myth of vibrant gujarat edigest

8/2/2019 Myth of Vibrant Gujarat EDigest

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Myth of Vibrant Gujarat

An E Digest

Compilation of Articles on the development-decadence of Gujarat

Compiled byRam Puniyani

(For Private Circulation)

Institute for Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution&

All India Secular Forum602 & 603, New Silver Star, Behind BEST Bus Depot,

Santacruz (E), Mumbai: - 400 055.

E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]


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E-Digest-Myth of Vibrant Gujarat 2

CONTENTS

Page No.

Preface

1.Introductiory Article. 04

2. Anna Hazares Comments about development of

Rural Gujarat 09

3. Whose Gujarat is Vibrant? . 14

4. Vibrant Gujarat Again .. 15

5. The Monumental Myth of Vibrant Gujarat .. 16

6. Box16,000 Farmers, workers ended life during . 18Modis tenure

7. Margin Speak 20

8. Relative Development of Gujarat and Socio-ReligiousDifferentials 24

9. Marginalizing Muslim in Gujarat . 26

10. Interview . 28

11. Resources . 30


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Preface

During my childhood I had heard a story from a friend. A Nawab had

borrowed a lot of money and had no means to pay back to his creditors. Hewould attend to his rather demanding and angry creditors oh is doors and

tell them that he had sold every furniture of his house to pay them and had

nothing left and pleaded them to be left alone. However the creditors

could not believe as they imagined a beautiful palace behind the beautiful

curtains that were drawn all the time when they peeped through the

windows of the palace. Once an angry creditor pulled down the curtains to

get a better view of the palace. He was shocked to find nothing in the

palace except the walls and all the members of the house did not have even

clothes to cover their naked bodies. The Nawab gave away the costly

curtains to the creditor pleading that whole world has now witnessed thenaked truth and the curtains are of no use to him now.

The MOUs touted by the Nawab of Gujarat are much like the curtains of

the palace in the story acting like a smoke screen to cover the nakedness of

its occupants. The more naked the family members in the palace, the

costlier are the curtains put up to cover up the nakedness. The Public

Relations machinery of the Gujarat works hard to juggle with selected

figures and statistics and spreads it far and wide through expensive PR

budget the curtains that cover Gujarat are not only expensive, but also

thick and impregnable so the Nawab of Gujarat thinks. The MOUcurtains cover, for example the fact that the most backward district of the

country is the Dangs district of Gujarat. The creditors of the Nawab are the

people of Gujarat, the tax payers of Gujarat.

The Nawab in the story was at least trying to protect the dignity of the

members of the family by putting up those costly curtains, though he had

borrowed a lot of money for his pleasure and to showcase his status. The

Nawab of Gujarat invites the capitalist vultures from outside in his vibrant

Gujarat programmes and assists them to pull away the remaining scanty

pieces of clothes from the bodies of the helpless members and raid theremaining furniture inside the Gujarat Palace in the form its natural

resources, land, water and environment. In return, the Nawab has been

promised that he will supported by them to become Emperor of India.

The creditors (tax payers) of Gujarat are not yet as demanding and feel

powerless as compared to the creditors of the Nawab in the story. The

smoke screen of development and MOUs is intact.


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The compilation in this digest to be circulated through e-mail networks

and in hard copy is the act of angry activists and academicians

representing the tax payers of Gujarat, particularly the marginalized

sections in Gujarat the adivasis, dalits, farmers, the landless, women,

artisans, workers, casual labourers and the backward classes amongst the

minorities, who resemble the creditors in the story and are pulling down

the curtains one by one to enable a peep in the palace (swarnim Gujarat)

that Narendra Modi claims he has made. As the reader goes through the

articles in the compilation, the curtains are pulled one by one it is for the

reader to judge whether the inhabitants of the palace are naked or well

provided for. The contributors to this compilation have done a difficult job

as the mountains of propaganda have to be dug to tease out the mole of

truth. To penetrate the thick and strong veil ofswarnim Gujarat the tools

in the hands of the activists and academicians are preliminary but they do

the job honourably.

Our thanks the Ram Puniyani for the painstaking effort.

Irfan Engineer

14th April 2011.

1. Introductory Article

(i)

Myth of Vibrant Gujarat

Ram Puniyani

early nine years after the carnage ofGujarat (Feb 2011), a perception has

been created that Gujarat is developing withrapid strides, there is all peace and harmony

and minorities are happy. Like ShiningIndia a word has been coined, Vibrant

Gujarat.

Nothing can be farther from truth. In theaftermath of the violence, the death of over

two thousand Muslims, the rapes, thehumiliation at the hands of instigated mobs,

are still fresh in the air as the state hastotally been unjust to the victims of the

violence. There was no rehabilitation worthits name, the refugee camps were closed

too soon. State totally washed its hands offthe rehabilitation process.

Today while the few amongst the Muslim

minorities, especially a section of traders,have been won over by the BJP and

dominant social forces, the majority ofMuslim community has been forced to live

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the life of severe social and economicdeprivation. The trend of ghettoization is

increasing in major cities and expanding.Juhapura is the showpiece of the fear and

insecurity which has gripped the Muslim

community. Many a traders are trying tocontinue with their businesses in oldlocalities while settling their families in the

Muslim ghettoes like Juhapura. Most of theMuslim establishments have changed their

names and patterns to sound like being theHindu establishments, with the hope that

this will prevent their religion beingidentified in the future pogroms, protect

their property, and this move will overcomethe economic boycott from the majority

community. Incidentally this call ofeconomic boycott of Muslims has been

given by VHP. The domination of Modi/BJPin the social and political arena is leading to

the situation where a large section ofMuslims is forced to hide their pain and

anger and carry on with the ignominies oftheir situations. Remarkably many a social

groups from amongst Muslim communitiesare concentrating their work in the area of

education; preparing the youth to take up jobs in the fields that are free from

discrimination, and to prepare them totraditional and newer avenues of self

employment.

A major study by Abdul Saleh Sharif(Relative Development of Gujarat and

Socio-Religious Differentials, 2011) is veryrevealing about the condition of Muslims.

This shows that Muslims fare very badly onthe parameters of poverty, hunger, education

and vulnerability on security issues. Thestudy shows that levels of hunger are high in

Gujarat alongside Orissa and Bihar.Muslims are educationally deprived. Muslim

community which at one time wasdominating in diamond and textile trade has

been pushed behind. Poverty of GujaratMuslims is 8 times more than high caste

Hindus and 50% more than OBCs. Twelve per cent Muslims have bank accounts but

only 2.6% of them get bank loans. Thisstudy concludes that Muslims in Gujarat

face high levels of discrimination, even on

the roll out of NREGA, Gujarat is at the bottom of the pile. (TOI, Feb 18, 2011,Mumbai)

As per the report of Pratham, an NGO

devoted to the issues of education (AnnualStatus of Education Report), Gujarat is

worse than Bihar when it comes toeducational standards. Gujarat has been

doing miserably in Social developmentindices and its budgetary allotment in this

sector is low compared to other large states, being 17th

amongst the 18 large states.

While all this is happening, the mentalghettoes, the emotional partitions have

become fairly strong and physical ghettoestell the real truth of Gujarat, the Hindu

Rashtra in One State. Those displaced dueto carnage are living with no civic facilities

reaching them. The banks and telephonecompanies are shunning these areas and

childrens education is one of the majorproblems for the victims.

Through conclaves like Guarvi Gujarat, and

the annual meetings of NRIs; Industrialists,investment is being solicited and more than

the forthcoming investment, projections arebeing made of the flow of dollars, creating

the image that it is during Modi regime thatGuajarat has begun to progress. The fact is

that there are some investments; there issome industrialization; but it is far from

what is being projected. In previous Vibrant Summits claims of big

capital investments have been made. Forexample in 2005 claim for Rs.106161 crores

had been made. Out of that investment ofRs.74019 crores (63%) was made as stated

by Chief Minister but in reality as per theinformation availed under R.T.I. only


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Rs.24998 crores (23.52%) projects wereunder implementation.

As per Teesta Setalvad, Likewise, in

2007, 363 MoU (Memorandum of

Understanding) were made in which ModiGovernment claimed to have mobilizedcapital investments of Rs.461835 crores.

Factually this amount was Rs.451835 croresand not Rs.461835 crores so an excess

investment of Rs.10000 crores was claimed.Out of this State Government claimed to

have made an investment ofRs.264575 crores but as per the figures by

Industry Commissioner of Gujarat projectsworth Rs.122400.66 crores (27.08%) were

under implementation. Actually out of theinvestments in 2003, 2005 and 2007 only

20.28% of projects were underimplementation in Gujarat.

While Gujarat was already amongst the most

industrialized states, it has been able toinvite good deal of investment. Still it

remains next to Maharashtra which leads the pack. While one does not hear much about

the Maharashtra progress, through differenttypes of media hypes the image of Gujarat

phenomenon has been built up. Theindustrialization in Gujarat has a pattern.

Two decades back, the growth rate ofGujarat was something between 12 and 13

per cent. The national average was six toseven per cent then. Today, Gujarat has the

growth rate of 11 per cent while Nationalgrowth rate is 10 per cent. This fact should

make the matters clear to us.

