[sacw] SACW #3 | 06 Mar. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire - Dispatch #3 | 06 March 2002

__________________________

#1. Carnage in Gujarat (Siddharth Varadarajan)
#2. Restore India's dignity - The unthinkable has happened in Gujarat=20
(Mushirul Hasan)
#3. Watch Lucknow (Edit, Indian Express)
#4. Bombay Civil society rises to the occasion (ANIL SINGH)
#5. In India violence, some hindus dare to save Muslim lives
#6. Can secular India stand the heat? (Sidharth Bhatia)
#7. Text of another Proposed Petition to India's President & other=20
senior functionaries

________________________

#1.

The Times of India
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 06, 2002
LEADER ARTICLE

Carnage in Gujarat
SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN
[ TUESDAY, MARCH 05, 2002 11:56:15 PM ]
RIME minister Vajpayee's attempt to blame the people of Gujarat - and=20
their supposed lack of "harmony" - for the mass killings in their=20
state is a disingenuous manoeuvre aimed at absolving himself, his=20
party colleagues and the state machinery they control, of any=20
responsibility for the crimes.
Instead of using national television to tell the people of Gujarat=20
that the genocidal mobs would be put down with a firm hand - and that=20
policemen failing to protect the life and liberty of all would be=20
punished - Mr Vajpayee delivered a sermon on the need for religious=20
tolerance. Considering that it took him two whole days and over 300=20
deaths to come up with such tepid fare, he might at least have used=20
his poetic skills to compensate for the lack of political will. Who=20
knows, if the poet Amrita Pritam could have delivered her 'Waris=20
Shah' on television in 1947, she might have shamed a killer or two=20
into dropping his weapon. Sadly, our prime minister could not even do=20
that much. Though he has described the violence as a "blot on the=20
nation", there was little passion or feeling in what he said, no=20
words of succour for the victims, no anger or opprobrium for the=20
killers. If Vajpayee the statesman failed the nation, Vajpayee the=20
poet fared no better.
Like Rajiv Gandhi in November 1984 and Narasimha Rao in January 1993,=20
Mr Vajpayee will go down in history as a prime minister who preached=20
the virtues of tolerance even as his cohorts turned a blind eye to=20
the massacre of innocent citizens. Had he gone on television to=20
denounce those using the Godhra incident to justify attacks on=20
Muslims - including chief minister Narendra Modi, who said, ''Har=20
kriya ki pratikriya hoti hi hai (Every act produces a reaction)'' -=20
he would have alienated a handful of fanatics but earned the=20
gratitude of the entire nation in return. One Arab and one Sikh were=20
murdered in the US following the terrorist massacre of over 3,000=20
people at the World Trade Center and the public outcry forced=20
president Bush to state that anyone attacking Muslims and other=20
minorities would be severely dealt with. In India there was much=20
self-righteous anger when a Sikh in the US was 'mistakenly' killed=20
for being an Arab. In Gujarat, however, more than 450 Muslims have=20
been hunted down and murdered after Godhra - that too by elements=20
inspired by his own partymen with the complicity of the state=20
government and police - yet Mr Vajpayee could not bring himself to=20
say, as the leader of India, that he would not allow anyone to attack=20
Muslim citizens, as Mr Bush did in the US context.
There have been communal massacres before but never has such a=20
concerted attempt been made to destroy not just a minority community=20
but its economic foundations as well. Already, more than 450 Muslims=20
have been killed. Tens of crores of rupees worth of property has been=20
torched, and when the ashes settle, it may well be that no Gujarati=20
Muslim business - from the smallest tea stall to large hotels and=20
film studios - will have survived. Muslims from all walks of life=20
have been targeted and even prominent members of the state and ruling=20
apparatus - sitting high court judges, senior police officers and=20
politicians - have not been spared. The fact that the BJP government=20
in Gujarat devalued Muslim lives is well known; but by announcing=20
compensation of one lakh rupees per riot victim as compared to two=20
lakh rupees for the Godhra victims, Narendra Modi has arithmetically=20
quantified his bias.
Ever since the hijacking of IC-814, the prime minister has become=20
something of an expert in the fine art of capitulating to blackmail.=20
Today, his government is indulging in 'negotiations' on the Ayodhya=20
issue with a group that is responsible for the pogroms of Gujarat and=20
openly flaunts its contempt for the law.
Press reports are piling up by the day that the mobs were led and=20
orchestrated by local leaders of the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu=20
Parishad. Whether the ban on the Islamic group SIMI was justified or=20
not, there was certainly no incriminating evidence against it of the=20
kind that is publicly accumulating against the VHP. If suspicion and=20
intent were grounds to ban SIMI, why is the Union government=20
unwilling to move against a group that is a walking advertisement for=20
mass violence?
Asked by a citizens' delegation last week why his government could=20
not ban the VHP when General Musharraf had managed to ban several=20
religious extremist groups in Pakistan, Mr Vajpayee is said to have=20
replied, ''(Musharraf) is a dictator and can ban anyone. We are a=20
democracy''. This appeal to 'democracy' has an uncomfortable=20
resonance with the controversial remark Mr Vajpayee made last month=20
during the final phase of campaigning for the Uttar Pradesh=20
elections. Speaking at a rally in Allahabad, he urged Muslims to vote=20
for his party but added that the BJP was going to win even without=20
their votes. Though Mr Vajpayee subsequently went out of his way to=20
stress that he did not mean to say the BJP wasn't interested in=20
Muslim votes, the import of his message to Indian Muslims couldn't=20
have been clearer: You are either with us or you are against us. It=20
could have been interpreted as a velvet-gloved threat, which the=20
Bajrang Dal and VHP in Gujarat have come good on.
Even at this late stage, Mr Vajpayee can work to retrieve the=20
situation. First, he must use his party channels to dismiss Narendra=20
Modi as chief minister and replace him with a man who will arrest=20
those leaders, political activists and police officials who through=20
their action, inaction and incendiary speeches have led to so much=20
carnage. Second, the law of the land must be made to apply to the=20
Vishwa Hindu Parishad and all other organisations which are involved=20
in inciting hatred and violence. Far from giving the VHP=20
respectability, the Centre should state unequivocally that there is=20
no question of giving in to blackmail over Ayodhya, now or in the=20
future.
Finally, the prime minister must realise that what has happened in=20
Gujarat is not abstract, amorphous violence but the targeted killing=20
of Muslim citizens with the tacit backing of the state=20
administration. Godhra was a terrible crime but the government at=20
least did not help the murderers; what happened afterwards, however,=20
suggests official complicity. Unless the guilty are punished, the=20
Central government will have relinquished its moral right to hold=20
office.
_____

