2002 Gujarat riots: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{POV}}

{{Not verified|date=July 2007}}

[[Image:Ahmedabad riots1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|The skyline of [[Ahmedabad]] filled with smoke as buildings and shops are set on fire by rioting mobs.]]

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==Post Godhra violence==

The first incidents of attacks on the minority Muslim community started at Ahmedabad, where Hindus began throwing stones at and later burned a Muslim housing complex known as Gulburg Society, and then spread elsewhere.<ref name="Dugger 200">Dugger, Celia W. ''200 Are Dead In 3-Day Riot Of Revenge In West India [[New York Times]]''. New York, N.Y.:[[2 March]] [[2002]]. p. A1</ref> The initial violence was instigated by unsubstantiated rumours, endorsed by a senior VHP leader, of Muslims having kidnapped three Hindu girls fromduring the trainsGodhra train attack.<ref name="Dugger 200"/> Thirty three towns of the state were severely affected and had to be placed under curfew at one point or another during this period. According to allegations made by [[Human Rights Watch]]s report compiled by Smita Narula, Muslim monuments like mosques and tombs were demolished,and at some places temples erected over them <ref name="hrw_mosques1">http://hrw.org/photos/2002/india/pages/3.htm</ref> <ref name="hwr_mosques2">http://hrw.org/photos/2002/india/pages/5.htm</ref><ref name="hwr_mosques2">http://hrw.org/photos/2002/india/pages/5.htm</ref>. U.K newspaper "''[[The Guardian]]''" reported that "two hundred and thirty different Islamic monuments, including a 400-year-old mosque were destroyed or vandalized" which "Right-wing Hindu scholars justified saying that India's Muslim Emperors had demolished Hindu temples to build mosques", so the gangs who tore down the Muslim shrines were merely "redeeming the past" <ref name="guardian_mosquescitation">http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,746174,00.html</ref>.

===Attacks on Muslims===

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==Role of government and police==

The [[Modi]] led state government was reprimanded at various levels including the National Parliament,{{Fact|date=July 2007}} and internationally. The Indian Supreme Court has been strongly critical of the state government's investigation and internationallyprosecution of those accused of violence during the riots.<ref>{{cite news | title = Court orders Gujarat riot review | publisher = BBC News Online | date = 17 August, 2004 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3572296.stm}}</ref> It was observed that the Gujarat government referred to the death of 58 people in the Godhra train episode as carnage while those post Godhra events, where at least 1000 perished were referred to as disturbances{{Fact|date=February 2007}} seen as an effort to pass on the subsequent deaths as a natural reaction to Godhra Train incident.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}

According to New York Times reporter Celia Dugger, witnesses were "dismayed by the lack of intervention from local police", who often "watched the events taking place and took no action against the attacks on Muslims and their property".<ref name="Dugger 60">Dugger, Celia W. ''Hindu Rioters Kill 60 Muslims in India [[New York Times]]''. New York, N.Y.:[[1 March]] [[2002]].</ref>

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{{cquote|The Gujarat state government and the police were criticized for failing to stop the violence, and in some cases participating in or encouraging it. NGOs report that police were implicated directly in nearly all the attacks against Muslims in Gujarat, and in some cases, NGOs contend, police officials encouraged the mob. The Government dispatched the NHRC to investigate the attacks against Muslims, but the NHRC's findings that the attacks against Muslims "was a comprehensive failure on the part of the state government to control the persistent violation of rights of life, liberty, equality, and dignity of the people of the state," led to widespread criticism in the Hindu community and allegations of government partiality.}}<ref>[http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2003/24470.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2003]. By the [[United States Department of State]]. Retrieved on [[April 19]] [[2007]].</ref>

The official commission led by [[G.T. Nanavati]], concludedwho thereleads wasthe noofficial lapsecommission oninvestigating the partriots of the government or policesaid in Gujarat.2003 "Thethat commissionthe hadevidence givenrecorded timetill tothen alldid thenot affectedindicate toany fileserious additional affidavitslapse on incidentsthe thatpart hadof takenthe placegovernment inor theirpolice respectivein localities during the February-March riots"Gujarat.<ref>[http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/may/18guj.htm No police lapse in Gujarat riots: Justice Nanavati] Rediff - [[May 18]] [[2003]]</ref>

==Role of Hindu nationalist organisations==

Some independent reports have blamed the [[Sangh Parivar]] organisations to be responsible for orchestrating the riots. These organisations include the [[Rashtriya_Swayamsevak_SanghRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh|RSS]], [[VHP]], [[Bajrang Dal]] and affiliated organisations. The adult victims of the Godhra train burning were pilgrims and some may have been members of the [[Vishwa Hindu Parishad]].

