*
*
The meaning of development has been very limited for Modi and his ilk.
Development is equated with more investments and building infrastructure for
the Industrialists to facilitate them to make quicker and higher profits.
All the investment has been mostly concentrated in the already developed
golden corridor from Surat to Ahmedabad. Rest of Gujarat, accept the golden
corridor and the charotar region where rich farmers hold the sway, there is
very little development to show.
*Modi, Development And The Weaker Sections*
*By Irfan Engineer*
With the impending elections for the State Assembly, the Gujarat Chief
Minister Narendra Modi is busy re-packaging himself as the *Vikas
Purush*(to borrow the term from Venkaiah Naidu, ex-BJP President).
After Modi took
over the reins of power in Gujarat in the year 2001, he essentially packaged
himself as * Loha Purush*, a term Venkaiah Naidu might have borrowed from
the description used for Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. All the might of this *Loha
Purush* was exercised not on any powerful sections of the society but on the
vulnerable and hapless minorities. Fake encounters targeting Muslims,
misusing POTA on Muslim youths, Government's failure to provide an
environment in which theatre owners could screen films like *Parzania *and *
Fanaa*, BJP members vilifying and castigating B.B. Lyngdoh, the then Chief
Election Commissioner, and Sonia Gandhi for being Christians who meet in
church and conspire for BJP's defeat in Gujarat are some of the instances of
the *Loha Purush avatar* of Narendra Modi.
After fighting his 2002 elections against Pakistani President Parvez
Musharraf's "Mian Musharraf mentality", whatever that meant, Modi is now
projecting his image that he is entirely for developmental agenda and
inclusive growth for Gujarat Assembly Elections this year. Modi spoke on
these lines while in Delhi on October 12, 2007 and even invoked Mahatma
Gandhi's concept of *Ram Rajya*. The publicity film prepared by the Govt. of
Gujarat – "*India Tommorrw – The Gujarat Miracle *" projects Modi as the
sole person who fought the menace of terrorism in Gujarat. The Film then
focuses on development of Gujarat under Modi. Govt. of Gujarat hired a
channel to project achievement of Modi, but unfortunately for them, the
Election Commission directed the channel to be taken off the air as it would
mean unfair advantage to BJP. Modi is therefore seeking mandate on the
issues of development.
Take one of the Tribal districts in South Gujarat - Dang. Having 311
villages and a population of more than 1.5 lakhs, about 93% of the
population of the district is that of the Scheduled Tribes. Hardly one
percent of the population might be holding land more than 10 hectares, and
more than 80% of the population is either small cultivator cultivating on
rough hilly terrain, or is marginal cultivator or even worst- landless. More
than half the population of Dangs migrates outside the district from October
to June every year as contract workers in sugarcane plantations, or for
chickoo plucking or as migrant agricultural workers in Surat Dist., Valsad
Dist. or Navsari Dist. or even in Maharashtra. As contract workers, the men,
women and children of the family work upto 16 hours a day just to keep the
body and soul together. They migrate outside Dang as they have no employment
in Dangs. As migrant labourers, they neither have access to schools, or
drinking water or health facilities or other basic human needs. They
literally live animal existence that too at the mercy of the landlord who
may permit them to pitch temporary shelters created out of cane leaves.
After working of 16 hours daily without any leave or holiday or festival for
about 8 months, they return home empty handed to their villages to cultivate
their marginal holdings that might not be sufficient to provide them food
for the four months they survive in their village. 1/3 rd villages in Dangs
do not have potable drinking water after the month of October when the
rivers dry up. Some of these villages are supplied water with tankers. For
the entire District there is only one degree college and about 3-4 high
schools run by missionaries. There are only two Govt. High Schools. The
condition of the schools in villages is pathetic as is usually the case in
Scheduled Tribe areas. Temporary shed which goes for school building, no
blackboard or benches with teacher coming for not more than 10-15 days
during the entire year. The fifty percent population that is left behind and
does not migrate consists of old people not fit to work for 16 hours a day
or some who work for harvesting bamboos for pulp mills or for gathering
forest produce like honey, tendu leaves, or wild roots for their survival.
