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home > News/Analysis > News Archive
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News : Archive One (May 14 - April 13)
- Gujarat toll 2,000: Tribunal
Statesman News Service, May 14
GANDHINAGAR, May 14. — Preliminary findings of the Concerned Citizens Tribunal indicate that the death toll in the ongoing violence in Gujarat is “not less than 2,000’’, which is double the official figure.
- NGOs keep off riot victims in Gujarat
Deccan Herald, May 14
AHMEDABAD, May 13: After the devastating Bhuj earthquake aid poured in from
national and international agencies, but after the nation’s worst communal
riot made thousands homeless in the state, voluntary agencies are not coming
forward with assistance.
- Reading between the civil lines for an honest babu
T. S. R. Subramaniam, The Indian Express, May 14, 2002
The continuing events in Gujarat have sharply brought into focus the failure of the law and order machinery. The implications of the surrender of the administrative apparatus to political dictation and abdication of its constitutional functions have to be taken as a warning of future dangers.
- How The West Was Lost
V. Sudarshan, OUTLOOKINDIA.COM, Magazine | May 13, 2002
The MEA's 'internal affairs' spook—launched at Europe—has come back to haunt Indian diplomacy, pushing it against a wall
Indian diplomacy has never driven itself into a corner quite like this. If the domestic crisis has been brought on by Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, the diplomatic confusion is decidedly foreign minister Jaswant Singh’s doing.
- Indian Diplomats Say, 'Shame Has No Spin'
V. Sudarshan, OUTLOOKINDIA.COM, Magazine | May 13, 2002
Saddled with the unenviable task of defending the government's stand on Gujarat, MEA officials privately admit to a crisis of conscience as they trudge along
- Organisations demand justice for women in Gujarat
Monday, May 13, 2002, NDTV Correspondent
Protestors from 12 women’s organisations tried to break through police barricades in the heart of the Capital, shouting slogans and courting arrest. They were out on the streets demanding justice for women in Gujarat, who were assaulted during the recent violence in the state.
- Home dreams shatter on faith altar
Maria Abraham, Hindustan Times, Kadwal, May 13
First they saw their family members being raped, hacked and burnt. Now they are being asked to change their religion. Muslims who fled their villages to escape the country’s worst communal violence in a decade say the Hindus are setting near-impossible conditions for them to return.
- BJP's jail bharo campaign gives cops jitters
Times News Network, May 13, 2002
AHMEDABAD/VADODARA: The threat of the Panchmahals unit of the ruling BJP to organise a 'jail bharo' on Friday to protest against the arrest of its leaders for rioting is being taken seriously by the state police.
- Modi promises more relief
Times News Network, May 13, 2002
GANDHINAGAR: It was a 'transformed' Narendra Modi who had his first formal meeting with Muslim leaders on Monday, two-and-a-months after the riots broke out. Not only did he announce a series of measures to provide the much-needed healing touch to the minority community, he also apologised for being late in "wiping the tears" of the riot victims and admitted the state machinery's failure in maintaining law and order.
- Bankers discuss disbursement of relief to riot victims
Times News Network, May 13, 2002
AHMEDABAD: A special meeting of the State-Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) discussed the modalities for extending the relief package to individuals as well as residential and commercial units affected by the riots in Gujarat.
- Mahatma would shudder: Soli speaks up
Govt shouldn’t be hypersensitive to criticism from abroad, says No 1 legal officer
Sukhmani Singh, The Indian Express, May 13 2002
Breaking his silence on Gujarat, the nation’s No 1 law officer, Attorney General Soli Sorabjee today said that he felt ‘‘anguished’’ over the events in the state and, in a polite snub to the government, said that ‘‘personally I feel that the Government should not be hypersensitive to criticism from abroad.’’
- Don’t ignore global concern over riots: Sorabjee
Press Trust of India, Jaipur, May 13, 2002
Attorney General Soli Sorabjee on Monday said India cannot brush aside concern voiced by some foreign countries on the Gujarat situation saying the old dogmas of state sovereignty has changed and international community can now express "legitimate concern".
- VHP to spread ‘Gujarat Shourya’
Times News Network, May 13, 2002
LUCKNOW: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad will take the ‘Gujarat Shourya’ message to every nook and corner of the country in a bid to unite members of the majority community.
