Akshardham and after

The Akshardham tragedy has followed the Gujarat Genocide almost as inexorably as the Bombay Blasts had followed the riots in 1993. The outrageous attack on visitors in this famous Gandhinagar temple which left more than thirty people dead and many more injured has been condemned unequivocally by the entire country. The VHP and Shiv Sena reacted once again with another Bharat Bandh, but the bandh passed off remarkably ‘peacefully’ as had been appealed by Modi. The anger this time was directed exclusively against Pakistan as Advani and Vajpayee took great trouble to explain the entire Akshardham episode as Pakistan’s reply to the elections being held in Jammu and Kashmir.

Advani’s attempt to present the Akshardham episode as an attack on democracy resembled Bush’s interpretation of 9/11 as an assault on American democracy and civilization. But luckily few in India are willing to buy this Advani line. Also, unlike Bush’s war on Afghanistan, Advani will find it difficult to translate his high- voltage rhetoric against Pakistan into a real war. The forces of peace and sanity in both India and Pakistan must however sharpen their vigil.

The Pakistani terrorist plot theory being dished out by official sources in New Delhi and Gandhinagar has thrown up more questions than it can claim to answer. Regardless of the actual identity of the two persons involved in the Akshardham shootout, there can be no mistaking the motivation that lay behind the incident. Located in the high-security heart of Gandhinagar, the constituency of none other than Advani, and epitomising the enormous clout of the powerful Patel lobby, Akshardham temple is clearly loaded with symbolism. There are now reports that the government had enough warnings from its own intelligence agencies, yet conditions around the temple were left almost tailor-made for the execution of the episode. So much for the government’s tall claims on vigilance and security!

The other question which is now on everybody’s lips in Gujarat is why the central and state governments acted so differently after Godhra and Akshardham? There was no televised appeal for restraint from Modi after Godhra. It then took days and weeks for Advani and Vajpayee to reach Gujarat whereas this time round they were all there within hours of the incident. And the September 26 bandh wore such a different look from February 28 and March 1 when the entire state was completely leased out to the VHP while the state machinery just complied and colluded with the VHP-led dance of death and destruction. The role of the state in the post-Godhra Genocide now stands doubly confirmed.

The Modi regime hopes that the Akshardham episode would bolster its electoral prospects and even lend it a fresh coat of legitimacy and respectability! But if the response evoked by the “Save Gujarat, Save India” rally and convention by left and democratic forces in Ahmedabad on September 28, just a day after the VHP’s bandh is any indication, Gujarat is tired of this vicious cycle of fascist violence and Modi’s dreams may just not be realized. Let us intensify our campaign to win the battle of secularism and democracy in Gujarat.