Gujarati asmita has become synonymous with Hindu identity

The non-Hindus who live in Gujarat, the Muslims and the Christians in particular, are no longer being seen as Gujaratis. They are seen as Muslims and Christians first and last, even if their families have been residing in the state for generations and have contributed immensely to the art, culture, literature and the economy of Gujarat.

By Dhirubhai L. Sheth

Unlike most other parts of India, economics tends to dominate politics in Gujarat. It is ironical that the Congress party-led UPA government headed by Manmohan Singh, considered the architect of economic liberalization in India, could not exert an influence on the politics of Gujarat which has been more successful than other states in the country in deriving benefits from the Union government's neo-liberal economic policies. Gujarat has a long tradition of entrepreneurship. The people of the state are inclined towards business. Professionals and even civil servants are not exactly looked up to. Long before Narendra Modi, Madhavsinh Solanki had talked about making Gujarat a mini-Japan.

What is clear, however, is that Modi managed to convince much of the electorate of Gujarat that his so-called development agenda was the issue that mattered most in the run-up to the assembly elections, not what happened during the 2002 riots. At the same time, what cannot also be denied is the fact that the BJP lost the most in the northern and central parts of the state that had witnessed the most intense communal riots, whereas it gained in southern Gujarat and the Saurashtra region. Even where the BJP was able to retain its seats, it was as good as gaining seats.

Is Gujarat distinct from the rest of the country? Not really. But then, what does Gujarati asmita really mean? Is it self-respect or pride? Is it a form of sub-nationalism? I would prefer to describe the term as regional identity. It is not as if people from other parts of the country do not have strong regional identities. They do. The difference in Gujarat is that this regional identity has, of late, become very, very inclusive for Hindu Gujaratis including those belonging to the Other Backward Classes, the Dalits and the Adivasis, but sharply exclusive for non-Hindu Gujaratis. Gujaratis had in the past a well-developed regional consciousness which was articulated by writers like
K M Munshi. Over the last ten years or so, this consciousness has come to mean only Hindu Gujarati-ness.

The non-Hindus who live in Gujarat, the Muslims and the Christians in particular, are no longer being seen as Gujaratis. They are seen as Muslims and Christians first and last even if their families have been residing in the state for generations and have contributed immensely to the art, culture, literature and the economy of Gujarat. At another level, the Muslims of Gujarat comprising roughly nine per cent of the state's population, are as pragmatic and business-minded as the rest of the people in the state. They want to forget the 2002 riots to get on with their business that had been hampered. The Gujarati Muslim wants to forget the nightmare of 2002 even if he or she will not easily forgive those responsible for the communal carnage.

An important reason why the Congress performed as poorly as it did was the absence of any local leader who had any stature, a leader who could be perceived as a possible replacement for Modi. Once upon a time the Congress had tall leaders in Gujarat, not to mention Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Leaders like Chimanbhai Patel (who was considered corrupt) and Madhavsinh Solanki had a kind of stature that no current leader of the party in the state has, certainly not a person like Ahmed Patel who is seen as someone else's (in this case, Sonia Gandhi's) nominee and not a leader who has a support base of his own in the state.

In my opinion, each political party has a genetically encrypted code of its own whatever it may or may not claim in public. In the case of the Congress, it is the 'rule of the family'. We have witnessed how Rahul Gandhi's roadshow had no impact on the voters of Gujarat and how Sonia Gandhi's maut ke saudagar (merchants of death) remarks did not help the Congress. On the contrary, it may have backfired on the party.

As far as the BJP is concerned, the party's genetically encrypted code has been and remains, Hindutva. Whatever Modi or other leaders of the party may contend, this is not a mukhauta (mask) -- made in China or elsewhere. In Gujarat certainly, Hindutva represents the real face of the BJP. It is the party's well-oiled weapon that can be taken out of the closet as and when required. This is why many rightly believe that Gujarat has over the years become the most communally polarized state in the whole of India.

Will Modi's third term as Chief Minister be any different from his first two terms? I hope so but I'm not sure. I would want it otherwise but there is a possibility that he will become even more arrogant and aggressive than he already is. He has completely suppressed any dissent in his government and in his party in the state; everyone else has to subordinate himself or herself to his wishes. Will he change? May be. May be not. I don't know. What I do know is that representatives of civil society organizations and human rights groups in Gujarat have an uphill task ahead of them.

What is being done now with this victory is to restrict or confine the meaning of democracy only to electoral victory as a means of legitimization for acquiring and exercising absolute power. Democracy is much more than elections. Democracy is about norms, procedures, conventions and the balance of power among different organs of the state, including the legislature and the judiciary. Modi's record so far during the first two terms he served as Chief Minister is that he has undermined both the authority and the role of the legislature and that of legislators. Will be continue in the same manner? This is the real danger to democracy that lies ahead.

There is a dilemma. At one level, the electorate in general and the young in particular have a growing desire for a strong leader who is simultaneously efficacious and incorruptible. Such a yearning exists everywhere and not just in Gujarat. Democracy must deliver. Indira Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose, Winston Churchill and Charles DeGaulle were all considered strong leaders. Yet such powerful political leaders had a tendency to become dictatorial and undermine democracy. That is the dilemma. What is the message Modi's electoral victory has sent to the rest of India? Will power corrupt? Only time will tell.

(As told to Paranjoy Guha Thakurta)