'Narendra Modi is scared of losing'

In 1989, when freedom fighter Iswarbhai Chawda lost an election for the first time in three decades from Borsad region of Gujarat -- it shocked everyone. He was the leading political and social force of the Kshatriya-Rajput community against the prosperous and highly vocal Patels in and around Anand district.

Such was the complete hold of Chawda and his son-in-law and former chief minister Madhavsinh Solanki in some five to six constituencies in Anand that voters would vote for anybody Chawda recommended.

But that was a different time and Chief Minister Narendra Modi [ Images ] was not around in Gujarat politics.

His grandson Bharatsinh Solanki, 54, is all set to fight a battle royale against Modi in the assembly election to be held at the end of the year.

Solanki, as president of the Gujarat Congress, is traveling to every nook and corner of the state to try and re-energise the badly-demoralised organisational structure of the party.

Modi is just two years older than him but many miles ahead in political experience.

Congressmen and secularists in from Gandhinagar to New Delhi [ Images ] are watching if this civil engineer can stop Modi's juggernaut.

Modi is a born politician, while Solanki is a reluctant one.

The senior Solanki was a practitioner of famous KHAM theory of Gujarat which helped Congress monopolise the votes of the Kshatriyas, Dalits, tribals and Muslims. The combination ignored the Patel community who eventually gravitated towards the Bharatiya Janata Party [ Images ].

Bharat, whose wife is a Patel, has not been as successful in caste politics as his father. He has been politics since 1992 but after quite a struggle he has been able to shed the image of a village bully. Right now, he is trying to bring together the various factions in the state Congress. But his family legacy of being anti-Patel is making his own appeal doubtful amongst vocal Patel voters who are showing signs of switching sides from the BJP to the Congress. Solanki is showing the desired enthusiasm. But the party, with an eye on the Patel votes, has decided not to project him as a chief ministerial candidate before the polls.

In an interview with Managing Editor Sheela Bhatt, Solanki gives his take on the forthcoming Gujarat polls.

Shall we start with a debate on the Patels? How do you look at the community's political power in Gandhinagar?

In last 100 years, the Patels of Gujarat have grown very fast. Behind it is their entrepreneurship, unity, focus and hard work. Even after Sardar Patel they were lucky to have many leaders who have guided them to succeed in all sectors of life. The Patels are flexible by nature. If they accept you then you can get anything done from them but their displeasure is also difficult to bear. I take this as a positive sign.

Your father practiced the KHAM theory. It was social engineering that won many elections for the Congress. But the Patels got isolated and the Solanki family was considered 'anti-Patel'. It was the Patels' political, economical and social power the helped the BJP to power in Gandhinagar. Today, the same Patel leaders are disenchanted with the BJP and Modi. Their support looks shaken and uncertain.

I think it is your misunderstanding when you say that KHAM was my father's brainchild. It was thought about by Congress leaders like Jeenabhai Darjee and (former finance minister) Sanat Mehta. They got various communities under an umbrella but the common factor was that they were all poor. In essence, poor people were with the Congress and they trusted the Congress. Before Independence, Sardar Patel brought Patels into the Congress fold and they along with Sardar participated in the freedom movement. But a large section of the Patels moved towards the old Congress (known in Gujarat as Sanstha Congress) when the Congress got divided.

In Gujarat, the middle class and upper middle class constituted largely Patidars (Patels), Jains and traders. You are right that the Patels got alienated from Congress at that time. As a result, Chimanbhai Patel and the BJP took advantage. But the reference to context has changed. Patels are leading Gujarat and they, always, walk with time. They are a flexible people. Patels, who once strengthened BJP in a big way, are looking towards Congress, once again, because they feel the Congress will help in globalisation. The Patels are itching to contribute to India's [ Images ] globalisation.

In my first press-conference a journalist asked me do you believe in KHAM theory or not? I said I believe in aam theory. (referring to the common man). We want to carry along with us, the poor and middle class. After my nomination as state president, the maximum number of district presidents in the Congress are Patels. Before my nomination all kinds of ill-founded fears were there but now, they have seen my style and are re-joining the Congress in big numbers.

What could be the reasons of their disenchantment with BJP?

In a society which grows fast, priorities also change fast. They are everywhere in Gujarat; take politics, sports, music, trade or profession. Now, they want to dominate. They want political leadership again. When Keshubhai Patel was removed from the chief ministership some people thought that it had some Hindutva dimension. But when Modi came, the Patels' political participation, economic growth and leadership got reduced. The Patels were neglected.

They thought since Keshubhai Patel was removed by Modi, let us remove Modi. But they are also looking at an alternative. The Patels original home is the Congress; they contributed in making of the Congress in Gujarat.

You have been president for 18 months. How do you review your performance?

The grassroots workers of Congress were disappointed with the party. They wanted hope. We started a training programme for youth. We said we don't want leaders. We want "sathi, mitra, bhai" (companion, friend and brother).

We gave training to Congress workers and made them skilled. We told them about the Congress, its leaders, secularism and its importance. We told them about time management and concepts of team building. We arranged training camps in all big districts and seven cities. Urban and rural areas have different issues on hand, we also took OBC, Dalits, youth and women separately. We used to call doctors, psychiatrists and experts in various fields to tell them about BJP, the United Progressive Alliance [ Images ] government at the Centre, laws and current affairs.

We decided to reach every village of Gujarat. There is not a single village left here where we haven't put the 'Hand' (Congress symbol) mark and Soniaji's picture.

When Modi relaxed the prohibition policy we put graffiti all over Gujarat quoting Gandhiji that "alcohol is an invention of Satan". No need to guess who is Satan today! We quoted Sardar Patel for communal harmony. Unity is a must for peace and prosperity in Gujarat.

Do you really think such training camps can rejuvenate the Congress and get votes?

We have attracted hundreds of young people, gave them uniforms, gave them a code and…

Merely one huge rally by Modi can off set such euphoria…

That's a tale of the past. It's history. You have no idea that how my workers hoot him out in some areas.

Shall we talk about Modi?

Modi is a small man. Let us not talk too much about him.

Many experts and surveys say that he is the most popular leader of Gujarat even now.

You know better about surveys. From villages to cities our surveys tell a different story. His policies and programmes are rejected and getting him nowhere. He is using people's money and people are watching it, quietly.

Is he a popular leader or not?

Not at all. He is a hypocrite. He is showing off. He is putting up posters because he has nothing else to show. Even in media surveys his ratings have plummeted. In Rajkot, he won only by 14,000 votes. He is the weakest CM by that yardstick. The BJP got success in local bodies elections where merely 38 percent voted. Event, Modi tried to disassociate himself by reminding people that this is not an assembly election this is an election for roads and gutters. He was scared of losing.

You have declared a war against his government. What do you think are his weaknesses?

Arrogance. Arrogance means Astaya - untruth. It will be responsible for his fall. He thinks that what he says and believes is the truth. This belief has driven him away from the truth and the people. We are not saying these things. BJP leader Keshubhai Patel is saying it. Real information is not reaching him at all. He is surrounded by chamchas.

Some ten years back we used to hear that 'Madhavsinh's son is a bully'. Do you think your image has changed since then?

