How can we have a riot-proof Gujarat?

This year is celebrated as a Golden Jubilee year of Gujarat. We Gujaratis have developed a state which is the growth engine of India. However, despite our endless progress stories, we have not yet succeeded in creating a society which is free of riots, and systematic violence. Enough has been said, and written about the role of governments, media and various interest groups in riots. But, ‘how individual citizens, who are not victims, are related with mass-madness’ - is a less explored question. And the most important question remains unanswered- how can we have a riot-proof Gujarat? This article will explore the possibility of creating a riot-free Gujarat.

Last several decades of Gujarat’s history have been tainted by occasional communal riots, mainly between Hindus and Muslims. The most recent and one of the most tragic episodes of violence occurred in 2002, the Godhra massacre and the following riots. I was in 12th standard (science stream), preparing for a very high-stake state board examination, the result of which was going to determine my undergraduate college as well as field of studies and my career. Unlike thousands of victims and people who witnessed violence during the state-wide communal riots, I was not exposed to violence. However, like the whole of Gujarat, I was constantly exposed to the sensationalizing media, and an overwhelmingly polarizing social atmosphere. It took three months for the cycles of violence to end. Each and every moment in these three months, I was burning from inside in search of peace. Based on my personal experiences and observations, I can say that such social scenario stimulated the following feelings in individuals like me (not victims of violence):

1. Fear and insecurity: We all want our loved ones to be safe. The thought of ‘hundreds of armed people attacking our home and family’ is a horror for everyone.

2. Anger: Quite obviously, one would detest living in a terrorizing social atmosphere. As a consequence, every individual rationalizes a ‘villain’ (individual or group) responsible for the mishap and seeks justice. In addition, the politicians, the media and the religious extremists nurture such rationalization. And if the justice is not done instantaneously, an individual may feel that it is his/her duty to punish that ‘villain’ by hook or crook (doesn’t matter if s/he may have to break the law).

3. Helplessness and frustration: When the city is under curfew and one has to keep his/her-self safe, s/he may do absolutely nothing to alleviate the sufferings of the victims. It is deeply frustrating to watch live on television the atrocities going on in your city.

4. Guilt: When we see others in pain, while we are absolutely fine, we feel a sort of guilt. Why s/he suffered and not I? Moreover, if we are part of a stronger section or a majority, or a privileged class of the society, this feeling can be even more intense. One may rationalize that s/he is part of a majority/group that is victimizing others.

It is possible that the people in Gujarat in-general experienced the first two types of feelings (i.e., fear & insecurity and anger) more strongly than the second two types of feelings (i.e., helplessness & frustration and guilt) because of their direct exposure of events. The first two types of feelings are more likely to trigger right-wing mindset, as the majority strongly unites to secure its interests. This was evident in 2002 state elections, as BJP enjoyed a sweeping victory. On the other hand, the people outside Gujarat were more likely to experience the later two types of feelings (i.e., helplessness & frustration and guilt). And this could stimulate sympathy towards minorities and a leftist mindset. Interestingly, the Congress party did win in the centre in 2004 loksabha (general) elections and formed a government in coalition with the leftist parties.

The time has healed wounds of many; and many believe that Gujarat has moved on. However, we have seen any cohesive effort which can ensure communal harmony neither by the state nor by the centre. After 2002, BJP has won elections on merit bases, and the congress has never recovered. One party hold is a worrying scenario for Gujarat, because BJP is very sluggish in moving to the centrist perspective from the far right. And the weak opposition party (congress) is unable to exert any pressure on the Modi government. Moreover, it seems the congress has still not realized that the majority of people in Gujarat perceive it as sub-servant of the minorities; and this is hurting it the most. Thus, I am extremely concerned about the social cohesion and stability of Gujarat. There are three options that we have:

1. The Modi-government should adopt a more centrist view publicly to take every section of community on board for an inclusive progress. There are positive developments in this direction, but there is no pressure-group in direct action.

2. The congress (or any other party) should immediately find visionary leaders having high credibility, competency & centrist-views (not over-focus on minorities); and should strengthen itself to provide a serious fight in the next election.

3. We, the Gujaratis, should become pluralists and teach our children pluralist values.

The first two options are out of hands of common Gujaratis. But, the last option is worth implementing. Gujarat has overlooked the unique contribution of its very own son, Gandhi, to the field of education. In all of his educational experiments, Gandhi always emphasized on teaching children the basic values of all of the major religions. The reason behind such educational practices was to nurture pluralist values in children, in order to have tolerant citizens who respect diversity. Most of the biases and bigotry have roots in ignorance and lack of empathy towards the other group of people. If an individual is well aware of the way of living, set of beliefs, and the hardships and day to day challenges of the other set of people, s/he will be more likely to see commonalities rather than differences. And these common elements will prevent compartmentalization and segregation and ensure social cohesion.

Today our schools have forgotten the idea of sarva-dharma prarthana (prayer of all religions). In addition, Hindus and Muslims are increasingly living in separate areas in almost every city. Because of this geographical segregation, our schools have hardly remained multi-religious in nature. As a consequence, the younger Hindus are losing contact with their Muslim counterparts and vice-versa. This, to me, is a very dangerous scenario. It is like waiting for a failure. Unless we Gujaratis identify this and act accordingly, it would take a small event, attack or accident for anti-social elements to instigate riots and to trap Gujarat in the cycle of violence.

Lastly, I would like to provide five simple steps for nurturing pluralist values in ourselves as well as in our children:

1. Study your religion and cultural ethos.

2. Analyze yourself if you are biased against any religious communities.

3. Make friends of different religions (begin with the one you hate the most).

4. Learn about his/her religious literature and rituals, and identify common elements.

5. Stay with your friend (of other religion) for seven consecutive days.

These ordinary steps have an extraordinary empirical value. The choice is ours. Do we want to ignore fault lines and fight internally when there is friction? Or do we want to create an ironclad social cohesiveness, which is riot-proof? Always remember, a pluralist country is built by pluralist states; and a pluralist state is built by pluralist individuals.

Image courtesy: http://changemakers123.blogspot.com/2011/04/religion-and-culture.html

I welcome your comments....