[sacw] SACW #2 | 04 Mar. 02 [ 'Communal' Violence in Gujarat India]

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire - Dispatch #2 | 04 March 2002 {INDIA SPECIAL}

__________________________

#1. INVITATION - Public Convention & Communal violence and Peace=20
March (New Delhi, 5 March)
#2. Sit-in to protest against mass murder in Gujarat (New Delhi, 5 March)
#3 Stop the Riots in Gujarat - Resist the Fascist VHP (Rohit Prajapati & et=
al)
#4. Gujarat plagued by sporadic violence (BBC)
#5. Hey Ram! (Gourisankar Ghosh)
#6. Spurned Hindutva Launches Ethnocide (I.K.Shukla)
#7. Dissmiss the killer Govt of Gujarat ... Save Gujarat Save India (CPIML=
)
#8. Appeal from the Citizens Of Gujarat
#9. SAHMAT CALLS MODI A 'MASS MURDERER'
#10. from john dayal-some startling facts
#11. Religious fanatics rediscover a medieval weapon (Sukrat Desai)
#12. Vajpayee Government: Act Now To Stop The Mob Violence. - The=20
Whole World Is Watching You. (Text of flyer from New York Demo)
#13. Sign On Letter : Asiapeace Urges the Government of India to Ban=20
all Extremist Organizations (thanks to Prof Ishtiaq Ahmed)
#14. Govts should have no right to reject riots panels' reports
#15. Saffronised police show their colour ( Manas Dasgupta)
#16. Stigma of Gujarat (Times of India, Edit)
#17. A comment ( Amir Ullah Khan)

________________________

#1.

whither india? COME TO 35 FEROZSHAH RD. NEW DELHI ON MARCH 5, 2002, AT 3.00=
PM

Invitation

In the context of widespread communal violence a challenging situation has
arisen. Through inaction, whether deliberate or otherwise, the government i=
n
power has allowed fringe fundamentalist forces to take over and engage in
arson, looting and mass killing of innocent citizens on a wide scale
reminiscent of the medieval barbarism. One consequence of this unhappy
situation is that the secular credentials of the state and its legitimacy
remain wholly compromised. There is pre-eminent need to bring academics,
intellectuals, social activists, concerned citizens and religious leaders t=
o
re-invoke and revive constitutional values and traditional ethos of
pluralism and coexistence.

Some of us have taken the initiative to convene a half-day convention to
deliberate on the current situation and its future consequences to the
polity and society from 3:00 P. M. on 5 March 2002 at JNU City Centre, 35
Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi.

At the end of the convention the participants would form themselves into a
peace march. .

We urge you to come and participate in this convention and the peace march.

Conveners

Prof Imtiaz Ahmad
Ms. Nirmala Deshpande
Prof M H Qureshi
Praful Bidwai
Swami Agnivesh
Rev Valson Thambu
Zafar Agha
Professor V. K. Tripathi

_____

#2.

Subject: Dharna to protest against mass murder in Gujarat
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 2002 11:36:04 +0530 (IST)

Friends,

Are you outraged by the mass murder perpetrated by the communal-fascists al=
l
across Gujarat with the help of the BJP led state and NDA led central
governments? If you believe that the butcher of Gujarat, Narendra Modi
should be removed as Chief Minister and he and his ministers along with the
VHP and Bajrang Dal leaders should be arrested and prosecuted for mass
murder then join us in a protest on Tuesday, March 5 at 3 pm at the Jantar
Mantar.

With best wishes,

(Gautam Navlakha)
on behalf of organisers
The dharna has been called by AIFTU, AIPRF, IFTU, Bigul Mazdoor Dasta, DSU,
PSU, DJAM

_____

#3.

