The writer is a lawyer based in Lahore and studied law at Lincoln’s Inn and the London School of Economics. He tweets @AsadRahim
‘Only a Nixon could go to China’ is an easy theory to pick up. The context is this: Dick Nixon spent his youth hunting down decent men he felt were communist spies. In a saner time, men like Nixon would have been kicked to the curb. Instead it was the 1950s, Joe McCarthy was senator and Americans everywhere were terrified of the Red Terror Beyond. “Tricky Dick” became a star in no time.
So, when he flew to Beijing decades later, this time as President Richard M Nixon, it shocked the world. Nixon, that soulless red-chaser, shook hands with communist royalty and opened China. No Democrat, not most Republicans for that matter, would have dared trying. A theory was born — that only zealots had the capital to go to the other end of the spectrum and make friends. Only a Richard could have conceded Jerusalem to Salahuddin, and only a Richard could make peace with Chairman Mao.
And so it was with sunny optimism that Pakistanis greeted the latest horrific news to do with Narendra Modi: the BJP’s decision that he lead their election campaign. Best known for his role in the Gujarat massacre, Modi has inched ever-closer to leading India. The communal party’s most communal candidate, could there be a better pick to “go to Islamabad” and repair ties? Or lift India’s 20 million Muslims out of the economic morass they’ve fallen into? Yes, thankfully, there could.
Because the “Nixon goes to China” premise is all wrong. For starters, it rarely happens. Bibi Netanyahu is no closer to peace with Palestine, Dr Najibullah failed to convince anyone he’d discovered Islam and Asif Zardari won’t ever smash corruption. Nor is Nixon the gold standard himself. Not only was he lacking in any principles his fans assumed he had, he was nowhere near as right wing as his sweaty public image. Attempting the unimaginable with China becomes a lot more imaginable considering Nixon’s moderate record in office. Considering Modi’s record, though, merits its own minute of silence.
Pakistani fantasies out of the way, it’s time to turn to the man. It was recalled in these pages that political psychologist Ashis Nandy came away from a meeting with Modi feeling he’d met a “textbook fascist”. This image rains on the BJP parade, busy as it is pushing the chief minister’s development of Gujarat. They needn’t be worried. Fellow fascist Mussolini did make the trains run on time and even Saddam was fond of promoting girls’ education. Fascists aren’t adverse to progress. But they are eventually fatal to it. India has yet to reach the conclusions Iraq and Italy did, but until that awful moment, Modi will continue being hailed as pro-business, and backed by big business.
Regardless, Modi’s obvious ambition has proven impossible to ignore, as that old BJP walrus LK Advani finds out. But becoming prime minister is still a way off. Modi’s party is, after all, the Bharatiya Janata Party, a troupe of kamikaze experts if ever there was one. Inert in Uttar Pradesh and losing ground in the south, the BJP crawled to just 116 seats in 2009’s Lok Sabha, a world away from the infamous 272 required. Nor does Modi have anything close to the parliamentary experience PM Vajpayee had. And unlike Vajpayee, Modi is controversial as sin (and enjoys it).
Yet, the fact remains — much of India loves Modi, a “disciplinarian” standing tall against the corruption-sodden Congress Party. With his thick wrists and blood-and-guts rhetoric, Narendra seems the right answer to delicate Rahul Gandhi. While the Congress scribes try their best to paint Rahul’s wishy-washiness as thoughtful leadership, Modi roars that bagheechay ke phool are no match for jungle flowers. It’s a metaphor requiring little explanation.
And as a contender, Modi has gravitas. Like a character from a Yash Chopra film, Modi recently called for a “nationwide campaign” to collect pieces of iron from farmers, to put together a massive statue of Sardar Patel. This is Brand Modi, a worthy servant of India’s only Iron Man. Ironic then that Sardar Patel was the worst enemy of Modi’s RSS, an outfit he felt encouraged the Hindutva fanaticism that murdered Gandhi. Or that one of Patel’s most iconic moments was praying in solidarity with thousands of Muslims fearing Partition attacks at Nizamuddin Dargah, a Sufi shrine — nearly 300 of which were wrecked in Gujarat.
Which leads us to what happened 11 years ago. In response to a train fire that burnt 58 Hindus alive, the blood of nearly a thousand Muslims was spilt across Gujarat. It was slaughter as spontaneous as any campaign involving time and patience; the police and the state. That blood will never wash, but “Sri Modi” has tried his best to, at least, change the subject. The din of investment drives and technology fairs have muffled the screams of Gujarat’s widows, who watched as their husbands were hacked to torsos. Modi the Moderniser, it seems, has finally shed the title of Yamraj … the god of death.
A Pakistani novelist once said, “India is magic. It always was.” The elements that make up that magic are different depending on who you talk to: as a cradle of civilisation, as a birthplace of world religions and as a democracy exploding with sound and colour, its constitution etched by an untouchable. A land both vital and ageless. Yet, all this may be tribute to an India fast disappearing.
The India that celebrates Narendra Modi is a different place. Because Narendra Modi is the true leader of India Shining, the fakest sheen ever applied to a spiritual land. A nation that votes in a man whose outstanding trait is his bloodlust, is a republic that shines devoid of light. A place that will no doubt grow rich, but also communal, violent and unjust. And should Modi steamroll into Delhi, in a burst of saffron glory, Pakistan should brace itself. India’s Muslims may not get that luxury.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 18th, 2013.
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Asad sahab, How did you miss the reality that Modi won seats in the last election in predominantly Muslim constituencies? Also how did you forget that Mohtamim of Darul Uloom Deoband Maulana Ghulam Muhammad Vastanvi who is from Gujarat praised Modi but the Uloom management could not digest the truth and so axed him for praising Modi! How one-sided do you write, Sir!
