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News : Archive (May 15 - 31, 2002)
- Another NHRC report indicts Modi
HT Correspondent, The Hindustan Times, May 31, 2002
The National Human Rights Commission on Friday released another report on the Gujarat violence, indicting the Narendra Modi Government for its failure on all fronts. The indictment came after the state administration failed to respond, despite repeated reminders, to queries raised in a confidential report.
- We need this passion, but for another battle
Let this cry for war be a cry for a war against poverty
B. N. P. Setlur, The Indian Express, May 31, 2002
As a non-resident Indian, when I hear this talk about India and Pakistan going to war, I cannot but think of the shambling state of the economies
of both countries. Yet the cry for war between India and Pakistan is mounting by the day.
- Ahmedabad police suspect saffron hand behind blasts
Rathin Das, The Hindustan Times, May 31, 2002
Since the blasts were intended just to create panic and not to kill, they were obviously masterminded by elements interested in keeping tension alive, a senior officer said, hinting that pro-Hindutwa groups might have been behind the Wednesday's incidents in the city buses.
- Painful reminder
Editorial, The Economic Times, May 31, 2002
The bomb blasts in buses in Ahmedabad as well as the recurrence of violence in some other parts of Gujarat are yet another reminder of just how difficult it is to put out communal fires.
- An Unquiet Peace
Praveen Swamiin Ahmedabad,Frontline, Volume 19 - Issue 11, May 25 - June 07, 2002
Ten weeks after, Gujarat remains on the edge. And K.P.S. Gill's efforts to revive the State's coercive apparatus represent at best a holding operation.
- Wheels of justice
Editorial, The Hindustan Times, May 31, 2002
As incidents go, the three bomb blasts in Ahmedabad on Wednesday were a relatively minor affair. Although 12 people were injured, fortunately no lives were lost. Compared, however, with the kind of anarchic conditions which prevailed almost without a break for well over two months in the city and elsewhere in Gujarat, the incidents underlined a scaling down of the level of violence.
- BJP blames pseudo-secularists for Gujarat's infamy
Rediff.com, May 31, 2002
The BJP on Thursday blamed pseudo-secularists for giving Gujarat a bad name the world over for the unforeseen situation that emerged in the state subsequent to the Godhra train carnage of February 27
- Christian Council Demands Repeal of Orissa Black Laws Against Religious Freedom
Press Statement, Bhubaneswar, 29th May 2002
The Christian Council again focuses the attention of the nation and civil society on the continuing conspiracy by the Sangh Parivar to polarize the tribal belt from Rajasthan in the West to Jharkhand in the east, including Gujarat and Orissa, where its actions in the past have brought such infamy for our nation.
- Investigation as collusion — I
By Brinda Karat & Subhashini Ali, The Hindu, May 31, 2002
The National Commission of Women gives little importance to the most disturbing dimension of the Gujarat violence — the targeting of Muslim women and children.
- The premonition (No Longer available for Accessible online)
The Statesman, May 30th, 2002
With Gujarat continuing to remain disturbed, an NRI appeal to the Prime Minister has an important bearing on India’s foreign exchange reserves, writes DIPANKAR BOSE
- Serial of violence Ensure that the guilty in Gujarat will never escape the law
Editorial, The Indian Express, May 30th, 2002
The three bomb blasts in Ahmedabad have served up a reminder that Gujarat’s ordeal is not yet over. The explosions were timed to target more than just the morning’s rush hour traffic. They aimed at the fledgeling expectations of a return to normality in the ravaged state. They sought to touch off the fear and panic that had only just begun to wane.
- Backroom parleys delay NHRC report
Akshaya Mukul, The Times of India, May 30th, 2002
NEW DELHI: Where is the final report of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on the Gujarat violence? Nearly two months after the commission’s preliminary report — which indicted the Narendra Modi government for failing to protect the lives and property of the state’s Muslim citizens — the NHRC is yet to decide when to make its report public.
