by SHEHZAD POONAWALA
Unravelling The Muslim Mind
Yesterday, I wrote a piece ( read below) for the DNA (I regularly write for their online portal) called “Between Myths and Truths” that busted 9 myths being perpetrated by Mr Narendra Modi wrt 2002 riots. These 9 myth busters were not my opinions but statements of facts that were culled from institutional records like Supreme Court, NHRC report, etc. (see below) This article was posted at 1pm and within few hours it got over 1000 + shares on facebook, twitter and spread like wild fire, drawing reactions from Modi supporters and his opponents. Even the likes of Sidharth Vardarajan & Shashi Tharoor shared the piece and tweeted about it. DNA, as you can see, itself tweeted about the article three times since it was a Top Story!
This morning , without notice, the article was forced to be pulled down. Now if you visit the link http://www.dnaindia.com/node/1983270, it says “The requested page cannot be found”.
I have been told that that Narenda Modi’s team was so rattled that they instantly ordered the pulling down of the article. The article for the first time compiled the myth-busting answers to all of Mr.Modi’s perpetrated falsehoods on Gujarat 2002- how he failed to stop the rioting in 2-3 days as is claimed, how he communalised the air with his speeches, how his police acted in a partisan manner, how he applied for a US visa and was rejected one, how his government scuttled the process of law…
All I can say, like I said in my piece, this is the defeat of Truth by Falsehoods and whenever Truth becomes a victim to falsehoods, there is just one, long sigh that reverberates in our collective conscience “Hey Ram”!
Shehzad Poonawalla
@Shehzad_Ind
9 Myth Busters Of Gujarat 2002 Riots
By Shehzad Poonawalla
Unravelling The Muslim Mind
For those who have developed “selective and motivated” amnesia about the Truth of 2002 riots in Gujarat and are suddenly buying into the myths being perpetrated by the PR machinery of Mr. Narendra Modi, here are a few myth-busters to refresh your memory and perhaps your conscience.
I offer these with just one phrase, a phrase that has always accompanied the murder of Truth by Falsehoods… “Hey Ram!”
Myth No. 1: Post-Godhra Violence was brought under control within 2-3 days by Narendra Modi’s Government…
Truth: “The violence in the State, which was initially claimed to have been brought under control in seventy two hours, persisted in varying degree for over two months, the toll in death and destruction rising with the passage of time.”
Source: Final Order of the National human Rights Commission chaired by the very respected Justice J.S Verma available here http://nhrc.nic.in/guj_finalorder.htm
Myth No. 2: Gujarat Police acted fairly by taking action against rioters from every side…
Truth: “We women thought of going to police and telling the police as in the presence of police, the houses of Muslims were burnt, but the police told us ‘to go inside, it is doom’s day for Muslims” –
Source: PW219 testimony which was admitted as part of Naroda Patya judgment that led to conviction of Mayaben Kodnani, Narendra Modi’s cabinet minister who led murderous mobs during 2002 riots! Available here: http://www.cjponline.org/gujaratTrials/narodapatiya/NP%20Full%20Judgmnt/Naroda%20Patiya%20-%20Common%20Judgment.pdf
Myth No.3 No conspiracy by the Gujarat government, Post-Godhra violence was a spontaneous reaction…
Truth: “A key state minister is reported to have taken over a police control room in Ahmedabad on the first day of the carnage, issuing directions not to rescue Muslims in danger of being killed:”
“Voter lists were also reportedly used to identify and target Muslim community members” –
Source: Report of Human Rights Watch- April 2002, Vol. 14, No. 3(C) Available Here: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/india/India0402-03.htm#P446_77680
…
Myth no.9 : It’s not sheer opportunism that well-known Modi-baiters like Smriti Irani, have today become his cheerleaders…
Truth: “Smriti Irani who unsuccessfully contested from Delhi’s Muslim-dominated Chandni Chowk constituency in the April-May parliamentary elections, blamed Modi for BJP’s recent electoral reverses. “Whenever people mention Gujarat they only talk about the riots and try to corner the Gujaratis on the issue. So, in order to maintain the respect that I have for Atalji and the BJP, I won’t hesitate to take this step( of going on a fast to seek Modi’s removal) ,” she said.”
Source: Times of India report dated 12th December 2004,
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Tulsi-to-go-on-fast-unto-death/articleshow/956389.cms
These myth-busters took me just one hour to compile. So it’s quite surprising that none of the stalwarts who interviewed Modi, (some of whom saw the events of 2002 unfold in front of their very own eyes), never counter-questioned him further and exposed the glaring gaps in his “rebuffed” narrative. Much like Smriti Irani, I guess, each night they must be saying to themselves “Hey Ram”….
Countercurrents for more
(Thanks to Mukul Dube)