As such Gujarat state has opened its coffersto subsidize the industrialists. Land, water

and soft loans are the order of the day; theyhave been given to the industrialists at

extremely cheap rates. It was one of thereasons because of which Tata shifted his

Nano project to Gujarat. The subsidy, whichthis small car gets, is huge. Industrialists are

having a free run and the social concernslike job creation are very poor in the Gujarat

pattern. Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra are farahead of Gujarat in the Job creation ratio on

the investment. The investment figures

which are flashed are not all actualized. Oneof the major victims of the recklessindustrialization is the ecology, which has

been ignored totally far as Gujarat isconcerned.

The growth differentials in Gujarat are very

appalling. On one hand, there is the growth,on other there is a serious decline in the

social indicators of like sex ratio. Accordingto India State Hunger Index 2008, Gujarat

is shockingly ranked worse than Orissa.Gujarat is ranked 13th in the 17 big states

which were calculated in this list. Gujarat isonly above Jharkhand, Bihar and Madhya

Pradesh, which are globally equal to thehunger situation in Ethiopia. Poverty levels

are rising; employment and agriculture arenot in good shape. The agricultural

production has been declining, e.g. from65.71 lakh tones in 2003-2004 to 51.53 in

2004-2005. A survey conducted by NSS in2005 reveals that approximately 40%

farmers of state said that given the optionthey would like to shift away from

agriculture. Recent studies show that duringthe last decade agriculture and labor both

have suffered extensively.

Modi, in a reply given in state assemblystated that in one year up to Jan 2007, 148

farmers had committed suicide and thecondition is worsening on that score. While

on one side the state exports electricity, itsvillages are having a power deficit. Indian

Express 8th April 2007 reported that state isreeling under the shortfall of 900 mega Watt

of power, the victims of this are mainly inthe villages. One of the indices of poverty,

prevalence of anemia, is very revealing onthis count. The percentage of women


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suffering from anemia has risen from 46.3%in 1999 to 55.5% in 2004 (Third round of

National Family Health survey report 2006)among women. Amongst children it rose

from 74.5% to 80.1%. Some of the reports

point out the conditions of dalits and womenhas deteriorated during last decade. Forwomen, one of the indices is the declining

sex ratio in Gujarat during last decade. Theplight of Adivasis is no better.

Gujarat is facing problems at the level of

living conditions more of poor, women andminorities. The media hype is meant to

change the image of Narendra Modi from

the one who led the carnage to adevelopment man. But deeper look at theeconomic and social situation tell us another

story.

(ii)

Vibrant Gujarat summit-2011 Ridiculous show-off of Power

Teesta Setalvad

ne more summit of Vibrant Gujarat isto be organized in January 2011. Prior

to this such summits have been organized in

2003, 2005 and 2007. These summits have been organized to attract industrialists and

industries to state. In which Chief Ministerof Gujarat offers land at cheaper rates to

industrialists interested in capitalinvestment, free water or water at cheaper

rate to use in industry, if such industries leadto pollution then freedom to them from laws

related to pollution, exemption from tax forfive years and in this duration of five years

freedom from laborers act will also begiven and thus would give a feel of his

power. He would show that he can give landat cheaper rates to industries he wishes to

and in return would expect industrialists toappreciate him and say that he is best ChiefMinister of country.

In previous Vibrant Summits claims of big

capital investments have been made. Forexample in 2005 claim for Rs.106161 crores

had been made. Out of that investment ofRs.74019 crores (63%) was made as said by

Chief Minister but in reality as per theinformation availed under R.T.I. only

Rs.24998 crores (23.52%) projects wereunder implementation.

Likewise, in 2007, 363 MoU were made inwhich Modi Government claimed to have

mobilized capital investments of Rs.461835crores. Factually this amount was Rs.451835

crores and not Rs.461835 crores so anexcess investment of Rs.10000 crores was

claimed. Out of this State Governmentclaimed to have made an investment of

Rs.264575 crores but as per the figures byIndustry Commissioner of Gujarat projects

worth Rs.122400.66 crores (27.08%) wereunder implementation. Actually out of the

investments in 2003, 2005 and 2007 only

20.28% of projects were under

implementation in Gujarat.

Figures of capital investment in each stateand expected employment opportunities outof it as per the memorandum submitted by

industrialists to Ministry of commerce andindustries in central government under

industrial policy has been put up on itswebsite by Ministry. These figures are of the

year 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and up toSeptember 2010. The analysis of these

figures has revealed that compared toinvestment coming to Gujarat less

employment opportunities will becreated. That is wealthy capital investment

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industries will come to Gujarat due to whichdirect benefit of availing employment will

be less which is clear from the belowmentioned table.

Year State Project Investment Employment

opportunities

(Rs. in crores)Gujarat 568 66,109 1,27,051

Maharashtra 861 38,122 1,27,015

2006

Tamilnadu 724 19,522 9,60,867

Gujarat 336 92,480 89,125

Maharashtra 582 84,957 2,65,080

2007

Tamilnadu 393 26,387 1,12,218

Gujarat 361 1,25,357 2,12,428

Maharashtra 705 92,257 1,90,398

2008

Tamilnadu 289 24,145 1,35,019

Gujarat 376 1,42,239 1,43,709

Maharashtra 593 68,069 1,32,936

2009

Tamilnadu 233 66,864 69,887

Gujarat 368 1,09,688 75,318

Maharashtra 586 1,37,141 1,47,966

2010 (Up to

September2010 Tamilnadu 172 26,362 31,622

Gujarat 5,35,873 6,47,631

Maharashtra 4,20,546 8,63,395

Total of all

yearsmentioned

aboveTamilnadu 1,63,280 13,09,613

Above mentioned table reveals that inGujarat in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and up to

September 2010 memorandum of Rs.5,35,873 crores by industrialists was filed with

Ministry and out of that expectedemployment opportunities creation was 6,

47,631. Whereas in Maharashtramemorandums of 4,20,546 crores were filed

(less than Gujarat state) and expectedemployment opportunities were 8,63,395.

Which means one lakh rupees less capital

investment than Gujarat yet 2, 18,000 moreexpected employment opportunities thanGujarat. Whereas in Tamil Nadu during this

time period against capital investment ofRs.1, 63,280 crores, 13,09,613 expected

employment opportunities will be createdagainst this,

At the end of the year 2009-10 in Gujaratthere were 8, 32,000 educated unemployed

people. Number of educated unemployedpeople was 9, 64,000 in 2004, 9, 00,000 in

2005, 8,30,000 in 2006, 7,78,000 in 2007,8,25,000 in 2008 and in 2009 also it was

8,25,000. Now if in the year 2003, 2005,2007 there has been capital investment as

per Chief Ministers say then why there hasnot been any significant decrease in the

number of these unemployed people.

On the other hand, out of the memorandumsfiled before Ministry of Commerce and

Industry in the year 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009and up to September 2010, 8,97,782 crores

have been filed in Chhattisgadh i.e. 3,61,909crores more than Gujarat and 8,35,048

crores have been filed in Orissa i.e. 2,99,175


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crores more memorandums than Gujarat hadbeen filed during the same time period.

If in Chhattisgadh and Orissa without any

Vibrant Summit, memorandums (I.E.M)

worth 3,61,909 crores more than Gujarat inChhatisgadh and 2,99,175 crores in Orissaare possible then in Gujarat why inspite of

summits, it is lagging behind Orissa andChhattisgadh in capital investment

memorandums? Also without vibrant ifMaharashtra and Tamilnadu can have more

expected employment opportunities withless capital investment then in Gujarat why

less expected employment opportunitiescompared to investment? Compared to other

states inspite of Vibrant Summits why there

is less capital investment in Gujarat? VibrantSummits are nothing more than a meansthrough which industrialists praise Chief

Minister and avail financial benefits, and toshow off that Chief Minister is more capable

than other Chief Ministers of country.

2. Anna Hazares Comments about Development of Rural Gujarat:

i) Response by Mallika Sarabhai

Dear Annaji

We are deeply shocked by your endorsement of Narendra Modi's rural development.

There has been little or no rural development in this state. In fact gauchar lands andirrigated farmlands have been stealthily taken by the government and sold off at

ridiculous prices to a small club of industrialists. There has been no Lokayukta inGujarat for nearly seven years so hundreds of complaints against corruption are lying

unheard. From the Sujalam Sufalam scam of 1700 crores to the NREGS boribund

scam of 109 crores, the fisheries scam of 600 crores, every department is involved inthousands of crores of scams. The poor and rural people are being sold to Modi'sfriends the industrialists. The state is in terrible debt because of his largess to

industry while 21 lakh farmers wait for compensation.

Your endorsement is apalling and we will be forced to distance ourselves fromthe Lokpal movement unless it is irrevocably retracted.

Sincerely

Mallika Sarabhai

11.4.2011

ii) Response by Rohit Prajapati and Trupti Shah

Rohit Prajapati and Trupti Shah

Date: 12th April 2011

Dear Annaji,

We received your reply in the form of your

press release to media in which you have

once again retreated that I praised only the

developmental work done by Shri Narendra

Modi and Shri Nitish Kumar in rural areas.

That is what we are questioning - the rural

development model of Mr. Narendra Modi

based on the ground realities in Gujarat.