- Us and them
Divya Dwivedi, The Hindustan Times, May 30th, 2002
Why am I going to Gujarat? Ever since the riots began, I had this vague urge to go to Gujarat and see for myself its reality. ‘Gujarat’, the word does not denote a mere geographical space anymore; it has become a signifier for a lot of things: charred bodies, spilled brains, refugee camps, faceless mobs, government disclaimers, the real death toll.
- 12 people injured in bomb blasts in Ahmedabad
NDTV Correspondent, May 29, 2002 (Ahmedabad)
In a serious setback to the peace and reconciliation process in riot-torn Gujarat, three bombs exploded simultaneously in city buses in Ahmedabad today.
- Straw demands inquiry into killings of Britons in Gujarat
By P. Jayaram, Indo -Asian News Service, May 29, 2002
New Delhi, May 29 (IANS) British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw Wednesday demanded a "through investigation" into the killing of two British nationals during the sectarian violence in Gujarat and compensation for their relatives.
- VHP launches oust-Gill campaign
Raveen Thukral ,The Hindustan Times, Ahmedabad, May 29, 2002
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal have launched a covert campaign to get K.P.S. Gill out of Gujarat. They are believed to have the blessings of certain ministers in the Narendra Modi government, who are pulling whatever strings they have in Delhi to have the ‘supercop’ recalled.
- UK Muslim group petitions UNHRC on Gujarat
Press Trust of India, May 29, 2002
London, May 28: London-based Indian Muslim Federation (IMF) has taken the question of recent communal riots in Gujarat to the UN Human Rights Commission demanding the appointment of a special rapporteur and a special tribunal to investigate and fix responsibility.
- Authorities failed to protect people in Gujarat: Amnesty
Special Correspondent, The Hindu, May 29, 2002
NEW DELHI MAY 28. Observing that the Muslim community in India became "increasingly vulnerable to victimisation by both the State and some Hindu political groups'' after September 11 and the attack on Parliament, the Amnesty International Report for 2002 states that the Indian authorities failed to protect people from communal violence in Gujarat.
- Textbooks as hate labs
Manisha Priyam, The Hindustan Times, May 29th, 2002
The battle over the future direction of moulding the minds of our young ones through the NCERT’s proposed curriculum and textbooks, some of which are in abeyance due to a stay order of the Supreme Court, denotes a deplorable moment for our republic.
- Peace: a God-given birthright
By Swami Agnivesh & Valson Thampu, The Hindu, May 29, 2002
Events in Gujarat and the palpable tension on the Indo-Pak. border have awakened an unprecedented thirst for peace in our society. As a rule, we learn the value of something only when it is in jeopardy.
- Dalit, OBC and Muslim relations
By Kancha Ilaiah, The Hindu, May 29, 2002
Muslim intellectuals must learn from Christian missionaries and work among Dalits, Adivasis and OBCs so that a relationship of trust is established.
- Commonwealth is not right forum to deal with Gujarat violence: UK
PTI London, May 28, The Hindustan Times
Britain has made it categorically clear that Commonwealth is not the right forum to deal with the recent violent incidents in Gujarat.
"The Government of India has strongly condemned the violence in Gujarat and has given assurances, which we welcome, that they will take action to bring to justice the perpetrators of the attacks.
- VHP, Bajrang Dal, BJP workers arrested in Ahmedabad massacre case
Press Trust of India, Express India, May 28, 2002
Ahmedabad, May 28: Police on Tuesday arrested three persons, having alleged links with the VHP, the Bajrang Dal and the BJP, in connection with the killing of at least 86 people by a rioting mob in Ahmedabad on February 28, a day after Godhra carnage.
- Action Aid attacks NGOs in Gujarat
- By Special Correspondent, Asian Age
New Delhi, May 27: The response of the non-governmental organisations both national and international to the plight of victims of Gujarat carnage has been dismal, observed former Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer Harsh Mander.
- Volunteers to provide relief
The Hindu, May 28, 2002
NEW DELHI MAY 27. Ordinary people and victims of violence are trying to fill the huge gap created by the Gujarat Government's reluctance to provide proper relief and rehabilitation to the survivors of the carnage in the State.
- RSS shakhas poised to swell in state
Anil Pathak, The Times of India, May 28th, 2002
Ahmedabad: The Hindu backlash generated during the communal disturbances could boost the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's membership in Gujarat.
