By Shahab Khan,
Why did the “Gujarat” happen? I don’t mean the “Gujarat” of Gandhi. I mean the “Gujarat” of violence, murder, rape, loot, arson and religious fanatics, which India came to witness in 2002. Why did that “Gujarat” happen? And who is responsible for it? Who should be punished for it? The answer is to be pondered upon.
“Gujarat” is no more just the name of an Indian state but a synonym for communal divide, delayed corrective action and someone’s conclusion that if hatred is spread in the way “Gujarat” recently saw it, its promoters will be assured of victory, election after election. Do the election results and the formation of Government depend on how many people are killed and how many women are raped? Is this the kind of future India should be looking forward to? The answer is in negative.
The state that was known for deep cultural heritage and historic monuments is, unfortunately now associated with the story of gory death, arson, crime against helpless and hapless women, alienated hopeless minority. How did this most God-fearing citizen turn into beast? How come dwellers of the place where the sea waves wash Somnath in obeisance of peace become so blood thirsty?
As far as I perceive the whole scenario of “Gujarat” in 2002 as a Genocide, I would like to quote Black Elk, “I did not know then how much was ended. When I look back now from this high hill of my old age, I can still see the butchered women and children lying heaped and scattered all along the crooked gulch as plain as when I saw them with eyes still young. And I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud, and was buried in the blizzard. A people’s dream died there. It was a beautiful dream”. (Of one unified secular progressive prosperous nation).
Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1941 who combined the Greek word genos (Race) with the Latin word Cide to kill coined the word Genocide. Convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime: Article 2 (1948) defines the Genocide as “with Intent to destroy in whole or in a part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.
The definition also stipulates that Genocidal crimes are committed against specific kinds of groups with deliberate purpose of eradicating them.
India’s genocidal history particularly has been stained with endless struggle between the upper and lower caste, the religious minorities, the dominant group and the state organized militia.
In modern India there are many instances of the communal clashes throughout its territory especially in Gujarat it became the common feature since 1969,1985,1986,1992 and 2002.
As the political stock of ruling right wing of BJP started dwindling through 1999-2001, it replaced Keshubhai Patel with the RSS pracharak Narendra Modi as Gujarat CM to face ensuing elections. The burning of Sabarmati Express S-6 coach on 27 Feb 2002 claiming 59 Hindus lives, nearly 2500 innocent Muslims were brutally killed many more permanently handicapped, hundreds of rapes, gang rape, mass rape become the main theme at their homes, farms, factories and on the roadside. Several thousand homes were gutted, thousands of people lost livelihood tenancy and heritage. Some could never return to their villages and some are still living in camps.
Gujarat bandh call was made by VHP on 28 Feb. 2002, it’s well known decision of 1998 by supreme court which made it illegal, and violation of fundamental rights, despite that the state to nullify that dictate, it whole heartedly supported it. Modi’s Newtonian theory of communal action and reaction was easily visible. Here the vision of Centre even failed to give the concrete solution and direction, can India’s political leadership ever forget Gandhi’s four months long 116 mile walk through east Bengal? And his fast unto death that later put an end to violence in Calcutta? For those who speak of police and military responses, it is useful to recall, Mountbatten’s words “in the Punjab we have 55,000 soldiers and large scale rioting on our hands. In Bengal our force consists of one man and there is no rioting”. The Centre’s feeble response can’t be undermined, even the shameful justification of rape by George Fernandes is enough to reach at conclusion, that they had no will to safeguard the lives and properties of minorities in Gujarat on that time.