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Our letter dated April 11 highlighted the

ground reality of downtrodden masses of

Gujarat from farmers to fishing

communities, tribals and salt pan workers.

Please read it carefully. Most of us in

Gujarat working for the working class, women, farmers, dalits, tribals, landless

laborers and the downtrodden who wrote to

you on April 11, have focused on the

development that Modi claims has

happened, but is a contrast in reality.

Your endorsement of Modi's development

led to Modi writing an open letter to you

minding you of a vilification campaign.

We hope you realise the implications of

endorsement now.

For a chief minister who turned his backs on

scores of farmers who demand their right to

farming (the Mahuva agitation), on tribals

who seek forest land, of turning blind eye to

pollution in towns and villages (Ankleshwar,

Vapi, Nandesari, Vatva, Saurashtra and

Kutch). Fishing communities being

deprived of their livelihood in Kutch, the

instances are numerous - will you call it

development Annaji.

Your vague clarification is only related to

communal harmony and politics - which is

not we in Gujarat raised to you in our letter

on Monday, while pointing out your praise

of Modi's development model is misplaced.

You could either visit the state to have a first

hand look or could reach out to those

affected and working in the state. We hope

that you will relay on the facts and not false

propaganda of the Government.

Even your mention about communalism is

very vague and you had not said anything

about the role of Mr. Modis Government in

2002 and the continuation of the worsening

of the plight of most affected people

particularly poor Muslim women and men.

We need to look at the situation holistically

and not in isolation as the rise of fascist

communal forces in Gujarat who use

``development claims'' to mask all theirshortcomings. The rise of fascist

communalist forces in Gujarat is closely

liked with the neo-liberal globalised

development model.

We hope for a suitable and prompt

clarification on your comments now.

Rohit Prajapati & Trupti Shah(Social Activists of Gujarat)37, Patrakar Colony, Tandalja Road, Post-Akota,Vadodara - 390 020Phone No: + 91 - 265 2320399,Email: [email protected], [email protected]

iii) The Reply Email received in the form of Press Release by Us.

Press statement by Anna Hazare

I am issuing this statement to clarify one of mystatements which has been misinterpreted.

On a question asked in my press conferencetoday, I praised only the developmental workdone by Shri Narendra Modi and Shri NitishKumar in rural areas. Alongside I clarified that Iam equally opposed to any form of communaldisharmony. I am completely opposed to any

kind of communalism or discrimination onreligious or caste lines. I strongly condemn andoppose any kind of communal violence. Peoplefrom all faiths and religions are founders,supporters and participants in this movement.This includes, Arch Bishop of Delhi, MuftiShamoom Kashmi and others. I strongly believein Gandhian values and principles of communalharmony.


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I also wish to clarify that we are not attached toany political party. The movement is completelynon-partisan and will remain so.

I sincerely urge the press to understand myintentions, which is to save this country fromcorruption by taking people of all faiths andreligions along.

K B Hazare

iv) Teesta Setalvad

e, academics, activists, artists andintellectuals strongly condemn the

recently reported statement made by AnnaHazareji in which he has brazenly endorsedNarendra Modi, a politician who not onlysymbolizes the politics of division butunconstitutional governance. For the veteran anti-corruption social activist,Hazare to endorse a politician against whom

a Supreme Court led investigation intoconspiracy to commit mass murder andrape, subversion of evidence and pressureand intimidation of key witnesses is stillunderway reveals a narrow and mercenaryunderstanding of the meaning ofcorruption. Worse, given the support base ofthe recent high profile and highly televisedevent agitation, that included open supportfrom Ram Madhav and the RSS as also BabaRamdev, Hazares move could be construedas a bid to actually influence this SC-driven

criminal investigation.

Modi stands accused, and has not been yetcleared of serious charges of activelymasterminding mass murder, loot and rapeof 2,500 of Gujarats innocent citizensconsciously perverting his position andpower as chief minister in 2002. This andother investigations have been rigorouslypursued by victim survivors of thesegruesome massacres and Hazaresstatement, more than anything else rubs salt

on deep wounds. Not once in the nine yearssince the state sponsored carnage has Modi,who has written a tear-filled communicationto Hazare wiped tears from the heavy heartsof Muslim victim survivors in Gujarat. Norhas Modi even apologized for failing toperform his Constitutional duty.

On the issue of corruption and goodgovernance too, Modi may yet fail theexemplary test. Allegations of seriouscorruption in state government schemeshave been steadily documented and printedwithin Gujarat but have rarely made it to theheadlines of national television. There has been little or no rural development in thisstate. In fact gauchar lands and irrigated

farmlands have been stealthily taken by thegovernment and sold off at ridiculous pricesto a small club of industrialists. Theridiculously low interest loan given at theexpense of five crore Gujarati taxpayers toTatas Nano project suggests a corrupt loanwrite off f public finances.

The irony of Modi being hailed by the leaderof the National Lok Pal movement is cruelsince there has been no Lokayukta inGujarat for nearly seven years! Hundreds of

complaints against corruption are lyingunheard in that state as the commonGujarati reels under his mercenarydictatorship. From theSujalamSufalam scam of 1700 crores to the NREGS boribund scam of 109 crores, the fisheriesscam of 600 crores, every department hasbeen accused of being involved in thousandsof crores worth of scams. The poor and ruralpeople of Gujarat are being sold to Modi'ssmall coterie of friends, the industrialists.The state is in terrible debt because of his

largesse to industry while 21 lakh farmers wait for compensation for the land seizedfrom them. How hen can Haraeji call Modinon-corrupt or hail his model ofdevelopment?Little or no funds have been released by theGOG to the Minority Finance DevelopmentCorporation, even less to the Gujarat StateWakf Board. No figures are provided by the


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state government for funds allotted to thereligious minorities.

The corrosion and corruption in our systemis not merely monetary but the subversionof the Indian Constitution and

Constitutional Governance has been in largemeasure due to the unbridled andunchecked growth of state and non stateactors who are sworn to partisan politics,ideology and governance. While their wasmore than some discomfiture felt by many

of us when we saw this worthy anti-corruption movement being supported byRSS cadres and Baba Ramdev, guilty ofamassing crores of money and propertyhimself, this discomfiture increased asaccusation of bus loads of supporters

arriving to Jantar Mantar from Gujaratcame in and finally dues were extracted bythe ruler of that state, Narendra Modi, inthe form of praise from Anna Hazareji.

Teesta Setalvad.

v) Mallika Sarabhai on Hazares Comments

Modi thanks Hazare for praise, Sarabhai upset

New Delhi: Social activist Anna Hazare's

praise of Narendra Modi Monday fetched a

prompt 'thank you' from the Gujarat chief

minister himself but danseuse-activist

Mallika Sarabhai, a vocal supporter of the

anti-graft movement, expressed herdisapproval and asked Hazare to retract.

The Congress, in a guarded reaction, said

that no secular person can condone the

"black events" of 2002 in Gujarat.

Sarabhai, one of the prominent supporters

of Anna Hazare's anti-corruption crusade,

Monday asked the social reformer to retract

his praise ofNarendra Modi for

development work.

Sarabhai, who spearheaded support for

Hazare in the state, said she will distance

herself from the Lokpal Bill movement if he

does not take back his endorsement of

Modi.

In her e-mail to Hazare, Sarabhai said: "We

are deeply shocked by your endorsement of

Narendra Modi's rural development. There

has been little or no rural development in

this state. In fact, village grazing lands and

irrigated farmlands have been stealthily

taken by the government and sold off at

ridiculous prices to a small club of

industrialists."

Sarabhai said there had been no Lokayukta

(ombudsman) in Gujarat for nearly seven years, so hundreds of complaints against

corruption are lying unheard.

vi) Social Activists Response to Hazares comments on Gujarat

12thApril, 2011


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Anna Hazares statement endorsing and appreciating the Modi-Raj' isunfortunate and unacceptable

It was shocking to find that Anna Hazarejiafter receiving support by all of us, withmillions, publicly appreciated the rule as

well rural development work by the ChiefMinister of Gujarat, Mr. Narendra Modi.The entire world knows the role played byhim and his administration in the Gujaratscommunal riots. His government has onlyindicated callousness and contempt for thefarmers and other natural resource basedcommunities in Gujarat, including thosefighting against displacement from theirland and livelihood or for rehabilitation.

On the issue of corruption, Modis response

to the initiative to bring in a strongenactment or to wipe out corruption is, tosay the least, only politically motivated. Ifonly he was committed to an institution likethe Jan Lokpal, how could the Lokpals post be vacant in Gujarat since 2005? Hisgovernment has suppressed massivecorruption in the land purchases whilesubmitted exaggerated data on benefits tothe drought areas of Kutch and Saurashtraand the rural population.

In Narmada, we have seen how the adivasisin Gujarat, screaming against the legal violations and deprivation in therehabilitation work do not receive anyresponse and the Modi Government is readyto submerge the best of agricultural landand generations old villages and township inthe dam reservoir in three states.

As a shrewd politician, Mr. Modi knowshow to divide the secular force and seekadvantage for himself and his party. We

shouldnt however fall prey to this. Anna toomust hear and heed to the seriousgrievances and charges coming from theactivists and people in Gujarat against Mr.Modi and his government. Gujarat isgrowing only for and with the industrialistsat the cost of those contributing their landor human labour and now the localcommunities in Gujarat have also stood upto the challenge the injustices.