- Minorities' front asks govt to prioritise rehabilitation
Times News Network, May 28, 2002
Ahmedabad: A delegation of the United Minorities Front has urged the Gujarat government to give utmost priority to the rehabilitation of displaced riot victims.
- Peace returns but justice continues to elude victims
Hindustan Times, May 27,2002
Ninety days after the Godhra incident, there is a semblance of peace now in Gujarat — though stray incidents occasionally threaten to shatter it.
- Our intellectual failure
Manoranjan Mohanty, The Hindustan Times, May 27, 2002
As the Gujarat carnage continues to haunt the democratic conscience of most Indians, it is time we reflected on how we landed in this situation. Perhaps it has something to do with our intellectual failure to evolve a democratic consciousness in the realm of culture.
- Three months on, displaced Muslims hesitant to return
By Pradeep Mallik, Indo-Asian News Service, Monday May 27 2002
Ahmedabad, May 27 (IANS) Standing amid the ruins of their charred home, Anjum and her husband Badr Ahmed smiled when their two sons jumped with joy.
- Rs 100 crore for women victims of Gujarat violence: Mahajan
PTI, The Hindustan Times, Raipur, May 26
Union Minister of State for Women and Child Welfare, Sumitra Mahajan on Sunday said Centre has provided Rs 100 crore for the rehabiliation of the women victims of the Gujarat violence.
- Post riots, pols are now fortresses
Times News Network, May 22, 2002
The violence may have ended, but the feeling of insecurity is still haunting Amdavadis. Hindus and Muslims sharing localities have started constructing huge walls and iron gates for protection. And the fortification phenomenon is not limited to the ‘frontlines’ alone.
- The scariest show on earth
Peter Popham, The Independent UK, 26 May 2002
An embarrassing amount of hostile international attention was focused on the pogroms in Gujarat in March, when Hindu fanatics allied to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) killed around 2,000 Muslims. The war talk has been a useful distraction.
- "Operation crackdown" launched, nine riot accused arrested
PTI Ahmedabad, May 26, 2002
Police have arrested nine people in connection with the killings of minority community members, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jaffri, at two localities of Ahmedabad during the violence here a day after Godhra carnage.
- Peace, War and Hinduism
Rajmohan Gandhi, The Hindu, May 26, 2002
In a day and an age where peace benefits people and wars are a blessing for rulers, what role does non-violence play? Whether it is West Asia or South Asia, India or Pakistan, the post-September 11 world seems to confirm Mahatma Gandhi's sagacity, writes Rajmohan Gandhi.
- Gujarat’s traumatised children relive horrors of violence
New Delhi, Deccan Herald, May 24, 2002 (IANS)
Twelve-year-old Bilal watched in horror as his mother and elder brother were beaten to death and thrown into a burning truck. It was the same lorry in which moments earlier they were fleeing from rampaging mobs in Kalol village of Gujarat’s Panchmahals district.
- Caught on camera, they slipped out of Gujarat cell
Few chargesheets filed, most looters walk free on bail
Stavan Desai, The Indian Express, May 25th 2002
Ahmedabad, May 24: They were caught on camera, but the police couldn’t keep them behind bars. They are those who targeted stores and looted clothes, shoes and other consumer goods when riots flared up in Ahmedabad on February 28. Unknown to them, the electronic eye was watching. A week later, 79 were arrested for robbing stores such as Pantaloons, Titan and Akbarally’s. Two months on, all are out on bail.
- British MPs Set to Back Genocide Case Against Modi
Shrabani Basu, Telegraph India, May 22, 2002
- Figure this out: 80 pc riot claims from Hindus
Express News Service, May 25, 2002
Ahmedabad, May 23: STATISTICS don't lie. And the figures that insurance
companies have regarding claims registered post-riots throw up a
surprising fact - that 80 per cent of claims are from Hindus. Muslims,
who bore the brunt, hardly had any insurance.
