Know why Modi was criticised over Gujarat riots, Manmohan praised for apologising for Sikh riots

Popular vocalist-activist TM Krishna criticised PM Narendra Modi for failing to apologise over the 2002 Gujarat riots.

New Delhi, Nov 1: Renowned vocalist TM Krishna, known for "introducing social inclusiveness in culture", on Tuesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the 2002 Gujarat riots, but praised former PM Manmohan Singh for apologising for the 1984 Sikh riots.

The Magsaysay award-winning Carnatic vocalist Krishna, after receiving the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration in the national capital, made a veiled attack on Modi over the 2002 riots.

Krishna said, "A leader (PM Modi) who does not have the humility to apologise for genocide under his watch does not help to integrate." He added, "National integration has been replaced by an ugly form of nationalism and jingoism."

Krishna lauded Singh for apologising for the 1984 riots under the Congress regime. In fact, several Congress leaders were found guilty of encouraging rioters to kill Sikh people during the 1984 massacre.

The popular Tamil Nadu vocalist-activist, known for using music to raise awareness on social issues, stated that Singh's expression for regret over the Sikh riots is "reflective and essential statement".

"Some detractors may say it does not change anything. It cannot change the past, but it definitely, certainly changes the future. A leader who doesn't have the humility to apologise for genocide under his watch, does not integrate," said Krishna in his speech at the 30th Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration.

He lamented the fact that in the "new millennium", the idea of national integration has lost its "sheen". Krishna added instead of "socially equalising legislations, such as the RTI of 2005 and NREGA", it has been replaced by "an ugly form of nationalism, jingoism".

"We are being told what to eat, wear, say, think and be. One monolithic order is being forced on us as Indian culture." The vocalist stressed that there was no one Indian culture, but several Indian cultures, with "the plurality is the signifier of integration".

"We are facing one of the greatest challenges posed to our democracy, Constitution, plurality, citizenship and socialism. These cornerstones of India are being subverted, dismantled, maligned and morphed right before our eyes. The methods being used are not secretive anymore," he said.

Krishna also said dissenters have been killed, and all of us who resist are being warned. "If there is any time that national integration needs to be brought back into the public thought, it is today. There is no time to waste," said.

"This integration is not just about religious minorities, it is as much about Dalits, tribals, ethnic and linguistic minorities.

"The basic fabric of India is its cultures and if we allow that to be poisoned, we would have placed on the sacrificial altar our entire civilizational consciousness. The battle will be lost," he added.

While critics of Modi still want him to tender an apology for the Gujarat riots as the massacre happened during his tenure as the CM of the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) disagrees with such "politically-motivated demands".

Back in 2005, Sikh groups rejected the apology of the then PM Singh over the Sikh riots. They said the apology from the Sikh PM was unacceptable and inadequate.

"I have no hesitation in apologising not only to the Sikh community but to the nation because (the riots) negated the concept of nationhood," Singh said. "I bow my head in shame for what happened... but there are ebbs and tides in a nation's history."

While in the 2002 riots in Gujarat, hundreds of Muslim people lost their lives, in the 1984 riots, the victims belonged to the Sikh community.

OneIndia News