The [[People's Union of Civil Liberties]] allege that pamphlets were in circulation by the [[Sangh Parivar]] which could have ignited the violence further. [[Peoples Union of Civil Liberties]] is an Indian Civil Rights group along the lines of the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] that enumerated the list of these alleged documents<ref>[http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Religion-communalism/2002/gujarat-nhrc-submission.htm NHRC],''pucl.org''</ref>. They also reported that that there are "elements of economic boycott" against the Muslim community in most areas of Gujarat.[http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Religion-communalism/2002/gujarat-nhrc-submission.htm#Details]

Shortly after the riots, when most Muslims were still in relief camps, a leaflet campaign "urging Hindus to boycott Muslim-owned shops and other establishments" was widely reported<ref name="Dawn2"> "[http://www.dawn.com/2002/03/22/int2.htm Drive for boycott of Gujarat Muslims]", ''[[Dawn]], March 22, 2002</ref><ref name="WP1">"Sectarian Violence Haunts Indian City; Hindu Militants Bar Muslims From Work", by Rama Lakshmi, ''[[Washington Post]]'', April 8, 2002</ref>. The leaflets urged the Hindu reader not to frequent Muslim-owned restaurants, work in Muslim-run offices, hire Muslims or see films starring Muslim actors; they further assured the reader that the boycott would "throttle these elements. It will break their backbone. Then it will be difficult for them to live in any corner of this country."<ref name="Dawn2"/> The economic boycott and "pressure from Hindu radicals" caused fewer employers to re-hire returning Muslims<ref name="WP1"/>. No group claimed direct responsibility for the leaflets but a senior official of Viswha Hindu Parishad (VHP) was quoted as saying he was "in complete agreement with whatever is propagated through them"<ref name="Dawn2"/>.

However, the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, [[John Hanford]], reported that while religious intolerance was a major concern in Indian politics, "we don't believe that the Central Government even under the BJP Government was involved in inciting those riots." <ref>[http://www.hindu.com/2004/09/16/stories/2004091613381100.htm The Hindu International] ''U.S. raised Gujarat riots with BJP-led Government''</ref>

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====Planning====

* Muslims in Ahmedabad alleged that there were elements of planning in the violence<ref>[http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/12train1.htm Rediff.com]</ref>. [[Human Rights Watch]] alleges <ref>[http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/india We have no orders to save you!]</ref> that they also had detailed <ref>[http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=9837 precise knowledge ExpressIndia.com]</ref> about buildings and businesses held by members of the minority community while there were also cases where Hindus living in mixed neighbourhood were attacked and driven out of their homes. <ref>[http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=16851]</ref>. [[Human Rights Watch]] also alleges that that the trucks carried quantities of gas cylinders. Rich homes of people belonging to the Muslim community and business establishments were first systematically looted, stripped down of all their valuables, then cooking gas was released from cylinders into the buildings for several minutes [http://hrw.org/reports/2002/india/India0402-02.htm#P279_49415].

* Telegraph reports of Indian Intelligence admitting of a "[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/03/04/whind04.xml deliberate delay]" in deployment of the army in riot affected areas in order to give a free hand to Hindu mobs seeking revenge for [[Godhra Train Burning]].