Asad sahab, How did you miss the reality that Modi won seats in the last election in predominantly Muslim constituencies?
@1984:
"Why you keep reasoning with Sir Lala Gee??? He is an expert in twisting opinions… I tried with him few times and now I ignore reading his posts,no matter how much my heart aches to rebutt it"
Next time I'd try to be bit lenient, no promises though.
@Yuri Kondratyuk:
"shall I take that you conceded the point that Godhra burning wasn’t an accident or even non-occurrence?"
It is intellectual dishonesty to attribute any thing to me which I never said or implied in any of my comments, ever. I always maintained what Justice Banerjee, an Indian Supreme Court judge insisted upon. Here is what he says as reported by Indian Express in their news story of Sep. 25, 2008, "Godhra was an accident, reiterates Banerjee":
"As the Nanavati Commission probing the Sabarmati Express fire termed it as "pre-planned", Justice U Banerjee who carried out a separate probe into the incident maintained that it was an "accident" and could never have been triggered through petrol.
The judge said he had examined a large number of witnesses, including an Income Tax Officer, who submitted that they had crawled on the floor to get out of the burning coach.
While 250 people could escape to safety, there were 58 who were asphyxiated due to thick smoke. The sequence of the fire was something different. "This sequence could never have been in a petrol fire" he said."
Any fire caused by petrol spreads like a blast. Had the fire been caused by 160 liters of petrol, as claimed by the prosecution, escaping 250 people alive from a packed coach with 3 times more passengers aboard than the capacity would have been near to impossible, and that too while crawling on the train floor to avoid stone pelting.
The very same fact has also been proved in the Tehelka's investigation, “Godhra: The Diabolic Lie”.
@Yuri Kondratyuk: Why you keep reasoning with Sir Lala Gee??? He is an expert in twisting opinions...
Tomorrow if you tell him "I'm not a bad man".....He will take the "I'm" and "bad man" from your sentence and prove to you that you're a bad guy.
I tried with him few times and now I ignore reading his posts,no matter how much my heart aches to rebutt it
@Lala Gee: Before you change the goal-post, shall I take that you conceded the point that Godhra burning wasn't an accident or even non-occurrence?
@ASHOK:
"Justice Nanawati is also a retired Justice from the Supreme Court as was Justice Banerjee who relied only on the material that was given to him without any cross examination. He had linmited mandate and got the report ready in just 2 months to publish it before the elections. It was all politically motivated by Lalu Yadav who was the then Railway minister and appointed Justice Banerjee. The trial court heard both sides and gave its verdict in October 2010 in which many were given life term for the burning of 58 Hindus in Godhra train in 2002. Google it and stop selective morality."
1- You didn't answer the “Godhra: The Diabolic Lie” part of my comment. 2- As per your suggestion, I made a Google search and found these two more interesting stories.
2a- "Devil’s Advocate: The state counsel before the Nanavati-Shah Commission believes it’s better to cripple Muslims than to kill them"
2b- "KG Shah Is Our Man. Nanavati Is Only After Money: Gujarat Advocate General Arvind Pandya claims the accused have nothing to fear from the Nanavati-Shah Commission"
@Bewildered:
Sir, do not judge us by your lofty standards.
Our engineers are yet to figure out how Agha Waqar Ahmed's water kit or Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood's djinn energy generator works. Unfortunately, Arabian Nights is not part of our scientific syllabus. All we managed to do is produce a few Nobel prize winners :'-(
@ASHOK: I do not question Will Durant. Adjectives he uses must be well supported But consider the following:-
"The British conquest of India was the destruction of a high civilization by a trading company utterly without scruple or principal, overrunning with fire, sword, bribery, murder a country temporarily disordered and helpless...India was a far greater industrial and manufacturing nation than any in Europe or Asia, producing textile, Metal works, Jewelry, Precious Stones, Pottery, Architecture. She had great merchants, businessmen, ship building - nearly every kind of manufacture known to the civilized world was already in India"
There is danger involved in cherry-picking quotes & interpreting them to suit an argument.. The above quote is from a book "The Case for India" by very same Will Durant;published in 1930. He is talking of conditions as prevalent in 1750s. Samuel Huntington in his "Clash of Civilisations" too attests Will's findings. Who were the rulers in most of India just prior to & during 1750s? Mughals. Nawabs. So,was it all Muslim achievement? Will Mughals get the same credit for an Aurangzebian Development Model the way some give credit to Modi for all developments?
@Lala Gee:
Sir, Banerjee is a retired Supreme Court judge, on whose report a High Court judge made the comments. What he did is well within his constitution bestowed powers. In all the civilized world, what you just said doesn't make any sense at all.
@ASHOK: It's hopeless Sir. @Lala Gee will simply clutch the next available straw.
I am disappointed in the quality of this opinion piece. It lacks the context of Modi's entire decade-plus of governance and of the unpredictable nature of coalition politics. Please be more responsible with the power you have.
@laraib mazhar: Best poster
@Yuri Kondratyuk:
"Last time I checked, educated are employed in the civilized world and the uneducated leech off the unemployment benefits."
Going by you own statement, either your country is not civilized and hence you are with out job despite being educated, or you are actually uneducated and that is why you are unemployed. An employed person is not allowed anywhere to read the news stories as they come online during work hours and then write comments and endlessly answer their rebuttals all the the day long as you do. Although I can guess which case, or both, is true, perhaps you would yourself like to tell us.
Lala Gee writes, "Do you have any remote idea of what a genocide is? In a genocide people die, not convert and multiply. How the people in Afghanistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Central Asia, and several republics of Russia, like Chechnya and Daghistan accepted Islam? The actual history is not what you are taught in schools, or your media propagates."