All of this clearly indicate a betrayal of rural

needy population for his corporate vision. We surely would join many of Gujaratsprogressive activists who know the groundreality and the atrocities against the dalits,adivasis, minorities and other downtroddenpopulation to tell Anna that he should stayaway from supporting politicians until andunless they prove their mettle andcommitment to peoples causes. We agree with the letters written by activists RohitPrajapati and Trupti Shah to Anna, seekingan explanation. The common people of

India have supported the battle againstcorruption with faith in our campaign andcredibility as peoples movements based onthe core values of equity, justice, democracy,secularism and plurality. This should not becompromised at any cost.

Endorsed by:Medha

Patkar

Saraswati Kavula Kavita Srivastava Maj Genl. (Retd.) Sudhir Vombatkere

Vimalbhai Sandeep Pandey Anand Mazgaonkar Madhuresh Kumar Thomas Kochhery

Kamayani Sister Celia Simpreet Singh Rajendra Ravi Arundhati Dhuru

D. Gabriele Suniti S.R. Uma Shankari Faisal Khan Ashish Ranjan


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3. Whose Gujarat is Vibrant?Pravin Mishra / Ahmedabad Mirror

Gujarat produces some of Indias wealthiest. What is not known widely

is that the state has the highestpercentage of poor population, awhopping 31.8%

Chief Minister Narendra Modi started Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in 2003 toattract investors to the state. The firstsummit attracted proposals worth Rs 69crore. The figures kept increasing since: Rs 1lakh crore in 2005, Rs 4 lakh crore in 2007,Rs 12 lakh crore in 2009 and almost Rs 21lakh crore in 2011. The corporate giants

heaped praises on Modi and some evenendorsed him for prime ministers job.Gujarat has voted him to power with alandslide majority twice. But is todaysGujarat really an economic model?

Thousands of farmers have been protestingthe allotment of land to Nirma by theGujarat government for a cement plant inMahuva. According to Kanu Kalsaria, theBJP MLA from the region, the governmenthad granted land rights to Nirma in theheart of a water body created throughprolonged efforts of locals over the years.Nirma demanded a total of 4,415 hectares ofland on lease for the mining of limestonefrom nine villages in Bhavnagar district.This includes wet, privately ownedagricultural land of 3,583 hectares andgauchar land of 232 hectares. The Gujaratgovernment has already given in-principleapproval to 3,460 hectares for mininglimestone across the coastline.

The farmers said that the upcoming plant would destroy their agriculture andlivestock and cause irreparable damage tothe environment. Five thousand people,including women and children, travelled350 km on foot to Gandhinagar in protestagainst the cement plant demandingcancellation of the land lease to Nirma.

Their demand was rejected by the chiefminister.

While this was happening, acres of landwere granted to Orpat Limited at Rs 40 persq metre to construct a tourist resort inWankaner taluka. Shockingly, a water body,the only source in the area for drinking andirrigation was blocked by 20 feet highsurrounding walls. The desperate farmersknocked the doors of Gujarat High Court.The court has stayed all the activities in theill-gotten land and has ordered thereconstruction of the irrigation channel by

demolishing the walls. Was the primeconcern for the government creating of aresort at the cost of depriving thousands ofvillagers of drinking water?

A good investment climate demands cheaplabour and a freehand in exploiting thenatural resources. But the thirdrequirement, land, is not an easyproposition. The super-inflated MoUs givethe government tremendous politicalmileage. For the corporate, the pricelessland comes free or dirt cheap with nodeadlines of the promised investment. Theadivasi farmers who are dependent on theforests and agricultural land are pushedaway. These thousands of landless farmershave no option but to sell their labour forcheap to survive. Some do not survive.

Sixteen thousand Gujarati workforcecommitted suicide during Modis tenure.The number consists of 9,829 workers,5,447 farmers and 919 farm labourers. Therich government of a vibrant state cannotsave lives of its own people who killthemselves because they are unable tosurvive. State Congress president ArjunModhwadia said that these figures werefrom the state government statistics.

That Gujarat produces some of Indiaswealthiest is well known. What is not known


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so widely is that Gujarat also has the highestpercentage of poor population, a whopping31.8 per cent, as per a Planning Commissiondata. The vibrant face of the state is full ofthick makeup where the real face is no moretraceable.

The plight of the marginalised is not heardin the deafening decibel of vibrant Gujaratcelebrations. Millions of Gujaratis cannoteven have two square meals a day whereas

our home-made billionaires plan billions ofdollars of investment overseas. While ourchief minister attempts to attract moreinvestors to our state, lets look at it throughthe eyes of those who cannot afford tosurvive in this thriving state. Lets ask

ourselves who is Modi vibrating for?

http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/78/2011032820110328032129511f285d544/Whose-Gujarat-is-vibrant.html

4. Vibrant Gujarat Again

Shabnam Hashmi

The Planning Commission, in consultation

with the Union ministry of RuralDevelopment, has ranked 447 districts outof a total of 604 districts. In its May 2003report, the 'Task force on identification ofdistricts for wage and self employmentprogrammes' had selected three variablesfor computing the index of backwardness.These were: agricultural productivity perworker, agricultural wage rate and schedulecaste (SC)/schedule tribe (ST) population.

It is interesting to find 6 districts of Gujarat

in the 50 most backward districts, with theDangs at No. 1. The list has 20 districts outof Gujarat 25 districts. If nothing else this atleast shows Gujarat is as backword as therest of the country.

Though there have been enough indicatorsto show the myth of Vibrant Gujarat (farmer's suicides at the peak of Mr Modi'srule, more than 6000 'accidental deaths' offarmers during the same period, growingviolence against women- domestic as well as

rapes, murders, kidnappings as shown bythe latest report on Ahmedabad done byawag and iim, Ahmedabad and NationalFamily Health Surveys of 2005 and 2006showing very high anemia rates in womenand children , growing violence againstdalits so on), the regional as well as thenational media continues to pay tributes tothe fascist dictator.

**

Status of Women in the Modi's Megastudy

A pilot study conducted by Ahmedabad Womens Action Group under the MentalHealth Care Pilots in Gujarat projectundertaken by the Indian Institute ofManagement, Ahmedabad (IIM-A ) revealedthat a whopping 58 per cent of women in Ahmedabad suffer significant mental

distress. Ahmedabad which was projected asa Mega city and an example of Modisdeveloped Gujarat.

The study revealed horrendous forms ofphysical violence which included slapping,punching, biting, kicking and even brandingwith cigarette butts!

The abuse extended to the bedroom too, where 50 per cent women admitted thatthey were forced to engage in forcible sex

amounting to marital rape!

65 per cent women conceded to beingabused in public and in front of neighbours!35 per cent women reported that theirchildren, especially girls, were victims of violence and were physically and verballyabused by the father.


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50% were subject to forcible sex (rape) ,50% were deprived of sex *Social violence ,76% abused before family , 69% beforeneighbours , 60% before friends , 67% inpublic places , Emotional violence , 70%

report verbal abuse, threats , 62% reportlack of support, appreciation69% excluded from decision making ,Slapping | 68 % , Kicking | 62 % , Punching| 53 % , Hitting with hard objects | 49 % ,Biting | 37 % , Choking | 29 % , Branding

with cigarette butts | 22 %

5. The Monumental Myth of Vibrant Gujarat

The monumental myth of vibrant Gujarat

Deepal Trivedi

Nothing is black and white ever butGujarats grey spots are getting frighteninglyglaring. Last fortnight validated this again.

Narendra Modis beefy rhetoric stressed Associated Chamber of Commerce andIndustry of India (Assocham) had putGujarat as top investment destination of2008-2009 with 19.91 per cent of thecountrys total investment coming toGujarat in mid-June report.

Chief minister Mr Modi tomtommed onTwitter about being number one in

providing vocational training andemployment. A state official explained howGujarat led the nation in providing jobsthrough employment exchanges. Out of thetotal jobs provided in India throughemployment exchanges, he said the highest,72.77 per cent were provided by Gujarat, hecontended. Soon, Gujarat will become thefirst state to have a Bus Rapid TransitSystem (BRTS) with bus stands competingin style and functionality with Curitiba,Brazil, which is home to the first and one of

the most successful BRT systems in theworld.

Did you know that the Gujarat governmenthas promised that all 1,8,000 villages in thestate will have all the facilities present in thechief ministers chamber, that Gujarat willbecome the first place in Asia where villages

will have IT connectivity," the officialinformed.

Gujarat is the No. 1 state in India when itcomes to economic freedom index also.Economic freedom index means absence ofgovernment coercion or constraint in theproduction, distribution or consumption ofgoods and services beyond the extentnecessary for citizens to protect andmaintain liberty by itself, he explainedadding he was indeed sorry for all those"pseudos" who fail to see Modi beyond 2002riots. Modis vision is more important than

his role, if so any in Gujarat riots, heearnestly explained.

Past is past and 2002 is history. Gujarat hasmoved on, he reasoned. Admitted its a good to have great roads,uninterrupted power supply and world-classmall-multiplex culture besides Golfingsocieties and plentiful profit churning businesses. Its a pleasant feeling to be in astate which is number one in so manysectors besides investment, infrastructure

and industry. But the bad news refuse tofade in the background.

