[Reader-list] Gujarati 'pride' hurt once again

radhikarajen at vsnl.net radhikarajen at vsnl.net
Fri Jun 20 15:05:18 IST 2008


Dear Shivam'

     many sincere thanks for correcting my perceptions, days and nights bombarded by visual media anchors and their panellists  with the coverage of dual murder case at Noida, mind was cluttered and cynical mindset did not grasp the finer aspects of life. Apologies to nandys, as it was sheer magnitude of the visual media and its correspondents who more or less resemble wrestlers with the mikes in their hands wrestling with a grieving family on the deaths, that made me very mad at these visual media as well as the coverage in the papers that i buy, Times of india and Indian express, which saw me reading speculation rather than reportage of events.

    Starting the career as journalist after graduation was not easy with 10/- salary and still, in those days with peanuts for lunch, filterless cigarettes and water as filler, we had not swayed to the rulers and did not speculate about the events, reported as honestly as possible without our views, views if any were disacussed with colleugaes and later came out as expression without prejudice, present day coverage of bias and partisan reportage with "stories" in media is some how is degrading the society in general, citizens in particular.

 But all the issues raised by you are correct, hence the apology.to all the members in the list about the nandy episode.!

 Regards.

----- Original Message -----
From: Shivam Vij शिवम् विज् <mail at shivamvij.com>
Date: Thursday, June 19, 2008 10:00 pm
Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Gujarati 'pride' hurt once again
To: radhikarajen at vsnl.net
Cc: Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net>, sarai list <reader-list at sarai.net>

> Dear Radhikarajen,
> 
> Your responses on this thread are a little intriguing, and I 
> wonder if
> you would mind explaining them?
> 
> Let us go point-by-point, so that you can also reply point by point.
> This will prevent us from meandering from, well, the point, either
> inadvertently or because of deliberate shifting of goal-posts.
> 
> The post: Two days ago I posted an article written by Ashis Nandy in
> the Times of India in January. I mentioned why I was posting the
> article though not my views: a little known organisation in Ahemadabad
> has filed a police case against Nandy for "'promoting enmity between
> different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth and
> language," which under the Indian Penal Code is a criminal offence.
> 
> The protest: I gave out a link to a joint statement made in 
> protest of
> this case by 178 academics and activists, who thought that this was
> done for no reason other than legal harassment and intimidation.
> 
> The article: In the article Ashis Nandy wrote that even if Modi had
> lost the December 2007 elections, it wouldn't have made a difference
> because thanks to the Gujarati middle class, the political culture of
> Gujarat has been communalised to an extent that "recovering" it won't
> be easy. For the situation he blames Hindus and Muslims, Congress and
> Left, NGOs and Gandhians. And secularists.
> 
> That is all. On Modi, Bajrang Dal, VHP, RSS, the Gujarat 
> government -
> he just says things matter of fact and does not have much direct
> condemnation or criticism to offer. His aim is not to attack them but
> those who should be helping defuse the social and political crisis
> cause d by the Hindutva forces. He does blame them for being the cause
> of exacerbating "radical Islam" in India.
> 
> On development: he is not denying Gujarat's "spectacular development"
> but linking it to historical examples where development and
> authoritarianism have gone hand in hand.
> 
> Your first response: In your first response you make these points:
> 
> 1) " it is very nice to find flaws with BJP and gujarathis at the drop
> of a hat even after Modi asserted time and again that he is
> administrator and chief minister with the difference of of governance
> of all in the same state without favour or fear as per the oath he has
> taken to administer the state."
> 
> Now, as I paraphrased above, Nandy's article is not denying the
> qualities you attribute to Modi's administrative skills and
> governance. And he has found faults in many others but very few in
> Modi. In fact, none in Modi: it is the Sangh Parivar in general.
> 
> So what you are doing is, creating a straw man [
> http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/straw-man.html ]. You are
> representing Nandy as saying he never did, and then attacking him for
> saying something he never did!
> 
> 
> 2) "Times of India and its media group is owned by Bennet group which
> traditionally has been political and supporting sycophants of Congress
> and media generally feels if it has to be "secular" it has to bash
> hindu sentiments and encash its trp and circulation, Times group is
> never fair and free in its journalism"
> 
> Having created your straw man and having attacked it, you begin to
> explain it. You explain it by attacking the newspaper where Nandy's
> article was published. Since the pro-Congress Times of India published
> this article, the article must also be pro-Congress. How does it
> matter that the article actually *attacks* the Congress!