- Democracy & politics of fiefdoms
Editorial by Jayaprakash Narayan, The Economic Times, May 25, 2002
The Gujarat carnage over the past few weeks and the continual Kashmir
imbroglio deflected national attention from a momentous event in the
evolution of our democracy.
- With few details, FIRs slacken investigation
Stavan Desai, Express India, May 24th 2002
A close look at these FIRs and one will find that in most of the cases, it’s the police who is the complainant. Moreover, these FIRs which are now being viewed as the key to bringing the culprits to book, neither name anybody as accused nor relate to a particular incident.
- The missing are dead, Gujarat toll may go up
Raveen Thukral, The Hindustan Times, May 24, 2002
(Ahmedabad, May 23) The Gujarat government is considering upgrading the official death toll in the recent communal riots. The statewide toll is currently put at around 950.
- Modi, India's Milosevic
Editorial, Gulam K. Noon, The Hindustan Times, May 24, 2002
It was nothing but a pogrom in Mahatma Gandhi's home state of Gujarat. Hindu-Muslim riots are not new to India but what is new is State-sponsored terrorism. Narendra Modi's government is guilty of ethnic cleansing. Modi is India's Milosevic.
- Building homes to bridge the divide
Jahnavi Contractor, Times News Network, May 24, 2002
Vadodara: The Hindu and Muslim residents of the Raja- Rani talav hutment in the city are setting a rare example of communal harmony by coming together to rebuild houses destroyed in the riots.
- No mention of ISI in Godhra chargesheet
Rathin Das, The Hindustan Times, May 24, 2002
(Gandhinagar, May 23) The chargesheet filed in the Sabarmati Express torching case make no mention of the involvement of Pakistan or the ISI. The Government Railway Police (GRP) filed the chargesheet before first class judicial magistrate P.C. Joshi at the Godhra railway court on Wednesday evening.
- Gujarat's Jobless: Idle Hands As Devil's Workshop
Editorial by Darryl D'monte , The Times of India, May 23, 2002
The appeal in newspapers by prominent Gujarat citizens, calling for an end to the communal conflagration, betrays anguish that such terrible events could be taking place in a state known for its zest for business.
- No repentance in Gujarat: Gill
Times News Network, May 22, 2002
Gandhinagar: Calling it a 'Kalinga effect', where a remorseful Emperor Ashok became a messiah of peace seeing the death and destruction caused by war, supercop K.P.S. Gill regrets that he has not seen such a trend in Gujarat after all the violence.
- Secularism, Hindus and Muslims
By Imtiaz Ahmad, The Hindu, Friday, May 24, 2002
Hindus and Muslims should re-examine their positions within the framework of contemporary situations and cooperate in promoting that national cohesion which is essential to the building of a modern India.
- Myopic Vision
By Ashis Chakrabarti,The Telegraph (Calcutta), 24 May 2002
If nearly three months after the communal carnage, the tale of Ahmedabad looks to be that of two cities - the new city, almost exclusively Hindu, to the west of the Sabarmati river, which is back to its sparkling, bubbly high life, and the poorer Muslim-dominated east picking up the pieces on its near-deserted streets and bylanes lined with burnt buildings and cars - it is because a sinister argument runs underneath the picture of contrasts. It is a statement that the carnage made to the two communities.
- Once upon a time in Gujarat
Amrita Shah, The Indian Express, May 23, 2002
This is a story of a family. An ordinary story. An ordinary family. The
only reason I am telling it is because nearly three months after Gujarat
continues to bubble with news of sporadic violence, the attempted
cover-up of sexual crimes, social schisms and terrible conditions in
relief camps, this story gives some idea of the kind of lives these
events have disrupted.
- Former Supreme Court judge joins Gujarat probe
By Manas Dasgupta, The Hindu, May 23, 2002
GANDHINAGAR May 22. The Gujarat Government has appointed another retired
judge in the judicial commission constituted to probe the Godhra train
carnage and the consequent communal riots in the State.
- He bought them a new life with free medicines
Himanshu Kaushik, The Indian Express, May 23, 2002
Ahmedabad, May 22: When most people in Ahmedabad were busy making
politically-correct statements, Nitin Shah was helping riot-hit at VS
Hospital.