#2.

Indian Express
Wednesday, March 06, 2002
EDITORIALS & ANALYSIS

Restore India's dignity

The unthinkable has happened in Gujarat

by Mushirul Hasan

THE unthinkable happened a few days ago. An otherwise quiet evening=20
on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus in New Delhi was rent by=20
the cries of Babur ki aulad hosh me aao, hosh me aao.

Standing outside my house, and watching the 200-strong students'=20
march, hate and anger writ large on their face, I wondered what had=20
gone wrong. Why raise provocative slogans at my doorstep? Have we, as=20
teachers, failed to inculcate the values of tolerance and decency in=20
our students? Why the erosion of secular and radical values? Where,=20
if I may ask, are the Yechuris (Sitaram) and Karats (Prakash) at the=20
beginning of this millennium?

I sought and secured the University Rector's intervention. But what=20
happens to the hapless victims in Gujarat? They are trapped in a=20
world that is clearly not their own. Strangers in the land they have=20
inhabited for centuries, nobody responds to their cries or comes to=20
rescue them from the rampaging mobs.

The tragic story of Ahsan Jaffrey's brutal murder is the story of=20
every Gujarati Muslim - lonely, isolated and vulnerable to more=20
attacks. Today, the army has reined in the VHP goons. Tomorrow, they=20
will return armed with swords and trishuls to attack the descendants=20
of Babur. The army will buy 'peace', but it will not be easy to heal=20
the wounds inflicted by so few on so many.

