important than our respective religious
identities. I can introduce you to at least 10,000 Muslims, each of whom will
tell you that if they are alive today, it is because some Hindu brother helped
and saved them. Insaniyat (humanity) did not die during the riots. After all,
I did not go with a helicopter to rescue all those who took shelter in my camp.
Those 10,000 people landed in my camp only because some Hindu brothers
saved them. If those who went around killing were Hindus, those who saved
were also Hindus. Every rescued family said, “Our Hindu neighbours saved
us” or “such and such Hindus came to our rescue.”
These people had come from Chamanpura, Naroda Patia, Meghani Nagar,
Girdhar Nagar, Kali gaon, and other neighbouring areas. They mostly came
from localities where Muslims were a small minority. Within a day, 8,000 to
10,000 people had landed in my camp.
For the first couple of days, we spent from our own pocket. I am very well
off and, therefore, could take on the burden. Besides, I have a team of 10-
12 persons who gave me a lot of support. We constituted a committee and
managed the camp through collective responsibility. Even though our core
team was Muslim but wherever we needed, Hindus friends also helped us.
For instance, there were very few ration shops in our area. So, we phoned
some Hindu brothers to supply truckloads of provisions. They sent whatever
I asked for.
My Hindu brothers gave me full support in every respect. For instance,
a weavers’ mela was going on in Ahmedabad at that time. For this, several

Muslim weavers had come from different states of India. Forty to fifty such
weavers landed in my camp. The air tickets we purchased to send them back
to their homes were brought to me by my Hindu friends.
Since Teesta’s and other NGOs had carried out a ferocious international
campaign alleging that Muslims in relief camps were harassed no end
by the Modi government. I asked Inamul Iraqi what was his experience
in the matter:
I can say with full confidence that this was simply not true for our camp.
In the first 2-3 days, the government response was disorganised but soon
they set up an efficient system and an up-to-date chain of supplies. This
government has a distinct way of functioning. If a rule is made today, within
no time it will be implemented through a proper, well established system in
order to curb corruption. So, the Gujarat government created a fine-tuned
system, which worked well for as long as the camps lasted, which was around
six months.
ThemedicalfacilitiesprovidedbytheStategovernmentwerealsoverygood.
At that time, S.K. Nanda Sahib was the secretary and Amarjit Singh was the
commissionerofAhmedabad.HecreatedateamforourcampunderChaddha
sahib. That team used to check up the camp on a daily basis. If we needed any
medicinesorapatientneededanoperation,theGujaratgovernmentarranged
all of it for free.
ThisiswhatIraqihadtosaywhenIaskedhimwhether,duringthatperiod,
Teesta Setalvad, Shabnam Hashmi or other NGO leaders who critiqued
the government, came to offer him any help:
Teesta, Hashmi, and others did come to our camps but they did not give us
even one rupee by way of help. They would come, record the sad stories of
victims, take photographs, and leave. None of them said to me, “We have this
much money to offer you, tell us how you want it spent.” I’m not interested
in working with those kind of NGOs. I have the capacity to do social service
on my own strength and have my own social organisation called Gujarat
Sarvajanik Relief Committee. But we don’t put a single person’s salary to the
NGO’s account, not even travel or other expenses. I cover all that from my
own pocket. I feel that if God has given me so much and made me so capable,
I should be able to take care of my community when it is in trouble. In 1996-

97, I had sought their votes for the BJP. Therefore, it was my duty to be with
them in their hour of grief.
Just as Muslims gathered at my house, so also did Hindu riot victims end up
in relief camps set up by the Hindu community. But, Hindu camps were far
fewer in number. Our organisation is meant to service our own community.
We don’t do anything for publicity nor do we go chasing courts. We do our
work quietly. I’m the only one in our NGO who doesn’t sport a beard or wear
a skullcap. All others do. They are all God-fearing. Whatever we do, we do
for our Allah.
There were nearly 25 relatively smaller camps in Ahmedabad with 100,
200 or 500 people. Ours was the biggest. Salim Khan and Mehboob Khan
ran the other big camp. They too spent money from their pocket for the first
2-3 days. Thereafter, Gujarat government made very good arrangements for
ration and other supplies. There was never any dearth of relief material after
the government stepped in.
The Government’s Version
K. Srinivas, an IAS officer, reputed to be efficient as well as sensitive to
minority rights issues, was the Collector of Ahmedabad at the time.
Therefore, he was among those handling relief operations in the city. This
is his version of how they handled relief work:
Let me start with my own experience in responding to riot victims. The first
relief camp in Ahmedabad came to be set up in Aman Chowk area of the old
city. When the local Corporator Taufeeq Khan phoned to inform me about
that impromptu camp, I told him right away that the camp has government
approval and will receive all support. However, not many other politicians set
up relief camps. Religious organisations – both Hindus and Muslims – led the
relief work. All of them received prompt sanction and support.
My first visit to a relief camp was on March 2 that is on the third day of
riots. Some areas were so badly hit that even the army could not enter those
neighbourhoods. Only the revenue and Ahmedabad municipal corporation
staff could reach them.
On visiting those camps, I realised that a lot of families had been split apart
in the chaos. We took photographs of all those who claimed they had lost a
family member and pasted them in all the camps. Once the missing people
were identified, the families were re-united under state security. This is how
scattered family members came to be united fast. During my visit to one of

the camps that day, one old man came up to me very angrily and said: “As
a citizen, I expect the government to provide me relief, not some religious
organisation or NGO.” I immediately met the chief minister and told him
that we need to respond to this sentiment. I said, roti honi chahiye sarkar ki,
par jo parose voh aisa ho jis par logon ko bharosa ho. (The food in relief camps
should be provided by the government but the people who serve the food must
be those that inspire confidence). We must ensure that the caregiver is able
to offer compassionate support.” The CM agreed at once and said, “We will
not only provide relief in kind but also some pocket money to each family for
non-food expenses.”
Barring the first 2-3 days when religious and community organisations
managedontheirown,theentireinfrastructure,wherewithal,food,andother
reliefmaterialswereprovidedbythegovernment.Eveninthefirsttwodays,the
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation provided health and sanitation support.
Later on, when systems were put in place, much of the initial expenditure of
NGOs was reimbursed. Mr. Modi is not given to doing things in a knee-jerk
and chaotic manner. So, we set up a well-organised system of relief. But the
caregiver was a local organisation.
InordertoprovideimmediatehelptotheBelowPovertyLine(BPL)families
in riot-affected areas, free food grains, i.e., wheat and rice were distributed as
these families were deprived of daily employment on account of communal
disturbances. This totalled to 1,77,519 tons of food grain.
From March until mid-May, camps were run efficiently. However, with the
onset of the monsoon, new issues cropped up. Camps that were not housed in
pucca structures had to be relocated to pucca structures. Where government
buildings were not available, we decided to hire community-owned or private
buildings.Ireachedouttonearly46Muslimcommunityorganisations—many
had community buildings. But, not many of them were willing to give their
buildings even on hire although we were willing to pay market rents. We
only managed to rent out four big spaces from Muslim Jammat. The most
cooperative among them at that time was the Kureish Jamaat.
We set up adequate toilets, kitchens, sanitation health care, trauma
care, shelters, and even provided clothing. Gynaecological care, crèches,
psychological counselling, were also provided. In addition, we organised
mental health camps by a team of psychiatrists. Mr. Modi is a stickler for
systematicwork.Therefore,oncetheadministrationrecoveredfromtheshock
of Godhra and post-Godhra carnage, our relief work was very systematic.
Apart from providing ration, we also gave an identity card to each inmate and

maintained meticulous records. Everyone was registered on the spot. Those
whowantedtostartgoingtowork,weregivenfreebuspasses.Medicalofficers
were appointed for each camp.
AnExecutiveMagistratewasmadein-chargeofeachcamp.Thechiefminister
personally reviewed the relief work on a daily basis. In fact, if you compare the
record of Gujarat government in relief work with that of earlier or even later
riots, you will find we did far better than all others. Oxfam, in fact, wrote a
letter of appreciation to us. Those who say the CM did not visit relief camps for
the first 3-4 days need to understand that it was not easy to enter those areas
in that inflamed atmosphere. When Sonia ji came to Ahmedabad on March 4,
2002,wetoldevenherthatitisveryunsafeforhertogotothosesensitiveareas.
We took her to Dariakham Gummat but not the Shah Alam Roza or the Aman
ChowkCamp.But,theCMstartedvisitingreliefcampsfromMarch3onwards.
MuslimOfficerGivenOverallCharge:The chief minister put a Muslim
IAS officer S.M.F. Bukhari, as the overall in-charge of relief work. He
had just retired when the riots broke out. But, CM Modi extended his
tenure and made him in-charge of relief and rehabilitation work. The
collector and the municipal commissioner closely monitored each of the
relief camps. Other senior officials like the commissioner (health), the
secretary(SocialJustice&EmpowermentDepartment),etc.werevisiting
the camps frequently. In other districts, the collector and other district
officials monitored camps. The decision to put secretary-level officials
with special responsibilities for overseeing and supervision of specific
relief camps and other rehabilitation measures in the districts was meant
to make the arrangements more effective.
All Party Committee to Monitor Camps: However, as the attacks
againsttheGujaratgovernmentmountedinthemediaandinParliament,
an All-Party Committee was set up under the chairmanship of the
governorofGujarattomonitorthefunctioningofthereliefandreviewthe
actiontakenbydifferentdepartmentsofthegovernmentforrehabilitation
of riot-affected families. This 13-member committee consisted of the
chief minister, several NGOs including those hostile to Modi, the leader
of opposition and other Congress Party leaders as well as representatives
of the Chambers of Commerce. The quantum of relief was decided by
the Committee.
Relief Overseen by Governor: According to Gujarat government
officials, this was the first time ever that after a riot any State government

madetheGovernor,aCentralgovernmentappointee,tooverseereliefand
rehabilitationoperationsinordertomaintaintransparency.However,the
attackscontinuedunabatedandnumerouspropagandatractscontaining
all kinds of horror stories regarding relief camps were broadcast all over
the world.
Charge of Victims Being Maltreated in Camps
VariousNGOsraisedhellbothincourtsandthroughmediaallegingthat
riot victims were maltreated and harrased by the government even while
in camps. However, both the Gujarat High Court and Supreme Court of
Indiarejectedallsuchpetitions.TheGujaratHighCourtinfactputdown
its appreciation of the steps taken by the government in the management
of the camps. Here is a key extract from that order:
It must be said that since the State has already appointed Mr. S.M.F. Bukhari,
a retired I.A.S. Officer, as Chief Coordinator for looking after the relief and
rehabilitation facility at various camps…, the Court is of the opinion that
the State has also taken care to some extent in trying to sort out the problem,
which is ventilated by the petitioners in this petition, and the said gesture on
thepartoftheStateisrequiredtobeappreciated.TheeffortsputinbytheState
Government in this behalf, as indicated above, are required to be appreciated
[Gujarat High Court Order - Special CA No: 3773 of 2002, (3 May 2002)]
TheHighCourtcontinuedtomonitorthereliefoperations,buttheNGOs
did not rest at peace and filed a petition in the Supreme Court alleging
ill-treatment of victims in camps. However, the Apex Court advised
them to take their complaints to the High Court, which was in any case
overseeing the operations. The amicus curie’s suggestion in the Supreme
Court to constitute a cell to reopen relief and rehabilitation matters was
notacceptedbytheSupremeCourt.TheSupremeCourtdisposedofthese
petitions and directed the petitioners (Mahashweta Devi and Mallika
Sarabhai) to approach the Gujarat High Court, where these issues are
being monitored. [Supreme Court of India - WP (Crl.) No.530/2002 &
WP (crl.) No. 221 of 2002, (17 Aug 2004)]. But the raving and ranting of
NGOs continued long after the last Muslim had returned safely to his
or her home.
Zafar Sareshwala, whose family was closely involved in running one
of the relief camps, says:

Despite the High Court and Supreme Court endorsing the measures taken by
the Gujarat government regarding relief and rehabilitation measures, some
of these NGOs go on and on attacking Modi for keeping Muslims in camps
under sub-human conditions. People did not know the real picture about
those relief camps. They have only been fed partisan propaganda. Our team
wentrecentlytotherefugeecampsinAssam.Mybrothersaid,“Ihavenotseen
Muslims anywhere in India in such a pitiable condition as in Assam’s refugee
camps; the conditions there were squalid beyond imagination. Even today 2.5
lakh Muslims are still in refugee camps, that too under the Congress regime.”
[This was said in January 2013]
My brother had run refugee camps in Gujarat so he was able to compare.
Gujarat relief camps were far better run and the government was very
cooperative. This is not to say that refugee camps can ever be a pleasant or
comfortable place to live in. But, the government made arrangements for
food, medical care, and all the rest better than most governments in India do.
Assam’s Muslims are in the most pathetic condition but there is no mention
of them anywhere. Neither Teesta nor Shabnam Hashmi has much time for
them. Hundreds of thousands are still in those camps but do you hear any
discussion in the media about those camps? They are already forgotten, but
these same people keep ranting about the plight of Muslims in Gujarat relief
campseventhoughthosefoldedbymid-2002,withinfourmonthsoftheriots.
As far as government’s support for rehabilitation is concerned, the
compensationpackagesinanyriotarenothingcomparedtothelossessuffered
bythepeople.NowhereinIndiadoriotvictimsevergetclosetowhattheylose.
You barely get a couple of lakhs in compensation from the government. But,
the Gujarat government gave prompt compensation to families who suffered
losses, including to those whose business establishments were destroyed. This
may not mean much to wealthy Muslims but Rs. 1 or 2 lakh means a lot to
the poor. The system put in place by Gujarat government was neither chaotic
nor fitful.
India Today also reported in its May 20, 2002, issue that, “Mohsin Kadri,
a leading lawyer and key organiser of the Shah Alam Relief Camp, the
largest relief camp in the state which shelters over 10,000 riot victims,
says that the attitude of the state Government officials is satisfactory.
‘We don’t have any complaints at the moment. The chief minister has
promised that relief camps won’t be closed till the rehabilitation problem
is solved.’”

ZafarSareshwalasaysthatwhilethereliefcampswererunsatisfactorily,
when it came to rebuilding damaged or destroyed homes, “Muslims
did not wait for anything to come from the government. Organisations
like the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, Jamat-e-Islamia, Imarat-e-Sharia, some
Muslim NGOs from Hyderabad, Bihar and several other non-Muslim
NGOs worked together to build homes for riot victims. We got very
little help from NRIs. If a man has Rs. 1 crore and gives you only Rs. 10
in charity, it has very little worth. Compared to the financial standing of
the people in England or America, we got very little help from them. But,
communityorganisationsandIndianNGOs—bothHinduandMuslim—
constructed or rebuilt a total of 15,000 houses. I think this should be a
lesson for everyone in the country.”
Inamul Iraqi’s organisation was one of those that undertook some part
of this job. He says:
We got nearly 1,000 houses constructed for riot victims. Every house had one
room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It cost us Rs. 1.5 lakh for the city-based
houses and Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 30,000 rupees for village homes. The Gujarat
government was somewhat weak when it came to reconstruction of homes
of riot victims. We identified Muslims who were a tiny minority in Hindu
neighbourhoods and created a consolidated housing pocket for them in large
Muslimpocketssothattheyarenoteasytargetsinfuture.Inall,about10,000-
15,000 Muslim homes had to be reconstructed in different parts of Gujarat.
TheGujaratgovernmentmaynothaveconstructedhomesforriotvictims
but each family was given the monetary help to rebuild their damaged
or destroyed houses.
Did Government Force People out of Camps ?
I asked Modi what he had to say about the allegation that his government
rushed the closure of camps. Modi replied:
Firstly, it was not just Muslims who were in relief camps. There were many
reliefcampsforHindusaswell.Theyfoldedupmuchearlier.Manyoftherelief
camps were running in schools, which had to reopen in the month of June.
Was it wrong to get the schools to reopen in time?
For instance, when Surat was overtaken by floods, we had no choice but to
shift all the jhopadpatti dwellers to school and other public buildings. But,

oncethefloodsreceded,weaskedthemtoreturnhomesothatschoolchildren
did not suffer loss of teaching even for one day. Similarly, in 2002 also, it was
important to have the school buildings vacated in time for the next session.
Secondly, we needed to restore normalcy, which you can’t do if relief camps
continue indefinitely.
Inamul Iraqi also confirmed that there was no pressure on any of the
organisers of camps to shut down prematurely. At a meeting of Jamiat-
e-Islami in the summer of 2013, where I was invited as a speaker, one
of the leading members of the host organisation said from the dais that
Muslim riot victims are still rotting in relief camps in Gujarat. As later
as February 26, 2012, Aamir Raza Hussain went ballistic on national TV
to charge that thousands of riot victims were still languishing in camps
due to Modi’d tyranny. I asked Iraqi if that was true. He was emphatic
that not a single person remained in any camp after October 2002 in the
state. Modi described some of the other difficulties in prolonging relief
camps indefinitely:
There were many cases whereby families that had come from a certain village
left one or two members to stay in the camp, whereas the other four returned.
Tell me, what is the logic or implication of this? It was being alleged that
Muslims are fleeing villages out of fear and coming to Ahmedabad. In reality,
it became a strategy for some to find a foothold in Ahmedabad for migration.
Half the family continued staying in the village while the other half used the
relief camp in order to make the transition to settling down in Ahmedabad.
But, they used the riots as a fig leaf. How could half the family continue living
in the village unless there was peace there? They had to be urged to return to
their homes. If they had a problem, we were committed to protecting them.
We have honoured that promise. There has not been a single riot in Gujarat
since then.
The Paanch-Panchees Speech
When I asked Modi about his infamous statement on camps having
become baby production factories, this is what he had to say:
The one-liner about “hum paanch, hamare pachees” that is often quoted to
project me as anti-Muslim or to prove that I ridiculed relief camps as child
producing factories was never used in the context of riot relief camps. There

were many Hindu camps as well and I was actually arranging for even
gynaecologists to visit both types of camps because one is duty-bound to
serve pregnant women.
This phrase was not uttered just to target relief camps. I say it even now that
the population of our country is increasing rapidly. Today, if a farmer has five
sons, they will soon, between them, produce 25. Today, you have 5 acres of
land. Imagine how it is going to be fragmented when divided between five
sons! How will you manage your families or educate your children with such
meagre resources? I explain all this to people, even today.
This speech of mine was delivered in November or December 2002. Most
camps had folded up much before that. Those who criticise me for that
statement, never mention that within months of Godhra, there was an Islamic
terrorist group attack on Akshardham and yet my Gujarat remained peaceful.
This was followed by serial bomb blasts. No one talks about the fact that we
maintained absolute peace even after that provocation. Some people have
decided to pillory one man for their vested interests. That is their only agenda.
This charge was also examined by the Supreme Court appointed SIT. It
did not find it worthy of serious note or action, since the speech on the
paramount need for family planning was delivered without naming any
community and it was not followed by any communal tension or riot.1
However,ZafarSareshwalahasaslightlydifferenttakeonit.Hehadtold
me in March 2013 that he had questioned Modi on this tasteless remark
some years ago. Modi is supposed to have said that such indiscretions
slip out during the heat of election campaign. Zafar says since all other
actions of Modi communicated real concern for Muslims, this loose
remark need not be taken too seriously. But Zafar provided an insight
into what was actually at play:
These things are hushed up but this comment was made in the backdrop
of certain untoward happenings in refugee camps. There were a number of
incidents of rape, sexual molestation and extramarital liaisons resulting in
pregnancies within the camps. All this happened within the community. That
iswhymanyofuswantedthesecampstowindupfastandgetuprootedfamilies
1 Special Investigation Team (SIT), Report in Compliance to the Order Dated 12.09.2011
of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the Complaint dated 08.06.2006 of Smt. Jakia
Nasim Ahesan Jafri, pp. 201-02.

returntotheirhomes.Whenfamiliesarehuddledtogetherinacrowdedspace,
these things can’t be controlled. That is why farsighted community leaders
wanted that these camps should not continue indefinitely because there were
plenty of instances of misbehaviour with women. Moreover, we didn’t want
our community to get sucked into a culture of dependency. We were keen
to see them back home and rebuild their lives rather than live on charity in
camps. It destroys the self-respect of any community.
Vested Interests in Continuing Camps Indefinitely
In its issue of May 20, 2002, India Today reported another facet of the
problem:
Among the factors, which kept the communal pot boiling in Ahmedabad are
the 40-odd relief camps in the city in which over 50,000 Muslims are lodged.
Another 50,000 live in camps spread across the state. There is pressure on the
Government to close these relief camps amid unconfirmed reports that at
least some of the camps have become sanctuaries for Muslim troublemakers.
India Today correspondent Uday Mahurkar described this mischief
element in a personal interview with me:
I was a personal witness to the following incident. On 3rd
or 4th
of March, I
entered Shah Alam dargah, which had been converted into a refugee camp.
Baldeep Singh photographer was with me. On one side of the dargah there is a
bigroomwhereoneladynamedBelimwasbriefingthepressandgivinghighly
exaggerated accounts of what had happened. She was crying hysterically in
front of journalists. As soon as the media persons moved away, she instantly
stopped howling. This made it obvious that it was all a play-act. On the other
side of the partition, there was a squint-eyed man from Karnataka. A lady was
sitting with him with a tape recorder tutoring this Muslim from Karnataka to
say, “I am so angry at the riots that I am going to become a terrorist.” Teesta
has a real perverse streak in her. She had started tutoring witnesses from the
start as though she was just waiting for this riot to break out.
K. Srinivas, who was among those who maintained meticulous accounts
of relief work, explained why certain elements were resisting winding
up of camps:

The charge that the CM forced the relief camps to close while the victims
were not ready to go back is baseless. We had to begin consolidation of camps
because by mid-May, two factors emerged: some portions of the city had
turnedpeacefulandmanypeopleslowlystartedreturningtotheirhomes.The
second was the onset of monsoon in the first week of June. With rains about
to start, the safety, comfort, and health of the residents was my major worry.
By then, a large number of camp residents had on their own started going to
their homes. So I obtained the chief minister’s approval to issue two months’
ration in advance to each household, intending to return back to their homes,
to help them settle down. When we started consolidation of camps, there was
a lot of resistance from some of the camp organisers, who had begun to treat
camps as a moneymaking venture. They were interested in continuing with
the camps because they had started siphoning off a portion of government
funds and relief. The existence of camps gave them legitimacy to raise funds
within the country and abroad. Therefore, they wanted to drag on the camps
for as long as they could.
The camps had also become important showpieces for certain NGOs. It had
become a daily ritual to bring in media persons, especially the foreign media,
to talk to tutored victims, who began to exaggerate and overstate their case in
ordertogarnermorefundsfromabroad.Evenindealingwiththegovernment,
someofthecamporganisershadstartedinflatingfiguresregardingthenumber
of inmates. Therefore, I began going for night inspections to check how many
people actually still lived in the camps. I was attacked for trying to discipline
them.
AbdullahIbrahimSyed,thecurrentchairmanoftheGujaratWaqfBoard
and the former additional director general of police endorsed this aspect
in a personal interview: “The relief camps had become a big scam. People
startedusingthemtogarnermassivefundsfromwithinIndiaandabroad.
It became another political platform for racketeers. There was no one
to ask them for accounts. Therefore, keeping camps going had become
a lucrative business for some.” To continue with K. Srinivas’s account:
On July 1, I got a call from the State Secretariat saying I would have to travel to
Delhi along with a couple of other officers, including the relief commissioner,
becauseaneminentpersons’groupwascallingontheprimeministeronJuly2,
2002, to raise their concerns about relief camps. Prime Minister Vajpayee was
chairingthatmeeting,attendedbyagalaxyofeminentpeoplesuchasShriI.K.

Gujral, former Chief Justice Shri Ahmadi, Swami Agnivesh, Shri Muchkund
Dubey, etc. On the basis of media reports and some perfunctory visit reports
of a member, they had many critical things to say against our work.
As a relatively junior officer at that time, I had to explain the actual ground
realitywithin20minutes.Bythistime,Rs.4croreworthofrationshadalready
been distributed to all those returning home from relief camps. To normalise
lives of those who were still residing in camps, we had undertaken several
measures. One of these came under scrutiny. I was asked, “How do people
go to work from the camps?” I told them that we were giving them free bus
passes for three months’ duration to enable free movement from the camps
to the places of work. At this, Syeda Hamid raised a strange objection saying,
“Kya hai yeh? Kya bus mein jayenge yeh log?”(What is this? Do you expect
the inmates to commute by bus to work?). At this point, the Hon’ble Prime
Minister intervened and asked, “If not a bus, what other mode of transport
do you expect for them?”
Thereafter, I told the prime minister that when I got a telephone call the
previous night informing me of this meeting in Delhi, I right away sent my
peopletotakephotographsofthecamps.Ihadcarriedthoselatestphotographs
ofpeopleinthecampsasat2.30a.m.,thatisjustafewhoursbeforethemeeting
with the prime minister. I asked to be permitted to share the photographs
with all present. After seeing the photographs and hearing my explanations,
the PM said to the others, this officer is speaking the truth and providing a
correct picture. As a civil servant, it was a highly satisfactory moment for me.
The empathy with which the relief work was handled, the partnerships that
were established, deserved appreciation. Instead, all that the government got
was criticism. We functioned with a very high level of transparency. On April
2, 2002 we even took the Hon’bl President of India Abdul Kalam on his first
state visit to the worst affected spots in the state, such as the Naroda Patia.
He met people along with the chief minister. It was a well-covered event. He
held detailed discussion and did a thorough review for one-and-a-half days.
Our chief minister has a different style; he doesn’t make scapegoats of
officials and transfer them to some other job as a show of disciplinary action.
He owns up the problem and takes full responsibility on his own head. It is his
way of not shirking responsibility. He never shifts the blame on others. That is
why for some he becomes synonymous with the problem, because they don’t
credit him with the solutions!

Relief and Rehabilitation Measures at a Glance
The seriousness of relief work is evident from the fact that from the
beginning, all the relief measures were meticulously recorded and
computerised to ensure transparency and accountability in the
distribution of relief material.
Cash Compensation: Rs. 1.5 lakh to the next of kin of those killed in
riots. Out of this sum, Rs. 1 lakh was borne by the PM’s relief fund.
Supply of Food Grain: The State government provided free food grain
assistance as well as shade and shelters to all the inmates of relief camps
run by the local NGOs, voluntary agencies and community leaders.
The assistance per capita per day included wheat flour (400 gm); rice
(100 gm); edible oil (50 gm); pulses (50 gm); and milk powder (50 gm).
Besides ration, the relief camp organisers were given cash assistance
to meet with the contingency expenditure for inmates at Rs.7 per day
per head in addition to cash assistance of Rs. 15 per day per person, for
five persons per family.
Water Supply: Adequate and chlorinated water supply was provided to
the inmates. Twenty-four tankers, 81 Sintex tanks in Ahmedabad city,
and 12 tankers in other districts were placed for providing water supply.
Sanitation:Apartfromexistingtoiletfacilities,newtoiletswereerected
and mobile vans with 10 toilets were arranged round the clock.
Medical and Psychological Treatment in the Camps: As per
government records, 205 medical officers and 273 paramedical staff
providedhealthcareservicesinthereliefcamps.Around450,596cases
were treated. In other words, each camp patient was examined, on
an average, 3-4 times. As a result, the prevalence of various illnesses,
which could have been very high, was kept in check. Medical attention
included trauma, mental health, nutrition, natal and antenatal care,
preventive, tertiary care and eye check-up. None of the camps reported
the spread of any epidemic.
Teams of 30 gynaecologists, paediatricians, and mental health experts
were sent by rotation to different camps. Eye check-ups were done,
wherein 11,624 patients were examined, 5,050 pairs of spectacles
were distributed, and 213 IOL (Intraocular lens) operations were
performedinthecamps.Othermentalhealthinitiativesincludedgroup
counselling sessions, individual psychotherapeutic intervention, and
trauma counselling especially for women and children.

Special Antenatal Care for Mothers: 4,333 expectant mothers
were registered under the antenatal care programme; 127 of these
were identified as being at high risk and were examined by expert
gynaecologists. A total of 126 safe deliveries were registered, out of
which 36 were handled in camps. A holistic programme, keeping in
mind the health of pregnant and lactating mothers, was implemented
that included tetanus protection, distribution of delivery kits for dais
and provision of iron folic acid tablets for anaemic mothers.
Health Care for Children: By way of preventive health measures
for children, 16,847 were given polio immunisation; 12,407 got
vaccinated for measles, 3,851 were given DTP vaccine. 2.76 lakhs
of iron folic acid tablets and 66,640 ORS (Oral Rehydration Salts)
packets were distributed for children. In addition, de-worming,
growth monitoring, pre-school education, and supplementary
nutrition were also provided in the camps. As a result, no child died
in the relief camps. This comes as a sharp contrast to the shameful
news of 50 children dying of cold at relief camps in the riot-hit
Muzaffarnagar under ultra ‘secular’ Samajwadi Party government
in Uttar Pradesh in 2013.
Rehabilitation of Orphaned Children and Widows: The State
government undertook a survey of orphans, widows, disabled persons
anddestitutepersonslivinginthecamps.435riot-affectedwidowswere
covered under the State government’s pension scheme. Some women
were also accommodated under Swavlamban Scheme for women’s
livelihood restoration; 5,858 women were given financial assistance.
Three Swadhar homes were established, which provided shelter to 196
homeless women and 148 children.
Special Education Facilities to Students in Relief Camps: In relief
camps,textbooksweredistributedtoallthestudentsofS.S.C./H.S.C.In
addition, kits comprising pen, pencils, notebooks, textbooks, reference
books and free of cost tuitions were arranged.
Housing Assistance: Rs. 50,000 was paid by the government to 18,037
urban riot-affected families towards repairing their houses. This
totalled to Rs.12.28 crores in urban areas. Similarly, in rural areas,
11,204familieswereprovidedwithahousingassistanceworthRs.17.82
crores. These amounts compare favourable with the amounts spent by
Inamul Iraqi’s organisation.

Household Kits: Each riot-affected family was given a household kit
worth Rs. 2,500 as it left the camp.
Financial Assistance for Rebuilding Earning Assets: Rs 9.13 crores
were disbursed to 17,195 families whose means of livelihood had been
destroyed.
Rehabilitation of Small Businesses:
a) Inordertocoverthosepeopleinwhosecaserestorationofearningassets
required more than Rs.10,000 and up to Rs.50,000, the government
gave a package of rebuilding small businesses implemented through
the Social Justice & Empowerment Department.
b) Under this package, 2,141 affected persons were given assistance
for small business in urban areas worth Rs.1.34. In rural areas, 707
families got assistance worth 46 lakhs.
c) The nationalised banks and financial institutions provided loan
(with interest subsidy for three years), worth Rs.9.26 crore to 2,844
persons for small industrial projects.
d) The Gujarat Minorities Finance and Development Corporation,
under the scheme of direct finance at lower rate of interest, provided
finance of Rs. 3.96 crores to 1,510 riot-affected persons.
Assistance to Industries, Shops & Hotels: The State government
formulated a package to revise industrial units, large shops, big
showrooms and hotels, etc., involving restoration cost of more than
Rs.50,000. Under this package, 20 per cent of the subsidy was provided
subject to a ceiling of Rs.50,000 per unit. 2,083 units were given
assistanceofRs.5.09croreinurbanareaswhile545unitswereprovided
assistance of Rs.1.16 crore in rural areas.
The purpose of providing this list is not to suggest that such packages can
everfullycompensateforthetraumaandlossessufferedbypeopleduring
riots. This is only to point out that the picture painted by professional
Modi baiters is misleading. As with all other aspects of administration,
Gujarat government’s relief effort was executed in collaboration with
the Muslim community organisations in a thoughtful, transparent, and
systematic manner after the first three-four chaotic days. That is why one
can get detailed accounts of the last rupee spent on relief. Also Gujarat’s
relief camps also they did produce the kind of tragedies that relief camps
in Muzaffarnagar and Assam have witnessed.

End of Politics of Terror
However,therealtestofModi’sregimeliesinhowMuslims,includingriot
victims, have fared after 2002. The very fact that the Muslims of Gujarat
are deserting Congress and drifting towards BJP is proof that they feel
a greater sense of security in Modi’s regime. This is what Maharashtra’s
former Inspector General of Police S.M. Mushrif, said in an interview to
the Milli Gazette on May 27, 2013:
…And strangely enough (my Muslim brethren will forgive me for saying
so), the most safe place for Muslims today is Gujarat, only because its Chief
Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has “banned” entry to the Intelligence Bureau
(IB) in Gujarat….After ‘banning’ IB, the Muslim atrocities in Gujarat have
stopped. That is what is required to be done if we want to put a full stop to fake
encounters, false terror attacks, their fabricated investigations and arrests of
innocent Muslim boys...
I haven’t yet looked into the IB angle but I know for sure that bringing a
sense of security to Muslims also meant bringing the police under better
discipline. However, the fact that Mushrif has to apologise for giving
his community good news from Gujarat, gives us an idea of the kind of
intellectual terror Congress and its “secular” allies have come to exercise
amongMuslims.TheymustappearaspermanentvictimsintheCongress
scheme of things or else be declared traitors as happened with Salman
Khan, who dared speak a few mild words in favour of Modi’s regime or,
worsestill,bebulldozedintosilenceashappenedwithMaulanaVastanvi.