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There have been several allegations of biased reporting of the riots by the media. Specifically, allegations have been made of deliberately loading the reports against Hindus and whitewashing the violence perpetrated by Muslims. Several newspaper columnists have lambasted media agencies for biased partisan reporting of the riots. The media, as well as several opinion makers, have been criticized for ignoring the causal connection between rise of [[Islamic fundamentalism]] in [[Jammu and Kashmir]] and other parts of the country and the resulting frustration of Hindus that led to the riots and falsely attacking Hindus as the sole cause and the sole perpetrators of the violence<ref>[http://www.indiacause.com/columns/OL_040713.htm Why I Refuse to Condemn Post-Godhra Riots]</ref>. [[Jayalalithaa Jayaram]], general secretary of the [[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]], also criticized the media and politicians for bias, saying "it is saddening and strange that when such acts are perpetrated against the minorities all political leaders rush to condemn. But when the majority is attacked, not a single political leader condemns it."<ref>[http://www.newindpress.com/Column.asp?ID=IEH20020301124139&P=old Madam, will they be shamed by your blunt words?],'''New India Press'''</ref><ref>[http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/05arvind.htm Why 'secular' history repeats itself],'''Rediff.com'''</ref>

BJPA MPBhartiya BalbirJanata PunjParty hasMP also responded to criticisms from the press and advocates such as [[Arundhati Roy]] by accusing them of hyperbole and sensationalising the riots as part of an agenda of what he calls 'defamation' and 'left wing anti-India propaganda' <ref name="Punj">[http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?sid=1&fodname=20020527&fname=Column+Balbir+%28F%29 Fiddling with facts as Gujarat Burns],''Outlook India''</ref><ref name="Balbir Punj">[http://www.hvk.org/specialrepo/guild/13.html Fiddling With Facts As Gujarat Burns], HVK archive of ''Outlook India''</ref>. In particular, Punj writes

"She (Roy) terms Gujarat the 'petri dish' of the [[Sangh Parivar]]. The fact is that [[Godhra]] has been used as a crucible by the secular fundamentalists." Punj later continues, "Loss of 900-odd innocent lives (both Hindus and Muslims) is definitely not a 'genocide' of any one community". Punj also says, "The secular pack is not only guilty of parading half-truths but also of condoning and inciting violence".<ref name="punj-mea" />

====Bias of the intelligentsia====

Columnist such as [[Rajeev Srinivasan]] of Rediff.com accused "the self-proclaimed 'intelligentsia' has been equally at fault: it has attempted to mislead the public with its biased and one-sided perorations"<ref name="Rajeev1">[http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/may/13rajeev.htm After the carnage: the predatory 'intelligentsia']</ref><ref name="Rajeev2">[http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/07rajeev.htm Blaming the Hindu Victim: Manufacturing Consent for Barbarism]</ref>.He says that there is a decidedly Marxist,"[[Nehru|Nehruvian]]vian" and [[anti-Hindu]] bias in the intelligentsia in India that leads them to believe that Hindu lives are "less valuable" than Muslim lives. This leads them to ignore the atrocities perpetrated by [[Islamism|Islamic Fundamentalists]] against Hindus, as well as the [[Godhra Train Burning]] that precipitated the riots, and deflect attention away from them by focusing on the actions of the Hindus<ref name="Rajeev1"/><ref name="Rajeev2"/>.

[[Bharatiya Janata Party|B.J.P.]] Member of Parliament [[Balbir Punj]] has written a scathing article against [[Arundhati Roy]]'s biased reporting and debunked many of her assertions as outrageous falsifications, though he did not deny her death toll figures concerning Ehsaan Jaffry incident<ref name="Punj"/><ref name="Balbir Punj"/>.

====Bias of the New York Times====

Celia Dugger, a journalist with the ''[[New York Times]]'', has written several articles on the riots<ref name="Dugger child"/><ref name="Dugger 60"/>. Her reporting of the 2002 Gujarat violence and other communal incidents has been criticized by columnist [[Varsha Bhosle]] as biased against [[Hindus]] <ref name="oldhabits"/>

====Bias of The Guardian====

The reports of the Gujarat riots by the United Kingdom based newspaper ''[[The Guardian]]'' has been criticized for leftist bias, specially for misusing the term "Genocide" by former [[Rediff]] columnist [[Varsha Bhosle]] writing that their claims of "Hindu bias" in Gujarat courts are unfounded.<ref name="Bhonsle"/>

==Notes==