1

Saffron On The RampageGujarat’s Muslims pay for Lashkar’s Deeds

A collective investigation into the Aug 3-10, 2000 postbandh violence all over Gujarat state tracks the most

recent evidence of how the state ‘s minorities — Muslimsand Christians — live in a state of terror, ghettoised,

with their patriotism forever under question.

Gujarat 1998 - 2000 is live testimony to the utter con-tempt that the Indian Constitution and the rule of lawhave been reduced to, by BJP elected representatives

and VHP-BD and RSS hit squadsWhen will the rest of India wake up to the mockery of

the Constitution taking place in the laboratory ofHindu Rashtra?

This report on the violence has been collectively published by variousorganisations that include the Quami Ektra Trust, Communalism Combat,Dakshin Gujarat Adivasi Sangh, Vikas Adhyan Kendra, SAMVAD, INSAF,

IFIE, SAHRWARU, VOTE and the People’s Union for Human Rights.

Layout & Printing by SABRANG COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLISHING PVT. LTD

P.O. Box 28253, Juhu Post office, Mumbai - 400049e-mail : sabrang@bom2.vsnl.net.in

2

3

Saffron On The RampageGujarat’s Muslims pay for Lahskar’s Deeds

A collective investigation into the Aug 3-10, 2000 postbandh violence all over Gujarat state tracks the mostrecent evidence of how the state ‘s minorities — Mus-

lims and Christians — live in a state of terror,ghettoised, with their patriotism forever under ques-

tion.

Gujarat 1998 - 2000 is live testimony to the utter con-tempt that the Indian Constitution and the rule of lawhave been reduced to, by BJP elected representatives

and VHP-BD and RSS hit squadsWhen will the rest of India wake up to the mockery of

the Constitution taking place in the laboratory ofHindu Rashtra?

This report on the violence has been collectively published byvarious organisations that include the Quami Ektra Trust,

Communalism Combat, Dakshin Gujarat Adivasi Sangh, VikasAdhyan Kendra, SAMVAD, INSAF, IFIE, SAHRWARU, VOTE and

the People’s Union for Human Rights.

Layout & Printing by SABRANG COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLISHING PVT. LTD

P.O. Box 28253, Juhu Post office, Mumbai - 400049e-mail : sabrang@bom2.vsnl.net.in

4

CONTENTS

Introduction Saffron On The Rampage 5

Recommendations 6

Field Reports Ahmedabad  9

Surat 14

Interview withpolice commissioner, Surat 17

Lambadia 19

Modasa 21

GUJARAT 2000 — Challenge to Police Neutrality 25

Poll Politics 35

Explosion in the ‘laboratory’ 37

Dateline Gujarat : Hindutva’s Laboratory in Operation 40

Contact AddressesQuami Ekta Trust, Ahmedabad 079-7540889

Vikas Adhyan Kendra, Ahmedabad 079 - 7496054IFIE , Ahmedabad 079 - 6857848PUHR, Ahmedabad 079 - 6636872

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The dreaded finally happened. The cynically targetted bullets of Pakistan’s mer-cenar ies that claimed the l i fe of 30 H indu pi lgr ims headed for the Amarnath yatra(the final toll was 100, the rest dying in the cross-fire between the Indian paramili-tary and militants) caused a direct resonance in far-flung Gujarat.

In Ahmedabad, Surat, Sabarkantha (Lambadiya, Khed Brahma and Modasa vil-lages ) and Pahlanpur and Rajkot, Muslim business establishments –powerlooms,granaries, printing presses, shops and godowns – were cold-bloodedly targetted byindigenous terrorist squads led by elected representatives belonging to the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)and the Bajrang Dal (BD).In Surat alone, a senior correspondent of the Financial Express has estimated thetotal damage by the selective destruction through full-fledged arson of only Muslim-owned powerlooms (4 looms belonging to Muslims were completely gutted) at Rs. 10crores totally. In the Modasa village of Sabarkantha district, of the 63 businessestablishments charred to nothingness, 51 belonged to Muslims, 12 to Hindus totalingto a loss of not less than Rs. 1.5 crores.

On August 1, 2000, the news of the massacre of Amarnath yatris was receivedthroughout India with horror, the numbing stupor caused by this pre-mediated car-nage only pierced by many concerned protests by Muslim organisations and rights’groups all over India, fearful of the consequences of this carnage on the fragile inter-nal peace within India.

These anxieties were well justified. Within hours of the massacre on our northernborders, the self-styled leaders of Hindu extremist outfits expressed outrage andthereafter systematically geared up for their brand of retaliation.

In Mumbai, the recently humiliated chief of the Shiv Sena (SS) Bal Thackeray’sHindi eveninger Dopahar ka Saamna flashed a headline, “Hindu ilakon mein shokh,Muslim mohallon mein jashan” (Grief in Hindu areas, celebration in Muslim areas),a blatant falsehood that was allowed to pas uncontested by the city’s police, neverparticularly concerned by the brewing of communal sentiments and the latent dan-gers to law and order in resultant situations.

In Gujarat, the intentions were far more ruthless and sinister. International gen-eral secretary of the VHP, Praveen Togadia, announced at a press conference inAhmedabad on August 2,2000 that the VHP was declaring a state-wide bandh toprotests the massacres. The Gujarat government, ruled by the BJP, formally de-clared its support to the bandh. Within hours, all-Gujarat-based textile manufactur-ing associations and the Surat Textiles Federation and Diamond Merchants hadalso extended support.

If Gujarat is Hindutva’s laboratory, as the proud proponents of this political ideol-ogy have so often declared, what took place in Gujarat on the day of the bandh onAugust 3, and for a week thereafter, should, be viewed as one more test case ofHindutva in action.

Despite the fact that many sections closed down business and shops on that fateful day,in support of the outrage against the Amarnath yatris, for the squads of Hindu rashtra,this was just not enough. Publicly, office bearers of the VHP and BD, and in many caseshelped by elected representatives of the BJP, bayed for more blood in revenge for the

Saffron On The RampageGujarat’s Muslims pay for Lahskar’s Deeds

Introduction 

6

Amarnath yatris, and got it with the help of the government and the police : destruc-tion worth crores and all in the form of property and businesses owned by Muslimsin the state.

The most noticeable trend in this round of minority targetting that has, since1998, especially taken on a blatant and public form, was that the post-bandh violentincidents in different parts of Gujarat were motivated by a systematic aim to eco-nomically cripple the minority community. The total number of lives lost were 5from Surat and 2 adivasis who were part of a violent mob and died due to policefiring in Lamabdia village of Sabarkantha.

But it was the scale and venom of the destruction that has resulted in mass-scaleevacuation and resultant ghettoisation already being enforced by the hit squads ofthe VHP-Bajrang Dal and the BJP in urban areas of Gujarat that is noteworthy.This time the squads successfully moved to adivasi-dominated tribal areas. Thevenom behind the hurling of rocks in the Lambadiya village over two days, August4 and 5 rocks systematically at Muslim shops and even some homes destroyed aharmony existing between adivasis and the minorities for centuries and which, inturn, has led to mass-scale evacuation from the villages by resident Muslims inimpoverished conditions.

Two years ago, in August 1998, when pre-mediated violence broke out inRandhikpur and Sanjeli in Gujarat, a series of investigations by civil liberties groupshad resulted (see backgrounder at the back of this report). Then too, the destructionhad been pre-planned to enable take over by the local transport business then in thehands of Muslims once they were cleansed through terror out of the area.

These attacks had been accompanied by a spate of violent attacks against thestate’s Christian minorities between 1998 and 2000 -- schools being attacked byviolent mobs, even the Bible being desecrated in a 150 year old educational institu-tion in Rajkot. This culminated in the vicious attack on Christian tribals in theDangs district of south Gujarat in December 1998 that had also resulted in a de-tailed citizens’ investigation. Inmany of these attacks the sen-ior functionaries of the BJP-VHP and BD were directlynamed by the police but no ac-tion was taken thanks to bla-tant pressure by a partisan ex-ecutive. These steps have alsobeen accompanied by adminis-trative measures that are preju-dicial and biased, some of whichhave been challenged (thoughnot all reversed) in the state’sCourts.

Similarly in the recent boutof post-bandh violence, both theadministration and the policewere either browbeaten into pa-ralysis or actually assisting thezealots. When a 1000-strongmob stormed, broke into and de-stroyed the Famous Boot Housein Saraspur, Ahmedabad,where were the cops? The as-sault of an elderly Muslim cou-ple with a man with a trishuljust outside the Navapurachowky in Surat (see photo) onlyproves the point. State-wide of-fences also record details ofcriminal and provocative ac-tions in which VHP andBajrang Dal activists havebeen named. If the past record

Recommendations1. An independent Judicial Enquiryinto the detailed causes and conse-quences of the State-wide violence be-tween Aug 2-10, 20002. A Detailed Judicial Investigation intothe spate of anti-Constitutional andanti-Minority acts in State of Gujaratbetween 1998 - 20003. Payment of compensationcommesurate to the damage to indi-vidual victims of systematic destructionin the Aug 2-10.2000 bandh-related vio-lence; the payment of compensation tobe recovered from the VHP-BD-BJPwho gave and supported the bandh call4. Prompt criminal prosecution of allguilty politicians named in FIRSthrough the state5. Prompt criminal prosecution of po-lice officers guilty of inaction or com-plicity in the violence as is evident fromthe investigations from Ahmedabad,Modasa and Lambadiya especially6. Prompt action against inflammatorymedia reports and their publicationsaimed at promoting enmity and vio-lence between communities

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is anything to go by, no arrests are unfortunately expected to follow.Surat hasproved an exception with some follow-up action being initiated by the city police.

