Worth a read

Well, after a long period of inertia, I am back, not that it is of much consequence, as most of my readers, if there are any, are invisible. But anyways I will do my best to update this blog (I know it’s a promise I have made before) But, hopefully I will live up to it this time.

I will start a few interesting links that I came across the web today.

It is the fifth anniversary of the Godhra train bombings and the Gujarat riots, so here are a two pieces.

Mike Marqusee writes in the The Guardian about how Narendra Modi has emerged as BJP's most popular icon and has become the 'poster boy for big business, foreign and domestic'.
He is now being praised by industrialists for his state's capitalism friendly environment and is looked on as an economic hero while his alleged role in the Gujarat riots is wilfully ignored.

He writes: "At this year's Vibrant Gujarat conclave, the showpiece of the BJP regime, the great names of Indian capitalism - Ambani, Birla, Tata - sang Modi's praises, echoed by delegations from Singapore, Europe and the US. Anxieties about dealing with a politician accused of genocide have been allayed by the appeal of Gujarat's corporation-friendly environment, not least its labour laws, which give employers hire-and-fire rights unique in India."

Some people even want him to become the country's Prime Minister one day, I am confident that that will not happen, or at least that is what I keep on telling myself to be cheer myself up.

The BBC focussed its piece on how the riots have got Muslim women more involved in the mainstream while men have yet to catch up. After the riots, Muslim men were either arrested or went into hiding and the 'womenfolk were left to fend for themselves'.

The article says:
But the riots have also had a "positive impact" on Muslims, feels Muslim intellectual JS Bandukwala, one of the most powerful voices against communal riots in India.

Firoza Sheikh has given up the veil "Never before have I witnessed Muslim women coming forward in such large numbers to work," he says.

Now women are also turning up in large numbers for rallies and are getting involved in social activities.

Latifa Yusuf Giteli is one such person who started, what she calls, her "second life" as a social activist after the riots and now runs a school with 150 students in Satpul in Godhra, a predominantly Muslim colony.