[sacw] SACW #1 | 27 April. 02

Harsh Kapoor aiindex@mnet.fr
Sat, 27 Apr 2002 03:36:04 +0100


South Asia Citizens Wire Dispatch #1 | 27 April 2002
http://www.mnet.fr

PUNISH THE GUILTY OF GUJARAT GENOCIDE
Call for a National Campaign For Defence of the Indian Constitution
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ptggg/petition.html

__________________________

A. Pakistan:
- Liberate Pakistan from oppressive laws
- News Report Pakistan bomb kills 12
B. India:
#1. Muslim and Christian Organisations defy Atal, Government statements on
Gujarat, assert Genocide is a global concern
#2. Save Mallika Sarabhai, Expose The Villains (K Satchidanandan)
#3. Report damns Gujarat Government (Ayanjit Sen)
#4. Gujarat victims were 'stripped, burned and hacked' (Peter Popham)
#5. Public Hearing of Gujarat Genocide victims Press Release [the=20
hearing continues on the 27th]
#6. Gujarat's tales of tragedy (Ayanjit Sen)
#7. [Revised] Press Statement regarding Gujarat issued by the=20
participants at the 'Siting Secularism Conference', 21 April 2002,=20
Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, USA.

__________________________

A.

Daily Times (Lahore)
Saturday, April 27, 2002 Main News
Editorial

Liberate Pakistan from oppressive laws

Even as General Pervez Musharraf's government speaks of turning=20
Pakistan into a progressive, modern and tolerant Islamic state,=20
regressive laws decreed by the military dictator, General Zia-ul Haq,=20
continue to take their toll not just on domestic civil society but=20
also on the image of the country abroad. Consider, for example, the=20
latest case of Zafran Bibi, a young woman from Kohat who said she'd=20
been raped but was sentenced by a judge of a sessions court to death=20
by stoning (rijm) for adultery.
Zafran Bibi has filed an appeal in the Federal Shariat Court, the=20
highest judicial body in the country to adjudicate issues of Islamic=20
law. She gave birth to a baby girl while awaiting trail for adultery=20
in jail. She claims her brother-in-law raped her while her husband=20
was serving a jail sentence for murder. However, she says, her=20
father-in-law accused her of adultery to save his son and to frame an=20
old rival.
This is a familiar story. While the case is sub judice and it is up=20
to the FSC to find out the truth, we consider it important to=20
highlight the many anomalies that attend the formulation and=20
implementation of these Islamic laws. On the issue of rijm, for=20
instance, Justice Aftab Hussain, chief justice of the FSC during=20
General Zia's time, was removed by the general after he observed that=20
stoning to death was not a Quranic punishment and no punishment can=20
be declared a hudd (Islamic punishment) unless its nas (edictal=20
authentication) can be derived from the Quran. The observation so=20
enraged the clergy that Zia had to remove the judge from the FSC=20
bench. But an even more interesting observation relates to=20
poet-philosopher Allama Iqbal's interpretation of Qata-e-yadd=20
(cutting of hands), whose nas is seemingly derived from the Quran.=20
However, that did not stop Iqbal from opposing the punishment in his=20
Sixth Lecture contained in the Reconstruction of Religious Thought in=20
Islam.
Allama Iqbal knew the necessity of bringing Islam into line with=20
modernity, which to him meant the ability of an exegete to interpret=20
the religion in light of changing socioeconomic and other=20
requirements and in keeping with the progressive and dynamic spirit=20
of Islam. Today, after 25 years of repressive and regressive=20
legislation and an international image that looks at Pakistan as a=20
land teeming with religious fanatics, there is even greater need for=20
the state and society to heed the Allama's advice. It is also an=20
ironic feature of these punishments that the higher courts have=20
consistently refused to uphold such punishments that 'believing'=20
judges of the lower courts have happily passed. Indeed, there seems=20
to be an awareness and a consequent reluctance by the higher courts=20
to endorse punishments that are likely to create a "bad" image of=20
Pakistan abroad. That these punishments are "isolationist" and=20
emanate from an isolationist mind-set is clear from the way the=20
Taliban militia in Afghanistan resorted to them. Sudan is another=20
case in point where these punishments were carried out and led to a=20
horrible image of the country even as they failed to raise the moral=20
standards of Sudanese society.
But while the higher courts are reluctant to carry out these=20
punishments, there is also a disinclination to challenge them=20
effectively. In real terms, this translates into an increasing number=20
of people rotting in jails because the higher courts choose to sleep=20
over the appeals filed before them. While it is obvious that these=20
laws have got into the statute books because of a constitutional=20
amendment, the courts have not lost their power of review. Of course,=20
in some cases, judges of higher courts have taken a progressive line=20
and overturned earlier verdicts by the lower courts. But the degree=20
of pro-activism on the issue is insufficient by any modern yardstick.
We also know how the judicial system in Pakistan works. Given the=20
corruption that plagues the system, the readiness of rascally=20
individuals to frame opponents, and various other structural=20
problems, it is very easy for some individuals and groups to exploit=20
these drastic punishments to their advantage. This is especially the=20
case when blasphemy is alleged to have been committed, another area=20
that needs the immediate attention of the state. In this context, the=20
case of Dr Younus Sheikh springs to mind. Here is an educated man, a=20
teacher to boot, who is accused of blasphemy but languishes in prison=20
because General Musharraf's much flaunted liberal and moderate state=20
doesn't have the guts to release him or the conviction to execute him.
Pakistan has acquired an unenviable image. Also, the present=20
government has inflicted itself on this country. Yet it can do a lot=20
of good if it decides to expend its energies on a progressive agenda.=20
General Zia did much harm to this country through these laws. It is=20
only right and fitting that another general should reverse such laws=20
and liberate the country.