In other parts of Gujarat on bandh day, squads of the Hindu extremist groups had afield day on the streets; like never before the bandh related violence exposed the law-lessness of not merely the VHP-BD squads but the BJP’s elected representatives whenthey destroyed a dargah in Ahmedabad, stoned the collectorate in Rajkot, destroyed 40buses of the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (the tyres of 283 buses weredeflated to establish a point); attacked the Birla Secondary High School in Porbunder,attacked the St Xaviers Society schools in Meghraj and Billimoria;it was well-plannedanarchy to paralyse, threaten and browbeat even the law and order machinery.

The response of Muslims had been predictably varied. Some of them have lefttheir homes out of fear of repercussions, some have stayed on where they have beenliving for years now, and some have sought refuge in Public Places like the railwaystation, for want of other accommodation.

From the power looms in Surat, to the local granaries/godowns of grain merchantsof Sabarkantha to shops and printing presses elsewhere, the dominant and focussedmethod in this round of destruction was also this : destruction of businesses andeconomic crippling of Muslims.

Gujarat state, the laboratory for Hindutva, has been mute witness to a qualifiedlydifferent kind of violence unleashed on both Muslims and Christians since the BJPtake-over in February 1998. While innocent Christians and Christian missionarieshave been made targets of a venomous and unsubstantiated propaganda driven ofthe ‘conversion motive’ of their institutions (even as the same Hindu political elitepatronises convent schools (!), the sub-text behind the attacks on Muslims has offlate been dominated by the ‘ultra nationalist’ venom and discourse. In July 1999 asa world cup cricket contest in which Pakistan and India also played each otherdeteriorated into a full-fledged conflict in Kargil, the streets of Ahmedabad sproutedbarely-veiled threats in graffiti that came up in Muslim dominated areas overnight.Under the banner of the BJP’s Yuva Morcha, they hurled threats at Indian Muslimswhile abusing Pakistanis and Nawaz Sharif. On July 21-22 this heightened atmos-phere had a communal spill out, again the Bajrang Dal used this chance to attackMuslim shops and establishments.

It is the responsibility of the state to compensate the damages suffered by thepersons/institutions/government, on the persons calling for bandh. Since the Gujaratstate government had openly announced its support to the bandh should it not bedirectly culpable for the loss of property deliberately destroyed in the violence?

The responsibility for the loss of innocent citizens’ lives and property and causeddue to the violent activities followed the bandh call must rest with the VHP, BajrangDal and BJP workers in general and their organisations even if the police does notpin point the specific offenders.

It should be incumbent on the state govt. to recover the entire loss in monetaryterms caused to private and public property by violent and coercive activities duringthe bandh from the organizations which had announced the bandh. Under section7(a) of the Criminal Law Amendent Act, violent and coercive actions are culpable inlaw.

Will the Gujarat Govt. following a recent judgment of the Supreme Court (BharatKumar v/s Kerala state, 1997, confirmed by SC in 1998) recover the loss suffered bythe govt., the people and the minorities from the VHP, the Bajrang Dal along withthe BJP who announced, sponsored and supported the bandh?

Why should Gujarat’s minorities pay for terrorist acts in Kashmir?The blatant communalisation of the debate around terrorism in Kashmir has danger-

ous repercussions all over India but particularly in Gujarat. Time and time again, In-dian Muslims are being pushed to the wall and in crude political discourse dubbed anti-national and pro-Pakistani sympathisers. The state instead of playing it’s role in a non-partisan way is aiding and abetting this blatant communalisation of the discourse.

Silent protests to express sorrow for the violent death of Amarnath yatris are inorder. Terrorism should be countered and combatted by all citizens of the countrycoming together but most of all by winning back the confidence of the Kashmiriswho have been abandoned and violently treated by first the Indian state and noweven the militants who are supposed to espouse their cause.

But why do these communal forces, our home grown terrorist squads not questionthe central govt. for the violent attacks on Amarnath pilgrims? It was indirectly

8

admitted by Pramod Mahajan that union home minister, Advani had expressed hisdesire to resign by accepting moral responsibility for the tragedy. Even senior func-tionaries of the parent Hindutva outfit, the RSS have held the police departmentand our security forces responsible for the breakdown of law in Kashmir.

Dilemma of citizens of KashmirWhat is at the root of the Kashmir problem? The utter failure of anything remotely

called judicious governance, combined with a brutal violation of human rights by secu-rity forces on locals has thoroughly alienated the local people. Repeated opportunities tobuild bridges with the locals by offering them choice of their own governance has beenarrogantly rebuffed by government after government in the state. Today there are 30,000orphans in that battered state, children without either parent. Even the militants sup-posedly espousing the Kashmiti cause have long since turned against the locals.

Moral Ineptitude of the Opposition CongressUnder these circumstances, when the Gujarati Muslim minority was being paid to

pay for the sins committed by Lashkar’s-e-Toyba’s bullets, the party that dons its secu-lar mantle was expected once more to respond and not shun its basic responsibility.

But no Congress leader was to be seen at the time. Many of the team memberswho visited the Limbayat Area and Ved Road Areas in Surat found this despairvoiced by Congress workers themselves.

It was not merely the goon squads of the VHP and the BD but senior functionariesand elected representatives of the BJP, the ruling party in the state who were spear-heading mobs and committing crimes. In Surat, three municipal councillors belong-ing to the BJP were actually arrested by the police for hoarding weapons.

Both the VHP and Bajrang Dal have openly targeted minorities. No citizen hasremained untouched by the damages caused by the bandh. A Hindu youth inSurat when he replied in Urdu to a question posed by rioters was attacked vio-lently. They assumed that he was a Muslim. He died. Other Hindu citizens whowere hesitant to observed the bandh were also attacked. It is a mockery of theIndian Constitution if in the full light of day, citizens are targeted because of theirfaith by communal outfits. Such happenings have been on the increase all over thecountry but are particularly sharply visible in the state of Gujarat where a bla-tantly partisan party rules.

The bandh related crimes were also a systematic precursor to the municipal elec-tions and zilla parishad and panchayat polls due in the following month (September2000). Results of these have however belied what communal organisations believedto be their winning card (see post-script on elections). The tragic massacre ofAmarnath yatris is being viewed by political observers as preparation for the polls;the ‘success’ of the bandh-driven violence evaluated as pre-poll success for the BJP.

The immediate and total payment of compensation, systematic punishnemnt ofthe guilty named in the statewide FIRs and a judicial inquiry into the post-bandhviolence, is what local and national rights’ groups have been demanding, given theserious questions about the conduct of the executive, administration and the ma-chinery. Though compensation has been announced by the state in Surat at least,the amounts being dished out do not in any way reflect the damage.This report on the violence has been collectively published by variousorganisations that include the Quami Ektra Trust, Communalism Combat,Dakshin Gujarat Adivasi Sangh, Vikas Adhyan Kendra, SAMVAD, INSAF,IFIE, SAHRWARU, VOTE and the People’s Union for Human Rights.

9

Since the morning of August 3, 2000 VHP andBajarang Dal activists in the city were movingaround coercing hospitals and any other busi-ness establishments that had remained open toclose down. The areas, normally sensitive dur-ing communal riots, were quiet. A new area ofconcentrated activities for the VHP- BD and SScombine are, the municipal quarters at NarodaRoad where the violence first started.

Their first target was Bombay Bakery, wherethe owner with 15 workers was present, insidehis closed shop. He witnessed a crowd of about2000 personspassing by andheard noises ofheavy stonethrowing duringwhich theydamaged thesign board ofthe bakeryheavily. Accord-ing to the own-ers and the staffof the Bakery,their bakerywas looted lastyear too, duringthe incited violence during the Kargil War, aswell as before that, in 1985 and 1992.

On this road there are about 15 bakeries ownedby Muslims. When the investigation team vis-ited and had lengthy discussions with variousbakery owners who gave the team details of theeconomic background and sustained efforts to ‘getthe Muslim bakeries out of Naroda road.’ Com-petition between the bakeries owned by Muslimsthat were situated on the main road and otherswho had started later but were located on innerlanes was another factor mentioned. A section ofmerchants are interested in buying off the Mus-lims establishments if the traders were to sell

their shops. They are being consistently harassedto sell off and go. Barely a few days ago, a personfrom the Asarva Ward had lodged a false com-plaint allegeing that the bakery owners have il-legal water connections and drain out the entireforce of the water. An inquiry began on the thirdday after it was lodged and resulted in the localinspector of police making threats to the bakeryowners.

Communal elements are sustaining commu-nal tensions in their overt bid to win more votesto the BJP. The wooing of Dalits by communal

outfits and deliberateattempts to fuel aDalits versus Muslimatmosphere was apart of this strategy.Locals interviewedby the investigatingteam informed theteam that just beforethe bandh day therehad been a local skir-mish, on the issue ofparking space for arickshaw, between aHindu and a Muslim.This quarrel was

solved due to the initiative taken by communityelders of either side. On the morning of the nextday after this incident, a young woman, the sis-ter belonging to one of the involved parties inthe earlier incident committed suicide.

According to some locals, who happened to beMuslim, she was beaten by her brother and fa-ther the same morning and accused of “ main-taining contacts with Muslim boys “. Other lo-cals told this team that she did not commit sui-cide but was burnt alive by her own family mem-bers. Others however insisted that it was a clearcase of suicide. After the woman died however,members of both communities living in the quar-

Ahmedabad 

10

ters, (including Muslims) participated in the fu-neral. The shoksabha was attended by every-body the following day.

