Harsh Mander on Gujarat 2002

Upendra Baxi has reviewed the recently published book titled “Fear and Forgiveness: The Aftermath of Massacre” by Harsh Mander in April 3, 2010 issue of Economic and Political Weekly (EPW). He describes the publication of this book itself as a “solemn event in terms of our commitment to and solidarity with the Gujarat 2002 violated and the survivors’ quest for human rights and justice.” The book highlights the tension created by the competitive plebiscitary democracy and its adverse impact on the position of the human rights and human rights violation of the vulnerable communities. Harsh Mander has tried to resurrect the memory of the Mahatma by a unique moral invention of Nyayagraha. “This invention owes much to the understanding of the four pillars of any future-oriented quest for authentic process of reconciliation. These are: acknowledgment; remorse; repara­tion; and justice. Nyayagraha con­stitutes a remarkable call for the pursuit of ‘legal justice’ conceived not so much as ‘retribution’ but rather as an important articulation of equal citizenship rights”

Baxi notes that the book contains references to a series of independent reports on Gujarat riots in 2002 that “gathered system­atic evidence of the enormity of brutality, long advance preparations for the car­nage, the deliberate subversion of relief, rehabilitation, and the legal process, and the comprehensive denial of the [human] rights of the persons internally displaced by violence”. He further notices that Mander instead of indulging Gujarat bashing also brings messages of hope and reconstruction by by highlighting the fact that how, many families risked their life to provide shelter to the hapless Muslims under attack.

Mander deplores the political appropriation of the ‘Gujarati Asmita’ which he describes as “an aspect of collective moral sentiment according respect and dignity to all living beings. It is a cultural, even civilization, legacy, not any project of militant politics directed to any violent social exclusion of Gujarati peoples on the basis of caste, creed, colour, or religion.”

Mander tries to understand the tendency of perpetrating 'mass murders' as an instrument to capture power by modern states. In India, it is characterized by inundated with ineffective commissions of inquiry. Lack of accountability and due process allows such inhuman acts to be committed with impunity in total disregard to governance ethics.

The book also aims at understanding the “neo-Nazi” politics in India and draws a parallel between neo -Nazi politics and “Moditva”, both of which ‘consists in re-victimizing the victims’. As a logical corollary Baxi finds, “the ideology governing neo-Nazi politics stands directed towards violent social exclusion of vulnerable social groups, especially religion and language-based cultural collectivities and “sexually despised” minorities…. In this, it reflects social conservatism opposed in each and every specific way to the constitutional idea of an egalitarian Indian republic.”