> 
> By doing so you are committing the logical fallacy of post hoc:
> http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/post-hoc.html
> 
> Also the fallacy of circumstantial ad hominem:
> http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/circumstantial-ad-
> hominem.html
> The tone of the issue was the harassment of Nandy by legal means, but
> you shift it to The Times of India and its alleged biases, which, as
> Shuddha said, amount to a red herring:
> http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/red-herring.html
> 
> As Shuddha demonstrated, there's been no dearth of pro-Modi, pro-BJP
> articles in Times of India. The Times is not politically aligned like,
> say, The Pioneer, The Hindu, the recently buried National Herald, or
> even magazines such as India Today or Outlook. You are guilty of
> making a hasty generalisation about the paper, and on that basis
> applying it to Nandy just because the paper published Nandy's article
> on its opinion-editorial page. See
> http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/hasty-generalization.html
> Also, similarly, the fallacy of questionable cause:
> http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/ignoring-a-common-cause.html
> 
> Please also note that newspapers don't have TRP ratings, and that if
> most people in Gujarat vote for Modi, publishing anti-Modi articles
> would affect the Times of India's circulation in Gujarat adversely,
> not positively.
> 
> 3) "and its employees have to toe the line of media bosses and pritish
> is no exception to the rules of survival of the fittest in journalism
> by sycophancy"
> 
> This is my favourite set of words in your response. Your attention
> span and presence of mind are both so feeble that you confused Ashis
> Nandy with one pritish! The article was not by pritish my dear
> Radhikarajen, but by Ashis! Factual error! You cannot even save face
> on this by claiming poor eyesight or broken glasses, because there's
> no way 'Ashis' could read like 'pritish', even though Gujarat could
> read like Gujarath :)
> 
> And as you might now Ashis Nandy is a scholar at CSDS and not an
> employee of The Times of India. The article introduced him as a
> political psychologist, so he is clearly not a journalist, but this
> detail was mentioned at the end of the article which you didn't even
> glance carefully enough to realise which brother wrote it.
> 
> If you read the article you would realise that it does not amount to
> sycophancy of anyone, but, as Shuddha said, takes on *everyone*.
> 
> I presume that you thought the article was by Pritish Nandy [
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pritish_Nandy ] but even he is not an
> employee of the Times of India or a journalist. He is a former editor
> who also happens to be related to Ashis Nandy.
> 
> By calling Pritish Nandy a sycophant for an article he did not write,
> you are committing a personal attack [
> http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/personal-attack.html ]
> 
> I presume, with all the above evidence, that you did not even *read*
> the Nandy article and began to attack it. No wonder about the straw
> man then.
> 
> I am not going to count and cite the number of logical fallacies you
> make by calling pritish a sycophant, attributing the motive of
> surviving in journalism to his sycophancy, and presuming that The
> Times of India bosses are his bosses, who are pro-Congress, and so
> therefore is Pritish.
> 
> a) He is not pritish
> 
> b) He is not a journalist, so he does not have to 'survive in 
> journalism'
> c) He is therefore not forced to resort to sycophancy of anyone to
> 'survive in journalism'
> 
> d) He does not work at The Times of India, he merely wrote an article
> for the paper, which they either commissioned or chose to publish. His
> bosses are not The Times of India's bosses but CSDS'.
> 
> e) You have stated without evidence that The Times of India is
> pro-Congress but even if that were to be considered a proven fact, it
> does not by implication mean that all their employees are Congress
> sycophants, and even if it did it wouldn't make Nandy do so 
> because he
> is not a Times employee, and in any case the article itself speaks
> against the Congress.
> 
> 
> *
> 
> That is just the first paragraph - 144 words - of your response. All
> the 245 words in the second paragraph amount to red herring(s) but I
> would repond to the points raised therein as well, if you respond to
> my three points above. Please reply, as I said, point by point, to
> make it comprehensible.
> 
> And do read Nandy's short article, it is interesting.
> 
> I will soon find the time to similarly analyse your response to
> Shuddha's response.
> 
> Looking forward to your response.
> 
> best
> shivam
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Wed, Jun 18, 2008 at 5:23 PM, <radhikarajen at vsnl.net> wrote:
> >
> > Dear Shuddha,
> >
> >   sometimes I wonder whether any ethics and morals are left in 
> these neo journalists who are working in visual media as anchors. 
