A regrettable refusal

The stance of Gujarat CM Narendra Modi, who is now pushing hard to emerge as the country’s Prime Minister, of stubbornly refusing to accept moral responsibility for the 2002 pogrom in his state through the simple expedient of a public apology, appears to be part of a well-calibrated strategy. For that reason the reluctance, which became plain in a TV interview on Wednesday, is all the more regrettable.

Mr Modi’s primary appeal in the eyes of the RSS-led Hindutva forces, and their following among the public, lies precisely in the fact that he allowed Gujarat to burn in a communal cauldron for weeks. But for this he would be just another unremarkable BJP chief minister. Mr Modi’s deliberately aggressive Hindutva stand at the time, exemplified in the obnoxious comment “every action has an equal and opposite reaction”, was condemned in both Houses of Parliament. But it was doubtless meant to burnish his credentials as an upholder of “Hindu” pride.

This reputation of a special type was hard-earned. Surrendering it in the middle of the Lok Sabha election process is likely to dampen the enthusiasm of those who regard the BJP’s PM candidate as an upholder of Hindu “honour”. Mr Modi may be wary of that possibility.

He has chosen to camouflage this by asserting that in Gujarat he has already been exonerated in the court of the people (by wining all state elections after 2002). This is a hackneyed argument usually resorted to by lower-down politicians who are keen to escape scrutiny.