Gujarat 2002: How Modi stood up for Asmita and defeated “fatwa babas”

“The BJP campaigners seized on this, and for the final three days of the campaign, Modi asked for a 100 per cent turnout to defeat the “dadagiri of the fatwababas”.“
That is a line from a December 2002 challenge of India Today journal. I’ll clarify the context.
Gujarat has been the place India stands right now. On Feb 27, 2002, Gujarat had witnessed a horrific crime unfold in S-6 compartment of Sabarmati Express close to Godhra railway station. The actual story of that carnage was buried beneath a mountain of media lies and worldwide propaganda. In the months that adopted, the state of Gujarat and its folks had been vilified like no different.
Narendra Modi, then the Chief Minister of Gujarat, made himself the face of widespread pushback in opposition to media propaganda. As the elections approached, he went on a Gaurav Yatra that appealed to folks to revive the asmita (self-respect, or pleasure) of the state. In the previous few days earlier than the election, a fatwa appeared in native newspapers asking one neighborhood to vote en bloc for the Congress.
Who did these fatwa wala babas assume they had been? Where did they get their supposed authority from? From the structure of India or from exterior it? The BJP went into overdrive, asking the folks to present a befitting reply to the fatwa babas.
The folks responded. They restored their asmita.
Now in 2021, it could be helpful to recollect this story. Now it’s not simply Gujarat behind Narendra Modi, it’s the complete of India with Narendra Modi. And that features, by the way in which, each citizen who didn’t vote for the BJP. All of us agree to simply accept the democratic mandate of the folks of India. We swear to uphold the sovereignty of the nation, the supremacy of our Parliament and the sanctity of our democratic course of.
But there are forces inside and out of doors India who refuse to respect this consensus. They have taken it upon themselves to run this nation exterior of our Parliament, our authorities and our judiciary. And they’re attempting to create a vital mass of worldwide public opinion that the Indian state will not be official.
They hardly ever reveal their faces, their strategies are shady. Their funding is unknown however they do certainly have a number of it. They are in a position to pay high international influencers to show world opinion in opposition to us. They say that India’s inner agricultural issues must be determined in overseas capitals.
Once shortly, they reveal their hand. Like once they ship out a mob on the streets on Republic Day to storm our Red Fort and put up another type of flag.
By mistake, a few of their inner paperwork spilled out in public yesterday. There we see, in writing, the plot to defame India. They plan to encompass our embassies and assault pursuits of massive Indian companies. There is even a point out of attacking “yoga and chai.” Is there anybody who truthfully believes yoga or chai might be a partisan matter in India?
Make no mistake. This is a plot to make India an object of worldwide hatred. The Nazis made the Jewish inhabitants put on yellow stars. They are doing the identical to us. They are telling us Indians that now we have been marked for destruction. Either we give up our elected authorities and agree to simply accept a puppet regime. Or they’ll destroy us.
They play this sport easily on all sides. If we don’t reply, they elevate their anti-India pitch. If we do reply, they make enjoyable of us for being “rattled.”
Why wouldn’t we be “rattled”? On Jan 6, some man sporting horns on his head broke into the US Capitol constructing in Washington DC. The US authorities has 1000’s of nuclear warheads, however they nonetheless took it very critically. Why shouldn’t they be? Every republic is paranoid in opposition to threats of rebellion.
Every enemy of India speaks of flying their flag on the Red Fort at some point. It is the commonest metaphor used to explain conquest of India. So once you put boots on the bottom to storm the Red Fort, in fact we might be paranoid. When we uncover a complete international PR marketing campaign to pitch for regime change in India, in fact we might be “rattled.” Better to be “rattled” than turn into an unsuspecting sufferer because the mob gathers round my home.
The international PR marketing campaign is a world fatwa in opposition to Modi. Then, as now, the problem is to not anyone particular person or elected chief. The problem is to a complete folks. Our asmita is at risk. Our sovereignty has been challenged.
They couldn’t win the election. So they wish to humiliate the Indian voter. They wish to inform the world that we’re an evil nation that can not be trusted to control itself.
We will arise for our asmita. We are an amazing nation. And we’re a nation with massive hearts, making vaccines for the entire world. We need everybody to stay in well being, peace and prosperity. We shall not be defamed thus.