Move beyond politics of memory : Chindu on 84 riots

Chindu blames Nanavati for trying to seek the truth instead of firmly putting behind the "politics of memory". By contrast, it blames all Gujaratis for looking beyond 2002.

From its 9th Aug 2005 edition:


The Hindu : Front Page : Credible evidence against Tytler: Nanavati

The Nanavati Commission, which probed the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, has found "credible evidence" against senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler

The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : Politics of forgetting and forgiving

Above all, a society ought to move beyond the politics of memory. Justice Nanavati has failed civil society. Rather than firmly close the book, he has given enough ammunition to those who want to keep the pot boiling.

05th Jan 2008 on Gujarat forgetting 02 riots and voting for Modi:

The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : Gujarat elections: some reflections

What should worry us, then, is not whether Mr. Modi is a demon, but the change in the Gujarati psyche. What has happened to Gujarat? Is it still redeemable?

Thankfully, some sane voices found their way to the "Letters" section. And Mr.Iyer's question should be reworded: "What has happened to India? Is it still redeemable?" I don't think Chindu is listening anyway.

The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Gujarat elections

The article argues that while Gujarat 2002 and Delhi 1984 were both deeply horrifying and profoundly disturbing, they cannot be compared. The victims of the 1984 riots have not been rehabilitated even after 23 years and the perpetrators have got away. If the Congress and the Delhi populace could move ahead and put the riots behind them, why doubt the Gujaratis’ ability to do the same? It is not proper to question the Gujarati psyche on the basis of the electoral results. I would like to remind the author that there were riots in Gujarat even before 2002, during the Congress regime. The 1969 riots were worse.
- P. Venaktasubramanian, Chennai

Concerns such as those expressed in the article have existed over Gujarat and other places — Delhi, Meerut, Moradabad, Bhiwandi — at different times throughout the six decades following independence. To fault the Gujarati psyche for the recent election result risks alienation of the community. What the Gujarat electorate seems to have done is to put 2002 where it deserves to be — five years backwards — and look to the future. The reasons the Congress lost were it could not think beyond 2002 and conceive a vision better than Mr. Modi’s. Election results should be accepted gracefully and the electorate’s sentiment acknowledged.
- Devraj Sambasivan, Alappuzha