Date: Sun, 03 Mar 2002 14:12:36 +0500

Stop the Riots in Gujarat
Resist the Fascist VHP

On 27th February, several compartments of a train were set on fire near
Godhra in Gujarat. The train was carrying many "kar sevaks" of the Viswa
Hindu Parishad. For several months, the VHP has been whipping up communal
tension and targeting Muslims with its renewed focus on temple building at
Ayodhya at the site where the Babri Masjid had stood till 6th December
1992. With a BJP dominated government at the centre (and in UP till
recently) as well as a BJP government in Gujarat, the VHP had had ample
support. Its forces had carried on extremely provocative activities without
any hindrance. Without in the least condoning the Godhra massacre, it must
be set in the perspective of continuous Hindutva provocations =96
provocations that had goaded some people of the minority communities
evidently beyond endurance and had led to such a reprehensible act.
We the citizen of and activist of Gujarat unreservedly deplores the
torching of the train compartments leading to a large number of deaths.
While warning the people of minority communities that this cannot be any
legitimate response, and condemning the action, we also need to situate it
in the proper context. There has been continuous violence against Muslims
in BJP ruled provinces (also elsewhere, but particularly in those states).
In recent times, the promulgation of POTO has targeted Muslims =96 even whe=
n
communalists have been attacked, only the Muslim communalists of SIMI have
been the target, while the Bajrang Dal or the VHP have not had a single
hair on their heads touched.
The immediate reaction of Hindu communalist and fascist forces has been to
talk, as usual, of Hindu tolerance and its abuse by the perfidious Muslims.
The truth is quite different. Massive riots have been unleashed, with the
epicentre at Gujarat and tremors being felt as far away as Andhra Pradesh
and West Bengal. The organised lumpen-gangs and storm troopers of the
Hindutva brigade went on the rampage for two days. The promulgation of
curfew did not halt them. By the afternoon of 1st March, even the
government was admitting to formally 150 deaths, a figure that rose to over
300 by the end of the day. The former Congress M.P. Ehsan Jaffrey has been
burnt to death in Ahmedabad. Prof. Bandookwallah=92s house was burnt down i=
n
Vadodara. In both cases , despite repeated urgings, the police played the
role of silent spectators. In Naroda, near Ahmedabad, a thousand strong
crowd surrounded a slum, dragged out people, and burnt 67 of them alive. In
every case, where the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, has at all bothered to
comment, he has asserted that if the sequence of events is rationalised,
then the blame cannot fall on the VHP etc. Mr. Modi patted the police on
the back, AND CLAIMED THAT Jaffrey was responsible for his own death,
because he had opened fire. The home minister of Gujarat, it is to be
noted, is a VHP leader, Gordhan Zadhapia. Ahmedabad Police Commissioner P.
C. Pande, in open justification for the communal role of the police,
stated that the police "were not insulated from the general social milieu".
After allowing 36 hours to pass without any serious intervention (the same
pattern as in 1992 after the Babri Masjid destruction) now the army is
being deployed.
By declaring a curfew, the government had formally taken the position that
the situation was serious. But nothing was done beyond the formality. And
it is not only the state government, but equally the Central Government,
that is to be held responsible. We have opposed the Prevention of Terrorism
Ordinance. But the government which claimed it was needed in India=92s
interest, why did it hesitate to apply it to the VHP? The kar sevaks and
the VHP as a whole have been treated as extremely reasonable forces by the
Central Government =96 naturally, since the VHP is part of the Sangh Pariva=
r
as is the BJP. So each case of intensification of communal provocation by
the VHP has been met by warnings to Muslims not to lose their cool while
the VHP has been given still more elbowroom.
When The Central Defence Minister Mr. George Fernandes was to pass through
sensitive areas of Baroda, women from minority community in several areas
were desperate since last three days and they don=92t have milk vegetables =
or
any necessities to feed their children in their home. Children are crying
without food. At night they can=92t slip because of treats and mobs moving
around freely in the area. In desperation women from one mohalla of Wadi
area decided that they will stop Mr. Fernandes and request him to listen to
them. They went out of their homes as his Kafala with several cars and
police vehicles moved from the curfew installed area. They tried to waive
hands and made gesture to stop him but the big kafala did not stop.
Immediately after his car left the local police attacked all these women
beat them with lathi and gave vulgar sexual abuses for trying to tarnish
their image in the eyes of Fernandes. This lead to fear among women and
their family members that if this can happen when Mr. Fernandes was just
few meters away that what will happen to them at night ! Unfortunately this
is not an isolated stray incident but in several places women have suffered
abuses and violence in the hands of police.
We demand immediate action on who so ever is responsible for this incidence
and safety of all those women and their families.
Since women and children suffer most in absence of necessities, we also
demand that the collector should take necessary action to see that the
supply of Milk, vegetable and other necessities reaches in all the curfew
affected areas. There should not be any discrimination on the bases of
caste and community for making such necessities available to people.
On 3rd March, local TV cable operators in Gujarat were instructed to bloc=
k
Star News Channel as they were showing the ground reality where
government=92s utter failure was shown by continuous of violence.
Even as violence continues, there is a ray of hope from people=92s
initiatives at some places forming peace committees, involving people from
both communities and having daily meetings so that no outsider also comes
and creates any tension in the area. There are instances of majority
community people saving their neighbours following minority religion.
As a matter of principle, we believe that the state should not be given the
right to curtail civil liberties of anyone, because such empowerment is a
weapon that the state is likely to turn against the oppressed. In order to
defend human lives and conditions of existence, the governments, both at
the state and the centre, must be compelled to take a firm stand.

We demand:

1. Immediate and effective application of the army to stop all riots.
2. The sacking of Gujarat Home Minister and Chief Minister for their
failure to apply the law of the land and to stop riots, indeed, for their
complicity in the riots.
3. The arrest of all VHP leaders under the ordinary criminal laws.
4. The scrapping of POTO.
5. The weeding out of all communalist elements from the police.

We call on democratic/human rights movements, feminist, trade union,
environment activist in India and abroad to publicly voice their concerns,
and to mobilise against the fascists. We urge that messages of
condemnation, and demands for action, be sent to the he National Human
Rights Commission, Sardar Patel Bhavan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi-110001.
Phone (011) 311560; 3348478 fax (011) 3340016. We request you to send the
protest letter to Chief Minister of Gujarat and you can paste your protest
on this site of for Chief Minister of Gujarat www.gujaratindia.com, Fax
Number of Chief Minster of Gujarat, 091-79-3222101/3222020. Send copy to us
also.

Rohit Prajapati
Trupti Shah
Dr. Maya Valecha
Kiritbhai Bhatt
Anand Mazgaoankar
Thakorbhai Shah
Ziya Pathan
Nandini Majrekar
and others more.

_____

#4.

BBC News
Monday, 4 March, 2002, 08:47 GMT
Gujarat plagued by sporadic violence
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1853000/1853123.st=
m

_____

#5.

Hey Ram!

I was saddened. Sad and silently weeping in frustration and anger=20
while driving around the placid Lake Leman of Geneva. Safe far way=20
from my country, from my beloved Garvi Gujarat, from its warmth,=20
colours, cultures and now safe away from its madness and violence,=20
but with a shattered pride now. The high head I used to keep as a=20
member of the administrative service in Gujarat and after the=20
retirement in my country and abroad so far, the pride I took as an=20
Indian representing the secular dreams of the founders of our=20
constitution are all gone. It was slowly disappearing even before but=20
never so rudely ,shockingly and quickly . Of all the places it s now=20
happening in the homeland of our forgotten but beloved Bapu!