0 0 0

The Guardian (London), Friday April 26, 2002

Pakistan bomb kills 12
Staff and agencies
Twelve women and children have been killed by a bomb blast during a
gathering of thousands of Muslims at a mosque in Pakistan.
A further 23 people were injured by the device, which exploded at a mosque
in the town of Bhakkar in the eastern Punjab region of the country, 300
miles south-west of the capital, Islamabad.
No group has claimed responsibility but authorities suspect that the bomb
was part of a continuing feud between militants from the Shia and Sunni
sects of Islam.
Witnesses said nine women and three children, all Shia Muslims, were killed
by the explosion, thought to have been caused by a timed device planted in
the grounds of the mosque.
The blast went off close to midnight on Thursday in the women's section of =
a
huge segregated gathering of Shias in grounds at the mosque and adjacent
cemetery. Thousands of Shias were at the mosque for an annual gathering to
mourn the death of Hussain, the grandson of the prophet Mohammad.
Mohammed Nisar, a doctor at the hospital in Bhakkar where the dead and
wounded were taken, said the bomb was apparently planted near the section o=
f
the mosque where women pray. Mosques are segregated, with women-only
sections. Mr Nisar said: "The bomb was planted on the women's side and all
the dead were women." The hospital does not expect to treat any more
casualties and preparations have already been made for the burial of the
dead.
A local Shia leader, Wizarat Naqvi, said: "It is religious terrorism. You
know what is going on in Pakistan."
Violence between militants from the Sunni and Shia sects has killed hundred=
s
of people in Pakistan during the last decade. Shias make up about 15% of
Pakistan's 140 million people. Tension between the two communities arose
after the 1979 Islamic revolution in neighbouring Iran. Members of the two
branches of Islam eat, work and socialise together, but intermarriage is
rare.
Pakistan's military president, General Pervez Musharraf, in January vowed t=
o
clamp down on sectarian extremism as part of a broader crackdown on Islamic
militants. Hundreds of activists from radical Sunni and Shia groups were
detained but most have since been freed for lack of evidence.
The usual culprits involved in the killing of Shia Muslims have been member=
s
of the violent Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, or Guardians of the Friends of the
Prophet group, banned by President Musharraf. The organisation reviles Shia
Muslims as outside the pale of Islam.
Since January, dozens of Shias have been killed in Pakistan. Many of the
deaths have been targeted killings and have occurred both in the Punjab
province and in the country's southern Sindh province, of which Karachi is
the capital.
Hasan Turabi, the head of Tehrik-e-Jafria, an outlawed Shia group, has
blamed the upsurge in killings of Shia Muslims on the return to Pakistan of
militant Sunni Muslims from neighbouring Afghanistan following the collapse
of the hardline Taliban regime in that country.
Mr Turabi said the Taliban, a movement dominated by Sunnis, espoused the
same philosophy as Pakistan's radical Sunni Muslims, and harboured those wh=
o
had killed Shia Muslims in Pakistan. With the fall of the Taliban these
radical elements returned home, he said.

_____

B

#1.

Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 10:17:06 +0530

Muslim and Christian Organisations defy Atal, Government statements on
Gujarat, assert Genocide is a global concern

URGENT JOINT STATEMENT BY MAJSLIS E MUSHAWARRAT, CATHOLIC UNION AND
CHRISTIAN COUNCIL

New Delhi, April 25th 2002

In a joint statement today, prominent Muslim and Christian organisations
have decried the Indian and Gujarat state Government efforts to whitewash
the Gujarat carnage through provocative statements by the Foreign office an=
d
cynical and misleading advertisements by the state administration in
newspapers.

The All India Muslim Majlis e Mushawarat, the All India Catholic Union and
the All India Christian Council in a joint statement said the genocide in
Gujarat, which has been violence widely compared to during the Nazi regime
in Europe, is not a mere internal matter of India, but an issue of concern
to every compassionate and democratic human being on the globe.

