Skip to main content

Gujarat riots 2002: Today, there are loud, shrill voices trying to legitimize what happened in those bloody days

By Fr Cedric Prakash sj*
It’s fifteen years! How soon the years fly by. Some things however, are never forgotten. The memories are still fresh. The pain, the suffering, the trauma – though not visible – still lingers on. Only those who have gone through it know deep down, what it means to lose a loved one. That too through such inhuman brutality.
Rupa and Dara Mody still wait for their only son Azhar, who went missing on February 28, 2002, to come home. The nightmare for many continue. The masterminds: the main culprits still roam with impunity and immunity. It was, indeed, one of the bloodiest chapters of post-independent India.
Certainly, the only one presided over and engineered by those responsible for protecting the lives and property of ordinary citizens. Sadly, it is still not a closed chapter. It was no ordinary riot: it was the Gujarat Genocide of 2002!
After fifteen years, many may agree that there must be healing; but for that to take place, the victim-survivors have to experience the triumph of truth and justice. A painful reality can never be swept under the carpet. The wheels of justice have moved in some cases but the judiciary has still to prove that it serves the cause of justice alone; a good section of the media in India has been bought up and compromised and can no longer be impartial and objective. Fatigue does set.
Moreover (as we see in Delhi University today), the fascist and fundamentalist forces responsible for what happened in 2002 and are still blatantly at work in the country. True there have been several convictions, thanks to the dogged determination of human rights stalwarts like Teesta Setalvad and others.
Very ironically, the one who presided over the Gujarat Genocide, ‘rules’ the country today. That is a sad and bitter truth. The mayhem and murder of innocent men, women and children; rapes, arson, loot, displacement and denigration of thousands of Muslims – just does not seem to have mattered. It all seemed part of a game in which one scores brownie points.
Your dastardly deeds gain legitimacy through the ballot box. After all, Hitler succeeded immensely because of the lies, myths and half-truths dished out by Goebbels, his Propaganda Minister. Tragically, a similar story here!
It was certainly very unfortunate that fifty-nine persons lost their lives when the S-G coach of the Sabarmati Express caught fire on February 27, 2002, just outside the Godhra Railway Station. The whole truth on what caused the fire is still not out.
Nothing else happened for more than twenty-four hours after that; not in Gujarat, not anywhere else in India. Sadly, enough from the afternoon of February 28th, began those dark and violent days, which would make any human being to squirm and to hang one’s head down in shame.
In December 2003, the then Chief Justice of India VN Khare presiding over a Divisional Bench of the Supreme Court criticized the Government of Gujarat saying, “I have no faith left in the prosecution and the Gujarat Government. I am not saying Article 356. You have to protect people and punish the guilty. What else is raj dharma? You quit if you cannot prosecute the guilty.”
Some years later in February 2012 in a landmark ruling, the Acting Chief Justice of Gujarat Bhaskar Bhattacharya, very emphatically stated, “Gujarat government’s inadequate response and inaction (to contain the riots) resulted in an anarchic situation which continued unabated for days on… the state cannot shirk from its responsibilities”.
In the context of the many cases and the fact that several fingers were pointing to the connivance of the Modi Government, the Supreme Court of India appointed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into certain cases, very specially a complaint made by Zakia Jafri with regard to the murder of her husband, the former Member of Parliament Ehsan Jafri and several others.
It is common knowledge that the SIT played a very dubious and partisan role in key cases. The SITs Final Report was also challenged. It had just too many grey areas with gaping loopholes. It went all out to protect the masterminds of this carnage. Whatever that Report said or did not say, the complicity and the culpability of the powerful and of certain vested interests, has never ever been doubted.
There have been numerous efforts to consign Gujarat 2002 to the fires of history. Efforts have been made, by the most powerful in the land to buy up people and to coopt others, to denigrate those who fought relentlessly for justice on behalf of the victim survivors.
There are certainly the loud, shrill voices, who try to legitimize what happened in those bloody days. They provide all kinds of justification (however, weak) “2002 was just an aberration in fact a distraction”; “look at the way, we have progressed since; the roads, the shopping malls, the riverfront, the flyovers...in fact all the industrialists want to come only to Gujarat”; “didn’t they deserve it, after all, they are but terrorists”; “why is the same importance not being given to the massacre of the Sikhs in 1984 and for that matter, to the Hindu pundits in Kashmir?”; “We Muslims need to move on…”
The rationalisations are typical. They come from the unaffected, the ‘educated’ elite and from those who are afraid to deal with the past. Statements like these are often enveloped in a fear, which stills rules the roost.
There are reprisals, there is revenge, and the powers stop at nothing. Remember the murder of former minister Haren Pandya, who testified before the ‘Citizens Tribunal’? A sizeable section of the population is terribly afraid of the plain truth. Many also suffer from selective amnesia! However, Gujarat 2002 is not forgotten
Human Rights Defenders, who have taken up cudgels on behalf of the victim-survivors and take a stand for truth and justice – have been hounded and harassed no end. What is still happening to Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand is a case in point. False cases are foisted; all kinds of lies and half-truths are fabricated.
Teesta, however, has been relentless. Last month her memoirs, ‘Foot Solider of the Constitution’- was published. It makes compelling reading: of how one woman in the pursuit of justice and truth has taken on the might of the State. It is a must-read for all wish to preserve and promote the sanctity of our Constitution.
In New Delhi, on February 28, several concerned citizens gathered together as a remembrance of 15 Years of the Gujarat Genocide. Zakia Jafri and her daughter Nishrin were there – reliving painful memories; Teesta Setalvad and Shabnam Hashmi; Harsh Mander and Apoorvanand; Manoj Jha and several others, who have stood resolute in their struggle for justice.
One thing is clear, that the resilience of several victim-survivors and the heartaches and cries of strong women like Zakiaben and Rupaben will never go unheard! They will be vindicated! Fifteen years to date; but history has proved that however slow things are, truth, is always a non-negotiable! Above all, it is not for nothing our national motto is ‘Satyameva Jayate!’ Truth will triumph!
---
* Indian human rights activist, formerly based in Ahmedabad as director, Prashant; currently in Lebanon, engaged with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in the Middle East on advocacy and communications