Today, the chief minister of Gujarat quotes Newton's third law -=20
'every action has an equal and opposite reaction' - to virtually=20
justify the carnage in his own state. Tomorrow, he may pursue the=20
game of brinkmanship and find an alibi for his inaction and criminal=20
negligence.

Yes, Mr Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is a blot ('kalank') on the=20
nation's image. He has unleashed a reign of terror, and his deeds and=20
public pronouncements merit unequivocal condemnation. Although the=20
BJP government has itself forfeited the moral right to remain in=20
power in Gujarat, you will do well to sack the chief minister, an=20
irresponsible sangh pracharak, as a first step towards the=20
restoration of peace in Gujarat.

At the outset let me reiterate a view widely expressed by Muslim=20
leaders and Muslim organisations - that the brutal attack on the=20
Sabarmati Express on February 27 is both regrettable and condemnable.=20
Such an occurrence should never have taken place.

Yet, a newspaper editor construes silence, in some quarters, as=20
acquiescence in the brutal murder of the kar sevaks in Godhra. The=20
VHP's general secretary pours venom against Muslims on a television=20
network, while the Union law minister, instead of ridiculing him,=20
pontificates on the virtues of self-censorship in reporting the=20
ghastly happenings in Gujarat.

Admittedly, the murderous assault on the kar sevaks was planned in=20
advance, and the Godhra incident, caused by some Muslim miscreants,=20
triggered the violence in other parts of Gujarat. Still, this=20
explains neither the conduct of the chief minister, the home minister=20
and the police force nor the brutal retaliation of the Hindu mobs.

When the authorities do not act decisively to contain and control=20
riots, it is not because they do not have the means to do so, but=20
because they choose not to do so.

Let us not forget that the assembly elections in Gujarat will take=20
place in January 2003. The BJP's state unit may well benefit from the=20
riots: they give it the opportunity to stand forth as the protector=20
of one community against the alleged threats of the other, and they=20
help it paint its political rivals, i.e. the Congress, as protectors=20
of the other community.

In this context, four issues need to be addressed: first, the=20
criminal negligence of the administration; the level of intensity,=20
destruction, and murder in particular times and places; the=20
promptness and efficiency displayed by a mixture of lumpen elements=20
and others in systematically destroying Muslim-owned commercial=20
establishments; and, finally, the sources and causes of the=20
deep-seated hatred and hostility towards Muslims.

The persistence of Hindu-Muslim violence is not unusual. What is new=20
is the rapid spread of the cult of violence aimed at the intimidation=20
of Muslims, their selective killing, and the destruction of their=20
properties. In this cult of violence, Muslims continue to be=20
portrayed as the aggressors, and the Hindus as defenders. Somebody=20
has to set the record straight.

Social and economic explanations exist but, in addition, something is=20
fundamentally amiss in Gujarat's history and contemporary polity that=20
makes it prone to the recurrence of large-scale violence. At the=20
heart of the explanation, past and present, is the fact that the=20
social and cultural bonding - once the hallmark of that society -=20
have weakened over the decades. Pride in a Gujarati identity, based=20
on language and region, has disappeared leading to the=20
crystallisation of sharply demarcated communitarian identities.

In 1969, extensive Hindu-Muslim violence at Ahmedabad fractured=20
Gujarat's polity and breached the citadel of composite living. Though=20
the state limped back to some degree of normalcy, there was no=20
attempt to address the conflicts and violence through political and=20
policy changes, and changes in leadership, institutions, and=20
structures. Instead, the BJP turned the official secular ideology on=20
its head by making a case, albeit a flawed one, for a Hindu Rashtra.

In the late 1980s, Hindu nationalism, riding on the crest of a=20
popular wave, widened the existing cleavage. L.K. Advani's rath yatra=20
from Somnath was the last straw. The intensification of Hindu-Muslim=20
ill will during the Ram Janambhoomi movement was part of a political=20
design to create a new Hindu community. The very nature of that=20
exercise was profoundly divisive. The roots of the present violent=20
conflagration lie in the evocative symbols deployed by the BJP to=20
enlarge its political constituency.

