2002 Gujarat violence refers to a series of riots and other incidents of mob violence that occurred in the Indian state of Gujarat in 2002. According to a Central Government report released in 2005, 254 Hindus and 790 Muslims were killed with an estimated 223 deemed missing, in the riots, which were driven by tensions between Hindus and Muslims in the state. It should be noted that the government paid Rs 1.5 lakh to the next of kin of each person killed and Rs 5,000, Rs 15,000, Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000 for the injured. The amount for the injured was based on the extent of injury.
The riots were triggered on February 27, 2002 by a fire on a passenger train that was passing through the town of Godhra. An estimated 59 passengers including 14 children were killed in the fire, which is reported to have occurred in a coach reserved for women and children. Many of the passengers were Hindu piligrims called Kar Sevaks returning from the Hindu religious site of Ayodhya. The cause of the fire is disputed. It was initially reported that the fire was started by a large mob which attacked the train without provocation (http://in.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/27train2.htm). Following such initial reports, there were riots in Gujarat state. In the following months, 254 Hindus and 790 muslims, were killed in riots throughout Gujarat.
The reasons for the train fire and the riots are fiercely disputed. One hypothesis states that the attackers were Muslim vendors at the Godhra station who had an altercation with the Kar Sevaks earlier, and that the riots were an expected retaliation to the train fire. Another hypothesis states that the riots were pogroms in disguise, carried out by members of the Sangh Parivar using the train fire as a pretext (http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1909/19091250.htm). Another hypothesis has been advanced by the one person investigation committee appointed by the railway ministry, that the train fire was accidentely set off by people inside the train. (http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/jan/17godhra.htm).
As of February 2005, the factual dispute regarding the 2002 Godhra train fire and the subsequent riots is not close to resolution.
The train fire in Godhra
In February 2002, a sleeper coach in the train Sabarmati Express, coming from Faizabad and proceeding towards Ahmedabad caught fire a few minutes after it left the Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002, killing an estimated 58 people. The coach that was ravaged in the fire was occupied predominantly by members and sympathisers of the Sangh Parivar, called Kar Sevaks who were returning after a pilgrimage to Ayodhya, a religious place in North India. This incident was a precursor to a spate of widespread communal violence in the state which lasted nearly three months.
The incident was widely reported in the media and the most commonly circulated version was that this was an incident of sabotage and arson, aimed at the Hindus. Because Godhra is a town with a Muslim majority, it was widely suspected that a few miscreants from that community were responsible for this incident. During the course of investigation, the central investigating agencies found evidence of arson. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) at Ahmedabad in its initial report, stated that the fire was fuelled by 60 litres of inflammable liquid; however, the final report of the Bannerjee Commission appointed by the Central Government, has subsequently dismissed that result.
Rhe following are the key points of contention between the various parties.
* A few eye-witnesses have testified that there was an altercation between a Kar Sevak and a Muslim tea vendor at the railway station preceding the catastrophe, apparently over the payment of the due amount. Some people claim that this incident had happened when the Kar Sevaks were on the way to Ayodhya, a few days earlier at the same station. The Sangh Parivar refutes the version and maintains that the passengers were the victims of unprovoked violence.
* The FSL report had concluded controversially that since the doors of the coach were latched from the inside, there was a possibility that the liquid fuel was thrown from the outside, prior to setting the fire. This prompted opposition parties (Congress and the Communist Party of India) to point the accusing finger at Sangh Parivar, suspecting it of stage-managing the incident to stir up communal tension for political gains. However, a few survivors claimed that they had managed to escape through the doors, and this raised questions about the veracity and completeness of the investigation report.
* The Sangh Parivar also alleged that a local Congress (I) opposition party member was involved in the arson. It alleged that the incident was not an act of immediate provocation and reaction, but one involving a deep-rooted conspiracy, involving terrorists.
Points of view differ on how the fire happened.
* The initial point of view in the media was that a mob of local people (mostly Muslims) lit the fire.
* Another point of view, based on interviews with passengers on the train, witnesses to the incident, local police and railway officials suggest that the fire could not have been lit from the ground, and that its cause was an argument provoked by the kar sevaks that became increasingly heated (metaphorically) to the point of becoming heated in a literal (and lethal) sense.
o A common version of this interpretation claims that the Kar sevaks refused to pay for snacks they bought at the train station, that they physically assaulted an old bearded Muslim tea vendor, they abducted his young daughter, they took her to the S-6 coach, locked its doors and closed the windows. This point of view is criticised as an urban legend or conspiracy theory by some.