One day when honest accounts of Gujarat riots begin to be
written, the conduct of our national media, especially some of its
reigning stars, in spreading a misinformation campaign against Gujarat,
inaddingfueltothefireinpursuitofpartisanpolitics,willberemembered
as one of the darkest chapters in the history of post-independence India.
The 2002 Gujarat riots happened to be the first one to be covered 24x7
by television channels. Some of our high-profile news anchors, who were
budding reporters at that time, crossed all lines of journalistic integrity
whilereportingonGodhrariotsandthepost-Godhraviolence.Theywent
Of Skullcaps and Puppies
Media Distorts News, Adds Fuel to the Fire
For any humanist, such an incident [Godhra train burning] would cause
indescribable grief. But, at the same time, creating disturbances (ashanti),
indiscipline and expressing outrage (akrosh) is not the solution…Won’t you
help the government in saving Gujarat? Won’t you help us in maintaining
peace and harmony? The Government of Gujarat appeals to you for help...for
shanti (peace) and sanyam (restraint/self-discipline)…I also want to express my
gratitude to you that, in the midst of so much anger, out of the 18,000 villages
of Gujarat, disturbances have broken out only in a handful of them… It is my
request to you, tit for tat is not a solution. Ver ver thi shamtu nathi (hatred
is never won over by hatred)…The government seeks your help in punishing
the guilty through the due process of law. The government seeks your help in
creating an environment of peace so that law can take its own course…
In order to instill life into the mantra of Jai Garvi Gujarat, we need to follow
the path of peace…Safety and social harmony is my assurance. My government
is as much theirs [that of Muslims] as of anyone else… There is no place for
retributive justice in a civilised society
Narendra Modi in his peace appeal on February 28, 2002
CHAPTER 16

berserk even while the fires were raging—not just because they got the
opportunityofappearingheroicandemotingbeforethenationasvaliant
defendersoftheMuslimcommunity,butprimarilybecausetheCongress
had set up a whole team of loyalists to manipulate and distort news in
tandem with Congress-allied NGOs. Since premier news channels like
NDTV owed huge financial obligations to the Congress regime1
, they
became willing megaphones for the Congress Party. With such a high-
profile media house becoming the Congress Party’s in house channel2
,
bringing others in line was relatively easy. In the process, they helped
escalate violence and increased the estrangement between Hindus and
Muslims. Thus far we have heard only the version of Modi baiters in the
media. It is time we heard Modi’s version on how some of our TV stars
actually worked to add fuel to the fire.
It was my endeavour that we restore peace at the earliest possible. If you
look at the data, you will see that in 72 hours we had managed to curb the
riots and bring the situation under control. But these TV channels kept on
broadcasting the same incidents over and over again. At the time, Rajdeep
Sardesai and Barkha Dutt both worked for NDTV. To give a few illustrative
examples of how Barkha acted in the most irresponsible manner during those
inflamed days: Surat had not witnessed any communal killings, barring a
few small clashes. However, the bazaars were closed. Barkha stood amidst
closed shops screaming, “This is Surat’s diamond market, but there is not a
single policeman here!”
I phoned Barkha and asked, are you providing the address of this
‘unprotected’ bazaar to the rioting mobs? Are you inviting them to come and
create trouble there saying there is no police here so you can run amok safely?
In a second incident at Anjar, she played up the news that a Hanuman
Mandir had been vandalised and the structure destroyed. I told her, what are
you up to? You are in Kutch, which is a border district. There you are showing
the attack and destruction of a mandir. Do you realise the implications of
1 For one of the early scams involving NDTV read: Express News Service, “CBI Case
Against Prannoy Roy,” The Financial Express, January 20, 1998, Web. http://www.
financialexpress.com/old/ie/daily/19980120/02051164.html.
2 For NDTV’s latest financial scam see: Madhu Purnima Kishwar, “NDTV &
ChidambaramAccusedofMoneyLaunderingScamofRs.5500cr.,”Manushi,January
16,2014, Web.http://www.manushi.in/articles.php?articleId=1751#.Uv8NdUKSxJM.

broadcasting such news? We haven’t yet recovered from the earthquake. Have
you actually done proper investigation into the riots? Why are you lighting
fires for us? It takes a few minutes for you to broadcast all over the country
that such-and-such place is unprotected or a mandir has been vandalised but
it takes me hours to move the police from one disturbed location to another
since these incidents are breaking out in the most unexpected places.
What’s worse, when I got the matter enquired by the local police, we found
out that it was a small, insignificant structure under a tree which had been
damaged a little bit by hoodlums But NDTV presented it as an attack on a
HanumanMandirandevenshowedoncameraadecapitatedidolofHanuman
ji. When the fires were raging, these journalists were pouring fuel on those
flames.
Since Rajdeep Sardesai was among the leading reporters covering the
disturbances, I phoned him to say that I will have to put a temporary ban on
your channel if you continue with your provocative coverage. For that one
day, I had put a ban on TV channels because they were actually fomenting
trouble. I told him that there is a well-established regulation that the media
shouldnotnamecommunitiesduringcommunalriots,noridentifyadamaged
place as a mandir or a masjid. Why are you violating that code and well-set
protocols about not naming communities or identifying places of worship?
You are going against established norms.
It has already been well-documented how false reports were spread about
apregnantMuslimwomanwhosestomachwasallegedlyrippedopen,her
foetus wrenched out with a sword, and set on fire. BBC lent credibility to
this rumour in its report of March 6, 2002. Harsh Mander repeated the
same story in a tear-jerking article published on March 20, 2002, in The
Times of India. The Tehelka website lent further colour and credence to it
by writing that a woman named Saira Banu had claimed that the victim
of that gruesome incident was her sister-in-law.
ButnothingbeatsthemischiefandarroganceofArundhatiRoy’sblood
and gore reporting of the same story on the basis of hearsay. She wrote
in the Outlook magazine of May 6, 2002:
Last night, a friend from Baroda called. Weeping. It took her fifteen minutes
to tell me what the matter was. It wasn’t very complicated. Only that Sayeeda,
a friend of hers, had been caught by a mob. Only that her stomach had been

ripped open and stuffed with burning rags. Only that after she died, someone
carved ‘OM’ on her forehead.3
Disturbed by this account, Balbir Punj, BJP Rajya Sabha MP personally
contacted the Gujarat police and asked them to verify the story. Clearly,
no such case had been reported to the Gujarat police. Therefore, they
asked Roy to provide leads that could help them reach the victim’s family
and book those who were guilty of the crime. She responded through
her lawyer, Prashant Bhushan, to say that the police had no right to issue
summons to her.
In the same lengthy article in Outlook, Roy had reported that the
daughters of Ehsan Jafri, the ex-MP from the Congress Party who was
done to death in Gulberg Society, were also raped and killed along with
him. In this case, Roy got caught spinning gory tales by none other than
Jafri’s son who issued a clarification that his sisters were not in the city
at the time of the riots. In fact, one of them was living in the United
States. Unfazed, Roy replied that she had got the information from two
other sources, one a report in Time magazine and another, a supposedly
independent fact-finding mission. Incidentally, this “fact finding” team
had actually been organised by Teesta Setalvad and Shabnam Hashmi
with one of the most corrupt and compromised retired IG of Police as a
lead member of the pack. The much-venerated Retired Supreme Court
Judge Justice Krishna Iyer was used as a figurehead but the report was
put together by professional BJP baiters. Roy was brazen enough to write:
This and other genuine errors in recounting the details of the violence in
Gujarat in no way alter the substance of what journalistic finding missions,
or writers like myself, are saying.4
Since the then Outlook Editor Vinod Mehta is a die-hard fan of Roy’s
writings, she got away with her bloody fantasies without having to offer
a half-decent apology. But Balbir Punj wrote in his counter article in
Outlook dated May 27, 2002:
3 Arundhati Roy, “Democracy: Who’s She When She’s at Home,” Outlook India, May
6, 2002, Web. http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?215477.
4 ArundhatiRoy,“TotheJaffriFamily,AnApology” OutlookIndia,May27,2002, Web.
http://www.outlookindia.com/feedbacks.aspx?typ=100&val=215477&source=publi
shed&commentid=27001#27001.

… So, Roy is lying—for surely Jafri is not. But what about the hundreds of
media lies that haven’t been exhumed as yet? Her seven-page long (approx.
6,000words)hatecharteragainstIndiaandthe SanghParivariswovenaround
just two specific cases of human tragedy, one of which—by now, we know
for sure—is a piece of fiction. The rest is hyperbole, punctuated with venom
and vitriol to demonise the Parivar. Precisely this type of demonisation had
resultedinthemacabreincidentatGodhra.Theviciouspropagandaunleashed
by the secularists for over a decade had made ordinary and gullible Muslims
see the innocent Ramsevaks as demons who deserved to be burnt alive.5
The Misinformation Machinery
Here is an illustrative example of how every word that Modi uttered
followingtheGodhraincidentwastwistedanddistortedbythewell-oiled
misinformation machinery set up by the Congress and the Left. One of
the early charges against Modi was that when post-Godhra riots broke
out, he justified and legitimised violence against Muslims thus proving
hiscomplicity.Thismischiefstartedwithanincompletestatementtelecast
onZeeTVbasedonaninterviewconductedbyZeecorrespondentSudhir
Chaudhary. Modi’s exact words were: “Kriya pratikriya ki chain chal
rahi hai. Hum chahte hain ki na kriya ho aur na pratikriya.” (A chain of
action-reaction is going on. We want that there should be neither ‘action’
nor ‘reaction’). But Zee TV deliberately left out the second sentence and
presented the mischievously clipped first half of the statement to build a
casethatModihadjustifiedthepost-Godhrariotsasalegitimatereaction
of Hindus against the killings of karsevaks at Godhra.
This statement was made to go viral by anti-Modi lobbies with active
help of the national media despite repeated protests by Modi that he
was being misquoted. What the country’s premier newspaper The Times
of India did with this statement was a new low in the history of Indian
journalism. On March 3, 2002, The Times of India splashed on its front
page in question-answer form, certain fabricated statements attributed
to Modi including the same “action-reaction” statement to build a case
that Modi had justified anti-Muslim riots.
WhenthisnewsitemmisquotingModiappearedin TheTimes of India,
the state government immediately sent a protest letter to the editor of
5 Balbir K. Punj, “Fiddling with Facts as Gujarat Burns,” Outlook India, May 27, 2002,
Web. http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?215755.

the paper stating that neither the CM had not been interviewed by TOI
nor had he justified the violence in the words attributed to him. When
the TOI did not publish the correction issued by the CM’s office, a BJP
leader went to meet the TOI editor who asked them to send the facts in
writing, which was done promptly. But the TOI still didn’t publish the
clarification issued by Modi. It was brought to the notice of the editor
twice in writing before Modi’s clarification was published on March 23,
a good 20 days after the original story was published on March 3, 2002.
What is worse, while the inflammatory misquote attributed to Modi was
splashed on the front page of TOI in both the national as well as in the
Ahmedabad editions, the clarification by Modi’s office was published in
a remote corner in the inside pages of the newspaper.
In the meantime, the quote attributed to Modi had been spiced up with
gory add-ons and sinister interpretations. It was circulated all over the
world with such fierce speed that it acquired a life of its own. Even the
clean chit given to Modi by the Supreme Court appointed and monitored
Special Investigate Team (SIT) in 2010-11 has not halted its viral spread
and endless repetition.
When the SIT questioned Zee TV Correspondent Sudhir Chaudhary
to verify the charge leveled by Teesta Setalvad & Co., Chaudhary said,
he had attended a press conference held by Narendra Modi on March 1,
2002,intheCircuitHouseattheoutskirtsofGandhinagarandrequested
a short interview from the CM. The latter agreed and was interviewed
for about 10 minutes.6
When Chaudhary questioned the CM about the Gulberg Society
massacre in which the former Congress MP, Ehsan Jafri, was killed along
with more than 50 others, the chief minister in his reply referred to the
reports that Jafri had first fired at the violent mob, which apparently
infuriated the crowd further. Thereafter, the mob stormed the Gulberg
Society and set it on fire.7
According to Chaudhary, Narendra Modi referred to Jafri’s firing as
“action” and the massacre that followed as “reaction”. However, he could
not provide a satisfactory explanation why in the Zee TV telecast, the last
6 Special Investigation Team (SIT), Report in Compliance to the Order Dated 12.09.2011
of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the Complaint dated 08.06.2006 of Smt. Jakia
Nasim Ahesan Jafri, p. 188.
7 ibid., p. 187.

line—“Humchahtehaikinakriyahoaurnapratikriya”—wasdeliberately
omitted.
During investigations, the SIT sent formal requisitions to Zee TV to
make available a copy of the CD of the television interview of Narendra
Modi conducted by Sudhir Chaudhary on March 1, 2002. Despite two
reminders and a notice u/s 91 Cr.P.C. sent to Zee TV, the CD was not
made available to the SIT. Sudhir Chaudhary said in his testimony to the
SIT that the chief minister was of the view that he wanted neither action
nor reaction. But this admission, coming years later, was not telecast and
propagated the way the mischievous half-statement had been. What is
worse, Sudhir Chaudhary continues to reiterate even today that Modi
had justified the 2002 riots.
When Narendra Modi was questioned about the same interview given
to Zee TV, he told the SIT that those who have read the history of Gujarat
wouldknowthatcommunalviolenceinthestatehasalonghistory.There
hadbeennumerouscommunalriotsinpreviousdecades.But,asfarasthe
riots of 2002 or the Zee TV interview of March 1, 2002 were concerned,
“He had always appealed only and only for peace and had issued several
appeals to the people to shun violence in straight and simple language. If
his words cited in response to this question are considered in the correct
perspective, then it would be evident that there is a very earnest appeal
for people refraining from any kind of violence.”8
Narendra Modi told the SIT that The Times of India had published
a news item on March 3, 2002, pretending as though he had given an
interview to them whereas nobody from the newspaper had met him
for an interview. The TOI reporter had cooked up the story on the basis
of his own surmises and was prominently splashed on the front page of
the newspaper. It was his considered opinion that violence cannot be
countered by violence. He did not, and would never justify any action or
reaction by a mob against innocents.9
Notsurprisingly,theSITreachedthefollowingconclusion:“Nocaseis
madeagainstNarendraModibecauseeventhoughduringtheriotsghastly
violentattackshadtakenplaceonMuslimsatGulbergSociety,NarodaPatia,
and elsewhere by unruly mobs, yet the alleged statements made by Chief
Minister Narendra Modi appeared to have been quoted out of context.”10
8 ibid., pp. 188-89.
9 ibid., pp. 187-88.
10 ibid., p. 99.

The full text of the SIT report clearly shows that this exoneration is
based on examining, not just the veracity of the controversial remarks
of that day, but also various other statements and speeches Modi
made in the days following the Godhra incident. In addition, the SIT
also examined the actual actions of the state government. Since the
newspapers and TV channel that misquoted Modi refused to rectify
their mistake, the mischievous misquote acquired a life of its own and
has been continually used as part of a smear campaign even after the
SIT established that there was deliberate distortion by the media in
this matter. Even today, the website of Teesta Setalvad’s Communalism
Combat carries the allegation that:
The conduct of the chief executive of the state of Gujarat, Modi, was more like
a partisan pracharak of the RSS than a constitutionally elected chief minister
“Har kriya ki pratikriya hoti hai,” he had first said, justifying the premeditated
carnage that followed Godhra. “Every action has an equal and opposite
reaction.” He simply failed to reassure five crore people in the state that he is a
guardianoftheirlivesandproperty.Insteadofrespondingwithresponsibility,
he kept making callous assurances that everything was normal.11
Modi’s Instant Appeal for Peace
That Modi’s testimony to SIT was not cooked up as an afterthought to
save his skin, is evident from a series of press statements and appeals on
DoordarshanissuedbyNarendraModiduringthatperiod.JustasModi’s
statements following the killing of Hindus in Godhra on February 27do
not have a trace of anti-Muslim demagoguery12
, similarly, his statements
during the riots are all aimed at calming tempers and not provoking
inter-community hatred or enmity. For instance, on February 28, 2002,
NarendraModireleasedthefollowingpersonalpeaceappealinaGujarati
broadcast across the state on Doordarshan at 7 p.m. It was repeatedly
broadcast thereafter on the same evening.13
11 “Indictment: Government of Gujarat,” Communalism Combat, March-April 2002,
p. 107.
12 See chapter 12.
13 I’ve translated Narendra Modi’s peace appeal on February 28, 2002, verbatim in
English. The Hindi version with English subtitles is available at http://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=BIRMR8zW0iI. (The YouTube translation is stylistically somewhat
different from mine, even though there is no difference in the overall content.)

Yesterday in Godhra, an inhuman tragedy struck. More than 40 women and
children were burnt to death. 18 men were also burnt alive. In all, 58 people
were trapped inside a rail bogie and mercilessly massacred by cannibals. Such
a heinous crime will bring tears to the eyes of the most hard-hearted person.
This devilish and inhuman act committed in the land of Gujarat cannot be
tolerated in any civilised society. This crime cannot be forgiven. I want to
assure the people of Gujarat that something like this will never be tolerated.
Theculpritswillbeappropriatelypunishedforthecrimetheyhavecommitted.
Not only that, we will set an example so that in future no one will dare
commit such a heinous act. The government of Gujarat is committed to the
protection of all its citizens. Those who take law into their hands and destroy
the lives of innocent people have no place in a civilised society. I share the
grief of the people of Gujarat. For any humanist, such an incident would cause
indescribable grief. But, at the same time, creating disturbances (ashanti),
indiscipline, and expressing outrage (akrosh) is not the solution.
Violating the law and venting your anger by indulging in riots cannot be
tolerated in any civilised society. I understand your feelings but I pray to
you that the need of the hour is to maintain peace and self-restraint. We are
determinedtopunishthosewhohavecommittedthiscrime.Noonewillescape
their due punishment. Won’t you help the government in saving Gujarat?
Won’t you help us in maintaining peace and harmony? The government of
Gujarat appeals to you for help, appeals to you for shanti (peace) and sanyam
(restraint/self-discipline).
In the midst of this akrosh (deep outrage), it is my humble request that in
such a testing time Gujarat expects from you what it is best known for. There
arenumerousexamplesofhowGujarathasmaintainedpeaceandharmony
during the most adverse of times. I want to remind you of this unique
characteristic of Gujarat–of showing restraint and maintaining peace
duringadversities.LetusserveGujaratbymaintainingshantiandsanyam.
Let us strengthen the arms of law. Let us create an atmosphere that will ensure
the most severe punishment for the perpetrators of this heinous crime. I am
confident that my solemn appeal will touch your hearts. Let me assure you
that everyone in the government feels the shock and pain experienced by you.
We feel the same intensity of pain as you do.
Even the prime minister [Atal Bihari Vajpayee] is deeply disturbed by these
developments and so is the home minister of India. The entire country has
expressed solidarity with Gujarat and shares our grief. But the responsibility
to maintain peace, harmony and restraint is ours. I understand your anger

andoutrage;Iunderstandyourpain.Andyet,intheself-interestofGujarat,
and to ensure that we don’t jeopardise the future of Gujarat, that Gujarat
doesn’t get a blot on its face or carry a stigma connected with these times,
all the 5 crore Gujaratis need to keep calm and exercise self-restraint.
I also want to express my gratitude to you that in the midst of so much
anger, out of the 18,000 villages of Gujarat, disturbances have broken out only
in a handful of them. Largely, there is an atmosphere of peace. However, the
incidents that have occurred in the cities of Gujarat are disturbing. It is my
appeal to you, tit-for-tat is not a solution. Ver ver thi shamtu nathi (hatred
is never won over by hatred).I am not here to give you sermons. But I see
thebrightfutureofGujarat.Foritssake,Iurgeyoutohelpthegovernment
in maintaining peace. The government seeks your help in punishing the
guilty through the due process of law. The government seeks your help in
creating an environment of peace so that the law can take its own course.
I have full faith that the people of Gujarat will respond to my appeal and
will work together for a peaceful Gujarat. It is our responsibility to ensure
that innocents do not suffer or lose their lives. Come, let us together work
for establishing peace. Again, let me assure you that I share your grief and
pain. However, let us come together to strengthen the hands of law so that
the guilty get the severest punishment due to them to set a historic example.
Once again, I appeal to the people of Gujarat for peace. Jai jai garvi Gujarat
mantra jeevant karne ke liye hame shanti ka marg hi chahiye. In order to instill
life into the mantra of Jai Garvi Gujarat, we need to follow the path of peace.
[Emphasis mine]
It is beyond comprehension how anyone can find fault with this speech.
Even the body language and facial expressions of Modi in the video are
sombre and sad—far away from the kind of devilish reaction attributed
to him.
Follow up Peace Appeals
It isn’t just this one speech. Throughout the months of March and April,
Modi kept issuing similar peace appeals, no matter which platform he
spoke from. I reproduce below extracts from press releases issued by the
state government and key extracts from his speeches.
March 1, 2002: “Verify before printing/broadcasting—do not spread
false news… Do not mention names of communities as per established

press ethics and practices—to stop the spreading of violence … Do not
show visuals of the dead people to avoid emotional flare-ups leading to
violence… There will be no compromise in the law and order situation.
Gujarat’s peace and tranquility will not be allowed to be disturbed by
anti-social elements who intend to exploit the people’s anger/feelings...
Restoringpeaceisourtopmostpriority.Wewillactstronglyagainstthose
disturbing peace.” (Source: CM Press Release)
“Orders for shoot-at-sight have been issued to deal strictly with the
people involved in violence.” (Source: CM Press Release)
March 2, 2002: “The interest of Gujarat lies in peace and not in
communaltensionordisturbances…TheStategovernmentiscommitted
to pacify the widespread anger amongst the people and restore law and
order with strong political will... No one will be allowed to take law into
their own hands and strict directives have been given to deal very firmly
withallthoseprovokingthepeopleandallsuchelementstryingtodisturb
the atmosphere…” (Source: CM Press Release).
“I appeal to people to cooperate with the security staff in order to
maintain law and order and in performance of their duties…. The
government cannot shy away from its moral duty of maintaining law
and order in the state.” (Source: Sandesh/Gujarat Samachar)
March 3, 2002: “March is the month of examinations and, therefore,
I appeal to parents, guardians, and educationists to help restore peace
quickly and keep the atmosphere stress-free so that all examinations are
finished in time… After the earthquake of last year and riots, now we do
not wish to see the future of lakhs of students of the state turning into
despair...” (Source: Gujarat Samachar)
“The government cannot shy away from its moral duty of maintaining
law and order in the state… all sections of the society too have a role to
play in restoring peace quickly… I appeal to people to cooperate with the
security staff in order to maintain law and order and in performance of
their duties…” (Source: CM Press Release)
March 6, 2002: “Society cannot progress in an atmosphere of
revenge and in violating law and order with impunity whatsoever
may be the provocation, as this does not behove a civilised society…
Government is determined to award exemplary punishment to the
culprits.” (Source: CM Speech Press Release at a meeting with social
leaders in Ahmedabad)

March 7, 2002: “The violence that erupted after the Godhra incident
does not behove any civilised society. The need of the hour in Gujarat
is love for each other, not spreading rumours; enlightened citizens need
to play a pro-active role for establishing peace in their respective areas.”
(Source: CM Press release)
March 8, 2002: “The State government has planned peace rallies all
over the state to create an atmosphere of mutual trust, safety, and peace.”
(Statement during a visit to riot-affected areas of Surat)
March 10, 2002: “This government will not spare offenders involved
in disturbing peace.” (Source: Gujarat Samachar)
“People have entrusted me with the responsibility of keeping the state
freefromelementsintentondraggingGujaratintoavortexofcommunal
disturbances.Iwillstrengthenlawandorderwithastrongadministrative
will.”(AtameetingwithclothmerchantsofMaskatimarket,Ahmedabad.
reported in Sandesh)
March 14, 2002: “I appeal to everyone not to be swayed by rumours
and work for peace.” (Source: CM Press Release, Ahmedabad)
March 18, 2002: When the CM was asked, “What is your personal
assurance to the Muslim community”, he replied: “Safety and social
harmony is my assurance. My government is as much theirs as of anyone
else…TheGodhraincidentwaspainful;butitdoesnotmeanitisrightfor
anyone to take law into his hands on the specious plea that it is a reaction
to what happened in Godhra. In a democracy, there are always ways to
express one’s feelings, howsoever strong. Rule of Law is supreme… there
is no place for retributive justice (post-Godhra) in a civilised society…
I had ordered shoot-at-sight to curb violence just before I left Godhra to
curb violence…. Religious, social, and political leaders will have to work
together in bringing back mutual trust within their communities…. I
have not taken a single reproachable step. When people realise the truth,
they will know that my government will not spare anyone responsible for
violence.” (The Hindustan Times, New Delhi)
March22,2002:“Ahmedabadisnowreturningtothepathofpeacebut
therearedarkforcesbentupondisturbingthecity’speaceandtranquility.
The security forces need to be alert to prevent recurrence of communal
flare-up, which has once again reared its ugly head. Those disturbing the
peace are inimical to the society at large…Law is common to one and
all and no violator of law will go unpunished by exploiting loopholes in
law.” (CM Press release)

Creation of Distorted Discourse
ThereisaclearlydiscerniblepatterninhowthediscourseonGujaratriots
was distorted to demonise Modi. In all the early reports of newspapers
likeTheHinduandTheTelegraph,quotedinthechaptersonpost-Godhra
riots, there were no allegations against Narendra Modi or the Gujarat
governmentatthetimewhenreportersweresendingeyewitnessaccounts.
Even Doordarshan news reported on March 3, 2002, in its night bulletin:
“Violence has ended in a record time in Ahmedabad… only 3 days…. In
thepast,itwouldtakemanyweeks…Today(Sunday),curfewwasrelaxed,
people bought items from bazaar…”
Newspapers spoke of police lapses as well as instances where police
or the army saved lives. They also talked about the sheer inadequacy
of the police force available to handle the mass outrage, which brought
thousands of people—cutting across party divides—out on the streets at
several places simultaneously to revenge the Godhra carnage.
But within days, the narrative started getting manipulated as though
an invisible hand was guiding it in the direction of targeting Narendra
Modi as the evil genius who personally masterminded the massacre.
This line of argument became so aggressive and entrenched that when
in 2010, the SIT report did not fall in line with those targeting Modi,
SIT members came in for vicious personal attack and slander. They were
accused of having been bought over by Narendra Modi. Teesta & Co.
launched a full-fledged campaign for disbanding the SIT and replacing
it with a fresh inquiry.
ItisworthaskingwhytheSITreportandvariouscourtordersthatcame
before and after the SIT clearing Modi’s name have not altered the tone
or tenor of the hate campaign carried out by leading journalists, NGO
activists, and jet-setting academics. Why do journalists keep flinging
the same set of questions to Modi and repeating the same charges ad
nauseam totally ignoring the outcomes of court cases and the SIT report?
The Skullcap Controversy
One of the oft-repeated “proofs” offered by secularists of Modi’s alleged
hatred of Muslims is that he refused to wear a skullcap offered to him by a
Muslim during his Sadbhavana Yatra. How the media went overboard in
distorting this incident, is explained by Ahmedabad-based businessman
Zafar Sareshwala:

That controversy over the skullcap was nonsense, a nonstarter. I don’t know
how the media can give importance to such issues and distort them so badly.
In any case, that kind of skullcap is more associated with the Jews than with
Muslims. From the point of view of Islam, the skullcap has no importance. If
you go to any Arab country, you won’t find a single Muslim wearing a skullcap
during namaz. Even so, I asked that man who had offered the skullcap during
one of Sadhbhavna meetings, what had actually happened that day. He told
me, “Modi ne aise koi utaar nahin di, bola topi mat pehnao, lao shawl de do
green wali.” (It is not as if Modi removed the skullcap from his head. He just
said:don’tputacaponme,givemethatgreenshawlyouhaveforme.)Ifurther
asked that man if Modi had abused him when refusing the skullcap. He said,
“No. Modi simply said, ‘don’t put the cap on me, give me the shawl.’”
Asifa Khan, a former Congress Party leader from Bharuch who joined
theBJPinDecember2012,toldme,“TheshawlwasactuallymoreIslamic
because it had Koranic verses (kalma) written on it.” I checked this fact
in photographs of the event. They clearly show a Muslim draping a green
shawl with Arabic verses from the Koran printed all over the shawl.14
Zafar says, “I did ask Modi, why did you not wear the cap?” He said,
“Topi musalmano ka chinh hai ya wo hari shawl? Doosri baat, kya aapko
Congress ne topyian kam pehnai har Iftaar parties mein? Iftaari jab hoti
hai, har politician topi pehenta hai aur musalman khush ho jaate hain.”
(Tell me, is the green shawl with Koranic verses written on it more of a
symbol of Islam or the skullcap? Secondly, have the Muslims not had
enoughofskullcapsbeingdonnedbyCongressmenduringIftaarparties?
During these ceremonial occasions, all the politicians come wearing
skullcaps and Muslims feel elated at just that!)
Asifa Khan says she had issued a press statement explaining what had
actually transpired, “but the media refuses to take notice of any fact that
portrays Modi in a good light. They go on and on reiterating the same
distortion to attack him. That is why Modi has stopped paying heed to
what the media says.”
14 I have posted the photograph of Narendra Modi accepting a green shawl with Islamic
verses written on it during Sadhbhavana Yatra in my article: Madhu P. Kishwar, “Of
Skullcap, Miyan Musharraf and Modi’s Sadbhavana Yatra,” Manushi, April 9, 2013,
http://www.manushi.in/articles.php?articleId=1698&ptype=campaigns&pgno=3#.
UxBlefSSxJM.

Zafar had asked Modi whether he could give the correct version
publicly. Modi told him, “You are free to say it. But I won’t bother to
offer explanations because the media is determined to distort all I say.”
Zafar says, he explained all this on TV but “they just don’t pay heed
and keep repeating the same lie over and over again that Modi insulted
Muslims by refusing to wear the skullcap.” Here is another instance of
orchestrateddistortionbythemediafollowinghisJune12,2013,interview
toReuters15
, which kicked up a huge political storm. Among other things,
the reporter asked Modi:
Is it frustrating that many people still define you by 2002?
People have the right to be critical. We are a democratic country. Everyone
has their own view. I would feel guilty if I did something wrong. Frustration
fills in when you think ‘I got caught. I was stealing and I got caught.’ That’s
not my case.
Do you regret what happened?
I’ll tell you. India’s Supreme Court is considered a good court today in the
world. The Supreme Court created a Special Investigative Team (SIT), which
is very bright and has a clean image. Another thing, if we are in a car … and
someone else is driving [that] car and we’re sitting behind, even then if a
puppy comes under the wheel, will it be painful or not? Of course it will be.
I’m a human being, after all. If something bad happens anywhere, it is natural
to be sad.
Any common-sense reading of this statement indicates the following
sentiment: “I would be pained even if a small animal got inadvertently
hurt by my car while I was in the back seat. Why would I not feel pain and
anguish at the death of so many innocents?” Modi’s own tweet following
the manufactured outrage over his remark put it in perspective: “In our
culture, every form of life is valued and worshipped. People are the best
judge.” But every single TV anchor, every single political commentator
wenthammerandtongsatModiforhavingreferredtoMuslimsas“dogs”.
Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken pompously declared, “It is reflective
ofhisperversemindset.ItistotallyagainsttheideaofIndia.”TheCPI(M)
leader Brinda Karat lambasted Modi for ‘justifying and trivialising’ the
15 Interview with BJP leader Narendra Modi,Reuters, July 12, 2013, http://blogs.reuters.
com/india/2013/07/12/interview-with-bjp-leader-narendra-modi/.

2002riots,sayinghewasnotreadyevennowtoexpressregretsforit.Even
after the SIT clean chit, Karat thundered, “It is utterly shameful that he is
justifying the genocide and using inappropriate examples and analogies
to trivialise the enormity of it.”
This was repeated with such Goebbelsian ferocity on TV and in print
media that today in every Muslim basti, in every Muslim village, even
little Muslim children have had it dinned into their heads that Modi
thinks Muslims are worse than dogs.
Partisan Role of Media Monitors
The partisan role played by our national media is also evident from the
fact that the Editors Guild of India appointed a team headed by Dileep
Padgaonkar and Aakar Patel, who have been leading members of the
Smear Modi Campaign, to study the media coverage of riots. This team
inits254-pagereport16
castigatedtheroleofcertainGujaratinewspapers,
notablySandeshandGujaratSamachar,for‘provocativeandirresponsible’
coverage of the Godhra incident and subsequent riots in the state. They
describe at length the problems faced by the NDTV team. But the Guild
team had nothing to say about the provocative role of The Times of India,
NDTVandnumerousothersinthenationalmediainfanningtheflames.
The Guild’s condemnation of Modi is not based on any serious
investigation.EveryactofviolenceisattributedtoModi’scomplicityeven
when the guilt lay squarely at the door of Congressmen. For instance, the
reportsays:“Mr.Modihadnoexplanationforthewidespreaddestruction
of Muslim dargahs and shrines, and how it was that in at least one case
therubblehadbeenclearedandatarredroadbuiltuponthesite…Tarring
of a road is a major operation and calls for organisation, mechanical
equipments and efforts beyond the capacity of stray hoodlums.”
IftheGuildmembershaddoneeventhemostelementaryinvestigation,
Muslims would have told them that the Congress Party’s Himmat Singh
Patel, who was then the Mayor of Ahmedabad, executed this job. He not
only egged on mobs to vandalise the mazar and a nearby mosque but
personally ensured that the very next day a bulldozer ran over the two
religious structures to level the ground and build a road on them.
16 Aakar Patel, Dileep Padgaonkar and B.G. Varghese, “Editors Guild Fact Finding
Mission Report,” Rights and Wrongs: Ordeal by Fire in the Killing Fields of Gujarat
Editors Guild, New Delhi, 2002.

While on one hand, the Guild report is silent about the role of the
Congress Party in the riots; on the other hand, every hoodlum action
of VHP and Bajrang Dal cadre is put in Modi’s account as though they
were his private militia. A responsible journalist would take the trouble
to distinguish between the official acts of Modi as the chief minister from
the conduct of some of his party colleagues as well as organisations that
might be in alliance with the BJP on select issues. The truth is that these
outfits flourished under previous Congress and BJP regimes, and have
been marginalised in Gujarat only after Narendra Modi acquired a good
grip over the administration.
The Editors Guild is also inaccurate in presenting the press statements
issued by the Chief Minister’s Office. By contrast, the report of a team
headedbyformerChiefJusticeofPunjab&HaryanaHighCourts,Justice
D.S.Tewatia, took the national media to task and concluded that Gujarati
newspapers were by and large ‘more factual’ in their reporting than the
national press. But this report did not get even a fraction of the attention
given to the Editors Guild report; leave alone the media hype given to
inquiriesstagemanagedbyantiModiNGOs.Herearesomeextractsfrom
the summary of the report17
presented by Justice Tewatia:
Repeated telecasts of arson and violence contributed in spreading the
tensiontounaffectedareas.TVchannelsignoredwarningfromofficials
and kept telecasting communal riots like infotainment. Coverage of
Machhipiti in Vadodara is an example. One national news channel
went overboard to telecast police firing at Machhipit as if it had taken
place in Ahmedabad.
ThecodeofethicsprescribedbythePressCouncilofIndiawasviolated
by the media with impunity. It so enraged the citizens that several
concerned citizens in the disturbed areas suggested that peace could
return to the state only if some of the TV channels were closed for
some weeks. English language media, particularly the Delhi Press, is
perceived by the Gujaratis to be biased. The information disseminated
by it was neither balanced nor impartial.
Byconvertinghalf-bakednewsstoriesintomajorheadlines,printaswell
aselectronicmediawidenedthepsychologicalhiatusbetweenMuslims
and Hindus. By disseminating half-truths and lies, the media played
no mean role in distorting the country’s image in the world… The
17 Justice D. S. Tewatia et al., Godhra Carnage-Justice Tewatia Report, pp. 25-34.

credibilityofthemedia—bothelectronicandprint—isatadangerously
low ebb in Gujarat….
Localandregionalpapersattimesseemedtobeemotionallysurcharged
andlostsightofobjectivity.However,Gujaratinewspapers,byandlarge,
were factual in day-to-day reporting. The editorial pages of local and
regionalnewspapersmaintainedabalanceinprojectingallviewpoints.
Newspapers published in English from Delhi invariably editorialised
the news. Direct and indirect comments in the news writing were so
telling that the personal likes and dislikes of the news reporters were
too obvious to be missed.
English language newspapers published from Delhi appeared to have
assumed the role of crusaders against the State government from day
one. It coloured the entire operation of newsgathering, feature writing,
and editorials.
The edit pages of English language press carried comments that clearly
indicated biases:
a) Against the State government of Gujarat;
b) InfavourofCongress,Leftistparties,andthesecularistintellectuals;
c) Indifference to the carnage at Godhra;
d) Against the Hindu organisations; and
e) Against the NDA government at the Centre.
Most of the national newspapers and news channels played down the
intensityoftheGodhracarnageandprojecteditasaresultofprovocation
by pilgrims. Not many reporters were deputed to dig out facts or to
do follow-up stories. This resulted in a large number of editorials
and articles projecting Godhra as a ‘reaction to the provocation by
karsevaks’ and riots in the rest of Gujarat ‘state-sponsored terrorism.’
A distorted image of sectarian violence in the state was projected by
the electronic and print media based in Delhi.
On February 27, 2002, the government of Gujarat announced a
compensationofRs.2lakhsforthenextofkinofvictimsoftheGodhra
carnage. There were protests about discrimination between Hindu and
Muslim victims, and the government announced on March 9, that all
the victims would get Rs. 1 lakh. Yet, as late as the first week of April, a
CongresspersoninUSAcitedareportinanIndiannewspapertoaccuse
the government of discriminating against minorities in the grant of
compensation. The newspaper concerned did not care to inform its
readers of the correct situation.

