[A back grounder by Aman Ekta Manch]

GENOCIDE IN GUJARAT
April 2002

Godhra
For over 45 days now, Gujarat has been engulfed by wave after wave of bloody communal violence. The first incident occurred at Godhra station on 27 February 2002, when compartment number S6 of the Sabarmati Express was attacked and burnt down by a violent mob. Of the 58 people who died in this incident, most were kar sevaks who were returning from Ayodhya. Members of both communities, all Opposition parties and a wide range of concerned citizensí groups and secular organisations immediately condemned the incident and demanded a full inquiry. However, the BJP government in Gujarat and the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre misled the nation by labelling it as a planned attack and an ISI-inspired conspiracy. The official report of the enquiry into the Godhra incident by senior police officials confirms that the attack on the Sabarmati Express was not pre-planned, that the immediate flashpoint was the sexual harassment of a young woman by some passengers from compartment S6, and that there is no evidence of the involvement of the ISI or any other foreign agency.

"It is also asserted that while there were intelligence inputs pertaining to the movement of kar sevaks to Ayodhya between 10-15 March 2002, there were no such inputs concerning their return either from the State Intelligence Branch or the Central Intelligence Agencies and that the ëonly messageí about the return of kar sevaks provided by the Uttar Pradesh police, was received in Gujarat on 28 February 2002, i.e. after the tragic incident of 27 February 2002 and even that did not relate to a possible attack on the Sabarmati Express.
"The Commission is deeply concerned to be informed of this. It would appear to constitute an extraordinary lack of appreciation of the potential dangers of the situation, both by the Central and State intelligence agencies."
- From the proceedings of the National Human Rights Commission

Genocide
Following the Godhra incident, the VHP announced a nation-wide bandh on February 28th, which was supported by the BJP. Organised mobs of 'Hindus' started systematically butchering and burning Muslims and Muslim-owned property all over Gujarat, spreading to all the major cities including Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Vadodara, Bharuch and even Gandhinagar. The police and other law-enforcement agencies were prominent only in their absence and inefficacy. An uneasy calm was enforced by the presence of the Army, but the violence spread to rural areas and continues till date.

The official death toll so far exceeds 900, nearly all Muslims. Those now classified as "missing" may well be dead. Estimates of the number of Muslims displaced from their homes and forced into relief camps range from 50,000 to 100,000. These numbers are growing daily as new communities come under siege and flee to the comparative safety of the camps. Despite a one-day visit by the Prime Minister to the State and his personal assurance of an improvement in the miserable conditions in the relief camps, the State government continues to provide little or no support.

"It is reported that at least 2,500 persons are currently missing since the violence broke out in Gujarat on 27 February."
- Amnesty International
"What can you say about a woman eight months pregnant who begged to be spared. Her assailants slit open her stomach, pulled out her foetus and slaughtered it before her eyes. . . What can you say?"
- Harsh Mander (just before he resigned from the IAS)
"They (victims) are able to go and file their FIRs but while there are more than 300 FIRs to be filed, they are being registered at the rate of about 20 a day."
- Report of Communist Party of India (Marxist), March 12, 2002
"Today in the afternoon, 32 persons of the minority community being accompanied by two police vehicles to retrieve their belongings from their homes were attacked by a mob of at least 2000."
- Peopleís Union of Civil Liberties, Baroda, March 17, 2002

Sangh Parivar
The violence in Gujarat is the result of a well-planned and co-ordinated strategy by the Sangh Parivar to polarise Indian society along communal lines in order to advance their project of converting India into a "Hindu Rashtra".

The leaders of the Sangh Parivar have announced that Gujarat is the laboratory for piloting this exercise. In pursuit of this goal, they have systematically undermined and destroyed the sanctity and authority of institutions of governance, subverted the bureaucracy and media and used their access to State power to commit a series of criminal acts with impunity and in complete disregard of the Constitution or criminal law. What is happening in Gujarat amounts to ethnic cleansing of the minority community.

Despite Chief Minister Narendra Modiís repeated claim that the riots were brought under control within 72 hours, the statistics on the number of deaths and incidents of arson and looting show that in fact the violence escalated steadily until the Army took over. Modi himself has stated that the violence was "an understandable and justifiable reaction to what happened at Godhra". Although they are now denied by the Chief Minister, his statements were made before TV cameras and are on record.

"The Commission would like to observe that the tragic events that have occurred have serious implications for the country as a whole, affecting both its sense of self-esteem and the esteem in which it is held in the comity of nations. Grave questions arise of fidelity to the Constitution and to treaty obligations. There are obvious implications in respect of the protection of civil and political rights, as well as of economic, social and cultural rights in the State of Gujarat as also the country more widely; there are implications for trade, investment, tourism and employment . . . But most of all, the recent events have resulted in the violation of the Fundamental Rights to life, liberty, equality and the dignity of citizens of India as guaranteed in the Constitution".
- From the proceedings of the National Human Rights Commission

State Sponsorship
There is now conclusive evidence that the State police machinery actively supported the violence. Instances of police firing on victims instead of attackers, of senior police officers ignoring pleas for help from members of the minority community, of police standing by during attacks and identifying houses and shops belonging to Muslims, have been recorded in testimonies and in TV and video footage. The Home Minister, Mr. LK Advani assures us that, "So far, more than 77 deaths due to police firing have been reported in the state." But he fails to mention that almost half of those killed by police belong to the Muslim community - the victims of the riots, not their perpetrators. Some police officers have cited ëorders from aboveí as the reason for their inaction. The few IPS officers who took immediate and punitive steps to contain the violence and arrest the perpetrators have been transferred to other posts and replaced by State police personnel, many of whom have known links to the RSS. IAS officers who have tried to initiate a debate about the culpability of their Service have been prevented from doing so by the Chief Minister.

