Whither Gujarat?

It is not only a million dollar question but also the most asked question by almost everybody in the country, WHITHER GUJARAT? In the last couple of years and all the more due to scandalized polity, the pundits have turned their attention to yesterday’s upstart from Gujarat, Mr. Narendra Modi. The saffron poster boy of yester years have come a long way, for to be considered as a contender for the country’s top political job.

Interestingly, the poster boy has to first prove his claim on the home turf. Sort of a semi-final, the state assembly polls in Gujarat will justify or falsify his claim. The logic is, he has to win Gandhinagar before he can march on to Delhi. And the win has to be a convincing win, which is the crux of the matter. In the state assembly with 182 seats, the man himself has raised the benchmark. He has claimed that he will break the all-time record and win 151 seats in the forthcoming election. If the claim is a technique to inspire awe in his opponents, the trick has not worked. Surely, he remains larger than life, but slowly the opposition has stated putting its act together. The return of the 10 Janpath ‘blue eyed boy’ Ahmad Patel was the first indication given by INC that the party is serious about the next election and the reason is not far to seek.

Such reasons or compulsions of Congress are not unknown. However, in Gujarat, the party has galvanized into action due to several factors. As mentioned earlier the coming of Ahmad Patel has boosted the morale of the grassroots worker for the presence of Sonia’s confidante adds the signature of party high command about the importance it attaches to the next election. Besides, all the factions and their leaders are now seen sharing common platform and at least outwardly it appears that a truce has been made between different factions. Whether it is a faction led by Shankarsinh Vaghela or Shaktisinh Gohil, whether it is inspired by Arjun Modhwadia or Bharatsinh Solanki, Congress in Gujarat has closed ranks. It is an ominous sign of the intensity with which the opponents are to clash.

As the storm gathers, new factors are added in this already complex political scenario. One of the firsts to detonate his arsenal was the ex-Chief Minister and BJP patriarch Keshubhai Patel. This saddened but wiser man has now formed his own party and aptly christened it as ‘Parivartan Party’ because it is the ‘Change’ that he is seeking. This leader from Saurashtra had observed silence for quite long though being sidelined and then ruthlessly marginalized by Modi. To the extent that he has also ignored completely the formation of new party by his Guru. And it is this silence that is most baffling of all. Modi’s silence has now assumed proverbial magnitude. In Gujarat, everyone else has been speaking but not Modi, barring his tweets and some casual remarks. As if preserving his strength for the final onslaught, this charismatic leader has assiduously avoided all controversies. But the day is not far when he will speak. But the question is; ‘Whether it will stir the state out of its slumber? Whether it will galvanize his party and the cadre in action?’

As he has now broken his silence through his clarion call, which he gave while flagging off the VIVEKANAND YATRA, has raised curtain from many things that were till yesterday, a probability. Making most clever use of the legendary (or mythical) figures has been his known trait. This time round, he has attempted to reach the deep core of Indian psyche by conjuring the image and memory of her one of the greatest son, Swami Vivekanand. The date chose for the flagging off of the yatra and of launching his acerbic attack was 911 (that is, September 11). It is the day when in 1894 Swamiji had given his famous address in Chicago and captured the hearts and minds of West. At one stroke, Modi has attempted to address not only Gujarati but also Indians who may be residing anywhere in the world. He has not only unilaterally expanded his constituency but has indicated that his leadership surpasses the state boundaries. If the date and icon have such significance, so is the route that he had got planned. It was Bahucharaji to Sanand. Bahucharaji because Maruti is putting up its plant here and Sanand because TATA, FORD and PEUGEOT have set up their plants here. In short, these are the places that have witnessed the working of so called ‘Modi Magic’. Largest investments have been brought to these regions. These are the towns that were till yesterday like any other non-descript semi-urban conglomerates; today they are thriving hubs of industrial activities. In Modi’s game plan, all this has happened because of ‘Him’. His maiden speech at Bahucharaji has given away his electoral strategy. It is ‘development’ that ‘he’ has made in Gujarat, industries and investment that he has brought, schemes and projects that he has not only envisioned but translated into reality. And undoubtedly, he has got executed a few that he can trumpet about like BRTS and RIVERFRONT in Ahmedabad, new work on Narmada, power projects that have apparently made the state power surplus including an eco friendly solar power project for producing 600 MW power at Charanka village in Patan district. But the list falls short of the tall claims made by him and his hand-picked bureaucrats and junior ministers at the bi-annual extravaganza that have been aptly called ‘Vibrant Gujarat Summits’. MOUS of Hundreds of thousand Crores are yet to see the light of the day and still more glaring discrepancy is in the employment generation. In 2011 summit, Nectar Life sciences Ltd, Neesa Agritech had promised employment to 20,000 and 990 employees whereas the infrastructure projects announced in the same summit by Makson Infra and Makson SEZ had promised to generate employment for over 100,000 persons. Not lagging behind in tall promises were the SEZ projects by ANIQUE, Sealand Ports and Chervil Infrastructure that had promised employment to 20000, 30000 and 40000 persons. No data is available from any of these companies to show what has happened with their promises of employment and that is the thorn in the flesh. The dismal record of employment generation by the gigantic schemes of Modi is glaring in his face. His bravado and rhetoric cannot conceal this basic fact that the state has performed miserably in terms of the employment generation for the local population.

