Narendra Modi has proved time and time again that he is the country’s tech-savviest prime minister till date, inspiring social media trends and ensuring that the internet goes into a tizzy promulgating the same.
Therefore, when his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ address on Sunday sparked off a raging trend on twitter, it took no one by surprise. Modi had asked the people of the country to post pictures with their daughters – with the hashtag #SelfieWithDaughter. Once again – the fact that it took twitter by storm with people responding with gusto took no one by surprise.
However, there was one post that stuck out like a sore thumb. Nishrin Jafri Hussain shared a picture with her father Ehsan Jafri on her Facebook page with one haunting caption: “#SelfieWithDaughter: This one will haunt him for ever...”
A Dark Past Behind a ‘Haunting’ Picture
Jafri has clearly neither forgiven nor forgotten. Her late father was a Congress MP, who was one of the lives lost in the Gulbarg Society massacre of 2002. Ehsan Jafri was brutally murdered in the infamous massacre where 69 Muslims were killed by a mob led by an extremist Hindu mob.
Ehsan Jafri’s wife Zakia Jafri accused then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the Gujarat police for turning a blind eye to the mob and thus being complicit in the violence. An SIT probe had later given the Modi government a clean chit with regard to the riots.
One of the prime faces in the fight against the rioters has been noted lawyer and activist Teesta Setalvad. Setalvad is a co-petitioner with Zakia Jafri, and has won 117 cases against the rioters.
Open Letter to Teesta Setalvad
Ehsan Jafri’s daughter has written a poignant open letter to Teesta on Facebook, which was featured on the blog Hille Le. The letter, which begins with “Dear Teesta”, expresses gratitude to the lawyer for having been a champion of the fight for her father.
...mera roam roam tumhare liye dua karta hai, mera dil jaanta hai tumhara har kadam Gujarat ke mazloomo ki madad me juda hai”, “meri duaaen tumhare saath hai, hamara dukh, hamare saath jo beeta hai, wo tumhare se behter koi nahi jaanta, hame pura yakin hai tumhe kaamyabi jaroor meligi, hindustaan ke log tumhare saath hai
– Nishrin Jafri Hussain’s open letter to Teesta Setalvad