The pogrom in Gujarat epitomises the tragedy of a weary nation caught=20
up in the quagmire of ethnic, caste and communal conflicts. Today,=20
the prime minister terms the Gujarat carnage as a 'blot on the=20
nation's image'; tomorrow, the international community may well=20
challenge our claims over Kashmir and the high moral ground we occupy=20
in the world-wide coalition against terrorism.

The project of building the temple must be abandoned in the interest=20
of the Indian nation and its citizens. This will, surely, restore the=20
dignity of our country. Above all, it is certain to bring peace and=20
comfort to Lord Ram.

_____

#3.

Indian Express
EDITORIALS & ANALYSIS
Wednesday, March 06, 2002

Watch Lucknow

Swear in a government, or UP could explode like Gujarat

AYODHYA, Aligarh, Basti, Bahraich, Deoband, Gonda ... the list is=20
endless. There's a potential time bomb ticking away in each of these=20
districts of Uttar Pradesh. The revival of the Ram Janambhoomi=20
movement has brought communal hatred back to the streets. And the=20
overemphasis on security, Poto, and the banning of SIMI during the=20
recent assembly election campaign, has only made the situation more=20
sectarian. History teaches us that ever since the Shah Bano case of=20
1985, and especially since the destruction of the Babri Masjid in=20
1992, each of these towns has witnessed sporadic mass violence.

A controversy over the route of a religious procession or even the=20
suspicion of a cracker bursting in a mosque or a temple can cause a=20
deadly riot. There is no end to instigators, what with the fortunes=20
of political parties swinging any which way. There has, of course=20
been a lull in the blood-letting in the later years of the nineties=20
and people began hoping that riots were a thing of the past. But as=20
the Ram Janambhoomi movement enters a new phase and with no signs of=20
an elected government being sworn in, the entire state has been=20
rendered a virtual powder keg.

Even as the nation's attention is focused on Gujarat, UP appears to=20
be teetering on the brink of a similar crisis. And this, ironically=20
enough, after an election where a mandate of some sort has been=20
delivered. There have been three killings in Aligarh and that town is=20
reeling under a curfew. There are visible signs of communal strife in=20
neighbouring Agra, which has badly affected the tourist trade there.=20
Similar tension has erupted in other cities and towns. Despite the=20
claims of the administration, kar sevaks - read potential rioters -=20
are arriving in Ayodhya.

The Purna Aahuti Yagya is continuing in full swing and the entire=20
state is terrified in anticipation of March 15, when the VHP has=20
threatened to begin the construction of the temple. Although the=20
Shankaracharya of Kanchi is trying to negotiate between the=20
government and the VHP, there seems to be no solution in sight. Union=20
Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani, now busy making the rounds of the=20
riot-affected areas across Gujarat, must urgently turn his gaze=20
towards UP. Unfortunately, our political machinery has never learnt=20
the art of proactive crisis management. All it seems to do is display=20
knee-jerk reactions.

If further flare-ups are to be prevented, then the first necessary=20
step should be to invite the leader of the majority party to attempt=20
to form a government in the state. In this regard, the Samajwadi=20
Party - the single largest party with 146 seats - has already=20
threatened to launch an agitation if Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri=20
fails to invite its leader Mulayam Singh Yadav to form a government=20
by March 6. One fails to understand the reason for the delay even if=20
one were to accept the possibility of such a government being=20
defeated on the floor of the house. The continuation of Rajnath Singh=20
as a lame duck CM is in no way a desirable alternative since he was=20
rejected by a massive negative swing of almost 8 per cent.

Moreover, not content to play the role as the head of a caretaker=20
government, he has of late been making noises about being sworn in=20
with outside support or demanding President's rule as the only=20
alternative. Such claims raise doubts about the intentions of both=20
the caretaker government and the governor. In Gujarat, we witnessed=20
the government fiddling while the state was being torn apart. UP,=20
without an elected government, could be worse.