* A railway ministry inquiry led by Retired Supreme Court judge Umesh Chandra Banerjee concluded that the fire was accidental. "There has been a preponderance of evidence that the fire in coach number S6 originated in the coach itself without any external input," he said, "The possibility of an inflammable liquid having been used is completely ruled out as there was first a smell of burning, followed by then (sic) smoke and flames thereafter." The neutrality of the railway ministry investigation is disputed since the commission was set up by the new central government which was in opposition at the time of the riots.
Many accusations were made about the media's role in reporting the fire:
* Some persons who believed the English language media in India to sympathize with communism, accused the media of applauding the burning of Hindus at the hands of Muslims and stating that "the Hindus asked for it".
* The English media was also criticized for reporting only half truths or spreading lies http://www.outlookindia.com/rants.asp?type...=20020527133759. It was not widely reported that the S-6 coach was already surrounded by a thousand (1000) strong mob pelting stones at the coach while the coach was burning.
* Some say that the story of Kar Sevaks assaulting the Muslim tea vendor's daughter and carrying her onto the train was presented by the Western media as fact despite being merely an urban legend.
* Another accusation is that the Gujarati language media uncritically quoted the words of Chief Minister Narendra Modi. And the English language media quoted his words "out of context".
The investigating officer of the criminal case recently stated that there are "terrorist links" to this fire.http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/jan/17godhra1.htm.
The riots that followed
In the massacre that followed the Godhra incident, it had been reported that over 1000 people were killed. Points of view differed on the number, with the figure 1000 being seen by some as an exaggeration, and by others as an understatement. Points of view differ with respect to how these deaths occurred: some refer to these as riots while others refer to these as a pogrom. However as presented in the Indian parliament by the Junior Home Minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal (INC), 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus perished in post-Godhra riots.
On February 28, in one incident in Ahmedabad, at Naroda Patia, a crowd of people set fire to the locality, altogether killing at least 65 people. The community religious place was burnt using LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinders. In the following days, hundreds of young people with swords, daggers, axes, and iron rods walked around the area, shouting angry slogans.
According to Human Rights Watch, who visited Naroda Patia three weeks later, homes in the area were completely burnt for the affected. Several witnesses claimed that the police failed to protect residents.
These killings were investigated in an unofficial inquiry headed by a retired Justice. The inquiry included gathering and analysis of 2094 oral and written testimonies, both individual and collective, from survivors and independent human rights groups, women's groups, NGOs and academics.
On part of the government's effort to control the riots:
* Deployed the army, after 72 hours. However it should be noted that the nearest army battalions were initially deployed at the west of India bordering Pakistan as part of "Operation Parakram".
* Made preventive arrests of over 33,000 people, mainly Muslim
* Fired over 12000 rounds of bullets
* Fired over 15,000 rounds of tear gas shells
However, some observers claim that several events in the report Crime Against Humanity - An Inquiry into the Carnage in Gujarat are fictitious. Moreover, they claim that the opinions of Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer are biased by his left-wing politics; in particular, they attach importance to his role as a Kerala state government minister in the 1957 Communist Party government of E. M. S. Namboodiripad, and as a candidate for President of India in 1987, chosen by the opposition (including the BJP, against the ruling Congress Party.
Electoral consequences
Chief minister Narendra Modi resigned and sought a fresh mandate from the people of Gujarat. After campaigning throughout the state using a 'Gujarati Pride' platform, and insisting that the riots were blown out of proportion by the left-wing, English-speaking elite, he was re-elected by a landslide, in the biggest victory in the history of Gujarat.
Arrests and charging of alleged perpetrators during 2003
As of mid October 2003, about 80 people had been charged and arrested in relation to these incidents with the charge of conspiracy against the state. Almost all have been charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). According to Amnesty International, the arrestees have been subjected to arbitrary and illegal and incommunicado detention, have been denied access to lawyers, relatives, and medical attention, and have been tortured.
On November 24, 2003, a sessions court judge in the Nadiad District found 15 people guilty (out of 63 accused) for the killing of 14 people on March 3, 2002 in the village of Ghodasar.
