Skip to main content

Memories Never Die! Gujarat carnage took place with complete connivance of state govt

By Fr Cedric Prakash sj*
It is sixteen years now since the Gujarat Carnage of 2002. The years have flown by; Gujarat, India and the world has experienced a generation change in many different ways. Let us move on” is the repeated quote of many who were not affected. Such things happen everywhere! is the slogan of those who would like to sweep the reality under the carpet. Oh, they were just aberrations, worse things have happened at other times! say some. For those who try to legitimatize what took place, the oft refrains include, “Didn't they deserve it?” “Why did they have to burn the train in Godhra?” “They are all anti-nationals! They support Pakistan! etc. and ad nauseam!
The truth is facts never lie and memories never die! By all counts, the Gujarat carnage was one of the bloodiest chapters in post-independent India. There was the brutality: barbarity at its worst as children, women and men were burnt alive; chopped into pieces. The murderous mobs spared no one: from the unborn child in the womb of a mother to the very old and sick. Unlike other riots this carnage went on and on. There was arson and loot. An estimated two thousand people were killed, thousands others injured and many times that number who were affected and had to flee from places which they once called their home.
Above all, this one took place with the complete connivance and even involvement of the State Government. There are enough of eyewitness accounts, reports and studies to evidence this. The police who are meant to protect the lives and property of all citizens have gone on record saying, we have no orders to protect you. It was, without an iota of doubt, the Government and their henchmen versus a minority community!
After sixteen years, there has certainly been some justice done. There have been several convictions for the atrocities committed, thanks to the indefatigable efforts of many committed persons. Teesta Setalvad and the Citizens for Justice and Peace have been resolute in this struggle for justice; but there are others too who are determined to leave no stone unturned until the cause of justice has been completely met. Thanks to the efforts of all, the ‘Gujarat Carnage’ is still on the radar of the country and world today. However, the unfortunate reality is that some of the lynchpins- those largely responsible for orchestrating the violence, are today in the seats of power. They have managed to cloak themselves with a certain degree of immunity.
Today one can never forget the victim-survivors who have gone through unbelievable pain and trauma, and continue to do so. There are thousands of them everywhere; some have fled Gujarat never to return to a place, which was their home. Large numbers continue to be displaced from their original villages and towns, living in rather sub-human conditions in so-called resettlement places like the Bombay Hotel area, which is next to Ahmedabad's major garbage dumpsite. It is just unimaginable how people can live in places like these- literally in the midst of filth and squalor, without even the basic amenities of life.
Thankfully, some victim-survivors have shown amazing strength and resilience to take on the powerful perpetrators of this carnage. It has not been easy but they have heroically withstood all hostilities and obstacles, gone to the courts umpteen of times seeking justice, which is legitimately theirs. There is Zakhia Jafri, the wife of the former Member of Parliament Eshan Jafri, who was brutally murdered on that fateful 28 February 2002; there are Rupa and Dara Mody who still wonder whether their only son Azhar who also disappeared that very day, will one day return. There are many more, who still courageously and patiently wait for the light of day.
The powerful, the vested interests, those who are perpetrators of these heinous acts have been doing everything possible to stop the wheels of justice from arriving at the complete truth. They have bought up/coopted some members of the minority community to propagate fabricated stories; they have used former staffers and associates to go to town with total untruths. Human rights defenders, social activists, committed journalists, academics, upright officials and others have had false cases foisted on them; the police and other Government bodies have been misused and manipulated to harass and intimidate those who have accompanied the victim-survivors.
A good part of the mainstream media, in a blatantly Goebbelsian manner, has hounded those in pursuit of truth and justice. It is unbelievable, how sections of the Judiciary without weighing all the merits of a case, can deliver judgements, which are very convoluted. This and much more: the journey after 2002 has not merely been traumatic for those who have actually suffered but also a real ordeal for those who have felt duty-bound to relentlessly pursue truth and justice, in order to preserve all that is sacred in India.
On the 16th anniversary of the carnage, in Gujarat and in other parts of India, several of the victim-survivors, human rights defenders and citizens from all walks of life assembled in rallies, public meetings and in prayer groups, remembering those bloody days of 2002! Many still await the day of justice; several still are and feel ostracized. In between the sharing of pain and struggle, there were also slogans like We are all one! Hindu-Muslim unity! Down with communalism! Embers of hope!
Yes there is a hope that someday truth will triumph, the words emblazoned on our national emblem. There is certainly the need for the healing of memories, for genuine reconciliation, for sustainable peace. These values however are not enveloped in a vacuum; they take place when there is a realization by the perpetrators of what they have done, when there is not merely an acceptance of the wrong but a sincere remorse and the courage to ask for forgiveness.
In the eventuality of that happening, then reconciliation will take place, memories will be healed. As Haruki Murakami, the Japanese writer says so poignantly in Kafka on the Shore, but still, no matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away. They remain with us forever, like a touchstone. Yes, memories never die!
---
*Indian human rights activist, currently based in Lebanon, engaged with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in the Middle East on advocacy and communications

Comments

Unknown said…
We need to find a Supreme Court over the Supreme Court, Father Cedric! Can we? Otherwise we can only hope, sadly.

TRENDING

Andhra team joins Gandhians to protest against 'bulldozer action' in Varanasi

By Rosamma Thomas*  November 1 marked the 52nd day of the 100-day relay fast at the satyagraha site of Rajghat in Varanasi, seeking the restoration of the 12 acres of land to the Sarva Seva Sangh, the Gandhian organization that was evicted from the banks of the river. Twelve buildings were demolished as the site was abruptly taken over by the government after “bulldozer” action in August 2023, even as the matter was pending in court.  

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor*  Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.

Tributes paid to pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, who 'dodged' police for 60 yrs

By Harsh Thakor*  Jagjit Singh Sohal, known as Comrade Sharma, a pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, passed away on October 20 at the age of 96. Committed to the Naxalite cause and a prominent Maoist leader, Sohal, who succeeded Charu Majumdar, played hide and seek with the police for almost six decades. He was cremated in Patiala.

Campaign group urges INDIA alliance to release Jharkhand manifesto to counter BJP’s 'divisive' agenda

By Our Representative  The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan, an advocacy group, has issued a press release urging the INDIA alliance to release a Jharkhand-specific manifesto to counter the BJP’s "divisive" electoral agenda. With just two weeks remaining before the assembly elections, the INDIA coalition has yet to announce its plans and priorities for the state. Meanwhile, the BJP's campaign, according to the press release, is centered around communalism, divisiveness, and distraction from Jharkhand's core issues.

Israel's 'war crime': 18,000 children died not just from bomb explosions but also starvation

By Sandeep Pandey*  Last year 6 years old Madiha was a guest during Diwali at our home in Lucknow. Listening to the sound of fire crackers bursting outside she remarked, ‘It appears as if we’re in Gaza.’ She has probably no idea of the extent of damage and loss of life that has taken place in Palestine but can relate to sound of crackers as bombs exploding over Gaza.

United organisations oppose privatisation of health services in Madhya Pradesh

By Our Representative  In a strong show of opposition, multiple health associations under the umbrella of the United Organisations for Action against Privatisation of Health Services have condemned the Government of Madhya Pradesh’s recent moves towards privatising public health facilities. They argue that these actions, including outsourcing and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, will compromise the availability and accessibility of essential health services for the state’s citizens.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah  The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad*  On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.