- The women in Gujarat's camps - II
By Vasudha Dhagamwar, Opinion, The Hindu, May 23, 2002
The malaise in Gujarat is deep, very deep. It needs sensitivity, understanding and courage to cleanse it. Posturing is not going to do it. Part I (May 22, 2002)
- ‘They raped my friend, slashed her with sword’
Express News Service, May 19, 2002
Ahmedabad, May 18: On Wednesday, 10-year-old Anisha Kasambhai Mansoori of Naroda-Patiya gave a statement, based on which a case of murder and rape was registered by the Crime Branch.
- The Gujarat carnage & International Criminal Court
Saumya Uma (The author is a human rights advocate and the Coordinator of "ICC-India")
- EU to send relief to Gujarat
The Hindu, May 18, 2002
Brussels, May 18. (PTI): The European Union is considering humanitarian assistance to the victims in Gujarat after a resolution was adopted in the European Parliament, which debated on the situation in the riot-torn state.
- European Parliament condemns Gujarat violence
By Batuk Gathani, The Hindu May 18, 2002
BRUSSELS MAY 18. The European Parliament has passed a resolution saying that it is appalled by the sectarian violence in Gujarat, which has claimed more than 900 lives.
- Made for each other
Swati Chaturvedi, Editorial, Hindustan Times, May 17, 2002
Narendra Modi has put Dawood Ibrahim back in business. With Modi so obviously well-trained in the laws of physics, one wonders what he makes of the ISI’s poster boy who is now so extremely grateful to him.
- ‘I will get justice for the raped women even if I have to die for it’
Shefali Nautiyal, The Indian Express, May 17, 2002
Jannatbibi says she saw women being raped and killed in Naroda Patiya, her testimony results in first FIR, first arrest in rape case in Ahmedabad
.
- Film on Godhra glosses over riots, blasts media, NHRC
Express News Service, May 17, 2002
New Delhi, May 16: A 40-minute film on the Godhra attack, Gujarat Ki Vedana , screened today picked on the media for biased reporting. Home Minister L.K. Advani, who was expected to attend, did not turn up at the screening.
- Camp Gujarat: Crying Need for Healing Touch
Anjolie Ela Menon, Times of India, May 16, 2002
In the relief camp in Ahmedabad I am aghast at the numbers. I am deeply humbled that someone rushes to offer me cold water. How can I accept this when right at the entrance of the makeshift office, a 10-day-old baby lies on the bare floor beside its mother while the grandmother fans the flies off them in a gesture that speaks of both love and despair.
- NRIs campaign to collect $1 mn for Gujarat riot victims
PTI, New York, May 16
A US-based organisation of Non-Resident Indians has launched a campaign to collect $1 million to assist in the relief and rehabilitation of victims of the communal riots in Gujarat.
- Taking revenge in Gujarat
May 16, 2002, CNN
As the commercial capital of Gujarat state, it has doubled its manufacturing sector every seven years and achieved a ten percent gross domestic product growth.
Yet Ahmedabad has a history of vicious clashes between Hindus and Muslims.
- In this Ahmedabad locality, fear has no religion
Shefali Nautiyal, IndianExpress, May 16, 2002
Raikhad Darwaja is unlike any other riot-hit locality in Ahmedabad. All
900-odd houses here are empty after both Hindus and Muslim residents fled.
- First riot-arrest on rape charge
Times News Network, Ahmedabad, May 16, 2002
After all the hype over the Kausar Bano case in Parliament, the prime accused in this case, which was part of the Naroda-Patia massacre, Ratilal Rathod, 50, alias Bhavani Singh, was arrested by the city crime branch late on Monday night.
- Gujarati exceptionalism
By Dipankar Gupta, Opinion, The Hindu, May 16, 2002
There are about 50 cities in the State. This can probably account for the widespread nature of riots in the urban areas, but how does one account for the spate of rural violence over the past two months and more?
- Gujarat seeks time to file report
PTI , New Delhi, May 16, 2002
The Gujarat government has sought more time from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to file its "comprehensive" report on the communal riots in the state.