- ‘We want our Muslim neighbours back, life isn’t the same’
Palak Nandi, SPECIAL REPORT, The Indian Express, May 13
At Naroda Patiya, Hindu families regret not being able to save those who were killed — and wait for the ones who fled to return
- Minority rights: Soli will tell SC what govt won’t
Manoj Mitta, The Indian Express, May 13, 2002
Soli Sorabjee New Delhi, May 12 As the largest Supreme Court bench in the last 30 years hears a batch of 200 petitions dealing with minority rights against the backdrop of Gujarat, the Centre may be in for an embarrassment.
- Peace moves gain momentum
By Manas Dasgupta, The Hindu, May 13, 2002
AHMEDABAD May 12. With the situation showing considerable improvement in the troubled city of Ahmedabad and the rest of riot-torn Gujarat, peace initiatives to bring the warring communities together are being intensified in the State.
- In The Reign Of The Headless Horse
Amitav Ghosh, Outlookindia.com, May 13, 2002
Disband the Sangh parivar's extra-governmental militias, or we could be heading the way of Zia-ul-Haq's Pakistan.
- Sleep And The Innocent
Revenge, yes, but most children want to forget the trauma they relive every night
Priyanka Kakodkar, Outlookindia.com, May 13, 2002
When night falls, a quiet fear invades the smoky relief camps in Ahmedabad. For the children of the Gujarat riots, the witching hour has begun. In the slow hours till dawn, many huddle close to their mothers, struggling to stay awake. The horrific memories that they try to hold at bay during the day stalk them in their sleep.
- VHP accuses media of biased role in Gujarat
New Delhi, May 12. (PTI, UNI)
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) today accused the national media of highlighting a "one-sided picture" of the Gujarat situation and alleged that many Hindus have been killed and temples destroyed in the weeks of violence.
- Indian media divided over Gujarat, exposing fault lines
By Nirmal Ghosh, MAY 12, 2002, Singapore Strait Times Times
NEW DELHI - The religious tension in Gujarat is proving to be a watershed for India's media, whose treatment of the violence has exposed a deep and tragic divide between the country's liberal English-reading middle class and elite, and the parochial vernacular press which are speaking different languages in more sense than one.
- ‘It’s time to speak up, show some grace and let go’
An industry that has been billed as a bedrock of ‘secularism’ for decades has been put to the test by the Gujarat riots. As the state burns and bleeds, the voices of protest and dissent have been largely scattered and muted. Two actresses, though, have not been afraid to speak their minds on the violence and suggest possible solutions to the deepening Hindu-Muslim divide. Bhawana Somaaya spoke to Waheeda Rahman and Shaukat Kaifi.
- ‘Gujarat no reflection on Hindutva, it’s a riot, plain and simple’
For Defence Minister George Fernandes, this week was tough. Few spared him for his what’s-new-about-rape remark in the Lok Sabha. Then came his first questioning by the Venkataswami Commission probing the Tehelka charges. Yet, Fernandes smiled and settled down in his South Block office when The Sunday Express said it was time for another cross-examination.
- Aye for an eye
Anosh Malekar, The Week, May 12, 2002
In the season of hate and despair teenagers show their vision of the future
- Policing Gujarat Rebuild
peace and harmony around an efficient corps
Editorial, The Indian Express, May 11, 2002
Gujarat has become the symbol of almost everything negative; gross failure of governance to bipartisan management of law and order, to communal violence of the most reprehensible type. The army could not be withdrawn because the people’s faith in everything the state administration represents has been lost.
- A stamp paper of hate: Muslims asked to sign on the twisted line
Milind Ghatwai, The Indian Express, May 11, 2002
Kadwal, Vadodara, May 10: It is a mafipatrak (letter of apology) they have been made to sign for offences they say they have not committed.
In return, the 13 Muslim families who have come back to the village have earned a right to live with their neighbours.
- Relief camps will not be closed down: Advani
PTI, Friday, May 10, 2002
NEW DELHI: Asserting that the government would do everything necessary to restore normalcy in Gujarat, Home Minister L K Advani on Friday said that the state government had not taken any decision to close down relief camps for the riot victims.
