Fascism Through Farce

OPINION (Vol. 1, Issue 1, August 2009)

Sriram Ananth

If the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat led by the Sangh Parivar showcased the execution of fascism through cold-blooded violence, the Nanavati Commission , even after seven years has unraveled nothing to give justice to the victims.

Throughout these seven years however, one movement has bravely withstood the odds and fought the good fight. A people’s David against a venomous multi-headed Goliath, Jan Sangarsh Manch has left no stone unturned to publicly corner both the state and the Commission (now synonymous with one another) in its fight for justice. Withstanding heavy pressure and intimidation early on as well as later laughable attempts at legal badgering from the state, JSM has doggedly pursued a legal struggle in bringing the main leaders of the pogrom to book.

Most recently, in what can be a huge shot in the arm for justice, JSM retrieved phone records clearly pointing to the role of numerous leaders in the 2002 pogrom, especially in the massacres of Naroda Patiya and Naroda Gam, including records from Narendra Modi’s office. Based on this evidence, a petition has been filed for the Special Investigation Team to investigate into the role and conduct of the CM and other leaders in both the communal handling of the Godhra incident as well as their involvement in the post-Godhra pogrom. The phone records along with the extra-judicial confessions of numerous mid-rung Sangh Parivar leaders during the 2008 Tehelka sting operations have shown beyond a shadow of doubt the venomous culpability of the Sangh Parivar in the 2002 pogrom.

It remains to be seen how much longer it will take for justice to be served, and what more venomous counter-measures the fascist state will take in protecting their cowardly behinds. However Jan Sangarsh Manch has proved that even in the heart of fascism in India, progressive civil society can ultimately prevail if it’s willing to fight it out. In standing up to the fascists with a smile, telling them that they can lash out at us all they want but no matter what, we will not be terrorised into submission, a small battle has already been won. The people’s David will indeed prevail, and the fascist Goliath will fall, history beckons it to…however the path will not be easy or short, and will not be lacking in struggle.