I will humbly advice Lala Gee to read "The history of civilization" a epic by William Durant.
In one of the chapter about Indian subcontinent he writes that the Mohammadan conquest of India was bloodiest in the history....and so on. My family from both side ran for their lives from the area now in Punjab Pakistan and according to my grandparents, in 1946, Hindu-Sikhs were around 18-20% in the area NOW Pakistan. They were reduced to 3-4% by 1950s by forced migration, conversion and killings.
William Durant has given you a befitting reply.
Well researched article although there are a few factual errors already mentioned by those commenting. What we are seeing is history repeating itself... with the economic bubble bursting and the population dividend leveraged there isn't much shining in India anymore...the perfect conditions for fascism in its Indian avatar.The worrying aspect is that it is the so called 'educated' class and NRI junta (the type that regularly distort facts to connect India and Indians to the origin of anything and everything noteworthy in this world, Al Beruni's India comes to mind.) that are the banner holders and foot soldiers of Modi's army. In the political arena, Modi has but little chance of becoming PM despite his army crying otherwise, unless a major polarising event occurs that causes a political upheaval. I think you take the paronoia and pessimism too far in the event that he does becomes PM. Muslims are already more or less invisisble in India except for those conveniently placed figures showing the facade that is the Indian secular republic.Though there are the insecure paranoid haters, in other words the right wingers, who might be scared that Muslims are beginning to raise their ugly heads and might try and teach them a lesson. I don't think Modi , if he does become PM would do anything but maintain the status quo.
Lala Gee writes,"In all the civilized world Supreme Courts judges have precedence over the High Court judges, but again it is India, in which a High Court judge declares the judgement of a Supreme Court judge “colourable” and “mala fide”. Truly amazing and shining India"
Please Lala you need to know the basis on which the High court quashed the Justice Banerjee report. Justice NANAWATI commission had been appointed for the 2002 Gujarat riots and it did a splended job by examining and letting cross examined those who were accused of igniting train on fire in 2002 at Godhra. Justice Nanawati is also a retired Justice from the Supreme Court as was Justice Banerjee who relied only on the material that was given to him without any cross examination. He had linmited mandate and got the report ready in just 2 months to publish it before the elections. It was all politically motivated by Lalu Yadav who was the then Railway minister and appointed Justice Banerjee. The trial court heard both sides and gave its verdict in October 2010 in which many were given life term for the burning of 58 Hindus in Godhra train in 2002. Google it and stop selective morality.
great piece. still waiting on ET to consider this man for hottie of the week.
@sid: I don't hold a brief for Pakistan. But it is evident that a bulk of the Hindu population was from east Pakistan and we all know where that went.
@Rakib:
Excellent comment. One thing I would say though, our intentions are not bad, however, the ways may be.
Thanks for the email, was very informative.
@Yuri Kondratyuk:
"In October 2006, the Gujarat High Court quashed the conclusions of the Banerjee Committee and ruled that the panel was “unconstitutional, illegal and null and void”"
In all the civilized world Supreme Courts judges have precedence over the High Court judges, but again it is India, in which a High Court judge declares the judgement of a Supreme Court judge "colourable" and "mala fide". Truly amazing and shining India.
What about the Tehelka's “Godhra: The Diabolic Lie” investigative report with video proofs which you conveniently skipped in your rebuttal. This is what they say in "Overview".
"For five years, Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government in Gujarat have evoked the Sabarmati Express tragedy at Godhra as a justification for the cataclysmic pogrom of Muslims that followed. They claim the arson was not just the horrible result of mob fury spinning out of control, but a premeditated communal conspiracy. TEHELKA’s painstaking six-month long investigation exposed a disturbing trail of lies and subversion through force and bribery. "
@harkol:
"because no leader can give Pakistan what it wants – Kashmir"
You can only give what you really own. Kashmir is owned by Kashmiri people, not by some Indian Hindu living in Bombay or Bangalore. By the way, Pakistan only wants what Kashmiris want, nothing else.
This article assumes most Indians want 'friendship' with Pakistan (like Nixon tried to arrange with china). The analogy is flawed.
US & China are separated by 10000+ miles and were not a threat to each other. They had no disputes, and no shared history.
India and Pakistan have generations of bitterness, disputes and are a threat to each other. Pakistan continues to fund/host terrorists that attack India, and India builds up armed muscle to ensure Pakistan would be defeated in any of its perfidies. Pakistan-India have fought 4 wars.
The best one can hope for is a better security through some clear headed policy. Peace can be achieved by people-to-people contact not state resolution of disputes. For now, there is nothing to resolve, because there is no meeting point. It won't matter it is Modi or any other leader who leads, because no leader can give Pakistan what it wants - Kashmir.
@Bewildered:
Last time I checked, educated are employed in the civilized world and the uneducated leech off the unemployment benefits. Please note that my general statement excludes Pakistan.
I still remember i was in class 2 or 3 nd in our Hindi books there was a phrase , "Hindu muslim sikh isayi(christian) , apas mei sab bhai bhai " . it has been more than a couple of decade nd now i realize how important it is to get the right education when u grow up . I am from india and if anybody have a doubt that in india hatred is taught between hindu and muslim then its wrong , our ground level teaching comprises of love between the two communities . Some people keeps that in mind and others forget with time !!
@Lala Gee:
In October 2006, the Gujarat High Court quashed the conclusions of the Banerjee Committee and ruled that the panel was "unconstitutional, illegal and null and void", and declared its formation as a "colourable exercise of power with mala fide intentions", and its argument of accidental fire "opposed to the prima facie accepted facts on record."
Next time you make a claim, do verify your sources and not go just by blind hatred and prejudice.