- And the twain shall never meet
By Kuldip Nayar, The Hindu, May 10, 2002
Peace marches make little sense if the participants do not see eye to eye. The BJP flaunts Hindutva which means the creation of a Hindu state. Its opponents believe in a pluralistic society. How can they ever meet? On paper, a peace march by Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, in Ahmedabad sounds good. But is Mr. Vajpayee willing to give up Hindutva?
- 72 days and no end in sight to Gujarat violence
Bharat Desai, Times News Network, May 10, 2002
AHMEDABAD: It can be dubbed a ‘‘Catch-72’’ situation for the Gujarat government which claimed to have controlled the riots within 72 hours of their outbreak.
- And the twain shall never meet
By Kuldip Nayar, The Hindu, May 10, 2002
Peace marches make little sense if the participants do not see eye to eye. The BJP flaunts Hindutva which means the creation of a Hindu state. Its opponents believe in a pluralistic society. How can they ever meet? On paper, a peace march by Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, in Ahmedabad sounds good. But is Mr. Vajpayee willing to give up Hindutva?
- 72 days and no end in sight to Gujarat violence
Bharat Desai, Times News Network, May 10, 2002
AHMEDABAD: It can be dubbed a ‘‘Catch-72’’ situation for the Gujarat government which claimed to have controlled the riots within 72 hours of their outbreak.
- A Hindu brother rescues Muslim sister
Times News Network, May 09, 2002
AHMEDABAD: Mughal emperor Humayun gave a new meaning to communal brotherhood when he rushed to the rescue of his foster-sister Rani Padmavati. In Ahmedabad, it was the turn of advocate Dhanraj (not his real name) to reinforce that religious misgivings cannot come in way of honouring an assumed brother-sister relationship.
- ‘We must not play it safe, we must speak out on Gujarat riots’
The Indian Express, May 09, 2002
It’s a trickle, but slowly, surely, voices can be heard from the Hindi film industry, demanding an end to the Gujarat violence and the deliberate polarisation of communities in the state. Though Nandita Das has always been identified with the so-called ‘parallel’ stream of filmmaking, her presence in some very mainstream, very masala films like Aks with Amitabh Bachchan makes her crossover complete. But labels don’t matter, what’s important now is that actors give voice to their clout and speak up instead of standing by, says Das.
- Rural Gujarat is not immune to the madness
That’s the difference this time — villages saw the same violence as cities
Rakesh Shukla, The Indian Express, May 9, 2002
Naroda-Patiya, Gulmarg Society, Best Bakery, are today household names and speak of a barbaric violence having taken place in Gujarat’s cities. However, the ‘golden era’, when communal killings were confined to cities is long past. The killings in rural districts like Panchmahals, Dahod and Mehsana, have not been less gruesome than those that have occurred in Ahmedabad.
- A Hindu brother rescues Muslim sister
Times News Network, May 09, 2002
AHMEDABAD: Mughal emperor Humayun gave a new meaning to communal brotherhood when he rushed to the rescue of his foster-sister Rani Padmavati. In Ahmedabad, it was the turn of advocate Dhanraj (not his real name) to reinforce that religious misgivings cannot come in way of honouring an assumed brother-sister relationship.
- ‘We must not play it safe, we must speak out on Gujarat riots’
The Indian Express, May 09, 2002
It’s a trickle, but slowly, surely, voices can be heard from the Hindi film industry, demanding an end to the Gujarat violence and the deliberate polarisation of communities in the state. Though Nandita Das has always been identified with the so-called ‘parallel’ stream of filmmaking, her presence in some very mainstream, very masala films like Aks with Amitabh Bachchan makes her crossover complete. But labels don’t matter, what’s important now is that actors give voice to their clout and speak up instead of standing by, says Das.
- No one rides to Gujarat in riot season
Bhavna Vij, The Indian Express, May 09, 2002
New Delhi, May 8: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi may not like it but tourists and businessmen — both domestic and international — seem to be shunning his state, going by the passenger records of the railways and airlines.
