Violence and Gandhiji on TV

By

Randeep Wadehra

When violence becomes, to quote the late Spanish philosopher José Ortegay Gasset, “the rhetoric of our times”, Gandhian pacifism is used as a contra-argument on Indian television. On 27 February, most of the TV channels revisited Gujarat riots circa 2002. The agony of that time was reconstructed and replayed on the small screen. Burnt train carriages in Godhra, destroyed houses and buildings in various parts of the state, especially Ahmadabad; dry eyes drenched in never-ending torment, the sobs that refuse to abate, the hopeless wait for a “missing” son who had just stepped into his teens when the post-Godhra carnage engulfed him. Across the divide was a seventy year old woman still mourning the death of her only son who was burnt alive in the Godhra train by the mob.

Rajdeep Sardesai (CNN-IBN) visited the homes and temporary shelters of many affected residents of Ahmadabad. Pain, smoldering anger and a sense of resignation came across clearly during his talks with a cross-section of the society. There were also examples of brave attempts at putting the past behind and move on in life. But reconciliation? A few decided to vent their dissatisfaction at the court verdict in which some of those accused of burning the Godhra train were either acquitted or given less-than-death sentences. On the other hand, Bandookwala pointed out that reconciliation can come only if genuine gestures are made – gestures that should be the result of a sense of remorse. “But I detect no regret or remorse on the faces of the perpetrators” he remarked. On 28 February we learnt on NDTV’s The Buck Stops Here that Bandookwala’s daughter had married a Hindu just after the 2002 riots, ignoring severe opposition from extremists on both sides. “Perhaps, this is Allah’s way of telling me to build the bridge (across the communal gulf) which Gandhiji wanted to…”

With Gandhiji’s Sevagram Ashram as backdrop Rajdeep asked some of the Muslims whether reconciliation could happen if their forgiveness was sought. Reconciliation was also the theme of Barkha Dutt’s (NDTV) interactions with people at the Gujarat Vidyapeeth, Ahmadabad, with Gandhiji’s charkha in the background. Anger and pain were the response. One person, whose spouse was burnt alive in the train, expressed his satisfaction at the court verdict. But, he also pointed out that it would take at least another two decades for the entire judicial process to conclude. However, we are quite used to delayed justice – just to cite the Bhopal gas tragedy, where the government indulges in symbolisms like protesting against Dow’s sponsorship of Olympics.

However, the Gandhian motif remains absent in cases of violence against defenceless individuals; as it happened in the case of the mentally challenged Andhra man in Tamil Nadu who was lynched by a mob that mistook him for a thief, while the policemen looked on; or, when a Superintendant of Police in NOIDA went salacious vis-à-vis a minor victim of gang-rape. This is where the various institutions of governance should have come into play. Symbolism is OK for TV debates. But on ground zero it is prompt, concrete action that counts.