Thereafter police inquiries began. On thefourth day after the suicide, the VHP and theBajarang Dal circulated pamphlets, with head-ings that read “ Muslims raped and killed a girl“. They collected a mob of 1000 and had anothershoksabha.(condolence meeting) A meeting wascalled by the local BJP MLA in the chawl ofShanti Niwas that inflamed passions and incitedpeople. The police cordoned off the meeting assoon as they were informed.

During this time certain families vacated theirbuildings and left,out of which, two were looted.A large number of Muslims have left theirhouses since then due to the atmosphere of fear.In the above incident, Bajrang Dal leaders wentwith 50 workers and threatened Muslims. Theyspoke with the local police inspector, Shukla ina threatening language. The police expressedan inability to act against the offenders, and, infact, advised Muslims to leave the place. At 1a.m. in the dark of the night, thesepeople had to leave their homes andtake shelter at the railway station.Since then until today the VHP,Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena keep hold-ing intermittent meetings in the area.

When the team visited Naroda roadin connection with the bandh theplace near Asarva Hindi School no. 1where about 10 Muslim families live,they informed the team that theyhave only returned to their homes twodays before. They expressed the feel-ing that the behaviour of their neighbours hasalso changed over the few days they were away..A police naka has been established at thePatravali Masjid, as there were rumours of theseforces breaking it down. One Mr. Sirajbhaiwhose rickshaw was heavily damaged and whostays here also informed the team that theBajrang Dal people come here and conduct meet-ings but if Muslims attended these meetings,they made them go away.

Thereafter the team visited the dargah ofHajarat Sayeed Masoom Ali beneath the bridgeof Amdupura, which is 200 years old. A templeof Chamunda mata is nearby and therefore non-vegetarian eating items are not allowed here.People belonging to all communities visit thedargah. A flowerseller, who sits near the dargahinformed the team that a mob of around 500 per-sons came from the direction of Vijay Mill withswords and sticks shouting slogans like Sri RamJai Ram at 10 a.m. on the morning of August 3,2000 and started breaking the outer wall of thedargah. They then took kerosene from the teastall and burned the dargah. During this time

the mob beated the Mujavar of the dargah withsticks. This bout of violence lasted for 30 min-utes during which three children were injured.During the entire episode not a single policemanor SRP turned from the police station located justopposite the scene of crime bothered to inter-vene..

A shop named Famous Boot House inSaraspur belonging to a person of the DawoodiBohra community was also looted. This shophas been here for 40 years. It has been lootedduring every riot. According to the owner of theshop interviewed by the team, he has an insur-ance of 2 lakhs, but after the last riots in July1999 he has been refused his insurance renewaldespite repeated visits to the insurance companyover 6-7 months. This shop is rented and theoriginal owner is Hindu. This time it was notonly looted but also ransacked, all the furnitureand cupboards were taken out and burned.

These incidents indicate clearly that when agovernment and ruling party of the state is it-self a party to the bandh, it can and does be-

come coercive and it iscriminals who prosper un-der such circumstancesand create further instabil-ity. Who will protect the or-dinary citizen against theviolence committed withthe cooperation of thestate? What can be doneabout the clearcut designto destroy and economi-cally ruin and cripple theminorities by attacking

both their lives and their property? Can the or-der of the Supreme Court where the court hadstated that all the damages or loss be recov-ered from the person or institution that givesthe bandh call, be implemented in Gujarat?

Mute Witnesses to DestructionArmed with information on the attack on a

dargah near Naroda ( at a place calledChamunda char rasta, Ahmedabad ), the teamspotted the durgah immediately and began ourinvestigation there. Mehraj bibi took us to thehouse of her old relative living in that area forthe last 31 years.

It was heartening to see that despite thefuelled tensions, both Muslims and Hindus con-tinued to be living in a residential colony be-hind the demolished dargah, in peace and shar-ing cordial relations and understanding. A Mus-lim woman living in the colony narrated theincidents of the day as follows,” We were insidethe house unaware of anything happening out-side. Suddenly, a group of more than 200 youngmen came charging towards the dargah and

According to the ownerhe has an insurance of2 lakhs, but after thelast riots in July 1999

he has been refused hisinsurance renewal

despite repeated visitsto the insurance com-pany over 6–7 months

11

broke it down. They also set fire to it. We wereunable to do anything about it, but be mute wit-nesses to this upsetting and violent act. Theyoung men did not look any different from otheryouth. Once they had completed their task ofdestruction, they got on to a moving truck andfled the scene.

There is a police chowki just opposite the siteof the destruction, but no policemen came to stopthe mob. It was only after the deed was donethat some senior police officials came out of thechowki and shot still photographs and took videoimages of the remains of the dargah” she said.

Their Hindu neighbour said, “We have beenclose to each other, through thick and thin, formany years now, and we do not want them toleave us. The men shouted ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’as they attacked the Dargah.. No matter whathappens, we are determined to live together asbrethren” she added.

The old Muslim woman witness here then toldus about the violent incidents that had takenplace in the Municipal LabourQuarters near Vijay Mills,Naroda. The team left for theQuarters immediately.

Forced eviction frombirthplace 

The Municipal Quarterswore a deserted look when wereached, considering that evenbefore the violent incidents ofAugust 3 and thereafter,nearly 1/3rd of the populationof the Municipal quarters, all Muslim familieshave vacated in the last few months; all victimsof the enforced ghettoisation of Gujarat’s majorurban areas by the violent brigade of theBajrang Dal, the VHP, politically inspired andsupported by the BJP.

The three lanes inhabited by Muslims in theMunicipal labor quarters wore a deserted look.The SRP constable who was there told the teamthat although there was no immediate problem,the people had left on their own volition fearingviolence, fearing that something untoward mayhappen. He directed us to one house which wasin the process of being evacuated.

It was the house of a 50 year old man whoworks in the ST workshop. He had paid Rs.1.50lacs to his brother only last year to take full own-ership of the property. Speaking on conditionsof anonymity, the couple lamented their woes.”We have known no other home for the last somany wears. The last one-year has been trou-ble for us. A Hindu girl committed suicide inthese quarters and the blame was put squarelyon the Muslim youth here. Ever since then, forthe last 1 year, the Sena activists,(Shiv Sena)

who have even opened a branch here, have beenharassing us to leave our home. All ourneighbors have left and we have been clingingon tenaciously. On the eve of the Bandh, my sis-ter- in-law warned us to leave. We packed ourbags and left and looking back, I feel we did theright thing as no other family which lives herewas attacked”. The man of the house was notpresent when the team was visiting but the win-dows and doors had been broken down and thewomen were in a terrorized state. The womanbeing interviewed by the team continued, “ Ihave three young daughters and cannot live withthe constant agony of not knowing who will at-tack us next. Out of the 60 Muslim families inthe colony of 200 families, there are only about5-6 staying here now and the SRP men also seemto be in connivance with the Sena to evict usfrom our rightful homes. Our plight is pathetic”.

In the same colony, we had heard of anotherwomen who had seen the entire event. We wentto her house hoping for more information, but

found it locked. Another womancalled us and we went there butshe refused to give us the infor-mation fearing repercussions.“Nothing happens to better ourlot anyway. We talk about whathappened to us and then we areleft to face the ire of the partiesinvolved”. She refused to ac-knowledge that there wereproblems in the locality, andsaid that on the eve of thebandh, she had to leave for a

function and did not see anything.Shops RansackedA provision store owned by a Muslim on

Naroda Raod, Ahmedabad was ransacked andlooted, even when it was locked. The owner ofthe shop had not opened the shop, expectingtrouble. He was informed of the fact that hisshop had been broken into by the police, whocould not stop the looters. The shutters of theshop were broken open, grams and oil spoiledgunny bags thrown out. I am leaving, closingshop. The owner said, “ Last year has been ter-rible, and I do not see any improvement here “he said .”

Kalupur Railway StationThe team visited there, but heard that the peo-

ple who had come to the station for their safetyhad left there too and their destination was notknown.

Ahmedabad PoliceIn order to record the police version of the in-

cidents that took place on August 3 and 4, 2000,the investigating team went to the Shaherkotda

The claim of the policeofficer that complaints

of offences had notbeen registered are

belied by the contentsof the FIR obtained bysome members of the

investigating team thatvisited Gujarat

12

Police station, under which the Chamunda area,where a Dargah was broken down and burnt,falls and under whose jurisdiction, Muslims wereattacked in the Municipal Labour Quarters,Naroda. On our first visit, the concerned Policewere not available and we were asked to comeback the next day.

Identifying themselves as part of a fact-find-ing mission, comprising of several organiations,the team spoke to the PI, S.D.Sharma on Au-gust 25, 2000. Mr.Sharma demanded from theman identification of the team on whose behalfthey had come. Reiteratingthat they were part of acollaborative effort, theteam evinced no reply fromhim except his explanationof difficulty in parting withinformation to one and all.He also wanted to knowwho was funding this mis-sion, and if anybody wasbacking the team. Eventu-ally he said that neither henor the P.I. of the stationwere in town where theseincidents had taken place.He however said that therewas stone throwing insome houses in Anidupura(for which he that the vic-tims had not even regis-tered a complaint) and ina Shoe store (Famous BootHouse). The claim of thepolice officer that com-plaints of offences had notbeen registered are beliedby the contents of the FIRobtained by some membersof the investigating teamthat visited Gujarat.

Knowing fully well thata number of other violentincidents had also taken place, the team wentto visit one Noori khalla who lives in the Mu-nicipal labour Quarters, Naroda. She had beena witness to the violence, although she was notdirectly a victim, as one or her Hindu neighbourshad saved her and her family by locking up theirhouse from outside and taken all of them intotheir own home to help them escape. When theteam visited her she was nevertheless packingher bags to leave the place forever.

