Is Modi’s silence on firm allegations against intolerance justified?
BY ELLEN BARRY Jan.26.20168

It all Started when Bollywood star Aamir Khan's wife Ria Khan made controversial statements on live media about the intolerance in India. This was followed by the mass turning back of the state awards received by actors, writers and scientists. This delicate issue of intolerance in India which had been long dwelled upon, was followed also by a number of academics in India and abroad issuing a statements against the rising “intolerance and bigotry”.
The controversial statements of Aamir Khan also sparked other religion issues such as the banning of cow meat in Maharashtra, killings of MM Kalburgi and Govind Pansare.
These events were unjustly credited to Modi’s BJP rule as all the events took place under Narendra Modi’s reign as Prime Minister of India. Although many believe the rising intolerance is to be blamed on Modi, several others contradict the claim by insisting that the country has not become intolerant suddenly under the Narendra Modi led BJP government.
Mr. Modi addressed this issue directly, when on a visit to the UK, the Indian Prime Minister said to the crowd:
“Any event in any corner of India - it doesn't matter if there are even one or two incidents - we will not tolerate it and the law will deal with it strictly It does not matter whether such an incident is significant for a country of 125 crore people. For us, every incident is serious."
Mr. Modi being known for addressing issues directly and efficiently made a statement for all the critics who believed that Mr. Modis BJP was leaning towards an intolerant India. Although Mr. Modi made a strong statement in the UK, intolerance as an issue has always existed in the country.

It all Started when Bollywood star Aamir Khan's wife Ria Khan made controversial statements on live media about the intolerance in India. This was followed by the mass turning back of the state awards received by actors, writers and scientists. This delicate issue of intolerance in India which had been long dwelled upon, was followed also by a number of academics in India and abroad issuing a statements against the rising “intolerance and bigotry”.
The controversial statements of Aamir Khan also sparked other religion issues such as the banning of cow meat in Maharashtra, killings of MM Kalburgi and Govind Pansare.
These events were unjustly credited to Modi’s BJP rule as all the events took place under Narendra Modi’s reign as Prime Minister of India. Although many believe the rising intolerance is to be blamed on Modi, several others contradict the claim by insisting that the country has not become intolerant suddenly under the Narendra Modi led BJP government.
Mr. Modi addressed this issue directly, when on a visit to the UK, the Indian Prime Minister said to the crowd:
“Any event in any corner of India - it doesn't matter if there are even one or two incidents - we will not tolerate it and the law will deal with it strictly It does not matter whether such an incident is significant for a country of 125 crore people. For us, every incident is serious."
Mr. Modi being known for addressing issues directly and efficiently made a statement for all the critics who believed that Mr. Modis BJP was leaning towards an intolerant India. Although Mr. Modi made a strong statement in the UK, intolerance as an issue has always existed in the country.

With the active behavior of the censor board in India Books and films have been banned as a casual act for a long period of time, driving the country away from its constitution, in which India is shown to be a country of Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
This problem of intolerance has not originated in Modis Reign as Prime Minister, Mukul Kesevan a political and social essayist defends BJP as he responds to the opposition critics “the main opposition Congress party does not exactly have a stellar record in defending liberal values.”
Allegations of the opposition party claiming Mr. Modi of double speaking were further hurt when reputed historian and academic Sanjay Subramhmanyam publicly questioned their claims ”Intolerance in India is not a new thing. So why are we suddenly so outraged and worried about what has been happening after the BJP government came to power last year?”

Despite being proven that intolerance in India did not rise during Mr.Modi’s term as prime minister, intolerance in India with regard to different communities, religion, language speakers has still been prevalent issue. Experts and BJP supporters claim it to be different from the rule of the congress.
BJP in its regime like many others have used intimidating language and as it has become a part of the public discourse, this is one of the significant factors contributing to the intolerance being induced by them. Mr.Sanjay believes the issue to be as significant as the 1975 Emergency or the Nandigram massacre and believes it is an issue to be protested and resolved with urgency.
India as a country has had a history of being intolerant as much as the rest of the countries. Possessing a history of violence based on religion, caste, color, xenophobia, language, communities and political jockeying the country is no exception to the world in terms of its history.
Other than moments of toleration and cosmopolitan coexistence the county has not had a golden age, this is largely due to the highly diverse population of India that has failed to coexist in complete peace and harmony over a very long time period of its unified existence.
Although been made clear that the issue of intolerance has not originated in BJP’s regime the opposition parties have constantly accused of Mr.Modis party being in constant denial to the events that outline the recent sparks of intolerance. The Representatives of the ruling party deflected all the major evidences of intolerance in an “inert” fashion as quoted in a post- Lok Sabha session.