Media did not help to cool down tempers. It failed to act as a platform
for dialogue between the Hindus and Muslims on the one hand and
between the people and the establishment on the other.
Telecasting images that spread hatred and instigated violence is
unhealthy, but their repeated telecast is lethal. The media acted as an
interested party in the confrontation, not a neutral reporter of facts.
The team was alarmed at the intensity of anger among the people of the
state for Delhi-based newspapers and television news channels. This
attitudewasespeciallyarticulatedbydelegationsofintellectuals,lawyers,
doctors,andbusinessmenthatmetJusticeTewatia’steam.Eventhetribals
complained that the media had no time to hear their tales of agony and
was spreading canards against the Hindus.
Pilloried for Taking Godhra Carnage Seriously
One cannot help but get the impression that Modi’s sympathy for those
who were charred to death by anti-social elements at Godhra was held
against him as a cardinal crime. An even more cardinal crime was that
his government took prompt action and arrested and put on trial those
who led or masterminded the Godhra killings.
The fact that Modi did not try to underplay the seriousness of Godhra
incident and condemned it as an example of anti-national activity made
enemies of all those whose politics thrives on garnering the Muslim vote
bank through inculcating a sense of permanent victimhood in such ways
that even if Muslim criminals and terrorists are nabbed, they cry foul
and dub it as an instance of anti-Muslim bias. It is the same mind-set that
defends Kashmiri secessionists, guilty of unleashing ethnic cleansing
of Hindus in the Valley but have never taken up the cause of Kashmiri
Pandits, even though they were ousted from their homeland through
violence and terror.
ThemediatriedbulldozingModiintode-linkingthepost-Godhrariots
and the Godhra incident but because he did not yield to that pressure, he
was painted as a Hindu bigot.
Furore over Modi’s Refusal to Apologise
AnotherfavouritesongofModibaitersisthathehasneveronceapologised
or expressed regret for the riots. This too is held as “proof” that Modi
is not only guilty for the 2002 riots, but wears it as a badge of honour.
Apart from all the above quoted statements, Modi’s speech in the very

first assembly session in March 2002 is full of anguish over the riots and
centred around the following sentiment: “Are we not supposed to soul-
search ourselves? Whether it is the Godhra incident or post-Godhra,
it does not enhance the prestige of any civilised society. The riots are a
stigma on humanity and do not help anyone to hold his head high. Then
why is there a difference of opinion?”
In an interview to NDTV broadcast on March 20, 2004, Narendra
Modi said to Shekhar Gupta, the editor of The Indian Express, “You all
wanted that someone be made a scapegoat. I did not do that. I allowed
youtobreakallpotsonmyheadalone.Youhavealldecided-alltheseriots
happened under this man (Narendra Modi). Until this man is removed
from the chief minister’s post, we will not rest in peace. My best wishes
to you in your mission.”
Narendra Modi did not resign, and the BJP did not dismiss him.
This was dexterously used by the Congress Party’s allies within media
organisations torun anincessant no-holdsbarred hate campaignagainst
Modi and the BJP. Given this determination to paint him in gory colours,
isitanysurprisethatModidecidedtostopgivinginterviewstojournalists
or responding to hostile news reports? Modi told me the last straw for
him with regard to NDTV was when one of their correspondents, Vijay
Trivedi, accompanied him in a helicopter for an interview. When he
started asking the same old insulting questions, Modi simply kept
quiet and refused to respond any further. Piqued at Modi’s ignoring
him, Trivedi spread the canard that Modi nearly threw him out of the
helicopter mid-air because he had asked tough questions.18
Modi says
on that day he decided never to give legitimacy to NDTV by giving them
an interview or responding to any questions from them. Vijay Trivedi
treats this incident as a badge of honour. In one of the articles written
by Anando Bhakto for The Sunday Indian on December 16, 2001, Vijay
Trivedi is reported to have bragged:
The two high points of my career have been when I, in 2005, reported from
Pakistan about the Jinnah remark made by Lal Krishna Advani (which led
to his resignation as the BJP president), and then during the 2009 election
campaign when, while travelling in Narendra Modi’s aircraft, I asked him if
18 “Chakravyuh with Narendra Modi,” NDTV, May 2, 2009. Web. http://www.ndtv.
com/video/player/chakravyuh/chakravyuh-with-narendra-modi/72774.

he would like to apologise for the Godhra riots. That left him totally baffled
and he was not able to say anything at all.19
This is clearly out of sync with Modi’s version. But journalists feel they
don’t need to observe the slightest caution about accuracy or honesty
when reporting about Modi. Throwing muck at Modi has become such a
lucrative career option that many have taken to it as a full-time mission.
For the last 12 years, TV channels and print media have condemned him
non-stopinabsentia.Theykeepgettingmoreandmorehystericalbecause
he stopped even responding to them and instead took to social media to
get his message across.
As far as Modi’s refusal to apologise is concerned, it is hard for any
rational mind to take objection to the stand he has taken. The statement
he made in response to UTV reporter Hindol Sengupta’s20
insistence on
apology has been reiterated on many occasions:
If I have done anything wrong, I go a step ahead and say I want punishment.
In India, don’t give chance to culprits, punish them! If Modi has committed a
crime, he should be sent to the gallows. Why are you insisting on letting Modi
get away with an apology? Why are you so keen on forgiving Modi? What is
your interest? This should never be done. Modi should be given such a severe
punishment that the point is driven home to 100 crore people of India…so
thatforthenext100yearsnoonecommitssuchmistakesagain.Friend,donot
start this chakkar (campaign) of forgiving Modi. I say it bluntly, please don’t
do this campaign. Campaign for punishing Modi if found guilty…
It takes no courage to give the kind of phony and belated apology that
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offered for the 1984 massacre of the
Sikhs by Congress Party without punishing a single Congress leader
who led the riotous mobs. But, Modi’s willingness to face the toughest
trial shows conviction of his innocence and confidence in his integrity.
This can’t be held against him as a sign of complicity or lack of remorse.
19 Anand Bhakto, “Beware of His Chakravyuh,” The Sunday Guardian, December 16,
2011, Web. http://www.thesundayindian.com/article_print.php?article_id=27307.
20 Talk Back, “CM Interview,” UTV, 5 May 2009. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=voN5iQOPlE0>.

Did Muslims Vote for BJP out of Fear
in 2012?
Gujarati Muslims as Game Changers in Indian Politics
And strangely enough (my Muslim brethren will forgive me for saying so),
the most safe place for Muslims today is Gujarat, only because its Chief
Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has “banned” entry to the Intelligence Bureau
(IB) in Gujarat….After “banning” IB, the Muslim atrocities in Gujarat have
stopped. That is what is required to be done if we want to put a full stop to fake
encounters, false terror attacks, their fabricated investigations and arrests of
innocent Muslim boys...
S.M. Mushrif, Former IG of Police in Milli Gazette on May 27, 2013.
The Congress Party gave nothing but riots, gambling dens, and bootlegging
mafias to the Muslim community. They did nothing for our community in the
field of education. That is why Muslims remained backward under Congress
regimes.
AI Syed, Chairman, Gujarat Waqf Board
Today Muslims don’t feel discriminated against even though no development
scheme has come in the name of minorities. Everything is in the name of
Gujaratis. But muslims have benefited equally. This is national integration
in the real sense. The Muslims who have come to BJP will prove to be game
changers for India.
Asifa Khan from Bharuch, spokesperson BJP.
CHAPTER 17
SinceModi’sappointmentasCMhadattractednationalattention,his
victoryinRajkotintheFebruary2002electionwiththeoverwhelming
support of Muslim community, should have been noticed by the media
outside Rajkot and Gujarat. However, all those media persons who
accused Modi of “genocide” within days of this historic election alleging

that hating Muslims was part of Modi’s DNA, never said a word about
the enormous goodwill displayed by Muslims of Rajkot for Modi.1
. This
couldn’t possibly be a case of ignorance or oversight on the part of our
leading journalists.
It took Modi ten years to create a new record for the BJP by winning
the 2012 assembly elections with 31 per cent Muslims voting for BJP.
He succeeded despite a ten year long high voltage national and global
campaign against him, branding him a fascist, a butcher of Muslims,
and an inherently “divisive” force in Indian politics. However, instead
of feeling relieved at the bridging of the communal divide in Gujarat, the
increase in Muslim votes for BJP was dismissed with disdain by Modi-
haters, including reputed political scientists like my CSDS (Centre for
Studies of Developing Society) colleague, Yogendra Yadav, by saying that
Muslims had voted for Modi out of fear.
In my forthcoming book, I will bring more detailed accounts from
Muslim villages as to why there has been a tectonic shift of Muslim votes
in favour of BJP. But for the time being, the account of Bharuch based
Asifa Khan speaks volumes. Asifa joined the BJP a few weeks before the
2012 election after spending four years as the Congress spokesperson in
Gujarat. Therefore, her joining the BJP created a real stir. She is respected
not just by fellow Muslims, but also enjoys high prestige among the
Hindus. Before she was handpicked by Congress stalwart Ahmed Patel
to join the Congress Party as its spokesperson, she had made a name
for herself in Gujarat as the first Muslim woman from Bharuch who
established herself print journalism as well as national television. She
took on the Congress spokesperson’s job with enthusiasm, but quit the
Congress after witnessing the party’s disarray over the years.
The Muslim Disenchantment with the Congress
ThisishowAsifadescribesherexperienceofbeingaCongressworkerand
why an increasing number of Muslims, including herself, are gravitating
towards Modi’s BJP:
Being a journalist I got a chance to interact with many politicians and
industrialists.SinceIhailfromBharuch,andAhmedPatelsahibalsohailsfrom
the same district, he knew me for years as a renowned journalist of the area.
1 See chapters No. 8 and 9.

On account of my good repute, he handpicked me in 2008 as a spokesperson
of the Congress Party in Gujarat as well as the media cell convener of the All
India Mahila Congress. I do not recall him handpicking anyone else from our
district and giving him/her such an important designation.
Without contesting any elections and without any political background—I
was not even an ordinary member of the Congress Party—I was given such a
major responsibility straight away. To my knowledge I did full justice to that
responsibility. My job was media management for the Party, especially the
publicity part. But I was not made to come face-to-face with the media. My
job was behind the curtains. For example, when Rahul Gandhi was to come to
Gujarat,Idesignedtheprogrammeforhim.Wegavehimtheconceptof Abhay
Udaan(fearlessflight)andarrangedforhimtointeractwiththeyouth.Wegave
him questions to work on and the tentative list of problems the youth would
like him to speak on. I planned every aspect of Rahul’s visit, what he would be
doingeachdayandhowtobringattentiontotheissuesweneededhighlighted.
In the four years that I spent working for the Congress Party, I came to see
that the hard-core issues and problems of people were not being addressed
the way they needed to be. Congress lacks state level leadership in Gujarat,
which means that any issue that comes up doesn’t get solved at the local level.
It is sent to a higher authority or to Delhi, and once the issue goes to Delhi,
by the time the national leaders respond, it is too late to do anything about it.
Issues that are important at the grassroots level seem to be immaterial and
treated as insignificant by the Congress Party in comparison to the “national”
issues. Therefore, they are cast aside or remain unattended. This creates a
boomerang effect at the grassroots level because people feel let down at their
problems being ignored.
For instance, when a widow whose husband was employed in the postal
department came to me with a genuine grievance, backed by documentary
evidence,thatthepostalauthoritieshadgivenhercertainpromiseswhichthey
refused to honour, the issue could only be resolved at the Central government
level. She came once, twice, and thrice. But since we could not solve her
problem, we were not able to go and show our faces to her. She rightly carried
the impression that the Congress party doesn’t deliver.
WhenIwenttoKutchtointeractwiththeMuslims,theysaidthatearlierthey
werewiththeCongress,buthadmovedovertotheBJPbecausewheneverthey
needed the slightest help of the Congress Party leaders in getting something
done from the bureaucracy—whether big or small—they got no response.
At times they could not even get an appointment with the local Congress

leaders; there is no one there to listen to citizens with grievances. But in the
BJP they get a prompt hearing because its leaders are receptive and accessible.
One Muslim shopkeeper told me that when he needed a municipal license to
open a road side stall, a friend of his offered to take him to a BJP leader who
promptly gave an appointment and sorted out the issue. He said, “Today, I
am able to support my family because of the BJP leaders and the municipal
councilor who helped me earn my living by getting me the required license.
That is why I switched over to the BJP.”
Another illustrative incident, among many others, in my hometown is that
of a young Muslim boy running a small Chinese food kiosk. He joined the
BJP way back in 2006. I asked him the reason and he explained saying, “See, I
had a problem getting a hawker’s license for my kiosk. I kept visiting various
Congressleaders,includingcouncilors,andyetgotnohelp.Iamthesolebread
earner of a family of six. Ultimately, in sheer desperation, I sought the help of
a friend to introduce me to the BJP MLA. This MLA promptly took me to the
relevant department and sorted out my problem by getting me a license from
the nagarpalika office. Now when my friend comes and requests me to put a
BJP banner on my lorry, I agree whole-heartedly. I am here today because of
my friend who took me to a BJP MLA.”
Let me give you another example: When Muslims go for the Haj, they need
to get some documents signed by a government representative holding an
office of authority. People often go to their area’s MLA for that. In my district,
when Muslims try to get an appointment with a Congress Muslim MLA, they
do not manage to get time from him, whereas when they call up a Hindu BJP
MLA, they get a prompt response. They are called in immediately and the
forms are signed promptly. These are indications of how the BJP is proving
helpful to Muslims at the ground level. They are reaching out to Muslims and
extending their hand of friendship; they are not arrogant. BJP leaders give you
an appointment without much fuss and help you without any discrimination.
In Bharuch, during the 2012 municipal election, both the BJP and the
Congress gave tickets to a Muslim candidate in a particular ward. But it is
the BJP’s Muslim candidate who won. This clearly shows that the BJP is being
preferredbyMuslimsdespitethefactthatthisparticularareaispartofAhmed
Patel sahib’s political base. He is a big national leader. But he has no time
to attend to his constituency’s problems, while the local Congress team is
dysfunctional.Theyjustwanttogoforphotoopswhenthebignationalleaders
arrive from Delhi. They are leaders just in name. That is why people are not
voting for them in elections.

No wonder, then, that day-by-day the Congress is losing in this state. Why
have they been out of power for the past 22 years? Out of eight Municipal
Corporations in Bharuch district, seven Municipal Corporations are run by
the BJP. The Congress is not functioning properly even at the district level.
Theywoninveryfewzilaparishads.AlltheothersarewiththeBJP.Gofurther
down, why is it that of the current taluka parishads in Gujarat, not even one
is with the Congress? That means the party is finished at the ground level.
The Congress does not have a single credible face in Gujarat. That is why
they are relying on BJP rejects. Did you hear any of the national leaders saying
that this is the person that we are projecting as the chief minister? They didn’t
have a face till the last moment.
The Congress says that wherever Rahul ji went, they won the seats in that
constituency. Then what stopped them from taking him all over Gujarat? All
theirnationalleadersproclaimedthattheywouldwinthistimesincewherever
Rahul went he got them a seat. If they so desperately wanted Gujarat this time,
what stopped them from taking him to 100 or 182 constituencies? This means
that there is something dubious in the way they function. They took him only
to places that they thought would save his face and stature.
Ifyoudescendonastateatthelastmoment,youwon’tgetanyresponse.You
have to be there 365 days of the year to engage with people and to win their
hearts.Modijiistherewiththepeopleallthetime;heattendsnumerouspublic
events,constantlyengageswithhispeople,respondstotheirneeds,andmakes
the administration work towards a purpose. And when he’s there and keeps a
watchful eye, the cabinet also works, the bureaucracy is also responsive, and
the zila parishads and town councils also work. He calls himself a 24x7 CM
365 days a year. That is why he has been able to make the system work and
change the face of Gujarat .
Why Asifa Khan Joined the BJP
Asifa says she did not join the BJP at the spur of the moment; she thought
over it for a long time and took feedback from a large cross section of the
Muslim community:
AsaMuslim,Ikeenlyobservedthatforthefirsttimeindecadestherehasbeen
peace in the state. For 11 years there have been no riots, no curfews. As a field
reporterIhaveseenriotsveryclosely.ThesameGujarat,thatwasunmanageable
and constantly exploding, has become manageable under Narendrabhai.
Whatever happened in 2002 was very unfortunate. But the Modi government

was only four months old at that time and he had absolutely no administrative
experience. He started his journey as chief minister with a huge baggage of
distrust and disenchantment with previous BJP governments. Among other
challenges, he had to deal with messed-up relief and rehabilitation, following
the devastating earthquake in 2001 and a long legacy of riots.
And yet in 2003 itself he came up with the Vibrant Gujarat movement.
Right from day one, he was development-centric. He came up with major
water projects like WASMO (Water & Sanitation Management Organisation).
Muslims can see that his team is working and that there is no bias against
them. Therefore, they started gravitating towards him.
The2007electionwasamajortestingtimeforus.Wesawthatnocommunal
issues were raised by the BJP. Even in the 2002 elections, Modi was focusing
mainly on development. There were no attacks on Muslims but the media
created needless furor over a phrase like “Miyan Musharraf.” It was the
Congress Party, which tried to play politics of communal hatred by using
words like ‘maut ka saudagar’ (merchant of death) for Modi ji. BJP did not use
suchcommunalrhetoric.ThisiswhattheMuslimsarebeginningtoappreciate.
Remember,since1947therehavebeen11,000smallandbigcommunalriots
in Gujarat. Did any of the previous chief ministers undertake a Sadbhavna
Mission (goodwill mission) or work for national integration? Mind you,
Modi did not start the Sadbhavna Yatra in a vacuum. For years before that,
he actually put it into practice. Because Modi brought peace, prosperity
followed easily. When there is social harmony and stability, people like to
work, study, and explore new job avenues. He opened many new educational
and career advancement opportunities for Gujaratis. There has been all round
development and Muslims are getting equal benefits. Today Muslims don’t
feel discriminated against even though no development scheme has come
in the name of minorities. Everything is in the name of Gujaratis. When he
broughtthecoastaldevelopmentscheme,therewerenospecialbaitsforOBCs,
Muslims,orthisorthatsection.ButMuslimsbenefitedequally.Thisisnational
integration in the real sense. All of us need to rise above narrow sectional
identities and take pride in the collective development of all Gujaratis.
EvenwhileIwasintheCongressParty,Iwaswatchingallthesedevelopments.
But as an opposition party, one’s job is to blame and criticise the ruling BJP.
I was expected to find faults with Mr. Modi and I couldn’t find any. In fact, I
started finding faults with my own leaders and questioning why we weren’t
doing what BJP was doing. I would ask them, why aren’t we working for
national integration? Why are we opposing Modi ji for doing it? We should

bring in schemes that benefit all. Why are we playing divisive politics based
on caste or religion? Here is someone who is showing by example how to go
about it! I think this minority labelling is a shameful game. We want to be
treated as equals. That is what we are being ensured now. On this score, I was
disappointed by the Congress again and again.
Someone in my shoes should never have left the Congress because they gave
me a key position. The man closest to Sonia ji, her top-notch political advisor,
was my mentor, my patron. I could have basked in the glory and stuck to it all
my life. But I have chosen politics as a medium to serve my people, to attend
to their grievances. I had the daring to say that this is wrong, that I don’t like
it. I had been communicating this to the national leaders off and on. But no
one paid heed.
I told Ahmedbhai myself that BJP government was doing a good job; they
brought hundreds of Muslims in as elected representatives at the panchayat,
municipal, and district levels. Congress had been in power for nearly four
decades. They never got as many Muslims elected in those long years as BJP
has done in the last ten years.
Do you know that the Haj Committee and the Waqf Board of Gujarat
were as good as defunct during Congress rule? The Party did not even
bother to fill vacant positions. During Modi’s tenure, all these Boards have
been filled up and activated. Not only that, they have been given the status
of full-fledged corporations which means we are given more funds, more
powers, more autonomy to operate our Haj and Waqf Boards. They have
become fully energised now. Even the Sachar Committee report said that the
recommendations made by them have been implemented best in Gujarat as
compared to any other state in the country. That committee was appointed
by the Centre and yet it had to acknowledge the good work done by Gujarat.
That is why I felt a strong urge to meet Modi ji.
I am the kind of person who avoids taking other people’s help while seeking
an appointment because I want to be judged on my own merit. So I decided to
approach Modi ji directly. It was very easy to get an appointment. I just made
a phone call to his office and left my name and number. I didn’t even leave my
designation. I just called him up as a Muslim woman from Bharuch and said
that I want to meet him.
I got a call back and was given an appointment, which was scheduled for
just five minutes. But those five minutes turned into 55. I didn’t realise that
I talked for so long. Nor did Modi ji point out to me that I had exceeded the
timegiventome.Itwasaone-on-onemeeting.Helistenedtomeveryintently.

Many people were waiting outside to meet him. Only when I came out and
looked at my watch did I realise that I had talked to him for nearly an hour.
That is the moment I decided that I was going to work for him because I found
his attitude extremely positive. In any case, he was already time-tested.
So I joined BJP in October 2012, just a month before the elections. I was told
to handle my own press conference. He left it totally to me. Even other BJP
leaders did not give me any instructions. If you watch that press conference,
you will see for yourself that whatever I said came straight from my heart.
Nobody gave me any directions. I got very high media coverage. I explained
what I found admirable in the Modi government and the media was free to
ask me any number of questions.
After that press conference I became an important media face for the BJP.
It is noteworthy that while the party headquarters would ask me to appear
for this or that media interview, press conference or a talk show on TV, I was
never tutored to say this or that. It was marvelous to feel so trusted, especially
for a new comer like me who had not been groomed by party leaders, who had
not been trained in BJP’s positions on various issues. I was given full freedom
to say what I thought fit.
It was the same story during the election campaign meetings. For example,
when Modi ji came to Vagra, I delivered the speech just before his address.
This is a great compliment. You must hear that speech. The trust they reposed
in me gave a new edge to my oratorical skills. I got phone calls from all over
the country appreciating my speech. On the day of the 2012 election results,
which was a big day the BJP, I was asked by the party to sit live before a large
gamutofTVchannels.Rightfrom8a.m.inthemorningtill9.30p.m.,without
any break, just a bit of water and a bit of prasad is all I had while appearing as
BJP spokesperson on that historic day.
During my Congress days, I was not given such responsibilities. They knew
that I was a press reporter and a public figure for 17-18 years. But they didn’t
utilise my skills, they used me only for behind-the-scenes work. After the
elections of 2012, I got calls from the Congress Party saying, “You never did
such work for us.” I told them, you never asked me to do such things for you;
it was the same Asifa Khan with you for four years. If you cannot utilise my
potentials and talents, it isn’t my fault. I did all you wanted me to do with full
sincerity.
Because as a leader, Modi ji works hard and sincerely, everybody under him
takesthecuefromhim.Whyelsewouldpeoplecomeoutinsuchlargenumbers
to vote for BJP? The Muslims did so because they developed an active interest

ingovernance.InBharuch,wehave38percentMuslimvoters,whiletheVagra
constituency, where I stay, has 44 per cent Muslims. It was a Congress bastion
for decades. The Congress was confident that even if they lost all of Gujarat,
they would win in Vagra but not a single seat in Bharuch district, supposedly
a stronghold of Ahmed Patel, went to the Congress. We took Ankleshwar,
Jambusar, Bharuch, and Vagra. The Jaghadia seat went to JDU. Inshallah, in
the next elections we will take back the JDU seat also.
Overall31percentMuslimsofGujaratvotedfortheBJP.Inthecomingyears,
it is definitely going to increase. The Election Commission did the best job it
could in Gujarat. Barring one small incident, there was no untoward incident
anywhere in the state. This State doesn’t witness the kind of disturbances that
accompany elections in UP or Bihar. People came out on their own because
they liked the leader and his style of governance.
This is how Zafar Sareshwala explained the electoral dynamics behind
this shift in Muslim vote:
Bharuch has five constituencies, each of them with at least 20 per cent Muslim
voters.Oneconstituency,whereaBJPcandidatewon,has49percentMuslims.
It is not as if all Hindus voted for the BJP. So, in Vagra, where the Congress
candidate lost, it is not as if BJP won because all Hindus voted for it; at least
30 to 35 per cent of Hindus always vote for the Congress. That means Muslim
vote played a crucial role in BJP’s victory. Surat East has a constituency named
Limbaya with a substantial Muslim vote but the Congress candidate there
lost by 40,000 votes. In Jabalpur, where there are 62 per cent Muslims, 10,000
Muslim votes went to the BJP candidate who won. Prominent Muslims like
Mehboob Ali Chishti, former Additional General of Police, Syed sahib, Asifa
Khan, and Tyeba from Hyderabad worked very hard for Modi ji.
Muslim Exodus from Congress
FormerCongressman,SadatBapu,ahighlyrespectedMuslimleaderfrom
Bharuch district who played an important role in swinging Muslim vote
in favour of Modi says:
BJP has been reaching out to Muslims in a proactive manner; they held many
public meetings in Muslim areas, something unheard of before. By contrast
Congress takes Muslims for granted. Earlier, when BJP campaigned, Muslims
were either hostile or indifferent. But in the 2012 election, BJP candidates held

meetingsinMuslimareaswithoutsecurity.Thepartyisthereforewinningthe
confidence of the community and attracting credible and talented Muslims.
The Muslims who have come to BJP will prove to be game changers for India.
AmoredetailedaccountofSadatBapu’srolewillfollowinmyforthcoming
book. Asifa Khan is in fact his protégé. Inamul Iraqi endorses Bapu Sadat
and Zafar’s point about BJP attracting far better talent among Muslims
as compared to the Congress by giving the example of ADG Police Syed
who was fielded in the 2013 municipal elections. To quote Iraqi:
When the BJP had projected former Additional Director General of Police
Abdullah Ibrahim Syed as its candidate for the mayor’s post in the 2013
municipal elections from the all-Muslim constituency of Juhapura, it had a
very powerful impact on the community. About 3.5 lakh Muslims live there.
Syed sahib secured over 40,000 Muslim votes though he could not win the
election. This is, in itself, very incredible because BJP had never dared field
candidates from such Muslim citadels, which the Congress guards zealously.
It is not as if all those thousands voted out of fear or any compulsion. Two
big public meetings were organised by the BJP in Juhapura, which saw the
participation of thousands of Muslims each time.
The Muslim mind is undergoing a sea change. Many prominent Muslims
havemovedovertotheBJP,andtheBJPisalsotakingMuslimsmoreseriously.
Hindu-Muslim relations have really improved in recent years. We treat each
other as brothers. The credit for it goes in large part to our CM.
Several people in Juhapura told me that their vote went to Syed sahib
primarily because of Modi. Had he been a more proactive candidate, he
would have won hands down. This is how Syed sahib explains why he
not only joined BJP after retirement but also campaigned actively for the
Party in the 2012 assembly elections:
I joined the BJP because I thought our politics is over-dominated by caste
and religion. It needs to be infused with national spirit. I found Narendra
Modi was doing exactly that. Despite their involvement in numerous such
riots, Congressmen keep scaring the mullahs about the BJP. While serving
in the police, I had seen, from close quarters, that the Congress has been
fooling Muslims for too long. Muslims needed to be made aware of this and
told the truth that the Congress Party gave nothing but riots, gambling dens,

and bootlegging mafias to the Muslim community. They did nothing for our
communityinthefieldofeducation.ThatiswhyMuslimsremainedbackward
under Congress regimes.
I was posted as deputy commissioner in Ahmedabad during the 1985 riots,
which were organised by the Patel lobby within the Congress to oust Madhav
Singh Solanki, who was also from the OBC caste. Solanki had won his second
election with 148 MLAs. Despite that, he was not allowed to continue as chief
minister. They used bhai log and dons for triggering the 1985 anti- caste riots
in which the Muslim community got sucked in as a scapegoat.
The 1985 riot began in Dariapur. When I rushed there to investigate, I
asked what had triggered the violence? I was told they happened due to a fight
over kite flying. That was clearly bunkum because no one flies kites at night.
When I investigated further it came out that don Abdul Lateef had been set
up by Chimanbhai Patel who entrenched the process of criminalising politics
in Gujarat. During the 1985 riots, we could not take out our uniforms for a
whole month because we were on duty 24 hours a day. By contrast, in 2002
everything was brought under control within three days.
The1969riotswerealsoengineeredbyChimanbhai.ChiefMinisterHitendra
DesaimadeaveryclevermoveandgavetheHomeDepartmenttoJairamPatel.
Immediately after taking over as home minister, one of the first orders Patel
issued to the Ahmedabad police commissioner was to withdraw all weapons
from all the police stations. Consequently, Commissioner Debu, a Parsi
gentleman, held a meeting and instructed the police deputy commissioners
of allzonestowithdrawalltheweaponsfrompolicestations anddepositthem
attheheadquarters.Acoupleofofficersobjectedtothisrightthen.Oneofthem
wasMJJadejaandthesecondonewasEricRenison.Theywerebothdisciplined
cops but had the courage to speak up instead of being mere ‘yes men’. They
said,“Sir,ifwedepositalltheweaponsintheheadquarters,howwillwehandle
the situation if violence breaks out somewhere?” The Commissioner replied
in typical Parsi style, “I will control Ahmedabad with my cane!”
Of course, he could not control the 1969 riots with a cane! That is why just
across the police station on Relief Road, a big Muslim business establishment
called Edward Washing Company was burnt down. The police could not open
firetocontrolthemobbecausetheyhadnoweapons.In1992also,Chimanbhai
instigated communal violence. I was staying in a Juhapura Society where we
witnessed a bank being robbed. But the police could not stop it because they
were not given orders to fire. At that time, that was the only bank in Juhapura.
Because of that incident, no other bank opened a branch in Juhapura for 15

years. It is only in the last few years that two-three new banks have come up
Muslim dominated in Juhapura.
Even today, the leadership of the Congress is in the hands of dons. For
instance, the chairman of the Minorities Cell of Congress in Gujarat for the
last 15 years is a man named Wazir Khan Pathan from Vishnagar, Mehsana
district. He writes B.A LL.B for namesake and is a member of the High Court
Bar Association, but originally he made his money from bootlegging.
WhenNarendraModiappointedmeasthechairmanoftheWaqfBoard,his
firstsentencetomeaftermytakingchargewas:“Go,serveyoursamaj.”Ireally
liked that. The best thing is that he never interferes in administration, be it
that of Waqf Board or the government. And yet he keeps an eye on everything
so that people do not misuse their office. He has never asked me to do this or
that. He just gave the mandate to make Waqf Board an instrument of serving
the community and gave me total freedom to steer the institution.
The Waqf Board was earlier totally defunct. The real challenge before me is
that local Waqf trusts are all headed by bhai log and 99 per cent of them are
Congressmen. They are not spending money they collect on community’s
welfare. I have not seen local trusts of the Waqf Board run a single dispensary
or school. I am drawing up a plan of action for improving their functioning.
Today, 70 per cent of Muslims are happy with Modi because he does not
discriminate between people on the basis of religion or caste. He supports
whoever is trying to do good work.
He makes all his officers work hard, go out into the field and reach the
services to people. Everyone is happy with the stability he has brought to
Gujarat. He has also not interfered with the trial of the riot accused. So many
have been sent to jail, many have been sentenced to life terms. Muslims now
feel secure as never before.
In the 2013 municipal elections, when I was projected as the prospective
mayorofAhmedabad,Isecured40,000votesfromJuhapuraontheBJPticket.
Thatis,in itself,incrediblebecause BJPneverbeforeputupacandidateherein
this Muslim constituency. Congress had destroyed Gujarat politics through
bhai log and mullahs who misled the poor and uneducated among their own
community. Modi altogether changed the face of Muslim politics in Gujarat.
Acceptance of Muslims within Gujarat BJP
Asifa’s story of such easy acceptance within the BJP had initially come
as a surprise to me but not after I visited Bharuch and talked to leading
lights of BJP, including those who left the Congress to join Modi. When

I first heard her account in February 2013, it seemed logical to ask Asifa,
whether she felt resented by BJP elders on account of being a woman or
a Muslim, whether they were jealous of her quick rise to prominence.
She said:
No. There are two types of discrimination. The first kind is when they try to
push you down because you are a woman. In most of the male-dominated
societies, you might feel at some or the other point in life that you are being
kept down. I didn’t get that feeling. On the contrary, senior leaders were happy
to guide me and help me whenever I needed backup support with facts or
whatever. I was never discriminated against on account of being a Muslim
or on account of being a female. I wasn’t discriminated against even as a new
comer, nor did I ever get the sense that they were jealous of me for being
projectedinahighprofilemanner.Infact,allthesethingsturnedinmyfavour
from day one. Narendrabhai recognised my potential and reposed trust in me
from the very first time we met.
WhenIaskedherif,likeZafarSareshwala,shefacedanyhostilityfromthe
Muslim community for having joined the BJP, this is what she had to say:
ZafarbhaibeganengagingwithModijiin2002whentherewasblindprejudice
against Modi ji. Muslims did not really know him then. Now he is time tested.
Therefore, the Muslim community’s response to my joining BJP has been
marvelous! They were very happy. You should check out the enthusiastic
response of Gujarati Muslims to my public meetings through the TV footage
of those days available on YouTube.2
Changing Role of Muslims in Gujarat’s Electoral Politics
In the national media we only hear of how Muslims are shunned by the
BJP and vice versa. The fact that no Muslim candidate was fielded in the
assembly election of 2012 has been touted as proof of Modi’s aversion for
Muslims.ItwasallegedthatModihadvowedpubliclythatifasingleMuslim
everenterstheassembly,hewillhavetheentirecomplexwashedwithGanga
jal. I asked several Muslims if there was any truth in this. Almost all said,
it was “utter nonsense”. This is what Zafar Sareshwala had to say:
2 A video of Asifa Khan addressing Gujarati Muslims in a public meeting is available
at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fi8Bkh3KvE&feature=youtu.be.