Some people may say all sorts of things. I have goodwill of my team and people trust me. In last Lok Sabha election, I got overwhelming response. I agree it is just one constituency out of 26 in Gujarat. I am hopeful that Gujarat will trust me.

Will you agree that Modi's image is of a non-corrupt politician?

He started corruption with the Sujalam Suflam water project. The issue is that Modi indulges in corruption at higher levels and takes huge bribes and doesn't get involved in small amounts.

It is plain to see how he favoured five industrialists and awarded them huge plots of land. The public knows how politicians use industrialists and run political parties. Modi is giving rich people tax concessions, cheap land and water to enhance his image. He has put up hoardings worth crores of rupees. Even, India's prime minister does not have as many hoardings. He wears some fancy dresses, headgear and shawls and then poses for hoardings. The fact is that the chief minister uses money in enhancing his image. He uses it to eliminate his opponents.

Also just wait when we reopen the Haren Pandya case (Pandya was a BJP MLA who was killed in Ahmedabad [ Images ]). Everything was manipulated when it was investigated but the truth will come out one day.

We are also opposing the Godhra trial. After Godhra, the riots followed. The state chief minister was the 'mukhya sutradhar' of the Gujarat riots. Even the truth in the Akshardham [ Images ] massacre will come out after Modi falls.

We were talking about corruption in Modi's government. It was also alleged that two big industrial houses benefited when the Congress was in power in Gujarat.

At that time Gujarat needed employment away from agriculture. Look, how the Congress helped improve growth and income.

Modi can claim that too. Gujarat has a higher growth rate than India.

Read carefully. The growth of Gujarat is only because of petroleum products and agriculture, but it has not created new employment. Modi speaks lies, loudly and repeatedly. So you people are impressed. Modi is running out of confidence. He is following our agenda and copying our programmes.

A large section of Gujarati voters think that the Congress has an in-built tendency to appease Muslims. But during the riots in 2002, Congress leader Amarsinh Chaudhary adopted a soft-Hindutva approach. You are ending up displeasing both the secular and non-secular voters.

The Congress is secular and will remain secular. The Patels are shifting to the Congress to unite Gujaratis. The rejection of Modi will be bigger than rejection of J Jayalalitha or Chandrababu Naidu [ Images ]. People will see the magic of Gujarati voters.

Are you taking any advice from your famous father?

We do not meet quite often. But he always advises me to listen more. We the young people in the Congress are rejuvenating the party. It is a difficult role. After winning election in 1985 we haven't won any election in Gujarat on our own strength. We are rebuilding the Congress culture in Gujarat.

SIT findings ensure Narendra Modi can't shake off riot taint

NEW DELHI: In a serious blow to Narendra Modi's reputation as an able administrator, the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) has indicted him on over a dozen counts for his alleged complicity in the Gujarat riots of 2002.

The confidential report of the SIT, which has been reproduced extensively by Tehelka magazine, has upheld much of the complaint lodged against Modi and his administration by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ahsan Jafri who had been killed during the riots.

The SIT submitted its 600-page report to the Supreme Court in May 2010 after it had, among other things, questioned Modi for 10 hours. Its damaging observations against Modi are despite the SIT's admission that several witnesses had declined to testify for what was merely a preliminary enquiry and not a criminal investigation under the law.

Key findings of the inquiry done by former CBI officer A K Malhotra under the supervision of SIT chairman K Raghavan are as follows:

* "The chief minister had tried to water down the seriousness of the situation at Gulbarg Society, Naroda Patia and other places by saying that every action has an equal and opposite reaction," Malhotra reported. "His implied justification of the killings of innocent members of the minority community, read together with an absence of a strong condemnation of the violence that followed Godhra, suggest a partisan stance at a critical juncture when the state had been badly disturbed by communal violence." Raghavan added that Modi's statements were "sweeping and offensive coming as it did from a chief minister, that too at a critical time when Hindu-Muslim tempers were running high."

* The report said that Modi's 'controversial' move to place two senior ministers — Ashok Bhatt and I K Jadeja — in the Ahmedabad city police control room and the Gujarat state police control room during the riots with "no definite charter" fuelled the speculation that they "had been placed to interfere in police work and give wrongful decisions to the field officers."

* The report affirmed that police officers who took a neutral stand during the riots and prevented massacres had been transferred by the Gujarat government to insignificant postings in a highly 'questionable' manner.

* "The Gujarat government has reportedly destroyed the police wireless communication of the period pertaining to the riots," SIT said, adding, "'No records, documentations or minutes of the crucial law and order meetings held by the government during the riots had been preserved."

* The report said Modi displayed a "discriminatory attitude by not visiting the riot-affected areas in Ahmedabad where a large number of Muslims were killed, though he went to Godhra on the same day, travelling almost 300km on a single day."

* According to the report, the Gujarat government did not take any steps to stop the illegal bandh called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on February 28, 2002. On the contrary the BJP had also supported the bandh.

* The SIT report also pointed out that the police administration did not impose curfew in Naroda and Meghani Nagar (Ahmedabad city) until 12 and 2pm respectively on 28.02.02 although the situation had by then severely deteriorated at both those places.

* The SIT discovered that the state police had carried out shoddy investigations in the Naroda Patia and Gulbarg Society massacre cases and deliberately overlooked the cellphone records of Sangh Parivar members and BJP leaders involved in the riots.

* The SIT has also found evidence against the then minister of state for home Gordhan Zadafia (who was reporting directly to Modi) and top police officers such as M K Tandon and P B Gondia for their alleged complicity in the riots.

* SIT confirmed that the government appointed VHP and RSS-affiliated advocates as public prosecutors in sensitive riot cases. The report states: "It appears that the political affiliation of the advocates did weigh with the government for the appointment of public prosecutors."

Ghastly attack'

Ghastly attack'

The panel's 600-page report has been seen by Tehelka magazine and the AFP news agency.

"In spite of the fact that ghastly and violent attacks had taken place on Muslims... the reaction of the government was not the type that would have been expected by anyone," they quote the report as saying.

"His [Mr Modi's] implied justification of the killings of innocent members of the minority community, read together with an absence of a strong condemnation of the violence... suggest a partisan stance at a critical juncture."

The riots left more than 1,000 dead

The report also said that Mr Modi had showed a "discriminatory attitude by not visiting riot-affected areas in Ahmedabad where a large number of Muslims were killed".

The panel is reported to have investigated 32 allegations related to "acts of omission and commission by the state government and its functionaries, including the chief minister".

Only a "few of these alone were in fact substantiated... [and] the substantiated allegations did not throw up material that would justify further action under the law".

Mr Modi, a leading member of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to the violence.

Last year Mr Modi appeared before the panel in connection with the murder of a former Congress party MP, Ehsan Jaffrey, who was among dozens of Muslims killed in a residential complex in the state's biggest city, Ahmedabad.

Mr Jaffrey's widow has filed a petition accusing Mr Modi of aiding and abetting his murder, a charge that has been rejected by the chief minister's party.

In the past, the Supreme Court has criticised the government of Gujarat for failing to protect its Muslim citizens.