@Yuri Kondratyuk:
"Good observation. I do not see the pictures of charred bodies of the 80 odd Hindu pilgrims either."
Simply because there was none found. You may be referring to the Godhra train fire incident in which 56 people died. The inquiry by an Indian Supreme Court judge found the train fire to be an accident. Read this Indian media organization Tehelka's investigative report, "Godhra: The Diabolic Lie", which fully dispels the lies spread by Hindutva organizations about the incident in order to justify the Gujarat massacre.
@Optimist: I can feel the quiver in your voice......
@Neutral:
"proof of any single incident of Hindus genocide ever occurred in Pakistan”
"The whole of Afghanistan and Pakistan was Hindu/Buddhist land. How did it become Muslim?"
Do you have any remote idea of what a genocide is? In a genocide people die, not convert and multiply. How the people in Afghanistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Central Asia, and several republics of Russia, like Chechnya and Daghistan accepted Islam? The actual history is not what you are taught in schools, or your media propagates.
@gp65:
"I pay tax in US....."
Last time I checked, unemployed don't have to pay any tax in US.
@1984:
"If I could enter in an argument with you….Why cant I play chess with my dog???"
Of course you can, by all means. I totally believe you. Please play chess with your pet dog.
"Atleast he gets the point that living room is not a toilet after I explain to him a few times"
I have several times explained things to you, with proofs and online references, but you're still there where you started from.
I want Modi to be PM of India.. . Because I am NOT well wisher of India ;)
@Bewildered: "But please I still love my country very much, though at the cost of American tax payers."
Why do you say it is at the cost of the American tax payers. I pay tax in US and I also love US and volunteer for domestic charities like Meals on Wheels. I see no contradiction between loving Inida and loving USA. I love both.
"Yeah, money and luxuries of life are more important than just casting a vote. By the way, what good a single vote can bring to the land which I willingly left myself years ago."
You are assuming a lot without knowing anything about me.
@Lala Gee: "You must be looking into the mirror? Turn towards window, breath some fresh air, and think of a proof of any single incident of Hindus genocide ever occurred in Pakistan"
The whole of Afghanistan and Pakistan was Hindu/Buddhist land. How did it become Muslim?
@Razi:
"It is just mind-boggling that almost the entire army of Indians commenting here are head over heels in love with this man, and go to any length to defend him. Somehow, their own right-wing is benign and the best for their country, but for Pakistan, all they have are lectures of secularism and liberalism."
Read this article, "Narendra Modi supporters campaigning hard for his PM candidature on Twitter, Facebook", published in 'India Today' on April 13, 2013. Hope this will help you understanding the reason for the overwhelming presence of Hindutva diehards defending Modi on this forum and also elsewhere in the cyberspace.
@wellwisher:
"Today’s hindus in India do not believe much in Gandhi’s peaceful methods..."
Jinnah only predicted this much earlier, and tried to save as many Muslims as possible.
@gp65:
"Secondly, my ability to vote in India election has little bearing on my patriotism. I love India because I was born and raised there. This is an unchanging fact about me which does not depend on the type of passport I carry."
Yeah, money and luxuries of life are more important than just casting a vote. By the way, what good a single vote can bring to the land which I willingly left myself years ago. But please I still love my country very much, though at the cost of American tax payers.
@Author
A nation that votes in a man whose outstanding trait is his bloodlust, is a republic that shines devoid of light. A place that will no doubt grow rich, but also communal, violent and unjust.
All this coming from the heirs of Direct Action and Operation Searchlight and the 2nd Amendment?
Wonders never cease.
I have no issue with writer's views on Modi, but some of his observations about Muslims and India's future are wrong. Muslims in India are as safe as anywhere else in the world. They are certainly safer than those in Pakistan. In India communal riots are now things of the past. There was no backlash after 26/11. Recently life sentences have been given to killers of Muslims in Narida Patya. We only wish that that both countries should worry about their own citizens.
@ashok, Yes you're right. Aakar Patel is an Indian Muslim. His real name is 'Aakar Ahmed Patel'.
@Adept: Typo in my earlier comment. Wrote "detailed" instead of "detained".
@gp65:
Aakar Patel is a Muslim. His full name is Aakar Ahmad Patel.
@Adept: US may have denied visa to Modi. But US detailed and insulted the leader of "Naya Pakistan".
@Ali Tanoli
@Hindu, Don’t wish for another Pakistan in india from dehli to Hyderabad.>>>?????
Please don't provoke. You have done great damage to the cause of Indian Muslims by first dividing the country on religious ground, and now by trying to be ‘prophet of doom’. Do not hurt them anymore. Today's hindus in India do not believe much in Gandhi's peaceful methods, even in an argument among themselves in a market place. In fact many of them are fast falling in love with Jinnah and his Muslim league's ways (doesn't it make you happy!!!).Try another Pakistan, India will be truly for Hindus only, could have been on the day it was partitioned. Gandhi and Nehru saved the day for Indians. They are long dead.
@antanu: You say: "I myself dont believe in religion …" You also say: Fakes speak their own language"
Did you forget that in one of your earlier comments where you wrote that you are a "Religious Scholar"?
@ water bottle dear friend i always read news paper so i m v much up to date wt every thng,nd i understand wt u wnt to say,godhra was a painful insidence i really hurt after hearing ths nd gujrat riots ws also shameful insidence,people who died in godhra train burning nd people who died in gujrat riots where totally unknown to each others tn also they hv been killed in the name of each other,people who hv burnt train were real saitans i dnt hv words to describe them hw much i hate them bt the people who killed humans in gujrat are same saitans no diffrence,killing of human beings is nt justified for ny reason,its my request to every 1 dnt blame each other dnt blame on ny religion, just come together nd make india crime free poverty free a real super power, y v call our self hindu,muslim,christian, sardar,ect cant v call our self just indian ...just indian
@Adept: Well EU already lining up to give him VISA. US is debating why should VISA not to be given to him. And Pakistan's all weather friend China already hosted him for the talks on various matters beside business.It does tell something about him does not it?
