Enterprise will heal Gujarat

Enterprise will heal Gujarat
Amrita Shah

Unlike a Bengali, a Punjabi, or even a Tamilian, the Gujarati, despite his ubiquity is not really a familiar entity outside his neighbourhood. The community was defined solely, in its relationship with - the making, hoarding and flamboyant spending of -- money. Last month's disastrous earthquake, however, has changed all that by attracting an unprecedented focus on the people of Gujarat. New, more complex and conflicting images, of Gujarati society have emerged in the aftermath of the devastation.

Notwithstanding reports of caste and communal discrimination, outsiders, have marvelled at the manner in which Gujaratis have come together to rescue, feed and care for each other. The grit and pride of the Gujarati has been much admired over the last fortnight. Stories abound of quake victims refusing charity and helping themselves. Descriptions of survivors searching for belongings through the rubble beneath which their own loved ones lie buried, led observers to express shock at the `brutal practicality' of the people.

Some contradictions are perhaps common to all communities. There is of course, no one Gujarati. The parched land of Saurashtra is different from the urbanised south; the Kutchi is distinct from the Ahmedavadi, and so on. The industriousness and resilience, particularly in the face of natural calamities, have made it a progressive state. Development, however, has been uneven with much of it concentrated in central and south Gujarat, while the region of Saurastra has had reason to complain of long neglect and a perennial water shortage.

Yet, if there is one common thread to be drawn at least for the contemporary urban Gujarati then it would be the old stereotype of money. Enterprise binds. It is also a motivation that can be used to explain a wide variety of things. It is used by local teachers, for instance, to describe attitudes to education: a professional education is sought after as an `investment'; a low interest means there is a shop in the family. The desire to save money drives Gujaratis to haggle endlessly and yet they are quick to spend as well; much of Mumbai's entertainment industry thrives on its Gujarati clientele.

Violence in the state has had economic origins; the anti-reservation riots of 1985, for instance, had middle class parents coming out in support of children. Enterprise has also driven Gujaratis to distant shores. Greed has been blamed for the utter deterioration of Surat in the early nineties, and is now being held responsible for building violations that led to so many avoidable deaths in Ahmedabad.

Caste is of overwhelming importance and a significant determinant of social interaction in Gujarat. Oddly both co-exist with a certain curiosity about the outside world. Gujaratis tend to be fervently interested in current events -- the state has a thriving media; even a small city such as Rajkot can support as many as ten newspapers - and developments in technology and science are avidly covered by popular magazines such as Chitralekha.

To that extent the Gujarati is unusual in his openness to the new. His love for the modern though is accompanied by the need to temper it to his habits. Hence you have NRI grand mothers who can talk of a life - temple visits and marriage fixing - no different from the one they left behind. Neon lit brightly coloured cafes in Gujarati towns selling pizzas with odd, vegetarian toppings (cut macaroni, cabbage, cheese and jam) followed with little packets of mukhwas. And the English language for many still remains a stumbling block.

This picture of the entrepreneurial, fast food loving and corner-cutting Gujarati, however, is just one side of the coin. Gujarat is the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi. It is a dubious legacy given the state's recent political preferences, yet it is an undeniable one. It was also the home of Sardar Patel and the visionary Vikram Sarabhai. It houses the country's premier art school, design school, management institute, consumer research organisation and Ela Bhatt's SEWA. In 1974, the state launched the Nav Nirman movement that forced out a corrupt chief minister and, was an early expression against the authoritarian Emergency.

Clearly indulgence, pragmatism and idealism co-exist in the fertile soil of Gujarat. Adversity brings out the best. This much was apparent in the Surat experience, when following the plague scare a new collector, a watchful media and cooperative citizens managed to transform their city and collect the award of the second cleanest city in the country. The earthquake has caused far greater damage. Recovering from the effects will be a serious challenge. That the process will involve the common people seems to be a foregone conclusion, which in itself is a tribute to the people. One of the questions that one hears asked repeatedly though is if the process of rebuilding can create a better alternative to the past. That remains to be seen.

Indulgence, pragmatism and idealism co-exist in the fertile soil of Gujarat