Sadbhavana Mission - Media missed the script of the mission

Politically as well, the media totally missed out the script that unfolded at Ahmedabad for three days. In a period where the Government of the day is struggling and there is intense factionalism among two of the senior most Cabinet Ministers in the government, the show of unity among the principal opposition party should be received as a welcome change. Rather than that, the media again chose to focus on a fictional Prime Ministerial race forgetting the real Prime Ministerial slugfest that plagues the ruling alliance. Much was also made about the absence of Nitin Gadkari (who was in surgery at the time), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (who was touring China) notwithstanding the fact that these two dignitaries sent prominent well wishes and well wishers to show solidarity with the endeavour.

It is only the editors of the English media who can answer as to why these crucial minor points were consistently ignored and the focus shifted to trivial, untrue issues. Did any media house dare to comment on various other fasts in the city which did not show similar signs of unity as the Sadbhavana Mission did? This despite the fact that none of the Gujarat Congress leaders based in Delhi bothered to prominently showcase themselves along with Vaghela et al. It is not rocket science to conclude that if one was truly an event aimed at social harmony with shades of political unity, the other was a mere reaction coupled with a full fledged competition as to who the next Leader of the Opposition will be come 2012.

This does not end here. One should also ask the likes of Mallika Sarabhai and Teesta Setalvad as to what their notion of duty is, which evidently stems out as a reactionary rather than an original force. Can an individual feeding 200 poor children because a Chief Minister is fasting account for the losses and subsequent lack of compensation for the erstwhile millworkers who lost their jobs due to doing of her family? Can an activist who has made a career out of Narendra Modi vilification answer for the Supreme Court rebuke, her disrespect for legal bodies and the fact that her stand on the Communal Violence Bill is diametrically opposite of what her legendary grandfather as Attorney General said sixty years ago?

To conclude, the point of this article was not to explain, interpret or reinterpret what Sadbhavana Mission was all about. This is too complex an issue to be dealt with in such as essay. Neither does this essay seek to comment on an 'image building" exercise by an individual who does not require image building either today or in the future. Nor does this piece seek to pass commentary on tracts of secularism or communalism with reference to one person. It merely seeks to bring out a certain level of flawed interpretation of the events in the last two weeks at the hands of those who have become self acclaimed keepers of the 'secular" and 'progressive" conscience of the country. The Sadbhavana Mission was an earnest attempt to promote a feeling of peace and harmony among the people of Gujarat. Empirical evidence supports the claims made by the Chief Minister and the scores of people who flocked the venue show that the feeling and support is still very strong.

For all those who decried the fast as a stunt, they must answer if they believe so many people, including a large number of Muslims could be objects of bribe and victims to more worldly vices that made them throng the venue? Similarly, it is high time one realized that wearing skull caps can neither make a person secular nor give him additional grey matter! You could see the Sadbhavana Mission as a spiritual endeavour that promoted peace and harmony on one hand or as a political masterstroke that sought to unite the principal opposition party. A non-biased interpretation based on popular perception will be enough to tell you who won on both counts!

Yash Gandhi is an avid and young follower of Indian politics. He read History at St. Stephen's College Delhi and Contemporary Indian studies at the University of Oxford.