@murtuza:
Good.
I don't know you and you don't know me. I have to believe take you for your word. It's very important that hindus and muslims have an open talk, especially with a biased observer like Pakistan in present.
So, assuming that you are an Indian muslim, let me ask you this question :
1) Do you believe in the court judgement that Godhra train burning was a pre-meditated attack on hindus by a mob of muslims? This you can google if you don't read regular news papers. This is a court assertion and not mine.
2) Do you think, Gujarat riots would have taken place at all, if the muslims did not burn down the train?
You can be open. This is internet and we both do not know each other. In fact most people here do not know most people.
@Lala Gee: And what do you say about the intellectual ability of a person who plays chess with his pet dog?
If I could enter in an argument with you....Why cant I play chess with my dog??? Atleast he gets the point that living room is not a toilet after I explain to him a few times
@ sivakashi i m nt pretending to be muslim ,i m muslim true muslim,a muslim who belives in peace nd brotherhood wt all religions nd wt i said is true from my heart,i dnt knw how many genrations hv passed bt our roots are in our mother land nothing is beloved for me tn my country , my india, my 1st love is my india jai hind
@Lala Gee:
Good observation. I do not see the pictures of charred bodies of the 80 odd Hindu pilgrims either. Hats-off to this instance of your unbiased judgement.
@ET I am quite disappointed that your moderaters chose not to publish my comment containing some facts on Gujarat riots and Modi which you did not want Pakistanis to know due to your anti Modi stand stand. I did not expect a progressive paper like you to indulge in such uncalled for moderation which might prevent me to offer any further comments on your esteemed daily.
@Doctor:
Why bank on hasty generalizations just to sound important? There is a huge faction of the Pakistani society that is still not brain washed and can think for themselves. How many Pakistanis have you come across in the lower middle class? Hardly any I doubt.
And to the rest of the people who love tooting their own horn about how India is dirty but perfect, Please stop trying to bring up cliched facts about Pakistan. Pakistan and its people are already aware of their problems. PROBLEMS that they inherited from their beloved fellow residents back in the sub-continent. The same corruption, the same decadent political scenario. Only in your case, slum dog millionaire evokes amazement and commendation, whilst in Pakistan the same thing is outrageous. So seriously. Enough with the hypocrisy you all.
@vish:
"What if some Hindus in Sindh / Punjab burnt the train containing 100 Plus muslims [highly religious] , what would be the immediate reaction by the soooooo called pious Muslims of the land of Pure."
Funny hypothetical question. You think there are Hindus left in Punjab/Sindh?
@Lala Gee:
Let's just say that the person who asks such a question takes metaphorical sarcasm to be literal truth
Dear Author Plus fellow Pakistanis,
My only one small question to you all, ET please get me reverted messages, dont block.
What if some Hindus in Sindh / Punjab burnt the train containing 100 Plus muslims [highly religious] , what would be the immediate reaction by the soooooo called pious Muslims of the land of Pure.
if any soooo called muslim / mullah any body compare with Pakistani version of Gujarat [Ref. think about Burmese Muslim vs Budhist]
If any one guarantee that law under pure would not prevent the massacre of Hindu then obviously Gujarat incident would be one of the biggest massacre, else it is just an flare up on reciprocation.
Matter is closed., go head have nice sleep...
@antanu:
"Come on dude. ..be brave and comment with ur true name."
This coming from the Brave Pakistani who shamelessly claims to be Indian.
@antanu
Fakes speak their own language.
Yeah, they speak yours. Indian indeed lol!
@Water Bottle: Sir do I hv your permission to highlight the contents of your posting?
What should scare you are the below : Attacks on young college girls in Quetta. Power cuts of 18 hours. Economy that’s in shambles. Carrying the baggae of being the murderers of 3 million Bengalis. 60,000 innocent Pakistanis killed by muslims in Pakistan. Utter humiliation of USA sending helicopters and “smoking out” Bin Laden. Scools and colleges that are bombed on a daily basis. A genuine call for self determination by Baloch. Being a country that has been alienated by the entire world.
The article is brilliant in parts. It's not all mere purple prose. Not many know that India's first home minister Patel of Congress, now purloined by an icon-starved BJP, had used a Draconian law- Defense of India Rules to jail RSS leaders & workers for months after the assassination of Gandhi. Despite such knowledge, it is surprising that Author is not abreast with complexities of federal structure, of Law & Order being a State & not Centre subject, of gigantic egos of CMs of 30 odd States, of coalition constraints on a PM & of Hindu resistance against Hindutva. And the fact that real adversaries of Modi are Hindus & that for many Hindus a divisive Modi is undesirable.
That apart, Author's preoccupation with Modi's possible impact on Pakistani & Indian Muslims (IM) is rather irksome.The typical Pakistani condescension, under garb of commiseration, towards IM is obvious. One was hoping that young Paks would have outgrown "Defender of Faith" kind of self-aggrandisement. Modi is a despicable fellow but IM know how to take care, along with other Indians, thank you. And still if he becomes PM, fine, system will take better care now. And so far Pakistan is concerned, its record with Pak-friendly PMs IK Gujaral & AB Vajpaye or MM Singh is nothing to write home about. Attitude towards Modi, if he ever becomes a Minister will not be much worse..
@1984: @Doctor: @Yuri Kondratyuk:
"Its like playing chess with my pet dog…He doesnt understand what I do and end up knocking the pieces and strutting as if he won"
And what do you say about the intellectual ability of a person who plays chess with his pet dog?