The discontent is gradually getting louder. Congress having put its act together has been able to articulate this discontent. Congress leaders already camp in this newly industrialized region and addressing the public meetings ask the villagers that how many of them have found employment in the new factories.

But still this is not the whole story. The apparent lack of employment generation could be shrouded in the high lumen radiance of infrastructure development, may it be wider roads, larger ports, huge buildings and factories and gigantic schemes. But the trouble is brewing much deeper. It simmers in the remote villages of the state and the reason for its hidden fire lies in the most innocuous of the follies. Narendra Modi has knowingly or unknowingly pressed the vital chord of Gujarati sensitivity. His projects have systematically or inadvertently gobbled up the GOCHAR LAND of Gujarat villages. GOCHAR is the land traditionally and historically reserved for the cattle of the village. The word comes from ‘Gau’ means cow and ‘Char’ means fodder. This is the land where the village cattle go to graze. It is the lifeline of these silent livestock. In his zeal for development and industrialization, Modi and his government have in many places grabbed this land. A silent contempt is gradually taking shape and an opinion being voiced. A label that Modi is anti-village, anti-farmer has already taken roots.

Such feeling would not have got channelized but for a non-descript farmers movement taking shape in a remote Saurashtra town, Mahuva. Here, state’s renowned industrialist was given away 1200 acres of land to set up a cement plant under the pretext of the land being wasteland. However, the farmers’ anger got channelized when they found that the local MLA supported their opposition to the cement plant though he belonged to BJP. The state was on the threshold of its turning point. The ‘satyagraha movement’ against the plant launched by Dr Kanu Kalsaria not only stalled the project but forced its promoter to shift out of the state. The movement had far reaching consequences because the farmers tested victory and the ‘leader of Mahuva’ was hailed as ‘the man of the masses’. But for his innate sobriety, commitment to the Gandhian values, shyness and simplicity, this man could have by now posed the strongest challenge to Modi instead he has preferred to build the movement. Touring remote interior villages of the state of Gujarat, this man, with his meager resources and handful of supporters delivers his message in his soft yet deep tone that ‘Modi is no friend of farmers’. The sleeping helmet, which he had entered without whisper, is abuzz with vitality when he is about to leave. The political action thus enacted has no pre-determined script, nor grand preparation. But, it is working. Though the pace is excruciatingly slow, no one can say how it could cover the length and breadth of Gujarat, but the fact remains. Dr. Kanu Kalsaria is THE challenge to Narendra Modi. On one side is the Empire, a man with 10 years in office, unlimited resources, state machinery and the great style and oratory that can bring dead to life and on the other side is a man, lean, frugal, soft spoken, hesitating; without resources, without party machinery and without claim or promise. How could there be any contest between the two?

But therein hides the microcosm of truth. History is witness to such unequal battles. Not always, the results are dramatic. Many a times the rebels become the silent martyrs, soon to be buried in the annals of history. But, this is Gujarat, a crucible for experiments in national consciousness. A decade ago it had given to the nation Narendra Modi. And more than a century ago it had given Gandhi and Sardar. It has not run short of her ability to present yet again, a person of great caliber and significance. The question is whether the time has come for a new person or whether Modi has to make his final assault on Delhi? Only the time will tell.