THE MODI ROAD SHOW

THE MODI ROAD SHOW Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi sets off on his `Gujarat Gaurav Yatra' again. Will the Akshardham sentiment fuel his campaign momentum? DAZED and confused. That is how most Gujaratis felt after two terrorists stormed the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar on September 24, murdering 37 persons and injuring 81. For a State yet to recover fully from recent communal violence, the death of innocent devotees, including of young children, came as a grim reminder that violence could still be sparked off anytime, anywhere. PARAS SHAH Chief Minister Narendra Modi resumes his `Gujarat Gaurav Yatra' on October 5 from a temple in Ambaji. Another tragedy in the cycle of violence that has struck Gujarat. But for the grim reapers of the violence, it was yet another tragedy to twist for the sake of deriving political mileage. Several VIP aircraft took off to Gujarat. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee cut short his visit to the Maldives and flew straight to Gujarat. He was in Gandhinagar within 24 hours of the terrorist attack. But earlier this year, after communal violence broke out in late February, he arrived on the scene 35 days later. Only after more than a thousand people were killed and 1.5 lakh were left homeless. Even Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani reached Gujarat only three days after the torching of the Sabarmati Express in Godhra, which killed 59 people and sparked the communal violence. By then, Sangh Parivar mobs had already ravaged the State with attacks on Muslims. But, within three hours of the Akshardham siege, Advani made his way to the temple complex. Both leaders raced to the temple, clambering to claim the Akshardham `victory'. Advani hailed it as "a victory over terrorism for India" soon after National Security Guards commandos ended the siege by killing the two terrorists. He asked the tired commandos to stand up and chant `Bharat Mata ki Jai'. Many in the Bharatiya Janata Party are already doing the victory dance, even before State elections have been announced. But it is a dance over dead bodies. It may be a victory that left 37 people dead and 81 injured. By immediately blaming `the enemy', Pakistan, for the assault on the temple, Advani tried to deflect attention from the fact that it was a revenge attack. Innocent people had died in a suicide strike provoked by the Hindu Right. The militants apparently wanted to avenge the recent state-supported communal terror in Gujarat. The Sangh Parivar had orchestrated these attacks on Muslims following the burning of the Sabarmati Express in Godhra. While revenge is no justification for perpetuating violence, the attack symbolises the deep impact that the Gujarat carnage has had on persecuted Muslim youth. The police had anticipated terrorist attacks to avenge the communal carnage. It had alerted the government as early as in March. At Akshardham, a note found in the pocket of one of the dead militants from the Tehriq-e-Kasas (Movement for Revenge) stated: "This is a gift to Modi and Advani." Yet, Advani immediately accused Pakistan, in an effort to deflect attention from the BJP's hand in inciting the attack. Even before the investigations began, Chief Minister Narendra Modi insisted that the terrorists were from outside the State. The police have reportedly unveiled two separate plots to assassinate Modi. Soon after the Akshardham attack, they arrested Samirkhan Pathan in Rajkot for allegedly planning to kill the Chief Minister. He was reportedly trained by the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist network. Later, three other accomplices were detained. Whether the BJP will gain electorally from Akshardham depends on the extent to which voters may fall for its anti-Pakistan propaganda. The BJP is doing its best to milk the temple attack for all it is worth. The appeal is purely emotional — stoking Hindu insecurity and playing on fears of more terrorist attacks. Modi is being projected as the Hindutva hero. A few months after the communal fervour had died down, Modi was besieged by dissent within the party. The powerful Patels, as a bloc loyal to former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, refused to cooperate with Modi during his electoral campaign. But for now, the dissenters are lying low. The jingoism could be momentary. Some people are already looking farther on. "The party may get more votes after Akshardham, but there may not be an electoral sweep, as anticipated by most of its members," says a BJP insider. "Some voters are upset that Narendra Modi has brought violence to a once-peaceful State. He will now try to project himself as the man fighting terrorism, but he was the one who invited terrorists to Gujarat." The Congress(I) is also using Akshardham to highlight the State government's security lapses and its inability to protect the lives of Gujarat's citizens. But it is being drowned out by the BJP's anti-Pakistan discourse. Sensing that the BJP may gain an edge in cities by playing on fear and insecurity, the Congress(I) is focussing on the countryside and the government's neglect of rural development.

Hearing on Narendra Modi's quizzing by riots panel deferred

Hearing on Narendra Modi's quizzing by riots panel deferred

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e GT Nanavati commission, probing the 2002 riot cases, was on Wednesday deferred till September 7.

Jan Sangharsh Manch (JSM), an NGO representing the riot victims, approached the commission afresh after the Gujarat High Court direction on July 23.

The high court asked the riot panel to "look into the matter after taking into consideration facts in their record".

When the matter came up for hearing, advocate Tempton Nanavati, representing the state, sought more time.

Justice GT Nanavati, heading the commission, said that it was not fair to delay the hearing for one reason or the other. He said that the state was given enough time to prepare its statement.

The counsel tendered his apologies and said that he had received these instructions at the last moment.

The NGO has requested the commission to call officials of Modi's office Omprakash Singh, Tanmay Mehta and Sanjay Bhavsar, for cross examination in connection with the 2002 riots.

Narendra Modi calls for making Gujarat malnutriti

Narendra Modi calls for making Gujarat malnutrition-free

Mehsana, Feb 6 : Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi exhorted his ministers and officials to work towards making Gujarat a malnutrition-free state.

Speaking at the concluding session of seventh 'Chintan Shibir' here, Mr Modi said the government will have to take up the challenge of freeing Gujarat from the clutches of malnutrition.

He said to achieve this goal, a healthy competition of growth at the taluka level must be encouraged.

Mr Modi emphasised the need to take up voters awareness campaign in the state to strengthen democratic institutions at the grassroots level.

''The progress made by Gujarat is being discussed and hailed in all over the country. Now it is the responsibility of the Team Gujarat to maintain this reputation,'' he said.

He said a Mission Manglam, launched at the taluka level, will ensure a comprehensive development of poor people in the state.

The concept of holding annual camp of the entire Council of Ministers and senior bureaucrats at different venues, away from the state capital and daily administrative chores, amidst some serene surrounding dawn-to-dusk for several days for introspection, was conceived by the Chief Minister. Mr Modi ensures he himself remains present in as many sessions as possible.

The 'Shibir' ended this evening with Mr Modi felicitating some officials for their good work.

Meanwhile, a report from Palanpur said Mehsana Collector Ajay Bhadu was presented the Best Collector' award.

The award comprised a citation and a purse of Rs 51,000. Apart from that, Rs 20 lakh was granted for taking up new projects in the district.

Mehsana topped the list of the districts in the state for giving plots to poor people, improving delivery of citizen's services and redressal of public grievances.

