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

'Draconian' Kerala health law follows WHO diktat: Govt readies to take harsh measures

By Dr Maya Valecha*  The Governor of Kerala has signed the Kerala Public Health Bill, which essentially reverses the people’s campaign in healthcare services in Kerala for decentralisation. The campaign had led to relinquishing of state powers in 1996, resulting in improvement of health parameters in Kerala. Instead, now, enforcement of law through the exercise of power, fines, etc., and the implementation of protocol during the pandemic, are considered of prime importance.

Reject WHO's 'draconian' amendments on pandemic: Citizens to Union Health Minister

By Our Representative  Several concerned Indian citizens have written to the Union Health Minister to reject amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted during the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA75) in May 2022, apprehending this will make the signatories surrender their autonomy to the “unelected, unaccountable and the whimsical WHO in case of any future ‘pandemics’.”

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. 

Savarkar in Ahmedabad 'declared' two-nation theory in 1937, Jinnah followed 3 years later

By Our Representative One of the top freedom fighters whom BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi revere the most, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, was also a great supporter of the two nation theory for India, one for Hindus another for Muslims, claims a new expose on the man who is also known to be the original proponent of the concept of Hindutva.

Bihar rural women entrepreneurs witness 50% surge in awareness about renewal energy

By Mignonne Dsouza*  An endline survey conducted under the Bolega Bihar initiative revealed a significant increase in awareness of renewable energy among women, rising from 25% to 76% in Nalanda and Gaya. Renu Kumari, a 34-year-old entrepreneur from Nalanda, Bihar, operates a village eatery that serves as the primary source of income for her family, including her husband and five children. However, a significant portion of her profits was being directed toward covering monthly electricity expenses that usually reach Rs 2,000. 

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.

Work with Rajasthan's camel herders: German scientist wins World Cookbook Award 2023

By Rosamma Thomas*  Gourmand World Cookbook Awards are the only awards for international food culture. This year, German scientist  Ilse Kohler Rollefson , founder of Camel Charisma, the first of India’s camel dairies, in Pali district of Rajasthan, won the award for her work with camel herders in Rajasthan, and for preparing for the UN International Year of Camelids, 2024. 

'Very low rung in quality ladder': Critique of ICMR study on 'sudden deaths' post-2021

By Bhaskaran Raman*  Since about mid-2021, a new phenomenon of extreme concern has been observed throughout the world, including India : unexplained sudden deaths of seemingly healthy and active people, especially youngsters. In the recently concluded Navratri garba celebrations, an unprecedented number of young persons succumbed to heart attack deaths. After a long delay, ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) has finally has published a case-control study on sudden deaths among Indians of age 18-45.

Why is electricity tariff going up in India? Who is the beneficiary? A random reflection

By Thomas Franco*  Union Ministry of Power has used its power under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003 to force States to import coal which has led to an increase in the cost of electricity production and every consumer is paying a higher tariff. In India, almost everybody from farmers to MSMEs are consumers of electricity.

Union Health Ministry, FSSAI 'fail to respond' to NHRC directive on packaged food

By Our Representative  The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed deep concern over the adverse health effects caused by packaged foods high in salt, sugar, and saturated fats. Recognizing it as a violation of the Right to Life and Right to Health of Indian citizens, the quasi-judicial body called for a response from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regarding its selection of front-of-pack labels aimed at providing consumers with information to make healthier choices.