Noori khalla traced the genesis of the currentround of violence to an incident of September1999. A Marathi Hindu girl Meena living in thequarters had had an affair and become preg-nant. Her family suspected that she had had anaffair with a Muslim boy named Abid living

there, although she swore that she was not in-volved with him. In September 1999, her fam-ily members tied her to the cot and burnt heralive after stuffing cloth in her mouth to stifleher cries. The post-mortem revealed that shehad been gagged, but with the compliance ofsome policemen, the truth was withheld. Abidwas arrested and was later bailed out by hisfamily that has subsequently moved out.Meena’s parents eventually found out that itwas Meena’s cousin who had fathered her childand now as they are on the verge of losing the

case against Abid’sfamily, they are try-ing to work out somecompromise. All thispresent communaltension according tothis witness and an-other Maulvi wholives here (but wasnot present on thenight of theviolence)stemmedfrom this incident.

The pregnant wifeof the Maulvi wasalone at home thatnight when a mobentered the quar-ters. They stonedthe house, enteredthe house forcibly bybreaking up thedoor, broke the TVand damaged anearly installed me-ter, all damagesamounting toroughly Rs13,000.An FIR has beenfiled by the Mauvlibut the damages thepolice have recorded

damages only of Rs. 3000/-.All these incidents, the witnesses examined

by the team said happened because of the opencomplicity and instigation of one Deva, a policeconstable who lives in the same quarters. Hehelps mobs identify Muslim homes, damagesvehicles belonging to Muslims etc and threat-ens the Muslims living there with dire conse-quences if they continue to live there.

In fact, the Maulvi’s house is worth about3,00,000/- which he wants to sell so that he canrelocate. But Deva and his gang make sure thatprospective buyers do not quote more than80,000/- for it. Due to this harassment, theMaulvi has even decided to leave the house attremendous economic devastation for himself

13

and his family. The same is true for the other60 odd Muslim families who live here out of the200 houses. The whole of the last year they havebeen repeatedly harassed, and their houses se-verely damaged. The only reason why they werenever burnt was because it would mean that aneighboring Hindu’s house would also be dam-aged, the persons the team spoke to opined.

When the Maulvi contacted the Commissioner

of Police, Ahmedabad, he was told bluntly bythe senior officer,”Why do you people continueto live here? It is best you move to safer places.“ In the absence of any support or understand-ing from the State machinery, the Muslimfamiliars are doing just that.

The investigating teams visited the affectedareas of Saraspur, Naroda, Kalupur, Bapunagarin Ahmedabad.

14

August 2, 2000The happenings in Surat epitomized what

took place in all of Gujarat following the kill-ings of Amarnath yatris near Pahalgam on Au-gust 1. Soon after the call for the bandh wasgiven by the international general secretary ofthe Vishwa Hindu Parishad(VP), PraveenTogadia in a press conference at Amedabad at3.30 p.m. on August 2, the rank and file of boththe VHP and Bajrang Dal, ably supported byelected representa-tives of the BJPswung into action,and blatantly de-clared their inten-tions for the follow-ing day. Given theiropen declarations ofintent, the failure ofthe police to takepreventive actionagainst them raisescrucial questions ofgovernance on aparty and govern-ment being increas-ingly held to ran-som by it’s own hitsquads.

In a live interview to a local Surti channel, Eye-witness, at 11.30 a.m. the night before the bandh(August 2), Raju Desai, leader of the Bajrang Dal,when asked pointedly what his organisationplanned to do the next day, had declared, “To-morrow, we will create problems here, 100 peo-ple have been killed at the border.”

August 3, 2000At 9 a.m. at the Arya Samaj Hall at Varaccha

Road at a meeting called by the activists of theBajrang Dal, local journalists were eyewitnessesto the BD’s plan of action for the day. Nikhil Shah,of Pratinidhi, a local newspaper, interviewed bythe investigating team, revealed how a meetingof the Bajrang Dal held at Varaccha Road with

400 activists present, had a leader of the BajrangDal, instructing groups of 50 volunteers with theresponsibility of a particular area, all of whom weregiven a specific brief, “ “Dhamal karavi ( Createtrouble). If shops are open, shut them down; whereshops are already shut, destroy the Muslim-ownedones.” The groups left after being armed with ironrods, lathis and other instruments.

The investigating team interviewed NayanShah, chief reporter of Pratinidhi, Feroz Mallick,

Pragnesh andNikhil Shah belong-ing to the same pa-per, Arif Moham-med belonging toMid-day, andMahesh Patel corre-spondent of the Fi-nancial Express.

All thesemediapersons ex-pressed concern atthe growing rolethat sections of theGujarati mediawere playing in fo-menting communalpassions in Surat,especially. The

names of publications of this kind mentioned in-cluded Dhapkar (the team later interviewed it’seditor, Mayur Phatak, who’s brother, DineshPhatak and Rajul Risldar were both arrestedonly days before the bandh-related violence bythe Surat police), Gujarat Samachar, Sandeshand even a publication like Gujarat Mitra thatfollowed a mixed policy, rational at one level andpartisan on other pages.

However, two letters to the editor authoredby one R.K.Gandhi and Amit Gajjiwalla,powerloom owners belonging to the majoritycommunity and published by Gujarat Mitrawere repeatedly mentioned by persons inter-viewed by the team. In these letters, the

Surat

An old man and his wife being threatened by a young man with a trishulin front of the Navapura police chowkey in Surat on Thursday, Aug 3

Express photo by Dharmesh Joshi

15

powerloom owners, who were witness to the sys-tematic targeting of Muslim-owned looms theday of the bandh in Surat, testified to this andexpressed shame and outrage against thisgameplan of the VHP-BD-BJP.

The correspondent of the Financial Expressinterviewed by the team interpreted the currentround of violence, once again as ‘outsiders ver-sus Surat inhabitants’, a factor that had there-after taken a distinctly communal turn. Dia-mond workers who hail from Saurashtra (andincidentally inhabit the Varaccha road area) arelarge in number (7 lakhs) and the union is con-trolled by the Bajrang Dal. These were the sec-tions incited specifically by these organizations tolaunch fullscale attacks on the bandh day accord-ing to this version.

By 5 p.m. on the evening of August 2, thebandh had been officially ammounced, even inSurat. In the Bhagal area, around 5.30 p.m., aMaulvi riding on a scooter with a baby waspassing by when a couple of activists belongingto the VHP-Bajrang Dal whohad come right into this predomi-nantly Muslim area to ‘burn aneffogy of Pervez Musharraf’ werebeaten up. The Maulvi was alsobeaten up in the skirmish whilethe baby was unhurt.

The bandh was total in areaslike Limbayat, Bharanwat,Vishramnagar, Dawatsagar

Avdhoot housing society,Pakeezah Society, Pandol Indus-trial estate, Limbda chowk

Chautabazar (a readymadegarment bazaar) in Surat. Yet,still the scouring mob attackedand burnt down two silver plazas and it has beenofficially announced that 30 large commercialestablishments in these areas already shutdown, were destroyed. The Jhanpa Bazar area,a predominantly Bohra area behind Bhagal re-mained largely peaceful. At Chautabazar amongthe larger shops burnt were Sonica, Sagar, Datar(Sonica is a shop owned by one Mr. Kazi; thisand all other establishments forcibly destroyedin Surat on August 3, 2000 were shops owned byMuslims). By 11-11.30 a.m. on that day, all theshops had been looted and burnt.A carefully planted rumour that the investigat-ing team was informed of from a wide variety ofpersons interviewed by it was that Commis-sioner of Police (CP), Surat, Kuldip Sharma hadgiven instructions to his force to ‘disarm them-selves’ the day prior to the bandh. Not only didthe Police Commissioner tell the team that thiswas an ‘utter lie’ but he even attributed motivesbehind such a rumour to his detractors.The CP, Surat in fact enjoys a reputation of be-

ing a no-nonsense, tough officer completelyuninfluenced by politicians.His timely action in evacuating 2,000 residentsof Vishramnagar to safety meant that lives couldbe saved even if homes and properties were de-stroyed. His stern steps at the height of the vio-lence in arresting three elected representativesof the BJP, Prajapati and Varodia also sentdown the requisite message.However, reports collected by the investigatingteam that revealed careful and systematic plan-ning of the violence at a meeting on Varaccharoad (Arya Samaj road) were not traced by po-lice intelligence.

Around 11. 30 a.m. after 30 major commer-cial establishments in the Chautabazar area hadbeen gutted completely, local journalists re-corded the case of a Hindu boy being beaten upseverely in the Saudagar area that is predomi-nantly Muslim. This incident was blown out ofall proportion by the media, especially GujaratSamachar and Dhapkar.

Apart from the system-atic arson of commercialestablishments belong-ing to one religious com-munity in the commer-cial parts of Surat, thereis no spot likeVishramnagar to illus-trate the venom and de-struction that the politicsof identity can drive hu-man beings too.

The team visited thisarea that, incidentally,had also been victim tobrutal violence and arson

during the post-Babri Masjid demolition violencein December 1992. (The selective gang rape ofMuslim women in this city by politicians belong-ing to the BJP had brought the nation shame).Of the 25-30 homes-cum-businessessmashed and gutted on August 3, 2000,each one of these had also suffered a simi-lar fate in 1992.

Local inhabitants of Vishramnagar from themajority community wholeheartedly defendedand supported the victim-survivors. The ma-rauders came from across the road.

