Any society built on the foundations of law would not require the
widow of a victim to petition the highest court of the land in order to
investigate the reasons behind the state’s failure to protect the life of its
citizens during those fateful days. – Siddharth Varadarajan, “The
Buck Must Stop at the Very Top”, The Hindu, 20 November 2010.
“We
don’t have any orders to save you”; “We cannot help you, we have orders
from above”; “If you wish to live in Hindustan, learn to protect yourself”;
“How come you are alive? You should have died too”; “Whose house is on fire?
Hindus’ or Muslims’?” In some cases phone lines were eventually cut to make it
impossible to call for help. – An excerpt from the report by Human Rights Watch on the
Gujarat carnage tells about the replies by the Gujarat Police officials to
victims calls.
The violence in Gujarat started on
February 27, 2002, when a train carrying Hindu pilgrims were allegedly attacked
in Godhra by a Muslim mob and caught fire, killing 58 people. What exactly
happened in Godhra still remains a mystery with various accounts circulating
it. It was widely reported that a scuffle began between Muslim vendors
and Hindu activists shortly after the train arrived at the station. One account
says that the kar sevaks, deliberately or otherwise, provoked Muslim
vendors on Godhra station including dragging a Muslim girl towards the coach.
Other account goes saying that the activists were said to have refused to pay a
vendor until he said “Jai Shri Ram”. As the train then tried to pull out of the
station, the emergency brake was pulled and the train was attacked and later it
caught fire. No one will ever be able to verify the accuracy of these varying accounts
.However what happened next persists as a dark blot on India’s reputation for
religious equality. It was genocide, a planned genocide by the Narendra
Modi led government with the whole state machinery at its disposal. It
took a day for organized ‘retaliation’ to begin. 28 February and 1March were
declared ‘Gujarat Bandh’ and ‘Bharat Bandh’ respectively. The Bandh, as it
turns out, was only for law abiding citizens – VHP and Bajrang Dal mobs enjoyed
full control over the streets. In a retaliatory spree by mobs, hundreds of Muslims were
slaughtered, tens of thousands were displaced, and countless Muslim homes were
destroyed. According to an official estimate, 1044 people were killed in the
violence including those killed in the Godhra train fire. Another 223 people
were reported missing, 2,548 injured, 919 women widowed and 606 children
orphaned. Unofficial estimates put the death toll closer to 2000, with Muslims
forming a very much higher proportion of those killed. What is worse the Chief
Mister Narendra Modi justified such frenzy and described it as reaction to
action in Godhra. And all this happened with full complicity of the police and
bureaucracy.
Role of the State,
police
The Godhra train incident was indeed
horrible and condemnable. For the BJP, however, it has become merely an excuse
to justify the genocide which followed. According to Chief Minister Narendra
Modi, “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction”. On March 1, Chief
Minister Modi confidently declared that he would control the “riots resulting
from the natural and justified anger
of the people.”He goes on to say, “The five crore people of Gujarat have shown
remarkable restraint under grave provocation”.
Just a thorough reading of the
accounts given by the witnesses will make the role of the state ample clear in the
whole affair. The first question that arises in a naïve mind is where was the
police during the whole scene? During the course of the carnage the
role of the police, has been most noticeable. It was so obvious because police
during the carnage departed significantly from its assigned role. In most
places the police was seen hand in glove with the mobs. In many cases they were
seen actively participating in the destruction and burning of Muslim shops,
houses and vehicles. More common was the police seen as silent spectators while
the mobs went on the rampage. Those escaping from mobs were also refused
help in reaching safety. What stands
out is the total lack of criminal, disciplinary, departmental or any other
action against the personnel whose behavior was found to be contrary to
established law, service rules or the constitution. Dismissals, suspensions, or
even transfers as a punitive measure against erring officials have been
completely lacking. Officials certainly faced transfers but that seemed to be
aimed not at erring against law, but for ‘erring’ against the government in
power. Twenty seven civil servants including 10 IPS officials were transferred
on 25 March. These included officers who had taken measures to prevent and
curtail the violence in their areas. The role of the elected representatives of
the people was also under question during those days. At many places MLAs were
seen leading the mobs or instigating them (BJP MLAs Prabha Singh Chouhan, Prahlad
Bhai Mohan Lal Patel Ghosa etc.). Not only during the carnage but also after
the whole thing was over, the state has played proactive role in protecting the
guilty. As the Tehelka magazine in its sting operation of the VHP and RSS
goons exposes the role of State and
particularly Narendra Modi(in the violence), it also become clear how judges
were transferred, witnesses were bribed or pressurized to change statements. It
is abundantly clear in these stings how the State was openly supporting the
rioters. Tarun Tejpal, the editor of Tehelka magazine says about the Gujarat
carnage stings that for the first time in the history of India it is happening
that even though all the evidences are available but still no action is taken
against the culprits. The Gujarat police have initiated very few criminal
investigations and have been largely non-responsive in cases where activists
have lodged complaints about threats or attacks. No credible witness protection
program has been established by the state government, which seems more
interested in protecting those responsible for the violence than witnesses and
victims. The same police which was part of the whole affair was asked to
enquire about the cases.