Mushawarat secretary Navaid Hamid and Dr John Dayal, vice president of the
Catholic Union and secretary general of the Christian Council in the joint
statement said: "India believes in the concept of the world as one village,
Vasudeva Kutumbakam as the ancient Texts put it. In such a global village,
made more cohesive in the cyber age, the gang rape of hundreds of Muslim
women, the murder of thousands of innocent children and adults in Gujarat i=
n
the past 58 days -- amounting to a carefully planned genocide by the
Hindutva parivar with state connivance -- cannot go unchallenged.

"We firmly believe that the entire United Nations system is on test. Indi=
a
is a signatory to the UN Charter, as also to the Human Rights Declaration
and the Special Resolution on Religious Freedom. Neither India nor the
United Nations members can run away from their responsibility in this case.
India's record shows its interventions in many different countries which
faced similar situations of racial and religious violence of such
magnitude."

"The motives of the Indian government have been exposed in the Ministry o=
f
External Affairs statement alleging that European Union and others are
`interfering and taking sides in the on-going highly politically charged
internal debate.' The killings and rape are not an issue of debate - they
are the bitter and shameful reality. By turning the killings into a
political debate, the government mocks not just the dead, but also insults
Indian democracy and the rule of law", the joint statement said.

"The Gujarat government has rubbed salt in the wounds of the victims by its
cynical, callous and coercive advertisements in newspapers claiming it has
brought the situation under control. The daily killings and the travails of
the victims are proof that the state government is lying to fool
international public opinion.

"We join the many organisations that have demanded an international
investigation into the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal and all other
organisations of the Hindutva parivar whose actions threaten not just the
minorities of India and civil society, but also endanger international
peace."

For further details, please contact Navaid Hamid Ph 3261369 and John dayal
9811021072, 2722262

_____

#2.

From: Animas999@a...
Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 14:24:04 EDT
To: undercurrents@b...
Subject: [undercurrents] Mallika Sarabhai

SAVE MALLIKA, EXPOSE THE VILLAINS

We are extremely pained and disturbed to know that
Mallika Sarabhai, one of the finest creative
performance artists of contemporary India,and a
committed humanist with a wide range of
emancipatory concerns, has been forced to go into
hiding to save her life from the murderous Hindu
fundamentalists of Gujarat who have threatened to
kill her and to burn down her famous Darpana
Academy along with her aged mother, the great
dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai.

The threat has come in the wake of Mallika
Sarabhai's interventions in the recent tragic
happenings in Gujarat, her attempts to bring peace
to the terror-torn state, and to expose the
perpetrators of the genocide in Gujarat including
photographing of the mopping up operations just
prior to the Prime Minister's visit to the state intended
to save their patronizing Chief Minister.

This threat is the latest in a series of similar
incidents aimed at disrupting peace and legitimizing
violence against the minorities and terrorizing the
liberal public, and committed artists and
intellectuals.

We take this threat to Mallika Sarabhai as a threat to
our own lives, to the creative and pluralistic cultural
traditions of our people, to the secular fabric of the
country and to the fundamental freedom of speech
and expression.

We appeal to all peace-loving people and all artists,
writers and intellectuals to intervene immediately to
defend the basic freedom and to join the struggle for
religious amity, cultural plurality, secular polity, and
democratic and just governance.

We appeal to the Government of India and the
President of the Republic to take immediate steps to
book the criminals, to reestablish the rule of law in
Gujarat, and to forestall a communal conflagration
across the country that is the evident agenda of the
communal terrorists.

K SATCHIDANANDAN

_____

#3.

BBC News
Thursday, 25 April, 2002, 16:09 GMT 17:09 UK

Report damns Gujarat Government
The reports alleges police did little to stop the violence

By Ayanjit Sen
BBC correspondent in Delhi

A leading non-governmental organisation in India - Communalism Combat=20
- says it has evidence of government complicity in the recent=20
communal riots in the western state of Gujarat.
In a vast majority of cases, the police either did not act or acted=20
on behalf of the mob

Genocide 2002 report
The group says it has compiled the evidence in a 150-page report -=20
Genocide 2002 - which was released in the capital Delhi on Thursday.

It said the document is based on eye-witness accounts.
The Home Minister of Gujarat, Govardhan Jhapadia, told the BBC that=20
the report was totally baseless.
Nearly 800 people, mostly Muslims, have died in the riots which=20
erupted in late February when a Muslim mob attacked a train carrying=20
Hindu activists, killing 58 people.

'Partisan role'

A member of the group, Teesta Setalwad, told the BBC that right-wing=20
Hindus had infiltrated the police as well as other state departments=20
in Gujarat.

The report is based on eye witness accounts
She said police officers did not take enough steps to control the violence.
"The state played a partisan role in these riots", Ms Setalwad said.
She said the police made only two preventive arrests after the train=20
incident when they had enough evidence of provocative pamphlets being=20
circulated in the name of different Hindu groups asking Hindus to=20
rape, destroy and kill Muslims.
The report cited a case where it claims that 36 of 40 people killed=20
in a single incident in Ahmedabad city were Muslims.
It said Hindus freely targeted the Muslims before the police took action.