The small pocket of Vishramnagar in thiswhole area is the only area that continues tohouse some Muslims; the rest have been forced,after 1992, to move to Muslim dominated ar-eas. Enforced ghettoisation, a live sociologicalfactor in most parts of Gujarat was markedlyvisible to the team from it’s visit in Surat.

Ghulam Memon, a social worker from the area, individual survivors still shell shocked by theextent of the destruction, were the persons in-

In a live interview to a localSurti channel, Eyewitness, at11.30 a.m. the night beforethe bandh (August 2), RajuDesai, leader of the BajrangDal, when asked pointedly

what his organisation plannedto do the next day, had de-clared, “Tomorrow, we willcreate problems here, 100

people have been killed at theborder.”

16

terviewed by the investigating team.Ghulam Memon said that on August 3, the

day of the bandh and the systematic arson thatbegan in Vishramnagar around 3.30 p.m. andcontinued unabated for four hours (at least sixinches deep of cement in the ceiling had beenbroken down, requiring ‘hard’ work of at least3-4 hours). At the outset when the attack en-sued, Memon himself contacted Commissionerof Police, Kuldip Sharma, the Gujarat statehome minister, Haren Pandya and union homeminister, L.K.Advani (Memon read out bothPandya’s and Advani’s mobile telephone num-bers to illustrate that he had actually done that)to try and get immediate pro-tection.

According to what Memontold the investigating team,the commissioner of policerepeatedly assured residentsof Vishramnagar that he wassending contigents for thehelp and protection of resi-dents under attack but theapproaching roads from thecity to Vishramnagar hadbeen entirely blocked by largebarrels by the BD-VHP-BJPsquads suggesting planningright down to the minutestdetail by the assailants.

The investigating teamalso interviewed GaneshPrajapati, former BJP mu-nicipal councilor who hadbeen arrested by the Suratpolice for possession of weap-ons along with SureshVarodia, another BJPcouncilor, on August 4.

The entire demeanor of this BJP politicianwas shamefaced and shattered as if he had beenwrongly implicated for carrying of weapons ofthe police. He attributed all the violence to therumours circulated that ‘our people are killedat the border, and Muslims are responsible forthis.’ The police too provokes people, he said butasserted not once but again and again throughthe interview that ‘what the Bajrang Dal is do-ing is wrong.’

When the team pointedly questioned himabout the worldview of the RSS and other sanghparivar outfits on the Hindu-Muslim question,he says that ‘it is possible that the samaj drishtiof the RSS is wrong. Where after all will somany Muslims go? ‘ He further added, ‘Thereis our government in the Centre and our gov-ernment in the state. Why then must we haveenforced violence? This kind of politics is notgoing to work.’

The team also interviewed Mayur Pathak, edi-tor of Dhapkar, accused of both communal writ-ing and yellow journalism by many Surat resi-dents. Mayur Dhapkar was arrested two weekslater by the Surat police.

In his own words, this is he how he recountedthe sequence of events.

On August 3, 2000, the day of the bandh, therewas violence and stone throwing in Chautabazarwhere 2/3 Vohraji (Muslim) shops were brokendown and goods destroyed. After that a 14 yearold boy was stabbed to death in Saudagar. Whatfollows was a spate of stabbings of 10 personsin one hour that followed.

On the night of August3-4,2000, in an entirely un-connected incident, due tointernal infighting be-tween warring factions ofthe ruling BJP, a BJPMLA, Sharda Srivastava’shusband was killed (by asection of his own party).The same night the policearrested both GaneshPrajapati and SureshVarodia, local BJPcorporators.

According to Pathak,there were 20 stabbings overtwo days leading to muchanger in ‘our people’. MayurPathak, the editor of anewspaper in Surat spokeclearly as a Hindu when hesaid that there was a great‘aakrosh’ in people, for theyatris going to ‘our templeand who had been killed.’‘What kind of country do

we live in that cannot protect it’s ‘own’ people?’About 5-7000 persons belonging to the BajrangDal epitomized this aakrosh and acted on it.

Mayur Pathak was very critical of the Suratpolice who according to him did not take pre-ventive action in the suspect areas even thoughthey had 17-18 hours prior notice of impendingviolence. Why did the police not man theSaudagar, the Ved road, Vishramnagar areasthat had been affected in 1992. Why were thesetwo areas left alone?

When the team directly questioned him aboutallegations of the media’s partisan and provoca-tive role by deliberately flashing selectively onlyphotographs of the stabbings on the front pageand not giving similar weightage to the destruc-tion of property and businesses belonging to theminority community, Pathak said that the news-paper was only dealing with facts.One particularly obnoxious report published by

17

Pathak in Dhapkar, soon after the killing ofAmarnath yatris on August 1 ran like this, “TheGovernment has become impotent. It is time forHindus to rise..because we have a Hindu gov-ernment that is not a Hindu government.’ !Role of Police.To the credit of the CP, Surat, Sharma, Pathakwas not only charged under section 153 a ofthe Indian Penal Code but actually arrestedfor the crime within ten days of the incident,an action that again goes directly to the creditof the police leadership. He was thereafter re-leased on bail by the Court but the law andorder machinery is now committed to pursu-ing action against him.The action of charging and arresting an editorof a paper, Dhapkar, for inflammatory writingbrought forward a mixed reaction from the Suratmedia that, instead of taking an ethical standon the issue actually brought pressure to bearon the Surat Journalists Association to condemnthe action as an attack on the freedom of ex-pression! Is the freedom of expression, the basicright enjoyed by journalists and publications,not subject to basic provisions of Indian crimi-nal law, in this case the sections meant to as-sure public decency and not inflame sections tocommit violence against others ?Within three days of Pathak’s arrest, the SJAtook a half-hearted rally against the police’s firmaction and even presented a memorandum toCP, Sharma on the matter.The duplicity in the media’s action was in factsummed up by a senior journalist to a memberof the investigating team, quite succinctly, “Ashuman beings we were very happy, but as jour-nalists we protested the action that was againstthe freedom of expression!!”Is being a journalist and a human being anathema,then?CP, Surat, Kuldip Sharma is credited amongothers for his tough attitude on criminals thathad made life miserable for ordinary people. Thedeath of three criminals, Dilip Maratha, ArifAhmedabadi and Farooq Munsi was mentionedby some persons; these encounter deaths (ironi-cally!) had reduced crime rates in the city andmade life easier for the ordinary person.More than anything else, the politicisation ofthe Ganapati visarjan procession in Surat fromthe nineties has led to the contribution of anacutely communally tense situation at the time.A particular spot that the procession traversesat Limbayat is where the problems have alwaysbeen provoked. In September 1999, Sharma’spresence as CP saw his no-nonsense attitudeextend to this issue also; he simply refused toallow the blatantly provocative behaviour of theprocessionists at Limbayat to continue; when

they refused to co-operate with the law and or-der machinery, firing was ordered that resulted inthe unfortunate death of 7 processionists. This cou-rageous and even ‘audacious’ action (described byordinary residents of Surat) by the men in uniformhad led to aggression and ire expressed by Hinducommunal outfits who continued to put pressure onthe existing leadership to effect ‘revenge’ on the CP.

If at all the actions of the Surat police couldbe faulted on August 3-6, 2000 it was in the

If the police wants to be neu-tral, it can be neutral.

Commissioner of Police, Surat,Kuldip Sharma

Q. Your actions, arresting BJP corporatorsat the height of the violence has meritedfavourable comment. Will the required fol-low-up action be taken?A. They will all be charge-sheeted.

Q. Is it difficult for the law and ordermachinery to function professionally in asituation where there are groups function-ing out of the pale of the law and obvi-ously enjoying the protection of the politi-cal leadership in the state?A. If the police wants to be neutral, it can beneutral. If the police wants to cave in andcome under pressure, it will come under pres-sure. For us it did not matter who and whatthe political bosses wanted, we are doing ourjob professionally, without fear or favour.

Q. There was a carefully planted rumourthat you had issued orders to your force todisarm itself on the day of the bandh ?A. This is absolutely false. How can a riotbe controlled without arms? We brought theriot under control in record time, under 48hours. If we were not armed could we havedone that? Not only was it a rumour but avery silly rumour put out to discredit us.

Q. What could have been the motive be-hind spreading such a rumour?A. I have several detractors. If someone isdoing alright, pull him down; that is theunfortunate attitude. In 1992, 250 personswere massacred, may be they wanted arepeat of that sort of carnage? This timewe brought things under control quickly.They could not repeat 1992 in Surat.(Interview given telephonically to the in-vestigation team)

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realm of collecting adequate intelligence of sys-tematic planning of attacks by BD-VHP-BJPleaders from the evening before. Firm actionagainst many perpetrators of the violence wasinitiated thereafter, however.Surat MediaThe acute sensationalism and even,criminalisation of the mainstream media inSurat came up for sharp mention in a variety ofpersons interviewed by the team. The media warthat scales sensational-cum-communal heightshinges as senior journalist, Naeem Kadri (edi-tor of Newscart) and President of the Surat Jour-nalists’ Association puts it, on vying for the 7lakh readership (out of Surat’s population of 30lakhs) living at Varaccha Road. All these read-ers are workers in the diamond cutting indus-try and hail fromSaurashtra (and were inci-dentally held largely re-sponsible for the commu-nal violence of December1992).The Sandesh newspaperclaims a readership of1,26,000, the GujaratSamachar of 1,20,000 with the Gujarat Mitra (thesecond oldest newspaper in the country after theMumbai Samachar) having a readership of60,000. Other publications like Dhapkar,Navgujarat Times, Loktej and Pratinidhi enjoya readership of about 3,000 each.The powerful claims of the readership locatedat Varaccha Road were aptly illustrated throughthis example by Naeem Kadri. In January 2000,the collapse of an illegal building under construc-tion that led to nine persons being killed broughta prompt response from the chief minister,Keshubhai Patel. Within hours of the tragedy,

the CM announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakhseach for the victims’ families.However an equally or more tragic incident, theburning alive of 21 persons (20 of them womenand children at a Vastrupoojan in August 2000brought forward not even a rupee promised incompensation ! The reason, according to Kadriwas the fact that the victims were poor,Maharashtrians living in the Rander area (ob-viously no political capital for the powers thatbe). When a senior journalist, Sanjay Shah, cor-respondent of the Abhiyaan weekly rang up hiscolleagues in the larger, Gujarati dailies to urgethat they raise this unfair issue through theircolumns, their response was “You have gonemad!” This purely commercial and unprincipledattitude of the media has coloured reportage and

comment of major dailiesin the city.