With the active behavior of the censor board in India Books and films have been banned as a casual act for a long period of time, driving the country away from its constitution, in which India is shown to be a country of Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
This problem of intolerance has not originated in Modis Reign as Prime Minister, Mukul Kesevan a political and social essayist defends BJP as he responds to the opposition critics “the main opposition Congress party does not exactly have a stellar record in defending liberal values.”
Allegations of the opposition party claiming Mr. Modi of double speaking were further hurt when reputed historian and academic Sanjay Subramhmanyam publicly questioned their claims ”Intolerance in India is not a new thing. So why are we suddenly so outraged and worried about what has been happening after the BJP government came to power last year?”

Despite being proven that intolerance in India did not rise during Mr.Modi’s term as prime minister, intolerance in India with regard to different communities, religion, language speakers has still been prevalent issue. Experts and BJP supporters claim it to be different from the rule of the congress.
BJP in its regime like many others have used intimidating language and as it has become a part of the public discourse, this is one of the significant factors contributing to the intolerance being induced by them. Mr.Sanjay believes the issue to be as significant as the 1975 Emergency or the Nandigram massacre and believes it is an issue to be protested and resolved with urgency.
India as a country has had a history of being intolerant as much as the rest of the countries. Possessing a history of violence based on religion, caste, color, xenophobia, language, communities and political jockeying the country is no exception to the world in terms of its history.
Other than moments of toleration and cosmopolitan coexistence the county has not had a golden age, this is largely due to the highly diverse population of India that has failed to coexist in complete peace and harmony over a very long time period of its unified existence.
Although been made clear that the issue of intolerance has not originated in BJP’s regime the opposition parties have constantly accused of Mr.Modis party being in constant denial to the events that outline the recent sparks of intolerance. The Representatives of the ruling party deflected all the major evidences of intolerance in an “inert” fashion as quoted in a post- Lok Sabha session.

Although there appears to be widespread support for Mr.Modi’s BJP among the areas of majority, Opposition party’s critics have expressed Skepticism in a widespread manner, saying the Indian Leader has a knack of gibing liberal speeches outside the country and is failing to accept and correct the issue by remaining in constant denial.
“A Muslim man is killed in cold blood. The man ultimately responsible for his protection, the PM, remained silent”

“He (VK Singh) has directly challenged the constitution by equating Dalit children with dogs, Our PM has let a man like that (VK Singh) continue as a Minister “
“27 years after ban was imposed on Salman Rushdie’ book, Congress leader is saying it was a mistake. This proves that there was intolerance in the country when they were ruling it. Opposition talks about last 17 months. I ask them what was happening in the country 27 years ago when they were in power,”
Although there appears to be widespread support for Mr.Modi’s BJP among the areas of majority, Opposition party’s critics have expressed Skepticism in a widespread manner, saying the Indian Leader has a knack of gibing liberal speeches outside the country and is failing to accept and correct the issue by remaining in constant denial.
“A Muslim man is killed in cold blood. The man ultimately responsible for his protection, the PM, remained silent”

“He (VK Singh) has directly challenged the constitution by equating Dalit children with dogs, Our PM has let a man like that (VK Singh) continue as a Minister “
“27 years after ban was imposed on Salman Rushdie’ book, Congress leader is saying it was a mistake. This proves that there was intolerance in the country when they were ruling it. Opposition talks about last 17 months. I ask them what was happening in the country 27 years ago when they were in power,”

Written Task Word Count : 874

Rationale
This Written task directly relates to the language and communities topic that relates to the unit studied. In the news article above, the persona of Ellen Barry, a reputed editor for the Asian division of the New York Times has been used. The written task above is based firmly on the growing issue of intolerance in India on basis of language Communities. By taking on the persona of Ellen Barry an editor well known for her expertise in Indian politics, the question of why the audience would read the editorial is answered. The up taken persona of Ellen Barry can be clearly justified by the writing style identical to hers as the editorial consists of short paragraphs, minimal usage of pronouns, firm evidences using quotes and an end to the article that does not make a conclusive end but weighs up the opinions of both the sides in the argument. The text strongly connects to the language and communities topic and the first unit learnt, as in India communities are discriminated and not tolerated on basis of language, color, caste, sex, religion etc. Much of the northern India is intolerant on the basis of the language that the southern or eastern Indians speak, this issue is directly addressed by the text above by using the opinions of Prime Minister Modi and the opposition party’s leader Rahul Gandhi.
Most of the outcomes for the topic language and communities were addressed as direct connections are made to the discriminated communities in India while using the powerful language such as used By Ellen Barry. The text combines the language and the issue of the intolerant communities with efficient language to address the purpose of the text which was to raise awareness on the intolerance in India.

Rationale Word Count : 293.