Absolute bakwas! It just shows how vicious the lies being spread against Modi
are and how desperate the Congress is to hold on to the Muslim vote bank.
Modi’s hands were tied because of the Congress ganging up with VHP, RSS,
andBajrangDal.Winnabilityofacandidatewasamajorfactorinthiselection.
Why is it that those who criticise him for not giving a single ticket to Muslims
for the 2012 assembly election did not say a word of appreciation when an
unprecedented number of Muslims won on BJP tickets in the panchayat,
municipal, and zila parishad elections? If Muslims were seriously upset
on this count would they have ensured victory of BJP’s Hindu candidates
against Congress Party’s Muslim candidates in those areas where they have
a substantial vote percentage or majority?
The results of the recent Salaya Municipal Corporation in Jamnagar
district show that BJP has won 27 out of 27 seats. Out of these 24 are
Muslims who won on BJP tickets. When I asked Zafar whether this is
freak case or a firm trend of Muslims winning on BJP tickets, this is what
he replied:
In the 2012 elections, 31 per cent Muslims voted for BJP. In Asifa Khan’s
Bharuch areas, more than 35 per cent Muslims have voted for BJP and this
pro-BJP voting has taken place even where the Congress candidate was a
Muslim. Congress has lost even where the Muslim vote share ranged from
38 per cent to 62 per cent. In such decisive constituencies, a BJP Hindu has
won. Why? I have said this publicly that the media was mistaken about the
reasons for high poll percentage in the 2012 elections. The 75 per cent voter
turnout happened in Gujarat because the Muslim community came out in
large numbers to save Modi.
Before the 2012 assembly election, numerous Muslims had won on BJP
tickets inzila parishad,municipal, and panchayat elections.The Salayavillage
you mention is on the western coast. At one time, this area was famous for
smuggling and was one of the most neglected areas as far as economic and
infrastructuredevelopment is concerned. It hadnoelectricity, noroads. Modi
brought in an ambitious coastal development plan. In that area, there are a
lot of Muslim villages. You can see for yourself that the development activity
in the region included Muslim villages.
In the previous municipal elections, when five Muslim candidates won
on the BJP ticket in this area, it made a big impact on the entire community.
They felt that if BJP is bringing in so much economic development and also

giving them an opportunity to acquire political office, then why should they
stay out. This is why Salaya Muslims ensured victory of BJP in all the 27 seats.
The media has never celebrated the unprecedented victory of hundreds
of Muslims in panchayat, zila parishad, and nagarpalika elections on BJP
tickets. But they rave and rant endlessly about Muslims not being fielded in
assembly elections. Why are they so desperate for bad news from Gujarat? If
they don’t get bad news from the ground, they just cook it up! On February
13, 2013, the day the results of Salaya Municipal Corporation of Jamnagar
district were announced, NDTV’s Barkha Dutt had invited me to appear on
her programme, ‘The Buck Stops Here.’ It was meant to discuss the victory of
hundreds of Muslims in municipal elections on BJP tickets, especially Salaya
where, with a 95 per cent Muslim population, all 27 seats were won by the
BJP. Normally I appear on OB from Ahmedabad. But since that day I was in
Delhi, I offered to go to the NDTV studio for the show. But, at the last minute,
Barkha Dutt cancelled that show. Is it because the media, especially channels
like NDTV are determined never to let any good news about Gujarat come
to national attention?
The election results of zila parishads and Municipal Corporation counters
the propaganda that only urban Muslims have benefited from Modi’s
development agenda. These results clearly indicate that the rural Muslims in
erstwhile neglected areas have benefited far more and therefore are turning
towards BJP in a big way. In the panchayat elections, BJP has won more than
60 per cent of total seats. Out of 76 nagar palikas, the BJP won in 45. In 20 per
cent of the panchayats BJP and Congress are 50-50. Voters are not influenced
bymarketinggimmicks.Muslimsarevotingforapartytheyhavetraditionally
avoided only because they see the ground reality change dramatically in their
favour.
ThosewhoallegethatonlywealthyoreliteMuslimsaretiltingtowardsModi
shouldberemindedthatonlyasmallsuperelitegroupamongHindusinselect
metros is demonising Modi. This is all media manipulation. Modi has built
a very strong team of thinking and respected Muslims in Gujarat. However,
in my view, a certain number of Muslim candidates winning elections is far
less important than the economic development of Muslim community. When
some Muslims or Scheduled Castes (SCs) win elections and hold political
office, it does not necessarily lead to betterment in the life status of the entire
community, especially since too many of our elected representatives of all
communities start behaving like super maharajas without any sense of social

responsibility that many of the erstwhile maharajas held towards their praja.
When a certain number of Muslims or SCs win elections, political power
rests in the hands of select few but inclusive economic development raises the
status of the entire community, which can then negotiate with these power
holders from a position of relative strength. This is exactly what is happening
in Gujarat.
To call Modi a popular chief minister is an understatement, Modi’s
constituency loves him, the Congress may like it or not. They think that he is
bigger hero than Salman Khan (ye Salman Khan ka baap hai). I know some
very big Islamic scholars who said, “Vote for Modi. We need Modi. May Allah
save us if he loses! Who knows who will come if Modi loses!” (Modi ko vote do,
Modi chahiye, Allah khair kare,Ye haara kaun aayega pata nahin).
When 31 per cent of Gujarat Muslims voted for Modi in the 2012 elections,
they were accused of voting for BJP under fear. In 2002, Gujarat Muslims were
actually terrorised and yet they voted against Modi because our elections are
free and fair and there is provision for secret ballot. Do they mean Muslims
got terrorised in 2012 and therefore voted for Modi? Muslims voted for Modi
because they have tasted economic progress under Modi’s rule.
It is also a bogus charge that only wealthy Muslims have moved towards
Modi.ForthewealthyitmakesverylittledifferencewhethertheBJPisinpower
or the Congress. The big industrialists actually prefer a corrupt government
becausetheycanmanipulateitintheirfavour.Anhonestgovernmentbenefits
the ordinary citizen and poorer segments of society the most. Even if there
is a 200-day curfew in Ahmedabad, people like me are not worried about the
ration in my house or my children going hungry. But the poor Muslim who
sets up a hawker cart on the roadside or the one who drives a rickshaw or
taxi, his life is adversely impacted even if there is a two-day curfew. There will
be no ration in his kitchen. It is this segment of Muslims that has gravitated
towards Modi in larger numbers because the fruits of good governance and
a riot-free Gujarat have benefited them most. The BJP does not take Muslims
for granted. At every level BJP leaders are actively engaging with Muslims.
You feel important when a candidate comes to you and taps you on your
shoulder and says, “Boss, I have come to request you for your vote.” This gives
the community a much greater sense of dignity than merely having two-three
token candidates being given tickets at election time.
IwouldtrustanhonestHindumorethanadishonestMuslim.Wedon’twant
rubber stamp Muslims of the type the Congress has cultivated in the party

to blindly do its bidding. We prefer a person who does justice, even though
he may not be a Muslim. For the last 50 years, they have been making fools of
us by handpicking a few rubber stamps. We don’t want them anymore. Why
do you want to have a Ministry of Minority Affairs? You won’t give me my
basic rights as a citizen, but you promise me what is not my rightful due. You
promise me reservations, which you cannot give me as per the Constitution.
But when I say, please build a small primary school in my area, something
you can easily do, you Congressmen don’t do it!
The truth is that Modi has excellent personal relations with a number of
Muslims. He has built a very strong team of Muslims who work closely with
him. They are well educated and command the respect of the community.
They are not seen as bikau (saleable) types; they are not the kind who curry
personal favours and become courtiers. By contrast, the Congress Party is
today devoid of a credible team of Muslim leaders, not just in Gujarat but
also in the rest of India.
Tell me, do you see any serious Muslim faces in Rahul Gandhi’s team? Can
any one of Congress Muslims help it come to power in UP or Bihar? I am
convinced that the 2012 state elections, in which Muslims have openly voted
for Modi, will be a game changer for all of India. If the BJP projects Modi
as their prime ministerial candidate, I think Modi will have no difficulty in
convincing the rest of India, including Muslims, that he is their best choice.
The anti-incumbency factor affected some BJP MLAs who were poor
performers. There was no anti-incumbency against Modi. Since Congress
joinedhandswithRSS/BJPdefectorsKeshubhaiandWaghela,Modiwasputin
a tough situation. If he had not given tickets to these sitting MLAs, they would
have moved over to Keshubhai’s party and dented BJP’s vote. The Congress
thus managed to tie down Modi. Otherwise, he would have dropped the poor
performers among his MLAs and ministers.
The predicament of the Muslims was indeed pathetic till Modi changed
the scenario. The Congress used to take them for granted and did nothing for
them.Ontheotherhand,theBJPthoughtthatMuslimswerenotgoingtovote
for them, so why do anything for them? But Modi has adopted a pro-active
approach towards Muslims.
In pre-Modi days, the BJP did not have a single Muslim face in Gujarat.
Today, it has some of the most respected Muslims who stand up as BJP
spokespersons. It is the Congress, which has lost out on Muslim support
and doesn’t have a single credible face to defend the party. They only have

NGOs in Mumbai and Delhi to act as Congress mouthpieces. The Gujarat
Muslims can easily convince Muslims of other states about Modi’s credentials
because they have experienced the change and shared the fruits of peace with
economic development.

CHAPTER 18
One of the oft-repeated charges against Modi’s government
is that Muslims are being economically crushed in Gujarat due to
hostile political atmosphere and discriminatory government policies.
Even a touristic visit to Gujarat shows that the reality is completely at
variancewiththispropaganda.HotelierandsteelmerchantInamulIraqi’s
rags-to-riches story is symbolic of the rapid upward mobility among
Gujarati Muslims in post-2002 Gujarat.1
Iraqi started his life as a scrap
pickerfromgarbagewhilehisfatherwasapoormillworker.Toquotehim:
My father was a labourer in Jupiter Mill and we stayed in a small dwelling that
came with a rent of Rs. five per month. I have studied only up to class ten. I
began my current business about 12 years ago. But I started working at age 15
1 I met numerous such Muslims in both the rural and urban areas of Gujarat. In my
forthcomingbook,IwilldealwiththisissuefromthepointofviewofMuslimfarmers,
fishing communities, and other marginalised groups. But for the moment, I will let
urban Muslims describe the processes that helped them prosper.
Of Peace & Prosperity
Are Muslims Part of Gujarat’s Growth Story?
Equal opportunities are given only by an honest government…Most Muslims
are happy that Modi never uses divisive strategy of dangling this or that carrot
for a particular community, for Hindus or Muslims, but always addresses
himself to 6 crore Gujaratis…The wealthy know how to thrive under any and
every regime…The MNCs and corporates don’t care whether a country is
democratic or a dictatorship. But the real beneficiaries of peace and versatile
governance are the poor for whom new doors of opportunity are opened....Modi
does not play the politics of scarcities, which pitches one community against
another. He creates conditions of plenty so that everyone gets their due without
quarrelling with others.
Zafar Sareshwala, Ahmedabad based Entrepreneur

collecting scrap from streets. I used to go around on a cycle to collect small
pieces of iron scrap from roadside garbage, sort them out in my tiny shop, and
sell it to foundries. Later I switched over to a hand lorry and expanded my
business over time. In 1992, I managed to get an agency for selling pig iron.
In 2003-2004, I started my own foundry, followed by a second one in Rajkot
in the year 2006. In 2009, I purchased some hotels.
We are Sunni Muslims and our forefathers came from Iraq. But our family
has been in India for seven generations. We really consider it our good fortune
that our elders did not opt for Pakistan and we stayed on in India. My father
and his three brothers were also freedom fighters. Originally my family was
settled in UP. He later moved to Gujarat to explore business opportunities.
He used to work in a mill but managed to open a small shop for me to start
a business. Starting from that little iron scrap shop, I’ve built this business
empire in the last few years.
In 2002, Muslims were adversely affected. However, that the very same
Muslims, who had only Rs. 2 in their pockets at the time of the 2002 riots,
possess at least Rs. 5 today. That is their incomes have grown dramatically.
Gujarati Muslims are competent and intelligent. They know how to make use
of given opportunities. The community has prospered as never before.
Gujarati Muslims have always been business oriented. We are also open-
minded and tend to think big. Despite the 2002 riots, madrasa representatives
from all over India came to collect donations from Gujarat for the needy
Muslims in other states. But the country’s politics is dominated by UP and
BiharMuslims.Theyhavenootherworkbutpolitics.WhileGujaratiMuslims
areengagedinrealworkandgeneratingwealth,wehavenotconvertedpolitics
into a business. Unfortunately, Gujarat Muslims do not count for much in
national politics.
The day I met Inamul Iraqi he told me he was going to Kutch to supply a
material worth Rs 45 crore to a steel plant. In last two months alone, he
had done business worth 45 crores with them. According to Iraqi:
Muslims are prospering in Gujarat because Modi has tightened the law and
ordermachineryinsuchafirmandimpartialmannerthattrouble-makersdon’t
dare raise their head. In 2002, Modi didn’t even know what was happening.
But now he has full control over the law and order situation. His small and
compact cabinet also consists of people who think similarly and work like a
family. So the Party and government are not at loggerheads with each other.

A section of Muslims are unhappy with him because this CM doesn’t let
them get away with creating disturbances. For instance, over the issue of
insult to the Prophet in the US, political mischief-makers were all set to create
a riot but Modi handled them very firmly. Such devious elements among the
Muslims are unhappy with him but the Muslim community as a whole is very
pleased with him because he has also put down the trouble-makers within the
Hindu community. If someone from the Hindu community starts a ruckus,
there is bound to be reaction from the Muslim community as well. Sparks will
fly from both sides and the fires will start raging. That is why CM sahib has
always tried to put down such elements with a firm hand. The rabid elements
within Hindu community outfits are therefore not happy with this CM.
Hewantstoensurethatthereisnorepeatof2002.Ifhewasthedivisivekind,
all he had to do is to loosen the screws of both these groups and we would be
backtothedaysofrepeatedriots.Hehasagreatabilitytoenforcelawandorder
in an impartial way. Muslims have understood that their prosperity is linked
to a riot-free Gujarat which only this CM has ensured. Since the anti-social
elements among Muslims have been curbed with determination, it has taken
away the fear that Hindus had of Muslims and removed prejudices. That has
also helped business relations between the two communities.
Moreover, the Gujarat government has made it much easier for people
to do business and prosper by simplifying rules and regulations, making
government policy less convoluted and more transparent. You don’t need
political god-fathers to do good business in Gujarat. Those who want to do
honest business can prosper, no matter which community they belong to.
Riot Free, Education Oriented Growth
Similarly, Rajubhai, the Muslim taxi owner who drove me to Kutch says,
in 2001, he had just one old taxi. Today he owns a fleet of five taxis.
He could expand his business so fast because tourism, which was non-
existent till ten years ago, has grown manifold. A large proportion of
people who are running tour and travel services in Gujarat are Muslim.
He says:
I’ve been driving a taxi since the last 34 years.. In the year 2000, if someone
hired my taxi for sightseeing in Ahmedabad, we just had a couple of poorly
maintained places to show. It all got over in a couple of hours. But the
manner in which Modi ji has created new infra-structure and developed
historic sites, both Hindu and Islamic, makes not just Ahmedabad but all

of Gujarat, including its desert regions a tourist delight. There is so much to
see in Ahmedabad itself that tourists come in droves and stay long. Take the
example of Kankaria Lake. It had become a stinking and shrinking pool of
water surrounded by filth till Modi ji’s government revived it into a world
class tourist attraction. Families can now spend a whole day in that complex.
Under the Congress regime there were riots every year. Neither Hindus nor
Muslims could celebrate any of their festivals in peace. Every community felt
anxiousandworriedattheapproachoftheirfestivals becauseyoucouldnever
predict when a riot would break out. People would try to stock as much food
and other essential commodities as they could, out of fear that a riot might
break out any time. It wasn’t just a matter of fear-riots invariably broke out on
all occasions. Both Hindus and Muslims lived in that state of fear and anxiety.
There were riots on Hindu festivals as well as on Muslim festivals. If there
was Moharram there was danga (riot), if there was Rath yatra, there was a
danga. Be it Eid of Diwali, riots invariably accompanied such festivals. All
of us lived under fear psychosis and everyone tried to keep their homes well
stocked in advance because with each such episode of rioting- curfews would
last for days and sometimes go on for weeks. They drained away the savings
of poor Muslims and depressed their incomes. After 2002, Modi government
has brought such sukoon (peace) that we are actually breathing freely. Even
if a small incident happens in one mohalla, the next mohalla doesn’t even
get to know of it because such troublemakers are dealt with firmly. The Modi
government is extremely strict in this matter. As a result, everyone lives in
peace, everyone sleeps in peace.
The best thing I like about Modi sahib is that he has given tremendous fillip
toeducationinGujarat.Today,girlsfromtheMuslimcommunityarenotonly
attending schools but are taking up higher education in large numbers. This
has brought a new kind of upward mobility for Muslims. Earlier they would
puttheirchildrentoworkbyage14or15.NowMuslimchildrenarealsogoing
in for higher education. There has been a marked improvement in quality of
education in government schools in every village and kasba. Today Gujarat
is emerging as the No. 1 state in the field of education. My sons studied in
local schools and did well. One is an engineer in DELL Company. The other
son is preparing for the Indian Police Service. The third one has just passed
his class 12 exam.
BecauseMuslimenterprisesareprosperingasneverbefore,alargepercentage
of the working class has moved up in social ladder and become middle class.
The honest truth is that those who did not have Rs. 20,000 in 2008 are today

purchasing houses priced at Rs. 20-30 lakhs. Tell me what more evidence you
want of progress? Even the poorer Muslims are purchasing houses worth Rs.
five lakh in one installment.
Muslims Dominate Restaurants & Hotel Business
Such stories of rapid upward mobility among Muslims can be witnessed
in every city and town as well as villages of Gujarat. One visible sign of it
istheextremelyhighproportionofMuslim-ownedrestaurantsandhotels
on every highway, town, and city of Gujarat. These are mostly owned
by very hard-working and closely-knit community of Chiliya Muslims,
most ofwho comefromthe areaaroundModi’sown town, Vadnagarand
Palanpur. Their dialect of Gujarati is called Palanpuri.
Chiliya Muslims were traditionally into farming and sent out their
sons to work as taxi drivers or waiters in restaurants of Mumbai and
other cities of western India. In the last ten years, many of them have
returnedtotheirhomestateandopenedupadistinctchainofrestaurants
on every single highway and city of Gujarat and now spreading also to
neighbouring states of Rajasthan and Maharashtra. These are modern
swanky eateries, with air-conditioned dining halls-and not the kind of
lowly roadside dhabas you find in UP or Bihar.
Apart from their internal cohesiveness and ability to raise loans within
the community, what has helped Chiliya Muslims is the rationalisation
and transparency of government regulations in opening up of new
enterprises. Starting a huge restaurant on the highway requires not only
easing of regulations in acquiring land, but also simpler procedures
for land-use change. In most other states, this requires a combination
of political patronage and huge bribes. But several Chiliya Muslims
restaurant owners I talked to said that land-use change and restaurant
licenses now come easily within a couple of months through the due
process.
Since all Chiliya Muslim restaurants serve only vegetarian food, many
of my leftist friends had led me to believe that this was on account of
pressure from Hindu zealots. Since all of them have ‘Hindu sounding’
names, the leftists interpret it as a camouflage to avoid detection and
fear of attacks from Hindu rioters. In fact, when I first saw over 90
percent Hindu clientele in a Muslim owned vegetarian restaurant
named “Trupti” (meaning ‘satisfaction’) in Godhra, I thought this was
an exception. Therefore, I expressed my delight about it on Twitter. At

once, I got several counters from outraged “secularists” saying I was
insensitive to the fact that Muslims had been compelled to sell only
vegetarian food and seek shelter behind ‘Hindu’ names, indicating that
they were still living under terror.
However,aftertalkingtodozensofChiliyaMuslimrestaurantandhotel
owners during subsequent visits, I found that this paranoid description
was far from reality. This is the reason offered by Chiliyas for restricting
themselves to vegetarian food:
An overwhelming number of Gujaratis are strict vegetarians. They
would not even step into a restaurant serving meat or chicken. But they
have no hesitation about eating in a vegetarian restaurant owned by a
Muslim.Therefore,anon-vegrestaurantmakesfarlesseconomicsense,
especially since meat-eaters have no problem in eating vegetarian food.
In fact, Indian snacks are almost all vegetarian.
Many Chiliya Muslims themselves are vegetarian because they are
deeply embedded into Gujarati culture. Even if they eat meat, it is once
in a while, and is not a regular part of their daily diet.
Restaurants that serve mutton and chicken attract a lot of liquor-
consuming customers, especially truck drivers who like to spice up
their drinks with tandoori tikkas or butter chicken. Since most of these
restaurants are on the highway, there is more chance of drunkards
getting unruly after a few drinks.
Some owners also said that policemen fond of drinks and non-veg food
also descend on such restaurants expecting free meals.
As for the charge that they allegedly gave ‘Hindu’ names like ‘Swagat’
(Welcome), ‘Siddhi’(Perfection), ‘Jyoti’ (Light), ‘Panthi’ (Traveller)’,
‘Sarvoday’ (upliftment of all) to their establishments, the restaurant
owners I talked to looked puzzled at my question. To sum up the answers
I got: “These are Gujarati words and Gujarati is our mother tongue. That
is what we speak at home; that is the language we study in schools and
colleges. We neither read nor speak Urdu, nor have any emotional or
intellectual connect with it. Why do you consider Gujarati a Hindu
language? It is the language of all Gujaratis!”
Incidentally, all these words have their roots in Sanskrit and are
therefore common to almost all Indian languages, including Gujarati.
SincesectionsofBJPandRSSemphasisetheneedtopromoteSanskritand
have introduced it in their schools, for most leftists teaching of Sanskrit
is synonymous with “reactionary Hindutva.” The left “secularist” agenda

offorcingminoritiestoassert‘differentness’,evenwhereitdoesnotexist-
and of pushing them to abandon all the linguistic, cultural, social, and
historic bonds that unite religious minorities with the Hindu majority-
is acting as a divisive force and corroding millennia old samrasta and
bhaichara (brotherhood) bonds between Hindus and Muslims.
Key Indicators of Muslims Prosperity
Zafar Sareshwala, who I have quoted extensively in earlier chapters,
deserves to be heard again. He is first and foremost a businessman and
part of a versatile entrepreneurial community. Therefore, he has a keen
eye for the economic status of the Muslim community in Gujarat. He
challenges the assiduously built stereotype of Gujarati Muslims being
an economically deprived community with concrete facts and figures:
Muslims have never been as economically well off as they are today. Here are
some revealing indicators. Zakat is the easiest yardstick to judge a Muslim’s
wealth profile because you pay zakat as a certain percentage of your income.
The money collected as zakat is essentially used for helping meet the basic
needs of poor families. Suppose this year I paid Rs. 2,500 zakat, you can
immediately extrapolate that I am worth Rs 100,000. Next year if I pay Rs
5,000 zakat, it means my wealth has increased from one lakh to two lakhs.
Zakat has been continuously increasing in Gujarat year after year. In fact, you
will find that 50 percent of the zakat of madrasas across the country comes
from Gujarat and the balance 50 percent from the rest of India. If Modi had
destroyed Muslims, their share of zakat should have fallen. But in the last ten
years, the wealth of Muslims has increased.
I will give you other important indicator, that of BMW sales figures: We sell
BMW cars. The cheapest BMW is for Rs. 30 lakhs; the highest goes up to Rs.
1.5 crores. When we started the BMW dealership, we never thought that we
could sell more than two to five of these cars to Muslims. Last year, in 2011,
we sold 11 percent of our BMWs to Muslims. The population of Muslims in
Gujarat is 9 percent. This year again, we maintained that sales figure; we sold
about 59 BMWs to Muslims. How on earth did this wealth come to them? You
go to any Muslim dominated area in Ahmedabad or Bharuch, there is massive
constructionactivitygoingonthere.ThosewhosayMuslimsaremarginalised
or ghettoised, need to understand that to build a house even in a ghettoised
area, you need money. Land prices have risen tremendously in Muslim areas.
In a good housing society, you cannot find land for less than Rs. 50,000 per

square yard; it is higher than in any Hindu area. In Paldi, where we live, there’s
no bungalow for less than Rs. 5 crores. Muslims are buying these bungalows,
where has all this money come from?
It is alleged that only wealthy Muslims are pro-Modi. Think of it this way:
250 people earn their living from my business, out of which 230 are Muslims.
Similarly people say that Modi has given great benefits to Tatas. But 10,000
peoplearedirectlyemployedbyTatas,apartfromindirectemploymentcreated
due to the Tata plant. Do you think Tata employs only Hindus? Through the
VibrantGujaratSummit,ModibringsinfreshinvestmentsintoGujarat.Ithink
more than half of Gujarat’s households benefit from these new investments.
Equal opportunities are given only by an honest government. Modi has a
simple policy with regard to business and industries and everything revolves
around that policy. Whether you are black, white, Hindu, Muslim, whatever,
there are only two important criteria taken into account by the government:
the equation between the amount you invest and the number of jobs you
generate. His putting in place of a clear-cut single window clearance policy
for investments and enterprises has helped small entrepreneurs far more than
the big corporates. The latter manage to twist decisions in their favour with
ease through bribery and political influence with corrupt regimes. But the
small businessman suffers when corruption dominates policies and decision-
making.ThatiswhyinmostpartsofIndia,theSmallandMediumEnterprises
(SMEs)areincrisisandcollapsing.InGujarattheyaregrowingandflourishing.
Ambani’sRelianceIndustriesflourishedevenduringfull-blownlicense-quota
raj, as did the Tatas because they operate on a gigantic scale and can survive
bureaucratic crackdowns. But rule of law and a transparent policy which gives
a level playing field to all, benefits the small and micro enterprises most of all.
It is well known that most Muslim businessmen are concentrated in small,
medium, and micro enterprises. While their share in the overall population
is nine percent, their share in SMEs is proportionately far larger at about 22
percent. Today, Muslims in Gujarat don’t face any hassles or discrimination in
gettinggovernmentclearanceswhentheywanttosetupenterprisesinGujarat.
Otherwise Muslims could not have prospered as they have.
I know any number of Muslim entrepreneurs who were worth Rs. 50 crore
in 2002 but today they are worth Rs. 500 crore. Muslims are prospering at a
rate faster than the Hindus because most of the trades and occupations they
are engaged in are thriving due to political stability and encouragement of
small entrepreneurs and agriculture. Muslims are undergoing far more rapid
upward mobility than their Hindu counterparts.

Modi has a simple formula. All are equal before law. Take your rights as
citizens.Don’taskforthisorthatconcessionbecauseyouareHinduorMuslim,
or on the basis of your caste or community.
This reminded me of the time Mehbooba Mufti, the President of People’s
Democratic Party in Kashmir, made a statement in the National Security
Council that Muslims even from other states were finding Gujarat very
investmentfriendly.ShenarratedtheexampleofaHyderabadiorMalyali
Muslim having come back very elated after exploring setting up his new
business in Gujarat. But like Maulana Madni, she hastily disowned the
statement when she found it splashed in newspapers because she was
at once taken to task by the Congress and other “secular” parties. To
continue with Zafar’s account:
The growth rate of small and medium enterprises in Gujarat has been over 75
percent in the last decade. I will explain to you the reason for this. Small and
medium enterprises develop around big industry. For example, when Tata
brought in his Nano car plant, it created space for a lot of ancillary industries
for supplying parts to Tatas. A car company is basically an assembly unit.
They get brake pads from one source, the wipers from another. They need
hundreds of such components.
The Gujarat manufacturing model of growth is better than the IT model of
growth of Bangalore. In the IT model, if there are ten lakh employees, each
earning 30-40 lakhs per year-that salary goes straight to the bank. It does not
percolate much to the lower levels; their lifestyle benefits a limited number of
people. In the manufacturing sector every job creates ten additional earners.
It percolates down to the lowest level. When Modi brought in corporate
investment, it led to the growth of ancillary industries and to support the
ancillary growth, came small and medium enterprises. Gujarat was always
industryfriendly.Modididnotstarttheprocess;heonlyimprovedthesystems
to make it bloom.
In most Indian cities, industrial growth pockets have very slummy
conditions. Even in Delhi, the Okhla or Wazirpur Industrial Areas create
eyesores, plus wretched slums for the working class. Today Gujarat’s
industrial growth is not producing slum-like conditions. The Gujarat
Industrial Development Centre (GIDC) calls them “Industrial Clusters”.
The new ones developed during Modi’s regime-such as the automobile park-
are world class. Please go and see them. My own family belongs to the small

and medium enterprise sector. We are into manufacturing valves just as
numerous other Sunni Bohras are. We are a classic example of a small-scale
industry feeding in to large industry. There is no power shortage, no water
problem in Gujarat’s industrial areas. Roads are world class and the overall
infrastructure is growth friendly. Even sanitation is very good in these
pockets. Modi is not addressing this or that narrow or large constituency.
He is doing what India requires today.
Most Muslims are happy that Modi never uses divisive strategy of dangling
this or that carrot for a particular community, for Hindus or Muslims but
always addresses six crore Gujaratis. There is no need to talk of Muslims
separately. Tell me, when the American President talks, does he address the
Blacks, the Whites, Hispanics, Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese, or Koreans
separately? If he did that, it would take him hours just keeping a count of
diverse groups. He talks of all Americans. In my view, it is good that Modi
talks of and works for all Gujaratis. Muslims are quite capable of taking their
legitimate share from the opportunities created for all.
At the Gujarat Summit 2013, you yourself heard Modi talk at length about
giving encouragement to SMEs. The SME sector Modi was talking about is
largely a Muslim domain. You will find that every single Sunni Bohra owns
an SME and Modi is working very hard to create more SMEs. He has focused
on developing ITI (Indian Technical Institutes). Tell me which other chief
minister is paying so much attention to ITIs as does Modi? They all want an
IIM(IndianInstituteofManagement)orIIT(IndianInstituteofTechnology)
or an engineering college for the children of the elite. Modi goes beyond that
and works for ITIs. Who are the ones getting training in ITIs? It is mostly the
children of poor Muslims, from artisanal castes and classes. That is why we
tell Modi, please don’t do anything special in the name of Muslims, instead
do it for all. We will make sure we are included in “all” and get our share.
Likewise, I tell my community, you have to first get into the bus if you want
to reach your destination. If you don’t enter a bus how do you expect to reach
your destination?
IsayitbluntlytoallMuslims,ifyoudevelopyourtalentsanddeliverhonestly,
eventheAshokSinghalsofthisworldwillhavetogiveyouyourdue.Igivethis
example: If Ashok Singhal sahib had a helicopter for which he has to choose
fromtwoavailablepilots:ThefirstoneisaKashmirinamedMohammadKhan
who has 500 hours of flying experience and the second one is a Ganga Ram a
Brahmin from UP who has a mere 50 hours. You tell me in all honesty, who
will Ashok Singhal select for flying his helicopter?

When I took this BMW dealership during the surcharged atmosphere of
Gujarat, I was very apprehensive about our business prospects. We thought
that it is mainly upper caste Hindus who are likely to be buyers of such high-
priced cars. All of us three brothers are conservative bearded Muslims whose
identity is writ large on our faces. We wondered if Hindus would come to us
for buying cars. I say hats off to the Hindus of Gujarat, because so many of
them say, ‘We are going to buy from Mullaji’s showroom only.’ Meaning, we
have established our own unique brand as car dealers.
There was a time when if a Hindu in Mumbai needed a taxi for his wife or
daughter during late hours, he would prefer a Chiliya Muslim driver because
they were trusted for being upright and honest. I tell Muslims, become like
them and people will discriminate in your favour.
The benefit of Modi’s good governance and the development model is going
most of all to the poor. In fact, a large majority of poor is now part of the
middle class because they were given opportunities for quality education.
For example, there is all this fuss about Modi not utilising scholarship grants
sent by the Centre for the Muslim community. The Central government
is needlessly grilling Narendra Modi in the Supreme Court for his refusal
to create a special quota for Muslims in scholarships by the government.
But what Modi has done is far better. Let’s look at the figures. The Central
government’s contribution to the much-touted scholarship fund for Muslims
is Rs. 3.75 crores, while the state’s contribution is supposed to be Rs 1.25
crores. This is to be distributed among 55,000 Muslim students; it comes to
just over Rs. 900 per head per year. Is this a great bonanza to be tom-tommed
about? By contrast, the Gujarat government has its own scholarship scheme
for the economically weaker sections under which 63,000 Muslim students
have benefitted every year to the tune of about Rs. 2,600 each. Most Muslim
families and schools refuse to go for the Central government scheme because
it involves endless paper work and bureaucratic procedures for a paltry sum
of Rs. 900 per year. By contrast, Gujarat government’s three times larger
scholarship comes hassle-free because the processes have been simplified to
make it easily accessible.
Sachar Committee’s Certification to Gujarat
Even the Sachar Committee appointed by UPA government in 2005 to
assess the status of Muslims in different states of India clearly shows
that Gujarati Muslims are educationally and economically far better off

than Muslims in most other parts of India.2
Poverty, unemployment, and
illiteracy rate of Muslims was found to be much lower than the all-India
figure as well as in all Congress or Left-ruled states. For instance, when
the Central Government’s Labour Ministry’s latest figures disclose that
unemploymentrateinGujaratisamereonepercent,itindicatesthatthere
is negligible unemployment among Muslims. Infact, lakhs of Muslims
from UP, Bihar, Bengal, Orissa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala
etc. are employed in Gujarat. A state starts attracting huge quantities of
migrant manpower, only when it is growing fast and needs more workers
and professionals than are available within the state.
Theall-IndialiteracyrateforMuslimswas59.1percentwhileinGujarat
it was 73.5 per cent. 76 per cent of urban Muslims were literate in 2006
as compared to national average of 70 percent. In the rural areas, literacy
among Gujarati Muslims stood at 69 per cent as against the all-India
average of 59 per cent. Since then it has increased substantially because of
veryhighinvestmentsmadeinimprovingschooleducationandensuring
100 per cent enrollment of children. There are hardly any villages today
thatdonothaveaschoolwithineasyreach.GovernmentschoolsinGujarat
are functional because they have been provided with all the necessary
amenities such as airy, well-furnished class rooms, proper teaching
materials,computersandITenabledteaching,effectivecontrolsonteacher
absenteeism, systematic attempts to improve the caliber of teachers and
more. The system is being subjected to constant improvements.
As per the Central government appointed Tendulkar Committee
report which conducted a state-wise comparison of poverty rates
in 2011-2012 among Muslims in rural India, the corresponding
figure of poor Muslims all over the country was 26.9 per cent . The
report ranked Gujarat at the lowest with 7.7 per cent poor Muslims .
The proportion of poor Muslims in Maharashtra was 28.6 per cent, Bihar
and UP 34 per cent, Assam 40.2 per cent, West Bengal 23.9 per cent, and
Orissa 28.4 per cent.
2 The Sachar Committee was meant more as a political gimmick than a serious exercise
in understanding the social and economic status of Muslims in India. It has followed
questionable research methodology. However, even as per this report, Gujarat’s
Muslims are far ahead of Muslims of states ruled by the Congress, the Left or socialist
parties. For a critique of the Sachar Committee Report , see D.L Sheth “Minority
politics: the shifting terms of policy discourse”, Seminar, October 2009 . Web. http://
www.india-seminar.com/2009/602/602_d_l_sheth.htm.