In fact, several of them. Here are a fewsamples which are dubbed as stray cases inan otherwise vibrant Gujarat. A 40-year-oldpregnant woman went for her check-up tothe G.G. hospital in Jamnagar. Twoqualified gynecologists along with the staff


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pasted a tape on her forehead that screamedher HIV positive status. She was thenparaded in different wards of the hospital.Shockingly, none of the medical,paramedical staff who were aware that HIVstatus cannot be declared this way, objected

to the womans public parade. The womangot her two-month-old foetus aborted because of her health condition, but thehumiliation of public parade with a tapescreaming HIV-seropositive will hangforever.

Little before that, a 12th grader, a brilliantscience student with great career goals, lefther home for tuitions when she wasintercepted by three men posing as cops alittle away from her home early morning.

She and a male co-student were forced inthe car and the girl was gang raped for 90minutes before being dumped at the samespot.

This happened in Surat, Gujarats fastestgrowing economic paradise. The rapistsfilmed the gang rape on their mobiles. Afterthe arrest, the police recovered about half adozen "live" gang rape videos from them.

Because Mr Modi scores high on the luck

quotient in developed but divisive Gujarat,some local media pithily put it that therapists were Muslims feebly attempting tospare the state government of any blameabout the law and order situation. Whatfollowed was worse. In the HIV positivecase, the only positive action the stategovernment initiated was to ask the doctorsand nurses involved to go on indefiniteleave. Sadly, in the last three months, 10HIV positive persons have committedsuicide in Gujarat after they were sociallyand economically ostracised. The No. 1 statedid not offer them enough motivation tocontinue with their lives.

In Surat, the first response of the policecommissioner was that the girl was a softtarget for rape because she was with a maleco-student. Indirectly hinting at theteenagers character, the police

commissioner craftily justified the gangrape. When Surat literally took him to task,the state government, just to avoidconfrontation, transferred the policecommissioner, Deepak Swarup.

Here is more to Vibrant Gujarat. The Annual Status of Education Report byPratham, a non-governmental organisation,points out that Gujarat is worse than Bihar when it comes to education standards. Thereport, sponsored by Google, Oxfam andUnicef, categorically says that Gujaratstudents are behind their Biharcounterparts. The percentage of students who can read their textbooks, do basicsubtraction, tell time or do basic currencytasks is much lower in Gujarat than in

Bihar.

Several other reports also authenticate thatGujarat has been doing miserably in almostevery index of human development.Gujarats developmental model and modulehas been questioned and dubbed flawed byseveral social commentators and researcher who have been casually dismissed as "antiGujarat" or "pseudo secular". InfantMortality Rate(IMR) in Gujarat was 69 per1,000 in 1991 compared to 80 of India.

While the national IMR became 58 per1,000 in 2005, that of Gujarat became 54.So, while India on the whole really did much better to cut down its IMR, Gujaratsperformance was not actually impressive.The gap between Gujarat and India reducedbecause states like West Bengal, Jharkhand,Uttarakhand fared much better thanGujarat. Experts stress IMR is a sensitiveindicator of womens status in general besides being a mirror of healthcarefacilities for pregnant women.

A February 2007 Reserve Bank of Indiareport put Gujarat as 17th among 18 largestates when it came to social sector budgetallocation. With 31.6 per cent budgetaryexpenditure on social sector, Gujarat dippedfrom 12th spot in 1991(then there were 15large states category) to 17th of the 18 largestates proving expenditure on social sector


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had considerably declined in Mr Modisregime. In the past, former President AbdulKalam has also commented on the need forGujarat to focus more on its socialdevelopment index

Mr Modi is described as an iconic leader with innovative thoughts. A leader for

whom progress matters more thanpropaganda. Mr Modis resolve is to putGujarat on top of human developmentindex.

Resolution and reality, however, seems to

have a huge gap which is steadily widening.

6. Box

16,000 farmers, workers ended life during Modis tenure

Posted: Thu Mar 17 2011, 03:52 hrs

Gandhinagar:

State Congress president Arjun Modhwadiaon Wednesday claimed that 9,829 workers,5,447 farmers and 919 farm labourers havecommitted suicide in the state duringNarendra Modis tenure as Chief Minister.

During the debate on the supplementary budgetary demands in the state Assembly,he said these figures were provided by thestate government.

Modhwadia further claimed that Gujarathas the highest poverty rate in the country

as per the Suresh P Tendulkar Committeeappointed by the Planning Commission.

He said that 31.8 per cent population ofGujarat is poor followed by Andhra Pradesh(29.9 per cent), Tamil Nadu (29.8 per cent),Himachal Pradesh (22.9 per cent), Punjab(20.9 per cent), Kerala (19.7 %), J-K (13.2%) and Haryana (2.1 %).

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/16-000-farmers-workers-ended-life-during-modis-tenure/763674/

Nano In Gujarat- Make Believe Stature Of Modi

Ram Puniyani

03 November, 2008

Countercurrents.org

Shifting of Nano to Gujarat has beenprojected as a feather in Modis cap. Withthis his already rising popular rating due tothe projections by a section of media and blind apologists of current pattern ofdevelopment has got a big boost. Some fromthe world of business/vested interests have

started saying that Modi is the future ofIndia and if there are five more Modis thecountry will prosper in the real fast way!The additional point being made is that hehas shown the path to deal with terror; hecan control this problem in effective wayetc.!


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The alternative patterns of development, what are the different components of theprocess apart, lets see his record and theachievements in Gujarat. He is the one whogave the final push to convert Gujarat from being a part of democratic India to Hindu

Nation in one state. His projection ofGodhra as the preplanned act by Muslimcommunity and unleashing the carnageagainst this hapless minority has fewparallels in the history of India. He presidedover a tirade to convert the minorities intosecond class citizens in his state. Not onlydid he refuse to let the refugee campscontinue, today over five lakh Muslimminority are staying in the proliferatingghettoes of Gujarat, denied the facilities bystate and the civic authorities. Most of the

indices of Gujarat development relate toincreasing affluence of the sections ofmiddle classes while the condition ofaverage and poorer sections are decliningbadly.

Poverty levels are rising; employment andagriculture are having a bad time. Theagricultural production has been declining,e.g. from 65.71 lakh tones in 2003-2004 to51.53 in 2004-2005. A survey conducted byNSS in 2005 shows that approximately 40%

farmers of state said that given the optionthey would like to shift from awayagriculture. Recent studies show thatagriculture and labor both have sufferedextensively during last one decade. Modi ina reply given in state assembly stated that inone year up to Jan 2007, 148 farmers hadcommitted suicide and the condition is worsening on that score. While on one sidethe state exports electricity, its villages arehaving a power deficit. Indian Express 8th April 2007 reported that state is reelingunder the shortfall of 900 mega Watt ofpower, the victims of this are mainly in the villages. One of the indices of poverty,prevalence of anemia is very revealing onthis count. The percentage of womensuffering from anemia has risen from 46.3%in 1999 to 55.5% in 2004 (Third round ofNational Family Health survey report 2006)among women. Amongst children it rose

from 74.5% to 80.1%. Some of the reportspoint out the conditions of dalits andwomen has deteriorated during last decade.For women one of the indices is thedeclining sex ratio in Gujarat during lastdecade. The plight of Adivasis is no better.

Gujarat also witnessed the anti Christian violence during Modi regime and Adivasishave been a totally neglected lot in the state,reeling under the Vanvasi Kalyan AshramsGharvapasi (Conversion into Hinduism)campaigns. Minorities have been reduced toscapegoats and the social partitions are becoming rigid by the day. Somedevelopment has taken place in the state, but Gujarat was always amongst the moredeveloped states of the country. It is not that

things have started from the scratch.

As far as terrorism is concerned, the acts ofterror did take place in the form of attack on Akshardham during his regime. After this Akshardham attack he romped home toelectoral victory. A bit later with his bloatedchest he started claiming that terrorists darenot enter his state, till of course the bomb blasts in Ahmedabad (2008). After this hepropagated that he cannot deal with thisphenomenon as he does not have effective

laws! This deliberate lie is meant to while wash the fact that terrorism has deeperroots, which cannot be uprooted by braverhetorics which he is adept to dishing out.He has mastered the art of using theopportunity to project him, well assisted bythe section of media.

The pattern of things in Gujarat today isclear, it intimidates and brow beatminorities, take up policies which help theaffluent and upper middle class, project this

and hide the backyard where the poor andminorities stay. No wonder this is whatattracts the ilk of Tata, who are veryappreciative of Modi, as the backyard of thestate, the violation of democratic norms hasno meaning for them, the only thing whichmatters for them is the proliferating coffersof their companies. The considerations ofethical and holistic development dont


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matter there. This is no different from theattitude of big industrialists towards Hitler.They backed him to the hilt in his rampageagainst the democratic norms. It is not fornothing that serious academics like AshishNandy describe Modi as the person with

classic fascist traits.