_____

#4.

The Times of India
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 06, 2002

Civil society rises to the occasion
ANIL SINGH
TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 06, 2002 1:56:29 AM ]
MUMBAI: Taking a lesson from 1992 when they were caught unawares by=20
the suddenness of the post-Babri riots, citizens' organisations here=20
are quick to react to the communal conflagration in Gujarat and are=20
determined to douse the fire before it can reach Mumbai.
Non-governmental organisations, trade unions, mohalla committees,=20
Gandhians, civil libertarians, students bodies, Nirmala Niketan, Tata=20
Institute of Social Sciences and several other bodies are holding=20
meetings across the city and some have even started doing whatever=20
they can to help the riot-hit in Gujarat and to keep the peace in=20
Mumbai.
Painfully aware of the role of rumour in inciting riots, the=20
organisations are forming a network to check out facts and relay=20
crucial news to key functionaries.
Through posters, street plays and street-corner meeting, citizens are=20
being reminded not to believe in rumours or react in panic to any=20
situation. For instance, there were rumours of bomb blast at Dhobi=20
Talao on Tuesday afternoon when it was just a tyre burst outside=20
Metro theatre.
Activists plan to mobilise prominent citizens for the cause besides=20
holding awareness meetings at various localities in the city.
Posters saying, "Protect your neighbour, protect your=20
neighbourhood,'' are being made and plans are afoot to distribute=20
them through various trade unions.
At one meeting, a proposal was made to target students with the=20
message of communal harmony so that they could relay the message=20
home. The activists have also decided to felicitate those citizens=20
and police officers who saved lives in the communal riots of December=20
1992-January 1993.
Among the several meetings organised is a seminar by Lokraj=20
Sanghatana on 'How to stop communal violence' at 7 p.m. on March 15=20
at the Bhupesh Gupta Bhavan, Prabhadevi.
A fund collection drive for Gujarat victims and methods to reach aid=20
to them were also discussed.
Many activists were of the view that it was best to send cash to=20
voluntary agencies involved in relief work in Gujarat as there was a=20
possibility of aid being intercepted and looted.
Several activists have rushed to Gujarat to get a first-hand=20
assessment of the riot situation and to set up base for relief=20
workers who are to follow.Volunteers were also sought to reach out to=20
the traumatised riots victims, many of whom were still hiding in=20
forests and fields.A team of 50 doctors left for Gujarat on Monday.
The larger issues also are being debated. For instance, some=20
activists are against demanding a ban on the Vishwa Hindu Parishad=20
and the Bajrang Dal as that would only push them underground. The=20
People's Union for Civil Liberties also opposed demands for giving=20
full powers to the army.
On Tuesday evening, nearly 400 activists from various organisations=20
congregated at Hutatma Chowk to condemn the killings at Godhra and=20
the carnage in Gujarat. "We condemn the cycle of attack and=20
retaliation in the strongest possible terms and deplore the fact that=20
true religion is being subverted to serve narrow political ends,''=20
said a pamphlet distributed on the occasion.

______

#5.

Boston Globe

In India violence, some hindus dare to save Muslim lives

By Beth Duff-Brown Associated Press, 3/5/2002

AHMEDABAD, India - Horrified by the screams of his Muslim neighbors=20
being beaten and burned alive, Virsing Rathod put aside fear and did=20
what many other Hindus could not get up the courage to do.

The burly man and his two sons jumped in a truck, forced their way=20
through frenzied Hindu rioters, and began pulling Muslims from the=20
flames just before midnight Thursday.

He helped saved 25 Muslims that night and has since sheltered dozens=20
in safe houses across this city engulfed by Hindu-Muslim violence=20
that has claimed 544 lives.

The heroism showed by Rathod and a few other Hindus stood out amid a=20
week when Hindus and Muslims killed one another with fire, daggers,=20
and bombs.

Ten of his Muslim neighbors were still hiding in Rathod's home=20
yesterday, being comforted by his family and other Hindu neighbors.

He shrugged when asked if he's a hero.