India must have progressed a lot in recent years. We are ahead in=20
technology, in international standing producing the greatest crop of=20
brains merrily supporting other western countries specially USA in=20
building their empire, but we slowly and steadily slipped in our=20
mental development far behind even the pre partition days in terms of=20
tolerance, culture, and above all in further development and=20
protection of our own civilisation. We have completely forgotten our=20
Bapu and his teachings and his life he sacrificed for us.

I am proud to be a Hindu. But I feel equally holy visiting Ajmer or=20
Jerusalem, a Buddhist temple in Thailand or a Shinto temple in Japan.=20
It comes from the strength of tolerance which my Hinduism taught me .=20
I take my inspirations from Gita, Upanishad and above all from the=20
honourable characters in Ramayan. Will Ram Rajya would have been like=20
this? Will Hanumanji ( a great Pundit and also a strongman!) will=20
liked to have such a sena without ethics and values for life?

What happened in Godhra is deplorable and should have been=20
immediately tackled by an alert administration in a pure law and=20
order management process. But it did not happen. What happened after=20
is pure shame. If the first incident is a failure, the later ones are=20
sheer result of administrative impotency!

Is it not the duty of any 'government' to protect all its citizens?=20
Is it not that fact that the police not only been infiltrated by=20
political elements but even the higher echelons of the honourable=20
services have become impotent? I hear of corruption now a days very=20
easily. But this degradation is the lowest limit those honourable=20
protectors of the society can reach . We are passing through a dark=20
stage of our country life. It is NOT threatened by anyone outside but=20
by us, we have converted ourselves into barbarians.

The leaders should take moral responsibility and leave with their=20
head low in shame for their failure. They should also punish those=20
failed in their duties. The attack on Godhra train could have been=20
avoided with an alert railway protection force and district=20
administration. I read that the police commissioner of Ahmedabad=20
referred to the disproportionate ratio of his force and population.=20
It is a shameful excuse. Police forces can never be in positive ratio=20
with the population. The responsibility of the new police force is to=20
plan in advance, involve people in advance and above all take on the=20
spot decisions. The simple inaction in all places in Gujarat clearly=20
shows the stage the police force are now and the precarious=20
conditions the ordinary citizen has to depend on them. That means=20
even the so-called safe people hiding behind their colours and=20
religion will not be safe tomorrow. It is the time all citizens to=20
realize that and come up against the lumpens who have no colour and=20
religion.

It is further shocking to listen to the argument of Ahmedabad=20
Police Commissioner in answer to questions of CNN that as those=20
bodies were brought to Ahmedabad the situation was out of control. It=20
is the responsibility of the police to know their strength and=20
weaknesses. A child will understand the emotions and tension after=20
the Godhra incident. Ws it a mere inefficiency or a blind eye as per=20
the direction of the political bosses? In either way it is sheer=20
shame for Ahmedabad police. If the town has a history of communal=20
violence a she said why there is no blue print for immediate action=20
and preparedness ? It is not merely the police the entire government=20
machinery is responsible for this failure.

We need another Rebeiro again in Ahmedabad and in Gujarat police to=20
streamline it. We need an administration that can give a leadership.=20
A thorough revamping of the administration is absolutely needed.

The issue is not merely an administrative failure in police, but in=20
the approach in the development process as well. Indiscriminate=20
industrial growth without any care for the environmental and other=20
related issues has become a standard indicator for development in=20
Gujarat. It is in total neglect of the development process which the=20
state took in its foundation days. Social issues takes back seat. The=20
youth of India are restless and there is no leadership to provide=20
them the way. They are without a political ideology but gathered=20
religious bigotry. The tremendous strength of the youth is wasted,=20
neglected and not guided by the lack lustre bureaucracy and=20
narrow-minded political leadership. We need a different type of Nav=20
Nirman for India. Immediate need is to organise the youth to save the=20
country and its future. The enormous strength must be channelled to a=20
productive channel with development of proper ethic and values of=20
life from the beginning. Where are those educationists who really=20
laid the foundation of the Indian resurgence? We need them badly.

We, the Hindus must stand up to save our culture and religion not=20
from others but from the bigots, lumpens and vandals who in the name=20
of religion are exploiting the people and ruining our country. The=20
Hinduism is in danger and from within! It is time for all to stand up=20
against it. To quote Rabindranath Tagore:

' Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where the knowledge is free, where the world has not been=20
broken up into
fragments by narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of the truth,
Where timeless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clean stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by these into
Ever widening thoughts and action
Into that heaven of Freedom
My father let my country awake!'

Gourisankar Ghosh
Geneva, Switzerland
Saturday 2 March, 2002

______

#6.

SPURNED HINDUTVA LAUNCHES ETHNOCIDE
I.K.Shukla

Muslims did not vote for Hindutva in four states. Dalits (Bahujan=20
Samaj Party) too rejected it demonstratively contemptuously.=20
Hindutva, unnerved by the exit poll predictions and trounced in the=20
assembly elections, was stung to the quick. For this effrontery=20
Muslims had to be punished. Vajpayee had smelled defeat presciently=20
and in a churlish bravado had declared Muslim votes unnecessary for=20
BJP=92s victory. Vajpayee had also declared that the poll results won=92t=20
be a verdict on BJP=92s record. He knew they would be. How else could=20
the people make their remonstrance known against outlawry and anarchy=20
that BJP-NDA so conspicuously symbolizes and brazenly practices? BJP=20
and the Sangh stable had already made plans for this contingency: if=20
defeated, it would scorch the land, smoke the rats out, and slaughter=20
them.

