Noted academician and writer Ms. Madhu Kishwar held the audience’s attention when she spoke to them as part of an interactive session on the topic ‘Modi, Muslims and Media’. The interactive session was organized in Bangalore by JIJNASA, an initiative under the aegis of Centre for Educational and Social Studies.
Ms. Kishwar began the seminar by informing the audience that she herself had written negative things about the Gujarat Chief Minister after the riots of 2002 and wanted Mr. Narendra Modi be ousted and hanged to death. She told the audience that she had not done her homework before she wrote negative things about Mr. Modi.
She told the eager crowd that when she kept listening to the negative propaganda by some particular groups against Mr. Modi and contradictory stories of great progress that Gujarat was achieving under him she was left with no other option but to find the truth on her own.
She held the rapt attention of the audience by presenting them with undeniable picture proofs about how Mr. Modi tried his best to contain the 2002 riots. One of her slides showed the letter sent by Mr. Modi on the same day as the riots began asking all three neighbouring states to provide spare police forces to tackle the mob as the riots were not just limited to few particular main cities of Gujarat.
She quoted Salim Khan, the famous script writer and father of Hindi film actor Salman Khan, as asking why it is only Mr. Modi who is questioned when people do not remember who was the CM or the person in charge of taking action against rioters when other riots happened in India like 1984 against Sikhs, Mumbai riots after Babri Mosque demolition or even the recent Assam riots.
She also said that Congress has fed and prolonged this media trial for more than a decade despite the SIT and Nanavati Commission reports giving clean chit to Mr. Modi. She said that when she heard of Indian MPs writing a letter to George Bush, who himself was not fan of the Muslims, not to grant Mr. Modi the US visa; she decided to investigate the root of all controversies.
She started listing all the development that the state has achieved since the exchange of power happened in Gujarat. She cited the example of how dry Kutch became a tourist destination thanks to the initiatives undertaken by the state government and how it has created lots of employment there.
She also mentioned how the Vibrant Gujarat summits are not just about pleasing the corporates but how the collaborations take place in fields like agriculture, renewable sources of energy, education, healthcare, etc. which directly benefit all the residents of Gujarat irrespective of their caste or religion.
She very categorically said that all who still are not convinced should visit Gujarat for themselves and see how all communities have developed there including Muslims and that Mr. Modi does not hate Muslims. The interactive session was so engaging that audience continued asking her more questions and she happily obliged each one.
She felt that Muslims across India can be also be wooed it all depends on how BJP selects its candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and if the party people pull Mr. Modi’s legs and ‘rub the wrong shoulders’. She also cautioned that if BJP works against itself we should be ready to welcome UPA III. The audience gave a thundering applause to her concluding remark.