I think you mean 'fascists aren't AVERSE to progress' 5th paragraph. Otherwise, the writing isn't bad. :)
@Author:
Interesting. So, how often does Mr. Modi come in your dreams?
@murtuza: yes....how much they love muslims is rvident from comments appear in ET. I myself dont believe in religion ...because I regularly witness this LOVE for muslims and vise versa in India.Come on dude. ..be brave and comment with ur true name.Fakes speak their own language.
@Doctor: yes ,,india want narendra modi,,,MODI'S win is imminent and inevitable,,,,no one will stop modi's victory,,it is the historic need!!!!
@priya: miss priya,,whatever u said exactly right,,,,,they dont have the right to talk about india's muslims,,and their rights,,,india has more mosques,,than entire muslim world,,,and i am surely saying no muslim in india,,wants to leave india,,,now more muslim youth are with modi
Watching the author's argument get shot down due to his country of origin only furthers my belief that the India Pakistan border would be a difficult place to live. As a 3rd party, I found this article to be fairly enlightening, even to a layman. The jumps in logic that Khan is accused of making only emphasize the somewhat empty pseudo-rhetorical language that these Modi fans seem to rely on. That being said, Pakistan is not without its faults. I just fail to see what they have to do with an analysis on Mr. Modi leading the BJP. Posturing is all very well, but I come here to get an idea of what's going on in the Subcontinent. Please let objective writers continue to write devoid of undue harrasment. Critique where it applies.
@murtuza: Jio sher!They will never (want to)understand because the fact that our Muslim brothers in India live and follow their faith peacefully questions the very existence of Pakistan!!!
It is true that almost 80% muslims in India are poor but around 60% Hindus are struggling too.But they are blindfolded with prejudice hatred and jealousy.
@1984: You nailed it my friend.99% Pakistanis are brain washed by mullas even before they learn to read and write.There are enlightened beings like Hasan Nisar and Nazam sethi but they are a negligible 1%.Alas!
@1984:
You accurately captured the gist of debating with @Lala Gee!
Well its not just Indian opposition parties but even the Pakistanis of all hue seem to be rattled at the prospect of Narendra Modi becoming the PM of India. It is really strange that after getting a country based on religion, after almost wiping out all minorities and even targeting muslim minorities; the Pakistanis are shedding crocodile tears on the plight of the Indian muslims. The author and the other Pakistanis should bother out the plight of 60 to 80 million Pakistani muslims who are living in abject poverty. India is an open country and any Pakistani can come and check the real condition of Indian muslims and see how the two nation theory is consigned to the dustbin in a secular India. We Indians don't claim to be angels but our secularism is functional and the condition of our minorities is million times better than that of minorities in Pakistan. Finally the nervousness in Pakistan at the mere elevation of Narendra Modi(he is nowhere close to being a PM) is a clear indication that Pakistanis, like most Indians, are anticipating a tough posture from Narendra Modi vis-a-vis Pakistan. Surely, any 26/11 type attack from Pakistan will not go unpunished under Narendra Modi. That is what seems to be rattling the Pakistanis.
i m indian muslim,i read many pakistani news papers nd it hurt me lot when u write such a rubbish about india,indians specially about hindus its really unfortunet.my 70 % friends are hindus and they respect us ,our religion just like they do for there own.just cm to india u will listen voice of aazaan every where 5 times a day,no restriction on ny tihng related with islaam or ny religion,nd about narendre modi he has nothing done wrong in ths 11 years, gujrat raiots is a black spot in the history of india bt c thousands of bright spot insted of 1 bad.the number of muslims died in gujraat died is number pakistan looses every month.nd writing this type of anti hindu anti india articles you are fooling u r self nd creating problems for muslims in india jai hind
@Lala Gee:
Had not the Muslims ruling in India at the time of Sikh religion was born, Sikhism (3%) would have also disappeared from India like Buddhism (0.2%) and Jainism (0.3%).
A. Guru Arjan was martyred on the orders of Jehangir.
B. Guru Hargobind was imprisoned by Jehangir and persecuted by Shahjehan.
C. Guru Teg Bahadur was killed by Aurangzeb for opposing forcible conversion of Kashmiri Hindus.
About 30,000 Sikhs, including women and children, were massacred in 1762.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhholocaustof_1762
You need some better source of History.
Leaving aside matters which are purely internal to India, is it the author's case that Pakistan's prospects will somehow fare better under a Congress government in India? High marks for imagination, anyway, even if history is not his strong suit.
@Pakistanis and Indian Muslims, Mark my words - more you will oppose Modi, the more support he will get from the Indian masses. This is how it works. Why don't you guys understand people are supporting him because it's apperant that you are afraid of him? They will support any guy who makes you feel afraid. I say don't be afraid of him; let the people decide who they vote for. I'm sure the Indians will not for a communal man. And if he's voted to power then it will be clear that he's not communal. People are never wrong.
@Hindu:
"Indian muslims don’t have a choice because they voted for Muslim league and stayed back in India……….If Pakistan 4 Muslims, india for Indian religions(hindus, sikhs ,jains, buddhist)"
Strangely though, you didn't spare from your wrath even the Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists as well. Had not the Muslims ruling in India at the time of Sikh religion was born, Sikhism (3%) would have also disappeared from India like Buddhism (0.2%) and Jainism (0.3%).
@Adept: The West is self-serving and will make a volte-face before you know it. Not to make any direct comparisons, but Nelson Mandela was called a terrorist by Margaret Thatcher - today if he catches a cold they are all aflutter; in his glory days, Yasser Arafat would have been considered a rather unlikely candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. If Narendra Modi can do for India what he has managed to oversee in Gujarat, he will become the development icon of the developing world. We are unnecessarily speculating because his ascent to the top job is far from certain - the media is unnecessarily polarizing opinions by making him larger than life for both his supporters and detractors.