"Dr Mukul Sinha, an activist working among the workers of east Ahmedabad's thriving industrial area of Khokhra-Mehmdavad told us that he with his colleagues tried to save a Janatanagar slum from 12 midnight of first day of Bandh by organising the slum dwellers and shouting back at the Rama-chanting mob. At 1 pm the next day, a Police Sub Inspector himself was seen helping the mob with diesel from his own jeep, prodding the mob to dowse the slum and its 60 residents with fire. "
- Gujarat: Lab of Hindutva Comes Alive, Mainstream, March 3, 2002
"The Commission considers it would be naïve for it to subscribe to the view that the situation was brought under control within the first 72 hours. Violence continues in Gujarat as of the time of writing these Proceedings. There was a pervasive sense of insecurity prevailing in the State at the time of the teamís visit to Gujarat. This was most acute among the victims of the successive tragedies, but it extended to all segments of society, including to two Judges of the High Court of Gujarat, one sitting and the other retired who were compelled to leave their own homes because of the vitiated atmosphere. There could be no clearer evidence of the failure to control the situation."
- From the proceedings of the National Human Rights Commission

Organised Pogrom


"'Andar ki baat hai, police hamaare saath hai.í [It is an inside deal, the police are with us.] This was the riotersí war cry to Muslim residents in Vadi, Vadodara, as they soaked with kerosene shops that once sold kites, bindis and bangles for the Hindu festivals of Makar Sankranti and Ganapati Puja. But the mob had missed the irony of what they were destroying, as had the two cops looking on languorously. . . Was it covert patronage from the establishment or a communalised mindset?"
- Covert Riots and Media, Outlook, March 25, 2002
"In Ahmedabad, 249 bodies had been recovered until the midnight of March 5. Of these, six could not be identified, while 30 were of Hindus. Of the Hindus killed, 13 were shot by the police, while several others died in attacks on Muslim-owned establishments. Six bodies of Hindu workers were, for example, recovered from Hans Inn and Tasty Hotel. Although there were almost no attacks by Muslim mobs on Hindu-dominated areas, 24 Muslims were killed in police firing."
- Saffron Terror, Frontline, March 16 - 29, 2002


"Every single account that this writer received before arrival in Gujarat, and which has been corroborated by people here, are strong pointers to the role played by such an outfit (the Bajrang Dal) in the present carnage. In every incident in Gujarat over the past few days, the mobs leading the attacks were not the usual riot mobs. They were mobs of 5-15,000 that collected swiftly and with precision wreaked total destruction of life and property in brief periods and brutal ways. It is not easy to collect such large mobs even in a city like Mumbai, let alone Ahmedabad and scattered villages.
"The training given to this militia is not simply for the perpetration of violence. It is also a mental training in de-humanisation of the ëenemyí, through the preaching of ideological hatred that enables men (and women, in some cases) to attack, dismember, de-humanise, kill, burn and then finally enjoy the loot.
- Report of Father Cedric Prakash

Final Solution
The orchestration and planning have been on a staggering scale. The attackersí aim was to weaken the minority community by destroying their livelihoods and productive assets. This is supported by the fact that leaflets were being widely distributed all over Gujarat calling for an economic boycott on the basis of religious identity: ". . . a strict economic boycott will throttle these elements! It will break their backbone! Then it will be difficult for them to live in any corner of this country. Then no Muslim will raise his head before us!"

For many kilometres in Ahmedabad city and throughout the State, dhabas, hotels, restaurants, shops, carts, workshops, petrol pumps, trucks, vehicles, garages, laundries, bakeries, showrooms, and factories owned by the minority community have been gutted or destroyed even as the structures next to them were completely unharmed. The mobs were led by affluent people who came in cars and carried away valuables before setting fire to the houses. The Confederation of Indian Industry has estimated that over Rs 2500 crores worth of property and materials have been irretrievably lost. Revival and rehabilitation at this scale are impossible unless the State steps in and both the Central and State Governments have clearly demonstrated their reluctance to intervene.

"Reports by victims, eyewitnesses and relief workers indicate that violent groups not only killed members of the minority community and targeted their houses, but also attacked businesses, shops and other economic activities held by Muslims or in which Muslims were partners."
- Amnesty International
"Besides, the state government has simply refused to take charge of the rehabilitation of 35,000 displaced families."
- Appeal to the Chief Justice of India by Prof KN Panikkar and others
"The Commission recommends that . . adequate compensation should be provided to those who have suffered. This will require an augmentation of the funds allocated thus far, through co-operative arrangements involving both the State and Central Governments."
- Proceedings of the National Human Rights Commission

People for Peace
There have been numerous demands for the ouster of the Chief Minister, but the Prime Minister has chosen to remain silent on this issue. His senior colleagues in the NDA Government have been outspoken in their defence of the Chief Minister. Others have said that there is no point in talking of Modiís removal because "peace must be restored first". But who will restore peace? The State Government is clearly partisan. The Governor has not carried out his appointed duties. In the meantime, not only have other wings of the Sangh Parivar acclaimed what has happened, but the RSS has openly threatened the minorities. In such a situation, can the restoration of peace and faith be entrusted to those who shattered it in the first place?

Aman Ekta Manch <peopleforpeace@rediffmail.com>

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