Friday, September 26, 2008
The Hindu gets it right
This blog has frequently been critical of the Hindu and its editorial policies, particularly with regard to Tibet/China/CPI(M). In fairness therefore, one should commend it for the stand it has taken with respect to present events which I have written about in the last two posts.
Specifically today's editorial makes exactly the point I made in the previous
post (not that my point is particularly new or original -- which makes it all the more surprising that so few people seem to get it!) - the amazing inability of the BJP in distinguishing between the offer of legal aid to an accused and the moral justification of a heinous crime. One interesting fact that I discovered is that Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad the BJP spokesman who asked for the VC's head, is actually an experienced lawyer. Maybe belonging to the BJP is injurious to the brain...
And now the Nanavati commission has, for all intents and purposes, absolved the Modi Government of all guilt in the Gujarat riots of 2002 -- "There is absolutely no evidence to show that the Chief Minister, his Council of Ministers or the police officers had played any role in the Godhra incident or that there was any lapse on their part in the matter of providing protection, relief and rehabilitation to the victims of communal riots". Maybe we do have a flat earth after all.
Makes you want to emigrate...
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4 comments:
Dr. Basu,
Had the Nanavati Commission given a verdict that accused the Modi government, would you still have criticized it? Or are you criticizing it because their verdict doesn't match yours?
The Commission has come to the conclusion after reviewing all the evidence, so I am certain that they are in a better position to pass judgment on the whole train incident.
But again, it is your blog. And you do as you please
I am not asking you to believe my version/verdict. I have not even visited Gujarat after that. Perhaps you think all these organisations are biased or prejudiced against Narendra Modi and his Govt. but here is a sample:
Supreme Court of India
Human Rights Watch
People Union of Civil Liberties
Editors' Guild
Tehelka
Outlook
Indian Express
Hindustan Times
Hindu
Many news channels, many of them not considered antagonistic to the Sangh Parivar -- Aaj Tak, Zee News, Star News, some of which were banned by the Gujarat Government, the classic repression technique of a fascist state.
When the so called 'considered' opinion of a commission flies against the combined reportage and opinion of a large number of diverse organisations, it should perhaps make us think a bit.
You can find a few more sources in this
Wikipedia article.
Dr. Basu,
regardless of what the Nanavati commission findings are, they cannot provide a justification of what happened next and how despicably the state machinery acted. Every government has a responsibility to prevent perpetuation of violence and in this case the state government hardly did anything and, in fact, from many accounts perpetrated violence on minority.
I do have a question for you though. All this "makes you want to emigrate" where ..... ? ( Not that it is an option for me, but being theoretically inclined, would like to know)
Mind Without Fear: You take me too literally. I am not emigrating anywhere, it's not an option. It was merely a rhetorical cry of despair, particularly because I can't help feeling that with prices rise, terrorist attacks, and all that, the next elections will see the BJP back in power, more aggressively pushing its divisive agenda.
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