It is election time in Gujarat and national attention is once again on the Sabarmati Express train burning and the horrible post-Godhra killings in the state. Six years have gone by, yet Gujarat still remains on the collective conscience of the country. Within the state the communal polarisation continues to be very deep. The Tehelka sting revelations have aroused very strong revulsion outside Gujarat, but within the state it has only widened the gulf between the two communities. This can be best judged by the rise in Narendra Modi’s popularity after the sting operation was telecast. Many within one community feel strongly that the other community had to be strongly attacked and are thankful to the present government for providing them with the opportunity to do this. Conversely, those who suffered the brutal assaults feel equally strongly that justice must be done and that they will fight for it to the last.

What Gujarat badly needs today is the healing touch of a Mahatma Gandhi. Someone who will bridge the divide between Hindus and Muslims. But where do we find another Gandhi in the hate-filled madness of the state?

Clearly, reconciliation will only occur if the aggressor displays genuine remorse and the victims of the carnage forgive them. It is for this reason that we have, over the last six years, repeatedly urged Gujarati Hindu religious leaders, intellectuals and business tycoons to come forward and apologise for the events of February/March 2002 so that the process of uniting both communities can begin. By and large the response has been just stark silence. We have begged religious figures to recognise that these rapes and murders were done in the name of Ram, and therefore as Ram bhakts they should condemn such monstrous acts. Sadly, there has been no public response from them, even after the perpetrators have openly gloated about their despicable acts. What is the point of preaching about God, ahimsa and vegetarianism, including a periodic demand for ban on the sale of eggs when we remain silent about slashing pregnant women?

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