@gp65:
Here are some other facts:
US social security system is not solvent H1-B patriotism is useless--indian americans are not even allowed to vote in indian elections Your morality mimics those of IPL match fixersI wonder what the author wishes to convey through this article. Sir, with credentials like yours, I wish you had done a little more research. First the statistics,, a coalition or a party will need 272 seats in lower house to be able to form the government. BJP under Modi is highly unlikely to get that magic figure given the fact that one of its long-standing partners, the Janata Dal (united) led by Mr Nitish Kumar has walked out of the coaltiion because of its opposition to Modi. Cpming to the last paragraph of your article....please take care of your own country and dont lament about what has not happened in my country. Abhi Dilli door ast.... As an Indian I can tell you this,,India was, is and will remain secular where an Ahmadi and a Shia can practice his/her faith without any fear. Before I close, I must add that while I appreciate you concern for my country...please remember that right now Delhi like metro systems are coming up in seven cities while fourteen more will have it in another decade. why do I say this Sir is because every country knows its priorities. Yours seems to be trying to pull India down at every opportunity while we have launched a free mid-day meal scheme for school children, free ambulance services for expectant mothers, direct cash transfer scheme to name a few. Dont lose your sleep over India Sir..try and get some electricity for your hospitals and schools and try and reign in LEJ, TTP etc etc etc.... regards
@Adept: "Ahem…..! I am trying to think……..yes got it……..it was Modi was it not who was ostracized for his human rights atrocities and was denied a visa by the US and also by the EEC countries. Hmmm good luck in backing him as India’s next Prime Minister. Wonder what sort of foreign policy he would implement."
So, what is your point?
Just watch how the same US will toe the line for all financial benefits if Modi ever becomes the PM. EU has already toed the line realizing their mistake.
I travel regularly to Gujarat for business purpose and till now no Muslims have said under Modi's rule they been discriminated, more over Modi is been cleared of all charges to the Gujarat riot by Indian courts, it's insane to compare Modi to dictators like Sadam - because Modi have become CM of an Indian sate by free and fair election process...
People love Modi for his good governance, non corrupt attitude, no nepotism, Modi is a bachelor with no family to misuse the CM power, and more over he has kept his relatives out of his administration, the author needs to visit Gujarat before writing anything about Modi - I never voted for BJP before but this time will support BJP if they declare Modi as PM candidate...
@Author:
The best article on Modi in recent times.
@ Asad Rahim Khan No need to fear Mr.Modi . And You as a Pakistani which has the worst record against minorities shouldn't lecture us . You are just panicked , Calm down . India is an educated and secular country , Otherwise 200 millions(Please correct your facts) of Muslims wouldn't be there .So sleep tight. If we elect Mr.Modi , then that would be for developement and for his good administration , not for his communal angle.We are not Saudi Arabia for your information.
@ GP65 Ahem.....! I am trying to think........yes got it........it was Modi was it not who was ostracized for his human rights atrocities and was denied a visa by the US and also by the EEC countries. Hmmm good luck in backing him as India's next Prime Minister. Wonder what sort of foreign policy he would implement.
ET is the wrong forum to discuss Modi. Let India decide.
@Razi:
" I doubt that “much of India loves Modi” though. I think it’s more the urban middle class which touts him as the saviour. Nonetheless, it still is a very scary thought that he could come to power."
True. A majority of India is not with Modi. It's mostly the Urban middle class youth.
But this shouldn't scare you. What should scare you are the below :
Attacks on young college girls in Quetta. Power cuts of 18 hours. Economy that's in shambles. Carrying the baggae of being the murderers of 3 million Bengalis. 60,000 innocent Pakistanis killed by muslims in Pakistan. Utter humiliation of USA sending helicopters and "smoking out" Bin Laden. Scools and colleges that are bombed on a daily basis. A genuine call for self determination by Baloch. Being a country that has been alienated by the entire world.
Guys listen,our equation with the congress is same as your equation with PPP.Now please put aside your prejudice for a moment and tell us,how can we ever vote for congress.Narendra Modi is our only hope.
author: " ... Which leads us to what happened 11 years ago. In response to a train fire that burnt 58 Hindus alive, the blood of nearly a thousand Muslims was spilt across Gujarat. It was slaughter as spontaneous as any campaign involving time and patience; the police and the state. ... "
It was not a train fire. It was a slaughter of Hindu pilgrims.
@John the Baptist: That is not how he has ruled Gujarat for 11 years you know. Unlike say a party like PTI where you have to guess what there track record is based on what the leader says, with Modi personally and BJP as a party there is a governance record. The states ruled by them have not had riots in the past many years. They have had higher growth rates and a better governance track record.
Hitler sent 6 million Jews to the gas chambers. Modi has not given any anti-Muslim order in the 11 years that he has ruled. A 2 day riot eleven years back where both sides died (not just one side) and number of Muslims died was 754 cpmpared to 250 Hindus can be hardly compared to 6 million people deliberately sent to their deaths.
Give national circumstances it would been far more productive for Mr. Asad Rahim Khan to devote his time to educating compatriots about the 1970-71 genocide in what was then East Pakistan and is now Bangladesh rather than dwell on affairs in more nationally distant Gujarat that resulted in a small fraction of the deaths that occurred in Bangladesh.
First get your facts right. There are 150-180 million Muslims in India. There are more Muslims in Gujarat than there are Hindus in Pakistan.