Gujarat is the prime abattoir of Hindutva, euphemistically known as=20
the laboratory of Hindu Rashtra. Here Hindutva set the blueprint of=20
the charnel house that it would turn India into. Gujarat is also the=20
birthplace of Gandhi. Therefore, he must be assassinated here=20
repeatedly by the saffronazis. Gujarat is one of the most affluent=20
states of the Union. Therefore, it has to be poor in spirit and=20
tattered in soul? Is Gujarat singular in priding itself on being=20
communally quite backward and socially quite reactionary? The Sangh=20
Parivar hoodlums will see to it that the whole nation is bloodily=20
recast in its mold. VHP has threatened to enact Godhra all over=20
India, New Delhi nodding acquiescence. Gujarat under BJP is=20
proclaiming quite bestially that for Muslims it has formulated a=20
choice: either death or disappearance. One may keep wondering if it=20
is a choice.

As in August 2000, when in the wake of killings of pilgrims in=20
Pahalgam, Kashmir, Gujarat was torched by Hindu fascists and Muslims=20
were slaughtered in hundreds, so once again, sequent to the Godhra=20
train blaze which claimed 57 lives of =93Ramsevaks=94, ethnocide launched=20
with deliberate planning and criminal determination by Hindutva goons=20
has claimed over a thousand Muslim lives. (This number is shrunk for=20
official purposes. The real count must be in thousands, rural areas=20
most heavily impacted). And, instead of these criminally collusive=20
and complicit saffron outfits being banned and their leaders and=20
cadres being jailed with no possibility of parole, they are dictating=20
the terms of governance both in Gujarat and New Delhi.

Provocation with virulent speeches and unbridled bellicosity having=20
gone on for years and months and having become increasingly raucous=20
and demented day by day, Hindutva got what it sought: a fillip to its=20
sagging fortunes. But it was not fortuitous or spontaneous. It was=20
built over time and with ruthless doggedness. The drumfire of temple=20
for months on end was geared to this end.

Not one shot was fired by the police on the saffron savages, nor were=20
they hosed. Ehsan Jafri, the ex-MP (Congress), killed with most=20
members of his family, is reported to have fired in the air when=20
surrounded by a 2000 strong mob of criminals. His shot killed none.=20
He was not supposed to fire in defense or to scare away the mob. What=20
was the rampaging mob there for? On the face of it, all of it=20
required planning and targets. The Police Commissioner chose to stay=20
inactive, while his police was actively helping the looters,=20
arsonists, and murderers all over the city. The Ahmedabad pattern was=20
emulated in other cities too redounding to the credit of Ram,=20
Rambhaktas and Hindutva warlords.

Since it was =93retaliation=94, as touted by a section of the media, two=20
questions need to be answered. Wasn=92t the train blaze staged by the=20
Hindutva fascists in the manner of the Reichstag Fire in Germany?=20
Wasn=92t this so-called retaliation pre-planned, and provocation heaped=20
upon provocation calculatedly to culminate thus?

To have sadhus, lumpens, and the dregs of society determine the=20
calculus of our polity, to allow cognitive dissonance rule the roost=20
(Vajpayee, instead of consoling them, rebuked the nuns in a Gujarat=20
church for not having removed the debris of shards and splinters=20
after their church was vandalized by Hindutva savages), to call the=20
victims perpetrators of crimes, to call Hindutva traitors and=20
anti-social elements =93patriots=94 and =93saviors=94 tends to a demoniac=20
goal well fixed, long charted.

Those who had coffins swell their coffers, those who stalled the=20
defense of Kargil for eight months despite repeated warnings from a=20
Brigadier and at the cost of hundreds of lives of jawans and=20
officers, those who thrived on lies (RSS all along said it was only a=20
cultural organization) and loot (Tehelka is only a generic cue for=20
the mountainous corruption and scams that BJP and its cohorts=20
indulged in), can be depended upon to avenge their defeat in four=20
states, diabolically. Hindutva desperadoes are on the loose. Hindutva=20
terrorists are in the saddle in the Bharat of our nightmare. This=20
long appeasement of Hindu fascism has been the undoing of the nation.=20
This was tantamount to the abolition of India.

Karnavati (Ahmadabad, purged of Muslims, Christians, and Dalits, and=20
thus restored to pristine Hindu glory) will liquidate =93foreigners=94,=20
the progeny of =93invaders=94. It will rob and steal their properties and=20
assets for distribution among the loons, louts, and lackeys of this=20
feral and fanatical cult ravaging the nation as Hindutva. Indians=20
will be barred from this city and state, and all of Bharat. Letting=20
=93religion=94 intrude in the polity leads to incessant bloodbaths,=20
deflecting popular wrath from the political leeches, and keeping=20
the festering social and economic issues unattended or skewed for=20
ever in favor of the privileged and opulent. This stratagem is=20
working well for the upper caste/class.

If only Samajwadi Party had shown the acumen Mayawati did in giving=20
tickets to some upper caste and Muslim candidates, the equation in UP=20
would have dunked the BJP in an abyss. If only Sonia had curbed her=20
ego to be the Prime Minister and not sabotaged Mulayam Singh in=20
respect of the Lok Sabha, the nation would have been spared this=20
ignominy of criminals ruling the country. If even now Sonia Gandhi=20
behaves in a politically mature manner, UP can be redeemed, and=20
perhaps, the nation too. These are, however, big ifs. They can=92t be=20
second guessed. They can only be rued and reflected upon.

As instigated and silently instructed, the police, the military, and=20
the administration have chosen to be spectators and facilitators of=20
the carnage against Muslims. It is state terror nakedly and massively=20
stalking the land.

If the nation has to have peace, if it has to be enabled to start=20
healing and cleansing its soul, the President must give the order of=20
the boot to the BJP-NDA forthwith. It has lost its claim or=20
credibility if ever it had even a smidgen of it. Let us save India,=20
and not a party that demolished, decapitated, and desecrated the most=20
cherished values of our society, its culture and history. Let=20
Hindutva be cremated now or be dumped upon the dung heap of=20
abominations ever visited upon humanity.