As far as government jobs are concerned, with a Muslim population of
9.1percent,GujaratiMuslimsheld7.9percentofhigher-levelgovernment
jobs in Gujarat. By contrast in the Left citadel of Kerala, 24.7 per cent
Muslims held 7.3 per cent high-status government jobs; 10.6 per cent of
Maharashtra Muslims held just 1.9 per cent; Delhi’s 11.7 per cent held
mere 4 per cent; Karnataka’s 12.2 per cent Muslims held 2.1 per cent;
Assam’s 30.9 Muslims percent held a mere two percent of high level
government positions. All these are Congress ruled states.
The average per capita income of rural Muslims in Gujarat at Rs. 668
was higher than that of rural Hindus at Rs. 644. The figures for Bihar
were Rs. 426, Bengal Rs. 501, UP Rs. 509, and Andhra Rs. 610. Similarly,
percapitaincomeamongurbanMuslimsofGujaratatRs.875washigher
than in the other states of India. It was Rs. 748 in Bengal and Rs 551. in
Bihar.TheSacharCommitteedataalsoshowsthatthefinancialhelpmade
available to Muslims through various government welfare schemes is far
higher in Gujarat than in most other states as also their representation in
industry, trading, manufacturing, and service sectors.
As far as poverty among urban Muslims is concerned, Gujarat’s rate is 5th
lowest in the country with 14.6 per cent Muslims covered in the category of
the poor. By contrast, Delhi has 33.5 per cent, Maharashtra 15.6 per cent,
UP36.4percent,WestBengal35.5percent,Karnataka24.5percent.Bihar’s
graph stands tallest at 51.1 per cent. The all-India average is 22.7 per cent.
Making Quotas & Reservations Redundant
SincealargepercentofMuslimsarefromartisanalcommunitiesengaged
in handicrafts and micro-industries , they have benefitted most from
the massive investments made by the government in skill development
programmes. To continue with Zafar’s narrative :
The Gujarat government had set up a Vocational Guidance Bureau for 30
years without producing any results. But Modi has invested heavily into skill
development and higher education. In 2001, there were just 11 universities in
Gujarat; Today Gujarat has 44 universities. This happened within ten years.
In 2002, there were 2,500-3,000 seats for engineering, now there are 55,000.
Muslims, including those from humble families, have been quick to take
to newer courses in higher education, even though earlier Muslim families
were reluctant to spend on higher education. This is because most of them are
directly linked to new professions.

I recently met a young Muslim who is doing a Ph.D. from IIM, though he
is from a poor family. He said on camera, “Modi sahib has made education
accessible even for poor Gujaratis. There was a time when Ahmedabad people
had to go to other states to study. Now there are ten engineering colleges in
Ahmedabad itself. That is why I got admission in my home city very easily.” His
family could not have afforded to send him to a private engineering college in
some other state.
The fee in government engineering colleges in Gujarat is around Rs. 15,000
peryearwhereasitisRs.50,000-55,000inRajasthan’sgovernmentruncolleges
– that makes it nearly four times higher. Colleges in Andhra, Maharashtra,
Karnatakaetcareevenmoreexorbitant.Everycommunityhasbenefitedfrom
this massive expansion in educational opportunities.
Those who had to pay lakhs of rupees to study in other states can now stay
at home and pursue higher studies. In our society, whether you are a Hindu or
a Muslim, most parents are reluctant to send their daughters to live in hostels.
They say that if you can get admission within the city then it is fine, but we
don’t want to send you to far away states. Now many Muslim girls have begun
studying medicine and engineering because they can get admission in local
colleges. Today even the children of lower middle class Muslims can afford to
send their sons and daughters to study engineering, medicine, or IT.
Since the Gujarat government has put an end to the policy of maintaining
scarcity of seats in professional colleges, there is no need for reservations
and quotas. There are so many surplus seats in our professional colleges that
many go unclaimed. In 2012, there were 55,000 seats for engineering. At the
end of admissions there were 5,000 seats to spare after all the seats were filled
up by the residents of Gujarat. Muslims are getting far better educational
opportunities in Gujarat today than in other states, without need for quotas.
Modi does not play the politics of scarcity, which pitches one community
against another. He creates conditions of plenty so that everyone gets their
due without quarrelling with others.
Similarly, the poor Muslim who sits on the footpath as a street vendor or
who drives an auto rickshaw has benefitted most from riot-free Gujarat with
rule of law firmly in place.
Having been involved for the last 20 years with the battle for legalising
the status of street vendors, it was satisfying to find safe hawking zones in
several towns and cities in Gujarat. Asifa introduced me to a large group
of Muslim street vendors of Ahmedabad who had gone in a delegation to

Narendra Modi when the area around an ancient temple in which they
operate was to undergo major beautification and redevelopment. Modi
notonlypromisedthattheywouldnotberemovedbutalsomadesurethat
the development plan of the area includes dignified and improved legal
spaces for street vendors. He told them that Gujarat would be creating
best possible arrangements for hawkers. I hope to follow up on the actual
outcome of this promise in the coming months.
To continue with Zafar’s account:
Those who are wealthy, don’t even go to vote, it is the poor man who votes. The
31percentMuslimpopulationthathasvotedforModibelongsoverwhelmingly
tothepoorersections.ThewealthierMuslimsarestillembarrassedaboutvoting
for the BJP. Recently, I decided to go and see for myself what was happening in
Saurashtra.MyfamilyandItraveledbyroadthroughthevillagesallthewayupto
Gir,takingstopsatRajkotandJamnagar.Iwasquitesurprisedthatthereisapro-
ModiwaveeveninJunagarh,intheheartofVisavadar,whichistheconstituency
of Keshubhai Patel. A political leader becomes a hero for ordinary citizens only
because he has done something good for people, made their lives better, not
because he is glamorous or a macho man. The roads in the area are beautiful
includingthosethatreachinteriorvillages.RightuptoJunagarh,therearesixlane
roads.Mywifewasaskingme,“Kachemakaannahihainyahanpar?”Arethereno
mudhousesinthesevillages?)Wecouldnotbelievethetransformationofasmall
town like Junagarh in such a short period. It has now become quite prosperous.
You don’t see the usual rundown homes that exist in small towns of India. We
found rows and rows of new well-built houses with modern civic amenities. We
did not see piles of garbage that are typical of most Indian towns and cities.
TheSakkarbaghZoosetupbytheerstwhileNawabofJunagarhin1963,was
at one time very famous. But then it fell on bad days. In the last ten years, this
zoo has also been restored to its full glory. Last year they celebrated its 150th
anniversary. My kids did not want to go to the zoo, because they had seen the
zoo in Mumbai and London but did not find either of them worth the visit.
When they went and saw the Junagarh Zoo, my daughter told me, “Daddy,
unbelievable, we would have missed something so exceptional and regretted
it all our lives had we not come with you.” You have to see it to believe it. They
have created a wonderful eco-system for the lions, the tigers, hippopotamus,
ostriches and other animals. The place is now both clean and aesthetic. The
animals are healthy because they get proper professional care. There was no

stink and filth that you normally find in Indian zoos. It was a reflection on the
kindofpeoplewhohavebeenselectedtomanagetheplace.Eventhezooguide
was very well qualified; a trained zoologist, very professional, very efficient.
When the man at the top is efficient, good administration percolates down
to the very bottom. I always believe in the dictum, jaisa raja vaisi praja. Jaisa
chief minister ya prime minister, uska reflection hota hai neeche (the quality
of citizens depends on the quality of rulers).
I asked the man whom we had hired as a driver for our Gir visit, as to why
they are pro-Modi since that area used to be a stronghold of Keshubhai Patel.
He replied, ‘If Modi had not emerged, we would have remained crushed.’ See
in that area, Patels are the dominant community. Most others are from the
much poorer Durbar community.
Modi has made a difference to the lives of those who did not have land or
old business networks. It is not as if Modi gave them doles. For example, this
driverfromtheDurbarcommunitysaid,“EarlierIusedtodriveajeepandearn
Rs. 5,000 a month. But ever since Modi launched his “Khushboo Gujarat Ki”
campaign with Amitabh Bachchan to promote tourism in the state, there has
been a phenomenal increase in tourist inflow even in our area. Me and several
otherswhousedtomigrateforjobsoutsidethevillagehavenowsetupourown
tourist resorts in the village. Today, I don’t have to go out to earn a small salary
in other people’s employment ; I run a successful resort on my own farm.”3
The Gir forest has been there for centuries. But who knew about it? Since
Modi built world-class infrastructure right up to the interiors, restored old
monuments, and launched an innovative tourism campaign, Gujarat has
suddenly emerged as a prime tourist destination. Today 50 percent of tourist
inflow of India is coming to Gujarat, which had a negligible presence on the
touristmaptenyearsago.Thishasbroughtunprecedentedprosperityforboth
Hindus and Muslims.
The wealthy know how to thrive under any and every regime. The multi-
national corporations know how to go and do business even in the jungles of
Africa but the poor man, the petty entrepreneur can rise in life only under
a regime that provides pro-people governance and does not discriminate
between different groups of citizens. The MNCs and corporate don’t care
whether a country is democratic or a dictatorship. But the real beneficiary
of peace and versatile governance are the poor for whom new doors of
opportunity are opened.
3 I followed up this story and visited this and other villages in Gir forest and hope to
share what I saw and heard in another book.

Hindu Hriday Samrat or
New Mehmood Gaznavi of India?
The Myth Versus the Reality of Hindu-Muslim
Relations in Gujarat
The media prefers talking to those who have made commerce out of other
people’s problems. I call such people merchants of misery – Our country would
be far more peaceful, and inter-community relations would return to being
amicable, if their shops would shut down.
I remember the words of Maulana Azad who pleaded with the Muslims who
opted for Pakistan, not to give up their watan, their homeland. He had said that
after Hazrat Ali, the fourth Khalifa of Islam, no one has succeeded in uniting
Muslims on the basis of Islam. Culture and language are far greater binding
factors than religion….
Zafar Sareshwala
CHAPTER 19
While Modi’s popularity among the people of Gujarat, including
Muslims,ispalpable,itisanopensecretthatModifacesagreatdeal
ofoppositionwithintheSanghParivar.Ahmedabad-basedbusinessman,
ZafarSareshwalasharessomeinsightsintowhytheHinduHridaySamrat
(the monarch of Hindu hearts) evokes so much anger among members of
outfitslikeBajrangDal,prominentleadersoftheVishwaHinduParishad,
and certain sections within the BJP and RSS:
Modi has brought about a sea change in the attitude of party leaders and grass
root workers of BJP by setting his own example. But there are disgruntled
elements in BJP, who are not happy with this. They are the ones who complain
ofModibeingadictator.ButmostofallitistheVishwaHinduParishad(VHP),
Bajrang Dalis, and sections of the RSS who are up in arms against Modi. Some

months ago, I was in a TV debate and found the whole RSS brigade raving and
ranting against Modi. Then suddenly when Modi won, they said this is the
victory of our ideology. I said on TV, no, it is not your victory. It is not your
ideology that won. This is Modi’s victory. You were hell bent on getting him
defeated! I told them to their faces, you people were there to destroy him, you
were working against him.
LetmegiveyouanexampleofRSSelementsbeingatloggerheadswithModi.
I stay in Paldi, which is where well off and high profile Muslims have bought
houses. We are very small in number, maybe five per cent of the total voters
in that area. It has been a traditional BJP bastion and has been anti-Congress
for years. Haren Pandya was a famous MLA of Paldi. This time, the Gujarat
Parivartan Party (GPP) of Keshubhai Patel (former BJP chief minister and
RSS man) had fielded Haren Pandya’s wife, Jagruti Pandya, as its candidate
against the BJP candidate. GPP’s pamphlet asked: “How come in Modi’s raj
Muslim population is increasing in Paldi, which is a Hindu area? How come
in Modi’s raj there are shops selling beef and eggs in Paldi? How come there
is cow slaughter in Modi’s raj?”
Muslimsarenotfools, they votevery decisivelybecause they feltthatletting
the Congress win is as good as bringing in a Togadia regime. Riots alone were
not the only troublesome period for Muslims. I am talking of the Gujarat of
1990s when there was no Modi, there was no BJP. At that time, Togadia was
theonewhoruledGujarat.ForgetaboutMuslims,noHinduatthattimecould
open a non-vegetarian restaurant in Gujarat.
Muslims were so terrorised that with my beard I could not dare to venture
into an elite 100 per cent Hindu area like Bopal. We felt afraid of going and
watching a movie in one of the drive-in theatres in Hindu areas even during
periodsthathadnoriots. Therewasterrorin theatmosphereduring Congress
regime because of the dominance of VHP and Bajrang Dal.
Atthattime,Modiwasnowhereonthescene.IrememberinHarenPandya’s
election meetings, he used to start with two statements. First he would say,
“Agar yahan musalman hai to chale jaanye, wo meri baat nahi sun payenge.”(If
there are Muslims in this meeting, they should leave. They will not be able to
stomachwhatIamgoingtosay.)Hewouldstartwiththisandendwith,“When
I come to power, I will drive away all the Muslims from here to Juhapura.”
OneofthebestthingsModididwastomarginaliseanddefangtheVHPand
Bajrang Dal because they were the main troublemakers. Modi never attacks
them verbally. But he is making sure they do not get away with riots and
mayhemonanyissue.Forexample,whenanygovernmentwantstoundertake

development work, such as widening roads or providing drainage, one of the
biggest hurdles are illegal encroachments on public land. A large part of such
encroachments are undertaken by vested interests that build mandirs or set
up mazars on public land. This is the easiest way to occupy public land for
freebecausegovernmentsareafraidtotouchreligiousstructures.Gujaratalso
had hundreds of such mandirs. Most governments are afraid of taking action
because such elements are able to mobilise religious sentiment and create a
crisisfortheadministration.In2006-2007,whentheModigovernmentstarted
major infrastructure projects, including widening of roads, they were faced
withdecades-oldillegalencroachmentsinmanycitiesincludingAhmedabad,
Baroda, and Surat. Some people had built multi-storied structures on public
land.Somanygovernmentscameandwentbutnonedaredtouchthesepeople.
But Modi gave full power to municipal officers to remove all unauthorised
encroachments be they mandirs, dargahs, or private buildings. So they went
ahead and bulldozed 280 such illegal temples. At that time five dargahs in
Baroda also came in for clearance operation. To save those dargahs, even I
was taken to Modi by my own community members. Modi asked a simple
question, “if you say this land is in your legal possession for 100 years, please
producedocumentaryevidence.”Theycouldnotdoso.Therefore,bycommon
consent, Muslims removed that dargah on their own.
During those days, prominent netas of the VHP called Modi the new
Mehmood Gaznavi who has come to destroy Hindu temples. Ashok Singhal,
Pravin Togadia, etc. abused Modi all over the place. But he did not respond
to their provocative abuses. He simply went about his business letting it be
known loud and clear, through his firm actions, that the government would
not tolerate disruption of law and order. Their ranting and protests did not
evoke any popular response. Modi faced a tough situation in disciplining the
administration in the first two years. After that he had a fine grip on it all and
could deliver what he promised or set out to do.
Similarly, when Advani sahib went to Pakistan and announced at Jinnah’s
mazar that Jinnah was a “secular” leader, there was uproar all over India,
as also in Gujarat. When Advani was scheduled to visit Gandhinagar,
his parliamentary constituency, the VHP/Bajrang Dal had planned big
demonstrations against him. Even though Modi was not in agreement with
Advani’s certification of Jinnah as a “secular” statesman, and these protests
suitedhimpolitically,hemadesurethatVHPlumpensdidnotsucceedintheir
disruptivelawlessdemonstrations.Forhim,itwasamatterofensuringlawand
order. When it comes to rule of law, he does not spare his own party people.

It goes to Modi’s credit that, even though after 2002, a series of provocative
incidentshappenedinGujarat-forexample,intheAkshardhamterroristattack
36 Hindus were killed, but there was no Hindu retaliation. He took a very
tough stand. After that, in 2006 and 2008, a series of bomb blasts occurred in
eight to ten cities of Gujarat including Ahmedabad, Surat, and Baroda. Many
people lost their lives but Modi did not let the situation boil over. Mischief
mongers were kept under tight control. There were seven-eight bomb blasts
in Ahmedabad itself. That could have led to a big backlash but again he took
a very firm stand.
Rajat Sharma, who at one time was a BJP insider, but now claims to have
distanced himself, said the same:
Though Modi is projected as the poster boy of Hindutva, the truth is that the
VHP/RSS hate Modi because they feel that this man does not allow police to
help them or court cases be influenced in their favour. He does not allow them
to rule the show, does not allow any more riots–they can’t attack Muslims
anymore and yet he has become Hindu Hriday Samrat, while they are being
treated as riffraff. A section of the RSS hates him because he doesn’t kowtow
to them nor let them interfere in governance.
Zafar’s perceptive observation about the defanging of mischief mongers
has been endorsed by Muslims in diverse regions of Gujarat during the
course of interviews with me:
It is noteworthy that Praveen Togadia of Vishwa Hindu Parishad makes all his
foul speeches in Hyderabad, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, or U.P. All these states
are ruled by the Congress Party and its proclaimed secular allies. Why doesn’t
he have the courage to come and make those speeches in Gujarat? From 2002
till date, no one has had the guts to give this kind of hate speech in Gujarat.
He knows that if he says anything like that here, within 24 hours he will be
seen grinding a chakki in Sabarmati jail.
Togadia spews venom without any consequences in Congress-ruled states
and has not yet been arrested even once. It has been months since his hate
speeches in Maharashtra but the Congress government is saying that they are
still looking into what he said. Is this not a sign of willful encouragement?
Some months ago, one of the Urdu newspapers Nai Duniya had the
following headlines: “Togadia mei himmat ho to jo Hyderabad mein kaha hai

wo Ahmedabad mein keh ke dikhaaye, Modi uski taange tod dega.” (If Togadia
has any guts, he should go to Ahmedabad and say what he said in Hyderabad,
Modi will break his legs).
It’s not like Togadia sahib did this for the first time. In Gujarat, Togadia,
Haren Pandya, and Zadaphia routinely made hate speeches during earlier
regimes. These three were famous for pouring venom. Modi has never made
any such speeches. His opponents try to prove his anti-Muslim bias by flimsy
charges such as his sarcastic way of addressing former Pakistani President
responsible for the Kargil war as ‘Miyan Musharraf.’ But “Miyan” is not a term
of abuse, and referring to a Pakistani general who was responsible for Kargil
war with a touch of sarcasm is no big crime.
As far as Gujarati Muslims are concerned, the tide had started turning in
favour of Modi after 2007. But not many prominent Muslims dared to come
out openly for fear of being attacked by the secular brigade as well as rabid
Muslim leaders. Among the first ones to step out of line, and in Modi’s favour,
was Maulana Vastanvi, a well-respected Islamic scholar and educationist.
ItiswellknownthatMaulanaVastanvi’sMadrasa,with400studentsinside,
wassavedonlyduetoModi’stimelyintervention.Assoonashegotacallabout
an impending attack on this madrasa, Modi sent forces and ensured that no
harmcametoanyofthestudents.Moreover,VastanviishimselffromGujarat.
So he knows the Gujarat story first hand. He was the first person from Gujarat
tobeappointedthevicechancellorofDeobandUniversityin130years.Itwasa
historicevent.Duringhisconversationwith TheTimesofIndiacorrespondent
after taking charge of Deoband in 2011, Gujarat also came up for discussion.
Vastanvi was asked to comment on the progress being made in Gujarat. He
merely said that Gujarat was progressing well and the Muslims were equal
partnersinthestate’sgrowthandadvancement.Thecorrespondentthenasked
him whether people should forget the 2002 riots. Vatsanvi replied that nine
years have passed since the riots. It is time to forget those and move on. These
were the only two statements that he made. Tell me, are they factually wrong?
And yet a huge furore was created by media as well as the establishment of
Deoband. They could not tolerate the fact that the vice chancellor of Deoband
dare say a mild word in praise of Modi’s development work.
But, Vastanvi refused to submit his resignation and said they would have to
dismiss him. So a meeting of the Shura (Governing Council) was called. There
were13personsontheShura–sixvotedagainstVastanvi,onepersonremained
neutral and five voted for him. Vastanvi did not take part in the voting. The
persons who voted in favour of Vastanvi were the top ulema of India. The fact

that five eminent Muslim scholars voted in favour of Vastanvi’s statement was
overlooked by the media which only broadcast anti-Vastanvi hysteria.
He is is basically an educationist. He runs a chain of madrasas and every
madrasa of his has a regular school and technical institute attached to it. He
teaches computers in his madrasa as well as English and mathematics. Plus
he runs a science college, an engineering college, and a pharmacy college. He
is now setting up a medical college in Aurangabad. The institutions set up
directly by him provide education to over 2 lakh students. Finally, they forced
him to retract his statement about Modi and compelled him to quit Deoband.
Vastanvi’s quitting is Deoband’s loss more than his. He had to buckle under
pressure from the Congress Party because all his educational institutions are
outside Gujarat or mostly in Congress-ruled states.
But due to the collective efforts of BJP with Modi in the lead, there has been
a serious change of heart among the Muslims. The inclusive growth model, a
secure atmosphere for Muslims, total absence of terror that they earlier lived
under, the government upholding the rule of law, series of convictions of
politicians responsible for riots, and a lot of other pro-active measures have
made Muslims gravitate towards the BJP.
It seems to me that only three kinds of people are left opposing Modi:
1) The distantly placed armchair critics-who are outside Gujarat-sitting in
say, England, America, Delhi etc. All they do is to send press releases and
postcommentsonsocialnetworkingsites.Butourmediagivesenormous
importance to them. For example, the Council of Indian Muslims in
England has condemned its own patron, Lord Adam Patel, for meeting
Modi. They also condemned the British government because the British
ambassador also came to meet Modi.
Most of these people outside the country have no live connection with
India, and judge on the basis of what they read in the media. They don’t
visit India as regularly as does Lord Patel. Justice demands that you
judge things on merit, not through partisan propaganda. India gave
even a Pakistani terrorist like Ajmal Kasab, who was caught on camera
massacring people during Mumbai attacks, full opportunity to defend
himself in court in deference to the constitutional right given to every
accused. But they will never give credit to India for this.
Theydon’tcomeandcheckoutforthemselvesbutarebusycondemning
Modi because that has become a politically fashionable thing to do. But
they will never condescend to ask me why I am engaging with Modi? I
was their hero when I was opposing Modi. Why don’t they extend me

the courtesy of asking why I felt compelled to change my mind? I have
become a pariah with several fatwas issued against me..
2) The second variety of Modi opponents are Muslim intellectuals and
self-styled leaders living in other states of India. I can’t understand how
people claim to be “intellectuals” but do not display the integrity to at
least visit Ahmedabad, if not all of Gujarat, before making statements
against Modi’s relations with Muslims. They advise us Gujarati Muslims
from T.V. studios in Delhi and Mumbai as to how we should conduct
our affairs in Gujarat. Muslim intellectuals like Shahbuddin sermonise
throughnewspapersbymerelypostinga‘lettertoModi’inthemedia!By
contrast,LordPatelwentandmetModitodiscussmattersconcerningthe
Muslim community. If you are really concerned about 75 lakh Muslims
of Gujarat, then go meet Modi. You write one letter in a newspaper, come
on T.V debates, and expect all your sins to be forgiven? ( Ek khat likh
diya,T.V ke debate mein aa gaye aur sab gunah maaf?)
3) As far as the third group of anti-Modi NGO’s like that of Teesta Setlavad
and Shabnam Hashmi are concerned, I have no complaint against them
because they have opened shops and made a lucrative business out of it.
But now the tide is turning. The Gujarat Vibrant Summit of 2013 saw world
leaders from 121 countries participate and sing songs in praise of Modi. The
Britishgovernmenthasstartedengagingactively.TheEuropeanUnionleaders
are struggling to find ways of cosying up to him. Modi did not go wooing any
one. They are coming to him in droves. You must have seen recent reports
of the current German ambassador meeting Modi. He was all praise for the
Gujarat model of development. But some years ago, a German delegation of
MPsbelongingtotheChristianDemocraticPartysupposedlyvisitedGujarat.
We never got the slightest whiff of that visit-they never met any of us who
are working for the Muslim community. But this delegation went and held a
press conference in Delhi saying that Muslims and other minorities are facing
terrible persecution in Gujarat. We challenged them saying, “Who are you to
speakonourbehalf?Evenifthereisaproblem,itisourinternalmatter.Infact,
you owe us an explanation; tell us who you met when you came to Gujarat?
Tell us, which Muslim groups you met when in Gujarat? Where all did you
go? If you were in Ahmedabad, why were we community leaders excluded?”
We wrote a formal protest to them saying all this but never got a response.
Therefore, we did our own investigation and found out that they did not meet
anyMuslims.ThereissomeChristiangroupheadedbyFatherCedricPrakash,

which had invited this delegation to Ahmedabad. There have been no attacks
onChristiansduringModi’sregime.ButtheyusedtheshouldersoftheMuslim
community to fire guns at Modi. This group was upset about a bill on religious
conversions because it would restrict the operation of Christian missionaries
involved in conversions. Modi government has never put any restrictions on
Christian schools or other institutions.
I wrote a letter to the then German ambassador asking him whether what
thedelegationsaidinthepressconferenceisthestatedpositionoftheGerman
government. If so, who has given them the right to speak on our behalf? Don’t
tell us how India should handle its internal affairs. If we have any problems,
we are capable of sitting together and resolving them. The Ambassador never
replied to my letter. But we organised a press conference and spoke openly
against the conduct of the German delegation. Now the Germans have woken
up to the reality of Gujarat and are trying to woo Modi.1
At one time, Lord Patel had sent a congratulatory letter to the German
parliamentary members saying they did a good job in favour of Muslims by
attackingModi’sgovernment.ItwashisCouncilofMuslims,whichhadhelped
me in 2002 to file a case against Modi in the International Court of Justice. In
2002, he was leading the battle against Modi from the front. He had earlier
condemned me for starting the process of engagement with Modi.
Butseehowhehashadtochange.DuringhisannualGujaratvisitin2013,he
soughtanappointmentwithModiandcongratulatedhimonhisachievements.
He also extended an invitation to Modi to come to London as his guest. Modi
sahib treated him with great warmth and deference, completely overlooking
alltheearlierattacksonhimleveledbyLordPatelandhisCouncilofMuslims.
This meeting is very significant-Patel is a very wise and respected man and
noonecansaythemanis“soldout”,HedoesnotliveinIndia,nordoeshehave
any remaining relatives in Gujarat. But he has a deep emotional connection
withHindustan.HeisfromBharuchdistrictofGujaratandvisitshisancestral
village every year. Normally, a man of such high stature does not change his
public posture because it is a blow to one’s ego. But his yearly Gujarat visits
over the last ten years must have convinced him that there is good reason to
revise his opinion. So he decided to meet Modi.
1 The US Government has also had to climb down from its high horse and end its
official boycott of Narendra Modi’s government with US ambassador Nancy Powell
personally visiting Gandhinagar for a meeting with Narendra Modi on February 13,
2013 after his reported refusal to a dinner invitation by Powell.

I asked Zafar whether there was trace of bitterness in Modi’s attitude
towards Lord Patel?
When you see photographs of that meeting, you will see for yourself how
relaxed and pleasant the atmosphere was. In fact, Patel openly said that even
ifMuslimshavesomedifferenceswithModi,theyshouldsitdownwithhimto
resolve them. He was the first Muslim to openly criticise Wharton University
of the US for cancelling Modi’s lecture through video conferencing.
To quote from Lord Patel’s letter:
Wharton’s refusal to Narendra Modi weakens free speech and the quest for
justice in 2002 riot cases… In order to listen to someone, one does not need
to be an ardent follower or a bitter critic… Freedom of expression knows
no boundary. The more we listen to people and ideas, the more enriched we
get. When an educational institution gets prescriptive on the kind of speech
one can and cannot listen to on the campus, it kills intellectual freedom, a
democraticideathattheU.S.A.,India,andtheU.K.havecherishedfromtimes
immemorial…Cancelling lectures will not help, in fact it will present Modi-
baiters in [a] poor light that they have extinguished all points of reason and
debatetohavehadtoresorttosuchanaction…AsaGujaratimyself,Iconsider
it to be a gross insult that the chief minister of my state, however wrong one
may feel he is, cannot express his views at a global forum, such as the one in
Wharton, because a few in the audience don’t like him…. The biggest need of
the hour is to ensure justice for those who lost their lives in the unfortunate
violence in 2002…Convictions in 2002 riot cases were moving faster than any
other post-riot convictions anywhere in India…But if people feel shunning
Modi is the best way to achieve their ends, they are mistaken. In fact, by
opposing Modi’s visit to Wharton, they are only strengthening the hands of
the enemies of justice, while at the same time, they are doing a great disservice
to the process by which justice and closure may be achieved in Gujarat…
Zafar says, “This marks a major shift in Muslim opinion. Salim Khan
once said to me, ‘Is Modi’s victory in Gujarat elections not the wish of
Allah? If Allah wants Modi to be the prime minister then the efforts of
those obstructing his path will not succeed.’” But Zafar admits that the
battle remains an uphill task because:

Anti-Modi sentiment continues to be orchestrated by the media as the
definitive truth, irrespective of of what the people of Gujarat or courts say.
Positive developments about Gujarat are never covered by the media. All that
I am telling you, I have narrated the same things to numerous journalists,
including those of the prime time T.V channels, like Rajdeep Sardesai and
Sagarika Ghosh. But no one pays heed. You know how it is with TV channels;
they trap you in their own questions. They only want to project those who
abuse Modi.
In 2007, in the heat of the very bitter elections-those were the “maut ka
saudagar” days-NDTV called us for a special show against the backdrop of
the Reliance refinery. When I went there, I was zapped. They had divided the
participants into two distinct groups–one was supposed to be pro-Modi and
the other anti-Modi. The cameras were going to roll in few minutes and there
I was put in the pro-Modi group.
This way of reducing every issue into a caricature of school debating
societies–one team ‘for’ and the other ‘against’ has played an important
role in dumbing down political debate in India. It inevitably polarises
every issue and prevents realistic appraisal. Why did Zafar not insist
that NDTV change the seating arrangement, I asked? He describesd his
predicament of that day:
I was made to sit with pro-Modi group along with BJP, VHP, Bajrang Dalis.
On the ‘anti’ side were Congressis and NGO’s working for the Congress. I was
very uneasy sitting with Bajrangis. But I told myself I am only here to create
a neutralising effect, I am not here about who wins or loses the election. My
whole idea is to build bridges between the communities. But even so I called
Mahesh Bhatt to ask him what I should do. He said, “Don’t worry; hold on to
your honesty. You are neither anti- nor pro-Modi, whatever you have in your
mind and heart, just tell them that with full honesty. That will have far greater
impact than being ‘pro’ or ‘anti.’”
I did exactly that. But my wife walked away and went over to the other side.
She said that she could not bear to be seen as pro-Modi. I said OK, we are a
very democratic couple. You have freedom of speech which is a fundamental
tenet of Islam. But I must confess, throughout that program I was squirming
inside because most of the people with me were almost like fringe elements
and goons of VHP and Bajrang Dal. I wondered whether NDTV picked up
such people deliberately to show Modi in a bad light because VHP types are

not pro-Modi. I took a firm stand against those people right then and there.
For example, a doctor, who was also the president of Jamnagar VHP, said
something to the effect that if Muslims don’t like Gujarat, they can go away to
Pakistan. I did not allow him to continue and said, “This is not the way your
chief minister talks. What are you trying to project?” I challenged him and
he had to apologise for his statement in front of the camera.
I could not tell the NDTV anchor not to create in this pro-versus anti-Modi
divide because when we reached the venue, the people were already sitting as
per that scheme. I then decided that I will not let them trap me in this way. I
will set my own rules. Anchors and television networks normally want you
to say what suits their line of thinking. I decided that I will say what I want to
say, it doesn’t make a difference to me where I sit.
They never listen to people like me or Asifa Khan the way they listen to
Teesta Setalvad even though unlike her, we have no personal agenda. The
media prefers talking to those who have made commerce out of other people’s
problems. I call such people merchants of misery. Our country would be far
morepeaceful,andinter-communityrelationswouldreturntobeingamicable,
if their shops would shut down.
I recently spoke to Rajdeep Sardesai about an article he had written and
said that your problem is the moment you want to show Muslims, you get
stuck with three types. The foremost category is the religious bigots like the
Imam Bukharis of India. There are some bigots who do not keep the typical
Islamic beards but are Bukharis at heart. The second type you pick up are
rabble-rousers whose private and public lives are altogether different. For
instance, when Asaduddin Owaisi is in Delhi he roams around in shorts,
eats in Italian restaurants, but when he returns to Hyderabad he wears the
typical Islamic topi and kurta pyjamas. The third category you project are
the Javed Akhtars, and Shabnam Hashmis of the world who have a problem
calling themselves Muslims and yet rave and rant about the oppression of
Muslims.
But real practicing Muslims like me are ignored. They don’t treat us as
representatives of Muslims. Just as in Hindi films the hero catches the villain
by the collar and eliminates him from the story line, so also Bukharis and
Owaisis of the world need to be cast aside. If they were treated firmly by the
law and order machinery, their macho posturing will vanish in thin air, and
eventheirconstituencywillnotcometosavethem.Eventhosewhomaytoday
come to meet them in jail will stop in no time. The rest will simply forget they
ever existed. But you don’t do it because of political compulsions.

These secularists think they have a special Ganga whereby whoever takes a
dip into the Congress Party becomes secular. But Gujarati Muslims are now
much wiser. They have seen the benefits of good governance, a riot-free state,
and all-round economic development in which they are now equal partners.
Therefore, they have become Modi’s most avid supporters no matter what
the media says.
Please explain this contradiction to me. The growth story of the Indian
economy started under Narasimha Rao when Manmohan Singh was his
finance minister. Today if I say that these two were the architects of India’s
economic reforms, I am not called Congress lackey. However, the moment I
say that the Gujarat growth story started under Narendra Modi, I get tarred
as Narendra Modi’s sycophant.
Changing Face of Hindu-Muslim Relations in Gujarat
My leftist friends have repeatedly charged that Gujarati Hindus have
enforcedeconomicboycottagainstMuslimsinordertopushtheMuslims
intopenuryanddrivethemoutofthestate.IaskedZafarwhetherafterthe
2002 riots, or even previous ones, Muslims faced economic boycott and
other forms of active discrimination by the Hindus? This is what he said:
Social interaction between Hindus and Muslims had altogether collapsed in
many parts of Gujarat during the riot-torn decades of 1970’s, 1980’s, and the
1990’s – right upto 2002. They retained business relations. Hindu families did
purchases from Muslim shops and vice versa. But they had negligible social
interaction.
During days of riots, a Muslim woman would never dare walk through a
Hindu neighbourhood. As soon as the riots would be over even burka clad
women go to Hindu neighbourhoods. We have an area in the old city called
Dhalgarwad; you may not have seen this kind of atmosphere anywhere in the
country where 600 cloth shops are owned 100 per cent by Muslims and their
clients are 95 per cent Gujarati Hindu women. Even if there is hatred, it lasts
forsomedays.Themomentariotisover;thoseHinduladiesgoonlytoMuslim
shops to buy cloth. And it is not like it’s a monopoly. Next to Dhalgarwad is
Ratan Pole and it has 100 per cent Hindu owned cloth shops. But all Hindu
women who go to Dhalgarwad–you should ask them why.
Similarly, today you will find any number of Hindus going to 100 per cent
Muslim areas for kababs andotherMuslim food specialties. Earlier, noHindu
steppedintoJuhapura.Itwasseenasamini-Pakistan.Nowyouwillfindmany

Hindus in the heart of Muslim localities like Kalupur and Dariapur–eating
tawa tikkas and barahandi. Likewise, in the Hindu majority area of Manek
Chowk, in the heart of Ahmedabad, where a vegetarian food bazaar begins
only after regular shops have shut down at 8 p.m., you will find any number
of Muslim families, including burka clad women, enjoying their dinner or
snacks even as late as 2 a.m.
Now with better law and order, people feel emboldened enough to visit
each other’s homes. Earlier even if Muslim families invited Hindu business
associates for marriage or other family functions, they held a separate Hindu
function for them with strict Gujarati vegetarian food–never a joint event
involving both Hindu and Muslim families. But now some of us have taken
the initiative to have joint functions so that Hindu and Muslim families can
interact. Believe me, Hindus are responding with great warmth.
An economic boycott has never really happened in Gujarat despite the
best attempts of VHP and Bajrang Dal. During every riot, they come up with
their pamphlets asking people to boycott Muslim shops. But it has never
happened-not even after 2002 when the hatred was at its worst. Otherwise
Muslims would not have survived. Although, the Togadias of the world try
their damned best but they have never been successful, nowhere in Gujarat,
even in the epicentre of riots.
It is not just Modi, but the entire Gujarati society has moved on, and is
reconstructing a new equation with Muslims. After 2002, we took it upon
ourselves to ensure that no Muslim child would be deprived of education
simply because his or her family can not afford the fees or buy books. Many
Hindus gave us money for it. For example, at the start when we sponsored a
Muslimgirl’seducationinamedicalcollege,oneofmyHindufriendssaidthat
he will pay for that semester’s fee for the girl. That really boosted my morale
and convinced me that humanitarian spirit is alive even in Gujarat.
Those who say that there is a lot of Hindu-Muslim hatred in Gujarat are
perpetuating a myth. That hostility stayed alive for some time after the
riots. Even after 2002, once things settled down and the ice was broken, it is
Hindus who extended help to Muslims to rebuild their lives. How much can
the Muslims do alone? My sister and sister-in law run a school for Muslim
girls from poor families. There are 450 students in that school. They cannot
even afford Rs. 200 per month as school fees. The challenge was that if we
don’t charge a proper fee how do we run a good school? How do we get good
teachers? So we contacted all our convent-educated girls with good degrees
and told them we don’t want any money from them, but we wanted their time.