PM remark on Gujarat minister biggest joke: Narendra Modi

PM remark on Gujarat minister biggest joke: Narendra Modi

Ahmedabad: A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of adopting a "hostile attitude" towards his government because of action against a Gujarat minister, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi hit back terming his remark as the "biggest joke of 2011". "The PM's speech yesterday, I think, is the biggest joke of 2011," Modi said here. "You (PM) are not being able to do anything and you have admitted of your difficulties in public. For this, it is not needed to blame any minister from Gujarat or the government of Gujarat. They try to drag Gujarat's name all the time. I think his remark was very humorous," he added. In a media interaction Wednesday, the prime minister accused the opposition party of adopting a "hostile attitude" towards the government and blamed it for delaying the introduction of a single goods and service tax (GST) in the country. Singh said the GST will make India's tax system an "envy of the world". But, he told the select editors of electronic media invited for tghe interaction, the opposition-led states are not cooperating. "The reasons that have been given, frankly, I cannot mention it in public. They say because you have taken some decision against a particular person, who was a minister in Gujarat, we must reverse it." The prime minister was apparently referring to the arrest of Gujarat's former minister of state for home Amit Shah, who was held last year by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the 2005 killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in a staged shootout

Movie by Kanpur students floors www audience and Narendra Modi

KANPUR: Almost a year ago when this bubbling-with-exitement, yet mature band of eight boys and girls put their heads together, mulling over an idea around which their movie - part of the project for an annual award function - would revolve, little had they imagined, that by the end of 2010 they would be celebrities in their own right!
With almost 2,00,000 views of their inspiring video 'Last Option', which exhorts youngsters from refraining to take extreme steps like suicide, this group Octopus (named as the team has 8 members and the animal has eight tentacles) is a rage on the youtube.
And the six-minute video, which has an interesting story line of a young boy sick and tired of being chided for studying attempts suicide and goes through a lot of books to thrash out the right way of suicide, tells at the end how this boy lives on on the credo: if I can study to die, why can't I study to live, has impressed even the chif minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi.
He was so impressed by the video that he posted it on his official website http://www.narendramodi.com and goes on to write:“Friends, today’s age is that of learning rather than teaching. In this context watch a small video clip here. I like it very much. I hope you too will like it.” Plush with the interest it has generated Pankaj Kushwaha, one of the directors of this clip told this news portal that when they started all that they wanted to do was to tell a compelling story on this malice of modern day world.
The response thopugh surprises them, the team airs a sentiment of satisfaction at the fact that there theme was well taken. When asked if the topic of suicide had any personal experience related to it, Pankaj replies in affirmative and in fact admits that at some point of time he too had contempated giving up his life. "It occured to me on one occasion that giving up life was a better option than all the study etc but then I lived on" he muses.
Last Option is completely directed, scripted, produced, captured and edited by ‘Octopus’, by this band of youngsters and has bagged other laurels too - the clip stood second runners up at the Frame Flicks award held at Goa in May 2010. The Octopus group comprises of Harneet Kaur, Pankaj Kushwaha, Arzoo Nishi, Harsh Agarwal, Khyati Singhal, Dharmesh Singh, Asna Nikhat and Deepak Rathore, all students of animation and visual effects at Frameboxx Institute, Swaroop Nagar.
They have received an award at Goa at the hands of film director Sanjay Gadwi and now the film is being sent to film festivals like ‘Aahan 2011' and an international film festival to be held at Chennai. And charged up with the flood of goodwill and appreciation that the film has generated, the Octopus is now planning to produce eight different movies included a live action movie, a 3-D animated movie and a corporate film this year.
Elaborating on the clip, Deepak, another team member says, what differentiates this clip from others movies made on the subject of suicide is its positive climax, which could inspire youngsters and prevent them from taking the extreme step. “Every movie or documentary made on the same subject has a painful end like the scene in three idiots when the boy hangs himself. But we thought that giving up one’s life is not the solution. People search so many ways to commit suicide, why don’t they utilize that time to do something productive. This was why we showed a happy ending,” avers Pankaj.
The team is also extremely thankful to Abhinav Singhal, head of the institute, who they say has been a pillar of support to their endeavours.

Narendra Modi's speech after win kathlal seat on his birthday ...

Narendra Modi's speech after win kathlal seat on his birthday ...

KATHLAL ASSEMBLY voters in Gujarat presented one of the happiest birthday gift to their Chief Minister Narendra Modi, when Bhartiya Janata Party managed to win Kathlal assembly seat in a by-election today. This is the first time BJP has won the seat, which is traditionally considered Congress seat.

BJP candidate Kanubhai Dabhi won by over 21,000 votes against Congress candidate Ghelabhai Zala. Kanubhai Dabhi bagged 62,120 votes, whereas, Ghelabhai Zala got 40,573 votes. The by-poll in Kathlal was held on September 13. This seat was vacant due to the death of Congress legislator Gautam Zala.

BJP Chief whip in the assembly and Kheda district MLA Pankaj Desai said that on the 61th birthday of Narendra Modi, district unit will gift Kathlal seat to him and hold a function this evening. Chief Minister is scheduled to visit the Kathlal constituency on Friday evening.

Narendra Modi suffering from Swine Flu

Narendra Modi suffering from Swine Flu

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly tested positive for Swine Flu. The treatment has begun after the results confirmed that the virus infected him.

Modi has just returned from his tour to Russia. Apparently, he got infection during his overseas trip. He was suffering from fever for the last couple of days and has tested positive for H1N1 virus, reports said.

The doctors treating him have reportedly given him tamiflu, the medicine given to the patients who are affected with the swine flu. As a result of his illness, the Chief Minister's programmes in the next couple of days stand cancelled.

However, his condition is not serious, initial reports on Star TV said. Though the virus has been spreading fast and the infections are reported from across the globe, it is curable.

Narendra Modi under attack from IPL Kochi franchisee

Narendra Modi under attack from IPL Kochi franchisee

The controversy surrounding IPL Kochi franchise took yet another political turn on Thursday as Lalit Modi was accused of working under the pressure of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for taking away the bid to Ahmedabad.

Kochi franchise spokesman Satyajit Gaikwad today brought Narendra Modi in the line of fire, saying the whole world knew about his nexus with Lalit Modi and he put pressure on the IPL Commissioner to bring a team to Ahmedabad. "We were told that we won't be allowed to work. The Adani group and Narendra Modi had a stake in the Ahmedabad IPL bid. After we won the bid, our investors spoke to (former BCCI chief) Sharad Pawar and asked him which city to choose. He said 'you can take your pick', so we decided to take Kochi," the franchise' Gaekwad told reporters here. "The inaugural IPL bidding happened when Vasundhra Raje Scindia was Rajasthan's Chief minister. Vasundhra and Narendra Modi may have put pressure on Lalit (Modi) to bring a team to Ahmedabad. There is politics involved," he added. The Gujarat government rebutted the allegations, saying they were baseless and Chief Minister Modi had nothing to do with the controversy. State Home Minister Amit Shah told reporters that some promoters had met the Chief Minister but that meeting does not decide the bidding process where the highest quote becomes successful. Gujarat will welcome any team for holding matches in the state, he said. But Gaikwad was supported in his attack on Modi by former Gujarat Cricket Association chief Narhari Amin who said both the Modis were pushing for Ahmedabad. Gaikwad also demanded that Lalit Modi disclose the ownership details of all the IPL teams now that he has revealed the details of the Kochi team. "I ask the government to reveal the ownership details of other IPL teams under the corporate law. Government should investigate. We are clean and we have nothing to hide", he said. Meanwhile, Tharoor had a second meeting with Mukherjee and Defence Minister A K Antony in Parliament House. Asked whether he will be making any statement in Parliament on the issue, Tharoor said that nobody has so far directed him to do so. At the same time, he indicated that he is open to it. He, however steered clear of questions on whether the meeting was to finalise the draft of the statement he may make as also if he is meeting Congress President Sonia Gandhi or if he has sought any appointment from her in this regard. Tharoor, who was closeted in a meeting with the two leaders for close to 30 minutes today, had also met them last night. The two leaders had met Gandhi yesterday. Opposition parties have demanded Tharoor's resignation in the wake of the controversy. CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat said that government should investigate the matter and the minister should step down immediately. Tharoor strongly denied allegations that he had misused his office for any personal gains or for securing any gains to his friend Pushkar. Commenting on the controversy, Sports Minister M S Gill said "it is just not cricket". "Accountability should be there. Democracy applies everywhere. Democracy is like a sunflower which seeks sunshine. Therefore all institutions should work accordingly," he said.