See also
* ethnic stereotype - stereotyping
* ethnic conflict in India
External references
* A report on the altercation between the Muslim tea vendor and the kar sevaks in magazine Outlook
* Human Rights Watch (HRW) report 'We have no orders to save you'
* The HRW Report on Gujarat: Another Assassination
* Efforts to bring justice to the victims of the violence
* Early news reports on the violence
* The sufferings of victims
* After the carnage: the predatory 'intelligentsia'
* Indian Express-Full Coverage: The Gujarat Riots
* The Gujarat Riots Homepage
* Crime Against Humanity - An Inquiry into the Carnage in Gujarat (a report by the private agency Sabrang Communications)
Dionne Bunsha. Who is this shameless liar ? Somebody mentioned on Sulekha newshopper that the recent spurt in activity regarding Guj riots coincides with the Christian missionary attempt to undermine the Shabri Kumbh Mela.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Best fakery : 9 out of 17 convicted. This needs to go to SC. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
As an aside, was anyone involved in the Radhabhai Chawl massacre convicted?
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->As an aside, was anyone involved in the Radhabhai Chawl massacre convicted? <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Nope, anyway she is hindu, like always justice denied.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Three days after the Radhabai Chawl arson, the police arrested 17 Muslims. In October 1996, 11 of them were convicted by the additional sessions judge of the TADA court and sentenced to life imprisonment. Immediately, a committee to defend them was formed by Samajwadi Abu Asim Azmi and representatives of the Jamiat-e-Ulema and the Muslim Council. Next, the Supreme Court ruled that the police had framed the 11 Muslims and "somehow tried to get them identified through witnesses who belonged to the community from which the people were burnt alive." You see, two of the women who died had not identified the accused in their dying statements...</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Thanks for bringing this up. The Judiciary has to handle this issue and the mess that it has landed itself in. The precedence that this case has set is terrible -> extra-judicial forces can affect the course of justice and that 'public' opinion matters when it comes to delivering justice. A precedence that the judiciary will find very hard to follow. The other precedence is equally if not more dangerous -> parts of judiciary is affected by the state and that it is neccesary that for trials to be shifted in order to get a 'fair' trial.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->According to reports, however, many Congressman in North Gujarat are clandestinely helping riot accused to win over their sympathy.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Post-Godhra riots: DNA test nails 4 killers
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> ahmedabad, may 18:What proved to be the clincher in this case was the DNA test. Four years after they hacked a man to death in the aftermath of Godhra, a fast track court today convicted four men and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Two others, also accused of butchering Devanand Ambalal Solanki, a surveyor at the sales tax office, were acquitted.
Special City Sessions Judge D T Soni sentenced the accused â Faqruddin Kamruddin Mirza, Mohammed Zaheer Abdul Aziz Ansari, Zakir Husain Mehboob Husain and Mohammed Afzal Mohammed Taufiq Sheikh â to life imprisonment. In the judgment, the court observed ââ... though awarded imprisonment for life, however, the convicted persons shall be kept in jail till their whole life.ââ
This post-Godhra riot case is the first in Gujarat where scientific evidence (DNA tests) nailed the guilty. The accused were booked under various sections of IPC 364, 201, 302 and Bombay Police Act. A fine of Rs 5,000 each was also ordered, failing which the accused would have to undergo another six months imprisonment.
The court issued perjury notices on three witnesses, Dilip Nanji Solanki, Ravindra Kumar Mafatlal Parmar and Rehman Rasul Mansuri, who turned hostile during proceedings. According to the prosecution, the motive behind the murder was ââretaliationââ for killing of Muslims during post-Godhra riots.
Solanki was forcibly taken away by a group of people from near his residence in Vaghriwas on March 30, 2002, at around 10 pm. His body was found in a pit near Vankarvas on April 12, 2002. His body was cut into more than 30 pieces after which acid and salt were dumped on it.
Police, along with a magistrate and other witnesses, dug up the place to recover the remains and called in forensic experts to check whether it was Solankiâs body. The weapons used by the accused, all in the age group of 20-25 years, to kill Solanki were also found by the police from Vankarvas where they had been hidden. They include a butcherâs knife (used by Mirza), a wooden stick (Ansari), a hockey stick (Mehboobhusain) and a sword (Sheikh).