Some give certain number of hours a day; others come on certain number
of days per week. They are doing it in the spirit of service, but they are not
professionally trained as teachers.
Interestingly,thereisasuper-eliteHinducommunityschoolinAhmedabad
calledC.NVidyalaya,amongthebestanywhere.Inthelast20yearsnotasingle
Muslim student has studied in that school. When this school’s management
came to know that we were working so hard to provide quality education to
girlsfrompoorMuslimfamilies,theyapproachedusontheirownsaying:“We
will train all these women who are teaching in your school and bring them at
par with trained teachers.” Our teachers had regular under-graduate or post-
graduate degrees but lacked teaching skills. Now C.N. Vidyalaya is upgrading
all of our teachers by giving them free training for three hours every day. Our
school is called Islamic school and all our teachers are namazi, burkawali
women. The C.N. Vidyalaya management said, ‘don’t worry; we will also
provide them an appropriate place for namaz.’ They even made arrangements
for the vuzu (the ritual washing of hands and feet before namaz). But my sister
said, “Don’t worry about that. We will do those rituals before we come. But
the point is they were pro-active in offering us help.”
Earlier Hindus and Muslims had business dealings and commercial
interactions but no social interaction. Some of us decided to take the initiative
to promote social interaction involving families of the two communities. And
it is bearing great results. For example, my wife, who is a professional artist,
conductsanartworkshopforMuslimstudentseveryyear.Whensheorganiseda
workshopforMuslimchildren,whichwascoveredbyTheTimesofIndia,several
Hindu women phoned her and said why don’t you conduct such workshops
in our Hindu neighbourhood as well. She said that if they gave her space she
would gladly do it. A family in a hard-core elite Hindu neighbourhood called
Manekbagh provided her space in their bungalow. She, a burka clad Muslim,
conducted a 30-day workshop in that Hindu home for Hindu women.
Hundreds of Hindu families came for our daughter’s wedding. As the state
is experiencing genuine social peace and security, inter-community relations
have become far more relaxed. I tell my fellow Muslims, we also must take the
initiative to promote social interaction. Muslims cannot continue to live in an
alienated, insulated manner. We have not made much effort to familiarise our
Hindu brothers about our culture. For example, many Hindus are under the
impression that ‘Allah-O-Akbar’ is a war cry of Muslims (slogan of attack).
What kind of Muslims are we? We have to open up and since charity begins
at home, I began with my own daughter’s wedding. But today such social

interaction has begun to take place all over Gujarat because the ruling party
is not acting as a divisive force. It is providing a sense of security by upholding
the rule of law. People don’t view each other with as much suspicion as they
did when riots were engineered routinely.
Earlier, a Mulsim auto rickshaw driver would be frightened of going to an
elite Hindu area, now he can do so freely. Muslim plumbers, carpenters, and
mechanics are now working in Hindu neighbourhoods without fear and are
no longer afraid even to stay overnight for work. New opportunities have
been made available because of ‘Aman O- Imaan’. Modi did not announce
any 15-point minority programme like the Congress Party did. If you have
good governance, everything else falls into place.
Modi’scriticstellus,“YoushouldnotforgetthatModiwasanRSSpracharak.”
I tell them, if the RSS is willing to own up Modi’s ideas and inclusive model
of development, then we will gladly support the RSS. See, the big issue for
Muslims has been jaan maal ki hifazat (safety of life and property). Today,
the Muslims are assured of that-they are not living in fear any more. And the
doors of upward mobility, through entrepreneurial activity, have also been
opened, even for rural Muslims. The Patels have dominance, they don’t care
if Modi is there or Keshubhai or Madhav Singh Solanki is the chief minister.
They are people with land and other resources, including NRI connections.
It is the poorer Muslims who have benefitted most from Modi’s governance.
Another myth propagated by Congress-allied Left “secularists” is that
lakhs of Muslims have left Gujarat and migrated to other states because
of the hostility of the Gujarat government as well as Gujarati Hindus.
This is what Zafar had to say on this issue:
There has been zero decline in Muslim population of Gujarat. Therefore, to
talk of genocide is irresponsible. Genocide is a term which one should never
use so loosely. Soon after the riots, some people did leave Gujarat. But almost
all of them returned sooner than later. Even the Muslim tailor named Ansari
whoseterrorisedfacewasusedastheiconofthe2002riots,returnedtoGujarat
after spending some months in “secular” Left front ruled West Bengal, where
Teesta Setalvad had sent him. Now he wants to be protected from his “secular”
well-wishers and has filed complaints against them for encashing his name
and picture.
Even at the time of riots when I was in England, I used to say to fellow
Muslims who thought India is not for Muslims, that there is no country like

India and there is no place in the world like one’s own country. In England,
despiteallitsegalitarianpretensions,thereisaglassceilingforallofusAsians.
As Indians, we are not allowed to rise beyond a point. But in India, we have
the right to fight for our rights, for our due share. I myself had a residence
permit for England. I returned it and came back to India. One of my brothers
had a residence permit for Canada, and the second one had it for Dubai. They
too surrendered them and came back to settle down in India. I am not one
bit surprised that almost all of those who left Gujarat in the wake of riots also
returned. But even more significant is the fact that Muslims from numerous
other states are coming for jobs in Gujarat. There is a huge inflow of migratory
labour in our state, a large percentage of them being Muslim. This is borne out
by the new census data. For example, in the foundry industry, the basic tasks
of melting and moulding are done by people from Agra and Bijnor, a large
percentageofwhomareMuslims.Therearenumerousnewsettlements,which
are exclusively inhabited by Muslims of U.P., Bihar, and Orissa etc. There are
a number of Bengali goldsmiths all over Gujarat.
Gujaratis are not known to be hostile to migrants from other states. They
don’t go for “son of the soil” politics like Maharashtrians and even Biharis do.
They are not insecure on this account. Modi, in fact, says to people of other
states and even other countries, “Come settle in Gujarat, invest here, bring
your skills to my state.”
I remember the words of Maulana Azad who pleaded with the Muslims
who opted for Pakistan, not to give up their watan, their homeland. He had
said that after Hazrat Ali, the fourth Khalifa of Islam, no one has succeeded
in uniting Muslims on the basis of Islam. Culture and language are far greater
binding factors than religion.

Flimsy Opposition Over Non Issues
Why the Congress Lost Credibility & Support
I now invite to address you, “The Merchant of Death.” The “merchant of death”
to terrorism, the “merchant of death” to corruption, the “merchant of death”
to nepotism, the “merchant of death” to official inefficiency, the “merchant
of death” to bureaucratic negligence, the “merchant of death” to poverty and
ignorance, the “merchant of death” to darkness and despair.
Cho Ramaswamy, Editor, Thuglak, introducing Narendra Modi to a
gathering in Chennai, 2008
CHAPTER 20
Iam aware that this book may appear as “too one-sided” in favour of
Narendra Modi. This is mainly because for 12 years people have only
heardahighlyjaundicedversion.Iseethisasanecessaryandmuch-needed
antidote.ItisnotmyaimtopaintNaMoasperfectionincarnate;Iamsure
he has his own quota of limitations and faults. But whatever little I have
seen of him and his work, whatever I have gathered from his old friends,
associates, colleagues, and bureaucrats, has convinced me that Modi has
done his best to rise above partisan interests and petty politicking.
I vouch for the authenticity of all those I have quoted in the book.
None of them are likely to disown their statements. Even so I will be the
first one to apologise and make amends if readers were to point out any
inadvertent errors, factual inaccuracy, or misinterpretation of facts that
may have crept into this book. I started this journey as a sceptic, but as
I travelled through towns and villages of Gujarat, I was filled with hope
and optimism for India.
It is not as if I did not try to seek out Modi critics in Gujarat. While I
avoided meeting the Congress-propped professional opponents of Modi
in Gujarat, some of who were my old friends, I made special efforts to talk
to local Congressmen and BJP dissidents wherever I went. In each case, I
followed up on their complaints against Modi. In each case, I found their

criticism flimsy, because the facts on the ground told a different story.
The strategy of the the Congress has been to strengthen anti-Modi forces
within the BJP instead of putting their energy into repairing their own
party. This is an important reason why the Congress is rudderless and
facing imminent collapse. Most Congressmen I met are deeply unhappy
with their party leaders and are not-so-secret admirers of Modi. Many
of the respected Congressmen have already joined BJP; many more are
on their way to doing so. I will bring interviews with some such leaders
in my forthcoming books.
Congress’s Penchant for Trivial Issues
The issues picked up by the Congressmen are not only trivial, but often
based on complete distortion of facts. That is why they make no headway
within the state. Here is an example of the kind of ammunition the
Congress Party is in the habit of using against NaMo, not so much for
the benefit of the people in Gujarat, but with an eye on the national and
international media that invariably obliges by publishing whatever junk
it is spoon-fed.
On August 6, 2013, the management team of Himalaya Mall in
Ahmedabad issued the following circular to its customers:
We would like to inform you that from 9th
August to 11th
August 2013, we are
implementing a “Reimbursable Mall Entry” system. The mall entry ticket
value will be Rs. 20 per person...as “Discount Value.” The amount would be
reimbursedfromthebillamountofthecustomer…Theabovesystemwillhelp
usincontrollingtraffic,attractinggenuinebuyers,andensuringbusinesstoall
the tenants. Initially this system is on a trial basis. We sincerely look forward
to your cooperation. [If] you have any query please feel free to contact at the
mall office…
It is noteworthy that the notice does not single out any community for
entryfeeinthiscircular.Evenonthenoticeboardplacedoutsidethemall
therewasnohintwhatsoeverthatMuslimcustomerswouldbeselectively
picked for the entry fee. Moreover, it is common practice for malls that
attract a huge footfall on popular festivals like Diwali, Navaratri, and
other special occasions, to impose such measures for controlling crowds.
Himalaya Mall is not the first one to have started this practice. Nor is this
practice unique to Gujarat.

I happened to be in Gujarat around that time and saw how known
Congressmen were behind catapulting this innocuous incident into a
major national and international controversy by building a case that
systematicdiscriminationwasbeingpracticedagainstMuslimsin“Modi’s
Gujarat.” This is how Parth Shastri, senior correspondent, The Times of
India wrote a Congress-scripted report titled, “On Eid, Ahmedabad mall
charges entry fee from Muslims” published in TOI on August 10, 2013:
A trip in the celebratory spirit of Eid turned out to be an experience in
discriminationformanyMuslimsinNarendraModi’sGujarat.TheHimalaya
Mall, among the five biggest malls in Ahmedabad, on Friday announced a
fee of Rs. 20 from visitors from the minority community, to be returned to
them only if they bought anything from the mall, and retained if they didn’t.
ManyfeltitwasdiscriminationagainstaspecificgrouponEidwhenfootfalls
atthemallpeaked.Thesecuritypersonnelwerebeingselective.Wesawpeople
walking pastwithout paying any fee.When weasked the securityguards,they
said that they have orders to follow and asked us to pay up....Deepa Bhatnagar,
Manager (Operations) of Himalaya Mall, told ToI thatitwasaroutinemove to
check visitors on a busy day. “We had employed the same mechanism in the
past to keep troublemakers out. We are planning to charge entry fee during
the coming festive season including Diwali. The fee is being returned if any
purchase is made, so the entry is practically free,” she said.
Mall officials said that, against a routine daily footfall of around 10,000,
Friday saw a surge in the numbers to around 30,000. About the selective
demand of entry fee, she said the administration had decided to exclude
women and senior citizens only. “There was no attempt to exclude anybody
or charge specific persons,” she said. However, this correspondent observed
a distinct pattern in which entry was allowed. Youth from specific age groups
of the minority community were being scrutinised and asked to pay the fee
while whereas women and many others were allowed to walk in without being
charged. Mall officials said last year, during Eid, they saw two group clashes
inside the mall and a glass wall was broken. On Friday, the number of security
personnel was increased and a team of policemen was deployed inside as well
as outside the mall as authorities did not want any “trouble.”
The Himalaya Mall is neither owned by Modi nor anyone even remotely
connected to him. It is well known that too many people walk in malls
simply for window shopping and whiling away time, in air conditioned

comfort, especially during the blistering hot summer months. This
report admits that the numbers that come to the Mall on festivals are
unmanageable. It also acknowledges that on the previous Eid two groups
of Muslims had clashed inside the Mall and damaged some property.
Therefore, it is not unreasonable for the management to take special
precautionary measures to prevent similar outbursts of violence within
their premises. But The Economic Times added even more masala to the
August 10 report by publishing a whole tract on August 12, giving it
the mischievous title “Discrimination in Modi’s Ahmedabad.” After
repeating the absurd charge levelled by Parth Shashtri in TOI, The
Economic Times report ends with the following pious sounding but
politically-mischievous paragraph:
Manywouldthinkitunfairtothesadbhavna(goodwill)seekingchiefminister
of the state, Narendra Modi, to hold him responsible for the conduct of the
mallmanagement.Butitispreciselyhispoliticsthatbreedsthesensibilitythat
underlies the mall’s decision to treat Muslims differently. That politics stems
from the ideology of the Sangh Parivar headed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh, which believes in the primacy of Hindus in Hindustan and imputes
second-class status to all non-Hindus, Muslims in particular. That there have
been no communal riots in Gujarat since 2002 is touted by the Parivar as
evidenceoftheModigovernment’scommitmenttoidentity-blindgovernance.
Evidently, a quiet marginalisation of Muslims has been afoot, to an extent
where a shopping mall can openly discriminate against them.
Withoutofferingtheslightestevidencefor“marginalisationofMuslims,”
this write-up instigates a sense of victimhood among Muslims. This
kind of reporting has become a standard pattern. Even if newspapers in
Gujarat have to report a case of elopement or domestic discord, it is at
once attributed to Narendra Modi as though he is personally responsible
for every pick pocket, every petty crime, and even road accidents.
When the Himalaya Mall team, as well as others, protested against this
distorted reporting, columnist Prashant Panday went further to make it
a case not just of this or that Mall but laying it squarely at the doorstep of
Narendra Modi alleging that he had transformed Gujarat into a Hindu
fascist state. Here are extracts from the incredibly inflammatory piece
he wrote:

The TOI reports today how a mall in Ahmedabad decided to charge Muslims
(mostly the youth) Rs. 20 as “entry fee” to enter the mall on the auspicious
day of Eid. The hidden subtext is the assumption that Muslim youths are
troublemakers. The slightly milder alternative subtext is that Muslim youths
are louts who spend time in air-conditioned malls without actually buying
anything. Would this be allowed in any state but Gujarat?
Of course, this is a “private” mall and Modi cannot be brought into this
discussion.Butinreality,theroleofthegovernmentinshapingpublicbehavior
isapparentfromthisepisode.Whathappensisthis.Peoplehavecertainpoints
of view–in the case of Gujarat, an extreme wariness of Muslims–which is why
they vote a particular Party (BJP) to power. Then the Party responds to this
constituency and acts in a manner as if it represents only that constituency.
It forgets that once elected, it represents everyone, and it has to become non-
partisan. Such political conduct then makes the people’s regressive thoughts
even more entrenched. Instead, a more liberal, a more “nationalistic” party
would have tried to mould the views of its followers towards modernity. But
no, the BJP doesn’t do that in Gujarat. Here, the party feeds off the people and
vice-versa. It is shocking, and I have noticed this personally, that anti-Muslim
sentimentsinAhmedabadtodayareworsethantheyweretwentyyearsback...
Gujarat may be rich, but it is very poor socially. Its people can hardly
be called liberal…. Just look at Modi. He proudly proclaims he is a Hindu
nationalist. Clearly, he is the leader of the Hindus, the others be damned.
As if this were not enough, he drives home the point by refusing to wear the
Muslim skullcap. Why? Will he become impure if he wears the cap? Each one
of us Hindus celebrates Eid with the Muslims, don’t we? Why can’t our leaders
celebrate as well then?
ThisreadslikeapropagandatractbyaCongressproxy,notafactualnews
reportorrealisticanalysis.Bygratuitouslylinkingthisunrelatedincident
to the needlessly inflated skullcap episode, the reporter betrays that he is
roboticallyfollowingapre-setpoliticalagendaparrotingforthemillionth
time, the ideological rants made fashionable by the Congress and the Left
parties.1
Those who have read previous chapters of this book can judge
for themselves how far Modi’s conduct is from the hateful persona being
attributed to him. But Panday, sitting in Delhi, has more poison to vomit:
1 For a detailed account of media mischief on the skullcap story, see chapter 16, “Of
Skullcaps and Puppies.”

Will the government initiate an inquiry against this mall? Will it ensure
that such conduct is never repeated? Will Modi speak about this despicable
conduct in any of his addresses? Impossible. Firstly, because Modi perhaps
supports such things. Those wayward Muslims must be kept out. If this is
racial discrimination, so be it. It will only get Modi more votes. Secondly,
Modi has hardly shown the courage to speak against regressive social trends.
He likes to flow with them, not challenge them. And in an election year, he
will even be happy to fan them if it helps him get more votes. Net result: don’t
expect any action from the Gujarat government. And by taking no action, the
government will encourage others to do similar loathsome things…. Dubai,
and its Sheikhs, are far more liberal than Gujarat or its current leaders are.
These days, I am not surprised by any such news emanating from Gujarat.
I wouldn’t even be surprised if Modi one day declared Gujarat a Hindu state.
The only thing that would stop him is the Constitution. In political terms,
Modi has already done to Gujarat what the Constitution doesn’t permit. But
in real terms, he will have to wait till he becomes PM, and his party garners
enough numerical strength to change the Constitution. Modi-lovers, work
hard at this goal!
The real truth is that what happened in the Ahmedabad mall is shocking,
but entirely expected from the polarised Hindu state of Gujarat. Even when
it’s not overtly visible, this kind of discrimination against Muslims is palpable
all over. Modi panders to these feelings. And wins elections. And then he
rewards his people by not protecting such acts. One feeds off another. Do we
want this all over India?
It is worth noting that there were no protests by Muslims of Ahmedabad
against the alleged discrimination. The footfall of Muslim customers
during Eid remained unaffected. And yet, Muslims all over India, and
globally,weresoughttobeconvincedbytheCongressfriendlymediathat
Modi is a threat to the well-being of Muslims and therefore, they should
do all they can to stop his rise to power at the Centre.
This kind of incessant hate-Modi campaign by the media, at the behest
of the Congress and the Left Parties, has dangerous implications for the
futureofourcountry.AtatimewhenasectionofMuslimsinIndia,aswell
asglobally,areinanexplosivemoodandhavecometobelieveinterrorism
asalegitimateresponsetotheirrealandimaginarygrievances,thosewho
are working hard to encourage persecution complex among Muslims on
imaginary grounds, are playing with fire. This has the unfortunate effect

ofpeopletreatingeventheirlegitimategrievanceswithmistrust.Nowhere
elseintheworldhavemainstreampoliticalpartiesandmainstreammedia
joined hands to instigate an already agitated religious minority against
the majority, even when the latter is going out of its way to accommodate
the aspirations of the minority.
In another such instance in Rajkot, the chowkidar of a private housing
society set himself on fire because the owners of that society fired him
from the job. Since he would not leave the living quarters alloted to him,
they tried evicting him from the living quarters given to him by filing a
law suit that he had misused the facility by illegally encroaching on the
society’s land to build extra rooms for his family. The housing society
had no connection with Modi or the BJP. It was a case of a local conflict
between a private employer and employee. And yet the news was given
prominent coverage in Gujarati as well as national papers and splashed
on prime-time TV channels in Gujarat and Delhi to build a case that in
“Modi’s Gujarat” atrocities were being committed on the poor.
Fortunately, in this case, the chowkidar was a Hindu not a Muslim.
Instead of stopping him from taking the drastic step, Congressmen
actually instigated him to immolate himself. They had made prior
arrangements for filming his threat of self-immolation. It was a clear
case of abetment of suicide, but the media happily used it as proof of
Modi’s callousness towards the poor.
While in Gujarat, I was also witness to Congressmen raise hell over
elopement of young lovers as “proof” that women are not safe in Modi’s
Gujarat. It is a common joke in Gujarat that Congressis have gone so
berserk in their panic about Modi’s rising popularity that even if a
housewife burns her daal or chapattis due to oversight, they blame it
on Modi.
Fanning Flames over Ban on Cow Slaughter: In contrast to the
frivolous issues mentioned above, a section of the Kasai community
among Muslims can indeed claim to have something resembling a “real”
cause of complaint against Modi’s government. They are at war with the
BJPovertherelativelystricterimplementationofthebanoncowslaughter
in Gujarat. Beef is relatively far cheaper than goat meat. Therefore, a
lot of poor Muslim families opt for it. In addition, beef export to the
Gulf countries is a very lucrative business, especially since the Central
government gives huge subsidies to promote the “pink revolution” by
enhancing meat export from India. Most meat exporters in India are

Muslims.Therefore,thissubsidyisseenasabribetostrong-armelements
within the Muslims who can keep a hold over the Muslim vote bank.
Unlike most people in North India, Gujaratis take the sacredness of
cows seriously, and display their commitment through concrete positive
measures for protecting cows and taking care of their health even when
the cows are old and have, therefore, stopped giving milk. Hence police
crackdowns on smuggling of cows across the border are common. This is
nottosuggestthatthepolicearealwaysseriousaboutstoppingcowsfrom
being illegally transported for slaughter. Like illegal liquor sale, this too
yields hefty bribes to the police. Vigilante groups of VHP are also alleged
tobeinvolvedinnabbingtruckscarryingslaughteredanimalsandgetting
them confiscated by the police. This issue evokes strong sentiments on
both sides.
By and large, traditional Gujarati Muslims are not in favour of cow
slaughter because of shared cultural values. Given the overwhelming
sentiment in Gujarat against cow slaughter, even Muslim leaders of the
Congress Party cannot take up this issue openly, but add fuel to the
simmering fire behind the scenes. Congress-propped “secular” NGOs
make it out as if restrictions on cow slaughter are an assault on the
religious freedom of Muslims, thus feeding on the sense of victimhood
amongMuslimsevenonanissuewhereasectionofMuslimsareviolating
the law.
Demand for More Power to Farm Sector: The most “serious” charge
thus far raised by Congress Party stalwarts against Modi is his refusal to
give more than eight hours of dedicated power supply for the farm sector
even though every village gets 24x7 power supply for domestic use. Many
of the big landholders would like many more hours of power so that they
can draw out more water from tube wells to irrigate their fields. Modi
refuses to yield ground on this issue despite Gujarat producing surplus
power. He reasons that, without reducing dependence on underground
water, Gujarat will perpetuate the water crisis. Therefore, it should avoid
pumpingoutexcessiveamountsofgroundwater.Modi’sgovernmenthas
investedheavilyinexpandingcanalnetwork,waterharvestingstructures,
and drip irrigation, thus making Gujarat one of the few states where the
water table has begun to register an appreciable rise. He has carried a
massive awareness campaign on the long-term implications of emptying
the bowels of earth of all water. Unlike during power starved Congress
regimes, today each village is getting assured electricity for domestic use

as well as for farms with reasonable restriction only on unlimited use
of tube well motors. That is why the Congress is unable to evoke mass
support in favour of its ecologically-unsound demand.
Making Martyrs of BJP Dissidents: Another oft repeated charge of
Congressmen against Modi is that Keshubhai, Zadaphia, and several
such BJP stalwarts have been side lined by NaMo. This is touted as the
ultimate proof of his authoritarian and intolerant ways. The same charge
is repeated ad nauseum by leftist NGOs and journalists as unmistakeable
evidence of Modi’s hunger for uncontrolled power. It is not as if these
BJP leaders are paragons of virtue. They have a tainted track record on
many fronts, including promoting Hindu-Muslim conflicts. Therefore,
theloftysympathydisplayedbyCongressmenfortheworstofBJPleaders,
who quit the party after Modi’s rise to power, does not command any
respect in Gujarat.
This is specially true because, none have been able to point out what
Modi has ever done to harm Keshubhai and others, whereas there is
plenty of evidence to show that Keshubhai’s group has not only indulged
inmalevolentandbaselesspersonalattacksonModi,buthavealsojoined
forces with the Congress in desperate bids to defeat Modi in each and
every election since 2002. By contrast, even when faced with slander,
Modi has never once retaliated against Keshubhai, or said a bad word
against him. Infact, after winning the 2012 election, in which Keshubhai
& Co had subjected Modi to all forms of calumny, one of the first things
Modi did on receiving the election results was to visit Keshubhai’s home,
touchhisfeet,andseekhisblessingsasanelderwhowasonceaBJPfather
figure.Keshubhai&Co.gotmarginalisedbecauseoftheirself-destructive
politics as Congress allies, not because Modi did anything to crush them.
Recently, Keshubhai has also had to eat humble pie and rejoin the BJP
because he failed to carry even his Patel community with him, leading
to the electoral decimation of the new party he had floated.
The Anti-Modi Factions within BJP
I had heard that there was a lot of discontent and anger among BJP MLAs
and ministers since Modi is alleged to be a control freak. I interviewed
several BJP MLAs but none spoke ill of Modi. In fact, they felt charged
by his energy and the easy formal and informal access they have to
Modi, who has institutionalised a proper consultative mechanism for
party MLAs by involving them in defining priorities and given them a

meaningfulroleinoverseeinggovernmentprograms,thoughwithoutthe
power to create obstructions for once decisions are taken. Some of my
interviews with BJP MLAs describing the new energy generated by this
culture of participation and accountability will be published later. But
there is no denying that many within the BJP are not happy with Modi
because he has blocked avenues of corruption to a very large extent and
forced the MLAs to take their job as people’s representatives seriously.
And yet, I was not able to get such BJP leaders to go on record with their
criticism of Modi. Therefore, when a BJP MP from Delhi said that she
would introduce me to an MLA who would explain to me how evil Modi
is, I took a special trip with her to go and meet that MLA. The meeting
turned out to be hilarious. She kept egging him to reveal all the evil deeds
of Modi while the MLA kept denying he had any such tales to tell. She
then told me, he was just being over cautious and that I should meet him
on the quiet by myself. So I took a special trip to Baroda to go meet him
and spent two-three hours talking to him. He only made one complaint:
Some of Modi’s ministers and BJP MLAs are corrupt and incompetent
even though, Modi’s own integrity is totally above board.
This is indeed a common refrain among people both within the BJP
as well as in Gujarati society at large. Not all BJP ministers and MLAs
measure up to the standard Modi has set for his administration. Piyush
Patel, an old associate of Modi, though he is not in the BJP, had the
following insightful observation on this:
ApoliticalpartyislikeShivjikibaraat–themythologicalmarriageprocession
of Lord Shiva. It has snakes, scorpions, drug addicts, along with sanyasis,
tapasvis, and a host of ordinary creatures. Modi, like Shiva, has to like
Neelkanth—swallowalotofpoison.Buthehastriedtostrengthengoodpeople
within his party while keeping a check on the corrupt and inefficient. He can’t
create a party of saints, especially since he has always been under siege by
Congressmen,aswellastheBJP’scentralleadershipinDelhi.Hecan’tdisband
thepartyhehasinherited.Hecanonlytrytoimproveit.Onthatfront,evenhis
worst critics admit that the BJP under Modi is far healthier as an organisation,
than it was during Keshubhai’s or any other time. He has led by example and
is changing the model of governance through building institutional checks
against corruption rather than merely using punitive action. Since his own
credentials are totally above board, that also acts as a deterrent and restraint.

Nightlife in Gujarat Cities &
Picnics on Footpaths
Changing Role and Perceptions about Gujarat Police
You can judge from the number of young unescorted women out on the streets
every night at odd hours that we feel much safer in Gujarat. Criminals don’t act
with the kind of impunity that they do in many other states, especially my home
state of Uttar Pradesh.
A young female IT Professional from UP
Modi sahib’s biggest support comes from Muslim women because they feel
their sons are not going wayward anymore, they are taking to education while
their daughters can avail of the same opportunities and freedom that Hindu
women from liberal families enjoy… Even my daughter is out late into the night
enjoying with her friends. This was unthinkable for a family like ours 15 years
ago...Gujarat is one of the safest places for women….
Muslim taxi owner in Ahmedabad
CHAPTER 21
At the start of my Gujarat study, I had stayed with some family
friends who had moved from Patna to Ahmedabad just about eight
months prior to my stay with them. On the very first night, they insisted I
experience the unique nightlife of cities in Gujarat and took me for a tour
ofthecitypast11p.m.TheywerekeentoshowmewhymovingtoGujarat
forthemwasaveryliberatingexperiencebecauseinPatnaandothercities
of Bihar, even men hesitate to be out at night, leave alone young women.
This was the time when the anti-rape agitation in Delhi and other
cities was at its fever pitch. The sense of insecurity due to never-ending
incidentsofabduction,rape,andmurdershadbroughtoutlakhsofpeople
to protest on the streets in numerous towns and cities of India. Even in
Delhi one hardly sees unaccompanied women on the streets past 10 p.m.
But Ahmedabad presented a totally different scenario for women. It has

an active nightlife for both women and men, and that too cutting across
all classes, castes, and communities.
Satvic Night Picnics
NightlifeinIndiaisusuallyassociatedwiththelifestyleofthewesternised
elite in metros. It means late night parties in private homes of the rich
or in five star hotels where serving alcohol is considered a must. It is also
synonymous with hanging out in pubs and discotheques where liquor
is considered a necessary accompaniment. By contrast, the nightlife of
Gujarati cities is mostly liquor-free and is lived out largely on the streets,
on footpaths, and crowded markets with lots of eateries that come to life
only in the evening. One sees as many working class families as middle
and upper class people at their regular roadside hangouts. This is not
to deny the existence of private parties in elite homes where people
serve liquor on the quiet. But that form of entertainment is relatively
uncommon in Gujarat. The Gujarati elite do not flaunt liquor parties,
even if they organise them.
Every Gujarat city has its own unique set of late night hangouts. For
example, Manek Chowk-a residential-cum-commercial area in the heart
oftheoldAhmedabadcomesaliveasafoodbazaaronlyafter8p.m.when
the regular shops close down for the day. Amidst vendor carts selling
snacks and kulfi, little eateries spread out very ordinary tables and chairs
on the road. They don’t have the glamour and ambience of Parisian cafés
but are far more lively and vibrant. In cafes in Paris or New York, one
only sees adult couples or groups of adult friends. But in the restaurants,
eateries, and hawker centres of Ahmedabad one sees entire families,
including small children with parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles,
enjoying a late night meal or post-dinner snacks and ice creams. I saw
young girls driving in on their scooties long past midnight to hang out
at Manek Chowk and other lively spots in the city.
Vidisha, who I met at Manek Chowk around 1:30 a.m., is in her early
20’s. She is in the final year of a chartered accountancy degree. When
I met her on January 13, 2013, she and her friends were standing and
chatting away near their scooties. She told me she returns home after
finishing her tuitions at about 11 to 11:30 p.m. It is her daily routine to
come to Manek Chowk around midnight after having dinner at home.
Mostly, she comes alone on her scooty. But occasionally her cousins also
come with her. She was emphatic in saying that she has never faced any

sexual harassment or other forms of lawless behaviour when she is out
late at night. On occasions when her scooty tyre got punctured or there
was some other mechanical problem, some or the other guy pushed her
vehicle all the way to her house. She and her friends—both male and
female—hang out at Manek Chowk as a daily routine at night.
There are very few places in the country where you will you see women
street vendors carrying on with their work till 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. in the
night. Since there is a heavy footfall of customers at these eateries till
late in the night–one finds street vendors, including young girls, selling
various items of daily use, especially fruits and vegetables, till as late as
the customers last. For example, on the night of January 12, 2013 three
teenage sisters from Bapunagar, selling fruit and sugar cane, told me they
weregoingtobethereallnightsincethenextdaywasMakarSankranti–a
majorfestival.Therefore,theywouldhavegoodbusinessallnight.During
festivals, certain hawker markets are open virtually all night. On CG
Road, I had a long chat with a young teenage girl, along with her younger
brother, pushing her vendor cart back home at 1.30 a.m.
Addabazi on Footpaths
The most fascinating part of nightlife in urban Gujarat is the extensive
use of wide footpaths on arterial roads for family picnics, or by dating
couples, or for addabazi (regular meeting points) by men and women--
both young and old. The most popular spots are the sidewalks on river
bridges—be it Sabarmati in Ahmedabad or Tapi in Surat. People just sit
on the side walks of river bridges to enjoy the cool night breeze till the
wee hours of the morning in Surat, Ahmedabad, and other cities. It is
commonforfamiliestobringtheirdinnersinbigtiffincarriersandspread
the food out on newspapers or mats they have brought from home. Street
vendors do brisk business selling snacks, balloons and toys for children.
Kids run around, play games while the elders chat away for hours. Hindu
and Muslim couples from poorer crowded neighbourhoods sitting on
footpaths, or on road side benches, engrossed in ‘private chats’ away
from the family gaze but in full public view, is a common sight. This is
made possible only because cities in Gujarat actually have relatively clean
sidewalks with comfortable public benches.
Given the Gujarati penchant for enjoying cool river breeze at night,
Modihasgivenhighprioritytodevelopmentofriverfrontsasrecreational
hubs for citizens. While this is common in Europe, America, and other

developed countries, in India Gujarat seems to be the only state to have
taken riverbank development seriously. The banks of Yamuna river in
the capital of India are so filthy and stinking because they are used
as garbage dumps. Even a brief visit to the banks of Yamuna in Delhi
or Ganga in Kanpur for religious rituals has become a serious health
hazard.
RiversidedevelopmentinGujaratstartedwiththeSabarmatiriverfront
in Ahmedabad, followed by Tapi riverbank development in Surat, but
is now spreading to even smaller towns. For instance, Banaskantha
doesn’t have a river; it only has a canal flowing through its centre. In
this small town too professionally landscaped parks, shopping plazas,
an aesthetically organised vegetable market, hawker centres and a long
walking trail with recreational facilities are being developed at a rapid
pace all along the canal.
Implications for Muslim Women
I found it noteworthy that families from crowded inner city Muslim
neighbourhoods actually come to Hindu localities for late night outings.
In Muslim dominated areas at night one sees mostly men on the streets,
no women. Likewise, one is not likely to see unescorted Muslim girls
hangout around snack shops late at night in Muslim dominated parts of
cities. They all come for fun to Hindu areas, indicating a sense of security
and move away from the ghetto mindset.
During decades of religious polarisation due to repeated riots,
especially during the 1990’s, Muslims were really afraid to go into Hindu
quarters and vice-versa. This fear restrained people even when there
were no riots. Today one finds any number of burka-clad Muslim women
in 100 per cent Hindu areas even late at night, not just in Ahmedabad but
in almost every city of Gujarat. One saw plenty of working class Muslim
families come out for late night snacks or dinner. They were obviously
from conservative families women were wearing burkas, though no
one had covered their faces. One also saw young burka clad Muslim
women come as pillion riders on motorbikes. Outside the neatly paved
enclosures of corporate offices, one saw little boys and girls of Hindu
and Muslim families playing ball and langdi taang. My host family told
me such scenes are fairly normal and routine in Ahmedabad. This was
confirmed during subsequent visits. A Muslim taxi owner told me:

