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Time for Modi to build an inclusive Gujarat: NRIs
Published on Mon, Dec 24, 2007 at 13:42, Updated on Mon, Dec 24, 2007 at 16:44 in 
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POINT TO NOTE: Every Gujarati praises Modi for the fact that there has been no violence against Muslims since 2002.
London: Non-resident Indians in Britain, led by the powerful and wealthy Gujarati business community, want Narendra Modi to heal the scars of anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat and help build an inclusive state in his third stint as Chief Minister.
"With this further term, we hope he will work towards building a inclusive society in Gujarat, working for the development of all sections, not one particular section," said Praveen Amin, a Hindu who heads the National Congress of Gujarati Associations of UK, an umbrella body representing 98 Gujarati organisations.
"After all, Modi as chief minister represents all the religions of Gujarat," he added.
More than 1,000 Muslims were killed in the state in 2002 by Hindu extremists following the torching of a train in the town of Godhra, in which 59 Hindu pilgrims were killed. International human rights groups, holding Modi responsible for the violence, have blocked not only some of his travel abroad but also his access to Western government leaders.
Modi's position is closely intertwined with the activities and interests of British Gujaratis, who are the largest ethnic Indian as well as Hindu community in Britain and number about half a million (there are no official figures of the number of Gujaratis in Britain). They invest heavily in Gujarat and a rising number of them are spending more of their time and money in Gujarat.
Increasingly in a shrinking world, events in India and Britain impact on each other's populations, no more so than Gujaratis.
In interviews with IANS, prominent NRIs said that in addition to the financial and economic stability that Modi has brought in, they want to see religious harmony in the western Indian state - an end to the religious strife and polarisation that has marred the Modi years.
"Let me say one thing to Muslims - it is time to forgive and forget," said Sir Gulam K. Noon, head of multi-million pounds Indian food business empire, Noon Products. "You know, things happen. You can't go on and on about 2002. India's roots of secularism are very deep and all Muslims have a place in India."
"But in the next five years, Modi should build a united community, inject secularism and continue the development of Gujarat," Noon added.
"Modi has the power to be a good administrator - we all know that. I just hope he will learn from history and build community cohesion, so that all Gujaratis can benefit from economic and social stability," said Buddhdev Pandya, a London-based Gujarati community leader and well-known campaigner on immigration issues.
Every Gujarati — both Hindu and Muslim — that IANS spoke to highlighted one particular achievement of Modi: that there had been no violence against Muslims since 2002.
"Obviously all our members are deeply hurt. But many Muslim Gujaratis in Britain take a slightly milder position towards Modi these days," said Shamsuddin Agha, president of the Indian Muslim Federation (IMF) UK. "They acknowledge that Muslims have to live and work in Gujarat and they want to look ahead."
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Modi should make best possible use of foreign money for the development of Gujarat as he is doing. Secondly he
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