‘Ten Years of Resistance’ - post the Gujarat genocide

By Rafat Nayeem Quadri,

Ahmedabad: “This fortnight marks the 10th anniversary of the horrendous Godhra train fire and the communal carnage that followed in Gujarat, which consumed thousands of innocent lives.

“Among all factors that reflect on the vulnerability of the secular, democratic foundations of modern India, this decade highlights the serious limitations of our system of delivery of justice. This is one of the main yardsticks that measures the character of a modern republic.” These lines have been penned by Sitaram Yechury in Hindustan Times.

Entire Gujarat, specially Ahmedabad is hosting a series of events, in this context. Silver lining for Muslims in Gujarat has been felt in the fact that they are silent and working, not with a vengeance but with wisdom and foresight.

But, the best positive angle to the whole ten years’ resistance is seen by the fact that large number of Muslim girls have come out for education; poor and very poor, middle class and upper middle class all seem to have sort of taken avow to educate their daughters and sisters without listening to or paying any heed to any negative comment.

Legal course of action, delayed not denied seems to be in place, due to the system’s own compulsions and bindings. Victims and their families are struggling hard but NGOs are playing their own role.

On the eve of the completion of the decade as many as 50 organizations and more from Gujarat and other parts of the country have joined hands and chalked out several programs to commemorate the decade of genocide. This includes various seminars, lecture series, conventions and using other cultural mediums like hosting of films, plays and dramas, kavi sammelans, exhibition, demonstration, sufi music and Youth band.

Exhibitions depicting ‘Reflections of a Journey’ is an idea conceived, designed and executed by Shabnam Hashmi of ANHAD NGO.

Veteran dancer, choreographer and activist Mallika Sarabhai and her team too have organized a few such events. Several joint meetings of the representatives were held before finalizing the program list . Following is the details which can give an idea of the programs scheduled for the fortnight starting from 24th February to 7th March under the titles of “Insaf ki Dagar Par” and “Dastak”.

Some of the Organisations of “Insaf ki Dagar Par” and “ Dastak”

1. Action Aid
2. Arzoo
3. Adivasi Mahasabha
4. Alliance For Peace
5. All India Secular Forum - AISF
6. Aman Samuday
7. Asha Deep
8. Behavioural Science Centre - BSC
9. Centre for Justice and Peace - CJP
10. Citizens Resource And Action Initiative - CRANTI
11. Darpana
12. Darshan
13. Drishti
14. Documentation and Study Centre For Action
15. Gujarat Sarvoday Mandal
16. Himmat
17. Indian American Muslim Council - IAMC
18. Indian Social Action Forum - INSAF
19. Institute for Peace Studies and Conflict Resolutions - IPSCR
20. Islamic Relief Committee - IRC
21. Janvikas
22. Jashwant Thaker Memorial Foundation
23. Jyoti Karmachari Mandal
24. Lok Kala Manch
25. Loknad
26. Movement For Secular Democracy - MSD
27. Navsarjan
28. Nyayagrah
29. Parwaz
30. Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti - PSS
31. Peoples’ Union For Civil Liberties - PUCL
32. Prashant
33. Rajpipla Social Service Society - RSSS
34. Safar
35. Sahiyar (Stree Sangathan)
36. St. Xavier’s Social Service Society - SXSSS
37. Utthan
38. ANHAD
39. Bharaitya Muslim Mahilaandolan
40. Nari Shakti Sangathan
41. Adivasi Sarwangi Vikas and many more organisations

‘INSAF KI DAGAR PAR’ and ‘Dastak’

1. Chunibhai Vaidya (Eminent Gandhian Leader)
2. Prof. Ghanshyam Shah (Sociologist)
3. Prof. Juzar Bandukwala (Human Rights Activist & President, PUCL- Gujarat)
4. Mallika Sarabhai (Artist - Activist)
5. Prof. Navdeep Mathur (Professor, IIM)
6. Prakash N Shah (Eminent Activist)
7. Dr. Sudarshan Iyenger (Vice Chancellor, Gujarat Vidyapith)
8. Dr. Vidyut Joshi (Eminent Sociologist)
9. Shabnam Hashmi
10. Zakia Sonam
and many other activists of various NGOs and organisations

A Glimpse of the Programs

* Citizens Convention on ‘Peace, Harmony and Justice’
* Public Demonstration
* Exhibition and Sufi Sangeet at Gulberg Society
* Convention on ‘Internally Displaced People of Gujarat 2002’ and Release of Status
Report
* Film Screening of the Documentary Film ‘Jai Bhim Comrade’
Dialogue with Mr. Anand Patwardhan
* Multi-Lingual Kavi Sammelan
* A play ‘Beech Shahar’ by a Delhi based group ‘Alarippu’
* Documentary Film ‘Roshan Bayan’ by Amar Kanwar
* The decade of “Development” in Gujarat:
Claims by the Government, People’s Movements and the Ground Realities
* Documentary Film ‘Jashn-e-Azadi’ by Mr. Sanjay Kak
* Lessons Learnt From Gujarat Carnage
* Candle light vigil
* Exhibition depicting ‘reflections of a journey’
* Youth band with the music theme ‘peace and communal harmony’
* Poetry recitation by Gauhar Raza, Ibham Rashid, Haseen solanki and Shabnam Ansari
* Sufi singing by Dhruv Sangari
* Tabla by Amjad Khan
*
* Dialogue with Survivors
* Documentary Film ‘After The Storm’ by Mr. Shubhradeep Chakravorty
* 3 Documentary Films BY Pravin Mishra followed by a dialogue with him
(1) ‘Dharmaveer’
(2) ‘Azadnagar Gulamnagar’
(3) ‘Sumangali’

(Rafat Nayeem Quadri is Editor of BILKUL, Gujarat’s First English Fortnightly newspaper)