> ? As they so fluently talk about the IG of police as if they are 
> above the law when they comment on the character of the 14 year 
> child, as if these anchors are living a clean life.?
> >
> >   And at times I wonder what made a brilliant social scientist 
> to become a puppet in the hands of a channel with so many if and 
> buts added for his pre poll survey in channel degrading himself 
> along with channel and loss of credibilty.!
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net>
> > Date: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 4:33 pm
> > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Gujarati 'pride' hurt once again
> > To: radhikarajen at vsnl.net
> > Cc:  Shivam Vij शिवम् विज् <mail at shivamvij.com>, sarai list 
> <reader-list at sarai.net>
> >
> > > Dear Radhikarajen,
> > >
> > > Thank you for your pertinent critique on the Sarai Reader List of
> > > the
> > > way in which the media represents issues, particularly with regard
> > > to
> > > the murder of Hemraj Banjade and Arushi Talwar in NOIDA. I think
> > > that
> > > your thoughts on 'media trials' are salutary. Had newspapers 
> and TV
> > >
> > > channels been more restrained in the matter of the way in which
> > > they
> > > report 'sensational' crimes, then the grave and malicious
> > > harrassment
> > > that had been the fate of S.A.R.Geelani in the '13 December' case
> > > might not have taken place. And nor would there have been currency
> > > for the hysterical and blood-thirsty demand for the execution of
> > > Muhammad Afzal Guru, which continues to beseige our consciousness
> > > today. I do hope that you, in the spirit of your own argument, 
> will> >
> > > join me in condemning the irresponsible behaviour of much of the
> > > media in these instances.
> > >
> > > Having said that, I am a bit mystified by your anger against the
> > > condemnation of the strange attempt at filing a case on 
> grounds of
> > >
> > > 'promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion,
> > > race, place of birth and language' 'under Sections 153 A and B of
> > > the
> > > IPC against Ashis Nandy for his op-ed piece 'Blame the Middle
> > > Class'
> > > in the Times of India of January 8, 2008. Ashis Nandy is, in my
> > > opinion, one of the most acute analysts of political culture and
> > > modernity in South Asia. It is ironic that a person, who has
> > > maintained a life time of critique against the excesses of the
> > > state-
> > > secularist agenda in India, (for which he was at times 
> unfairly and
> > >
> > > idiotically denounced as an apolgist of the hindu right by 
> some un-
> > > intelligent so called 'left-liberal' critics) is someone you now
> > > are
> > > prepared to argue against, merely because he happens to have taken
> > > on
> > > the poster boy of hindutva hate-mongering, the chief minister of
> > > Gujarat, Narendra Damodarbhai Modi. To be fair to Nandy, there is
> > > no
> > > particular group that escapes the sharp edge of his sadness in his
> > > article on Gujarat. His words (in this particular article)
> > > criticize
> > > the actions done by people speaking in the name of Bengali Hindus,
> > > Kashmiri Muslims, Punjabi Sikhs, Non Resident Indians,  Dalits and
> > > Adivasis and most of all - the middle classes. If all these kinds
> > > of
> > > people were to be united because they were all attacked by Ashis
> > > Nandy, then, we would see a rare example of the promotion of
> > > conviviality between groups that are otherwise expected to be at
> > > each
> > > others throats. Unfortunately, for you, and for the petitioner
> > > belonging to the Ahmedabad based National Council for Civil
> > > Liberties, there is as yet no provision in the the Indian Penal
> > > Code
> > > for the offense of the promotion of conviviality on grounds of
> > > religion, race, place of birth and language.
> > > .
> > > I find it equally strange that you should impute the 
> sentiments and
> > >
> > > the analysis contained in Nandy's trenchant criticque of Moditva,
> > > (or
> > > should it be Moditude, or Modismo) to the antipathy of the Bennet
> > > Coleman Group, who happen to own the majority shares of the Times
> > > of
> > > India newspaper, and their so called pro Congress bias. It is
> > > instructive to do a careful analysis of the press that Modi and
> > > Modismo get in the Times of India's sister publication, the
> > > Economic
> > > Times, (which for my money, is the more serious of the two
> > > publications, the one that actually gets read by captains of
> > > industry
> > > and politics, not one that teenagers decorate their lockers with
> > > because it has scantily clad men and women, the publication of
> > > images
> > > of which, you will no doubt agree, is the primary reason for the
> > > Times of India to exist.)