Circumstantial evidence was taken into consideration and DNA samples taken from blood found on the weapons were matched with Solankiâs DNA. Forensic tests had earlier been conducted to prove that the body was Solanki. Public Prosecutor K L Trivedi said: ââSamples from bone marrow were taken so that DNA tests could be conducted. It was found that Solankiâs family membersâ DNA matched the DNA samples. Trivedi said, ââThe FSL report also made it clear that acid and salt were used to speed up decomposition of the body. The court also considered corroborative evidences.ââ
A witness, Vishwanath Kantilal Shrimali, who had seen the four accused dragging Solanki away, recognised them in court. Three other witnesses who turned hostile will be heard on perjury charges on June 14. Trivedi said the court took cognisance of the SC order in the Best Bakery case.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Special City Sessions Judge D T Soni sentenced <b>the accused â Faqruddin Kamruddin Mirza, Mohammed Zaheer Abdul Aziz Ansari, Zakir Husain Mehboob Husain and Mohammed Afzal Mohammed Taufiq Sheikh </b>â to life imprisonment. In the judgment, the court observed ââ... though awarded imprisonment for life, however, the convicted persons shall be kept in jail till their whole life.ââ <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The court issued perjury notices on three witnesses,<b> Dilip Nanji Solanki, Ravindra Kumar Mafatlal Parmar and Rehman Rasul Mansuri</b>, who turned hostile during proceedings. According to the prosecution, the motive behind the murder was ââretaliationââ for killing of Muslims during post-Godhra riots. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Â <b>CHETAK COMMANDO FORCE</b>
Gujarat has one Chetak Commando Force unit at Gandhinagar.
But, Gujarat Government has decided to create CHETAK COMMANDO FORCE UNITS at every district to fight the muslim terrorists. This will help to fight the terrorist rapidly and locally.
Gujarat is to buy modern weapons and equipment for fighting the terrorists and the Chetak Commando Forces will be trained with these equipment.
This is a very good step. A special riot control commando force needs to be setup and people need to see it in action - I dont think it is required at a district level but the logistics can be decided. Regular demos of these riot control forces need to be shown in all parts of the country. A few movies need to be made on these.
A real credible fear of these forces needs to be established.
--------------------
Another thing that is needed is some way of having video footage of all riots in action - it can perhaps get cost-prohibitive but we need to get creative on this somehow - the biggest problem with riots is there is very little evidence available for prosecution later on.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Another thing that is needed is some way of having video footage of all riots in action - it can perhaps get cost-prohibitive but we need to get creative on this somehow - the biggest problem with riots is there is very little evidence available for prosecution later on. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
When politicians are involved it is very difficult to get evidence. Intimidations from politician goons are major problem. What happened after 1984 riots? Thousands of people have seen Congress leader were involved in rioting. When Army called in they had heated discussion with Congress leaders, but what happened, intimidation worked and even victims have become hostile.
But media is also selective and they are with agenda. Why we can see only Muslim victims, but more than 300 hindus also died and their houses got burned? But media call post Gujarat riots as genocide and what not against muslims.
<b>Godhra call CDs will be analysed: Nanavati</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->In a significant development, the Nanavati-Shah Commission probing the Godhra riots and its aftermath has asked the Gujarat government counsels to prepare a list of independent agencies, to analyse the two CDs containing cell phone call details of BJP and VHP leaders, police officers and prominent rioters during the days of turmoil in the state in 2002.
The commission would thereafter entrust the job of analysing the CDs to one agency out of a list of three or four prepared by the state government.
Senior IPS officer Rahul Sharma (who was later sent on deputation to the CBI) had submitted the two CDs, containing call details of all cell phones in the state from February 27 to March 7, 2002, to the commission.
,,,,,,,,,,,<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Gujarat has no time for riot activism </b>
Pioneer.com
Swapan Dasgupta
Film appreciation being a matter of personal taste, the rah-rah over the release of NRI film-maker Rahul Dholakia's Parzania should be greeted with some caution. Any film which proceeds on the loose assumption that the post-Godhra communal explosion in Gujarat was a pre-meditated carnage by Hindus is bound to be trumpeted by the powerful Left-liberal establishment. I don't know if Parzania fits the bill but I do hope that at least a handful of theatre-owners in Gujarat decide the film is worth screening. Â
Such a decision will involve a commercial risk since normal Gujaratis will be loath to see themselves as bloodthirsty butchers - even if they genuinely feel for the unfortunate Parsi family which was a victim of the prevailing madness. Yet, the presence of Parzania in the cinemas of Gujarat will put an abrupt end to the self-serving myth that Chief Minister Narendra Modi has transformed the state into an intolerant fascist paradise. Modi has already made it clear that there is absolutely no restriction on Parzania, just as there was no restriction on Fanaa, but, naturally, it is not up to him to stitch commercial deals with cinema owners.
