The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, represents the hopes and aspirations of a large section of the Indian electorate that has often had to bear the brunt of desi sahebs who populate the ‘Nehru Network’

The Modi juggernaut is on a roll! Every opinion poll now is now predicting higher and higher seats for the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Mr Narendra Modi. And yet, the English-language media is not going all out in support of him and his achievements. There are still detractors trying their best to project Mr Modi as an anti-Muslim, mass murderer.

First things first. What happened in Gujarat in 2002 was a tragedy of the highest proportion; but most unfortunately, such riots have been a frequent occurrence in India since Independence. In other words, Mr Modi happened to be in the State as a new Chief Minister in the middle of a very unfortunate event in Indian history.

Yes, BJP president Rajnath Singh has now offered to apologise for any mistakes that his party may have committed against Muslims. However the irony is that while the population of Gujarat is about 10 per cent Muslim and 90 per cent Hindu, the number of Hindus and Muslims killed in the 2002 violence was not in that ratio.

That means that the fraction of the population of rioters among the Hindus was one tenth that of the Muslims. So while all killings were very tragic, it wasn’t really about Hindus killing Muslims as has been falsely propagated by the English media over the years.

Keeping all this aside, one should also note that Gujarat has amongst the highest percentages of Muslims per capita population in the police and in Government jobs. In Gujarat, Muslims live in peace and dignity and have far better access to education and employment opportunities than in any other State. Gujarati Muslims are actually not anti-Modi.

In this context, allow me to repeat a few lines I had  written earlier: The ‘Modi versus the rest’ battle is essentially a fight between ‘India’ and ‘Bharat’. Mr Modi personifies Bharat while the English-language media symbolises India. The latter media is now a jousting voice for the old feudal India which gloriously claims to know what is best for India. Mr Modi represents the other half of the country — Bharat — which is embittered by the illicit monopoly that the English-language media and its suppositious ‘secular’ warriors hold over all information channels.

And then of course there is the almost 70-year-old ‘Nehruvian Network’ to fall back upon, for the India-brawlers. This Network believes that the British systems, processes and procedures were the best. People who align with this Network are often the ultimate desi sahebs, who are convinced that Indians needed to be more civilised. The sarcastic snigger is ever-present when a politician like Mr Modi rises up from nowhere to impress voters.

Since the 1980s, there have been many who have come up in the land of Bharat to push their gloves against India. But Mr Modi is the first person who seems to be really winning. People who are now 75 to 80 years old are unanimous in their opinion that, since the time of Syama Prasad Mookerjee in the 1940s, they haven’t heard another leader give the kind of fiery, logical and revolutionary speeches that Mr Modi delivers. No wonder that from former intelligence chiefs to retired Army Generals, many are joining the BJP one after the other.

Some remember their history well, especially the iconic political battle during the days of Mahatma Gandhi. It was a choice between the India’s Jawaharlal Nehru and Bharat’s Vallabhbhai Patel. The Mahatma chose Nehru, and Patel, a Gujarati, faded away quietly.

This time around we have none like Mahatma to sway the masses. We have only the electorate. So who will it beIJ Can Mr Modi go the final mile and rewrite historyIJ Or will history rob Bharat of its second legitimate chanceIJ

The Sunday Indian was the first to do a survey between the Rahul Gandhi versus Narendra Modi possibility, and Mr Modi had come out to be the sure-shot winner way back in September 2012. It seems like when Bharat goes to the poll later this year, it will emerge victorious despite all the anti-Modi propaganda.

(The writer is a management guru and honorary director of IIPM think tank)