March 4, 2002

______

#7.

> Editorial of ML Update, March 6, 2002
>CPI(ML) News Magazine
>
>Dismiss the Killer Government of Gujarat!
>Flush out the VHP Goons from Ayodhya!
>Save Gujarat, Save India !
>
>The BJP is attributing the Godhra incident to a sinister conspiracy=20
>and yet another intelligence failure. An enquiry commission has been=20
>set up to probe the Godhra carnage, but the chairman of the Godhra=20
>municipality has already been arrested for alleged links with the=20
>ISI. The thickness of the alleged plot leading to Godhra would=20
>probably never be revealed fully, but whatever has happened since=20
>that fateful February morning tragedy cannot be obscured by any=20
>means.
>No sooner had the news of Godhra spread like wild fire than the=20
>whole of Gujarat was allowed to turn into a saffron slaughterhouse.=20
>From posh residential areas in metropolitan Ahmedabad to smaller=20
>towns and surrounding villages, Muslim neighbourhoods were=20
>systematically singled out and people burnt alive. The government=20
>simply withdrew itself and waited and watched as the killer squads=20
>of VHP and RSS went about their slaughter campaign with absolute=20
>impunity. The only job left for the Narendra Modi government was to=20
>provide justification for the killings. Modi had the audacity to=20
>invoke Newton's laws of motion to justify all the killings in the=20
>name of 'emotional reaction' to the Godhra incident. The deployment=20
>of the Army happened very late and that too in a very slow and=20
>selective manner letting the killer fire spread and engulf the whole=20
>of the state.
>The Gujarat government stands guilty of not just inaction or=20
>callousness. Narendra Modi and his communal police and bureaucracy=20
>have been active sponsors of the Sangh-led slaughter campaign in the=20
>state. No peace can return in Gujrat with such a communal government=20
>at the helms. No trust and harmony can be restored in the state=20
>under BJP rule. Dismissal of the Modi government has to be the first=20
>step for any restoration of trust and harmony in Gujarat.
>It took Home Minister LK Advani who also happens to be the MP from=20
>Gandhinagar and who had used Gujarat as the launching pad for his=20
>Ayodhya rathyatra in 1990 full three days to reach Ahmedabad.=20
>Gujarat has once again pointed to the diastrous implications of=20
>having someone like him as the country's home minister. India cannot=20
>afford to suffer his blood-stained tenure any longer. It must be=20
>brought to an end. Advani must go.
>Once again, it has been Ayodhya which triggered it all. While=20
>condemning the Godhra carnage in no uncertain terms, we cannot=20
>ignore the spate of provocative utterances and acts indulged in by=20
>the VHP and other Sangh outfits. Even as Gujarat continues to burn,=20
>the VHP remains adamant. Such organisations can have no place in a=20
>civilised society and no state which swears by the rule of law can=20
>allow such a criminal communal outfit to take the law in its own=20
>hands. Banning the VHP and arresting its arrogant leaders can be the=20
>only option. To prevent a repeat of the kind of lawlessness=20
>witnessed in Ayodhya a decade ago, the government must act=20
>decisively and without any further delay. The kar sevaks must be=20
>flushed out of Ayodhya and all stones and other materials meant for=20
>temple construction must be seized immediately.
>Only a week ago, the Assembly elections gave such a roaring verdict=20
>against the BJP and all its disastrous plots and policies. The fire=20
>in Gujarat has been kindled precisely to silence the people and=20
>vitiate the social and political climate in the country. It is not=20
>difficult to see that the anti-people measures announced in this=20
>year's budget and before can only be pushed through in such a=20
>distorted and disturbed situation.
>There can be no compromise with this fascist scheme of things. The=20
>saffron slaughterers must be brought to justice. The communal fire=20
>has to be doused by all means. Secular and democratic India must=20
>emerge victorious. Peace and harmony must prevail.
Let us pledge to thwart the saffron conspiracy and save Gujarat.
______

#8.

APPEAL FROM THE CITIZENS OF GUJARAT

We the citizens of Gujarat strongly condemn both the
reprehensible acts of horrendous murders of Ram Sevaks
in Sabarmati Express at Godhra and systematic burning
of the properties and members of minority community at
Gujarat (including the burning alive of former member
of parliament Mr. Ahsan Jafri with his family and 38
others).

The tragedy at Godhra is obviously due to the total
failure of state intelligence and police. Due to this
failure premeditated and preplanned killings of Ram
Sevaks could not be prevented and instead of taking
necessary measures to stamp out the perpetrators of
Godhra killings, the state machinery has connived with
the marauding and rampaging mobs, which has
systematically targeted the lives and properties of
the minority community all over Gujarat.

Most of us are witnesses, if not the victims, of the
acts of communal terrorists with the active connivance
of the state administration and police. The Ahmedabad
city police chief went on record saying that he had
shortage of force and police were also influenced by
the environment and were angry. The Chief Minister
himself also underplayed the mob violence and said
only 26 places were under curfew.=20

Under the circumstances, we are fully convinced that
the constitutional machinery in Gujarat has completely
collapsed and is in no position to protect the life
and property of the citizens.

We are, therefore, of the firm view that President's
rule is required to be promulgated forthwith and the
state administration be taken over by the Governor.
In the meantime, we demand immediate military
intervention to control the situation in all parts of
Gujarat and the state police be confined to their
barracks.