Laboratory
of Fascism: Gujarat
Gujarat was burning for the days to
follow at the hands of the fascist forces of RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal and others
in complete harmony with the State machinery. Gujarat carnage was very
different from the communal violence which took place in Post Colonial India so
far. Here one could most clearly see the well planned violence unleashed on the
pretext of Godhra train accident, duly supported by the state and central
Government. While every possible rule of the law was violated by the
authorities, the victims were left to rot in the refugee camps with horrible
living conditions, totally ignored by the state government. The mirror of
Gujarat's dominant social thinking was to come to light soon with the winning
of elections by Narendra Modi, who had played central role in the violence.
Once the hatred crosses the threshold limits it creates the wedge which becomes
unbridgeable over a period of time. And that's what one sees in the social
milieu of Gujarat. The pattern of life amongst large sections has changed, and
the constant harping on identity, has been the logical corollary of the hate
ideology which is ruling the base. The social opinion may have some rebellious
voices but that too because they feel the present anti-minoritism will spoil
the business atmosphere in Gujarat but the large sections of middle class sees
Modi as a protector of Hindus. Two set of laws already seem to be in operation,
the ones for majority and the other for the minorities.
The image of a vivacious Gujarat is
being strengthened through media. A section of media is indeed supportive to
the agenda of Hindu Rashtra. The blatant violence is not there but concealed
violence and deepening of sectarianism is the order of the day. What is
Fascism? Don’t think it’s just an academic debate. “When state, with support of
dominant sections of society, is out to bury the norms of liberal and plural
values, when the dominant section of society approves this intolerance for
'others' and then for 'our' dissenting people, the fascism is there.” The
Hindutva ideology is ruling every corner of Gujarat. What’s more disturbing
is the support enjoyed by Modi from the business class of so-called developing
India. Modi with the support of Tatas, Ambanis, Birlas and others has
'successfully' deflected the criticism of his policies as an insult of Gujarat.
These businessmen project Modi as the ideal Prime Minister for India, they
declare their open support to Modi even when they are fully aware of the
heinous crimes committed by this man. Their support comes from the fact that
they knew exactly when Modi will hold power he will not refrain from using it
in their favour as he has done in Gujarat. Under the garb of nationalism,
fascism will hold sway. The
situation is much grave when seen from the historic perspective. Big business
have always supported what’s profitable for them even if it cost ‘a few’ lives.
And in this regard fascism has enjoyed their support. The widely held view that
fascism is a manifestation of mass insanity completely covers its economic and
political effects. The scenario here matches that of WWII era where the Nazis
under Hitler and Fascists under Mussolini enjoyed the support of the big
business, be it the bankers or the big bourgeoisie. In Germany, Hitler was
provided financial and political backing by IBM, SIEMENS, VOLKSWAGEN, CHASE
BANK, FORD and many others. Totalitarian state on the whole has been profitable
to the business. The processes going in Gujarat are a definite pointer towards
"Hindu Rashtra in One state", an Indian variant of Fascism. The
ideology of RSS as given by M.S. Golwalkar, who succeeded Hedgewar as
Sarsanghchalak in 1940, in ‘We or Our
Nationhood Defined (1939)’:‘The foreign races in Hindusthan must either
adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in
reverence Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but those of the glorification
of the Hindu race and culture, i.e. of the Hindu nation and must lose their
separate existence to merge in the Hindu race, or may stay in the country,
wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation, claiming nothing, deserving no
privileges, far less any preferential treatment – not even citizen’s rights’. Golwalker, further claims: “Germany has also shown how well-neigh
impossible it is for races and cultures, having differences going to the root,
to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hinduism to
learn and profit by….”. Mean to say that the idea is completely fascist,
treating some as lower to other. This whole idea of the Hindu rashtra is
completely opposite to the spirit of our constitution which holds secular and
plural character of India.
The BJP employs its muscle wing, the Bajrang
Dal, to identify Hindu youths in all areas and give them some cash to start
clubs where Hindu youths can get together and build muscles and intimidate the
neighborhood the Muslims. Unemployed Hindu youth believe that the real enemy is
the Muslim and not the State. Muslims are hardly competition in the job market.
Most rich Hindus will no longer employ Muslims after the 2002 violence. Since then,
most have resorted to informal jobs like, hawking and vending. After the 2002
riots many lost their homes or were too scared to return to their homes, and had
to re-settle in the all-Muslim colonies built by NGOs in the outskirts of the city.
The fascist culture should be severely criticized and opposed both
ideologically and in practice.
The nature of
the Congress party towards this issue is completely opportunist. Be it any party
in power there outlook towards the minorities has been very same. The congress
leaders which openly criticize the BJP in Godhra case will never speak about
the anti-Sikh genocide of 1984. Even more shamelessly BJP justifies its
participation in Godhra by saying that they have learnt it from the congress.
Justice for the
victims of Godhra 2002 and all other communal violence’s
All those leaders be it Narendra Modi or others
like Prabha Singh Chouhan, Prahlad Bhai Mohan Lal Patel Ghosa and all
others who incited the mob and themselves took part in planning and killing the
Muslims should be punished by law. Relief that should have been provided to the
victims of 2002 Godhra pogrom has not been provided yet even if provided it’s
not enough. As an aware and responsible
citizen, we all must come forward to isolate such fascist forces from the
society so as to have communal harmony between different communities and we
must crush them ruthlessly in order to have healthy democracy. At last but not
least, we appeal the masses to organize and agitate against such forces. Only
then other incidents like Godhra can be prevented. Also, justice must prevail
in all other cases of communal violence’s like ’84, Kandhamal etc.