The carnage of 2002 and the parallelintimidation of Christian minorities havealready paved the way for the religiousauthoritarianism in the state. Modi is basking in the glory of personally efficientand disciplined person. A person shouldnot be judged by a small part of the policies. What is overlooked in this shortsightedevaluation is that whether the said person is

committed to democratic values, values ofIndian Constitution or not. While themanagement Gurus and money bags arecomfortable with the likes of Hitler/Modi,for the large sections of deprived populationsuch rules are a nightmare. What more can

be said about such a person who comes topower through polarizing the society andthen rules in a manner where false claimsabout amity abound. The aura createdaround him is a sign of ominous dark timesfor the nation, the times threatening toengulf the values of our plural culture and values of our freedom movement, whichemphasized on democracy and equal rightsfor all.

7. Margin Speak

10 April 2, 2011 Vol xlvi No 14 EPW Economic & Poli t ical Weekly

From The Underbelly OfSwarnim Gujarat

By Anand Teltumbde

Nobody noticed little vibrations on theliteral margins of vibrant Gujarat on 24

January 2011 but potentially they couldcause significant tremors across thecountry. In a nondescript village ofJoradiary in Vav taluka of Banaskanthadistrict in North Gujarat, practically on the borders of Rajasthan and Pakistan, aprocession of 200 odd Dalits accompanied by beats of drum and slogans of long live Ambedkar marched into a farm underillegal control of a Rabari to restore itspossession to a Dalit. The Ahmedabad basedCouncil for Social Justice (CSJ), who led

this struggle to its culmination was justifiably apprehensive of the beneficiariesdaring their upper caste tormentors intaking this bold step and had thereforestrategized to collect Dalits from all villagesin taluka at Vav for a public meeting beforetaking the victory march. Indeed, the beneficiary Dalit family, the de jure ownerof the farm for last 28 years, literally

trembled to do a little ritual, to mark thetaking of its de facto possession. More such

take-overs followed until evening toembolden people to take possession of theirown lands, being illegally cultivated by theupper castes. In the Vav taluka itself 35Dalit families would be benefitted by theownership of over 150 acres.

Unknown even to Dalits, it was a landmarkevent that could be verily likened to the onethat took place in Mahad on 20 March 1927 when the delegates to the BahishkritConference there had marched under the

leadership of their new found leader Dr Ambedkar to the chavadar tank andasserted their civil rights to use its water.

Caste Residue of Land ReformsAt the time of transfer of power in 1947, theland ownership was virtually concentratedin the hands of a few landlords, who wereerstwhile feudal lords. The ethos of the


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freedom struggle led the new rulers toannounce the policies like abolition ofZamindari and redistribution of surplusland to tillers. It had salutary impact incalming and confusing radical peasantmovements that demanded land reforms.

The glorious Telangana struggle, forinstance, was called off by the communistsprecisely because of these policyannouncements, pushing them onto theparliamentary path that would never reachtheir cherished goal of revolution. Landreforms did take place but in a calibratedand truncated manner. Some amount ofland was taken from the upper caste feudallords and distributed among the middlecaste tenants. No one fully comprehendedthe far reaching consequences of this

innocuous development, which wouldchange the basic complexion of rural India.The capitalist strategy of Green Revolutionimmediately following it brought in hugeenrichment to these middle castes, whichleveraged it to hegemonize most spheres ofnational life.

Speaking of Gujarat, UN Dhebar, the chiefminister of the then Saurashtra state hadenacted the Saurashtra Land Reforms Act,1952 , giving occupancy rights to 5 5000

tenant cultivators over 12 lakh acres of land,out of 29 lakh acres held byGirasdars ,spread over 1726 villages , the balance beingleft for their personal cultivation . Girasdars were mainly upper caste Kshatriya, knownasDarbars , literally meaning rulers.Tenant cultivators were mainly Patels bycaste, who became the owners of this land.The Patels enriched them by undertakingmassive cash crop cultivation likegroundnut, cotton, cumin and latergraduating to set up cotton ginning, oilmills, and other industries. This has beenthe evolution of the Saurashtra Patel lobby,euphemistically known as Telia Rajas (oilkings), who came to occupy the dominantposition in the politics of Gujarat. With theirsocial capital and state backing, they wenton acquiring huge tracts of agriculturallands all over the state but most notably inthe tribal belt of south Gujarat. Laws were

suitably amended to facilitate thisacquisition. Two of the most notablechanges in Law were: 1. taking away 8 kmlimit for an agriculturist to own agriculturalland from his residence thereby allowingabsentee landlordism and 2. changing the

order of priorities from ST, SC and OBC tooriginal landlords and then others for theright to cultivate government surplus land.

Through the other Act, (Estate AcquisitionAct), the government acquired uncultivable'and cultivable wasteland, gochar land(village grassland for cattle grazing) andother assets by compensating Girasdars.The huge land that came in possession ofthe state became theatre of the land grabstruggle in early 1960s by Dalit landless

peasants and agricultural laborers, underthe leadership of Dalit textile workers of Ahmedabad. In the words of Mr.Somchandbhai Makwana, an influentialleader of that movement, estimated 2 lakhacres of land was grabbed by Dalits andother backward castes, which still remainsin their possession, albeit withoutregularization by the government.

In many cases Dalit and OBC peasantsand/or their co-operatives, tilling lands

under the government's ek-sali(one yearrenewable tenure) scheme for severaldecades, were evicted and the land wasreverted back to the original' upper castelandlords.

Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat, hasbeen a meek witness since last three years tomany Dalit families (mostly fromSaurashtra) offering satyagrahas on thefootpath near the Assembly against thisintrigue. The amendments to the Actsreferred to above emboldened the uppercastes and the state machinery to violentlyevict Dalits from land they have cultivatedfor decades. This had manifested into amacabre incident on 27 November 1999 inPankhan village in Saurashtra, in which amob of 800 upper caste men had attackedDalits with swords, spears, pipes and firearms and seriously injured 60 men and


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women and effectively evicted them from125 acres of land.

A Strange Struggle for Land In 1997, santh (title) orders were given for a

total of 150 acres to 40 Dalits of Bharad

village in Dhrangadhra taluka ofSurendranagar district. Two of these 40,Devjibhai and Kanabhai (a blindagricultural labourer) asked the upper castePatel to vacate the land allotted to them.Upper caste landlords responded with violence but were met with seriousresistance. Violent group clashes ensuedand in one such six persons suffered seriousinjuries. Dalits endured severe social boycott by the upper castes. Devjibhai wasapprehended and imprisoned under PASA

(Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act) fordaring to enter the land although he was itsde jure owner. It was at this stage that theCSJ stepped in. CSJ creatively combinedlegal and agitational strategies and gotDevjibhai released. It organized AmbedkarRath through 28 villages over seven days tomobilize Dalit support, which culminatedinto a massive rally of over 10000 landlessDalits on 6 December 1999, the deathanniversary of Dr Ambedkar. The struggleencompassed all 12438 acres of prime

agricultural land declared surplus vide the Agriculture Land Ceiling Act, for which2398 Dalit families and 50 tribal families were given the santh before 3 to 10 years, but not the actual possession. The land,apart from being very fertile, was potentiallyvaluable because Surendranagar district wasto be the biggest beneficiary of the Narmadairrigation scheme.

A parallel struggle was articulated inanother village Kaundh, where a youngtextile mill worker Dungarshibhai of Ahmedabad gave up his job to take cudgelsfor his people in village. In defiance of oneof the biggest and tyrant Darbars in thedistrict, who owned nearly 3000 acres ofland, he drove the tractor on the land givento his family in santh but which still was inpossession of the Darbar. As the entiredalits stood behind him, the Darbar allowed

Dungarshibahai to cultivate but took awaythe crop. CSJ filed a criminal complaint andput three Darbars behind bars.Dungarshibhai today is revered as anunchallenged Dalit leader in theSurendranagar district.

These struggles were strange as they were waged by the de jure owners of land for itspossession from the illegal holders. Whilethe government eagerly publicizeddistribution of lands to the SC/ST beneficiaries, it intentionally or otherwiseignored their physical handing over. Theprocess for handing over physicalpossession involved village talathi preparingthe records of rights (7/12) and farmers' book' along with a rough map of the plot.

After receiving these documents from theCollector's office, the District Inspector ofLand Records (DILR) had to send surveyorsto prepare final map, physically mark it outand hand over its possession to the beneficiary in presence of the collector'srepresentative. This procedure was notcarried out in most cases. The beneficiarieswere also deprived of Rs 5000 per acre dueto them as per rules. The officersresponsible for it could be punished as per agovernment notification of 1989 but no

action was taken. In case of the SC/ST beneficiaries, Atrocities Act also could beinvoked.

The CSJ struggle set the state machineryinto action, enabling Dalits in Vav taluka totake possession of their lands. But alas, thisimpressive struggle sadly failed to enthusethe reservation-obsessed middle classes ofDalits, revealing the ugly faultline ofemerging classes among Dalits.

