Love Him or Hate, You Can't Not Talk About Him

He is currently the most important person in Gujarat. And he's also one of the most controversial is Indian history. He has been blamed for one of the worst disasters in Gujarati history. He is praised for solely improving Gujarat as a whole. Most Gujaratis love him. Most non-Gujaratis would rather he was gone. So, who is he?

Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Okay, let's start with the bad. If you don't like what I have to say, comment. But don't yell. I've already gotten enough of that...from relatives! Alright, Godhra. 2002. A fire aboard the Sabarmati Express, killing Hindus returning from the controversial site of Ayodhya 10 years after the violence there. Muslims were blamed for firebombing the train. Riots started throughout Gujarat, resulting in thousands dead, mostly Muslim. Hindus claim that they were reacting. But no one knows who actually started the fire, and all objective investigations have shown the fire to be of natural causes. Still, the reaction was fairly natural, though the real questions are why the violence went on for so long, and why the police actually joined the Hindus in killing Muslims. Narendra Modi has been blamed for all this. Most Guju Hindus will claim that he is falsely accused, and that the police were doing what was necessary to maintain the peace. Never mind that per Modi's personal command, the vast majority (I don't remember the actual number, but I knew it at one point) of Muslim policemen were placed into desk positions where they couldn't do anything. Nevermind that the state government had actually compiled lists of Muslim and Hindu businesses, which were then handed out to Hindu leaders. Muslim shops and homes were destroyed, while Hindu ones remained fairly intact. Narendra Modi, of the BJP Party, is claimed to have masterminded the whole thing as a sort of nationalist experiment. I don't know if I believe it. Still, there's a lot of evidence against him.

And yet, at an election that occurred after all the implications and violence, he won by a landslide and landmark 80 percent. Of course, I doubt that many Muslims voted for him. Now, four years after the violence, the state has never been more peaceful, and things are really on the up and up. Infrastructure here rocks. Even state highways and village roads are pretty good. He has required that all autorikshas in Ahmedabad, Surat, and Rajkot be converted to CNG (see previous post). All state buses also must switch over to CNG. He has improved schools, supported the local economy, and worked to preserve historical landmarks. He has shown that he cares for all religious groups, not just Hindus. And he has worked to bring IT to Gandhinagar, the capital. All in all, he has done amazing work in Gujarat, and most Gujus here love him.

Good or bad. We don't know. He made some mistakes, perhaps with the intention to cause Hindus to gain power. But now, no complaints. He is the ideal CM.