- Not an internal matter
Editorial, May 16, 2002, Hindustan Times
The Gujarat government has sought more time from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to file its "comprehensive" report on the communal riots in the state.
- HC admits petition against ACP
Times News Network, Ahmedabad, May 16, 2002
The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday admitted a petition, filed against the newly appointed additional commissioner of police Satish Verma, alleging that he beat up a third-year BA student living in a relief camp, causing critical injuries, and did not allow the student to get medical treatment.
- Tribunal disputes official toll in Gujarat carnage
DH News Service, Ahmedabad, May 15
A citizen’s tribunal today claimed more than 2000 persons were killed and about 500 missing during the communal carnage in the state even as the State government claimed less than 1,000 deaths in the violent incidents.
- "Concerned Citizens Tribunal Gujarat 2002"
Interim Observations and Recommenations
May 15, 2002
The Tribunal recommends that the utterly unprecedented scale of social violence in the state of Gujarat since February 27, 02 necessitates that compensation should be seen not in terms of the meagre dole that is now on offer but be re-conceived in the nature of reparation for loss of life, dignity, destruction of economic activity and assaults on the freedom of faith, from the State.
- Gujarat holocaust: where is the relief?
By V Gangadhar, Free Press Journal, May 15, 2002
There are no Gujarati women frying 'puri and shak' (puris and potato vegetable), packing and distributing them to the needy. This particular characteristic among the people of Gujarat during any local tragedy seemed to have disappeared in the aftermath of the communal riots which are still rocking the state. On the contrary, more people are killed, more homes burnt and no aid is reaching them. Man's inhumanity to Man continued to be on the rise.
- Gujarat riot toll: millions of pounds
Rashmee Z Ahmed, Times News Network , May 15, 2002
British contracts worth several million pounds to Gujarat-based companies are no longer likely to happen any time soon, in an economic backlash that could challenge the state government’s claims that it is business as usual.
- Homecoming in Naroda for a few hours
Under heavy security cover, riot refugees visit burnt homes to survey damage
Janyala Sreenivas, Ahmedabad, Indian Express, May 15
This was one homecoming that was painful, tinged with fear and grief. Around 450 residents of Naroda Patiya visited their charred homes on a scorching Wednesday afternoon to salvage what the mobs had left behind. Most of them came away empty-handed, their hands soiled with soot, their hearts broken at what they had lost.
- Mumbai's women take up cudgels for Gujarat women
Mumbai, By Pamela Raghunath, Gulf News Online Edition, 14-05-2002
Some 200 women culled from women's organisations and groups in Mumbai brought the unprecedented violence against Muslim women in Gujarat to the attention of Mumbaities with a one-day protest that drew attention to the plight of Gujarati women, like nothing else since the violence began.
- When secularism becomes schism
Vidya Subrahmaniam, Editorial, May 15, 2002, Times News Network
Secularism has become a tool to justify the wrongs done by the minorities: Islamic terrorism is glossed over, while Muslim obscurantism is encouraged, often by the state. Maybe we should turn some of the anger inward?
- Collapse of Indian state: Human rights team
May 15, 2002, Times News Network
AHMEDABAD: A fact-finding team of human rights organisations from Maharashtra, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh has opined in its interim report that "Gujarat events were not only the breakdown of law and order alone but that of the Indian state and human civilisation itself."
- Thanks, but no thanks
Brahma Chellaney, Editorial, Hindustan Times, May 15, 2002
The bloodbath in Gujarat is a reminder that there can be no external security without internal security. Internal security has been India’s Achilles heel throughout history. Yet this failing continues to undercut the Indian State.
- SOS to set up homes for orphaned children in Gujarat
May 15, 2002, Rajpura, India, The Daily Excelsior
SOS Children’s Villages would set up temporary homes to take care of
children orphaned in the Gujarat riots.
- Trampling on India
A.G. Noorani, Hindustan Times, May 15, 2002
Narendra Modi has not once used the words ‘gruesome killings’ for the Gujarat carnage. He has not denounced the perpetrators either. His words fall neatly into a pattern of wilful wrong.
More - Archive One (May 14 - April 13)
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