Gujarat`s Unsung Hero

Sheetal Rajput

Gujarat goes for the second phase of polling coming Sunday. Most of the areas that this phase covers are the ones that were severely hit by the 2002 riots. So, there is a fresh round of allegations and counter allegations, raised pitches aimed at further widening the communal divide and gaining maximum political mileage. And as the Election Commission tightens the noose on politicians going completely maverick with their communally charged speeches, print and electronic media works overtime on the year's most watched political activity. Electronic media, in particular is rife with debates, opinions and counter-opinions. I was struck by one of such debates, the other day. More by one of the guests on the panel than by actual content, tone and tenor of the debate. He was a 2002 riot victim, a Professor by profession. Prof J.S. Bandukwala is a devout Muslim, who lives in Vadodara. On Feb 27, 2002,a small mob torched Bandukwala’s car, parked in the driveway of his home. The following day, another group set his house on fire. Bandukwala and his 24-year-old daughter managed to escape, aided by some Hindu neighbours. Five and a half years later, the Professor has moved on. He talks of forgetting and forgiving, not out of fear of an all-pervasive Moditva or due to intimidation by the fact that in a state with 89% Hindu population, he is a part of the 9% minority population. It's not even the fear of a repeat of what he and his family went through in Feb 2002.This belief and the courage to voice it comes from his deeply religious values. According to Prof Bandukwala, his religion tells him so…to forgive and forget. But Bandukwala is considered a coward, a traitor and a lesser Muslim by his ilk. The sneers and wry smiles on the faces of the minority audience, present for the show said it all. How can it be forgiven and forgotten, those raised eyebrows seemed to be questioning? I am sure there must be many more of Bandukwala's kind, just as there are many many more, on both sides of the divide, refusing to forgive, forget or even consider a middle path. But it takes tremendous courage of one's own convictions to be able to profess something as daunting as that. Daunting, because one does that at the risk of falling in the eyes of one's own people, of betraying hearts simmering with contempt and cold hatred. And one can't doubt the motive of Bandukawala's thoughts, because this opinion is expressed at a time when it is actually the time to give it back, an opportunity to turn the tables. But he actually chooses to focus on other more objective aspects of the scenario that is Gujarat today. Surfing the net, one finds a series of articles written by him on the economic successes achieved by Gujarat in the past few years, of industrial investment, of reforms in the farming sector, of innovative rural electrification programmes and new social welfare schemes. It's another matter that many of his fellow men term his writings as a case of being once bitten, twice shy. And that's precisely what the problem is. Extremists on both sides want to erase the middle ground, the ground that people like the kind of Prof Bandukwala occupy. This space sure has potential for growth, provided there's no more stirring of the communal kind by our democratically elected leaders. Pulling Gujarat from the brink may be difficult, but by no means impossible.