Police 'guilty'
The report says the police did not carry out the mandatory drill in=20
the riot-affected areas.

No effort was made to contact religious and community leaders for=20
appeals of peace, the report said.
"The general message sent out to the police was that minimum response=20
and action to panic calls should be allowed, that armed crowds of=20
5-15,000 should be left to do their business and complaints should=20
not be registered or should be doctored", the report said.
The group has alleged that the police were guilty of intimidating=20
survivors into filing complaints without identifying the accused.
The report is the latest in a series of criticisms of the Gujarat=20
Government which has been under attack by the opposition as well as=20
welfare groups for failing to prevent the spread of violence in the=20
state.

_____

#4.

The Independent (UK), 27 April 2002 00:02 GMT+1

Gujarat victims were 'stripped, burned and hacked'
By Peter Popham in Delhi
27 April 2002
Two months after the event that triggered Gujarat's pogrom, Muslims=20
in the western Indian state are still counting the cost. Yesterday,=20
40 survivors came to Delhi to tell journalists and parliamentarians=20
how their relatives and friends had been stripped, raped, burned and=20
mutilated.
[...]
The state government says some 850 people have died in the violence,=20
but a secret report by British diplomats leaked this week to the BBC=20
says at least 2,000 died. The report claims that far from being a=20
spontaneous eruption of Hindu anger after the Godhra outrage, the=20
violence was pre-planned and carried out with the support of the=20
state government.[...]

{ Full text at:=20
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia_china/story.jsp?story=3D289323=20
}

_____

#5.

Communalism Combat/ Sahmat

Public Hearing of Genocide Victims continues on Day II
April 27, 2002 10am-1pm
Speaker's Hall, Constitution Club
Rafi Marg, New Delhi-110001 [ India]

----------------------------------------
Friends, there is a suggestion to buy a set of clothes + some=20
neccessary articles for all the victims who are here. It will be=20
approx. 500 per erson, Rs 20,000 total amount. THose of you who would=20
like to contribute , please give money at sahmat before the programme=20
as we would be doing the purchases in the morning.
Also we plan to send clothes etc for the camps . Please bring=20
whatever is possible and deposit at sahmat latest by the afternoon.
------------------------------------------------

Press Release for Day I
Communalism Combat/ Sahmat
8, Vithalbhai Patel House, Rafi Marg, New Delhi-1100001
Tel- 3711276/ 3351424/ Fax- 3343500
e-mail-sahmat@v...

April 26, 02

Day I, attended by over 400 journalists, activists, political leaders=20
and concerned citizens.

Listen to the Survivors
Genocide Gujarat 2002

Communalism Combat and SAHMAT felt the need to bring the voices of=20
the survivors of the Gujarat Genocide. Immediate stoppage of=20
violence, justice and lasting peace is the message that they carry.=20
We owe it to those who so brutally lost their lives to ensure that=20
their voices are heard.

Ahmedabad

Background:

Naroda Gaon and Naroda Patiya:

About 15 kms from Ahmedabad city, Naroda Gaon and Naroda Patiya have=20
been home to around 1,000 daily wage earning Muslims. Many of the=20
residents here are migrants from Karnataka and Maharashtra. The area=20
lies on a stretch of the outer city, situated along a deserted=20
highway road. The Gopinath and Gangotri housing societies situated=20
nearby are home, the survivors allege, to many of the attackers. The=20
government=92s ST warehouse is located across the wide road.

Naroda Patiya and Naroda Gaon have a long story of VHP provocation.=20
Police sources revealed to CC that in 1999 a dargah was broken down=20
and an idol installed in its place. At the time, the local police=20
repaired the dargah and arrested 10-15 persons, including Dr. Jaideep=20
Patel, Maya Kotdani and Amrish Pandey. Pressure was mounted by the=20
then home minister, Haren Pandya, but the police stood their ground=20
and the law-breakers backed down.*

Place: Naroda Patiya
Witness: Reshma
(Interviewed at Relief Camp on March 20)
Testimony: From Thursday to Monday (February 28-March 4), I remained=20
hidden in the locality. I hid inside the SRP quarters along with=20
seven children of the locality. My whole family was scattered here=20
and there. My two-year-old son was with my mother-in-law and I found=20
them later.

Before escaping to the SRP quarters, I witnessed Kausar Bano being=20
brutally raped in the Javan Nagar Maidan. Her stomach was carved=20
opened, her baby flung into the fire before she was sexually abused,=20
cut up and burnt.

The attack was spearheaded from Gopinath society and Gangotri=20
society. Mumtaz Bano was another victim. Other women who were=20
similarly brutalized and killed were Ayesha Bibi, Shaheen Bano,=20
Noorjahan, Najma Begum, Hasan Ali, Zainab Bano, Noorjahan Alori and=20
Sufia Bano. I also saw Sadiq Salim Sheikh being killed brutally, his=20
head smashed with an iron pipe.

