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Gujarat's deadly riots, five years on
Written by: Ruben Andersson
Family members of victims who were burnt to death in an attack on a train in 2002 protest in this 2004 file photo. REUTERS/Amit Dave
Mass killings are often treated as spontaneous outbreaks of violence by the media - from Rwanda's 1994 genocide to the deadly "riots" in India's Gujarat state five years ago. Frenzied mobs might make for a good story, but more often than not there's a chilling method to the madness. Now a group of Indian investigators says it has unearthed evidence of what human rights activists have said for a long time - that politicians and policemen helped or even led the mobs in Gujarat in 2002 when an estimated 2,000 Muslims were burned, shot and bludgeoned to death. "The police were colluding with the killers, and some among them also played an active role," said Mukul Sinha, a lawyer with Gujarati human rights group Jan Sangharsh Manch. The group has analysed mobile phone traffic between police, politicians and religious leaders on the fateful days after February 27, 2002, when mobs went on the rampage through Muslim neighbourhoods following the still unresolved burning of a train carriage of Hindu volunteers in the town of Godhra. Their findings come in the run-up to state polls due before December, when Gujarat's hardline chief minister Narendra Modi will fight for re-election amid fresh accusations over his government's role in the violence. According to the investigators, the police moved away just in time for the mob to hit Muslim areas in Gujarat's capital Ahmedabad and stayed at a distance until the violence was over. They say they also have proof that police were talking to top Hindu religious leaders and politicians during the carnage, including the state's then home minister. "The police claim they were outnumbered, but you have to be on the spot to be outnumbered," said Nirjhari Sinha, the main investigator. The evidence is now with the Nanavati-Shah Commission, which is investigating the violence. The commission has told Gujarat's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to provide its own analysis of the data by early September, pushing ahead an earlier August deadline. Vijay Rupani, BJP spokesman in Gujarat, said the party disputed the findings and would share its views after the commission produces its final report later this year. "There was no police and politician help to the rioters," Rupani said, adding that Muslims are safe in Gujarat and that the state is "terrorism- and riot-free because of Narendra Modi and the BJP government." But for many survivors, the findings only confirm what they have said for a long time. Nasim banu Kalimuddin from Ahmedabad recalls the mob entering her neighbourhood Naroda Patiya and killing her husband. "They came and threw stones, they had trishuls (Hindu tridents) and swords. The police were leading them and were firing," she said. Hozefa Ujjaini, from a grassroots organisation called Aman Samudaya that promotes peace between poor Muslims and castless Dalits, said some Dalits were paid off to kill, loot and burn their neighbours' houses in 2002. He said the police also took part. "The police were firing on the forehead. They were firing to kill people." But the accusations against the state don't stop at conspiracies and shootings. As he spoke, Hozefa was driving through Ahmedabad's Faizal park area, where the bumpy lanes were muddy from the monsoon rains. Many survivors live in cheap matchbox houses provided by religious organisations in so-called "rehabilitation colonies" like this one, too afraid to go back. Their lives are a shadow of what they were before the killings. "The government isn't doing anything," Hozefa said. "Narendra Modi said that there are no displaced. There is no sanitation in this area, no real roads. But the government is collecting taxes." Abdul Majid Muhammad Usman Shaikh, a shopkeeper living in Faizal park since 2002, spread pictures of his dead wife and six children out on the floor like a fan. Unlike many, he got compensation for the killings and a pittance for his burned-down house. "I spent it on the marriage of my two daughters and donated the money that was left over. It's money for the flesh of dead people," he said, squatting on his apartment's small patch of concrete floor. Before 2002, he had a big home in Naroda Patiya. "Those who are in the rehab colonies are the lucky ones," said Zakia Jowher from the anti-poverty agency ActionAid. Many survivors have no homes, no job and got almost no compensation. "If you were lucky you got 5,000 rupees - not even enough to buy clothes for all family members." Five years on, many trades that used to be Muslim have been taken over by Hindus, according to Jowher - from Gujarat's thriving illegal liquor business to car repairs, restaurants, upholstery and laundry. "Many people had land or small shops and now they are reduced to working as daily labourers," said Jowher. "Everything is part of a well-planned strategy, of an economic boycott." In "little Pakistan", as Juhapura outside Ahmedabad is often called, survivors who lost their jobs and homes are left with matchbox-style "rehab" flats and unemployment. "There is no factory where people can apply for work here," said Niyaz Bibi, a woman in her sixties who fled her village in 2002. "Here there are only police stations." Some survivors fear that the looming elections might spark another round of violence in new ghettoes like Joharpura. Mukul Sinha doesn't think so. "This time the Muslims will be spared," he said, mentioning recent spats within Modi's government. "The Hindu nationalists will fight among themselves; they are too busy with each other." The survivors might be safe for now, but their suffering is far from over. "In Gujarat, Muslims have become second-class citizens through the massacres and through the state's systematic refusal to compensate, to rehabilitate, to give legal justice to them," Jowher said. Whover wins the elections, the future looks bleak to Niyaz Bibi. "There is no consistency of income, so how can we imagine the future? I'm ready to fight for my whole life, but who will give us justice?"
