Its been 10 years since Gujarat Witnessed one of the most horrific and unfortunate carnage in the history of modern India. I have not used the word "Riot" as some claim that the violence was state sponsored and therefore, a massacre. The other side claims otherwise.
Many years have gone by and we still don't know the truth and I fear we never will, Call me Pessimistic! Many people died back then, from all religions. Many were left homeless, again from no specific religion. Many commissions have been set up and a lot of different findings have come to light. While HIS supporters want to believe Mr. Raghavan, the detractors swear by Mr. Ramachandran.
I have heard many a times that Narendra Modi is a polarizing figure and that you can either hate him or love him but you can't ignore him. Well, I don't think ignoring him is an option since all news channels are always busy advertising him-one way or the other. But, strangely I feel myself a bit neutral towards Mr. Modi. There is no denying that Gujarat has had unprecedented growth in the last 10 yrs but there is also no denying that the Chief Minister could have done better to the control the riot. So, I find it difficult to fit him in one bracket.
Today again, a court verdict seems to have given him a clean chit and thus the news channels are all on about him. The question they ask is, "Is it time to move on?" Well, the sad reality is that many have moved on and the others might never be able to. I still can't shed the tumultuous images of the madness on the streets of Gujarat from my mind. Many commentators have articulated that the 24*7 coverage of the riots have ensured that no riot will ever take place in India again as the concerned Government will not make the same mistakes it did 1984 or 1993 or 2002. I think that maybe right. But while the Coverage was a part of it, the media also became the de-facto judge by declaring Modi as the Villain. For years, almost every news channel in this country treated Modi as the only one to blame for the carnage.I can't claim that I understand the feelings of those who have suffered but my elementary knowledge of human psychology tells me that when those who suffered were literally "told" that Modi was responsible, they believed it! And when the same thing was hard bound after years of media trial, it became a "fact" for them. So no matter how many reports come, Modi will always be the villain for them, and they are not to be blamed for it.
I don't think that Modi is 24 carat pure, oh No! But the fact remains that nothing substantial may ever surface against Modi but his treatment as "Maut ka saudagar" by the forth pillar of our democracy will never leave our minds. So, "moving on" is something they made sure will never happen!