Politics of ViolenceMore than one person

interviewed by the inves-tigating team quoted thewords of SuryakantAcharya, a BJP ideologuewho referred to the

bandh-related violence as chutni nu kaam (elec-tion related job!) The zilla Parishad and munici-pal corporation elections due in September 2000were seen to be the major impetus behind theVHP-BD-BJP’s strident and violent politics inearly August. The fact that the election resultsbelied the certainty that communal polarizationwould mean a resounding victory for the BJP isclear from the poll results (see annexure on elec-tion results). However it does not take away fromthe cynical politics played by politicians in power–using communalism and narrow identity-driven politics merely and only for power.

To the credit of the CP, Surat,Sharma, Pathak was not only

charged under section 153 a ofthe Indian Penal Code but actu-

ally arrested for the crimewithin ten days of the incident

19

Located 32 kms from Khedbrahma ofSabarkantha district and about 7 kms fromKheroj, on the banks of Sabarmati surroundedby beautiful hillocks this village shares its grampanchayat with five villages and has elevenmembers in the panchayat. The position of thesarpanch is reserved for adivasis. The villagehas a total population of about 2000 out of whichthere are 512 Muslim voters. This village is alsothe main market for the surrounding 45 villages.The population ratio in the village betweenHindu and Muslim is 60:40. About 70% of thebusiness is controlled by the Muslims while 30%is controlled by Hindus. It is pertinent to notethat the attacks on Mus-lims were carried out byadivasis but no adivasis re-side in the village.

On August 3, 2000 theday of the Gujarat bandh,a person belonging toBajrang Dal working as aclerk in the Khedbrahmacollege along with his ac-complices and some stu-dents of college looted theshops belonging to Muslimsafter provoking the local people. Thereafter theyforcibly took away two buses, and brought inadivasis from nearby villages into Lambadia.

According to the version elicited by the inves-tigating team from local witnesses and victimsof the violence, many adivasis from nearby vil-lages had been incited and provoked by casteHindus over the past year, rupturing a long-last-ing amicable relationship between tribals andMuslims. When the adivasis were brought intoLambadia village on August 3, 2000 there wasmuch slogan shouting and noise. In meetingsoutside the village proper, provocative wordswere uttered and their ‘operation’ explained tothe adivasis. “ Muslims are Pakistanis, theyhave killed your brothers and they amassedwealth by improper means and therefore you

should rob them. Police will not do anything,we did the same at Idar where the police willuse teargas shells, but you should throw themin the water.”

Following this incitement and systematic de-sign, on August 3, 4 and 5, ten Muslim shops andsix residences were ransacked and looted, threetrucks and two jeeps were burnt, and another twojeeps were damaged. A local idgah was also dam-aged and in the nearby villages of Ganva, Malvasand Bhuridharpad also, Muslim homes werelooted. The investigating team met residents ofthe village belonging to both communities whoreiterated that there was no enmity between

them. Systematic in-citement by leaderswho wish to politicizeidentity and captureseats is the main mo-tive behind the bandh-related violence.

This excessivepoliticization of iden-tity and religion hasdramatically im-pinged on culturalevents with festivals

acquiring a military and violent imagery: thelast Dassera saw members of the Bajrang Dal,the VHP and the BJP marching in a public rallywith swords, trishul and hockey sticks. In short,there have been systematic attempts to keep thelocal atmosphere threatening and tense,accomopanied by a desire to fester animosity be-tween adivasis and Muslims.

According to the information made availableto the team all the faiths have been allotted landfor setting up their religious places withinLambadia. The rate for this land is Rs. 200/-per sq. ft. Survey no. 66 which is about 1 km.away from the village a land classified forGauchar (for grass eating animals) was allot-ted to Muslims by then sarpanch, NathabhaiPrajapati 18 years ago, in 1981 after a resolu-

Lambadia

20

tion was passed backing his decision in thepanchayat. The Bajrang Dal and VHP volun-teers attacked and ransacked this idgah lastyear. During this attack on a minority place ofworship, they placed an idol of Hanuman insideit, and local Muslims were suddenly told thatsince this land was disputed, they should giveup their right and except new land.

Following this controversy, Muslims have nowbeen allotted land being survey no. 34, which isquite far from the village. Presently, legal papersare being prepared for allotting the same in thename of Lambadia Tahardi Meman Jamat. Ac-cording to the information withmembers of this jamat, whereasland was previously released tomembers of different faiths free,now the department has assessedits value at Rs. 2 Lakh. This newIdgah was also damaged in theviolent attacks of August 3, andsince last year could pray onlywith police protection.

The VHP and the BajrangDal have been successful intheir plan to exploit economiccompetition between caste Hin-dus and use this factor to forcethe latter to evacuate the village. The local po-lice with help from the SRP finally controlled theexplosive situation only after three days. A strongresentment against police inaction was expressedby Muslim leaders. The constant refrain was thatthe Memon Jamat (mainly traders) and Adivasishave been trading and enjoying a cordial andharmonious relationship that can be traced back100 years. It was some politically and economi-cally motivated persons who began theKhedbramha Kharid-Vechan Sangh aimed atcrippling Muslims financially.

The effort received poor response and had tobe closed thrice, as the village shops owned byMuslim traders sold goods at a cheaper rate,then the Sangh.

In response to the acute drought, the MemonSamaj passed a resolution to sell corn (makai)on a no-profit no-loss basis. In pursuance of thisprinciple, corn available at the wholesale mandisin Ahmedabad at Rs. 216 per five kilograms wasmade available by the local Muslim traders atjust Rs. 220 for the same amount whereas theSangh was selling the same at Rs. 240. It wasnatural that villagers would prefer to buy fromthe traditional village shops. Many locals inter-viewed by this team also opined that the onlyreason why adivasis were tempted to loot fromtheir homes and shops, to such a large extent,

was because the BJP-run state government hadstopped all drought relief work after July 31(es-timated to cause a loss of Rs. 40 lakhs for all thepersons who may have benefited from it). “ It isnot surprising that a hungry man would do any-thing,” Muslim leaders remarked. According toan Adivasi leader also interviewed by this team,they are repenting after the attacks, becausethey have realized that the Muslim Memons whohave been the local traders for centuries haveleft. Will they ever return?

Role of GovernmentMuslim leaders interviewed by the team re-

counted the despair and be-trayal they experienced dueto the callous and insensi-tive attitude of the authori-ties. On August 3 and 42000, they repeatedly ap-proached the local police, re-questing for protection forfear of their lives and be-longings. Already the at-mosphere was threateningand the terrible attacks hadbegun. But the police andeven the administration didnot take the request seri-

ously. The police were themselves attacked by aviolent mob on August 5 at which point an officergave the order to fire following which two Adivasiswere killed. On August 4 itself, community lead-ers from the village went and met high-rankingofficers to inform them that they are willing tomigrate as the government has failed in protect-ing the lives and belongings!

At that time they saw that the main accusedJagdish Taral, local Bajrang Dal president wassitting with the IG Gahlot and other high-rank-ing officers and chatting, along with 10-15 otheraccomplices. (In spite of the fact that FIR no. 42/2000 dated 3/8/2000 mentions, Jagdish Taral,president Bajrang Dal as the main accused alongwith 400 workers of Bajarang Dal), just a day laterhe is found sitting in close camaraderie with IGGahlot and other senior officers! What were thevictim survivors to make of this open complicity?They couldn’t understand whether police was handin glove with them or were unable to do anything.

Four complaints have been filed in the policestation at Poshi and one at Khedbramha policestation due to this. Muslims experience deep in-security due to the irresponsible behavior andinaction on the part police. When the team vis-ited the village 80% Muslims had left the villageand the rest were thinking of migrating on a per-manent basis, never to return to their birthplace.

According to the versionelicited by the investigatingteam from local witnessesand victims of the violence,many adivasis from nearby

villages had been incited andprovoked by caste Hindus

over the past year, rupturing along-lasting amicable rela-

tionship between tribals andMuslims.

21

Modasa town, in Sabarkantha District hashad an unfortunate history of several incidentsof communal riots over the past 30 years. Thetown has a sizable percentage of Muslims (46%), the rest being Hindus. Many of the Muslimsare engaged in trade and have prospered overthe years in the transport business.

Riots broke out in Modasa town on the eveningof the August 3, 2000, the day the bandh callwas given by the international secretary of theVishwa Hindu Parishad and supported by theruling party, the BJP, in the State. The team’sinvestigation found that elements owingallegience to either the VHP, the BJP or the RSS,or all three who weremoving around thetown threatening shop-keepers to down shut-ters had expressed an-ger about several Mus-lim traders who refusedto heed the call. Fur-ther, traveling news ofattacks on Muslim es-tablishments and evenhomes in other parts ofSabarkantha (particu-larly Lambadiya) seemto have fuelled the urge of volunteers coercivelysupporting the bandh call, especially those be-longing to the Bajrang Dal, for action, in a bidto use the occasion ‘to teach a lesson to the mi-nority communities.’