Even my daughter is out late into the night enjoying with her friends. This was
unthinkable for a family like ours 15 years ago. The general perception among
both the Hindus and Muslims is that Gujarat is one of the safest places to live
for women. That is why we don’t have incidents of women being abducted or
little children held for ransom or trafficked in the way it is happening in Delhi.
I don’t say Gujarat has zero crime. No country in the world can claim that. But
the crime rate is much lower than in other states and organised gangs have
been brought under tight control.
Modi sahib’s biggest support comes from Muslim women because they
feel their sons are not going wayward anymore, they are taking to education
while their daughters can avail of the same opportunities and freedom that
Hindu women from liberal families enjoy. Men are coming home for dinner
and spending time with their wives.
The former Additional Director General of Police and now the head of
the Waqf Board in Gujarat, A.I. Syed, explained how marginalisation of
criminal elements among Muslims had given greater freedom to Muslim
women:
During Congress regimes, goonda elements among the Muslims got a lot of
encouragement. There used to be many Muslim bhais (dons) in those days.
That made the lives of Muslim women far more insecure. Moreover, it helped
project a negative image of the Muslim community and created prejudice
against them. Since the anti-social elements among VHP and Bajrang Dal
have been put in place and given the message that they won’t be allowed to get
away by terrorising Muslims, the Muslims do not feel the need to have their
owndonstoconfrontHindugoondas.Consequently,womenareleadingfreer
lives even in erstwhile traditional Muslim localities.
Indeed, the most fascinating sight for me was that of teenage girls and
young women, many of them Muslim, riding their two wheelers alone,
or with another female on pillion, way beyond midnight. No one gave
them a second look.
Today, one sees any number of Hindus also visiting all-Muslim areas at
night, including the once-dreaded Juhapura, for non-vegetarian food.
However, their number is still small in comparison to the far greater flow
of Muslims in Hindu localities. Firstly, not many Gujarati Hindus eat

non-veg food.Secondly, 100percentMuslimareaslikeJuhapuraremain
citadels of Congress politicians who continue to work hard at keeping the
divisive spirit and mutual mistrust alive. By contrast, the mandate given
to BJP leaders is to promote goodwill between the two communities.
Vibrant Economy Curbs Crime Syndicates
Rais Khan Pathan, a former right hand man of Teesta Setalvad, who
later fell out with her, explains how overall stricter implementation of
laws has brought enhanced safety for Muslims and greater avenues for
economic advancement:
Today Muslims do not rise in defense of their community’s dons, who were
involved in illicit liquor brewing, smuggling contraband, drug peddling etc.
But police crackdown alone cannot marginalise goondas and people in illicit
trades.Takemyownexample;Ihadaflourishinggutkamanufacturingbusiness
basedinMumbai.ButmybiggestsupplychainwasinGujarat.Nowthereisstrict
enforcement of a ban on gutka in the state because of its cancer-causing effects.
In most otherstates gutka ban is not strictly enforced. But in Gujarat, we had to
shut shop. Though the ban caused a major setback to my flourishing business,
I could easily switch over to other businesses and make decent money. Today,
thereareinnumerablelegitimateavenuesforeconomicadvancementavailableto
Muslims,alongwithamassiveincreaseineducationalopportunities.Therefore,
young Muslims of today feel no attraction for crime.
Nightlife Without Tipsy Revelry
During my January 2013 visit, I talked to several young couples in
Ahmedabad on three consecutive nights. Most of these couples in their
late 20’sorearly 30’s, saidtheyliveinjoint families.Somehad comehome
for a vacation from England or America. Many said they feel much safer
in Ahmedabad than in London or New York The young men were from
diverseprofessionalbackgrounds,includingdoctorsandITprofessionals.
Severals of these young women were also professionals. On weekends
they routinely meet on CG Road to sit and chat till late into the night. The
women told me their in-laws go to bed early, but the families have never
expressed any anxiety about their staying out till late hours because they
feel safe in Ahmedabad.
Such conversations were repeated during subsequent visits to
Ahmedabad and other cities. Almost all said that an important reason

why rowdy behaviour was rare in cities of Gujarat, is the culture of
restraint thanks to the official prohibition of liquor sales in in the state.
Prohibition in Gujarat has been in place for decades in deference to
Mahatma Gandhi’s strong belief that liquor saps the physical and moral
well being of society.
Despite my strong commitment to Bapu’s political vision, I had always
opposed state-imposed prohibition as an authoritarian measure that
leads to liquor smuggling and emergence of bootlegging mafias. But
hearing Gujaratis link social safety to prohibition made me seriously
rethink my position. I admit that I did not seek out the elite party- going
crowd that serves liquor on the sly. I only talked to people on the streets
as well as women in poor bastis. The latter are the fiercest supporters of
prohibition because habitual drunkards among the poor are far more
prone to indulging in domestic violence. Prohibition is also very popular
among Muslims.
But even the upper class youngsters I met on the streets of Ahmedabad
and other cities of Gujarat during subsequent visits, strongly defended
prohibition even while each and every one of them admitted that liquor
was freely available everywhere in Gujarat. Almost everyone said that
people interested in alcohol know the suppliers just as they would know
of their doctors or tailors. One phone call and you can have the brand of
your choice delivered to your home within no time. Many drive down
to the Rajasthan border to purchase their supplies. But most people who
want a drink get it from a local supplier.
However, by all accounts, bootlegging mafias have been substantially
curbed in the last ten years even though cheap desi liquor is readily
availableevenforthepoorataprice.Thedefendersofprohibitioninclude
people who admitted to having occasional drinks in private parties or
small gatherings of friends. Several of these young people have been to
Europe and America for long or short periods. Most of them, including
women, had the external trapping of westernisation—denim jeans,
English medium education, and so on.
I found this very puzzling because in most other metros, and state
capitals, young people of such a background would consider state-
imposed prohibition a serious assault on their freedom. Therefore, I
had long roadside conversations on this issue with several young and
middle-aged persons. Their reasoning in favour of prohibition can be
summed up as follows: ‘People may occasionally drink in parties or even

in the privacy of their homes, but no one in Gujarat dares indulge in
drunken behaviour on streets or in public places due to the official ban
on liquor. The police have strict instructions to lock up such people right
away; they even publish their photographs in the local newspapers the
next day. That acts as the biggest restraining factor. Even when people
drink in private parties, or among friends, they do it in moderation
so that even their parents often don’t get to know. The total absence of
drunkards in public places is an important reason why Gujarat is much
safer for women.’
I asked several groups of young people if they missed pub culture and
discothequeparties.Theover-allconsensuswassummedupbytwoyoung
women taking a stroll around 12.30 a.m.:
Discotheques do exist in Gujarat but do not serve liquor. Abstaining from
liquor is a very small price to pay for a sense of safety and security. Gujaratis
knowhowtoenjoylife,butwealsoknowthatdrinkingalcoholisnotnecessary
for enjoyment. One can have a lot of fun without alcohol consumption. Don’t
youseeforyourselfhowrelaxedtheenvironmentisallaroundusevenlateinto
the night? You see families with young women, and even children, enjoying
their night out. In Delhi, people are afraid to get into a bus at 9 p.m. because
buses are full of drunkards. The conductors dare not even insist on their
buying tickets because they know these alcoholics can turn violent. You won’t
find such behaviour in Gujarat. People are much calmer and far less prone to
picking up quarrels in public or getting into violent fracas over petty matters.
It is to do with social restraints.
Almost all the working class men and women I conversed with also
said that wife beating on account of drunkenness and other forms of
crimeshavecomedowneveninpoor bastis eversincebootleggingmafias
have been brought under tighter control. Some twenty years ago I had
personally witnessed liquor being brewed in a slum right behind Gandhi
ashram.
It could well be said that prohibition has been in force in Gujarat since
decades, so its good or bad effects can’t be attributed to Modi. However,
liquor-related criminality and social violence has come down in Gujarat
because now it is only small-time bootleggers who are involved in illicit
liquor trade to earn a modest living. The big dons are mostly out of
business or behind bars.Others have left the state due to relatively greater

discipline among the police today. Rowdy behaviour on the streets or in
public places, whether by political dons or petty lumpens, is dealt with
more strictly.
That is why even though liquor is freely available under the table, its
consumption is not visible in public spaces. Even private dance parties
are far more sober in Ahemdabad than in discotheques or private ‘farm
houses’ of Metros. In Delhi, Gurgaon, and Noida, for instance, owners
of showrooms in fancy malls where the rich and famous go shopping,
are beginning to request city authorities to shut down pubs because anti-
social elements gather around such joints and make the environment
unsafe. Almost all pubs and discotheques hire marshals and musclemen
as bouncers to deal with the wealthy goondas who gravitate towards
such places.
Pubs have mushroomed even in smaller cities and towns of India
and become addas for anti-social elements. For instance, on July 12,
2012, a 16-year-old girl was stripped and molested by around 30 men
outside a pub in full public view on G.S Road, one of the busiest places
in Guwahati, Assam. She had gone to celebrate a friend’s birthday. But,
after her friends left, she was singled out and attacked. In Tenali, Andhra
Pradesh,a45-year-oldwomannamedBethalaKanthasuneelawasbeaten
up and killed by a group of drunkards who emerged out of a local bar
in a popular shopping centre called Gandhi Chowk. They beat up and
pushed the woman under a lorry because she protested against their
waylaying and assaulting her daughter, a B. Tech. student. Such instances
have become commonplace in most states of India.
Several regions of India have witnessed powerful anti-liquor
movements with rural women in the forefront. They have all demanded
the shutting down of liquor shops in their respective villages on
following counts:
Liquor consumption further impoverishes already poor households
with liquor addicts unable to control their urge even if it means
starvation for the rest of the family. It not only destroys the health of
the man but also has an adverse effect on the nutritional status of other
family members and education of children. Drunkards are far more
prone to beating up their wives and children.
Liquor shops attract anti-social elements and the village environment
becomes unsafe for all, especially women who fear stepping out of the
house in the evenings.

Liquor contracts are cornered by political mafias who are able to
strengthen their hold over the political and social life of villages due
totheirill-gottenwealthandcloutwiththepolice.Government’sliquor
outlet auctions in Haryana, Punjab, UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra
etc are a frightening sight with politicians of all hues come with scores
of gunmen in naked display of goonda might.
Since the rural anti-liquor movements have mostly been organised by
left-leaning organisations that mobilise poor peasants and the landless
labourers,theyreceivedenthusiasticendorsementoffeminists.However,
when urban communities protest against proliferation of bars and pub
culture, which also become gravitation centres for anti-social elements,
it is condemned as a retrogressive and “right wing” demand aimed at
curbing individual freedom.
Citizens’ Confidence in Law and Order
During my very first visit to Ahmedabad at the start of my Gujarat study
in January 2013, one of my Twitter followers from the city wrote to me
saying, “While you are there, go visit a police station. You would be
shocked (pleasantly).” There was visible pride in his urging me to go and
notice the change in the system of policing in Gujarat. During the course
of my travels through Gujarat, I visited numerous small town and village
police stations and have no hesitation in saying they are among the best
in India. The infrastructure and performance of police in big cities like
Surat and Ahmedabad, is far superior to most cities of the other states
of India. More than in police stations, the change is visible in people’s
perception of the law and order situation. Sexual harassment of women
in public places or incidents of abduction and gang rape of women have
becomeroutineinnumerousstatesofIndia.Buttheyarerelativelyrarein
Gujarat.Butwomenaresafeonlybecausemen—bothrichandpoor—also
feel safe. Twenty six year old Govind, the driver of the private taxi that
took me from Ahmedabad to Gandhinagar, says:
Even at night, there are no highway dacoities or loot maar in Gujarat, as is
happening in other states. Therefore, it is good for our business. But all this is
not just due to police crackdowns. This government has created work and job
opportunities for all. For example, there is a poor adivasi settlement around
Ambaji Mandir. Some of the men in this basti used to indulge in crimes and
loot. That community has now been given a contract for garbage recycling.

So they are very happy about having a regular source of income and are busy
making money from that. The government has a plan to make Gujarat a Zero
Garbage state with its slogan, ‘Reduce, Recycle, and Reuse.’ So it is win-win
for all.
India’s Capital: Butt of Jokes
In almost all my conversations on the streets of Ahmedabad and other
cities, the capital city of India, Delhi, always emerged as a negative
counterpoint and butt of jokes with regard to the law and order situation:
Aapke shehar mein to car parking kolekar hi goliyan chal jaati hai,log ekdoosre
ka sir phod dete hain. Zara si car mein kisi ne takkar laga di aur chota sa dent
pad gaya, to maara maari ho jaati hai. (People start shooting each other in
your city because of petty conflicts over car parking. If someone so much as
puts a small dent on another person’s car, there is a major brawl) In Gujarat
you don’t see such behaviour. Nobody goes berserk if their car is dented by
anothervehicle.WhileroadragehasbecomeverycommonincitieslikeDelhi,
people in Gujarat rarely explode over such issues.
IsawthisborneoutatleasthalfadozentimesduringmyvisitstoGujarat,
including twice when the taxi I was travelling in hit other vehicles. This
contrastinbehaviorispartlyduetothefactthatinDelhidrunkendrivers
are very common. Not so in Gujarat. A group of couples enjoying their
kulfis while chatting away on the footpath talked about riot-free Gujarat
being linked to greater sense of security:
We saw endless curfews when we were growing up. Every Hindu and Muslim
festival would lead to clashes. Today, every community is able to celebrate its
festivals in peace, be it Eid or Navratras. We feel fortunate that our children
are growing up without seeing curfews. They don’t even know what the word
means. No one lives in anxiety for their physical safety the way we did when
we were growing up.
This is not to imply Gujarat is crime free, but most people I talked to on
the streets felt their state is far better than most other states of India.
That is why the anti-rape agitation, which swept many towns and cities of
India, did not evoke much response in Gujarat because women don’t feel
as endangered being out on their own as they do in other parts of India.

Non-Invasive Police Even on Eve of High Security Events
The most remarkable thing about Gujarat cities is the sparse presence of
police on the roads. In all the days that I spent walking or driving down
withfriendslateintothenightinAhmedabadorothercities,Ididnotsee
any police barricades for checking of vehicles–something very common
in Delhi. This was particularly surprising during my January 2013 visit
because I reached Ahmedabad just before Makar Sankranti-the famed
kite festival, as well as the high-powered Vibrant Gujarat Summit in
Gandhinagar. Therefore, a large contingent of ministers, ambassadors,
andcorporatehonchosfrombothIndiaandabroadwerecommutingdaily
between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. But barring security measures
in and around the venue of the Summit, the rest of the twin cities seemed
as relaxed as ever. No one mentioned any crackdown on Muslim or Dalit
bastis or poor slums. No mention of preventive detentions of randomly
targeted people. It is noteworthy that Modi himself is on top of the hit
list of jehadi Muslim groups who have vowed revenge against him for
the 2002 riots. And yet, not once did I witness traffic being stopped to
enable VIP movement.
By contrast, in Delhi even ordinarily, city roads are littered with
police barricades even on normal days especially at night. Motorists,
scooterists, and truck drivers are routinely stopped for checks at night.
These barricades are placed so thoughtlessly, and the ‘checking’ of
vehicles is done so brainlessly that they only end up causing nuisance
to the ordinary citizens while providing an opportunity to the police to
fleece truck and private taxi drivers, as well as young couples returning
home tipsy after partying.
Before the Republic Day and Independence Day, in Delhi and other
important cities, the police arbitrarily pick up thousands of poor people
under draconian preventive detention laws on the pretext of curbing
goonda elements. Most of these people are innocent rickshaw pullers or
street hawkers who live on the pavements, and other homeless poor or
slum dwellers. The Muslim youth are a routine target. Nobody bothers to
ask whether those locked up under preventive detention laws are genuine
goondas, and if so, why were they out in the first place? Why round them
up to show ‘action’ before certain events involving VVIPs? One did not
see or hear of any such crackdown in Gujarat cities before Republic Day
or Vibrant Gujarat Summit.

Fair Representation of Muslims in Police
It is noteworthy that Gujarat leads all states in the number of Muslim
policemenpostedinpolicestations.ToquoteaTimesNewsNetworkreport
ofNovember12,2012,Gujarathasmorethanproportionalrepresentation
ofMuslimsatthelevelitmattersmost—thatis,thethanalevel.Inresponse
toanRTIenquiryfiledbytheTimesofIndia,thehomeministrysharedthe
following data: In Gujarat, where Muslims constitute 9.1 per cent of the
state’s population, 10.6 per cent of policemen posted in police stations are
Muslims.SincethisishigherthantheproportionofMuslimsinthestate’s
overall population, it indicates absence of discrimination even in police
recruitment in Gujarat. In almost all other states of India, the number
of Muslims in police stations is far lower than the percentage of Muslim
population of that state. For instance, Kerala’s Muslim population is 24.7
per cent, but Muslims constitute only 11.6 per cent of force. Muslims
constitute 25.2 per cent of West Bengal’s population but comprise only
8.4 per cent of the police force. But this increase in the number of Muslim
policemen in Gujarat has been done without making any song and dance
about it, and without creating special quotas.
The sense of optimism about their safety is palpable among all sections
of Muslims, rich or poor. Their body language speaks for itself: To quote
a Muslim businessman:
Ask any police officer and he will tell you that policing in Gujarat has
become much easier because there is no political interference by either the
chief minister or anyone else in the government. Police stations in Muslim
areas today have a far lighter workload now because criminal activities have
come down dramatically in these areas. Earlier, Dariapur and Kalupur in
Ahmedabad were the epicentres of anti-social activities. Most of the riots of
the previous 50 years started from these areas and spread from there to the
rest of the city. But in the last ten years, not a single such incident has been
registered. For one, liquor and gambling dens have almost disappeared from
these areas. Earlier, leave alone Hindus, even the educated among Muslims
used to hesitate to go into those areas. But these areas are not feared any
more. You see a lot of new construction activity in those areas because of new
prosperity and there is hardly any crime there now. Crime-prone cities are
thosewherethereareorganisedcriminalgangs.Suchgangsdon’toperatewith
impunity in Ahmedabad or other cities.

The general perception of both Hindus and Muslims is that policing in
Gujarat is far more professional than in most other states of India. This
is not to rule out cases of police high-handedness. Police corruption is
far from eliminated. But since Gujarat has in place a system of grievance
redressal that has put checks on police tyranny.
I asked a young Muslim woman, who had come from Lucknow to work
in the IT sector in Ahmedabad, what she had to say about national media
reporting that crimes against women were ‘increasing’ in Gujarat. She
replied, “You don’t judge law and order from police department statistics
because there is systematic under-reporting of crime in India. States that
register lower crime rates are not necessarily the safest places for citizens.
The most important indicator is citizens’ perception of safety. If you
take that as the benchmark, you can judge from the number of young
unescortedwomenoutonthestreetseverynightatoddhoursthatwefeel
muchsaferinGujarat.Criminalsdon’tactwith thekind ofimpunitythat
they do in many other states, especially my home state of Uttar Pradesh.”

“Narendrabhaiusedtogiveanhourlongpravachan(discourse)
on Mahatma Gandhi’s Vaishnav Jan bhajan as an integral part
of training programs for party workers. He would tell us that a BJP
karyakarta (worker) should be one who understands and feels the pain
of others. A BJP karyakarta should work for the sukha (well-being) of
all and feel the dukha (pain) of all. If we want people to trust political
leaders, we have to work for the well-being of all segments of society. If
BJP karyakartas lead by working for social good, it will strengthen our
nation as well as our samaj (society).”
ThisishowRajkot-basedBJPleader,VijaybhaiRupanidescribedthecore
message given by Narendra Modi to motivate party workers to prioritise
samaj seva (service of society) while he was doing organisational work
for the BJP. When I asked him to describe the themes of Modi’s speeches,
Vijaybhai said Narendrabhai talked a great deal about the importance
of karuna (compassion) and selfless service among party workers. He
emphasisedallthevaluesthatareincorporatedintheVaishnavJanbhajan
(devotional song) associated with Gandhi ji. Rupani added:
Of Trusteeship, Dharma & Compassion
NaMo’s Connect with Gandhi ji & Gautam Buddha
It is my conviction and shraddha (faith) that on economic issues, Gandhi is
relevant even today...If I have such a powerful legacy, it is my responsibility to
bring it to the world’s attention…. In Buddhism, I see dharma entrenched in
karuna (compassion). I believe compassion is the most valuable essence of life.
When I formed the government, these values got ingrained even deeper. What
attracts me about Buddha is his inclusive philosophy; secondly, his modernity;
and thirdly, his belief in the importance of Sangathan—the idea of Sangha.
CHAPTER 22

It is an intrinsic part of his political vision that building the organisation and
recruiting party workers is not enough; we must have the political maturity to
carry the samaj with us. If I had kept detailed notes of those training sessions
in which Narendrabhai galvanised party workers, that compendium would
havebecomerenownedasanauthoritativetextonSangathanShastra(Treatise
on Building Organisations).
For instance, he would emphasise the mantra: Pratyek karyakarta ke liye
kaam aur pratyek kaam ke liye karyakarta. (For every task, there must be a
responsiblepartyworker,andforeverypartyworker,theremustbeidentifiable
work). Secondly, he taught us that without a sense of purpose, a sense of larger
mission, a party worker becomes a cog in the wheel (uthak baithak ka hissa),
performing routine tasks robotically. He was very effective in motivating BJP
workerstodosomethingmeaningfulforthecountryandforsociety.Hepaida
greatdealofattentiontocreatinggoodandhonestworkers.Mostimportantly,
he paid minute attention to building systems.
I had already seen evidence of all this in Modi’s bottom-up agenda of
development and the zeal with which he had worked to improve systems
ofgovernanceinordertoenhancethequalityoflifeandstandardofliving
of the poor, especially in rural areas. However, whenever I mention his
nameinconnectionwithGandhiji,peoplegetenraged—asthoughIhave
said something sacrilegious.
So I thought it best to ask Modi during one of my interviews as to how
he related to Mahatma Gandhi and what the Vaishnav Jan bhajan meant
to him. This is what he had to say:
Yes I have spoken on Gandhi ji’s Vaishnav Jan bhajan at many places. In
fact, I used to deliver hour-long speeches describing why Gandhi ji loved this
bhajan. If we think carefully and dwell on each word of this song, composed
500 years ago, we will find that everything said in it is still relevant, especially
for our public life. He speaks against corruption and importance of personal
integrity. In short, it is a manifesto for public life and morality. So, I worked
around the words and would say: Jan pratinidhi to tene kahiye, jo peed parai
jaane re; par dhukhe upkaar kare, tave man abhiman na aane re. (A people’s
representative is one who feels the pain of others; one who removes the
sorrows of others and yet does not let a trace of pride or arrogance come
into his heart).

This used to be part of my worker development programmes. I used to
analyse each line of this bhajan and explain why Gandhi ji promoted these
values in public life; it contains all the wisdom you need for public life. It is a
great misfortune for our country that this bhajan is played only on October 2
at Rajghat. It should have become an instrument of inculcating moral values.
Gandhi ji liked this bhajan because Gandhi’s DNA and the elements of this
geet match each other. I hold it up as a model of conduct for our party and
RSS workers. In the RSS, there is an old tradition of remembering this bhajan
every morning. Their pratah smaran (morning remembrance) starts with
Gandhi ji’s name.
I could not get the full one-hour recording of his speech to BJP party
workers because Modi’s speeches started getting recorded only after he
became CM. However, I found small extracts of this theme in a speech
Modi delivered to government employees as part of a series of chintan
shivirs (self-reflection camps) to motivate them to become karmayogis
(one who is wedded to doing his duty selflessly and with devotion). I
present below my translation of the portions I was able to get hold of:
Gandhi’s favourite geet was Vaishnav Jan (one who has internalised Vishnu or
the Divine; a pure hearted person). If the words of this geet are in your diary
or echo in your home, in your office, you will not require anything more to
live your life as a karmayogi. I had heard it for years before I realised its power.
One day, suddenly early morning sometime in the year 1994-95, this song lit
a spark in my heart. If you substitute the word karmayogi with vaishnav jan,
you will understand the spirit that must inspire those in government. Each
employee should be a karmayogi. Vashnav jan or karmayogis are those:
Who understand the pain of others and help those who are in misery;
Who do par upkaar (good to others), and yet do not let ahankar (ego or
arrogance) enter their minds;
Who do vandana (pay respect) tothewholeworld, butdonotindulgeinninda
(speak ill) of anyone;
Who view all with samdrishti (treat everyone equally) and have given up
trishna (personal hankering); A person who is in power must have samdrishti
(treat all equally);
Who keep their words, actions and thoughts pure;
The mother of such a soul is blessed;
Whose vani (voice) may get tired but never speaks asatya (untruth);

Whose hands never touch the wealth of others.
They do not succumb to worldly attachments and remain detached from
material pleasures.
They have been enchanted by the name of God (Shri Ram).
Therefore, their heart is as holy as all the sacred pilgrimage sites put together.
A Vaishnav represents the absence of greed and deceit.
They have renounced all types of lust and anger.
Their virtues liberate their entire generation ....
This song was written hundreds of years ago. Even in that day and age,
Narsinh Mehta knew about the dangers of corruption and greed. Friends,
I urge you to recognise the power of this song and understand its message.
Please keep the words of this song on your table and you will understand
why Mahatma Gandhi acquired the strength that he had. He knew the power
behind the lyrics of this song. I want that this song should become a source
of power for each of us.
In his interview with me, Modi went on to describe how he has tried to
implement Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas in every aspect of his work:
It is my conviction and shraddha (faith) that even on economic issues,
Gandhi is relevant even today. One of my lectures on the 100th
anniversary of
Devarbhai—who was the All India Congress president and a close colleague
of Morarjibhai—deals with the relevance of Gandhi ji’s ideas. Devarbhai
was from my own village, Vadnagar, and had done excellent work for land
reforms.Mygovernmenthadcelebratedhis100th
anniversaryeventhoughthe
Congress Party and the rest of the country did not even remember it. People
were surprised and asked why the BJP government was honouring a Congress
leader? But I see him as a freedom fighter who belongs to the nation. That day
I had shared with the Gandhians at Sabarmati Ashram how all the decisions
of my government are influenced by Gandhi ji’s ideas and vision.
No government in India had ever thought of celebrating Gandhi Jayanti
in the birthplace of the Mahatma in Porbandar. It used to be a small local
event until my government started the tradition in 2003. We organised three
programmes there:
A vegetarian food festival because this issue is related with Mahatma
Gandhi.
A cleanliness campaign.
A Khadi fashion show.

Some people oppose fashion shows and go to the extent of vandalising such
events.SuchincidentsreallysaddenmedeeplyeventhoughIdon’tspeakabout
them. It is in my nature to show my strength through action. So I organised
a fashion show to counter that negative mind-set.
On that occasion I gave a mantra, “Before Independence, Khadi was for the
nation; after Independence, let Khadi be used for fashion.” I made a special
request to Vinoba ji’s disciple Bal ji to grace the occasion. Due to Dwarkadas
ji, I’ve always had good relations with Sarvodya people. Bal ji was very close to
Vinoba ji and dressed like Gandhi ji. Since Bal ji came, other Sarvodya people
came too. Now, a fashion show does not fit into their pattern of thinking. But I
told the students of the NID (National Institute of Design) to help me promote
Khadi in a modern way. So, with Vaishnav bhajan playing in the background,
the NID students organised a Khadi show for us—Khadi in different styles
and garments. Bal ji told me, “Narendrabhai, nobody could have imagined
that one can promote Khadi in this manner.” That set a new trend. Now, there
are many who have started organising Khadi fashion shows.
When Naval Kishore Sharma was the Governor of Gujarat (he was a very
talented leader of the Congress Party he publicly praised this innovation in
promoting Khadi saying that when he was the chairman of Khadi Board,
it never occurred to him to promote Khadi in these ways. For instance, on
Gandhi Jayanti, the Khadi Board offers a special discount on Khadi but I
make it a campaign by leading a procession to Khadi Haat to buy the fabric.
On that day, our government issues full-page ads for the promotion of Khadi.
But I don’t insist people to become khadidhari—that is, wear only Khadi and
nothingelse.Myappealisthatifyouhavenumerousvarietiesoffabricsinyour
home, why not make it a point to ensure that Khadi is one of them? Just make
it a point to buy Khadi products whenever you can. This campaign is carried
out all over the state. As a result, we have witnessed a 40 per cent increase in
the sale of Khadi in that one week of Gandhi Jayanti.
I also introduced this tradition of offering a Khadi handkerchief and a book
instead of offering a bouquet of flowers to dignitaries. I tell people if you give
somebody flowers, within a day or two they will land in a pile of garbage. But
if you give a book, it can pass on from person to person. So in every aspect of
my social reform efforts, you will see the imprint of Gandhi. For instance, the
emphasis on Samras Gaon (a village that has elected its panchayat through
harmoniousconsensus)isbasicallyGandhi’sideology.Similarly,theJyotigram
Yojana providing 24x7 power supply to each village is inspired by Gandhi’s
idea that unless you uplift villages, you cannot uplift India.