Accused (assailants): Residents of Gangotri and Gopinath housing societies.

Place: Shah Alam Relief Camp
Witness: Raja Bundubhai (11-years-old)
(Interviewed at Shah Alam Relief Camp on March 20)

Testimony: I have only a brother, a sister and my father who is quite=20
old left now. My mother Jerina and my other sister Nasreen were=20
stabbed, burnt and killed. I saw it all happening. My sister does not=20
stop crying, my father does not speak. I only know that those Hindus=20
were attacking Muslims. I saw it all happen.

The previous day we were told that some trouble might happen. When=20
nothing happened at night, we thought it was just a rumour and went=20
back thinking that nothing might happen. In the morning, a crowd=20
started pelting stones. We ran towards Gangotri and Gopinath society=20
but it was residents from these societies who got the tolas (crowds)=20
together.

While I stood on a wall, I saw my mother and sister being stabbed.=20
Then they sprinkled kerosene on both and burned them alive. I was so=20
shocked I fell down. When I got up a man hit me on the chest and on=20
the abdomen.

They even said, "Chop his head off". But an elderly person in the=20
group said, "Do not kill the child." Though others argued, he told me=20
to run away. He said, "Bhag ja beta ("Run away, son)." I ran. I still=20
remember the face of the old man.

I had to stay inside a small shed with another woman and through a=20
tiny entrance we watched these people kill. Later, I crawled quietly=20
into one of the SRP quarters and found my aunt there. I lived there=20
for three days. My whole family had been separated.

Then I was taken to the Shahibag relief camp where my sister, who is=20
here with me now, had come looking for me from the Shah Alam camp.

Accused (assailants): Residents of Gangotri and Gopinath housing societies.

(pg.20 , GENOCIDE=97GUJARAT 2002,Communalism Combat Report)

Gulmerg Society, Chamanpura, Ahmedabad

>From 7.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. on Thursday, February 28 a=20
20-25,000-strong mob surrounded the Chamanpura area in the heart of=20
Ahmedabad city. The FIR lodged by KG Erda of the Meghani Nagar police=20
station (Communalism Combat has a copy) gives a blow-by-blow account=20
of the utter failure of the police to put off the assailants and=20
protect the residents.

The FIR admits that the arson and destruction began from the morning=20
itself. What is not contained in the FIR, but a fact to which an=20
eyewitness survivor and two Yuva Congress members are witness, is=20
that the commissioner of police, Ahmedabad, PC Pandey visited Ehsan=20
Jaffri at 10.30 a.m. sharp and assured him of police reinforcements.

The CP stands directly indicted as he did not keep his promise of=20
sending police help. The few men who were deputed from the Meghani=20
Nagar chowky merely watched as 70 persons were butchered and burned.=20
The 10-12 women among the victims were brutally gang raped. The=20
centre of an Indian commercial city saw a medieval and macabre dance=20
of death, humiliation and revenge heaped on women, children and men.

Mohammmed Shareifbhai Nasiruddin Sheikh,
Chamanpura

Place: Chamanpura, Ahmedabad
Witness: Mohammmed Shareifbhai Nasiruddin Sheikh
(Interviewed at Ahmedabad on March 9 )

Testimony: Sharief Bhai is a survivor of the Chamanpura mass arson.=20
He lost his wife, Nasreen and two daughters. The owner of a=20
prosperous electronic business, he could have escaped with his family=20
but he was at the forefront, along with young men, warding of the=20
murderous attack.

Today, he and his son Sahil (10) are the sole survivors of his=20
family. When I met him on March 24, he told me that he had not cried=20
so far. Justice even if it is a long and arduous fight, is what he=20
seeks and is willing to fight for.

(pg.27 , GENOCIDE=97GUJARAT 2002,Communalism Combat Report)

Vatwa, Ahmedabad
Vatwa, an area located on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, saw repeated=20
and prolonged bouts of violence, led often by the residents of the=20
nearby housing colonies like Murlidhar Society, Mani Society,=20
Asapalav Society, Picnic Park and Manav Nagar. The attacks were=20
allegedly led by a resident of Vatwa who is also a Bajrang Dal leader=20
=96 Haresh Patel. Patel was ably supported by the police.=20
Nawapura-Kabrastan, a basti of 300 houses, was completely gutted by=20
mobs that attacked all day and night. The attack came from the=20
residents of Aspalav, Picnic Park, Manav Nagar housing colonies.=20
There were many persons from the Waghari community involved in the=20
attacks.

All Muslim homes were burnt down in the following localites:=20
Bachubhai Kua (70-80 houses), Bismillah Nagar (60 house), Darbar=20
Khetar (70-80 houses), Syedwadi (150 houses), Azim Park (100 houses);=20
Muchadipir (9 houses); Roshni Raos (105 houses).