Gujarat A la Modi

Gujarat

A la Modi

THE teetotal state of Gujarat, in the west of India, has once again revealed a taste for a strong political brew. On December 23rd a vote count showed that the state's chief minister, Narendra Modi, romped home to another big victory in elections to the state assembly held earlier that month. Mr Modi, a member of the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was already the most controversial figure in Indian politics. He may now become one of the most influential.

Once the size of Mr Modi's win was confirmed—the BJP carried 117 out of 182 seats—it became hard to remember why anyone thought he might lose. But the Congress party had raised its hopes, if not its game, in this campaign. Sonia Gandhi, the party's leader, crossed swords with him. The leaders of two powerful Gujarati castes, the Patels and the Kolis, had fallen out with him (at least until he won). And some of the party's foot-soldiers also resented a leader who owes more to a personality cult than to them. As Mr Modi's supporters donned smiling “Modi” masks, some of the rank-and-file grumbled that no one was bigger than the party.

Mr Modi had won the previous election, in 2002, in special circumstances, just ten months after 58 rail passengers, many of them Hindu activists, died in a blaze blamed on a Muslim mob. The anti-Muslim sentiment unleashed by that incident—up to 2,000 people were killed in the pogrom that followed—helped sweep Mr Modi to victory.

Since then, the state's Muslims have “learned to live with downcast eyes”, as a report by one local lobby group puts it. But the rest of the state has its head up and its chest out. Always prosperous and enterprising, Gujarat is now booming. Its voters clearly credit some of this prosperity to Mr Modi's administration, which is notably less venal and ineffectual than those Indians in most other states have to endure.

India's nightmare is that the millions left behind by its new prosperity might lash out, turning to Maoist violence. But equally sinister is the prospect of its aspirant classes casting their lot with a business-friendly strongman who promises to make the proverbial trains run on time and to keep disaffected minorities in check.

The BJP is short of “tall” leaders. L.K. Advani, its candidate for prime minister, is 80. The party's president, Rajnath Singh, has made little impression: no one is wearing masks made in his likeness. Mr Modi, on the other hand, has attracted intelligent and ambitious strategists, such as Arun Jaitley, who would not waste their talents on him if they thought him no more than a provincial demagogue.

But his campaign, so successful within the state, may have done some damage to his larger ambitions. His frequent appeals to Gujarati chauvinism jar outside the state, and he struggled to maintain decorum when provoked. After Mrs Gandhi's reference to “merchants of death” was taken as an allusion to his alleged connivance in the 2002 pogrom, his defiant response appeared to justify a notorious 2005 murder by policemen in his state. The exchange earned both leaders a reprimand from India's Election Commission. This populism may win votes. But the BJP must also remain acceptable to a coalition of parties if it is once again to head a national government. Mr Advani has had to soften his image to lead his party. If Mr Modi is ever to succeed him, he too will need to try on a different mask

“Narendra Modi & The Trains Are On-Time Again!”

Image by World Economic Forum via Flickr

This morning’s Wall Street Journal has a long feature on the Indian State of Gujarat, which is essentially a PR piece for Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of the State, who has been identified by a series of groups, inquiries and reports to have actively encouraged the killing of hundreds of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, after the mysterious death of 58 Hindu pilgrims in a train fire that year.

The article (by Gita Anand and Amol Sharma) takes up the by now well-worn argument that Modi has helped to open Gujarat for large corporate interests from India and abroad. The article quotes several sources (including my friend Mira Kamdar) who cast doubt on Gujarat’s development “miracle” under Modi’s leadership. India’s Supreme Court is still (all too slowly) investigating his culpability in the 2002 genocide.

My question is: When will we cease to use “economic miracles” to justify the actions of tyrants, hard men and demagogues? General Pinochet was alleged to have done a lot for Chile, Shah Reza Pahlavi for Iran before the Islamic Revolution, and Lee Kwan Yu for Singapore. There is a still lively debate going on about the pros and cons of Hitler’s bizarre form of Keynesian interventionism in Germany. China has obviously done brilliantly over the last decade. Do Mr. Modi’s supporters support the Chinese state?

Genocide against Muslims, inviting global corporations to push through high-profit projects in minimally-regulated special investment regions and making all those who speak for secularism in Gujarat fear for the jobs and their livelihoods, is not a developmental model to be endorsed for India or for any other humane democracy.

Indians do not mind their trains running slow some of the time. But they do not want to be forced passengers on the Tyranny Express.

-Arjun Appadurai is an expert in Globalization, Cultural Anthropology, Media, Cities, and Violence.

Narendra Modi visits Cinemax Ahmedabad for special screening of "Khichdi”

The event flow started off with the screening first followed by the 1 on 1 interaction with the media

Cinemax hosted the special screening of "Khichdi” yesterday 26th Sep, in presence of the Chief Minister Narendra Modi at Cinemax Ahmedabad. It was one of the biggest event till date which cinemax proudly hosted. The event flow started off with the screening first followed by the 1 on 1 interaction with the media. To add on more glamour to the event we had the complete cast & crew of Khichdi visiting cinemax. Present were the director of the film Aatish Kapadia, Supriya Pathak, Anang Desai & many more.

Narendra Modi's remarks on Dalits angers people

Narendra Modi's remarks on Dalits angers people
National Commission for Scheduled Caste (SC) chairman Buta Singh and other members of the panel who were on a two-day visit to Gujarat to review the status of the SC community in the state, criticised chief minister Narendra Modi for his allegedly calling Dalit community as 'Mandbudhi (mentally retarded). Singh in his media briefing said, "I respect Modiji but his statement calling Dalits as Mandbudhi is highly regrettable. Those who call Dalits as Mandbudhis are Mandbudhis themselves. Lord Rama ate the fruits offered by Shabri and our culture respects Shabri even though she belonged to the backward class.''

Singh said that after meeting MP/MLAs, representatives of various SC organisations, chief secretary, all the principal secretaries and DGP, he has got a very sad picture of the status of SCs in the state. He said that, "The status of the SC community is highly pitiful in the state. UP, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan are ahead of Gujarat, which stands fifth in atrocities against scheduled castes.''

"I have asked the state government to provide details regarding the various issues pertaining to the scheduled castes. The main issue is the ineffective implementation of atrocity law which has resulted in very low rate of conviction in the atrocity cases. The conviction rate in atrocity cases is very low in Gujarat with only 6% of the cases ending in conviction in 2009," he said.