AtthetimeofinauguratingtheJyotigramYojana,Iwouldorganiseabigmela
inthatareatodedicatethenewpowerstationtothatdistrict.Ineachofthosebig
events, there would be 2 to 2.5 lakh people since electricity was then a big issue
inGujarat.ButIdidn’tcollectallthosepeoplejusttogetpoliticalendorsement.
Each mela was accompanied by an exhibition to educate people on the many
uses of electricity—how potters or ironsmiths or dhobis can use electricity to
improvetheirlives.Therewereactualdemonstrationstoshowthemultifaceted
uses of electricity in the lives of various marginalised groups of society.
My purpose was to educate our people that power supply doesn’t mean
just watching television. If electricity doesn’t bring value addition to your life
then it is of little use. I also conveyed the message that Gandhi was never anti-
technologybyhavingabigpictureofGandhijilookingthroughamicroscope.
Gandhi had a scientific mind; otherwise, why would he have taken so much
interest in a microscope?
When I talk of environment, I use the photograph of Gandhi on a bicycle
as a backdrop. My speaking 1,00,000 words or giving long speeches does not
have the kind of impact that one photograph of Gandhi has. If I have such a
powerful legacy, it is my responsibility to bring it to the world’s attention. That
is how the idea of building Mahatma Mandir as a unique convention centre
in Gandhinagar came to me. Right now, Mahatma Mandir has reached 30
per cent completion though we have organised several mammoth events in it
already. Wait until it is completed to understand what it stands for. It is fully
imbuedwithGandhi’sspirit.Forinstance,wefiguredoutatwhatdegreeBapu’s
body inclined while walking with his trademark lathi. The pillars of Mahatma
Mandir are inclined at exactly that angle. I have paid attention to the minutest
detail of Gandhi’s life. When it is complete, I will do a full spread-out of all
these elements. Dandi March was a very major event in Gandhi’s life. I have
made a Dandi Kutir (hut to commemorate Gandhi’s historic Dandi March at
thestartofSaltSatyagraha)inMahatmaMandir.Ontheterrace,wewillcreate
a Gandhi Garden—this will be the biggest terrace garden in the world. In that
garden we will bring alive, with the aid of technology, each year of Gandhi’s
life with a particular event connected with that period in such a manner that
a child who walks through the garden will have enough material to know and
understand the essentials of Gandhi.
Another unique feature of Mahatma Mandir is linked to my basic nature
of bringing about connectivity among people (mein moolta jodne ki pravriti
wala hoon). That is why we asked the people of Gujarat to bring some earth
and water of their village for laying the foundation of Mahatma Mandir. Thus,

water and earth from 18,000 villages of Gujarat have gone into the foundation
ofMahatmaMandir.WealsobroughtearthandwaterfromeachstateofIndia
as well as from each of those countries where people of Indian origin have
gone and settled to be part of the foundation of Mahatma Mandir. Gandhi
was a world citizen. That is why we put the earth and water of every region of
the world into the foundation of Mahatma Mandir.
ItsfoundationwaslaidonMay1,2010,intheGoldenJubileeyearofGujarat.
People from different villages and states of India came in processions with
their earth and water. We held a big exhibition of Gandhi on that occasion.
On 2nd October, I always go to Porbandar to pay my homage to Bapu.
Many people have visited Porbandar but very few had noticed that behind
Gandhi ji’s mother Putlibai’s parental home, there is a 200-year-old rainwater
harvesting structure. I felt that it is not enough that people just go and offer
flowers at Gandhi ji’s birthplace; let us arrange things in a manner that every
visitor has to end up visiting that house and see the traditional rain harvesting
arrangement. We created a tiny special bridge to reach Putlibai’s house in
order to let people see how Gandhi ji’s ancestors valued water and harvested
rain even 200 years ago.
I bring every little aspect of Gandhi ji’s life into my work. In social forestry,
that is, in planting trees outside forest areas, Gujarat is number one in India.
I am not the kind who believes in astrology. Lots of people have commented
thatIamamongtherarebreedofnetaswhodoesn’twearanygemstonesonmy
fingers in the hope of bringing me good luck. However, when astrology comes
in handy to drive home a positive message, I don’t hesitate to use it. Somebody
had sent me a book about the benefits of wearing different gemstones for
drawing positive energy from their respective astrological planets. The book
also talks about the specific trees beneficial for each astrological sign.
That gave me the idea of directing our forest department to dedicate one of
our Van Mahotsavs (Forest Festival) to create a Rashivan (Planetary forest)
in every municipal corporation. The Gujarat government has organised
numerous Van Mahotsavs on different themes in every district to make social
forestry a mass movement. Through the Rashivan idea I urge people to plant
trees that are believed to be beneficial for their astrological sign.
We have also incentivized every village to have a panchvati (a green belt
drawing its name from the forest in which Ram, Lakshman, and Sita lived
during their years of exile). Apart from encouraging tree plantation, my basic
idea was that longevity is increasing in India. Even in villages you do find
people in their 80’s or even 90’s. What activity do they have left at that age? So

Idecidedtocreatepleasantplacesforseniorcitizenstosocialize. Everyvillage
already has a Ram Mandir. I announced that the government would give a
specialgrantforeveryvillagethatdecidestocreateaPanchvatinexttoitslocal
Ram Mandir. It must have a lot of trees and comfortable benches. Some even
have a children’s playground attached to them. In the evening when people
go to the temple for aarti, they can sit around in a relaxed environment. Now
even couples come to enjoy an evening chat away from the family. I want the
village culture to change and make space for young married couples to also
have a place for a carefree chat.
Inmyvillage,thereusedtobeanoldbavadi(watertank),whichhadbecome
a giant garbage bin for the village. I named it Jalmandir and got is property
cleaned. “Secular” people may have trouble with my naming style. But I use
such names because then you don’t have to explain that people should keep
the place clean and not throw garbage in it.
I have already announced that we will launch an all India campaign to
make our country garbage free—make it Swachh and Nirmal Bharat (Clean
and Pristine India)—to mark the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
There are so many old step wells in Gujarat, which are getting recharged
due to our water harvesting efforts. These exquisitely beautiful structures are
worth billions. I have revived so many of them. Gandhi’s imprint is visible
in all of this.
For traditional artisans we have created several big haats, like Dilli Haat
– where we invite handicraft producers to come and sell their wares. The
government pays their travel expenses as well as provide them board, lodging,
and food. We sent adivasi artisans to Assam and Nagaland to learn to make
high quality bamboo products.
Similarly, in Ambaji Mandir, thousands of devotees come every day and
offer coconuts to the goddess. The practice was that the same coconut would
be sent out to the market through the back door and be sold again to other
devotees as an offering to the goddess. I stopped this and said any coconut
offered to the goddess has to be broken right then and there. Ambaji Mandir
Trust provides low priced food to people. So they were running a kitchen
anyway. We worked out a system to use the coconut kernel to make a special
nutritional sweet dish to be distributed free to tribal children at the time
of midday meal in schools. And the top skin (hair) of coconuts are given
free to tribals and OBCs for making toys. They were given special training
into the art of toy making. That is another value addition. Thus we have not
only stopped corruption in coconut offerings but also found nutritional and

employment solutions. This is part of putting our traditions and Gandhian
values to creative use.
Samras Panchayats: Core Value of Gandhi in Action
In his conversations and speeches, Narendra Modi frequently admits
to having learnt at the feet of many Gandhian freedom fighters and
intellectual giants. For instance, as described in chapters 3 and 5, the
very first move Modi made as CM on October 8, 2001, was to announce
specialincentivesforvillagesthatelectedsamraspanchayats—atypically
Gandhian idea. During the course of one of my interviews with him, I
asked him from where he got the idea of Samras Panchayats. This is what
Modi had to say:
Inourtown,therewerethesetwopeople—Dr.DwarkadasJoshiandVasantbhai
Paresh. Dwarkadas Joshi was dedicated to Vinoba ji and Vasantbhai was a
Gandhian and greatly influenced by Vivekanand. He was also a Sarvodayi
and a bit of a revolutionary.
From my very childhood, I was deeply impressed by the personality of
Dwarkadas ji, who was a symbol of humility. His eyes, his speech, and his
simplicity were very moving. During my childhood, I had heard him talk
about Vinoba ji saying when there is a parliamentary election, there may be
tensionduringtherun-uptotheelectionbutlateron,everythingsettlesdown.
But, when there is a panchayat election, the village gets permanently
divided. There are times when marriages fall apart and daughters are sent
back from their in-laws’ homes on this count. So, why can’t we show this little
maturity and have the entire village together decide who all should shoulder
the responsibility of the panchayat? Hence, this idea remained latent in my
mind since childhood.
I could not implement this idea earlier because I had no influence with
governmentaffairs.SinceIwasassignedthetaskofbuildingtheorganisation,I
stayed focused on that and kept thinking of various ways and means to deliver
good work in that field.
But soon after becoming chief minister, I made the announcement for
samras panchayats. The Congress Party and the media criticised me no end,
calling me undemocratic and authoritarian. They accused me of destroying
democracy. So one day I had a discussion with media persons and asked them:
“If 51 versus 49 per cent can be democracy, if 60 versus 40 or 90 versus 10 can
also be democracy, why can’t 100 versus Zero be considered democracy?”

Gandhi’s Trusteeship in Action
It is well known that Modi has lived like a wandering sanyasi during
his long years as RSS pracharak as well as BJP organiser. He owned no
assets until then. Even after becoming CM, he owns a modest house in
Gandhinagar and hardly any personal assets.
His officers tell me, he uses just one room in the chief minister’s
bungalow, which has the most basic furniture—a bed, a work table,
computer, TV, a couple of chairs, and books. He eats simple Gujarati
food and is spartan in his habits. He may not wear Mahatma Gandhi
style minimal clothing or live in a mud hut, but his personal lifestyle is
very austere. He doesn’t use an army of servants at home. There is just
one person who cooks his meals and takes care of the one room he lives
in. Even this lone personal staff is allowed to leave for home at 9 p.m.
Like Gandhi ji, he is obsessive about avoiding waste and never loses
even a cheap Rs. two ballpoint pen that he normally uses. It lasts with
him till its ink runs out. Even small personal items like comb and nail
cutter last him for decades.
Gujaratgovernmentofficerssaythatheguardspublicmoneywithfierce
zeal and does not allow any wastage because he has deeply internalised
Gandhi ji’s theory of trusteeship and believes that his job is to prevent
misuse of public money and ensure that it is only used for public good.
Hisattemptstoliveuptopeople’sexpectationsoncomingtopower—Na
khaoonga, na khaane doonga (I will neither siphon off public money, nor
letothersdoit)—havewonhimmanyadversarieswhocallhimdictatorial
on this account. Even though corruption has not been eliminated
from Gujarat, he has worked with commitment to plug the sources of
corruption by introducing systemic reforms that bring transparency
and accountability. In the process, Gujarat has witnessed numerous
innovative reforms in governance.
His commitment to Gandhi ji’s philosophy of trusteeship became
manifest even in the manner he announced, within a month of coming
topower,thatallthegiftspresentedtohimbycitizens,wouldbeauctioned
and given to a special corpus—Kanya Kelavani Fund—for supporting
girls’ education in the poorest districts of Gujarat. He has said often that
afterbecomingCM,heconsidershimselfpublicproperty.“Whatevergifts
I receive after joining the government belong to the people of Gujarat.
Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of trusteeship is what inspires me.”

Inprint of Mahatma Buddha
As you enter NaMo’s office near his residence, one sees a big statue of
Gautam Buddha. I asked him why he chose Buddha’s statue and not
some other historical or religious figure. What attracts him most to the
Buddha? This is the answer I got:
Mahatma Buddha has also left a deep imprint on my life. In my personal room
also, there are three-four statues of the Buddha. This particular one was given
to me when I went to Chhattisgarh for a programme. It has been made by the
Bastar tribals with one giant piece of wood—so that in itself makes it special.
In Buddhism, I see dharma entrenched in karuna (compassion). I believe
compassionisthemostvaluableessenceoflife.WhenIformedthegovernment,
these values got ingrained even deeper. What attracts me about Buddha is
his inclusive philosophy; secondly, his modernity; and thirdly, his belief
in the importance of Sangathan—the idea of Sangha. This underlies all his
philosophy. I would often wonder how Buddha managed to reach all over the
world.Whatwasitabouthimthatlitsparkseverywherehewent,tookordinary
human beings towards their kartavya (duty) and appealed to the lower status
groups as well? Buddhism does not have too much tam-jham or celebration
of big utsavs. There is a direct connect of the individual with the Divine. That
entire thought system touches me deeply. Moreover, wherever Buddha went,
the region witnessed prosperity. Even though China had a different belief
system but Buddha has maintained his influence on China as well. Recently,
I went to China and found that their government was introducing me to
Buddhist elements of their culture with great pride. I got to know that China
is making a film on Hiuen-Tsang. I took a pro-active role and wrote to those
people saying that they should not forget the part about his stay in Gujarat.
Hiuen-Tsang lived for a long time in the village where I was born. He has
writtenaboutahostelinthatvillagewhere1,000studentmonksresided.After
I became chief minister, I got the area excavated and found archeological
evidence of things described by Hiuen-Tsang. This means Mahatma Buddha’s
philosophy would have had some influence on my ancestors.
We found similar evidence at Devaki Mori near our village. During
excavations, they found a gold box, which contains Bhagwan Buddha’s ashes.
These are lying in M.S. University at Baroda. It occurred to me that nowhere
in the world can you hold the ashes of Lord Buddha in your hand. We alone
havethistreasure.Therefore,weareplanningtoconstructabigtempleofLord
Buddha here at the exact spot from where the box of ashes was excavated. It

won’tbebuiltbythegovernment;insteadwewillmotivateprivatebodiestodo
it. I want to create an institutional frame work in collaboration with Taiwan,
Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Singapore. Its architecture should also have
a global appeal, not be limited to traditional Buddhist temples.
ThereisawidespreadbeliefthatBauddhdharmainfluencedonlytheeastern
part of India, but Gujarat provides ample proof that Buddhism was no less
influential in the western regions of India. I feel this in my own sanskars. We
have also found Buddhist caves in our region. The ‘Khushboo Gujarat Ki’ ad
campaign featuring Amitabh Bachchan shows those caves.
We signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Sri Lankan
governmentthattheywouldbringBuddhisttouristsfromSriLankaandwewould
take Gujaratis for their Ram Trail. This is just the beginning of our attempts to
developtheBuddhistheritageandbuildcloselinkswithBuddhistcountries.We
haverecentlydevelopedcloserfriendshipwithThailandbyincludingdirectflights
fromAhmedabadtoBangkok.FortypercentofIndia’stouristtradecomesfrom
Buddhist countries. But that mostly goes to eastern parts of India. I’m trying to
do my bit to see that Gujarat starts getting its due share. We had also organised
a World Buddhist Conference and a dialogue with Buddhist scholars at M.S.
University, Baroda. In Junagarh, we also have King Ashoka’s shila lekh, his
edict, on a mammoth rock. The Ashok Chakra and the three lion symbol of
the Government of India are directly connected to Gujarat.1
I’ve not done
any research on this subject but from my observations I am convinced that if
someone were to carry out research, they will discover these aspects. Gujarat
government has also made a film on the presence of King Ashoka in Gujarat.
Those who find it hard to accept the imprint of Mahatma Gandhi and
Mahatma Buddha in Modi’s life, should travel through the villages of
Gujarat to see the impact of his work on the lives of the marginalised.
Unlike most of his opponents among the “Left & secular” parties, Modi
doesn’t merely emote at the plight of the poor while keeping them
haplessly dependent as captive vote banks. His detractors should listen
to Modi’s old and current associates, people he works closely with, to
understand how the fountain spring behind all his development work is
Bapu’s talisman—deep commitment to strengthening the rights of the
weakest so that they are able to break the shackles of poverty.
1 The rock carving is actually a four lion symbol but the fourth one is not visible in the
image used by the Indian government.

Epilogue
Glimpses into My Personal Interactions with NaMo
Before I began my Gujarat study, I had heard endless stories
about the numerous high-powered PR agencies Modi is supposed
to have hired for self-marketing. Congress trolls constantly accused me
on the social media of having been lured into Modi’s camp by APCO,
allegedly one of the key image builders of Modi. Since I never saw, or
heard from anyone representing APCO even once, I was intrigued why
this mysterious entity remained invisible to me. As per the information
I gathered from Gujarat government officials, APCO’s involvement is
confined to handling the once-in-two-years Vibrant Gujarat Summit,
which involves massive participation of foreign delegations. Other than
that, APCO has no role in promoting either Gujarat or Modi.
The only PR agency of Gujarat government that I got to know is Delhi-
based Mutual PR. I met them in January 2013, at the time of the Vibrant
GujaratSummitsincetheywerecoordinatingthetravelofguestsfromDelhi
and other cities of India. However, since I let them know that I intended to
payformyownairfareandstayatmyowncostduringmyvisitstoGujarat,
theyhavenotbotheredmewithanyfurtherinvitations.NoonefromMutual
PRofferedmeanyinformationpackages,notevenofficialbookspublished
bytheGujaratgovernmentontourism,education,andahostofotherissues.
Sadanand Dhume, who has written on Gujarat for American newspapers,
told me that even he has never been wooed by any PR agency.
Whenever I needed any information, or old speeches of NaMo, I went
through regular official channels—either the Information Department
of the Gujarat government, or the Resident Commissioner of Gujarat
in Delhi. They have been extremely courteous and helpful, but nothing
came to me unsolicited, leave alone their trying to spoon-feed any
information to me. In fact, like all Gujarat government officers, the
ResidentCommissionerandofficialsofGujarat’sinformationdepartment
carry such a heavy work-load with such a thin staff, that I always felt
guilty making demands of them. Likewise, nobody from the BJP ever
called me to give me feedback on what I had written or offer me any
additional inputs.
I published the first six or seven articles on Narendra Modi without
meeting or talking to him. While they created quite a stir in various

political circles, Modi himself neither contacted me directly nor tried
to get in touch with me through others. He paid me no attention even
when I attended his public meetings in Gujarat. He could see me video-
graphing the proceedings, in the enclosure for journalists, but never even
acknowledged my presence. At one such occasion in Bharuch, where I
hadgonetowitnesshisKrishiUtsav,formerNDTVanchor,ShivThukral,
was also present. Shiv had read my articles and was very puzzled when
I told him that I had never talked to Modi. As invariably happens, after
Modi got off the stage, the journalists rushed to meet him in the CM’s
make shift anteroom. Thukral also went in for a chat and asked NaMo,
“Have you not met Madhu Kishwar?” Modi blandly said, “No.” Shiv
asked in surprise, “How come? She has written so much about you! She
is right here, why don’t you call her?” Modi’s response was something to
this effect: “Jab woh baat karna chahengi to zaroor baat karenge” (I will
meet her if and when she asks for a meeting).
Till I made a formal request for an interview, NaMo remained totally
aloof.Evenwhenwemetforlonginterviews,heneverevercommentedon
my articles about him that I had already published, let alone lavish praise
or appreciation on me. The only time I got an indication that Modi had
read my articles was when my friend Maneka Gandhi went to meet him.
Duringthecourseoftheirconversation,theygottalkingaboutmyGujarat
articles. Modi told Maneka to ask me whether I had seen the urgent
fax messages sent by the Gujarat government to three neighbouring
Congress-ruled states requesting additional forces to put down the post-
Godhrariots.1
ThiswastheonlytimeModivolunteeredsomeinformation
on his own. His office supplied copies of those letters only when I sent in
a request. The CM’s office never sent me any information or documents
other than what I asked for. Often they were too busy to send me even
what I requested.
NaMo never invited me to attend any of his public rallies, or cover
any event. Whatever events I attended, I did so on my own initiative. In
fact, at times I complained to the Gujarat government’s Department of
Informationthattheyshouldatleastsendmeintimationaboutimportant
public events of Modi so that I could plan my visits accordingly.
I am grateful that I received no pampering, or any special favours from
any officials of the Gujarat government or any of its ministers or MLAs.
1 See chapter 12.
Epilogue391

If I happened to be interviewing a BJP MLA late at night, I was offered
thesimpleGujaratimealthefamilyhadcookedforthemselves.Similarly,
if I happened to be in the midst of a long interview with a government
officeratlunchtime,onacoupleofoccasionstheconcernedofficerordered
some snacks in addition to tea. Only two officers formally invited me
home for a meal with their family. Other than that, no one dangled any
carrots, no one bothered to invite me for lavish lunches or dinners. I
could do my work with full conviction because I did not feel the weight
of any obligations.
But this cool treatment gave me an idea why Modi is so unpopular with
journalists. In India media professionals have become used to outright
bribes, wining and dining in five star hotels, special favours such as land
allotments,freebies, expensive gifts, general pampering,and all manners
of corrupt practices as their divine right. But Modi is a big spoiler of that
game. I am told no journalists or media house can claim special favours
from him; nor does he cultivate a special coterie that gets spoon-fed by
him. Had I gone expecting, or wanting to be pampered, I would have
abandoned this project long ago.
Even for claiming time, I had to battle with NaMo. He works 18 to 19
hours a day, 365 days a year and his schedule is packed and planned so far
in advance, that he found it difficult to give me the kind of time I needed.
I asked for a minimum of two-hour sessions each time, which was not
easyforhimtoaccommodate.ThereweretimeswhenIwroteangrymails
thinking he was playing hard to get. For instance, one of my messages to
his OSD read: “Please pass on this message to the Hon’ble CM. I do not
wish to impose on his time. If Mr. Modi does not see any value in giving
me time to interview him, I can do my study of Gujarat even without
talking to him, as I have done so far. I don’t want to be seen as pestering
him or pleading for time. I am aware he is very very busy. Every minute
of his day is precious. So it is not easy for him to take out time. If it is not
worth his while, let us simply close this chapter. No hard feelings. From
now on I am not going to be the one to ask.”
I did get time for several sessions before and after this message but
each interview had to be wrung out of him. I regretted very much that
I had not started this study some years earlier when it would have been
relatively easier to get his time even though he has always maintained the
18-19 hours a day work schedule. He has so much to say, and such rich
experiences to share, it is a pity that none have bothered thus far to draw
Modi, Muslims and Media 392

out some of it by listening to him seriously, instead of asking the same
old clichéd questions to flaunt their own “secular” credentials.
Among the noteworthy things about NaMo’s work style and office, for
thetimebeing,Iwouldliketosharethefollowing:Heismeticulousabout
punctuality.Unlikemostpoliticians,Modidoesn’tkeeppeoplewaitingor
hanging around his office. If I got called at 4 p.m., I was ushered in within
minutes of the appointed time. Except for one meeting in the secretariat,
all our meetings took place in his office next to his residence. Unlike the
offices and homes of most chief ministers, Modi’s office doesn’t have long
or even short queues of people waiting to see him. Everyone gets called
in within minutes of the appointed time. His office-cum-residence has
minimum staff. After the security check, I only saw one or at most two
persons around the CM’s office. They serve water and tea without the
visitorhavingtoaskforit.Thereisasmallsecretariatattachedtohisoffice,
but it is so quiet and so sparsely populated that you don’t even hear any
voices. It is the quietest office of a high-powered man I have ever seen.
Equallyunusualisthefactthateachpersonwhoisgivenanappointment
gets uninterrupted one-on-one time with him. He doesn’t allow phone
calls during the duration of the entire meeting, unless there is an
emergency. No official or secretary comes in the middle of his meetings.
This is standard practice, whether he is meeting a poor fisherman, a
school teacher, or one of his MLAs or officials. Each person who has gone
to meet him has had a similar experience: for the time that Modi is with
that person, be it five minutes or five hours, that person gets Modi’s full
attention.
The first time I met Narendra Modi, I happened to be very unwell with
abadcoldandasplittingheadache.Halfwaythroughtheinterview,Ihad
to say, Narendrabhai, at least offer me a cup of tea. He apologised saying,
“I am sorry, these things don’t occur to me. This office is all about work.”
But he did order a cup of tea for me. A few days later, I jokingly told his
private secretary, your CM is indeed funny, doesn’t even offer a cup of
chai! Since then I started getting a cup of my preferred black tea without
asking every time we met. In fact, even his staff doesn’t need reminding
that I prefer black tea.
On one occasion, my interview time with Modi was fixed for 9 a.m.
and I was to go straight from the airport to his office-cum-residence.
A day before the meeting, I got a phone call from his OSD asking me
what I would like for nashta. It came as a surprise, but I assumed that
Epilogue393

NaMo was inviting me to have breakfast with him. When I reached his
office, I was offered Gujarati delicacies, along with tea, in the reception
room itself. Thinking I was going to have breakfast with him, I did not
touch anything. But when I went in for the interview, there was no sign
of breakfast. On being asked if I had taken my nashta, I said that I was
under the impression that I am going to have breakfast with you. I am
not the kind who would sit and eat in your reception area. His response
was, “I am sorry, I am fasting on account of chaturmaas. In any case, I
rarely have meals with people when they come to meet me. It wastes too
much time.”
It is standard practice for Modi’s office to serve tea and/or snacks in the
receptionareaforallvisitors,whiletheywaitfortheirappointment.Thisis
done irrespective of the social status of the visitor. Even ordinary farmers
or students who go and meet him are extended the same courtesy by his
staff.2
Even his old friends get treated the same way. He meets them very
warmly but I am told he has never invited any one for dinner or lunch to
his house. Since he works nonstop till early hours of the morning, there
is no space for entertaining guests. At best, his friends get to share a light
snack or fruit with him which he brings from home.
Had I been writing on any other politician, I am likely to have received
numerous invitations for wining and dining. But with Modi I got the
same treatment that any known or unknown person gets in his office.
Oneofthemostmemorableaspectsofmy14-15hourslongconversations
with Modi, spread over half a dozen meetings, is that I never once heard
him say a bad word about anyone—not even those like Teesta Setalvad or
Tarun Tejpal—who have hounded him for years. The most he said was, “I
don’t understand why these people went after me like that. It really hurts.
I never did anything to harm them.” I did not expect this sort of restraint
from a man who appears so combative when electioneering.
Most people who know him personally say that he is an extremely
soft hearted person, totally unlike the macho fighter persona he puts on
in campaign meetings. Even when talking to me about the endless fire
ordeals he went through and the ignominies hurled on him, he never
2 For an account of the reception given to an unknown Muslim student from Patna,
who sought an appointment with NaMo through Twitter read: Sultan Alimuddin,
“MyTweettoNarendraModi,”postedatManushiwebsite,Web.http://www.manushi.
in/articles.php?articleId=1750#.Uw3cNPSSxJM.

once sounded agitated, self pitying or angry. By all accounts he never
raiseshisvoicebutlightsupwhentalkingaboutalltheinnovationshehas
introducedinGujarat.Hesayshislife’smottoistocounternegativitywith
positive actions, not by dwelling on the harm people are causing him. As
he often says in his public meetings, “The more keechad you throw at me,
the more will the Lotus (BJP symbol) bloom. When people throw stones
at me, I use them to build bridges or ladders to reach out or climb high.”
HedidnotbadmouthevenCongressleaders,includingoneofhismain
tormentors, Ahmed Patel, who has been one of the masterminds behind
Modi’spersecution. Infact, NaMotalked warmlyabout the timewhenhe
andPatelhadsuchacordialfriendshipthatPatelwouldofteninviteModi
to his house in Delhi to share Gujarati meals. Likewise, I did not hear
a bad word about Keshubhai or any of the Delhi leaders who have done
their best to block his emergence as BJP’s PM candidate. In fact, Modi
told me clearly, “You will never get me to talk about the internal affairs
of BJP or any of my colleagues in the party. I know journalists don’t like
it. But I am not going to change this instrinsic aspect of my personality.”
Since, it has been my established practice as the editor of Manushi, to
send who ever I have interviewed the full text of what I intend to publish
inthatperson’sname,IaskedNaMotoreadthefulltranslationofmylong
video-recorded conversations with him in order to check the manuscript
for accuracy. His response was, “If I check it, what you publish becomes
my responsibility. I would rather it remain your responsibility. I don’t
believe in interfering in other people’s work.”
The unspoken message was, ‘Don’t expect me to feel obliged if you
write well about me, just as I won’t hold it against you if you write foul
things about me. You do your job, as you think fit, I am doing mine. No
obligation on either side.’
Epilogue395

Acknowledgements
This book1
would never have been written had my study of Gujarat
not offered me a wealth of evidence that far from being guilty of
engineering riots in 2002, far from being anti-minorities, Narendra
Modi actually did all in his power to quell the violence and bridge the
communal and caste divides which were tearing Gujarat asunder. The
clear exoneration of Narendra Modi in the meticulous report prepared
by the Supreme Court appointed SIT lent further strength to what I
discovered from my own study of post Godhra Gujarat. The country
is indebted to the SIT team for having resisted all manners of political
pressures, and even vilification, with a view to forcing them to tailor-fit
the report to the Congress Party’s requirements.
This book would never have been written had Sonia Congress and its
comrades-in-arms in the Communist parties, especially the CPM, not
deployed their best political brains to devise the most sinister strategies
to fabricate a whole demonology around Narendra Modi.
This book would never have been written if the Congress and its allies
had the courage and integrity to fight Modi politically on genuine issues,
ratherthanusinghirelingsfordestroyingtheirprimechallengerthrough
character assassination and trial by innuendo with the single-minded
aim of toppling his government in Gujarat and prevent his rise to power
at the Centre.
Thisbookwouldhaveneverbeenwrittenifonehadnotseentherhetoric
of “secularism” being used as a mask to cover mafia operations and all
manner of crimes by the leading politicians and public figures of India;
had political parties claiming to be “secular” not employed their choicest
stalwarts to spew venom against Modi as their primary occupation for
the last 12 years.
ThisbookwouldneverhavebeenwritteniftheCongress-CPMcombine
had not given their game away by making common cause with the worst
elements of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal, as well as
devious elements within the BJP and the RSS, to let loose a tsunami of
1 This book is a continuation of the Modinama series of articles I published on the
Manushi website (www.manushi.in) after my first few visits to Gujarat. This is work-
in-progressandwillsoonbefollowedbyatleastone,ifnottwomorebooksonGujarat
under Modi’s regime.

hate against a man who had done them no harm. The fact that they felt
threatenedbyModi’sdeterminationtoimprovethequalityofgovernance
andbridgethedividebetweenHindus,Muslims,andChristiansbetrayed
the true character of their politics and made it imperative that this game
be exposed.
I would not have felt compelled to undertake this study of post-2002
Gujarat if the most “eminent” among print media and TV journalists
not become brazen megaphones of the smear campaign against Modi
engineeredbytheCongress-CPMcombine;ifthe24x7TVnewschannels
hadnotmadeitpossibleforordinarycitizenstoseehowpoliticaldiscourse
isdistortedandpartisanagendasmaderespectable;iftheobsessivenature
of hate chants by hysterical TV anchors for the last 12 years not created
widespread revulsion and forced me to probe into the wellsprings of
their paranoia.
Iwouldneverhaveabandonedallmyotherworkandmadethestudyof
post-2002Gujarattheprimaryfocusofmyattention,ifnumerousproxies
oftheCongressPartyamongNGOsandactivistsclaimingtobedefenders
of human rights, had not gone overboard in building a sinister phobic
politics around the Gujarat chief minister by mesmerising themselves
into believing that by throwing daily muck at Modi, they could persuade
everyone in India that no greater evil than Narendra Modi existed on
the face of the earth. They have destroyed the credibility of human rights
activism by their willingness to act as foot soldiers of vile politicians.
I would not have taken on this work with such fierce determination, if I
hadnotseenprominentvoiceswithintheacademicestablishmentbecome
willing accomplices in subverting democracy through a systematic
misinformationcampaignandoutrightliesunderthepretenseoffighting
“communalism”. To the best of my knowledge, none of the professional
baiters of Modi spent any time researching in Gujarat; many did not
even set foot in the state and yet wrote and spoke with amazing zeal and
conviction against Modi. Some of them did this knowingly, while others
seem to have acted under pressure of being politically correct, in order
to safeguard their career prospects with those who control access to
research funds, invitations to international conferences, and placement
in prestigious universities.
My task was made harder by the fact that many of them are my old
friends and colleagues. But they shunned and slandered me as though
by going against their view of things, I had committed heinous crimes.
Acknowledgements397

On the positive side:
This book could be written only because NaMo built an impressive track
record of steadfast efforts to remain anchored in positive energy, despite
being made an international hate object.
I am deeply indebted to all those in Gujarat who shared their insights
and experiences of post-2002 Gujarat with me. This includes farmers,
businessmen, politicians, government officers, students, journalists,
teachers, lawyers, doctors, houseives, old friends and associates of
NarendraModi.Manyofthemhavebeenquotedinthisvolumeandothers
will get named as I share parts of their recorded interviews in subsequent
volumes.ButBapuSadatAli,ChaitanyaPatelandhisfatherChandrakant
PatelofdistrictBharuch,Prof.GunvantShahandPiyushPatelofBaroda;
Brijeshh Patel, Mukul Jani, Jatin Sanghhani and Kiritbhai of Rajkot;
Divyakant, Sirajbhai and Wahabbhai of Junagarh; Ahmedbhai Sindhi
of Godhra, Yousafbhai of Gir village, Hussainbhai of Drub village near
Mundraport,MiyanHussainofDordo, VishnuPandyaandKishorebhai
MakwanaofAhmedabad—deservespecialmentionbecausetheirformal
and informal conversations proved extremely valuable for my work.
I am also grateful to various officers of Gujarat government who gave
me time from their hectic schedules to share their personal experiences
of having worked with NaMo.
Iwouldalsoliketorecordmyappreciationto www.gujaratriots.comfor
providingavaluablereckonerontheGujaratriots.Ihad,atfirst,dismissed
this blog as a mere propaganda tract because of its charged emotional
tone. But once I started counter-checking the facts from the links it
had provided to contemporary newspaper reports, I felt grateful for the
enormous effort this young student (who prefers to remain anonymous)
had put in single-handedly to collate and analyse contemporary news
reports to bring out the truth behind Gujarat riots in the public domain.
I also take this occasion to thank the Centre for the Study of Developing
Societies (CSDS), for leaving me free to do my study of post-2002 Gujarat
despite the virulent hostility of many of my colleagues. This is especially
remarkable considering that CSDS has, from the start, been a citadel of
anti-Modi campaigns. The founders of CSDS have left a strong legacy of
intellectualfreedomthatallowedmethespacetosurviveattheCentredespite
my politically-unfashionable views on this and numerous other subjects.
Myspecialthankstomyoldestcolleague,PrabhaTiwari,whohasbeena
pillarofstrengthandsupportformeforthelast20years.throughvarious

highs and lows. She, along with Anugraha, Anantha, Amita, Aaina,
Anurag,Nibedita,Yogesh,andseveralothernewandoldManushifriends
helped me through various stages of this manuscript by transcribing
countless hours of video recordings from my field trips in Gujarat,
helpingmesiftthroughnumerousdocuments,typedorproofreadendless
revisions of these chapters. This book would have taken much longer to
take shape without their help.
Iowespecialthankstomyfriendandcolleague,Babulforhisinvaluable
help with this book. I know he hates being thanked but I cannot help but
say,whatagreatprivilegeitistohavehimasasoundingboardandhonest
critic from the very early days of Manushi.
As always, my deepest debt of gratitude is to my parents. They gave
me unconditional support and love no matter how much I went against
some of their cherished beliefs; they stood by me even when I made
blunders that caused them enormous pain. They respected my desire to
learn from my own mistakes rather than live through received wisdom;
they nurtured in me love of truth and justice. I need several life times to
repay their debt.
Finally, this book could not have been written if, at a very early age,
I had not found an intellectual and moral anchor in Mahatma Gandhi
who taught me that ‘Satya and Ahinsa’ (Truth and Non-Violence) are far
better guides to judge the worth of any political action or idea than high-
sounding ideologies. I am indebted to Bapu for giving me the strength to
avoid being swayed by politically fashionable currents, to stay steadfast
in the face of intellectual terror of those who claim monopoly in defining
political correctness, to remain undeterred by slander, and stand alone
when necessary.
Acknowledgements399

About the Author
MadhuPurnimaKishwarisaProfessorattheCentrefortheStudy
ofDevelopingSocietiesandDirectorIndicStudiesProjectatCSDS.
She is also the founder editor of Manushi - A Journal about Women and
Society,which was started in 1978. The print edition of Manushi gave way
to online edition in 2008. (See www.manushi.in).
SheisalsothefounderPresidentofManushiSangathan,anorganization
working for democratic reforms that promote greater social justice and
strengthenhumanrightsofall,especiallywomen.Kishwarpreferstokeep
her work with Manushi as a “labour of love” rather than a professional
engagement. Manushi is managed by a non-profit Trust.
Both her work at CSDS as well as her labour of love with Manushi
is aimed at finding effective solutions for various economic, political
and social problems confronting our society through patient study,
non-partisan approach, live interaction with the concerned people and
informed activism. She is known to avoid the trap of ‘isms’ and prefers
to anchor her politics in truth, compassion and non-violence.
She has authored/edited the following books:
Zealous Reformers, Deadly Laws, Sage Publishers, (2008).
Deepening Democracy: Challenges of Governance and Globalization in
India, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2005.
Off the Beaten Track: Rethinking Gender Justice for Indian Women,
Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1999.
Religion at the Service of Nationalism and Other Essays, Oxford
University Press, New Delhi, 1998. Translated into Hindi under the
title Rashtravaad Ki Chaakri Mein Dharma, Vani Prakshan, 2005.
(Ed) The Dilemma and Other Stories by Vijaydan Detha, Manushi
Prakashan, 1997.
Gandhi and Women, Manushi Prakashan, New Delhi, 1986. (Also
published in Telugu).
InSearchofAnswers:IndianWomen’sVoicesfromManushi.(Co-edited
with Ruth Vanita), Zed Books, London, 1984.
WomenBhaktaPoets,LivesandPoetryofWomenMysticsinIndiafrom
6th
to 17th
Century (Co-edited with Ruth Vanita), Manushi Prakashan,
New Delhi, 1989.
The author can be reached at: madhukishwar@manushi.in or
madhukishwar@csds.in

This book gives objective facts back their proper central place in our political
life... The enormous amount of important research that went into this effort
demands that all those who care about the well-being of India’s people and
healthy inter-community relations should read it carefully and weigh its
conclusions fairly...
Thus far, we have heard the voices of those who, in condemning Modi, claim
to speak on behalf of Gujarati Muslims. The value of Kishwar’s narrative is
that she has let Muslims speak for themselves by quoting extensively from
her video-recorded interviews with both rural and urban Muslims.
An honest understanding of this phase of contemporary history is vital for
the health of democracy and amicable inter-community relations in India.
-Salim Khan, Script writer & columnist
Themannerinwhichtheauthorhasgoneabouttalkingtoofficialsandpeople
in detail, about the functioning of the Gujarat government under Modi; her
visits to various parts of Gujarat to know about the conditions prevailing in
the state; her unbiased and masterly analyses of the material she gathered
through her tireless work, makes this book almost a thesis.
But unlike an academic thesis, the book makes absorbing reading; apart
from being an irrefutable answer to the prejudiced critics of Modi, it is a
page-turner too. -Cho Ramaswamy, Editor, Thuglak
Madhu Purnima Kishwar is Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Study of
Developing Societies and Director Indic Studies Project at CSDS. She is
the founder editor of Manushi - A Journal About Women and Society and
founder president of Manushi Sangathan, an organisation committed to
strengthening women’s rights and democratic rights in India.
Manushi Publications
New Delhi
Price in India: Rs. 401; US: $ 21; UK: £ 15 ISBN: 978-81-929352-0-1
(Including airmail postage)

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