> > >
> > > Now, were you to look at the Economic Times reportage of Modi,
> > > Modismo and Gujarat, you would find a glowing picture that would
> > > warm
> > > your hearts. All you (and everyone who is interested on this list)
> > > needs to do is to type Narendra Modi on the search bar of the
> > > Economic Times home page, and you will be showered by what looks
> > > like
> > > a public relations campaign for Gujarati Asmita and Modismo.
> > >
> > > You will find articles such as -
> > >
> > > Rajiv Gandhi Foundation finds Gujarat No 1 state
> > >
> > > Chairman of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani, today hailed
> > > Gujarat
> > > Chief Minister Narendra Modi saying that he has a "bias" for 
> action.> >
> > > And there are many more where these came from.
> > >
> > > Even your own pet hate, the Times of India, has articles such as
> > > 'Women Mesmerised by Narendra Modi'
> > >
> > > What are we to make of this, other than that this is but an
> > > instance
> > > of the totally commonplace practice of a media group trying to
> > > placate all sides. So damn Modi in one article in one publication
> > > that you own, and then praise him to the skies in another. A
> > > detailed
> > > analysis of the politics of who reports what about whom, and when,
> > > in
> > > the Indian media can be an entertaining, and instructive 
> diversion.> >
> > > What, however, are we to make of your own pathological anxiety
> > > whenever Shri Narendra Damodarbhai Modi is criticised ? You have
> > > (again) neatly sidestepped the substance of Ashis Nandy's critique
> > > and taken us on the pursuit of the red herring of the Times of
> > > India's pro-Congress bias, which for you, explains everything that
> > > there is to understand about what Ashis Nandy has written. 
> Take a
> > > break from the computer, and go take a long look at the 
> mirror, and
> > >
> > > you will see the visage of that same middle class Indian, 
> quick to
> > > fume, quick to claim an injury to your precious pride, quick to
> > > demand that the slate be cleaned of all 'others', and short,
> > > tragically, comically short on anything like the ability to 
> reflect> >
> > > on the tightening limits of the sources of your self.
> > >
> > > I sympathise with your predicament. It must be really hard, and
> > > sad,
> > > to be you.
> > >
> > > regards
> > >
> > > Shuddha
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > media trials of this sort were
> > > On 18-Jun-08, at 2:02 PM, radhikarajen at vsnl.net wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hi all,
> > > >
> > > >  it is very nice to find flaws with BJP and gujarathis at the
> > > drop
> > > > of a hat even after Modi asserted time and again that he is
> > > > administrator and chief minister with the difference of of
> > > > governance of all in the same state without favour or fear 
> as per
> > >
> > > > the oath he has taken to administer the state. Times of 
> India and
> > >
> > > > its media group is owned by Bennet group which traditionally has
> > > > been political and supporting sycophants of Congress and media
> > > > generally feels if it has to be "secular" it has to bash hindu
> > > > sentiments and encash its trp and circulation, Times group is
> > > never
> > > > fair and free in its journalism and always favoured Congress and
> > > > its employees have to toe the line of media bosses and 
> pritish is
> > >
> > > > no exception to the rules of survival of the fittest in
> > > journalism
> > > > by sycophancy.