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2 responses to “Gujarat's deadly riots, five years on”
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05 Sep 2007 08:59:12 GMT
MR Ruben Andersson,
Riots are bad, but you must see the reason why there are hindu/muslim riots, and after riots why rehabilatation for muslim is lacking 1, there is historical difference between the two, muslim invaders slaughtered hindus, for almost 800 years, forcible conversion ect 2, they got their pakistan, so why stay in india 3, Hindus/shiks/christail are treated like non citizens forget 2nd class in pakistan/Bangla desh womens are raped kidnapped and married by converting to islam ect 4, minorities in pakistan/bangalades is diminishing by the day, but in India mulims are increasing 5, every riots in india are started by muslims, yes agredd mostly provoked my hidus possible, and maybe hindus want them to start the riots, so that hindus can take adavantage, Ghodra in gujrat, in bombay they killed the police in Dongri area, and some laboureron dec 7th for breaking a masjid 1000 of lm away, then on jan 6 they burnt a hindu chawl in jogeshwar, the thing is whereever muslims are in majority they will kill the minorities, and then when hindus retaliated everywhere else, they say they are killed, does not make sense why start a riots,maybe pakistani supporter start the riots, as they want india to burn, they do not care about ordinary muslims in india, they do not even consider indian muslims ans true muslims o know because i have lots on paki friend, close friends, they truly beleive in india there are no true muslims, and i am not talking about paki punjabis, even Mohajir muslims say that 5, and the news media, including you never mentiond the hindus killed in the riots, of the 2000 odd people killed some 300 ppl were hindus, but no one is bothred about their human rights i am a roman catholic, and where i leave we are a mojority, but i will not hurt a hindu or a muslim in my are as they a minority in my area, even if ther is a riot and hudus or muslim killed christain in other places or state becuase if i kill them more christain will be killed in other area and this cycle will go on, it makes sense to protect minorities in our own area, so the other arean they will be similarly protected by the other community 6, in gujrat christain are targated, but it does not mean i will target gujarati on our state, they are an absolute minority in my state, so easy to harass them but, it wont be right to do that, nor does my religion preach me to kill 7, if you have benn to india, u will see, when pakistan wins a match against india the muslims celebrate, i have seen it with my own eyes, in bombay, in muslim majority area, how am i suppose to feel, as an indian, when our fellow indian support our enemy country, and this was before all this peace talks ect 8, once in bandra a suburb in bombay, we were on the beach, having a drink, i had gone to indain after 2 years abroad, a beggar came, a small boy of 8/9 years, he collect trash(empty bottles) and begs at the smae time, it was our republic day 26th jan, i asked him you are a hindustani (indian)he said no he was a muslim, so you see what even the poorest of muslims are thaught offcourse we did not give him any alms, we had hindus/muslims in our group we were just chiling out, 9, yes i have lots of educated muslim friends who hate pakistan, they know pakistan is the root cause of all their woes,they are the silent minorities 10, for the muslims if the mullah say something its the gospel truth, and they follow them blindly all this fatwas ect in india, against the dannish cartons, agaist writer Taslima ect this irritaes the hindus, who think if you want to do all that go to pakistan and do it where it will be appreciated, 11, like just yesterday(midday news paper dated 04/08/07) some stupid catholic bisops meeing in london said yoga was against christanity, as it was a hindu practice, immediately 3/4 christain ordinary working class ppl said they have been doing it for year and hepled them physically to maintain good health, and that the bishop/pope can go to hell, my thaught excatly, but if the mullas had said that , it would be binding on all muslim, and they never oppose, even if its a wrong decision of the mullahs ( ia m waiting to catch my local parish priest and ask his views, as far as i know rome can go to hell, jesus never said yoga was against his preaching so you see riots in indai are not so simple religious difference, it is also percived as muslim a biased toward pakistan, which majority indians consider as our enemy, so when riots break out even ordinary hindu become violent, i have see it during bombay riots a person who was always very quite, was actually carrying petrol can to give the rioters, we werte shocked seeing that, so all this translates into action when it comes to giving aid to riot effected ppl, remmber the govt agency/police ect too are majority hindus, so they are all biased toward muslims because af all the above reasons, and if youu know about partitions, you will know of ethnic killing, wher the hindus/sikhs who were 30% in pakistan not they are less the1.5% of the population, they were slaughtred and people still remmember that, offcourse muslim too were killed we forget that, as they are still very visble minority in india, more then the population of pakistan, so they hindus feel betrayed, as they were thrown out of pak, but muslem continue to stay in india, and are not patriotic toward india, as their loyalty lies toward pakistan, offcourse this is not always true as millions of muslim swear by india, and are loyal to india so all this commision ect will not help on the ground, as long as the muslim do not come out of the pakistani hangover, they have to be vocal agaist all the wrong pakistan is doing ans well as the jihadis ect, then maybe ther will be peace on this land, i dream of a day wher india is at peace with itself, all religion co exist togather Richie.13 Feb 2008 11:43:15 GMT
Hats off to your mails.... it was an eye opener....
Jai Hind..