Since the decisive Gujarat Assembly election of 2002 it has become something of a fashion for celebrities to court publicity by trashing either Modi or Gujarat. Sometimes the route to secularist heroism leads from the Narmada dam but, more often than not, there is the mandatory bad-mouthing of Modi for allegedly organising a "pogrom". Some metropolitan busybodies have made a career peddling Muslim victimhood and the Government has put its stamp of approval by honouring Teesta Setalvad with a Padma award.
The coming days will probably witness a campaign to exempt Parzania from entertainment tax. <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>With the Gujarat polls due in December this year, secularist crusaders will do their utmost to rekindle memories of 2002 and fuel Muslim disquiet.</span>
Although it is unfair to link the makers of Parzania to this campaign, there is a detectable desperation driving this unending riot activism.<b> Had Gujarat witnessed the normal process anti-incumbency, it is more than likely that the Congress in Gujarat would have taken the lead in organising the anti-Modi campaign. However, two developments have made a surrogate campaign imperative.</b>
First, Gujarat is witnessing an unprecedented economic boom. The State's 10 per cent annual growth rate, including a spectacular growth in agricultural income, has galvanised the entrepreneurial energies of Gujaratis. The staggering Rs 4.49 lakh crore new investments promised in the vibrant Gujarat conference earlier this month was symptomatic of market confidence in a State which has perfected the business of encouraging business. What distinguishes Gujarat is that the State is not witnessing the urban-rural tensions which have put a big question mark over the Special Economic Zones in many parts of India. The Gujarat model is working and is being quietly appreciated.
Second, the political returns from running a dynamic administration are accruing to the Chief Minister. The past five years have witnessed umpteen attempts, both by BJP dissidents and the Congress, to destabilise Modi. His imperious, no-nonsense style of functioning has drawn flak from the political class and a dodgy local media. But, far from being weakened, Modi has demonstrated time and time again his ability to connect with ordinary voters. The inspirational quality of his leadership has made Modi the poster boy of both Gujarat and the entire rank-and-file of the BJP. This is creating jitters in the political class.
The forward march of Gujarat and Modi is not based on what happened after Godhra five years ago. Indeed, the communal question does not feature on the Gujarat agenda although it is present elsewhere in India. Even Modi's reputation as a Hindu strongman now rests on his success in running India's most successful Government. Even the ill-considered US diplomatic boycott of Modi is crumbling: Last November, he was in China and Singapore and in April he will visit Japan.
Parzania looks back in history. In Gujarat, however, they are looking to the future.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The middle-class attitude is shorn of any moral compunction when it comes to the riots<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Modi has put himself forward as a champion of right-wing economics, a popular platform among a people famous throughout India for their business acumen, not least in the diamond trade.
"So long as he makes money, his business flourishes, the middle-class Gujarati Hindu is happy," said Nisad Ahmed Ansari, a Persian scholar and politician. "They skirt moral issues."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
A lesson in psyops, maybe thats what they teach in all these journalism classes. Notice the title on this section, it called "booming economy".
Conjure up an image -> muslims=second-class citizens, never mind they are the highest educated compared to any other states, prosper economically and have started getting out of the ghetto-attitudes and supporting Modi. But never mind that, this piece is for international audiences, you just mention "second-class citizens" and the white man in the west will conjure up the black beggar he brushed-off on the street, the mexican he thinks is only capable of 5$ an hour. White man associates the "second class citizen" to these poor fellas he saw on the street and is only too eager to compensate for it by passing judgement on those "first-rate citizens" aka the yindoos.
Strengthen the image -> mention some history and why all yindoos burn atleast one muslim and rape 6 muslim wimmen.
Now come up with statement from the alleged first-class-citizen.
Hit is complete.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->But all this means little for the state's 5.2 million Muslims, virtually relegated to second-class citizenship, many of whom pursue either menial jobs or small businesses from their ghettos.
Modi's success feeds off a history of communal tension in a state which was invaded and plundered over the centuries, mostly by Muslims.
"In Modi, middle-class Gujaratis found a hero who first successfully projected Muslims as the villains and then assured them protection from that community," Sethi said.
In the streets of Ahmedabad, the state's main city, many Hindus say their chief minister has done them proud.
"Modi-ji says today we can go anywhere with our heads held high and we don't need to worry about Muslims. It is true," said Hitenbhai Patel, an Ahmedabad shop owner.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Why don't this Mukherjee worry about his own state, last i heard Muslims were the most backward in the progressive WB, he is just jealous that Gujarat has not been turned into a dump by his commie cronies.
