Gujarat Under Modi by Christophe Jaffrelot ;

Author:Christophe Jaffrelot ;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781849044295
Publisher: Lightning Source Inc. (Tier 1)

Gujarati asmita: Hinduising a regional culture

Gujarati asmita is an old literary formula that K.M. Munshi used repeatedly before and after Independence in his politico-cultural writings. It used to refer to Gujarati “identity”, but has been more accurately translated as “pride”. The content of this Gujarati asmita remained highly elusive in Modi’s speeches. It was usually associated with another formula, “Garavi Gujarat” (Glorious Gujarat), which recalled the early, golden days of Gujarati history – hence the naming of universities after Gujarati literary figures like Narmad and Hemchandra.85

During Modi’s chief ministership, Gujarati asmita was primarily associated with the “pre-Muslim” period of Gujarati history. As early as 2003, Modi decided to celebrate Independence Day at Patan, the ancient capital of the Rajput Chalukya dynasty. This was an occasion to celebrate not only the glorious past of the state, but also its Hindu traditions. Press reports announced in July that on 15 August, “Bells will ring in each of the temples of Patan at 6.15 am. This will be followed by an ‘Asmita’ (Pride) rally with the participation of Gayatri Parivar, Swadhyay Parivar, Brahmakumaris, Swaminarayan sect, etc. [all Hindu religious movements].”86

The promotion of Gujarati asmita drew also upon the legacy of one of the state’s major political figures, Sardar Patel, the man Modi referred to the most when he was chief minister – so much so that the “BJP glorified Modi as ‘chhote sardar’ (junior sardar)”.87 Modi chose to appropriate Patel in opposition to Nehru, his bête noire. For him, Patel had been a victim of India’s first prime minister, whom he depicted as the embodiment of Congress – its main rival – whereas the party had been created by Patel himself in Gujarat. In October 2010, Modi announced that a statue of Patel (also known as the “Iron Man of India”) would be built near the Narmada dam using metal collected by the peasants of India – they were then invited to send in tools they were no longer using. This Statue of Unity would be 182 metres high, a world record.88 Modi laid the foundation stone on 31 October 2013, on the 138th anniversary of Sardar Patel’s birth.

Modi also celebrated another Gujarati hero, the revolutionary Shyamji Krishna Varma, whose ashes he brought back from England (where Varma had founded India House in 1905). Upon arrival, “Modi paraded Varma’s ashes through Mumbai before taking it to Mandvi through several districts of Gujarat in a trademark chariot-style coach and the sojourn was given the heavily Sanskritised name of Veeranjali Yatra (a yatra to pay an ode to a revolutionary)”.89 If Patel was promoted as the Gujarati alternative to Nehru, Varma was set against Gandhi and his doctrine of non-violence.

As chief minister, Modi promoted Gujarati culture by giving a new, official dimension to regional festivals such as Uttarayan and Navratri. The former was presented as “predominantly a Hindu festival marking the awakening of the gods from their deep slumber”,90 while, in fact, it had been introduced by the Persians and had grown in Gujarat because

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