> > > >
> > > >    The worst part of it is this "secular"media can not 
> digest the
> > >
> > > > fact that hindu society is slowly and steadily getting out of
> > > caste
> > > > conundrums and beginning to gel as one homogeneous society, 
> while> >
> > > > muslim community is being systematically divided by christian
> > > > missions to achieve its divide and rule game, into smaller forms
> > > of
> > > > shias, sunnis and other denominations with terror as subtextt
> > > just
> > > > as the vote banks are getting divided between good 
> governance and
> > >
> > > > sycophancy and secular media keeps on playing old footage of
> > > > "carnages so that they remain in the ghettos and wounds are 
> never> >
> > > > allowed to heal.The ultimate goal of Sonia and her mafia is to
> > > > divided and rule with rome as its remote control which hindus
> > > have
> > > > understood except for a few handful of sycophants in 
> Congress of
> > > > all faiths who have no mass base or electoral prospects and have
> > > to
> > > > live on doleouts of the mafia queen. These along with christian
> > > > mafia in the kitchen cabinet have used all those "journalists"
> > > and
> > > > "int
> > > > ellectuals" of modern day to devise the spins to bring back the
> > > old
> > > > lost horse of Congress in new avtar as christian brigade for the
> > > > crusade, while in comity of nations it is seen that Bush 
> uses-
> > > the
> > > > terror and weapons of mass destruction as excuses to bring 
> in his
> > >
> > > > form of democracy in the nations of muslim faith, first by 
> attack> >
> > > > of shia dominated Afghanistan and then on Iraq for the imaginary
> > > > weapons of mass destruction.?---- Original Message -----
> > > > From: Shivam Vij शिवम् विज् <mail at shivamvij.com>
> > > > Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 8:04 pm
> > > > Subject: [Reader-list] Gujarati 'pride' hurt once again
> > > > To: sarai list <reader-list at sarai.net>
> > > >
> > > >> An organisation in Ahemdabad called National Council for Civil
> > > >> Liberties has filed a case against Ashis Nandy for his article
> > > in The
> > > >> Times of India in January after Modi's election victory. The
> > > case has
> > > >> been filed for for 'promoting enmity between different 
> groups on
> > > >> grounds of religion, race, place of birth and language'
> > > [Sections 153
> > > >> (A) and (B) of IPC].
> > > >>
> > > >> 178 academics and intellectuals have signed a statement in 
> protest,> > >> which is available at
> > > >> http://www.sacw.net/FreeExpAndFundos/defendNandy16June08.html
> > > >>
> > > >> Given below is the 'offending' article:
> > > >>
> > > >> o o o
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> Blame The Middle Class
> > > >>
> > > >> By Ashis Nandy
> > > >> 8 Jan 2008
> > > >> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorial/
> > > >> 
> LEADER_ARTICLE_Blame_The_Middle_Class/rssarticleshow/2681517.cms> 
> > >>
> > > >> Now that the dust has settled over the Gujarat elections, 
> we can
> > > >> afford to defy the pundits and admit that, even if Narendra 
> Modi> > had>> lost the last elections, it would not have made much
> > > difference to
> > > >> the
> > > >> culture of Gujarat politics. Modi had already done his job. 
> Most of
> > > >> the state's urban middle class would have remained mired in its
> > > inane>> versions of communalism and parochialism and the VHP and
> > > the Bajrang
> > > >> Dal would have continued to set the tone of state politics. 
> Forty> > >> years of dedicated propaganda does pay dividends, 
> electorally and
> > > >> socially.
> > > >>
> > > >> The Hindus and the Muslims of the state — once bonded so
> > > >> conspicuously
> > > >> by language, culture and commerce — have met the demands of 
> both> >
> > > >> V D
> > > >> Savarkar and M A Jinnah. They now face each other as two 
> hostile> > >> nations. The handful of Gujarati social and 
> political activists who
> > > >> resist the trend are seen not as dissenters but as treacherous
> > > >> troublemakers who should be silenced by any means, including
> > > >> surveillance, censorship and direct violence. As a result, 
> Gujarati> > >> cities, particularly its educational institutions 
> are turning
> > > >> cultural
> > > >> deserts. Gujarat has already disowned the Indian Constitution
> > > and the
> > > >> state apparatus has adjusted to the change.
> > > >>
> > > >> The Congress, the main opposition party, has no effective
> > > leader. Nor
> > > >> does it represent any threat to the mainstream politics of 
> Gujarat.> > >> The days of grass-roots leaders like Jhinabhai 
> Darji are past
> > > and a
> > > >> large section of the party now consists of Hindu 
> nationalists. The
> > > >> national leadership of the party does not have the courage to
> > > >> confront
> > > >> Modi over 2002, given its abominable record of 1984.
> > > >>
> > > >> The Left is virtually non-existent in Gujarat. Whatever minor
> > > >> presence
> > > >> it once had among intellectuals and trade unionists is now 
> a vague
> > > >> memory. The state has disowned Gandhi, too; Gandhian politics
> > > arouses>> derision in middle-class Gujarat. Except for a few
> > > valiant old-
> > > >> timers,
> > > >> Gandhians have made peace with their conscience by 
> withdrawing from
> > > >> the public domain. Gandhi himself has been given a saintly, 
> Hindu> > >> nationalist status and shelved. Even the Gujarati 
> translations> > of his
> > > >> Complete Works have been stealthily distorted to conform to the
> > > Hindu>> nationalist agenda.