The attacks continued from February 28-March 2 in the first instance=20
and terror generated was relentless until the middle of March.=20
Finally again on April 5, policemen unleashed terror on the whole=20
locality cloaking their faces under the helmets. "Police chor-dakoo=20
ho gayee hai" is the refrain of residents. Forty young men from the=20
targetted minority have been arrested in selective combing operations=20
by the police.

(pg .34 , GENOCIDE=97GUJARAT 2002,Communalism Combat Report)

Paldi, Ahmedabad

Background
Formed in 1932. During the 1969 riots there was no problem in this=20
area. In 1990, there was some disturbance, one member from a family=20
living in Delite Apartments was burnt alive. =91Wahi log aaj bhi kam=20
kar rahe hain=92 (=91The same people are up to similar deeds now=92.

Haren Pandya is elected from this constituency (Ellis Bridge). During=20
his campaign for the last elections he was openly campaigning saying,=20
=91Paldi se musalman ka naam aur nishan mita denge=92 (=91We=92ll wipe out=
=20
any trace of Muslim presence from the Paldi area=92).

This writer spoke to two couples from the Paldi area -- Aftab Bhai=20
and Ghizala Kadri (the latter works at the Oriental Insurance near=20
Lal Darwaza Ahmedabad) and Ayaz and Wasim Aslam (employed by the=20
Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service) on March 9.

Both the couples are residents of Kazmi Apartments, Paldi, Flat No. 3=20
and 4 respectively. Justice AN Divecha (retired judge of the Gujarat=20
High Court) lives in Flat 1 & 2 of the same apartment and is a=20
neighbour. Besides being victims themselves, they are eyewitnesses to=20
what happened to justice Divecha.

7.Place: Kazmi Apartments, Paldi, Ahmedabad

Witness: Aftab Kadri and Ghizala Kadri
(Interviewed at Jamalpur on March 9)

Testimony: On the night of February 28, some 25-30 petrol bombs were=20
thrown inside our flats from outside. When we looked out to see who=20
the assailants were, we recognized them as VHP people from the area.=20
We rang up 100 (Police control) and spoke to DCP Pargi who sent a PI=20
and PSI to check on the damage. We were asking for protection because=20
though only the walls were damaged, the intention of the attackers=20
was clear.

PSI Birja who inspected the damage said it was not enough to warrant=20
any police protection. The next morning at about 11.30 a.m., a mob of=20
50-60 persons hurled stones and broke the windowpanes of flat number=20
3. We called police control again. In the mob, we could spot some of=20
the known faces we had seen the day before. We wondered what to do=20
but I (Aftab Kadri) felt leaving our home may not be a good idea.

In our building, Kazmi Apartments, there are 12 flats, all belonging=20
to Muslims. By the morning of 28th there were only 10-12 of us=20
around. Some were out of town and others had left. We sent off our=20
families elsewhere and I spent whole of 28th watching a 2,500-3,000=20
strong mob wreck havoc in the area.

They first attacked Tarana Apartments. They were armed with baseball=20
bats, hockey sticks and cricket bats. They used to use the force of=20
3,000 persons to break down a strong gate. They were travelling in=20
Sumo vans. They broke the locks of 12 flats at Tarana Apartments,=20
looted and burnt them.

The second building to be attacked was Delite Apartments. They used=20
Pepsi bottles to create the impact of home bombs. They used chemical=20
solvents to ensure that once a fire starts it does not stop.

The third building to be attacked was Elite Apartments where mostly=20
advocates live. The fourth building was our building, Kazmi=20
Apartments. Justice Divecha left in the dead of night, at 12 p.m. My=20
family had left the day before. In my case, I suffered a loss of Rs=20
4-5 lakh.

Accused (assailants): VHP leaders and activists from Paldi.

Accused (police): DCP Pargi, PSI Birja.

(pg.36 , GENOCIDE=97GUJARAT 2002,Communalism Combat Report)

FAZL GANDHI
Resident of Paldi/Eyewitness to Gujarat Revenue Minister Haren Pandya=20
inciting Mobs to Violence;
He has been threatened TWICE since for daring to identify the accused.

"It was February 28. The time was 1.45 p.m. I saw a mob gathering.=20
Within minutes I then saw Haren Pandya who has won the assembly=20
election from our constituency come to the corner of the street where=20
the building where we we live at Tarana Apartments and start making=20
gestures with his hands that appeared to say "come on start the=20
work." When a mob gets encouragement from a leader, it gets courage.=20
And that is when the destruction began. The gate was broken. Vehicles=20
on the way were destroyed. Then they attacked the Tarana Apartments;=20
the first floor and second floor was attacked and set fire to. The=20
Police were in a jeep walking along with the crowd and did not even=20
step out. The policemen were talking to the crowd.

