IT is not without reason that Gujarat is called Hindutva’s laboratory. Experiments may appear slow currently, but it should never be assumed that they will stop. Buniyaad, an Ahmedabad-based civil society organisation monitoring communal violence and promoting peace, has made it its mission to publish annual reports that expose the real picture in Gujarat. In its most recent report titled “Peaceful Gujarat: An Illusion or Truth”, compiled along with a fact-finding team led by Alpsankhyak Adhikar Manch (AAM) and released in January, Buniyaad categorically states that the divisive processes are alive and actively supported by the ruling dispensation.

The report presents trends in communal violence in Gujarat based on findings derived from the media and fact-finding missions. Among the report’s main findings is the disturbing news that Hindu nationalist organisations with a mission to polarise society have moved from overt attacks in urban areas to under-the-radar skirmishes in the rural belt. The report says “Hindu Rashtra” signboards have begun to dot the rural landscape. Combining data from 2019 and 2020, the report adds that an increasing number of incidents and volatility caused by small tussles between communities prove that the destabilising efforts of Hindu nationalist organisations have been successful. It states: “In fact, polarisation along religious lines, hatred, distrust and hate speeches have become more intense, adversely affecting the social fabric in the State.”