Former Chief Justice at Rajasthan HC A.P. Rawani
Prof. D. N. Pathak Ms Nafisa Barot
Indukumar Jani Digant Oza
Prof. Sudarshan Iyengar Batuk Vora
Sukhdev Patel Gautam Thaker
Dr Mukul Sinha Sonal Mehta
Harinesh Pandya Bhushan Oza
Kamlesh Oza Hasmukh Patel
Suvarna Ambarish Patel
Raju Barot=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=20

______

#9.
The Asian Age
MONDAY 4 MARCH 2002
http://www.hclinfinet.com/2002/MAR/WEEK1/2/IndiaInsideGN5.jsp

SAHMAT CALLS MODI A 'MASS MURDERER'
By Our Correspondent
New Delhi, March 3
The editor of Communalism Combat and social activist, Ms Teesta=20
Setalvad, on Sunday likened Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to=20
former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and demanded that Mr=20
Modi be punished at par with those guilty of inciting and=20
perpetrating violence in different parts of the country.
Holding Mr Modi responsible for mass murder at a media interaction=20
organised by Sahmat, she alleged that the ongoing rioting in Gujarat=20
was the culmination of a systematic attempt to tell the minorities=20
what life would be under a "Hindu rashtra."
Sahmat has demanded that Gujarat be declared a disturbed area and=20
normalcy be restored by immediate and effective deployment of the=20
Army.
It has also sought immediate dismissal of the government led by Mr=20
Modi and exemplary punishment to him at par with those guilty of=20
inciting and perpetrating violence in Godhra, Ahmedabad, Vadodara,=20
Mehsana, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and other parts of Gujarat. The=20
organisation has also demanded immediate arrest of those occupying=20
and desecrating places of worship and a ban on the VHP and RSS.
It has asked the government to immediately remove the karsevaks from=20
Ayodhya and prevent any further influx to the area. The organisation=20
has also called upon the government to deal strictly with those=20
violating the Supreme Court orders on Ayodhya.
Besides Sahmat, a large number of activists, academicians and artists=20
have jointly written to the Chief Justice of India, seeking the=20
intervention of the Supreme Court so that "the unlawful activities of=20
the karsevaks are restrained, their criminal activities stopped and=20
nation-wide violence is prevented."
Talking to journalists, graphic designer and photographer Parthiv=20
Shah gave a first-hand account of what happened in Ahmedabad. "It was=20
like a planned action in Ahmedabad. Hand-written boards and=20
photographs were put at what used to be mosques and dargahs. They=20
could not have come up in an instant," he said.
Mr Shah said cable links were snapped in certain localities and the=20
absence of communication resulted in rumour mongering which led to=20
further trouble. Stating that the rule of law should be upheld, Prof.=20
Prabhat Patnaik of Jawaharlal Nehru University attacked the state=20
government for not intervening on time and described as bogus the=20
"first cause argument" being offered by the authorities.
Said Ms Setalvad, "What is being witnessed in Gujarat today is the=20
combination of what happened in Mumbai, Bhagalpur and Delhi. The=20
local corporators and public representatives joined hands with the=20
VHP and Bajrang Dal activists who sealed the routes to various cities=20
and were not even allowing the media to go there," she said.
She criticised the political leadership, including the Central=20
government, the NDA and the Opposition, for not reacting to the=20
situation as it should have and attacked Union home minister Lal=20
Krishna Advani for not issuing even a statement on the brutal killing=20
of a former MP who was residing in his constituency. "This goes to=20
show that the BJP does not care for Muslim voters," she said.

_____

#10.

Subject: from john dayal-some startling facts

Jan Morcha, edited by Sheetla Prasad, is a Hindi daily published=20
from Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The paper carried the following story=20
on the 25th of Feb. 2002. The events described below took place 2=20
days before the gruesome burning of the train at Godhra in Gujarat

The following is a English rendering of the report
Bajrang Dal Activists on Sabarmati Express beat up Muslims, Forcing=20
them to shout Jai Shri Ram Slogans.

Bhelsar (Faizabad), 24 February By Our Correspondent).
Bajrang Dal workers armed with trishuls (tridents) , travelling to=20
Ayodhya on board the Sabarmati Express this morning, let loose a=20
reign of terror upon dozens of helpless Muslim passengers, Burqa=20
clad women and innocent children. They also targeted the people=20
waiting at the platform, forcing them to shout slogans of Jai Shri=20
Ram, A few even declared themselves to be Hindus in order to=20
escape their wrath.
According to eyewitnesses, close to 2000 Trishul carrying Bajrang Dal=20
workers, on board the Sabarmati express coming from the direction of=20
Lucknow, began indulging in these activities from the Daryabad=20
Station. Any one identified as a Muslim, on the train, was=20
mercilessly attacked with Trishuls and beaten with iron rods. Even=20
women and innocent children were not spared. Burqas were pulled=20
off, women were beaten with iron rods and were dragged, people=20
waiting at the platform were also similarly targeted.
This continued between the Daryabad and Rudauli Stations. According=20
to an eyewitness, a youth who protested against this barbarism was=20
thrown off the train between the Patranga and Rojagaon Stations.=20
Several women, badly wounded and covered in blood, jumped off the=20
train as it pulled into Rudauli around 8 a.m. The Bajrang Dal=20
activists also got off the train and started attacking those that=20
they identified as Muslims from among those present at the=20
platform.
Ata Mohammad from Takia Khairanpur waiting to catch a train to=20
Allahabad was badly beaten, some others were forced to shout 'Jai=20
Shri Ram' some escaped by declaring that they were Hindus.=20
50-year-old Mohd. Absar lives near the station; he was grabbed as=20
he stepped out of his house his long beard was rudely pulled before=20
he was repeatedly stabbed with trishuls. Another man from the=20
Rudauli Police Station area who happened to be at the station was=20
badly beaten with Iron Rods. Local residents rang up the police.
By the time the Bhelsar Police station chief) , arrived at the=20
station the train had left and the injured were being rushed to the=20
hospitals. No report was registered at the Police station since=20
the Officer-in Charge was unavailable. The injured have no idea why=20
they were attacked.
Rumours are rife. The people are petrified; respected Hindus and=20
Muslims of the area have condemned the shameful attack, Muslims=20
religious leaders have appealed for peace and requested that there=20
be no retaliation.