My wife even asked me to ask the police for help but I told her how=20
could I expect any help from the police? My house in Tarana was=20
looted thrice after that I went to the police to register my FIR=20
naming the minister which they refused. Thereafter I have registered=20
my statement with my lawyer that has been sent to the police. I have=20
received threats saying " You named Pandya. We have burned your=20
homes. Next we will burn you." You cannot imagine the threats that we=20
live under."

Visnagar, Mehsana Distr

Pathan Arif Khan Yakub Khan (13)
Visnagar, District Mehsana
Noorjehan Yakoob Khan (11)
Visnagar, District Mehsana

My father, mother, Dadi were all cut up and burned. It was the 28th=20
of February. We were all in the house. When the mob attacked, my=20
father managed to get me and Norrjehan and me out of the house and=20
force us to run ahead. My mother was left inside. My father forced us=20
to run ahead. But they caught him. They asked him to say 'Jai Sri=20
Ram.' He refused. In front of my eyes, they c ut him up and burned=20
him. When I returned to the house I found a heap of persons killed.

(Uncle Yusuf Khan Pathan: Totally eleven members of our families=20
brutally lossed their lives. My wife, two girls, son too. I was busy=20
defending us since we are located in the midst of the Patel locality.

I have identified the accused as Daya Purushottam, Babubhai=20
Puruhottam, Ramesh Daya Madhabar but it is the MLA, Prahlad Ghosa=20
supplied arms. The DSP earlier Gahlot was helpful in trying to locate=20
the bodies of our near and dead ones. Therefore in vengeance, CM=20
Narendra Modi transferred him out and brought AK Sharma in his place=20
who is close to him from Rajkot.

o o o o
[Read the full text of the GENOCIDE - GUJARAT 2002, Communalism=20
Combat Report: at http://www.sabrang.com/cc/current/index.html ]

_____

#6.

BBC News, Friday, 26 April, 2002, 15:48 GMT 16:48 UK

Gujarat's tales of tragedy
By Ayanjit Sen
BBC correspondent in Delhi
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1953000/1953302.st=
m

______

#7.

Financial Times (London)

West labels 900 deaths in Indian riots genocide
By Edna Fernandes in New Delhi
Published: April 26 2002 20:20 | Last Updated: April 26 2002 20:29

India's worst race riots in a decade, in which nearly 900 people,=20
mostly Muslims, have died, were on Friday described by western=20
diplomats as genocide.

It is the first time foreign observers have issued such a damning=20
verdict on the recent communal violence in the western state of=20
Gujurat, in which there have been mass killings of the minority=20
Muslim community by Hindu mobs. The criticism came at the end of a=20
week of tense relations between India and the diplomatic community in=20
Delhi.

On Friday new curfews were imposed on parts of Ahmedabad, Gujurat's=20
largest city, after fresh Hindu-Muslim clashes.

Many of the latest casualties were caused by police firing as the=20
authorities struggled to break up gangs of Hindus and Muslims hurling=20
stones and acid at each other.

A spokesman for a group of senior western diplomats told the=20
Financial Times the Gujurat killings were not just an internal matter=20
for India but also a human rights issue of international concern.

He rejected comments by Atal Behari Vajpayee, the prime minister,=20
that foreigners should not interfere in the Gujarat troubles, which=20
have damaged his Hindu-nationalist BJP-led government.

Findings of several reports from the UK, Germany and the Netherlands,=20
leaked to the media, said there was evidence of pre-planned killings=20
of Muslims, that the BJP state government was complicit in the=20
killings and that the death toll might be more than 2,000.

The leaked findings echo investigations by non-governmental=20
organisations and human rights groups that have accused the state=20
government of complicity in the killings of Muslims.

Relations between India and the diplomatic community hit a low last=20
week when three ambassadors were rebuffed in an attempt to present=20
concerns to Jaswant Singh, India's foreign minister.

One western diplomat involved said: "We see this as stonewalling and=20
a sign of bad conscience.

"As for India's insistance that Gujarat is an internal matter, that's=20
a specious argument. It's not an internal matter. It's genocide."

_____

#7.

Press Statement regarding Gujarat issued by the participants at the=20
'Siting Secularism Conference', 21 April 2002, Oberlin College,=20
Oberlin, Ohio, USA. (http://www.oberlin.edu/~shansi/conference/)

We the participants of the Siting Secularism conference express our=20
serious concern at the state-sponsored pogrom launched against=20
Muslims of Gujarat for over 45 days now.

The incident at Godhra shocked us all and was immediately condemned=20
by various religious and human rights organisations. However, we=20
unequivocally condemn the cynical use of that incident by the RSS,=20
BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal and the Gujarat state machinery to justify=20
the massacre that followed.

Several fact-finding reports have revealed the pre meditated nature=20
of the violence and the planned targetting of Muslim lives and=20
businesses with the full backing and connivance of the police and=20
state administration. Every government official who took a principled=20
position has been targeted, harassed and transferred. There is also=20
no doubt that the VHP and the RSS have been the primary organisers of=20
the carnage in Gujarat.