Bengal CM refers to Modi success
BISWAJIT ROY
Calcutta, Feb. 27: In a note to the Left Front partners, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has pointed out Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modiâs ability to attract investments, never mind his politics, and suggested that Bengal âshould not sit idleâ.
âHe has been bringing the highest investment to the state for years. Riots may be taking place, but investments are also flowing. Should we sit idle?â the chief minister has asked in the note, forwarded to the allies by front chief Biman Bose.
âInvestors are also making a beeline for Bengal.... (But) if we fail to take decisions in time, the money would go elsewhere,â he warned the allies, who are not happy with Bhattacharjee courting capital.
The chief minister admitted in the document his strident opposition to business houses in the past, but also referred to the âepochal transitionâ that Bengal is witnessing. âI once supported the call to oust Tata-Birla. Today, we are helping the Tatas set up shop here in a changed situation. Is there any alternative?â
The note, a follow-up to meetings with the RSP, CPI and the Forward Bloc on the land reforms bill, however, failed to placate the partners. They complained that it says nothing about the contentious issues â such as relaxing the rural land ceiling and allowing the private sector right to transfer land acquired for industry.
âIt only underlines the chief ministerâs vision of development,â a front leader said
*******
I think Modi is doing something RIGHT that a rabid commi is taking him a example...Modi just needs to watch out for this year's election..Don't want congress in Gujarat.
GUJARAT 5 YEARS LATER - The Camp Children
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The mothers are bitter about the circumstances their children were born in. âMy in-laws took away a big share of the Rs 1 lakh compensation I received after my husbandâs death,â says Jubeda Mehmood Ali Shaikh. âBy the time we came back from the relief camp I was completely broke.â
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The'SECULAR BLINDFOLD' on Godhra
3/4/2007 5:55:24 PM H.Balakrishnan
Justice D.S. Tewatia, former Chief Justice, Calcutta High Court and Punjab and Haryana High Court.Under his aegis, the Council For International Affairs And Human Rights, based in New Delhi published a report based on a six-day field study on Godhra carnage.The other members of the team were Dr J.C. Batra, senior advocate, Supreme Court, Dr Krishan Singh, academician, Jawahar Lal Kaul, veteran journalist, and Prof. B. K. Kuthiala, Dean, Faculty of Media Studies, G.J. University, Hisar.
Based on the considerable oral, audio and visual evidence obtained from the above interactions, the Justice Tewatia team's conclusions most relevant to the blindfold on Godhra were that the burning of 58 Hindu pilgrims on February 27, 2002 was an act carried out at the behest of then government of Pakistan which had planned to burn the entire Sabarmati Express carrying some 2000 passengers. The primary objective was to create Hindu-Muslim communal conflagration in India.
The report further states that actual perpetrators were jehadi elements in the predominantly Muslim town of Godhra where:
(A)-a very high traffic of telephone calls was recorded between Godhra and Pakistan, especially Karachi, before the date of the carnage
(B)-an abnormally large number of passports were issued
(D)-a large number of unemployed Muslims had mobile phones,
(E)-though there is no tradition of being a Muslim pilgrim center and the local Muslims are not affluent, three istema (religious gatherings)have been held and attended by large numbers of foreigners, and
,(F)-an Assistant Collector (a young Muslim from eastern UP) went on leave two days before the gory incident and did not return till the middle of March though the district of his posting was aflame with communal riots much earlier.
The report further goes on to state that the media selected, distorted and added fiction to prove their respective points of view. The code of ethics prescribed by the Press Council of India was violated by the media with impunity. It so enraged the citizens that several concerned citizens in the disturbed areas suggested that peace could return to the state only if some of the TV channels were closed for some weeks.
As the well known columnistand author,Mr.Arvind Lavakare,wrote in the media-
"The Myth and Truth of Godhra":'Conclusions 1 to 4 above are indicators as to why our national media, ever afraid to criticise the Muslim and ever ready to indulge in BJP/Hindu bashing, bypassed the Justice Tewatia Report, despite its high credentials and the fact that it was publicly released at a press conference in New Delhi. After all, our 'secular' national media simply could not have tolerated giving even a line to report's conclusion 5 above. Hence, they simply buried the whole report itself, put a blindfold on the country vision of it. After all,they had found their Hindu-bashing agenda in the post-Godhra riots and they were hell-bent in pushing it full steam, right up to the Supreme Court and beyond to the United Nations.Will the criminal conviction of 16 Muslims, by two separate sessions judges in Ahmedabad remove the blindfold on Godhra that the 'monster media' put on the people of this country?