He added that 1,106 atrocity cases were registered in 2003 while in 2009 the number was only marginally down at 1,082.
"In Gujarat, SCs account for 7.5 % of the total population and given this proportion, the number of atrocity cases is considered very high,'' he said.

Singh said that when it comes to recruitment, promotions, allocation of funds and implementation of various centrally sponsored schemes as well as special component plan, grave injustice is meted out to the scheduled caste by the government.

"Against the required 7% mandatory provision, Gujarat has allocated between 2 and 5.5% maximum during 2002-03 to 2009 which is against the law,'' he added.

Despite Gujarat high courts' clear order to use technology for underground gutters instead of manhole workers,26 workers have died in Gujarat, he said, adding "Despite the national ban, manual scavenging in Gujarat is widely spared at places, including Mahatma Gandhi's birth place Porabandar and Ahmedabad.''

Gujarat's Social Justice and Empowerment Minister, Fakir Vaghela, gave a detailed presentation on special steps undertaken by the Gujarat government for the welfare of the scheduled castes.

THE EDUCATION OF MODI

THE EDUCATION OF MODI -

Narendra Modi is notorious as the abettor, if not organizer, of the killing of Muslims in Gujarat during the 2002 riots. His sway is such that the judiciary, elsewhere generally secular and impartial, failed to punish the killers of Muslims in Gujarat, and the Supreme Court had to transfer their cases out of Gujarat. But Modi is not just a simple man of evil deeds. He has also run the administration cleanly, and made it friendly to industry. He made a spectacular coup when he succoured Ratan Tata from the clutches of Mamata Banerjee. In this way, his dark image has been filling with other colours in recent years. But he is a taciturn man; no one is close to him, and no stories leak about him. So he remains a dark horse. But he too must have been a toddler once, making sweet googoo sounds and crawling between the feet of his parents. He too must have climbed mango trees and eaten green mangoes. He too must have been a bridegroom in a turban smiling shyly at guests. In other words, he may have done devilish deeds, but he is still a human. He does not show his human side too often; but how did he grow up? How was he formed into his present shape? The story starts with the general election of 1971, and the Gujarat election that followed in 1972. The Congress won both. Indira Gandhi sent Ghanshyambhai Oza as chief minister to Ahmedabad. He lasted seven days. There was a revolt in the Gujarat Congress, and he had to resign. Then Indira Gandhi chose Chimanbhai Patel. He managed to form government. But unlike in the rest of India, the Congress (Organization), formed by the older leaders whom Mrs Gandhi had broken off with, was strong in Gujarat. Chimanbhai was in danger of losing legislators to it, and he secured support by corrupt means. He became notorious for it. Then came the Great Inflation; in 1972 and 1973, prices rose by 50 per cent. In December 1973, students in the hostel of the Morvi Engineering College started an agitation against the rise in the mess bill. The student agitation spread, and soon there was a broader agitation against the government. It turned violent. Morarji Desai went on fast. Chimanbhai was in danger of losing support in the assembly. So Mrs Gandhi dissolved it. Then she delayed holding elections. Morarji went on fast again. Elections were held in June 1975, and were won by a People’s Front. Mrs Gandhi allowed its government to last for 18 days. On June 26, 1975, she declared Emergency and ordered arrest of opposition leaders. After that, opposition went underground. Leaders went into hiding. News travelled by word of mouth or in code on telephone or was printed and distributed clandestinely. Students were in the forefront of the agitation; many were killed. Spots where they were killed became memorials. People would gather there, hold prayers, organize impromptu meetings and make fiery speeches against Indira Gandhi and her henchmen. Meetings would bring forth police, lathi charges, shootings, and create even more martyr memorials. The conditions were eerily similar to those in 1942, when the British government arrested Congress leaders and the agitation went underground. Then too, the government spied actively on “agitators”; its police raided homes at night and took away young men suspected of nationalist activities. That is what happened in Gujarat in 1975. It was combined with inflation, which is a standard formula for making governments unpopular. Narendra Modi was then a young volunteer of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Ahmedabad. He was a handler of leaders, involved in organizing the concealment and taking care of politicians in danger of being arrested. In this way, he came to know Gujarat’s political landscape intimately, and made friends and enemies across it. In the ensuing decades, he used the knowledge and the contacts skilfully; it is his grasp of Gujarat politics and his ability to manipulate it that explain his extraordinary success. And as he experienced the Emergency, he acquired the prejudices he holds to this day. It is these early experiences of his that explain his visceral hatred of Indira Gandhi’s followers, and the vulgar, tasteless remarks he makes from time to time about Sonia Gandhi. He wrote a book on the Emergency in Gujarati which is an illuminating guide to his personality. It is largely a chronicle of politicians of that time, what happened to them, what they did and how they coped with the Emergency. But that is not what is remarkable about it. What is striking is the absolute absence of thought in it. One would have thought that he would at least display the standard prejudices of an RSS man. But no; there is no reflection, stereotyped or otherwise. This unreflective, practical, personality-oriented style is behind Modi’s subsequent success. Early on, he developed a functional approach to people. He looked on them as potential tools or obstacles, and dealt with them as such. He single-mindedly concentrated on peopling the Gujarat BJP with people who could work with him. When he came to power, he applied the same techniques to the bureaucracy, and turned it into an instrument of his will. Thus when he decided to “teach a lesson” to Muslims, he used the police and judiciary effectively to do so. There was no mercy and no justice; there was just efficient intimidation. But his objectives have changed a good deal since then. He watched with consternation as Gujarat became infamous because of the violence he had orchestrated, and unpopular amongst investors as a consequence. He has worked hard in recent years to erase that unfavourable impression. He created a forum for publicity in his annual Vibrant Gujarat conferences; and he used annual NRI meetings, in which Gujaratis are prominent, to spread his message. It is interesting how little the people of Gujarat figure in this campaign, except as stereotypes — singers, dancers, schoolchildren, or docile workers. His campaigns are mostly about material conditions and achievements — about Gujarat’s ports, which handle a quarter of foreign trade, its excellent road network, its share of India’s industrial output, etc. And the campaigns have worked — not so much because of their content, but because the material conditions for setting up industry are really better in Gujarat than in most other states. Maharashtra used to have equally good conditions, but has been falling behind. The south also has good infrastructure, but is extremely corrupt. Gujarat always had a relatively good administration — an inheritance from the old Bombay province. Modi has done two things. He has reduced the leakage of government revenue that goes all over India into enrichment of politicians and bureaucrats, and diverted it to building up Gujarat’s infrastructure. And out of his own necessity, he has publicized Gujarat’s good administration. Modi’s success is more due to Gujarat than the other way round. But he is an autocrat, and has used his autocratic powers to give Gujarat a considerable competitive advantage over other states. His intellectual equipment is limited, but he has concentrated it in a remarkable manner to rebrand Gujarat, to his own collateral benefit.

Rajnikanth compared to Narendra Modi!

A biography on the famous Tamil superstar, Rajnikanth, has been released on March 6 at Taj Connemara in Chennai. Writer of the biography is the well known political analyst and the editor of the Tamil magazine Thuglaq, Cho Ramaswamy.

The chief guest at the function was M Saravanan, producer AVM Studios who produced Rajni’s last film Sivaji: The Boss. Former Director, Central Bureau of Investigation, D R Karthikeyan was the guest of honour.

