The collective memory of the Chinese of the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989 has been wiped clean on the ground that if the tanks hadn’t rolled in, China would have descended into social chaos and the Chinese economy wouldn’t have been opened up, transforming its destiny over the last 20 years.
Venkatesan Vembu, the east Asia correspondent of DNA, sees a parallel between China’s efforts “to move on” by harping on its economic strides, and Narendra Damodardas Modi‘s efforts “to move on” from the Gujarat pogrom of 2002 by using the plank of industrial development.
“Although the precise details of the Indian parallel are admittedly different, what it has in common with the Tiananmen case-study is an emerging mindset that believes that the bloodstains of history can be wiped away by “making people rich”….
“But the harder China’s Communist rulers try to erase the memory of Tiananmen, the more it becomes manifest that for all their claims that Chinese people have “moved on” from 1989 in their embrace of riches, China today continues to be haunted by the ghosts of that massacre.
“Likewise with Modi, the memory of 2002 cannot — and should not — be erased until some semblance of justice is seen to be done to the victims, and the perpetrators of the riots are punished. Only that will exorcise that persistent memory. In the absence of that, attempts to whitewash that tainted record count for nothing. Even all the riches of the world cannot remove the bloodstains of history.”
Read the full article: Modi and Tiananmen
Also read: ‘Gujarat was vibrant long before Narendra Modi‘
churumuri 
What nonsense is this?
Yes the Chinese put a stop to the protests.
But show me a Chinese who is not proud of his country and of being Chinese? My Chinese classmates all wanted to move back to China. I have never heard of any Chinese complaining of their country. Perhaps freedom will come gradually there and not suddenly. Often it is the foreigners who criticize China more than the Chinese themselves…Perhaps different systems work for different countries. Japan is not fully democratic. But its system works for it.
Is Parliamentary Democracy the best system where you have millions of illiterate people voting necessarily the best system?
As for Narendra Modi, how is there a comparison to what the Chinese did? As to his involvement in the riots, I will believe it when I see hard evidence produced of it by the courts not the gossip of the gutter press.
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I am sure Staunch BJP supporters will jump in to defend Modi, but this article is just about right.
There has to be some semblance of punishment and penance for what happened (for Godhra Incident and post godhra riots). It can’t be left hanging or people can’t just swipe it under carpet. That’s how China can behave, but not a democracy like us.
This is not to say, Modi is inefficient. He perhaps is the most efficient CM we have (especially when we contrast with BSY :-(, and even YSR, Karunanidhi etc.). But, efficiency alone shouldn’t be the measure.
If Modi did some kind of penance and BJP demonstrates a discipline where they never support fringe elements and violent actions, Modi would get my vote for PM, as he has otherwise demonstrated to be a good administrator and has right economic policy.
But, he can never get my vote as long as he keeps justifying (or saying he has nothing to appologise for) Gujarat-2002.
It is said, a civilized society has a defined way of extracting retribution. Gujarat2002 was about people forgetting civility. We can only be a civilized society if we can recognize that, and censure people who were responsible for all events of violence.
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Well let them produce the evidence. I am sure if the is really guilty then he would not be where he is today. How do we know he is responsible unless he is proven so? Let a proper investigation decide.
I do not support Modi blindly or anyone for that matter. I believe a man is innocent until proven guilty–
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the author talks about some semblence of justice….How the HELL do u grant a semblence of justice to someone who died in revolutions/riots/massacres?
If you can bring back the dead, then we can talk about semblence of justice in the form of punishing those involved. When you are sure that punishing the perpertrators of anarchy will bring peace to souls of innocent lives lost(if u believe in it that is), then talk about justice.
Otherwise move on without harping on and on about what happened in the past!
Ghosts from the past like godhra riots/tiananmen square massacre/nazi holocaust/atom bombs on japan, 9/11…they are all are too dangerous to be played around with and to be used to achieve peace and order! They are ideas and keeping them around without moving on will only achieve anarchy and more partitionist feelings among people!
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This is equivalent to comparing oranges and apples.
On a side note, the statement “show me a Chinese who is not proud of his country and of being Chinese?”, I have read this in two posts before this also. I wonder what the authors of this statement trying to say. Are they saying that all Chinese are very happy being a country which rips them off fundamental rights? or are they trying to say, look whatever bad things China does, the Chinese still love their country and are proud of being recognized as Chinese.
Coming from Indians, this has a very strong implication that many Indians don’t like India, and hate being called as Indians. Why do many people don’t like India and hate being called as Indians? Well, if thats the case then all those Indians who hate being born in India and calling themselves as Indians should learn from the 1.5 billion Chinese, who according to many, seem to love their lives in a freedom strangled country.
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Modi has never justified the riots, his opponents just say that but never provide a proof. The seculars, on the other hand, did justify burning of the train in Godhara (look up stauch secular Vir Sanghvi’s article “One Way Ticket”).
