A Shudra chief minister gained Hindu-right legitimacy by outdoing rivals in anti-Muslim zeal

Evidence

Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat who presided over the pogrom, has since won the state elections three times in a row. Despite being a Shudra, he has endeared himself to the Hindu right by being more blatantly and ruthlessly anti-Muslim than any other Indian politician. When he was asked in a recent interview whether he regretted what happened in 2002, he said, “[I]f we are driving a car, we are a driver, and someone else is driving a car and we’re sitting behind, even then if a puppy comes under the wheel, will it be painful or not? Of course it is. If I’m a Chief Minister or not, I’m a human being. If something bad happens anywhere, it is natural to be sad.” — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 433

Categorization

• CANDY: The ‘puppy under the wheel’ response to 2,000 deaths is darkly memeable and self-indicting.