The district administration generates very little and negligible work on
road repairs, as there are few roads, electrification etc. as very little is
invested by the Govt. in building infrastructure. There is no work
irrigation worth the name except a few check dams here and there. Modi's
Govt. did not do any better, perhaps did worst than Congress Govt. so far as
Dangs is concerned. There is no development worth the name in Dangs.
However, Modi made a showcase of Dangs for outsiders. In order to facilitate
the Sangh Parivar in organizing Shabri Kumbh, wherein they were expecting 5
lakh outsiders (mostly non-adivasis) to descent in a small village of Dangs
District, Govt. of Gujarat under Modi's stewardship diverted all the grants
received from Govt. of India to build approach road to this village
(otherwise not of much use after the Shabri Kumbh event), spent crores of
rupees to acquire land for building road, refusing to compensate Christians
whose land was acquired for construction of the road. About 75 acres of
forest was cleared to build approach road to and for construction of Shabri
Mata temple, a diety not known to dangis 3-4 years ago. Approach roads if
take you to market or town centres lead to development. But approach roads
to temples of deities which are not part of your culture make you
subservient to others. How all the Govt. schemes will be implemented and
funds spent in Dangs is not decided by Collector of Dangs or the District
Development officer of Dangs, though they may rubber stamp it, but by Swami
Aseemandji, the points person of Sangh Parivar in Dangs. Swamin Aseemanand's
decisions are in turn not based on the needs of the people of Dangs but to
promote non-adivasi upper caste cultural and religious identity based on
Lord Ram, Hanuman and Shabri. Drinking water, school, primary health centres
can wait. The Central Govt. Funds and Schemes diverted in construction of
approach road and check dams on Purna River to ensure enough water collects
in a tank for 5 lakh outsiders to have a dip in the tank on an appointed
day, where people have no drinking water is not only cruel joke but will
ensure that for the next about a decade no substantial funds are available
for welfare schemes like drinking water, health care, education and
employment schemes. Showcasing of one village of Dangs as model village is
the kind of development Modi Govt. is harping on. Essentially re-packaging
and sticking new labels without any substance.
Dang is not the only backward district. There have been 403 farmers who
committed suicides in the last four years in Gujarat from Junagadh, Rajkot,
Jamnagar, and Mehsana. Though farmer's suicide is known in Maharashtra,
Gujarat managed to put wraps on the fact of farmer's suicide in Gujarat till
the same was unearth by Anhad through applications under RTI Act. Officials
admitted that there were other 6055 deaths which were registered as
accidental death but may be actually instances of farmers who committed
suicide.
The meaning of development has been very limited for Modi and his ilk.
Development is equated with more investments and building infrastructure for
the Industrialists to facilitate them to make quicker and higher profits.
All the investment has been mostly concentrated in the already developed
golden corridor from Surat to Ahmedabad. Rest of Gujarat, accept the golden
corridor and the charotar region where rich farmers hold the sway, there is
very little development to show.
Modi has neither been *Loha Purush* nor * Vikas Purush* he is being made out
to be. But he is good in spending in publicity and re-packaging himself.
--
Irfan Engineer
Director, Institute of Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution,
603, Silver Star, Next to Omkar Building, Near Railway Bridge, Prbhat
Colony, Santacruz (E), Mumbai, India. PIN: 400055.
Tel: (Off) +91-22-26149668;
(Res)+91-22-26630086
(Cell) +91-9869462833
(fax) +91-11-6100712
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Modi has neither been *Loha Purush* nor * Vikas Purush* he is being made out
to be. But he is good in spending in publicity and re-packaging himself.
--
Irfan Engineer
Director, Institute of Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution,
603, Silver Star, Next to Omkar Building, Near Railway Bridge, Prbhat
Colony, Santacruz (E), Mumbai, India. PIN: 400055.
Tel: (Off) +91-22-26149668;
(Res)+91-22-26630086
(Cell) +91-9869462833
(fax) +91-11-6100712
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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