Comments

TRENDING

Wave of disappearances sparks human rights fears for activists in Delhi

By Harsh Thakor*  A philosophy student from Zakir Hussain College, Delhi University, and an activist associated with Nazariya magazine, Rudra, has been reported missing since the morning of July 19, 2025. This disappearance adds to a growing concern among human rights advocates regarding the escalating number of detentions and disappearances of activists in Delhi.

How community leaders overcome obstacles to protect forests and pastures in remote villages

By Bharat Dogra  Dheera Ram Kapaya grew up in such poverty that, unable to attend school himself, he would carry another boy’s heavy school bag for five kilometers just to get a scoop of daliya (porridge). When he was finally able to attend school, he had to leave after class five to join other adolescent workers. However, as soon as opportunities arose, he involved himself in community efforts—promoting forest protection, adult literacy, and other constructive initiatives. His hidden talent for writing emerged during this time, and he became known for the songs and street play scripts he created to promote forest conservation, discourage child marriages, and support other social reforms.

‘Act of war on agriculture’: Aruna Rodrigues slams GM crop expansion and regulatory apathy

By Rosamma Thomas*  Expressing appreciation to the Union Agriculture Minister for inviting suggestions from farmers and concerned citizens on the sharp decline in cotton crop productivity, Aruna Rodrigues—lead petitioner in the Supreme Court case ongoing since 2005 that seeks a moratorium on genetically modified (GM) crops—wrote to Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on July 14, 2025, stating that conflicts of interest have infiltrated India’s regulatory system like a spreading cancer, including within the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).

The GMO illusion: Three decades of hype, harm, and false hope

By Sridhar Radhakrishnan  Three decades of hype, billions of dollars spent, and still no miracle crop. It's time to abandon the GMO biotech fairy tale and return to the soil, the seed, and the farmer. “Trust us,” they said. “GMOs will feed the world.” Picture a world where there is plenty of food, no hunger, fields grow without chemical pesticides, children are saved from malnutrition, and people live healthily.

Sandra Gonzalez Sanabria: An inspiring life from Colombia’s Amazonian valley

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  In the village of Héctor Ramírez, known as Agua Bonita, in La Montañita, Caquetá, Colombia, a vision of peace and renewal is unfolding. In the pre-2016 period, this would have been nearly impossible for outsiders to visit, as it was the epicenter of violent resistance against state oppression. However, after the Peace Accord was signed between the Colombian government and former revolutionaries—marking the end of a 70-year insurgency that claimed over 400,000 lives until 2025, including civilians, rebel fighters, and security personnel—things began to change. Visiting Agua Bonita during the Global Land Forum in Bogotá revealed a village of hope and resilience. Former FARC revolutionaries have settled here and transformed the village into a center of peace and aspiration.

Indigenous Karen activist calls for global solidarity amid continued struggles in Burma

By A Representative   At the International Festival for People’s Rights and Struggles (IFPRS), Naw Paw Pree, an Indigenous Karen activist from the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), shared her experiences of oppression, resilience, and hope. Organized with the support of the International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL), the event brought together Indigenous and marginalized communities from across the globe, offering a rare safe space for shared learning, solidarity, and expression.

Activists allege abduction and torture by Delhi Police Special Cell in missing person probe

By A Representative   A press statement released today by the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) alleges that several student and social activists have been abducted, illegally detained, and subjected to torture by the Delhi Police Special Cell. The CASR claims these actions are linked to an investigation into the disappearance of Vallika Varshri, an editorial team member of 'Nazariya' magazine.

India’s zero-emission, eco-friendly energy strategies have a long way to go, despite impressive progress

By N.S. Venkataraman*   The recent report released by OPEC’s World Oil Outlook 2025 has predicted that by the year 2050, crude oil would replace coal as India’s key energy source. Clearly, OPEC expects that India’s dependence on fossil fuels for energy will continue to remain high in one form or another.

Gender violence defies stringent laws: The need for robust social capital

By Dr. Manoj Kumar Mishra*  The tragic death of Miss Soumyashree Bisi, a 20-year-old student from Fakir Mohan College, Balasore, who reportedly self-immolated due to harassment, shocked the conscience of Odisha. Even before the public could process this horrifying event, another harrowing case emerged—a 15-year-old girl from Balanga, Puri, was allegedly set ablaze by miscreants. These incidents are not isolated; they highlight a disturbing pattern of rising gender-based violence across the state and the country.