Author: François Gautier
Publication: India Today
Date: June 24, 2002
Introduction: When Swami joins the
Muslim extremists
Swami Agnivesh is a respected figure
in India, known for having saved countless children from bonded labour.
This book, written in collaboration with Reverend Valson Thampu, is a deserving
attempt at recording in exacting details the plight of Muslims at the hands
of raging Hindus during the Gujarat riots.
Unfortunately, this essay, which
could have done so much to bridge the widening gap between the two communities,
is all about hate, as its opening statement illustrates: "Even if we forget
the Mahatma's ideals, we should never forget who killed the Mahatma." The
Swami rants against the Sangh Parivar: "It is a medical analogy that explains
the present convulsions (of the Sangh Parivar) best-that of de-worming-when
the worms in their final twitch of desperation release their poison." The
first mention of the burning of the Sabarmati Express comes only on page
37, merely giving the Muslim version of the story: "The so-called kar sevaks
would order tea from the Muslim vendors and force them to shout 'Jai Shri
Ram' before serving the tea; and those who refused to oblige would be roughed
up." Why does the good Swami not mention that in 1991, in a Godhra madarsa
all the Hindu teachers who were voluntarily tutoring the children were
massacred? Or that today the electricity board is afraid to go into the
Muslim area of Godhra where 80 per cent of the power is illegally tapped?
The Bajrang Dal might have created hate by the power of the sword, but
this book will create more hatred by the power of the pen.
It is true that during these riots
horrible things, which no human being should condone, happened. But Swami
Agnivesh and the Reverend forget to mention that 25 per cent of the people
killed during the riots were Hindus; or that, according to police records,
the 157 subsequent riots in Gujarat were all started by Muslims. He is
also unable to explain to us how 1,25,000 Hindus, many of them Dalits,
tribals or even upper-middle class, came out on the streets of Ahmedabad
with such anger after the Sabarmati burning. While condemning their terrible
acts, one has to at least understand the cause of their deep-rooted rage
as Hindus throughout the ages have shown that they are patient and tolerant
of others. There is also not a single mention of Hindus reaching out to
Muslims after the riots, such as a Hindu businessman who built 90 houses
in Ahmedabad for Muslims whose homes had been destroyed by fire.
The Swami seems to have blindly
taken up the cause of Muslims: "It is incredibly sad how the Muslim community
seems almost wholly abandoned by the rest of the country." Or, "Can we
really blame the Muslims of Gujarat if they come to prefer Dawood Ibrahim
to Narendra Modi?" Ultimately, this book will strengthen the Muslims extremists
and incite moderate Muslims to become jehadis. It is so anti-Hindu that
it might prompt moderate Hindus to support the Bajrang Dal, a counterproductive
result which, we are sure, the Swami did not intend when he set upon writing
the book.