It witnessed the bloodiest day of murder, arson, rape, loot and so on (Similar to red Sunday of 1905 in Russia). Early in the morning of 28th February 2002 at half past eight, hatred filled fanatic mob of Hindus, including RSS, VHP, Bajarang Dal and prominent figure of BJP went on a complete rampage. The rioters moved recklessly with deadly weapons, swords, highly inflammable liquid, guns, bombs (made with diesel, kerosene and petrol) and so on, with the help of state who stood with rioters and even supported murderous mob, the police personnel even fired on fleeing crowd of Muslims
After the 2 days complete failure of law and order and breakdown of state machinery and its behavior like a mute spectator resulted in death of 2500 innocent Muslims including women and children, many went missing forever. Besides a colossal damage was done to Muslim property in the riot infected areas.
Ironically a major section of the accused is out in free air on bail.
The gravity of offence can be understood as that all the accused are charged with IPC Sec 120(B), 153, 153 (a), 153 (2) (a), 186, 188, 202, 295, 295 (a), 298, 302, 305, 323, 324, 326, 332, 395, 396, 397, 398, 427, 435, 436, 440 offence read with 149 and S.34 other 143, 144, 145, 147 and 148 read with Sec 144 offence of Bombay Police Act 135 (1).
Further, some accused are charged with 376 (2) (g), 354 read with 34 (1, 10, 22, 25, 26, 28,40) and 315 with Sec 34 (18, 22).
Unfortunately snail’s pace of law and discriminatory predetermined judiciary, equipped with prejudice, and state’s favorite public prosecutor has delayed justice to such an extent that many accused slowly went to their deathbeds naturally.
The lack of state’s will to punish the perpetrators can be understood from the fact that there are still many accused who have not been arrested and they are declared absconder by charge sheet.
Among the accused, there are some most powerful, economically sound and states influential policy makers people like Babubhai @ Babu Bajrangi Rajabhai Patel, Kishan Khubchand Korani, Dr. Mayaben Sureshbhai Kodnani, Ashok Kundanlal Sandhi, Manojbhai Ramlal Sindhi @ Manoj Sandhi, Bipinbhai Umedray Panchal @ Bipin Autowala, Kirpal Singh, Jangbahadur Singh…These are the people who can go to any extent to escape their wolf-skin, liability of carnage and charges framed against them. They can transfer the judges (Jyotsanaben Yagnik to B.J. Dhandha and then again to Jyotsanaben Yagnik especially for the case of Naroda Patiya), threaten the lawyers of victims, can bribe the Public Prosecutors, intimidate the witnesses (which has also resulted in many witnesses becoming hostile).
Alas! The effort of CJP (Citizens for Justice and Peace) has not been so fruitful in comparison to its enormous effort; lack of will in the judiciary to award justice and punish the perpetrator is like a distant dream.
So who is guilty in Gujarat? Sadly the majority of population in Gujarat, who voted for BJP, in a way favoured the massacre of 2002. Not a single religious guru of Hindu or any of its cultural social front has made any public statement condemning the killings publicly. Instead, all kinds of crafty justification and consolations have been systematically planned in popular perception.
Does Gujarati honour (Asmita as Modi calls it) lie in saving or bailing out the murderer or rapists? The integration of nation has been badly affected. The Muslim psyche not just within Gujarat but also throughout India is deeply hurt. Nothing in recent times not even Babri Mosque demolition has shaken and shattered their faith in Indian state as much as Gujarat Genocide did. Not until the state acts decisively to punish the guilty and compensate the losses fully, not until the Hindu clergy and society condemn the massacre, not until the Moditva is extinguished or perished and Modi’s trial, can there justice be perceived?
With a traumatized Muslim in every Mohalla, a gangraped Sofiya in every town, and a crying Bilqis begging for justice in wilderness, how can there be any peace and harmony?
We must look for an answer, unfortunately it has to come through the tears and blood of our own people, from the murdered people, from the rioting on streets, from the burning houses, from the fear of people who wanted to kill men and women due to difference of faith, from the womb of a pregnant woman who was chased down the street and uterus slit open, to kill the fetus because it was developing in the womb of a mother who had a different faith.
The question will haunt India forever.
(The author is a law student at Aligarh Muslim University. He was on a month-long trip to Gujarat to study the cases of the riots 2002)