> > > >>
> > > >> Gujarati Muslims too are "adjusting" to their new station. 
> Denied> > >> justice and proper compensation, and as second-class 
> citizens in
> > >
> > > >> their
> > > >> home state, they have to depend on voluntary efforts and donor
> > > >> agencies. The state's refusal to provide relief has been partly
> > > >> met by
> > > >> voluntary groups having fundamentalist sympathies. They supply
> > > aid
> > > >> but
> > > >> insist that the beneficiaries give up Gujarati and take to 
> Urdu,> >
> > > >> adopt
> > > >> veil, and send their children to madrassas. Events like the
> > > >> desecration of Wali Gujarati's grave have pushed one of India's
> > > >> culturally richest, most diverse, vernacular Islamic traditions
> > > to
> > > >> the
> > > >> wall. Future generations will as gratefully acknowledge the 
> sangh> > >> parivar's contribution to the growth of radical Islam 
> in India
> > > as
> > > >> this
> > > >> generation remembers with gratitude the handsome 
> contribution of
> > >
> > > >> Rajiv
> > > >> Gandhi and his cohorts to Sikh militancy.
> > > >>
> > > >> The secularist dogma of many fighting the sangh parivar has not
> > > >> helped
> > > >> matters. Even those who have benefited from secular lawyers and
> > > >> activists relate to secular ideologies instrumentally. They 
> neither> > >> understand them nor respect them. The victims still 
> derive> > solace
> > > >> from
> > > >> their religions and, when under attack, they cling more
> > > passionately>> to faith. Indeed, shallow ideologies of secularism
> > > have
> > > >> simultaneously
> > > >> broken the back of Gandhism and discouraged the emergence of
> > > figures>> like Ali Shariatis, Desmond Tutus and the Dalai Lama —
> > > persons
> > > >> who can
> > > >> give suffering a new voice audible to the poor and the 
> powerless> > and>> make a creative intervention possible from 
> within worldviews
> > > >> accessible to the people.
> > > >>
> > > >> Finally, Gujarat's spectacular development has underwritten the
> > > >> de-civilising process. One of the worst-kept secrets of our
> > > times is
> > > >> that dramatic development almost always has an 
> authoritarian tail.
> > > >> Post-World War II Asia too has had its love affair with
> > > developmental>> despotism and the censorship, surveillance and
> > > thought control
> > > >> that go
> > > >> with it. The East Asian tigers have all been maneaters most 
> of the
> > > >> time. Gujarat has now chosen to join the pack. Development 
> in the
> > > >> state now justifies amorality, abridgement of freedom, and
> > > >> collapse of
> > > >> social ethics.
> > > >>
> > > >> Is there life after Modi? Is it possible to look beyond the 35
> > > years>> of rioting that began in 1969 and ended in 2002? Prima
> > > facie, the
> > > >> answer is "no". We can only wait for a new generation that 
> will,> > out>> of sheer self-interest and tiredness, learn to live 
> with each
> > > other.>> In the meanwhile, we have to wait patiently but not
> > > passively to keep
> > > >> values alive, hoping that at some point will come a modicum of
> > > >> remorse
> > > >> and a search for atonement and that ultimately Gujarati 
> traditions> > >> will triumph over the culture of the state's 
> urban middle class.
> > > >>
> > > >> Recovering Gujarat from its urban middle class will not be 
> easy.> > The>> class has found in militant religious nationalism a 
> new self-
> > > respect>> and a new virtual identity as a martial community, the
> > > way Bengali
> > > >> babus, Maharashtrian Brahmins and Kashmiri Muslims at different
> > > times>> have sought salvation in violence. In Gujarat this class
> > > has smelt
> > > >> blood, for it does not have to do the killings but can plan,
> > > finance>> and coordinate them with impunity. The actual 
> killers are
> > > the lowest
> > > >> of the low, mostly tribals and Dalits. The middle class 
> controls> > the>> media and education, which have become hate 
> factories in
> > > recent
> > > >> times.
> > > >> And they receive spirited support from most non-resident 
> Indians> > who,>> at a safe distance from India, can afford to be more
> > > nationalist,>> bloodthirsty, and irresponsible.
> > > >>
> > > >> [The writer is a political psychologist.]
>


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