Let Congress explain 1984 pogrom

The Congress is unhappy that Amitabh Bachchan was invited to the inauguration of the second carriageway of the Bandra-Worli sea link. It is also troubled by the invitation extended to Amitabh Bachchan by the organisers of the All-India Marathi Sahitya Sammelan. Then comes the story of Abhishek Bachchan being given similar treatment in Delhi. Just before the start of a programme to mark Earth Day, his posters were removed and an audio-visual featuring him was taken off the programme.

The Congress is miffed that Amitabh Bachchan is the brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism. It believes that being the brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism is equivalent to being the ambassador of Gujarat's Chief Minister Narendra Modi because it is still in the 'Indira is India and India is Indira' mode. It is unable to distinguish a State from an individual. That is why a spokesperson of the party threw a challenge at the film star the other day and said, "If he is a sensitive man, if he is a right-thinking man, he must come out and condemn the Modi Government for the post-Godhra riots."

This constitutes a selective application of constitutional principles. The Congress's shameful role in the pogrom against the Sikhs in 1984 is still fresh in our memory. The Ranganath Mishra Commission said that 3,874 people were killed in the violence, of which 2,307 were from Delhi. Plus, 131 gurdwaras were destroyed or damaged in Delhi alone. It further stressed, "In these mobs were people with sympathy for the Congress (I) and associated with the party's activities."

Gen AS Vaidya, the Chief of Army Staff at that time, told the commission that though 6,000 troops were available in the capital, the Army was not immediately called in. The Nanavati Commission of Inquiry said, "Local Congress (I) leaders and workers had either incited or helped the mobs attacking the Sikhs." It said, "They (the mobs) were assured that they would not be harmed."

Rajiv Gandhi presided over the Government that remained a mute spectator as citizens belonging to a tiny religious minority were slaughtered. Despite desperate calls for deployment of the Army, the Government took its time in doing so, thus allowing the mobs to loot and kill at will. After it was all over, Rajiv Gandhi justified the pogrom and incriminated himself by declaring at a public meeting in Delhi that "when a big tree falls, even the earth trembles".

Going by the Congress spokesperson's self-righteous indignation before television cameras while talking about Amitabh Bachchan, one presumes that he is a citizen who is committed to core constitutional values, democracy and the rule of law. If that be so, we need to put this question to him: If you are a sensitive man, if you are a right-thinking man, you must come out and condemn the Rajiv Gandhi Government for the pogrom against the Sikhs in 1984.

Amitabh Bachchan is an eminent citizen and a global icon, who commands the respect of millions of people around the world. Every Indian, who has followed his life and career from the heady days of Sholay to the days of deep distress brought about by financial and health problems, can only marvel at his inner strength and resilience. He carries himself with such dignity and poise that he is undoubtedly one of the ratnas of Bharat who has been chiselled into a good human being by his life and professional experiences. That is why a lot of his time and effort is devoted to national causes. It is foolhardy to trifle with such an eminent citizen that millions of fellow citizens look up to.

As regards the post-Godhra riots, it is true that Muslims were targeted by mobs in Gujarat and Mr Narendra Modi, as Chief Minister, must take responsibility for the brutal violence that was unleashed against a religious minority. By the same token, Mr Modi must also take responsibility for failing to prevent the barbaric killings of 60 Hindu kar sevaks by a Muslim mob at Godhra, which triggered the anti-Muslim riots. This brings us to the next poser for the Congress spokesman: "If you are a sensitive man, if you are a right-thinking man, you must come out and condemn the Modi Government for its failure to protect kar sevaks who were burnt alive in the train in Godhra." The point is that selective application of secular and constitutional principles will not do. Selective memory will not do either.

The event that triggered the Congress's tirade tells us a lot more about this party. India's engineers have built a superb sea bridge connecting Worli and Bandra in Mumbai. This bridge ought to have been named after an eminent engineer or technocrat. Just as every prominent road, bridge and location in the country is named after Rajiv Gandhi (Connaught Circus is Rajiv Chowk, the clover-leaf flyover near AIIMS in Delhi is Rajiv Setu and a key intersection on NH 8 is also called Rajiv Chowk), even this engineering marvel in Mumbai was named after him. But, Amitabh Bachchan, one of India's most distinguished citizens, should not even be present at a ceremony to mark the opening of the second carriageway of the sea bridge!

One of the standard mantras of the UPA since it assumed office in 2004 has been 'inclusiveness'. But, as this incident shows, it does not include those who disagree with the Nehru-Gandhis. 'Inclusiveness' obviously means inclusion of sycophants, blind followers and sympathisers of the Congress. Since the party gets around 28 per cent of the national vote, it can be safely presumed that when the Congress runs the Union Government, 72 per cent of the citizens (including Amitabh Bachchan) stand excluded.

In his blog, Amitabh Bachchan has wondered whether he was hallucinating or "if there was a pattern to all this". Yes, citizen Bachchan, there is a pattern. This is Congress haughtiness on display and we have seen this before, especially during the mid-1970s. Members of the Congress obviously view India as some kind of a jagir of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. The sooner we disabuse their minds of this, the better it is for our democracy and our constitutional well-being. This is a worthy cause. Since we have no doubt that you are "a sensitive man" and "a right-thinking man", we expect you to take the lead and launch this public-service campaign to build a truly democratic and 'inclusive' India.