Secualr propaganda is winning, but then communist and nazi proapaganda also won for a while. Truth always truimphs, we say!
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Larissa
400 Hindus and 1200 other religon people got killed in 2002 riots. Even if Modi was completly innocent and did not have anything to do with the riots one thing is stark clear.
The inefficiency of his administration in tackling a riot situation was all too glaring.
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The Guj riots lasted for more than two months and this fact can be easily verified from the online newspaper editions.
There were systematic killings of Muslims and Hindu/Muslim couples – who married for love – by VHP and other Sanghis and govt records were used to identify and kill them. During rioting the middleclass upper castes came in their cars and looted Muslim shops in broad daylight. The tribals under the control of RSS were the chief foot soldiers in the riots.
Narendra Modi also closed down relief camps for Muslims before they could be rehabilitated properly.
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Hey what about the Delhi and nearby areas Sikh pogrom after the assassination of Indira G?
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Hey DB,
Where’s your totally intolerant friend Palahalli and his long posts bringing up hundred unrelated issues when Modi’s misdeeds are pointed out?
Or have you taken over full time duty from him? :)
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DB,
What Sikh pogrom? 1984? That was a natural disaster. An earthquake.
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Hey what about the Delhi and nearby areas Sikh pogrom after the assassination of Indira G?
As many Kashmiri Pandits were killed in Kashmir, more than those perishing in Gujrat riots and 400,000 driven out of their homes? Where was the press when this happened? Since they were a community with 100 % literacy their plight was not considered worthy to be written about. 400,000 people lost their ancestral homes and were driven out in ethnic cleansing. Where was the press then? Even now the government cannot guarantee safety for HIndus to return to their homes.
I do not condone what happened to Muslims. But the extent to which
Modi was involved is to be established by a proper investigation.
Why pick on China? Do you think it would have been a good idea for China to have a sudden violent revolution in the name of Democracy?
Perhaps China will have more freedoms when it is ready for it and not when outsiders dictate what should happen there.
Why do you not write of the atrocities committed in the name of ideology all around the world by the superpowers? One is very rich today. Why just pick on China? What are you trying to prove?
**
Also what kind of punishment did the likes of Teesta Sevatland get for falsifying evidence? They go scot free and no apoligies from the press–I mean those that supported her!
@Point
“The inefficiency of his administration in tackling a riot situation was all too glaring.”
The glaring inefficienty of the administration was also evident when thousands of Hindus got killed in Kashmir and driven from their homes by islamic sepratists. What makes the press only want to focus on Gujrat and nowhere else? Lets not only champion selective justice as the gutter press seems to do.
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Aah I get it, larissa is the new Palahalli. Minority hating, Modi loving, China loving (strangely), long posting ‘conservative’ :)
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In 1984, when the sikh riots happened, there was no CNN IBN or TImes Now or Aaj Tak
in spite of the fact that almost 25 years have lapsed, IN SPITE OF THAT, ALL CHANELLS, In the last few years, all the TV channels have excessively focusesed on Sikh riots of 1984. All the channels have tried to relentlessy hound jagdeesh tytler and sajjan kumar and thereby put the cong in the dock for its role in 1984 riots.
Why does the media want to focus selectively only on Sikh riots?
Of course Nobody claimed that kashmir administration was the best when Hindus were driven out from their home. But of course, every sangh parivari wants to drive home the point that Narendra Modi is the best thing that has happened to India, in the last few years.
This, when his admistration could not stop the massacre of 400 Hindus and 1200 other religious people.
This when 200 temples were demolished by Gujarat admin
This, when Gujarat admin does not say anything when Jinnah is praised as secular by Advani
This, when Gujarat admin does not say anythign when Haj subsidies were not cut, when NDA ruled India.
This, when NDA did not do anything in its six years to bring pandits back to kashmir. (no wonder, jammu gave ZERO seats to BJP in the recent LS polls)
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Aah I get it, larissa is the new Palahalli. Minority hating, Modi loving, China loving (strangely), long posting ‘conservative’ :)
Since when did you decide that wanting laws that make everyone equal under the laws and some not “more equal” as in Orwell’s Animal Farm, wanting equal opportunity for all instead of quotas as a solution, was considered anti-minority? One law for all is what India needs to enforce. No special rights for anyone.
As for Modi, I will believe a proper investigation. Not the likes of Teesta Sevatland or those who falsified evidence?
@peace
This, when NDA did not do anything in its six years to bring pandits back to kashmir. (no wonder, jammu gave ZERO seats to BJP in the recent LS polls)
Only a strong central government at the center can bring about changes in Kashmir. I think Pandits are smart enough to realize that the government will never help them which is why they have mostly helped themselves….
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