- Growth after Gujarat
Editorial, Times News Network, May 09, 2002
WITH his head firmly buried in the bloodied sands of Gujarat, chief minister Narendra Modi asserts that the state’s economy is not doing badly. He cites the performance of some public sector units in Gujarat to prove his case. What Mr Modi is yet to realise is that private sector activity has completely collapsed in large parts of Gujarat. Besides, events in the state over the past several weeks have cast their shadow on the national economy.
- Dahod collector ordered closure of camps
Akshaya Mukul, Times News Network, May 08, 2002
NEW DELHI: Contrary to Union Home Minister L K Advani’s claim in the Lok Sabha that there was no information on closure of relief camps in Gujarat, there is plenty of evidence on the conduct of such a campaign.
- A Note on Hindu Rashtra
By Shiv Visvanathan
On 13 November 2002, Mr. Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat was awarded the third Milosevic prize. The India Abroad Group reported the award as a unique event as it was the first time that a genocide award had been given to a democratically elected regime. The citation which spelt out the historic details of the achievement also congratulated him for the clarity and precision with which he had developed and pursued the concept of Hindu Rashtra.
- Godhra attack not pre-planned: Muslim Board
Times News Network, May 08, 2002
AHMEDABAD: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has termed the train-burning incident at Godhra as deplorable and said that those found guilty should be severely punished.
The Board members spoke to reporters here on Monday after visiting victims at Himmatnagar, Sabarkantha and Ahmedabad.
- Saviours turn avengers: Bitter fate leads Dalits towards marginalization
Shikha Trivedi, Wednesday, NDTV.Com,May 8, 2002 (Ahmedabad)
- Tribals guinea pigs in Sangh’s political experimentation
Chandrakant Naidu, Hindustan Times, New Delhi, May 8
- PLATFORM: With liquor and cash
Editorial Jay Raina 4 May 2002, Hndustan Times
Gujarat has a long history of communal riots. But now, the State-sponsored terror is of a different kind: it's selected, meticulously planned and targets the minorities with emphasis on destruction of their property and business.
- Gujarat's proclivity to violence
A.R. Vasavi, The Hindu, MAY 05, 2002
The making of the carnage in Gujarat has its roots in the more pervasive and everyday culture of the region. It is distinctly linked to the retention of a social order that privileges hierarchy and relations of dominance and subordination to the growth of a backward capitalism, and to the failure of a political apparatus. In such a corrupted social sphere, it is not surprising that fundamentalisms have found ready and willing participants, says A.R. VASAVI.
- Speaking out
The Hindu, MAY 05, 2002
In the wake of the Gujarat carnage, civil society has largely remained silent. MARI MARCEL THEKAEKARA calls for voices to speak against the outrage and to fight the forces of communalism.
- Only 2 FIRs on rape in Gujarat
Times of India, MAY 06, 2002
NEW DELHI: After over two months of violence in Gujarat in which scores of women have testified to being raped and subject to sexual abuse, only two FIRs on charges of rape have been filed in the entire state. And that too, not in Ahmedabad. This was revealed in the Rajya Sabha by Union law minister Arun Jaitley on Monday.
- SC serves notice to Gujarat on CBI probe
The Times of India, May 3, 2002
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Gujarat government, its home secretary and director general of police on a petition seeking CBI probe into all incidences of communal riots including the Godhra incidents which left nearly 1,000 people dead.
- Conversations with one of Us who hates Them
To understand fundamentalism, dig deep into its roots - it's unpleasant and very necessary, says filmmaker Tanuja Chandra, The Indian Express, May 2, 2002
And it wasn't just the tanks or the horrifying mass murders in Gujarat that made me think this way. It was a heartbreaking conversation I had had with a 65-year-old man Dilip who had gently told me one afternoon at work that if there was a Muslim and a snake standing in front of him he wouldn't know who he would attack first! How could a minority threaten a majority in such a serious way, I argued with him, but he wouldn't hear a thing. He was convinced that Hindus wouldn't be able to live in their own country if it wasn't for the fundamentalists protecting them from ''these people''.
- Amid riots, some cross a religious divide
By Scott Baldauf, The Christian Science Monitor, May 2, 2002
In a state ravaged by Hindu-Muslim riots over the past two months, the stories of Hindu and Muslim volunteers crossing communal lines to help those of different faiths are a rare glimmer of hope. Not surprisingly, these quiet amanpathiks, or peacemakers, get less attention than the rioters and hatemongers who loot shops, burn homes, and kill men and women of the opposite faith.
