Arrival

I remember that one morning. We were scrambling down the stairs to safety from the second floor. Any moment the building would have collapsed on us. The stairs and the railings were shaking wildly; we didn’t know what hit us. I was the last to leave home on that cold morning. All we knew was how to run by instinct. For the next few days we slept in other houses of our family. I kept a glass of water on the table all the time to watch if the water shook. I stayed up nights watching it. Whenever the water shook a bit we scrambled to the ground. That was Republic Day in January 2001 when an earthquake hit Gujarat at 8.00 am. For a whole week we felt the aftershocks and rushed in and out of our homes. I remember that nightmare. In one particular aftermath over hundred children were killed under a school building that collapsed in Ahmedabad. Nobody remembers! The epicentre of the earthquake was Bachau in Kutch. It destroyed everything in that area. Mention “Mansi towers” in Ahmedabad and people will tell you gruesome stories of deaths. Years of toil, hardwork and life and savings were destroyed in 10 seconds flat. Over 20000 were instantly killed in that earthquake. I remember that one morning.

It is under these circumstances that Narendra Modi was sent to Gujarat to replace the CM to ensure relief work was carried out in great speed. It seems Modi was known as a specialist in relief works and social service. Much of the relief was provided by RSS workers and private NGOs that did a better job for the poor. The media would have you believe that this man was sent to turn the earthquake disaster into a “Hindutva laboratory”. Frankly, I had never heard of Modi even then. We were more bothered about restoring normalcy to our lives than bothering who the CM was. It was months before the govt helped in reparations and it only speeded up after Modi became CM. They would have you believe that the man who turned around Kutch with speedy relief is a mass-murderer. No bigger lie has ever been perpetrated in the history of free India. If you visit Kutch today, you’d be delighted how the houses and homes have been rebuilt and of a better quality. Hospitals have been restored to a better quality. 8.00 am on May 16 will, hopefully, shake up India again, in a positive manner.

We cannot bring back the dead. No matter how much we sympathise and empathise we cannot feel the sorrow of those who lost their close ones. The Godhra incident and riots of 2002 are now known more than any other riot that ever happened in India. There isn’t much left to be said. In politics, surviving is a skill. Modi had that skill despite many wanting him dead. It is only in December 2002 I first heard the first speeches of Modi. Anyone who heard him saw a passionate man with extraordinary oratory skills that connected with people. His burden was not only to prove himself innocent but to perform. The media ensured he would never be given the benefit of doubt and therefore the only option left with Modi was performance.

When Modi was nominated PM the Congress and the media started screaming he had disrespected LK Advani and the seniors in the party. If you are someone who respects truth and performance then one has to admire the fact that the BJP showed the courage to move on and choose a new leader. You cannot think of this happening in Congress where a fake Gandhi is a permanent leader. Change matters. Change is inevitable. That BJP showed the courage to move on from Advani is a fantastic achievement that is under-rated by our media. I started writing this blog to counter the lies and propaganda of media. It is unbelievable that the same media is now claiming they created the media hype around Modi when they actually wanted him dead. I didn’t think when I started writing that Modi would be a PM candidate or ever be PM. That was hardly my concern. That a news media could lie so much about one person must come with a heavy price. The ones who enriched themselves through these lies are now sermonising on the Modi-miracle. Laughable!

I have nothing much to say on this extraordinary phenomenon called Modi but pay a tribute to the dead characters of many of the media crooks:

My words are not meant to imply death of these people. Its the death of their character and conscience. I hope they will realise their lies did not pay. I hope they realise people are not fools. I hope they will concede the arrival of the moment. I hope they have the decency to acknowledge they were wrong. As for me, I just did a job and I can quit in honour. I call it Arrival.