Comment

Wages of Hate

Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam

The shabby way in which LK Advani has been regularly treated by the BJP and its mentor RSS over the last few years is pitiable. It shows that hate, vandalism and mass murder finally come back to visit upon the perpetrator. And certainly Mr Advani has committed these crimes against humanity.

Mr Advani, who was riding on Cloud 9 following the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the concomitant mass murder of Muslims as the hate wave generated by him destroyed lives and property across the country.

However, he was soon brought down to earth, and to his senses, when the sedate Atal Bihari Vajpayee came forward to grace the chair of the Prime Minister, leaving the angry, self-proclaimed Iron Man-2 holding the baby.

To Mr Vajpayee’s eternal credit, he had publicly said that Mr Advani was leading a charge of monkeys on Ayodhya like Hanumanji led the charge on Sri Lanka and burnt it down in his overenthusiastic campaign to rescue Sitaji. During Mr Advani’s Somnath to Ayodhya rath yatra, Mr Vajpayee advised him to remember that Ayodhya was in India, not in a foreign country. Mr Advani did not heed the advice and put Ayodhya on fire.

Such people cannot be made Prime Minister. Soon he learnt it to his chagrin. His 2010 bid on prime ministership also exploded in his face. But he is not the kind who learns lessons. They are only interested in teaching lessons to the weak, like Indian Muslims and Christians in periodic bursts of violence. That’s all they are good for.

Another time when the more cool-headed and less Ironman-like Mr Vajpayee’s superior statesmanship shown through was in 2002 at the height of Gujarat killings he, as the country’s Prime Minister, publicly scolded Narendra Modi for having failed to uphold rajdhrama (the lofty ideals of a ruler) and allowing the killings to continue. Mr Vajpayee wanted Mr Modi to step down from chief ministership to atone for the lapse. However, like always, Mr Advani chose to back Mr Modi along with his younger colleagues like Arun Jaitley and Venkiah Naidu. Communalism triumphed over principle.

Soon after that Mr Advani’s fall began. Then came his inauspicious visit to Pakistan, where this thoroughly communal person issued a certificate of secularism to Mr Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. A man, who had been regularly ridiculing India’s secular Constitution and was guilty of the most vicious attack on the secular order by demolishing Babri Masjid and unleashing countrywide violence against Muslims, had the cheek to issue a certificate of secularism in another country.

On his return to India he was duly humiliated by the Sangh and cut down to size, but nobody came to his rescue. Not even Mr Jaitley, Mr Modi or Mr Naidu. However, he refused to learn any lesson.

Today, Mr Advani is like a rag, used and thrown into a garbage can. He is of no use to his chelas like Modi, Jaitley and Naidu. His use-by date has passed. Now is the time for him to repent for his crimes against humanity. Muslims, against whom he has sinned, will readily forgive him if he expresses regret publicly. Even today many of us give him a certain respect as an elder even thought we have not forgotten his mass murder.

Mr Advani’s condition today is most unenviable and utterly miserable. He will do well to think seriously over the harm he has inflicted on a large number of people by destroying promising lives and property. In his twilight years he should give a thought to it and atone for his sins.

Over the years I have written many letters to him, but he never had the grace or courtesy to reply to a single one of them. He seems to have no conscience left in him. His black deeds have hardened his heart.

I wrote a long series of periodic letters to him. I have urged him to do prayashchit (atonement) for his crime against humanity. Because the courts have not punished him for his crimes, he thinks God also will allow him to go unpunished. The courts have not punished him because the judicial system has been sabotaged. God’s system cannot be sabotaged.

I once again request him to do prayashchit and the victims will forgive him, his sins and regard him as their elder. He should try to live the rest of his life without the huge burden of guilt. We hope this time round he will pay heed to our advice.

Today when he looks around, he sees himself standing alone, all his chelas gone. He should at last have a clear conscience in his old age.  g

Home