In the backdrop of this tense and atmospherelaced with communal discourse and its hiddenundertones, actual riots or violence broke outafter a routine scuffle between youth in theModasa College on August 3. Mr. Sanjay Patel(Bhuriya), president of local Bajrang Dal had ascuffle with Muslim youth near the college.Sanjay is known among the students as a hand-some, good-looking guy out flirting with girls inthe college campus. He was rusticated in 1988with several other students of SYBA after be-ing found to be involved in an organised copy-

ing racket in the school. Though not a regular,full-time student, but one who’s partial exami-nations are still due, he is regularly to be foundon the college campus along with other lumpenelements teasing girls and according to somepersonal testimonies, singling out Muslim boysfor his ire. From the accounts that this teamwas able to collect, it would appear that he ispolitically ambitious, having chosen to climb thepolitical ladder with the help of Hindutva- drivenpolitics. He is well off economically and is, pres-ently, a distributor of AMWAY home-products(a direct home-marketing US-based, multina-tional company).

As everywhere else,the politics of theModasa College has itsown political situationand atmosphere,which on this occasionspilled out of the cam-pus, causing riots.Sanjay Patel and hisgang of Hindu boys ap-pear by many accountsto enjoy the protectionand direct support ofmany of the professors

on the campus who happen also to belong tomajority community. The principal, witnesseswe spoke to tell us, is too weak to enforce disci-pline in the campus. Within this already polar-ized atmosphere, Muslim boys also have theirown group to protect their interests. They feel,distinctly that they are discriminated againstby the staff and the gang of Sanjay Patel andvocally resent it. It was within this overall com-munally volatile and polarized atmosphere,acutely accentuated by the bandh call given bythe VHP and supported by the ruling BJP thatthe violent incidents of August 3 must be situ-ated and located.

On the afternoon of August 3, there was a vio-lent scuffle and Sanjay was attacked with knivesand sticks, allededly by a Muslim youth. His

Modasa

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friends from the college rescued him. After be-ing taken to the local police station, the policewas registering a simple case while he insistedand thereafter pressurized them to invoke sec-tion 307 of the Indian Penal Code (attempt tomurder). It was when the local police refusedthat the quarrel ensued.

During this scuffle, more than 200 persons—leaders and supporters – of groups like theVHP, BD and BJP (sangh parivar), also includ-ing the local BJP MLA and a few corporators,gathered near the police station and fuelled thetension. A few policemen present in the policestation could have at this stage easily managedto disperse the crowd, Choosing not to do so how-ever, police inaction at this stage got compoundedwith this incident pertaining to ayoung Muslim, Farukh Shethdriving past the police station onhis motorcycle. He was caught bythe crowd. Abandoning his motor-cycle, he rushed into the police sta-tion even as the crowd had becomebusy setting the motorcycle onfire. When he began complainingto the surrounding police, he wastold to shut up by them and thankthem, instead for saving his life.

During this period, rumours ofimpending riots and violence spread like wild-fire in this small town and all shopkeepers shutdown their shops and moved into their homes.It was then that the crowd assembled at theModasa police station, led also by a BJP MLAand corporators moved away from the policestation and began systematically looting and at-tacking Muslim shops. Five shops were badlydestroyed. The assaulters even had tractors withthem to facilitate the take away of truck-loadsof loot: refrigerators, TVs, electronic items, etc.They were also well-equipped with kerosene/pet-rol cans and highly inflammable chemicals toenable them to burn the shops down after theloot.

The shops so destroyed in Modasa were:1. Mayur Novelty2. Mayur footwear3. Tip Top Tailors4. M G Cutpieces clothshop5. Patiwala Electronics and a roadside galla.Mr. A H Patiwalla, owner of the largest elec-

tronic shop in Modasa was interviewed by theteam. He told us that, prior to August 3, he hadstocked a large number expensive electronicsitems as they were into sale-by-instalmentschemes. On that fateful day, however, everythingwas looted and his shop was completely burntdown.. It has been so badly destroyed that he willhave to even re-do the wall plasters and flooring.

The rampaging crowd, led by a BJP MLA andcorporators belonging to the same party, evenburnt a galla opposite the Patiwalla electronicsshop, the Sargam bangles’ shop owned by a Mus-lim. However in the arson, six other galas linedclose to this one and that happened to belong toHindus —with their owners involved in tailor-ing, shoemaking etc.— also got burnt in thesame incident. All these gallas were located ona hawking plot handed over to these poor arti-sans by the government only recently, despitepressures to the contrary from a Departmentalstore behind it (called Hiralal Bhavan).

Interestingly, the owners of Hiralal Bhavanowners have obtained a stay on the re-buildingof any of these gallas after the riots. As one lo-

cal person quipped to the inves-tigating team, “This quick stayorder by the Jain owners, theburning of cabins of Hindus andMuslims .... what does it indi-cate? Are the ruling party fel-lows in VHP & Bajrang Dal in-stigated and funded by big mer-chants to drive away poor hawk-ers?”

Soon after this first incidenton August 3 at Modasa, a mobattacked shops situated near

Kalupur Tower. A huge saw mill, printing press,cement & steel shop and many shops were lootedand burnt. The mob again had, once again, comeprepared with sufficient weaponry consiostingof both inflammables to burn and tractors to lootthereafter.

A total of ten shops and eight houses facedthe wrath of the aggressors obviously armedwith a systematic plan.

The well-stocked Vasant Saw Mill lost overRs. 25 lakh worth of precious wood in raw ma-terial and finished good. Most of the wood wasburnt to cinders. Two Hindu shop-kepepers (ten-ants) also lost everything, as they were locatedin-between in the rows of shops that were tar-geted, on property owned by Mr. MohammedAmin Sheth & Bros.

The mob looted the Modasa Steel & CementDepot of Mr. Suleman Puskiwala, which wasstocked with large quantities of foodgrains usedto supply these goods to other shops in the town.

Terrified by the suddenness and brutality ofthe attack, his family living upstairs above thedepot, had to use dupattas to climb down 1-2floors from behind. The families of his threesons, all with small kids had to similarly es-cape, climbing down dangerously. Young Habibwho was one of those who jumped landed witha fractured leg.

The entire extended Puskiwala family fledwith others who had been targeted, leaving

It was then that thecrowd assembled at theModasa police station,led also by a BJP MLAand corporators movedaway from the police

station and began sys-tematically looting andattacking Muslim shops

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Modasa on that day itself.They tried and tried on that day to summon

help from firebrigades from the nearby towns ofAhmedabad, Mehsana, and other nearby cities.In each case the firebrigade stations and vansreported that they were physically supported bymobs (allegedly mobilised by the same sanghparivar groups) in Dahansura, a town close by,pointing to depth of planning laced with venomthat was behind this communal attack.

Sanjay Patel, is the key actor in this town re-couping from a fractured leg in the governmenthospital when he met the team. He told the teamthat a part of Modasa was a mini-Pakistan. Hesaid in this interview that there were severalISI agents, who received training from Pakistan,but added that he had no solid proof to substan-tiate his allegations to his friends in the govern-ment. He was visited in the hospital by manyleading people from the town and state, in-cluding a Minister and thevice-president of VHP(Gujarat). They all pledgedsupport for his cause to exter-minate Muslims.

He also said that he wasgrateful to all his friends andsupporters from the Hinducommunity who expressed soli-darity with him and rioted onAugust 3. However he alsoadded that he believed thatnot all Muslims are bad, atleast 5 % of them are good and are his friends.When the team sarcastically observed that, go-ing by his deeds and the current happeningsin the town, he would soon become and MLAof BJP, he and all his family beamed with hap-piness. He replied, however, that he had lotmore to do before he could achieve that posi-tion and stature!

The Muslim traders who had been targetedand lost everything told us that all this was afeud by the BJP to capture both the MP andMLA seats held by the Congress. The Congresswas too weak and fractured to even respond tothe riots and the challenges posed by such de-structive force like the VHP, BD and BJP. Theyfelt strongly that the Congress leadership wasmisled by the communal elements, within theCongress. The local Congress strongman Mr.Amarsingh Chaudhary (leader of Opposition inthe state’s Vidhan Sabha) had visited the area,but had failed until then to even make even arepresentation to the government.

The survivors felt that he is too politicallyscared to make an issue lest he looses his tribalbase (which he has anyway lost after the recentcommunal mobilisation).

Further, most of the targeted businessmen

whom this team interviewed repeatedly pointedto the systematic prior planning that was be-hind each criminal incident. How else could allthe stocks of inflammables and tractors arrivebang on time?

The Muslims were acutely disappointed withthe response of the Congress party. Nishaben,their local MP has not turned up to visit andconsole them. Another Congressman, and a Mus-lim, Irzad Mirza has not yet shown his face. Inthis situation, during the elections, the Muslimssaid that they may abstain from voting.

However it was felt that a large section ofthe Hindus would vote on communal lines forthe sangh parivar candidate. Hence persons feltthat the election resulted could already be pre-dicted and this was exactly what the saffronbrigade wants.