- Why blame foreign envoys when we don't behave properly?
Human rights get precedence
S. K. Singh The Indian Express, May 2, 2002
The communal violence in Gujarat, ignited by the Godhra incident, has gone on for two months. It is now affecting seriously India's standing as a tolerant, humane, pluralistic society. All these years India enjoyed unparalleled respect as a society that has been peaceful, compassionate and democratic despite facing a multiplicity of problems caused by material poverty and the struggle to develop. Can the Gujarat tragedy be seen as an aberration or a man-made disaster?
- "Concerned Citizens Tribunal Gujarat 2002"
"Concerned Citizens Tribunal Gujarat 2002" starts Public Hearing in Ahmedabad from May 2.
A Concerned Citizens Tribunal consisting of retired judges and prominent citizens from different walks of life will examine and investigate the incident of arson at Godhra and the subsequent statewide violence that took lives, destroyed property and attacked cultural symbols and places of worship of sections of the population.
- Middle ground quakes
Rajni Kothari, The Hindustan Times, Wednesday, May 1, 2002
A propos the spread of communal riots in Gujarat, it needs to be said
that it would be a mistake to think that this is going to be confined
to Gujarat and can be contained within it.
- Riots have hurt India's image abroad: CII chief
Neeraj Saxena, Times News Network [ Tuesday, April 30, 2002]
- India: Gujarat Officials Took Part in Anti-Muslim Violence
(New York, April 30, 2002)
- State officials of Gujarat, India were directly involved in the killings of hundreds of Muslims since February 27 and are now engineering a massive cover-up of the state's role in the violence, Human Rights Watch charged in a new report released today.
- Centre fails to file report to NHRC on Gujarat
(PTI New Delhi, April 30) Centre on Tuesday failed to keep its promise of filing a report on communal riots in Gujarat to National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) even as the report filed by the state government on the violence does not contain "full details".
- Democracy
Who's she when she's at home?
Arundhati Roy
Outlook India.Com | Magazine | May 06, 2002
[Also see Arundhati Roy's letter published in Outlook dated May 27, 2002: To the Jaffri Family, An Apology. and a Rejoinder - Fiddling With Facts As Gujarat Burns - by: Balbir K. Punj, May 27th 2002]
- A Hindu 'laboratory' frightens Muslims
By Sunanda K. Datta-Ray, Inernational Herald Tribune, Monday, April 29, 2002
Significantly, Gujarat is the only one of India's 26 states to be ruled by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Hindu zealots call it the laboratory of the future, meaning the Hindu rashtra (state) of their dreams.
- Gujarat violence backed by state, says EU report
(April 29, 2002) -- A European Union investigation into India's worst race riots in a decade has concluded that the violence was not spontaneous but a pre-planned policy involving state ministers to "purge" Muslims and destroy their economy, according to an internal report by EU embassies in Delhi.
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VHP's Ties with the Tigers ?
By Dilip Simeon, Sabrang Alternative News Network, Update: April 25, 2002
There have been news reports that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the rabid religious wing of the RSS has drawn closer to the LTTE and that it is now operating in Tiger controlled areas of the Sri Lanka.
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Resolution Adopted on 26th April 2002
(New Delhi, April 26, 2002) -- What has happened in Gujarat is nothing short of a state -sponsored pogrom against the minority community. It is the beginning of the end of
India of our dreams.
- Body-blow to Gujarat business
By Raju Bist, Asia Times, April 23, 2002
More than Rs20 billion (US$409 million) have been lost due to the riots. Already, insurance claims worth Rs1.5 million have trickled in from 150 business units, and insurance companies have stopped underwriting new policies.
- Caste, Hindutva and Hideousness
By Ghanshyam Shah, EPW Commentary, April 13, 2002
The Hindutva movement has made serious attempts to forge a unity among
Hindus, without disturbing the relative power relations among the
castes. The Sangh parivar, for all its rhetoric on upliftment of the
dalits, hardly ever raises a voice against caste-based discrimination or
atrocities against dalits. This ambivalent attitude has led to
considerable disenchantment and confusion among the dalits which is
exacerbated during times of tension.
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