Short Takes
People are not puppies
Language, the choice of words, can be a great give away. It may bring out the innermost thoughts and prejudices without even the speaker’s intention. That is exactly what happened when Gujarat CM Narendra Modi tried to express regret for the killings in 2002 the other day.
Asked by a Reuters correspondent whether he felt remorse for the victims of 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom he chose to express regret in a circumloquitous and grossly inaccurate way.
“Someone else is driving a car and we are sitting behind, even then if a puppy comes under the wheel, will it be painful or not? Of course, it is,” said Narendrabhai Modi.
So, those people killed under state patronage were “chhota kutte ka bachcha” (puppies). This callous turn of phrase reflects the attitude of BJP’s prime ministerial candidate towards the victims of one of the largest pogroms in India since Independence.
And who was driving the car called Gujarat state, except Chief Minister Modi in 2002? Was it Gordon Zadaphia? Or, Amit Shah? The same Shah has been made the election-in-charge of BJP for UP as a reward for the 2002 massacres.
In the interview he tries to push his meticulously crafted image of a decisive person, a doer. He says that decisiveness is the quality of a leader. The BJP has been busy creating the impression that Congress leadership is indecisive and inept, while BJP leadership is firm, Modi especially so.
Finally, the question to ask is: “Do we want a prime minister who thinks Indian citizens are puppies?” Think about it for a while. –IOSCA
g