First of all,it is very unlikely that Modi will become PM, as coalition of party is going to rule India for foreseeable future and BJP is losing allies like Nitish Kumar CM of Bihar of JD(U) party (who has already shivered its 17 years relationship with BJP)and is supported by the party of CM of West Bengal and CM of Orissa.So BJP under Modi will not get the majority to form government.Besides BJP itself is not united on Modi,as Advani resignation incident has shown.Even if Modi comes to power,Muslims are not going to loose anything ;In last BJP government,A Muslim Mr APJ Abdul Kalam was made President and they are not going to sack the Muslim Chief Justice of Supreme court of India,Muslim Vice President of India or ban Khans of Bollywood.Now, in Pakistan candidate for last election was scrutinized on basis of their knowledge of Islam and hatred filled two nation theory, so it is interesting Author is not worried about the condition of non-muslims,shias and Ahmadis in Pakistan.
@priya:
No question about that--Modi will rule india like Gandhi's pen friend, Hitler ruled Germany!
@Ali Tanoli: There won't be any, we can assure you of that.It is not British ruled India now.
@Hindu: Huh! Have you been living under a rock for all these years my fellow Hindu. Never been to India's Capital Delhi or UP's capital Lucknow or AP's capital Hyderabad or Kashmir's Capital Srinagar or MP's capital Bhopal? Never admired Tajmahal or Redfort or Haji Ali Dargah or Charminar? Let me make it simple for you- My India is of, for and made by all faiths; those who don't like it that way, better catch a boat for elsewhere.
@Ali Tanoli: In what manner has the previous Pakistan (formed out of Muslim majority provinces of British India) benefitted Indian Muslims that they'll demand another one and on whose land will it be this time? Nobody is going anywhere this time. Thanks to Climate Change, very soon even the Bangladeshis and Maldivians may very well have to be hosted somewhere in India.
@author Very well-written. It is just mind-boggling that almost the entire army of Indians commenting here are head over heels in love with this man, and go to any length to defend him. Somehow, their own right-wing is benign and the best for their country, but for Pakistan, all they have are lectures of secularism and liberalism. I doubt that "much of India loves Modi" though. I think it's more the urban middle class which touts him as the saviour. Nonetheless, it still is a very scary thought that he could come to power.
@sid This is really getting execrable. I have countered this on another thread but it seems like you guys are bent on misrepresenting facts to suit your entrenched positions. Of the 22% Hindu population in 1951, a major portion was in East Pakistan. Those in current-day Pakistan were less than 2%. So stop spreading your propaganda to prop up a fascist.
@Zia: "Indepedence for Jammu kashmir(1.5 million kashmiri muslims) from India,minority protection for others(16.5 million Indian muslims)."
No minority protection for Kashmir?
Good article but I think the Writer should do some basic research on Population of Muslims in India. It is not 20 Million but close to 200 Million ( 20 Crore ). Infact there are more Muslims in India than in Pakistan which is 180 Million (18 Crore).
Bravo Asad!! Keep them coming. you write brilliantly.
Wasn't it that just few weeks back you people were blaming PML-N and Nawaz Shariff for the attacks on Shias. And, the moment he has become a PM, everyone's welcoming him, it seems. Atleast that is the impression that I have got by reading the articles here on ET.
If Modi ever becomes PM of India, don't be surprised if most Indian writers start bending over backwords to please him. And frankly, Pakistanis don"t have a choice. If it's Modi, it's Modi you will have to deal with.
@Hindu, Don't wish for another Pakistan in india from dehli to Hyderabad.>>>?????
A well articulated piece and I agree with you - just that I find it difficult to accept such an argument coming from a person who lives in a society that condones terrorism against india - and I am not talking about the vociferous votaries such as hafiz saeed but the quiet approval such acts of terrorism enjoy among the so called silent majority across pakistan.
I would advise the writer to look within at the hatred spewed by muslims against religions like hinduism - and perhaps urge his govt to give up the likes of dawood ibrahim. And yes as a hindu I do share his concern for the growing support for modi.
It seems that ET is treating its readers with one anti-Modi article each day. This one is the most ludicrous rubbish anyone can conjure up. Is it the heat or the lack of power that brings out the most misguided bleeding hearts out there in basketcaseistan?
It is just a matter of time when someone superimposes Modi's image onto that of Hitler saluting goosestep marching masses wearing saffron. Until then, feast your imagination on morbid stuff like this while the rest of the world moves ahead.
"Best known for his role in the Gujarat massacre,"...?? "the blood of nearly a thousand Muslims was spilt across Gujarat."
If you had done your research, you would have known that he is better known for the development he brought to his province. In the riots, 40% of almost 1100 who died were Hindus. Also, erstwhile ministers from Modi's cabinet are now in jail for the riots, and the convictions happened under Modi's watch. If you think he was such a bloodthirsty fundamentalist; why would he do the above? Also, how many more riots have occured under his watch.
"India’s 20 million Muslims out of the economic morass they’ve fallen into"
First there are over 180 Mill Muslims in India, and secondly have you wondered why many of them have fallen in an economic morass? Large familiy sizes, reluctance to send kids to school; and even if some do, many prefer to send kids to madrassas, which does not really equip them for employment are the top reasons why. Thirdly, why should the govt do something special for economically downtrodden Muslims, and not for economically downtrodden of other faiths?
If you choose to look without your faith tinted glasses, you may see a different picture.
when Asad sahib write something about Ranjit singh Kana he is great man but when he is showing true face of india democracy every one from aross the border start blaming him wrong pleace guys be democratic in judgment....
If PML-N which oppenly supports anti ahmedi activites can come to power in Pakistan.........the countries people have no right to teach morality to indian people
BJP = PMN of India.
What is the problem of Pakistan ,if India comes under the decatorship?