Anti-Dalit Attitude of the State Although, like any other Dalit episode, thismay also be a pan Indian phenomenon,nevertheless Gujarat strangely comes out asa piece of villain in recent revelations vis-- vis Dalits. A CSJ study of 400 judgmentsdelivered by the special courts in 16 districtsof Gujarat since 1 April 1995 revealed ashocking pattern behind the collapse of


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cases filed under the Atrocities Act: utterlynegligent police investigation at both thehigher and lower levels and distinctly hostilerole played by the public prosecutors. Inover 95 per cent of the cases, acquittals hadresulted due to technical lapses by the

investigation and prosecution, and in theremaining five per cent, court directives were flouted by the government. Thegovernment's casual attitude wasunderscored by the statement of its chiefminister in the Assembly when he stated,contrary to the Rule, that the cases under

the Atrocity Act was to be investigated by anofficer not above the rank of DSP.

One wonders whether this plight of Dalits atthe hands of Gujarat government is becauseof its ideological adherence to Hindutva or

because of its neoliberal vibrancy. As itappears, perhaps it is the result of boththese mutually reinforcing factors, a kind ofvile resonance!

Anand Teltumbde is a writer, politicalanalyst and civil rights activist with CPDR,Mumbai tanandraj@gmail.

Gujarat far behind, Muslims most backward thereThe Milli Gazette

Published Online: Mar 29, 2011

Print Issue: 1-15 March 2011

New Delhi: Dr. Abu Saleh Sharif, notedeconomist who was also a member ofJustice Sachar Committee which submitteda report on the overall condition of Muslimsin India, said here while speaking in aconference on Social and religiousdiscrimination of Muslims in Gujaratsponsored by Institute of Objective Studies(IOS) on 12 February that Gujarat is very

much behind in the race of developmentand Muslims are the most backward.

This in fact is the first programme of thisseries under which the overall progress anddevelopment in different states and thecondition of Muslims will be reviewed.Presenting the power point in IOS office inDelhi Dr. Sharif said that a lot ofpropaganda is made about the progress ofGujarat but in the light of statistics, the factsare to the contrary. He said that considering

the overall progress it (Gujarat) is belowPunjab, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra,adding that the proportion of poverty inGujarat should have been low or small but itis large. He said that in rural areas povertyamong Muslims is eight times more thanother sections whereas in urban areas theratio is two percent.

On the starvation front, Gujarat is nearer tothose states whose condition is worst, hesaid, adding that Mahatma Gandhi NationalRural Employment Guarantee Act(MGNREGA) scheme is very important forthe employment of common man butGujarats share in this scheme is 5% onlyand as far as condition of Muslims isconcerned, working ratio of Muslims as

compared to Hindus is 10% less.

Referring to Reserve Bank Indias 10-yearreport on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)he said that in Maharashtra, FDI was worthRs. 17 lakh crore, in Delhi, Haryana andNCR (including some parts of UP) it wasworth Rs 10 lakh crore but in Gujarat duringthe course of 10 years it was worth Rs 2.8lakh crore.

In reply to a question he said that it is true

that during its first term the UPAgovernment had described this state asnumber one from the point of view ofdevelopment and had honoured it withaward but the statistics of 40 years do notconfirm it. Hence the attention ofgovernment and media should be speciallyinvited to this aspect. He also said that thisprogramme is very important in the light of


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discussions and talks held recently in thecountry about the progress anddevelopment of Gujarat and it will greatlyhelp in understanding the facts.

This article appeared in The Milli

Gazette print issue of1-15 March 2011 on

page no. 21

'Muslims left behind in Gujarat's growth story'Nandita Sengupta, TNN, Feb 18, 2011, 03.11am IST

NEW DELHI: Muslims in Gujarat have along way to go. A new study shows there'sdeep-rooted poverty and income inequalityamong the state's lower castes and Muslims.The latter, in particular, fare poorly onparameters of poverty, hunger, educationand vulnerability on security issues nowhere benefiting from the feel good

growth story of CM Narendra Modi's state.In the study titled "Relative Development ofGujarat and Socio-Religious Differentials",economist Abusaleh Shariff used the NSSO,NCAER's human development data and theSachar Committee report, among others, totabulate the status of Gujarat's Muslims."Estimation of poverty by social group israre, but the NCAER survey data, andNSSO, allow for such estimates," saysShariff, also chief economist at NationalCouncil of Applied Economic research(NCAER).

Disturbingly, and surprisingly, says Shariff,Gujarat's levels of hunger are high alongside

Orissa and Bihar, with only Jharkhand,Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh havinghigher hunger levels. Urban poverty amongthe state's Muslims is eight times more thanhigh-caste Hindus, 50% more than OBCs.

Muslims are educationally deprived: despite75% enrolment of Muslim children in

primary school, a mere 26% reachmatriculation. This is against 79%enrolment of 'others except SCs/ STs', 41%of who make it to matriculate levels.

Worsening matters, the study shows 2%Muslims in Gujarat face theft and burglary,though they make up merely 11% ofhouseholds. At the national level 13%Muslims face theft and burglary with thesame share of households. Harassment ofMuslim girls is high, with 17% reporting it inurban areas, though they make up only 11%

of share of population.

8. Relative Development of Gujarat and Socio-ReligiousDifferentials

By Dr Abusaleh Shariff

(Chief Economist, NCAER, New Delhi & Member Secretary, Sachar Committee, New Delhi)

February 12, 2011

Organised by

Institute of Objective Studies

New Delhi, Feb. 12: Gujarat fares relatively better on direct income measures, but theapparent prosperity masks higher povertylevels and much lower ranking in humandevelopment, Dr Abusaleh Shariff, chiefeconomist National Council of Applied

Economic Research (NCAER), said heretoday.

Dr Shariff was speaking at Institute ofObjective Studies on Relative Developmentof Gujarat and Socio-ReligiousDifferentials. On income measures Gujarat


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He presented some startling facts about theMuslim situation in Gujarat where 60percent Muslims live in urban areas. Urbanpoverty among Muslims in Gujarat is eighttimes compared to high-caste Hindus and50 percent more than H-OBCs, even more

than SCs/STs. Rural poverty is two timesmore than HHS. Banking access toMuslims, who have 12 percent of theaccounts, is only 2.6 percent in terms of bank loans/outstanding.

The village and neighbourhood conflict inGujarat is an astounding 63 percent whichis as high as in West Bengal. However, it islower than UP (82 percent) and Uttrakhand.

In general terms of poverty alleviation,

Gujarat has fared very poorly. MG-NREGAis a national wage employment programmefor the poor. Gujarat is the worst performerin MG-NREGA. It has failed to provideemployment to the poorest of the poor, hesaid.

Muslims in Gujarat have fared rather poorlyacross the board. Regarding pre-matricscholarships for minorities, a Centralgovernment initiative (with effect from April1, 2008) he said Gujarat happened to be theonly large state that had not implementedthis programme for 55,000 students, whichincluded 53,000 Muslims along with otherminorities.

9. Marginalizing Muslims in GujaratSubmitted by admin on 20 March 2011 - 9:06am

By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net

TCN series on Gujarat: Part 4

History of Muslims in Gujarat is older thanthe idea of Gujarat itself, then how is it thatMuslims now find themselves at the edge(both figuratively and literally) of the

present day Gujarati society?

In the aftermath of partition when most ofnorth India was burning, Gujarat remainedpeaceful. The first major post-independenceHindu-Muslim violence took place in Ahmedabad in 1969. But if we go back inhistory, from 1714 to 1969 there were onlytwo incidents of communal violence 1941and 1946. The violence of 1969, in whichmore than 1100 people were killed, was the beginning of separation of Hindus and

Muslims but it was 1985 riots that sealedMuslims fate in the state for years to come.

Since the formation of the state in 1960,Gujarat remained a politically unstablestate. Between 1960 and 1990, Gujarat hadeight assemblies, nine chief ministers, and20 ministries. Only one, MadhavsinhSolanki was able to complete his term as

chief mister. This was also a time of manypolitical mobilizations and rioting.

In 1950s Mahgujarat movement led to theformation of the state of Gujarat. 1970s sawthe anti-corruption Navnirman movementled by socialists and joined by SanghParivar, giving Sanghis their first lessons in

Erasing Muslims: Fatema Masjid, theonly mosque on Ahmadabad-

Gandhinagar highway was bulldozed inDec. 2010

mass mobilization. This came in handyduring 1980s anti-reservation movement


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when it was hijacked by Sangh activists andturned into anti-Muslim violence. Ram janmbhoomi movement of 1990s and thegenocide of 2002 was the pay off for theSangh Parivars work of spreading hate overthree decades.

Dr. Ornit Shani of University of Haifa hasstudied the communal violence of 1985 indetails. She marks 1985 as an importantpoint in the marginalization of Muslims inGujarat. She writes in herbook, Communalism, Caste and HinduNationalism:

In the 1985 riots, conflicts around thereservation of places in educational and

government institutions for backward-casteHindus transmogrified into communal violence even though there was no priorreligious tension between Hindus andMuslims, and local Muslims had no part inthe reservation dispute between forward-and backward-caste Hindus. These riotsmarked the beginnings of the shift fromseveral decades of Congress dominance tothe triumph of the Hindu nationalist BJP inGujarat as well as in Indian nationalpolitics.

The violence of 1985 came just days afterCongress rode back to power with athumping majority under the leadership ofMadhavsinh Solanki. Successful socialengineering of KHAM (Kshatriya, Harijan, Ahir, and Muslim) alliance returnedCongress MLAs in 149 seats with a voteshare of 55.5% which still remains a record. A week after the formation of the newgovernment, on March 18th, 1985, a Gujarat bandh was called by organizations opposedto the reservation policy. Muslims had

remained aloof from the anti-reservationmovement as it neither harmed norbenefitted them.