''I did it out of humanity, because in my heart I knew it was the=20
right thing to do,'' he said, sitting in his tiny notary public=20
office just behind a gutted mosque and across the street from where=20
66 Muslims were burned alive in a south Ahmedabad neighborhood.

''There is much affection between the Hindus and Muslims here, and I=20
could not just stand by and let them die,'' said Rathod. ''What has=20
happened is shameful.''

Violence has gripped Gujarat State since last Wednesday, when Muslims=20
set fire to a train carrying Hindu nationalists. The 58 deaths=20
provoked a retaliatory rampage by Hindus. Most of those killed since=20
then have been Muslims. It was the worst Hindu-Muslim violence in=20
India since 1993, when 800 people died in religious riots in Bombay.

Still, India's 120 million Muslims live in relative harmony among the=20
1 billion Hindus and other minorities of India. Gujarat is the home=20
state of Mohandas Gandhi, India's beloved independence leader, who=20
struggled for reconciliation between the Hindu majority and Muslim=20
minority amid riots that killed nearly 1 million people after=20
independence in 1947.

In Ram-Rahim Nagar, a teeming slum in the heart of Ahmedabad where=20
Hindus and Muslims have lived and worked together for decades,=20
residents say humanity is their religion and poverty their common=20
bond. Even the name of their neighborhood is used as a catchword for=20
communal amity in Indian literature - Ram is a principal Hindu god=20
and Rahim, or the compassionate, is another name for Allah, the=20
Muslim god.

Ram-Rahim residents insisted yesterday that not one person was=20
killed, nor one shop burned down, in the community where 20,000=20
Hindus and Muslims have lived together in peace since 1964.

''The Hindus and Muslims here are so poor, living hand-to-mouth, that=20
we can't afford to attack one another,'' said Natwar Lal Bhikabhai, a=20
Hindu member of the Ram-Rahim community association, whose Hindu and=20
Muslim board of directors oversee the slum and mediate disputes.

This story ran on page A12 of the Boston Globe on 3/5/2002.
=A9 Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.

_____

#6.

National Post, March 4, 2002
Can secular India stand the heat?
Sidharth Bhatia
http://www.nationalpost.com/commentary/story.html?f=3D/stories/20020304/226=
808.html

_____

#7.

[Text of Another Proposed Petition to India's President & other=20
senior functionaries. Lets keep the pressure on the govt. and speak=20
our minds]

To:

Shri K.R. Narayanan
President of India
Rashtrapati Bhawan
New Delhi 110 004
Fax: 91-011-3017290

We, the undersigned, strongly condemn the recent spate of violence in Gujar=
at
and the Gujarat government=EDs shameful role in dealing with it.

The horrendous massacre of the passengers of the Sabarmati Express at Godh=
ra
is a reprehensible act and should be condemned in the strongest possible
terms. It should be dealt with under the purview of the Indian
constitutional law, which has provisions for dealing with such matters of
gross criminality.=20

Instead of apprehending and bringing to trial the perpetrators of this
criminal act, the Gujarat state machinery has decided to punish an entire
community by letting loose a reign of terror on the minority community. It
has been deliberately feeble in its response to the marauding, organized
gangs of rioters, and in some cases has actively encouraged this violence b=
y
stating that it is understandable and justified. We strongly condemn the
Gujarat State Government for failing to act responsibly on this issue, whic=
h
has resulted in the loss of more than 500 innocent lives.

We also condemn strongly the delay on the part of the Central and the State
government in calling for Army deployments in the riot-affected areas, days
after it had been abundantly clear to the national and international
community that the state police was ineffectual in containing the violence.
(Where Had All the Soldiers Gone? The Telegraph, March2, 2002)

We strongly condemn the role of the various religious factions in escalatin=
g
the violence in Gujarat, for vitiating the communal milieu in the entire
nation and creating the polarized atmosphere where such large scale riots a=
re
possible. We note with disapproval that several of these groups have close
connections to the State Government.( VHP, BJP workers named in FIR on riot=
s,
The Times of India, March 3, 2002)

OUR DEMANDS:

* We call for the immediate setting up of an independent and impartial
judicial enquiry into the cause of these riots and the government's inabili=
ty
to maintain law and order. We further demand that the commission's finding=
s
be publicly disclosed as soon as possible and its suggestions be made bindi=
ng
upon the state government.