______

#11.

Religious fanatics rediscover a medieval weapon

by Sukrat Desai, Indo-Asian News Service

Ahmedabad, Mar 3 (IANS) Religious fanaticism and hatred have taken a new
dimension in Gujarat: arson and burning of people has emerged as the new
weapons of brutality in the communal frenzy sweeping the state.

Though Gujarat has been notorious for communal flare-ups since India's
independence in 1947, sectarian violence rarely went beyond isolated
instances of stabbings earlier.

But this time around, religious zealots appear to have rediscovered the
medieval weapon for the mass annihilation of the targeted enemy: fire.

Charred bodies and torched houses and vehicles have become the abiding
symbols of the religious rage that has claimed nearly 350 lives in four day=
s
of gruesome rioting in the state.

Nearly 140 Muslims have been burnt alive in the communal inferno that broke
out in the state to avenge the killing of 58 people, mostly activists of th=
e
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), who were burnt to death when a mob set fire to
four coaches of the Ahmedabad-bound Sabarmati Express at Godhra town
Wednesday.

According to official figures, 29 Muslims were torched to death in Mehsana
district Saturday. Fifty-eight people were burnt alive in Naroda and nearly
40 in Gulbarg Society in Meghaninagar on Thursday. Eight of a family were
roasted alive in their vehicle Friday.

On the day of the Godhra carnage, when citizens of Ahmedabad had no inkling
of the impending violence, the city Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) president
Kamendra Rathod was heard shouting at the VHP office: "This time Muslims
will not be just murdered, they will be roasted alive."

VHP workers and supporters who had assembled at the Ahmedabad railway
station to receive the survivors of the carnage raised similar slogans.

Revenge by fire became the leitmotif of the communal carnage that was to be
unleashed upon the state that gave Mahatma Gandhi to the world.

In the past, the state has convulsed with bloody communal riots in 1969,
1985 and 1992 but never before it has witnessed arson on such a magnitude.

If arson at Godhra was brutal and gruesome and took the officials completel=
y
by surprise, there was something inevitable about the incident in the
Chamanpura neighbourhood here Thursday.

If the mob in Godhara was said to be 2,000 strong, it swelled to over 5,000
here. And their target was the Muslim-inhabited Gulmohar Society in
Hindu-dominated Chamanpura.

The society had been involved in communal conflict in the past. In 1992,
former Congress Member of Parliament Ehsan Jafri, a resident of the society=
,
had fired in the air to disperse a mob that tried to attack the
neighbourhood.

This time, too, Jafri fired shots when surrounded by mob, but was stoned to
death. According to an eyewitness, Jafri made frantic calls to the police
for six long hours but received no help.

Indu Kumar Jani, a human rights activist and editor of Naya Marg, a weekly
magazine for Dalits, who was present at the time of the attack on Gulmohar
Society said: "Police were watching as Jafri was stoned to death."

Chief Minister Narendra Modi virtually justified the former MP's murder:
"Jafri was killed since he fired at the mob. Had he maintained restraint he
might still be alive."

Wondered Jani: "How could a person being stoned maintain restraint? Is it
because he was from minority community that he should have been killed a
dog?"

Jani accused Modi of discriminating against Muslims in awarding
compensation. "While VHP activists killed at Godhra are slated to get
compensation package of Rs.250,000, there is no package for Muslims."

People's Union for Civil Liberty chairman Gautum Thakar said he felt that
the extreme brutality this time was the result of anger accumulated since
the bloody riots triggered by the demolition of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya
in 1992.

"There seems to be a paradigm shift in the pattern of riots. This time ther=
e
are no stray incidents of stabbing and hit-and-run attacks that
characterised communal violence earlier," said Mehta.

According to him, the attack in Godhra was pre-planned. "It (Godhra carnage=
)
was executed in minutes like a successful subversive operation."

In contrast, incidents of arson in Ahmedabad could not be brought under
control since they were not planned," he added.

--Indo-Asian News Service

_____

#12.

Date: Mon, 4 Mar 2002 00:26:26 EST

[ There were about 20-25 of us protesting outside the Indian Consulate in N=
ew
York on Friday (1 march 02) afternoon. Here's the text of the flyer=20
we handed out to
passersby.
Chandana (New York)]

o o o

VAJPAYEE GOVERNMENT: ACT NOW TO STOP THE MOB VIOLENCE.
THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING YOU.

On February 27th, in Godhra in the state of Gujarat in India, an unidentifi=
ed
group of killers set fire to a train carrying rightwing Hindu fanatics back
from the town of Ayodhya in North India, where they are trying to build a
Hindu temple in place of the centuries-old Babri mosque which they had
illegally demolished in December 1992. The grisly attack on the train kille=
d
fifty-eight men, women and children, many of whom have had nothing to do wi=
th
the temple-mosque dispute.

But instead of using legal means to track down the murderers responsible fo=
r
the burning of the Sabarmati Express, the government of Gujarat and the
government of India have chosen to leave the matter to avenging mobs. For t=
he
last two days, the state of Gujarat has been convulsed with violence as Hin=
du
mobs have attacked Muslim families and homes throughout the state. In one
particularly ugly incident, sixty people were burnt alive in two housing
colonies in Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarat. Tensions have spread to othe=
r
parts of India, and by now over three hundred people have died in the
anti-Muslim attacks, mostly in Gujarat. The government of Gujarat has barel=
y
intervened to stop the mass violence; not surprising, perhaps, given that
Gujarat is ruled by the Hindu fundamentalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The BJP-led central government has been similarly apathetic and has
essentially disowned its responsibility for the physical safety of India=92=
s
sizeable Muslim minority. Every hour of government indifference brings terr=
or
and death to Muslim Indians.

