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The term 2002 Gujarat violence, also known as the Gujarat Genocide, Gujarat Pogroms, and Gujarat Massacre refers to the violent incidents that took place in Gujarat state in India beginning February, 2002 as a result of Godhra Train Burning where on 27 February 2002, about 58 people Hindus died in a train fire in Godhra, Gujarat. 43 people were also injured in the attack .

Build up of the rioting

The gruesome images from the train burning were broadcast in print as well as the electronic media, especially in local Gujarati language newspapers. The reason for the attacks given was that it was a premeditated attack on innocent women and children returning from a puja. The Chief Minister of the BJP ruled state, Narendra Modi ordered a state funeral for the deceased in the train burning incident. The timings of the arrival of the dead bodies to the state capital Ahmedabad were advertised on the radio may have contributed to a very large turnout of people in an already charged atmosphere. Modi immediately blamed the Pakistani secret service Inter Services Intelligence behind the incident. As it was known that the local Ghanchi Muslims had stopped the train before it caught fire, the demonisation of the Muslim community followed as if they were sympathisers or agents of the neighboring Pakistan, with whom India shares a historic enimity. Leaflets decrying the incident as a premeditated plan by Muslims with the backing of Pakistan were published and distributed, in some cases without any indication of who wrote or distributed them. The World Hindu Council issued a call for a peaceful statewide bandh on February 28, 2002. That bandh was later supported by the ruling BJP government, despite a ban on bandhs by the Supreme Court of India.

Incidents

The first incidents of attacks on the minority Muslim community started at Ahmedabad, where Hindus began throwing stones at and later burned a Muslim housing complex known as Gulburg Society, and then spread elsewhere.The initial violence was instigated by a rumor, encouraged by senior members of the World Hindu Council, that Muslims had kidnapped three girls from the trains. The violence continued unabated with only one section of the population becoming the primary targets. Thirty three towns of the state were severely affected and had to be placed under curfew at one point or another during this period. Some incidents that became very well known are Naroda Patia, Gulbarg Society and Best Bakery in Ahmedabad.

Naroda Patia

Around One hundred fifty Muslims were killed, many of them women who were sexually assaulted by violent mobs. One of the witnesses stated before the Nanavati commission that that BJP leader Maya Kodnani, Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi and others had led mobs on February 28 last year in the Naroda-Patia area.

Gulbarg Society - Case of Ahsan Jaffery

A high profile case involved an Ex-Congress MP who was surrounded by Hindu Mobs while many other Muslim residents in the area took shelter in his compound.Ahsen was believed to have contacted the local police stations, MP's of the area as well as the Chief Minister Modi to save the people from the ever increasing mob.However, no police reinforcement had reached his place and few policemen present were ineffective and unwilling to control the violent mob."Eventually he along with fifty others were burnt to death.

Best Bakery Incident

During the night of 1 March 2002, 14 people, including women and children, were killed. Despite repeated phone calls to the local police, a police vehicle reportedly only drove by once but none of the police officers took any steps to stop the attack, which lasted through the night..

Nature of Rioting

The Modi led state government was reprimanded at various levels including the National Parliament, Supreme Court and the international fora.It was observed that the Gujarat government referred to the death of 58 people in the Godhra train episode as carnage while those post Godhra events, where by independent accounts more than 2500 perished were referred to as disturbances seen as an effort to pass on the subsequent deaths as a natural reaction to Godhra Train incident.

The Gujarat police force was found to be actively participating or abetting the attacks. People were burnt alive, women raped in front of their own families, infants and expecting mothers were done to death.

Difference between Gujarat Riots and other communal riots in India

• Events took place with either police looking the other way if not being complicit with the rioteers
• State Cabinet Ministers were accused of leading the mobs
• Foreign citizens were killed even though they showed their passports for the only reason that they were Muslims
• This was the first time official demarches were submitted by EU member countries and fact finding missions sent

References

External links

A chronology of incidents

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