Main highlight of the function was amusing speech by Cho Ramaswamy in which he compared the actor with Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujrat. He said bith are similar. Rajni is a good administrator and can lead the state to prosperity if enters politics.

“Honesty and probity are in short supply in politics today. If Rajnikanth comes to power, he will bring in a corruption-free government,” he added.

Cho confessed that he had not gone through the book yet but he praised the actor and said, “Even though he is in films, he is not arrogant. Neither is he after power or money. He follows whatever God says. Perhaps he is the only man who follows God’s words diligently,”

Cho said regarding Rajni’s visit to Rishikesh, “When I asked him why he spends 15 days in a year at Rishikesh (gateway to the Himalayan pilgrimage) surviving on porridge and fruits, he replied with a smile saying, ‘I go there so that I do not have see people like you!’”

Most of the People thought Cho as the advisor of Rajni on political issues. Cho cleared these confusions and said, “People say I am Rajni’s advisor. If he had followed my advice, he would not have become so successful!”

Cho described Rajnikanth as a man who “talks politics but is not a politician. He believes in spirituality but he is not a sanyasi. Rajni is a special creation of God.”

D R Karthikeyan, former said, “The book is a good attempt at recording the events in the life of an actor who achieved success after crossing several hurdles. Rajnikanth was no hypocrite as he accepts his failures and shortcomings in his life openly in the book”,

First copy of the book was given to Rajnikanth’s daughter and filmmaker Soundarya Rajnikanth. She said, “I am proud to be the daughter of a great man.”

For the time being, the book is translated into Tamil and Japanese. Published by Om Books International, the 384-page book includes 100 pictures and costs Rs 490.

Why Narendra Modi Loves To Hate Prof. Ashish Nandy?

Why Narendra Modi Loves To Hate Prof. Ashish Nandy?

Prof. Ashish Nandy, India's leading intellectual acknowledged as the founding fathers of postcolonial studies has recently got a new 'identity'. According to the Gujarat Police he is now an accused in a criminal case supposedly for 'promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth and language.' Definitely neither Prof Nandy nor many of his admirers would have ever imagined in their wildest dreams that a day would arrive when he will face prosecution for his writings. But as they rightly say it, in Gujarat things happen bit differently.

According to media reports the Ahmedabad police have admitted a petition filed by an advocate belonging to National Council for Civil Liberties over Professor Nandy's leader page article in the Times of India ( 8 th January) 'Blame The Middle Class'. It need be added that this is the same council which had filed a few petitions against social activist and leader of Naramda Bachao Aandolan Medha Patekar on some frivolous charges which were later dismissed by the court.

To put it straight, the particular article had tried to analyse the election results for the Gujarat assembly held in December 2007 which had once again given a mandate to Mr Narendra Modi. The article in question revolved around basically three points : One, it had tried to delineate the plight of the Muslims who were condemned to live a second class existence in the post 2002 phase. It had clearly stated that '..[G]ujarati Muslims too are “adjusting” to their new station. Denied justice and proper compensation, and as second-class citizens in their home state, they have to depend on voluntary efforts and donor agencies. The state’s refusal to provide relief has been partly met by voluntary groups having fundamentalist sympathies. They supply aid but insist that the beneficiaries give up Gujarati and take to Urdu, adopt veil, and send their children to madrassas.'

Secondly, apart from the plight of Muslims it had also explained the situation in which the political formations who espouse the cause of secularism find themselves today. And he was unsparing in his criticism of these formations/individuals.For him :

'The secularist dogma of many fighting the sangh parivar has not helped matters. Even those who have benefited from secular lawyers and activists relate to secular ideologies instrumentally. They neither understand them nor respect them. The victims still derive solace from their religions and, when under attack, they cling more passionately to faith. Indeed, shallow ideologies of secularism have simultaneously broken the back of Gandhism and discouraged the emergence of figures like Ali Shariatis, Desmond Tutus and the Dalai Lama — persons who can give suffering a new voice audible to the poor and the powerless and make a creative intervention possible from within worldviews accessible to the people.'

Of course the focus of its attention was on the 'state's urbane middle class' which has remained 'mired in its inane versions of communalism and parochialism'.
The article had concluded with the observation that :

'Recovering Gujarat from its urban middle class will not be easy. The class has found in militant religious nationalism a new self- respect and a new virtual identity as a martial community, the way Bengali babus, Maharashtrian Brahmins and Kashmiri Muslims at different times have sought salvation in violence. In Gujarat this class has smelt blood, for it does not have to do the killings but can plan, finance and coordinate them with impunity. The actual killers are the lowest of the low, mostly tribals and Dalits. The middle class controls the media and education, which have become hate factories in recent times. And they receive spirited support from most non-resident Indians who, at a safe distance from India, can afford to be more nationalist, bloodthirsty, and irresponsible.'

While one may agree to differ with Professor Nandy's observations on various counts, still any concerned reader can see that it did not engage itself in any rhetoric and tried to delineate the challenges which lie ahead. Question naturally arises why did the state government felt pertrubed over this article and decided to give a green signal to its police department to admit the said petition by the council and file a criminal case against him ?

At a general level one can say that targetting of individuals and stigmatising them in very many ways is part of the modus operandi of the Hindutva brigade. And this particular case does not seem to be different. In fact it is a politics that seeks to silence critique, and battles for a notion of the past that is homogeneously Hindu.

Last six year history of Gujarat is replete with many such examples where they tried to silence all those voices who did not fall in line with their agenda based on hate and exclusion. We have before us the examples of the dansescue Sarabhai or for that matter social activist Nafisa Ali or scholar-activist G.N. Devy who were targeted on different occasions.

In Prof Nandy's case perhaps the powers that be did not like the manner in which he tried to delineate the future prognosis of a movement like RSS. He concludes :

'Events like the desecration of Wali Gujarati’s grave have pushed one of India’s culturally richest, most diverse, vernacular Islamic traditions to the wall. Future generations will as gratefully acknowledge the sangh parivar’s contribution to the growth of radical Islam in India as this generation remembers with gratitude the handsome contribution of Rajiv Gandhi and his cohorts to Sikh militancy.'

The criminal case filed against Prof Ashish Nandy reminds one of the villification campaigns which were organised during BJP led regime at centre.In fact with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) assumption of power at the centre in 1998 and its ongoing attempts to remake the educational curriculum in its own chauvinistic image gaining momentum, intellectuals and academic positions at odds with the Sangh Parivar’s view of history came under attack under various pretexts. The BJP has pursued a concerted effort to malign and delegitimise scholars and intellectuals at odds with its view of India’s past. After the stalling of the Indian Council of Historical Research-sponsored ‘Towards Freedom’ project edited by professors Sumit Sarkar of University of Delhi (DU) and KN Panikkar of JNU, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) went all-out to weed out the influence of, in the words of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief KS Sudarshan, “anti-Hindu Euro-Indians” from the curriculum. In 2001, when the moves by NCERT were underway to delete passages from school textbooks that allegedly ‘hurt’ the sentiments of this religious sect or the other, a delegation of Arya Samajis met Murli Manohar Joshi, the human resource development minister, and demanded that Romila Thapar, the legendary historian along with historians RS Sharma of DU and Arjun Dev of NCERT, be arrested. Not to be outdone, Joshi had also reiterated time and again his pet thesis that ‘academic terrorists’ are more dangerous than armed ones.