We are deeply alarmed by the continued refusal of the Indian=20
government to take action against the government of of Gujarat=20
headed by Mr. Narendra Mody and by the recent public pronouncements=20
of India's Prime Minister Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee describing the=20
Muslim communities of India and elsewhere as trouble makers.

We are equally concerned at the prospect of elections being held in=20
the state of Gujarat under the present conditions where the Muslim=20
community is in a state of siege.

We call upon all Indians to:

- Put pressure on the Prime Minister of India to dismiss the=20
government of Mr. Narendra Mody and commence criminal proceedings=20
against the Gujarat government and Sangh parivar organisations.
- Expose the use to which donations to the VHP are being put,=20
especially from abroad.
- Build Sub continental solidarities with others involved in=20
contesting and fighting religious intolerance and the politics of=20
religious hatred in South Asia

Signed by:
Gauri Viswanathan (Professor of English and Comparative Literature,=20
Columbia University, New York, USA)
Partha Chatterjee (Professor of Political Science and Director,=20
CSSSC, Calcutta, India)
Shyam Benegal (Film maker, Bombay, India)
Nira Benegal (Bombay, India)
Mushirul Hasan (Director, Academy of Third World Studies , Jamia=20
Milia Islamia, New Delhi)
Kum Kum Sangari (Nehru Memorial Library, New Delhi, India)
Ravi S. Vasudevan (Fellow,Centre for the Study of Developing=20
Societies, New Delhi, India)
Nivedita Menon (Delhi University, India)
Ravina Agarwal (Assoc. Professor of Anthropology, Smith College, USA)
Rachel Sturman (Asst. Professor of South Asian History; Fellow,=20
Society of Fellows, University of Michigan, USA)
Upendra Baxi (Professor of Law, University of Warwick, UK)
Akeel Bilgrami (Professor of Philosophy , Columbia University, New York, US=
A)
Gyan Prakash (Professor of History, Princeton University, New Jersey, USA)
Gyanendra Pandey (Professor of Anthropology and History, Johns=20
Hopkins University, USA)
Anuradha Dingwaney Needham (Professor, Oberlin College, Ohio, USA)
Tadhg Foley (Professor, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland)
Anupama Rao (Asst. Professor, History, Barnard College, Columbia=20
University, USA)
Shabnum Tejani (Lecturer, Barnard College, Columbia University, USA)
Tayyab Mahmud (Professor of Law, Cleveland State University, Ohio, USA)
Raza Mir (Professor of Management, Monmouth University, USA)
Ali Mir ( Assoc. Professor of Information Systems, Monmouth University, USA=
)
Biju Mathew (Prof. of Information Systems, Rider University, USA)
Srimati Basu (Asst. Professor, Anthropology, De Pauw University, Indiana, U=
SA)
Satish Koluri (Pace University, New York)
Zoe Shernin (Asst. Professor Music, University of Oklahoma, USA)
Bhasker Sarkar ( Asst. Professor, Film Studies, UC Santa Barbara, USA)
Amitava Kumar (Assoc. Professor, English, Penn State University, USA)
Bishnupriya Ghosh (Assistant Professor, English, UC Davis, USA)
Manu Bhagvan, ( Asst. Professor Manchester College, USA)
Shuchi Kapila (Asst. Professor, Keynon College, Ohio, USA)
Sanjay Ruparelia (Cambridge University, UK)
Wendy Kazd (Assoc. Professor, Oberlin College, Ohio, USA)
Jennifer Bryan (Asst. Professor, Oberlin College, Ohio, USA)
Ravindran Sriramachandran (Columbia University, New York, USA)
Sivakumar Arumugam (University of Pennsylvania, USA)
Teena Purohit (Columbia University, New York, USA)
Neelam Srivastava ( Student, Oxford University, UK)
Poornima Paidipaty (Columbia University, New York, USA)
Malavika Kasturi (History Dept., Oberlin College, Ohio)
Priya Kumar (Asst. Professor, University of Iowa, USA)
Arvind Rajagopal (Assoc. Professor New York University, USA)
Josna Rege (English Department, Dartmouth College, New York)
Rajan Krishnan (Columbia University, New York, USA)
Amardeep Singh (Lehigh University, USA)
Christi A Merrill (Asst. Professor South Asian Literature, University=20
of Michigan, USA)
Jyotika Virdi (Asst. Professor, film/media studies, University of=20
Windsor, Canada)
Harsh Kapoor (South Asia Citizens Web, France)
Dwaipayan Sen (Oberlin College, Ohio, USA)
Shahana Siddiqui (Oberlin College, Ohio, USA)
Rashne Limki (Oberlin College, Ohio, USA)
Pamela de Bourg (Oberlin College, Ohio, USA)
Sarah Green (Oberlin College, Ohio, USA)
Morgon Williams ( Oberlin College, Ohio, USA)
--
[ The above statement is available on the Web at :=20
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/OberlinStatementApr2002.html ]

--=20
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