* We call for immediate assistance, both material and psychological, to tho=
se
people who are affected by the riots. We are shocked and dismayed that the
state has so far provided no relief or succor to those who have lost famil=
y
members, homes or businesses in the recent riots, or have been forced to mo=
ve
out of their homes because of security concerns. We demand that the state
immediately rush medical and food aid to those who have been affected,
besides making arrangements to shelter those displaced. We also urge the
government to extend monetary assistance for rebuilding homes and businesse=
s
of those who have been affected by the riots. The government should take u=
p
the rebuilding of these communities and businesses as its top priority.

* We call upon the Gujarat State Government to immediately issue a strong
condemnation of those responsible for the violence in the state, including
those belonging to the cadres of the leading political party and its allies=
.

* We call for the immediate dismissal of the police commissioners in the
cities worst affected by violence, including Mr. P.C. Pande (Ahmedabad) and
Mr. Upendra Singh (Rajkot) who displayed remarkable inefficiency in
maintaining law and order, and under whose directions, the police forces
turned a blind eye to the rampaging mobs creating havoc in these cities, an=
d
carrying out systematic massacres. Mr Pande has gone on record justifying
the police inaction as that reflecting the sentiments of the larger communi=
ty
(Avenging Hindu Mobs Attack Muslims in India, Washington Post, Mar 1, 2002)=
.
Mr. Singh is reported to have turned off his state-issued mobile phone as
soon as rioting started in Rajkot (Police chief vanishes as Rajkot burns,
Times Of India, March 1, 2002).

* We call for the resignation of the Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr. Narendra
Modi, who proved to be not only completely incapable of leading a state in
the time of crisis, but also contributed to worsening the crisis by making
insensitive statements suggesting that the victims brought the violence on
themselves, and that the violence was a result of direct provocation. We,
the citizens of a free world, find it particularly insulting that the chief
minister should excuse his administration=EDs failure to contain violence b=
y
stating the Newton=EDs third law of motion, =ECEvery action has an equal an=
d
opposite reaction=EE ('Newton' Modi has a lot to answer, Times of India,
March2, 2002). It is no surprise, therefore, that Mr. Modi=EDs constituenc=
y,
Rajkot, which did not witness any violence even in the wake of the 1992
demolition of the Babri Masjid, has now seen some of the worst carnage.

* We demand that the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) not be appli=
ed
in the state. We share the concerns of citizens of Gujarat about the
inability of the current government to assure civic rights to all its
citizens. In this light, we ask that POTO not be applied in the state as i=
t
allows the government to operate under a cloak of secrecy. We request that
all state actions be taken in a transparent and public manner in order to
assure the citizens of Gujarat of the sincerity of the government in
combating communal violence, and ensuring public confidence in the state
machinery.

* We demand an immediate end to all measures to curb the freedom of press.
If India is to remain a vibrant democracy, it is extremely important that t=
he
media be allowed to operate freely. We urge the government to remove all
restrictions on the screening of different television channels in Gujarat,
and to provide full access and security to media-persons covering the curre=
nt
situation throughout the state.

CC:=20
Shri A.B. Vajpayee
Prime Minister of India
152, South Block
New Delhi, India - 110001
Fax: 0091 11 3016857
Email: http://pmindia.nic.in/writetous.htm

Shri S. S. Bhandari
Governor of Gujarat
Raj Bhavan
Sector 20
Gandhinagar 382-020
Gujarat, INDIA
Fax: 02712-434-14

Shri Narendra Modi
Chief Minister of Gujarat
Block No.1, 5th Floor,
New Sachivalaya,
Gandhinagar-382 010
Gujarat, INDIA.
Phone : 91-79-3232611 to 3232622
Fax : 91-79-3222020, 3222101
E-mail : mail@g...

Indian Embassies and Consulates

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