Narendra Modi given time to file reply before Election Commission

Narendra Modi given time to file reply before Election Commission

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New Delhi, Dec. 8: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was today given more time to file his reply to a Election Commission notice over his justification of the 2005 fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh.

The Election Commission set a new deadline of Saturday evening at the request of Modi’s lawyer.

The notice was served on Thursday and Modi was given time till 11:00 am today to file his reply.

The three-member Election Commission took the decision after consideration of various inputs, including a complaint filed by social activist Teesta Setalvad alleging that Modi's speech on December 4 at Mangrol amounted to an open exhortation to violence and misuse of religion for political ends.

The Commission also viewed the video recording of the speech.

The Commission prima-facie is of the view that the references to late Sohrabuddin and the linking of his name to terrorism by Modi in his speech amounted to a violation of the model code of conduct.

The Commission said Modi’s observations might aggravate existing differences, create mutual hatred and cause tension between different communities.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has decided to hear two separate petitions seeking action against Modi on his "inflammatory" remarks, on Monday.

The petitions were filed by senior counsel Dushyant Dave on behalf of Rubbabuddin Sheikh, the brother of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and by Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for Javed Akhtar.

Both sought an inquiry into Modi’s justification for the fake encounter.

Sohrabuddin Sheikh, was gunned down on November 26, 2005 after being branded a Lashkar-e-Toiba militant by the Gujarat Police. He allegedly was trying to hatch a conspiracy to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The cops also allegedly killed Sohrabuddin's wife, Kausar Bi. (ANI)

Gujarat's chief minister Narendra Modi speaks during the ...

Jan 12th, 2011

(Reuters) - Gujarat's chief minister Narendra Modi speaks during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit 2011 (VGGIS) at Gandhinagar in the western Indian state of Gujarat January 12, 2011. REUTERS/Amit Dave (INDIA - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS)

Swarnim Dental College in Khokhra Inaugurated by Narendra Modi

The Swarnim Dental College in the Khokhra area of Ahmedabad was thrown open on Sunday by the Gujarat chief minister, Narendra Modi. Built at cost of Rs 30 crore, the college is run by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's Medical Education Trust.

Rvenue minister Anandiben Patel, mayor Kanaji Thakore, member of parliament Dr Kirit Solanki, deputy mayor Kalpanaben Bhatt, standing committee chairman Asit Vora and municipal commissioner IP Gautam were also present at the function.

Narendra Modi's Speech At Vibrant Gujarat 2011 Supports Medical Tourism

Our eyes are on the global benchmarks. Our eyes are on global excellence in all possible spheres. Also, we are equally keen that these achievements benefit our people and raise their standard of living. We have taken definite steps to achieve this kind of performance. To give you a few examples: We have tripled the number of seats in our technical and management colleges on the one hand and on the other, we have set up seven new world class universities and an NT. As part of this very Summit, we have entered into agreements with several renowned universities of the world. Understanding the importance of knowledge in this century, we have organized exchange programmes with the best brains and institutions in the country and abroad. Similarly, we have made substantial progress in oil and gas exploration. At the same time, we have laid down a 2,200 km long gas grid to fuel the industries and households. We have made hundreds and thousands of water - harvesting structures, and also successfully implemented one of the world's biggest dams, the longest canal system and a State­ wide water grid. We have added substantial Megawatts to our electricity generation; and at the same time connected each and every village with electricity making Gujarat the only State to supply round the clock power to all the households of the State. We have set up world class - hospitals making Gujarat a global medical tourism destination, and at the same time, have ensured access for mothers and children to medical facilities. We already had the biggest Wide Area Network in Asia and the Pacific. But we have further strengthened our connections to the world by taking the broadband right up to the village level. Our primary and secondary schools have been equipped with the best physical and ICT infrastructure.

Senior American Congress member calls on Narendra Modi

Senior American Congress member calls on Narendra Modi

Senior member of American Congress Mr. ENI F H Faleomaveaga today paid courtesy call to Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

He handed over to Shri Modi a letter signed by eight senior representatives of Congress and an authorized document of the speech he gave during one of the Congress session. As a part of preparation for the forthcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit-2011, a high-level delegation from Gujarat took a tour to Washington and met Mr.Faleomaveaga.

During his one hour meet, Mr.Faleomaveaga praised Shri Modi’s commitment for progress and his efforts for developing economic relationship between India and USA.

Chief Minister gave a memento of ‘Shashwat Gandhi’ to Mr. Faleomaveaga, who is also a strong believer of Gandhian values.

The senior Congress member wished all success to the fifth Global Summit and said he would work for developing further co-operation between America and India during the Summit. As a strong supporter of Gujarat’s progress, he reiterated his resolve to explore areas of co-operation between Gujarat and America during the hour-long meeting with the Chief Minister.

Prominent among those present during the discussion with the American delegation included Principal Energy Secretary Jagdish Pandian, Principal Finance Secretary M. Shrivastava and Chief Minister’s Secretary A. K. Sharma. Mr. Faleomaveaga was also impressed by the video presentation of Gujarat’s accomplishments in the modern times.

Narendra Modi Petition

Narendra Modi Petition

Tell your elected Representative (Forward this to your elected Representatives) (a)India is a real democratic and secular country and Gujarat is not an exception. (b)Chief Ministers are elected by the people and Mr. Narendra Modi was elected twice. Under his leadership, Gujarat has emerged as one of the most progressive and peaceful states in India. In a recent country wide survey Mr. Narendra Modi was declared as the most popular Chief Minister of the country. (c)Gujarat has not witnessed any violent communal disturbances for the last eight years. It has successfully tackled the issue of radical Islamic extremists and anti-social elements who were operating under the guise of Islamic organizations. (d)Gujarat is the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi as well as Mohammad Ali Jinnah founder of Pakistan, Mahatma Gandhi studied as well as made Gujarat as his main center of freedom movement. (e)In Pakistan as far back as 1974, an act was passed so that different sects of Islam such as Shiites or Ahmeddiyas are not considered Muslims and are persecuted and systematically eliminated by orthodox Sunnis. (f)Pakistan is becoming more Islamist and anti American. Jonathan Paris who works for the Atlantic Council of the United States has produced a report for the Legatum Institute, a London based think tank. In this report he said, “U.S. and UK leverage over Pakistan is not growing, it is decreasing. Pakistani society is moving towards anti-Americanism and towards more sharia law.” (g)India is still a very tolerant democratic country where democratic values and secularism are growing. There is tolerance and respect for all the religions. People were always pro-American even when the country was more dependent on the USSR for its defense needs and other requirements. If the Gujarati Chief Minister is denied the visitor visa under the religious freedom act of 1998, in that case no politician from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE or any other Islamic country should be eligible for a USA visa. Why are there double standards and duplicity? Mr. Modi is someone who has helped to eradicate extremist Islamists from the state. Please request the state department to restore the revoked diplomatic visa of the elected Chief Minister of Gujarat who represents about 56 million people from Gujarat.