On the night of March 18th, while savarnaHindus were busy in sounding a death-knellto reservation as part of the days bandh, astone hit a Muslim boy in Naginapol area of Ahmadabad. Soon, this turned into a major

violence between Hindus and Muslims. Army was called in the next day and thethen Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi paid avisit on March 23rd. Violence continued fornext four months.

Amarsinh Choudhry replaced Solanki aschief minister on July 6th and soon after heagreed to the demands of the anti-reservationists. Reservation increase wasrolled back and all those detained for violence released. From February to July of1985, 220 people lost their lives. Only in Ahmadabad 662 anti-reservation and 743communal incidents were recorded.Muslims were the main victims of the riots with 2,500 houses damaged, 1500 shops burnt, about 100 killed and hundreds

severely injured.

Another image of Gujarat: grave of WaliGujarati was razed in 2002 and road

built over-night, it is yet to be restored.[Photo by Nasiruddin Haider Khan]

Die was cast for Muslims, Hindus who havecontinued to live close to Muslims in oldareas of Ahmadabad began to move out,forming a segregated city that continue to widen the gulf between Hindus andMuslims. Physical separation betweenmiddle and upper middle classes grew to the


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point where young Ahmedabadis would beunlikely to encounter a Muslim. Few Indiancities have managed such a systematicseparation based on caste, class andcommunity, writes Prof. Arvind Rajagopal.

That physical separation was necessary forthings to come in 1990s and especially thegenocide of 2002. While the world watched with horror the violence unleashed inGujarat in 2002, the man who presided thegenocide was none other than NarendraModi.

It was no accident that Narendara Modi wasat the helm of affairs. Modi a life-longmember of RSS was a key organizer ofGujarat BJP in 1980s and early 1990s. He

was the man behind Nyay Yatra in 1987, LokShaki Yatra (1989), Gujarat leg of AdvanisSomnath to Ayodhya Yatra (1989), and Ekta Yatra (1991). Gujarat was among the statethat sent highest number of karsevaks fordemolition of Babri Masjid in 1992. Allthese yatras and mobilization helped makeMuslims as the other or the enemy inGujarat.

Muslims, according to Sangh Parivar, haveno right to exist, are not part of Gujarat,have no history worth remembering or

contribution in making of Gujarat. Perhaps,

this is best symbolized by the grave of ValiGujarati which was destroyed during theviolence of 2002, overnight a road built overit and a decade later the road still exists overa poets grave who sang high praises ofGujarats plural society.

Vahan sakin hain itne ahle mazhabke ginne mein na aawe unke mazhabAgarche voh hai sab ibn-e adamvale binish mein ranga rang aalam[there live people of different religion, it isimpossible to count them allAlthough all are sons of Adam, they appearin all colors of the world]

The new Gujarat doesnt believe inpluralism and it is better if a poet who sang

about Gujarat and celebrated its pluralismand diversity remain buried in the groundand forgotten.

Ref:Arvind Rajagopal,Special political zone:urban planning, spatial segregation andthe infrastructure of violence inAhmedabad. South Asian History andCulture, 1947-2501, Volume 1, Issue 4, 01October 2010, Pages 529 556.

10. Interview

Changes Taking Place amongGujarats Muslims: Afzal Memon

Afzal Memonis the Director of theGujarat Sarvajanik Welfare Society, Ahmedabad, and Gujarat. He is also aprominent activist of the Tablighi Jamaat,In this interview withYoginderSikand for New Age Islam.com, he talksabout the changes taking place amongGujarats Muslims.

Q: Do you think there is any major changein the situation in Gujarat now as far as

inter-communal relations and the attitudeof the state are concerned?

A: Not really. Muslims still live in fear andinter-communal relations are still tense.There has been no change in the attitude

and role of the state government, which isstill very anti-Muslim. Muslims havesuffered a major loss of confidence anddignity and they feel that they have no hopefor justice. The families of those who werekilled in the violence have not got justice,and it appears that, if things continue toproceed the way they have been they never will. Even today most Muslims do not feel


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secure. That is why even those Muslims whocall themselves secular and progressive andare not particularly religious now prefer tolive in Muslim localities, such is the level ofinsecurity.

To add to this is the fact that Muslims had been ruined economically in the violence.Many of their businesses were totallydestroyed. And now they get little ornothing from the government. In the nameof Hindu Rashtra, it is the upper castes,rich capitalists and big farmers, who arehaving a field-day, while marginalised andoppressed communities like Muslims, Dalitsand Tribals remain as they were. In fact,their position is steadily worsening. Even when Muslims want to do something to

improve their economic conditionsthemselves, the state government putsmajor hurdles in their way.

Q: Are any efforts being made to promotebetter relations between the differentcommunities in Gujarat?

A: No major or very effective measures are being taken in this direction. Whateverscattered efforts that might be being madeare like putting ice-cubes into a boilingcauldron. Even NGOs that talk of social

justice and peace seem to be doing very littlein this regard. Many of these NGOs havelittle or no grassroots presence. Theyorganize conferences on communalharmony in fancy hotels, but how can thatimpact on people on the streets and in theslums?

Since I am a believing Muslim, I looking atthe issue from an Islamic perspective. ManyMuslims wrongly blame Hindus alone forcommunal hatred and conflict Muslims are

no less responsible and we mustacknowledge that. Islam, as I see it, exhortsme to establish good relations with peopleof other faiths, and that is what Muslimsshould also try to do. Yes, we must promotesecularism, but secularism, as I understandit, does not mean that you abandon yourreligion, culture and identity. Rather, itmeans that you follow your religion and I

should respect it, and if you are a Hindu andcome to my house and want to pray I shouldallow you to do so and must not hurt yourreligious sentiments in any way. If weapproach religion in this way, I think we canhelp promote better relations between the

different communities.

Q: What about modern education amongMuslims in Gujarat? Is there any move topromote modern education, given that atthe higher levels of education GujaratiMuslims are relatively under-represented?

A: Muslims have generally not engaged inany sort of planning for the communitysfuture, but, yes, now there is definitely somesort of soul-searching happening. There isan increasing realisation that we have to beself-dependent in all fields, because, giventhe fascist anti-Muslim character of thestate government and the enormousinfluence and power of Hindutva groups inGujarat, we cannot hope for the state andthe wider civil society to help us. Earlier,some Muslims thought that religiouseducation was enough and that worldlyeducation would lead their children astray.However, that is largely a thing of the pastand now people, including the ulema, believe that both sorts of education are

essential and both go together. Islam says itis impermissible to abandon the world forthe sake of the faith. Some Muslims say,What is the use of higher education? Whyshould we waste money on this because weknow our children wont get goodgovernment service jobs because there is somuch discrimination against Muslims inGujarat?. Their allegation aboutdiscrimination is right to an extent, but Idont agree with their opposition to highereducation. I think it is imperative that more

and more Muslims go to colleges anduniversities so that they can help thecommunity to assert its rights and can playa positive role as community leaders.

This realisation of the importance ofmodern education is evident even in ulemacircles. The ulema have never opposedmodern education as such. However, they


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insist that while acquiring moderneducation, Muslim children must also learnabout their religion. And now, a small butincreasing number of madrasas in Gujarat,as in other states of India, have begunintroducing secular subjects in their

syllabus, which is a very positivedevelopment I think.

Q:What about higher education for Muslimgirls?

A: That, too, is vital. We have very few welleducated girls and women in ourcommunity and I think that must change.Increasingly, many more Muslim familiesare sending their daughters to colleges ifthey can afford it. To give a personalexample, my own daughter is training in aChristian college to become a doctor. Somepeople find it surprising that I, as an activistof the Tablighi Jamaat, should allow this, but I dont see it as un-Islamic, providedproper decorum and rules are followed. Ithink the opposition on the part of someMuslims to girls higher education stemsfrom the few cases of college girls marrying

their non-Muslim classmates. So, they fearthat if their daughters go to college theymight do the same. But I dont quite agree.There is a chance that while driving a caryou might meet with an accident but just forthat reason you dont stop driving!

Some Muslims are also against theirchildren, especially girls, studying alongwith students from other communities. I amagainst this sort of narrow approach. Bothmy daughters studied in Christian schoolsand I am on good terms with some localCatholic priests. I think people of differentcommunities ought to study together. This will lead to friendships across communitylines. People will go to each others homesand will begin to see each other as fellow

human beings. But now, because of theenforced ghettoisation of Muslims all overGujarat, how can that happen?

A regular columnistforNewAgeIslam.com, YoginderSikandworks with the Centre for theStudy of Social Exclusion at the NationalLaw School, Bangalore.

11. Resources

1. The Wretched: A Profile

by Gauhar Raza and Surjit Singh

A Report of the Socio-Economic Conditions of Internally Displaced in Gujarat

Published by Anhad and AVHSR 2008

Anhad, 23 Canning Lane, New Delhi 110001 ([email protected])

2. Fear and Forgiveness: Aftermath of Massacre

By Harsh Mander: Penguin Delhi 2009

* * * * *

myth of vibrant gujarat edigest

Documents