Skip to main content

Gujarat 'ignores' 2002 riots anniversary. Only exception: Jamaat-sponsored webinar


A JIH-supported rehabilitation colony
By Mahesh Trivedi* 
The 19th anniversary of the 2002 Hindu-Muslim riots that tarnished the image of Gujarat passed off almost unnoticed on February 28. No mention of the bloody anti-Muslim pogrom was made even in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled state’s mainstream media. Ironically, it was left to the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) to pay tributes in its own way to the riots victims and survivors. 
Speakers at a JIH webinar blamed the state government for its lackadaisical attitude toward the affected Muslims, who they said are leading a dog’s life and ploughing their own furrow even after almost two decades.
As many as 19 years have gone by since some 2,000 men, women and children, mostly Muslims, were killed and about 200,000 people were rendered homeless in the savage clashes that also saw destruction of 302 dargahs, 209 mosques and 13 madrasas, not to mention loss of property worth Rs 2.44 billion for the minority community, all this under the watch of the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who is now the Prime Minister.
While the BJP-controlled Gujarat government has not stirred a finger to frame even a rehabilitation policy for the riot-ravaged people, JIH, through NGOs like the Islamic Relief Committee Gujarat, is known to have have played a major role in their re-establishment, spending almost Rs 40 million for victims of the riots, building 1,321 new homes and repairing 4,946 damaged ones.
JIH, which claims to have helped 3,500 dirt-poor, displaced families living in subhuman conditions in tumbledown temporary shelters at 83 ill-equipped relief colonies, sponsored a webinar on the Gujarat riots anniversary participated by rights activists and community leaders in order to “brainstorm” on the plight of not only the riot-hit but all the six million Muslims in Modi’s homeland.
Titled “Let’s struggle for peace, justice and communal harmony”, hosted by Vaseef Hussain, secretary, National and Community Affairs, JIH Gujarat, the webinar saw Muhammad Shafi Madni, JIH national secretary, stating that fact-finding reports on the riots had exposed the real, political motive behind triggering the communal clashes, adding, the state government, instead of lending a helping hand to those affected by the wanton violence, sympathised with the predators, and also created hurdles in the path of the do-gooders engaged in relief work.
“Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and many other voluntary organisations strained their every nerve to establish and maintain peace and brotherhood but those who are responsible for law and order are out to shatter communal amity,” he asserted.
Muhammad Sharif Malik, co-convener of Alpasankhyak Adhikar Manch (Minority Rights Forum), revealed that even after 2002 riots, communal incidents have not stopped but their nature and pattern have changed with the result that only the Constitution can offer protection to Muslims.
He said the Manch’s fact-finding missions have revealed that while the 2002 riots were on a large scale in terms of their geographical expanse and losses in terms of property and lives, subsequent riots had been sub-radar on a smaller scale, adding that the recurrence of “small-scale riots” had led to “rapid polarisation of society along religious lines.
Anand Yagnik, Vaseef Hussain
Human rights lawyer Govind Parmar felt that these were dangerous times and hence more and more programmes focussing on communal amity were the need of the hour to establish a secular society.
Laying stress on united efforts to establish peace, Mujahid Nafees, convener, Minority Coordination Committee, Gujarat, opined that the ruling party was responsible for maintaining peace and harmony but, unfortunately, the same people were adept at fishing in troubled waters.
Said senior Gujarat High Court advocate Anand Yagnik: “I am ready to fight the cases of the riot-affected people. Being a Hindu, I apologise to the Muslims who went through hell during the 2002 riots. However, riots have not stopped but continue in the form of attacks on institutions who work by strictly abiding by the Constitution.”
Giving an example of harassment of even judges, he said, the Karnataka High Court’s Justice Jayant Patel, under whose supervision the CBI had filed a chargesheet in the Ishrat Jahan case, claiming that top Intelligence Bureau and Gujarat Police officials were involved, was sidelined and had to resign in a huff.
He also said that Justice Akil Kureshi who had in 2010 remitted Union Home Minister Amit Shah to police custody for two days in the Sohrabuddin case, was also never promoted.
Tanveer Jafri, son of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed by Hindu rioters during the 2002 riots, said that India had remained secular because of its educated citizens who were also secular-minded, adding that time was ripe for the Muslim community to launch an education movement.
He held out a warning that if education was neglected, Muslims in Gujarat would face the same fate as that of Myanmar’s Rohingyas.
---
Senior Ahmedabad-based journalist. A version of this report was earlier published in India Tomorrow

Comments

TRENDING

'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.

SC 'appears to foster' culture of secrecy, does not seek electoral bond details from SBI

By Rosamma Thomas*  In its order of November 2, 2023 on the case of Association for Democratic Reforms vs Union of India contesting constitutional validity of electoral bonds, the Supreme Court directed all political parties to give particulars of the bonds received by them in sealed covers to the Election Commission of India. SC sought that information be updated until September 2023. 

How national chauvinism 'overtook' sport despite cricketing glory of World Cup 2023

By Harsh Thakor*  The recently-concluded cricket World Cup was a testimony or manifestation of the thrills, intensity, twists and turns in sport and evolution of the game of cricket. It carried on the trend of the World Cups of yesteryears. Possibly, this was the best ever Indian team in a World Cup, and arguably amongst the best ever to contest a World Cup.

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. 

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.

Only 12% of schools RTE compliant: Whither 6% budgetary allocation for education?

By Ambarish Rai* Despite Indian state’s commitment of 6% GDP on education, the Finance Minister completely ignored right to education for children and strengthening implementation of RTE Act which makes education a fundamental right in her budget speech . The Right to Education (RTE) Forum, which is a collective of different stakeholders in education, condemns this neglect of a legal entitlement, which is unconstitutional and demand for overall increase in the budget to ensure improvement in learning outcomes and overall enhancement of quality education.

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.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'Ambiguous policy': India late in advocating EVs as energy storage in national grid

By Shankar Sharma*  This is regarding the points raised by the Chief Electricity Authority’s (CEA's) advocacy for usage of electrical vehicles (EVs) as energy storage technology, and few associated issues . An objective reading of what he states should reiterate the enormously growing importance of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in our need to transition to a net-zero carbon scenario for the country.

Is India emulating west, 'using' anti-terror plank to justify state-supported violence?

Fahad Ahmad, Baljit Nagra*  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused India of being involved in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh leader, on Canadian soil. Narendra Modi’s right-wing Hindu nationalist Indian government is defiant and denies involvement. Indian officials have instead admonished Canada for being a “ safe haven ” for Sikh “terrorism,” a pejorative for Sikh self-determination .