WE WILL NOT TRADE IN INDIA=92S CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM FOR MOB VIOLENCE. WE
URGE THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA TO ACT NOW TO STOP THE ANTI-MUSLIM KILLINGS AN=
D
TO TRACK DOWN THE ATTACKERS OF THE SABARMATI EXPRESS AND BRING THEM TO
JUSTICE.

Contact numbers for sponsoring organizations:
SAMAR (South Asian Magazine for Action and Reflection) (212) 877-0048
INSAF (International South Asia Forum)
(212) 866-1616

_____

#13.

[ Sign on the bellow Letter and add your names... Share it with others !]

o o o
Asiapeace Urges the Government of India to Ban all Extremist Organizations

Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Prime Minister of India
New Delhi
India.

Dear Prime Minister,

Asiapeace is a network of concerned individuals dedicated to=20
promoting peace, communal amity, social justice and human rights in=20
South Asia.

We are profoundly shocked by the communal riots in the Indian State=20
of Gujarat. Harrowing scenes of obscene brutality have been witnessed=20
on the television screens by many of us. Although preliminary reports=20
suggest that hotheads from the minority Muslim community initiated=20
the violence, in the last few days the field has been dominated by=20
goons belonging to various Hindu extremist organizations.

There is no doubt that such acts of terror are the handiwork of=20
psychopaths masquerading as men of religion. It has also been widely=20
reported that the Gujarat Government was criminally slow in taking=20
action to stop the carnage. It is however encouraging to know that=20
other state governments have taken appropriate measures to avoid a=20
repetition of such terror in their jurisdictions. The media has also=20
been reporting cases of inter-communal support and protection.

It is therefore clear that only organized terrorist networks are=20
behind the present upsurge of violence in Gujarat. We urge you,=20
therefore, to move resolutely to ban terrorist organizations in=20
India. Pakistan has taken firm measures to curb militant Islamic=20
organizations. India should follow suit and put a ban on Hindu as=20
well as militant organizations claiming to act in the name of other=20
religious groups. Only through coordinated activities of the various=20
governments in the region against extremists can South Asia be made=20
safe for ordinary human beings.

India, as the claimant to the status of the world's biggest=20
democracy, should provide leadership to its neighbours in matters of=20
pluralism, tolerance and individual freedom. It cannot remain a=20
democracy if it privileges or favours a particular religious group.

We urge you also to re-establish the foundations of the Indian polity=20
on the high moral ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and the emancipatory path=20
laid down by Jawaharlal Nehru.

Sincerely,

1. Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed
Moderator Asiapeace
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
Stockholm University
Sweden.
<<mailto:Ishtiaq.Ahmed@s...>Ishtiaq.Ahmed@s...>

_____

#14.

The Times of India MARCH 04, 2002
Govts should have no right to reject riots panels' reports
Secularism, a basic feature of the Constitution, guarantees right to=20
life and liberty to every citizen. As this tenet professes respect=20
for every religion, the state is under a Constitutional obligation to=20
protect the life and property of anyone, irrespective of his caste,=20
colour or creed.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=3D2698061

_____

#15.

The Hindu Sunday, Mar 03, 2002
Saffronised police show their colour
By Manas Dasgupta
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2002/03/03/stories/2002030303170800.htm

____

#16.

The Times of India MONDAY, MARCH 04, 2002 | EDITORIAL
Stigma of Gujarat
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=3D2700820

_____

#17.

Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2002

Gujarat is at it again. And why am I not surprised? Ever since our dear
Prime Minister delivered his most responsible address to the UP voter,
we have been waiting with bated breath. He announced, rather
categorically, that his party did not want any Muslim votes, and could
do without them (the votes and the people). It was an amazing statement,
despite the fact that it came from someone who is first a swayamsevak
and then anything else.

The UP election results were predictable. To hell with international
disputes and mobilization of troops by Pakistan on the border, said the
junta. In most parts, it also ignored the feverish campaign for the
temple. Hema Malini's pitch for the BJP too went unnoticed. Rajnath
Singh's arrogance was rebuffed. What most people want is some stability,
not a change in Chief Ministers every year.

Now this is not good news for Mr Modi in Gujarat. He does not need
muslim votes either - primarily because he can not reach these sour
grapes, however hard he tries to shed his hardline image. His party has
been squabbling and chief ministers in Gujarat have been ephemeral in
his state ever since the BJP came to power. He must do something. The
Godhra train incident, a terrorist attack according to him, is God sent.
Within hours his troops are lined up and free to cause mayhem - he
explains it away in another astonishing statement saying that the
collective anger of 5 crore people must find some vent. So the goons go
attacking muslim properties everywhere.=20

No one is safe. Ehsaan Jaffery, an ex MP tries mustering support for
more than six hours - calls all his friends in the BJP and the Congress,
and after this long struggle, gets killed. Along with 19 of his family
members. The Prime Minister makes a lameduck appeal for sanity, but the
VHP organizes a Gujarat bandh, kills more than 50 people, and follows
this up with an all India bandh. The sad, lackluster budget that has
done nothing but tinker some aththanis and chawwanis here and there is
ignored, much to Sinha's relief.

And true to recent form, Mr Vir Sanghvi, in the Hindustan Times, exhorts
fellow journalists to put the minorities in their place and not appease
them. They deserve this for having set fire to the train.......

Amir Ullah Khan
South Asia Foundation

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

SACW is an informal, independent & non-profit citizens wire service run by
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