All in all, 63 persons and their families werevictims of the systematic arson and rioting , los-

ing their property in shops orhouses, looted and burnt inModasa alone. Over Rs. 1.5 croreworth property was looted or de-stroyed. Only 20% of this was in-sured. Of the total of 63 proper-ties, only 12 belonged Hindus, ofwhich six were directly targets ofthe raging fire lit to destroyeneighbouring Muslim shops,while the rest, about six, werethose destroyed in retaliation bysome enraged Muslims.

The role of the police in the whole affair inModasa is questionable. They watched in silentcompliance as the assaulters carried out theircalculated tasks, thereafter attempting somefeeble patwork measures. All of these actionsindicate that the local police is under the com-plete sway of the current political dispensation,compromising it’s professional image.

Due to mounting pressures from influentialBJP, they were forced to register a section 307case several hours later against Sanjay Patel’sassaulters. Although in his interview, he toldus that he did not recognise anyone who hit himand the police did not conduct any witness pa-rade, the police notwithstanding, had arrestedfive Muslim youth ( thereafter released on bailby the courts).

The police also later arrested several Hindus,involved in rioting including a local corporator anda director of a co-operative Bank. It is reportedthat police parties have been combing the sur-rounding areas for the stolen goods. The villagerswhen cornered by the police have been throwingthings like fridges, TV sets etc., in the wells.

However at the time of the committal of thecrimes, the police were mute spectators to thelooting and burning of shops, all of which took

Sanjay Patel, was visitedin the hospital by manyleading people from the

town and state, includinga Minister and the vice-

president of VHP(Gujarat). They all pledged

support for his cause toexterminate Muslims

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place just a stone’s throwaway from the main policestation. The confidenceand assurance with whichthe offenders have actedindicates clearly that theyhad received a silent li-cense f rom the local police-men who appear to haveinformed the professionalrobbers that they can lootthe shops and get awaywith it.

There is fear still among the minorities that theyare not safe to live among the majority commu-nity, especially in the villages (Lambadiya, Meghrajvillages, where their shops have been looted andhouses have been burned down and the BajrangDal activists are after their blood). Who will pro-tect their lives and ensure their livelihood?

Apart from demand-ing compensation forthe victims of the riotsfor their losses, we needto demand that the lo-cal policemen who werepresent on the day of ri-ots (about 30 of them)who have supportedthe communal ele-ments, should be sus-pended and punished.

Only such a firm act will send a message downthe line that unprofessional conduct by men inuniform abuses the mantle and role of the policewho’s primary duty is equal protection of the lifeand property of each and every Indian citizen,irrespective of caste, community and gender, animmutable foundation of the secular Indian Con-stitution.

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As many as 85 criminal incidents have beenrecorded from all over the state in connection withthe Gujarat Bandh related violence that beganon August 3, 2000 (the day of the bandh) andcontinued until August 9, 2000.

An FIR lodged in Rajkot city at 3.30 p.m. onAugust 2, 2000 under 153a of the IPC (about thetime that international general secretary of theVHP was giving his bandh call in Ahmedabad) isagainst an accused ‘who “tried to create tensionwith (by) giving a speech in a newspaper todamage and destroyed the Muslim religiousplaces.”

Another two FIRs lodged at Ahmedabad led byKamlesh Bhavarilal and the mob he led concernsthe destruction of a dargah and the looting anddestruction of the Famous Shoe Shop on August3, 2000

FIRs lodged in the Kheda Brahma villageaccuse Bajrang Dal president Jagdish Taral ofassaulting Muslim establishments and home withsharp weapons, an attack during which a policeconstable was also injured (on August 3, 2000).

In yet another FIR filed at Mahuva on August6, 2000, a violent mob led by Shailesh Barotassaulted the complainant who is a constable andanother SRP Constable who were injured bypelting stones when they stopped a violent Mobheading ominously towards the local Masjid.

In Ahmedabad, Modasa and Sabarkanthasenior police officials were acting in a partisanmanner, directly siding with communal criminals.

In Surat city, two BJP corporators, GaneshPrajapati and Suresh Varodia have been accusedof forming unlawful assemblies and carryinglethal weapons in their vehicles. The CP, Surathas stated in an interview to members of theinvestigating team that all those accused in FIRSduring the bandh-related violence will be charge-sheeted.

The editor of Dhapkar, Mayur Pathak wasarrested by the Surat police under section 153 aof the IPC for fomenting violence betweencommunities in the second week of August 2000.He was thereafter released by the Court.

Will all the guilty be punished?Serious dilemnaGujarat 1998-2000 presents a genuine conflict

between the rule of law as enshrined in theegalitarian principles enshrined in the IndianConstitution and the existence of a politicaldispensation, the BJP, backed by it’s hit squadslike the VHP, the Bajrang Dal, the Hindu JagramManch and now even the Shiv Sena (September

2000 took the Mumbai-based Shiv Sena toAhmedabad for the first time!) who’s worldviewand functioning are partisan and inegalitarian.

(see background document)In the present round of violence, related to the

Gujarat bandh, as also in communal riots thathave broken out in the state during the Kargilconflict last year and on Bakri Id day this year, aclear pattern is visible.

Leaders of the BJP-BD-VHP are the agentprovacateurs, violating the law and incitingcriminal actions against minorities. The names ofsenior and middle level leaders of these outfits areeven named by the police in their first informationreports that detail the crimes.

The pattern shows that they firstly try to keepthe names out of the FIRs by bringing politicalpressure to bear; if however thanks to a by andlarge neutral police machinery, their names dofigure in the FIRs, pressure is brought to bear onthe police to drop all action against them !

This section contains names of many suchleaders. Others have been named too. The realquestion is whether the state government will everallow action against them?

Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and StateHome Minister Haren Pandya owe a real andmoral responsibility in each of these cases toanswer to the people of Gujarat and India,especially the minorities. The present dispensationhas invited strong strictures from the NationalMinorities Commission (in August 1998 and nowagain in September 2000).

However the state level political leadershipfunctions outside the pale of the IndianConstitution, violating the rule of law directly orsupporting their allied groups who thrive oncriminal actions and lawlessness. In fact the statehome minister, Haren Pandya is oft-accused ofallowing all the hit squads easy access to his hotline to prevent timely police and administrativeaction against any leading BJP-VHP-RSS-BDactivists.

The collective report by this investigating team,consisting of several groups from Gujarat andoutside is an attempt to alert the nation to theextent of the state of lawlessness prevalent in thestate of Gujarat. It is a lawlessness of the kindthat is pushing the minorities to the wall,ghettoising lives and livelihoods.

It is about time that the story of Gujarat, a story oflived facism in the laboratory of Hindu rashtrabecomes an issue of national outcry and concern. Thepublication of this report is an effort in this direction.

GUJARAT 2000 - Challenge to Police neutrality

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Municipal elections this year saw a new twistto electoral politics in the city - the entry of ShivSena. Even though the city has alreadyghettoised on communal lines since the 1969 ri-ots and the Babri Masjid demolition progrom ofthe Sangh Parivar, the BJP Is now being chal-lenged as a mild communal force (pseudoHindutva) by the Shiv Sena.

The city, already rocked by election riots, Ispoised for greater tensions as Shiv Sena movesin to cash on the communal sentiments built bythe Sangh Parivar after decades, while the BJPuses the police force to consolidate its gains.

SAMVAD, an NGO working with the urbanpoor of Ahmedabad for their rightsto housing and communal harmonyfor the past 10 years solicited pre-election views from the slum lead-ers to know what is happening atthe grassroots. Slum leaders fromover 25 slums on the Sabarmatiriverbanks in both Eastern andWestern Ahmedabad were con-tacted during 10-17th September.Most of them are either party work-ers (BJP and Congress) or activecampaigners of local candidates.Majority ofthem lamented the lack of serious politicking inthe present elections. The manifestos or sankalppatras of the major parties were not only re-hashed from earlier elections but had mere hood-winking slogans (hatheli maa chaand). All thecandidates and parties liberally promised hous-ing rights, water and gutters to all slumdwellers.But going by past history of several elections,nobody really believes them.

Most of our respondents told us that eventhough political parties promised them themoon, they were sure that after the elections,they would be moving ahead with the SabarmatiRiverfront Project and oust over 10,000 fami-lies living in over 50 slums on the riverfront.Even though most of them were actively cam-paigning for their party candidates or their po-litical patrons now, they were ready to be at log-

gerheads with them on the riverfront project is-sue and would see that no slumdweller is dis-placed. They are all part of the city level slumorganisation “Nadikantha JhupdavasiSanghatan (Riverfront Slumdwellers Organisa-tion)”, a federation of over 70 slum committeeson the riverfront. The federation has been or-ganising slumdwellers on the riverfront for thepast 3 years to oppose the anti-poor riverfrontproject, which seeks to privatise public space tofurther consumerism and profits for therich.Several blamed both the BJP and Congressfor ignoring active workers and giving away tick-ets to useless people.

The leadership feud in the Con-gress also meant that many goodworkers were denied opportunitybecause they belonged to eitherSolanki or Vaghelagroups.Raneshbhai of Azadnagar(Dudheshwar), an active RSSworker cursed both the BJP andCongress for not helping them dur-ing demolitions. Badruben ofBarfiwala bhawan slums (Shahpur)condemned the Congress for not

giving her a ticket despite years of political hard-ships. She blamed the poor people for forgettingtheir civic issues and running after parties whogave them some money or free liquor. Howeverthe wife of Prahladbhal (Shanker bhuvan) washappy that her husband was too busy in elec-tion campaigns and she had no family disputesas he was away most of the time. Raziaben ofBaba Lublabi slum (Behrampura) was angry atthe way BJP was communalising their slum of300 households. BJP people sponsored the 12thTemple In the area, which has 2 Masjids also.For the first time this year, BJP people suppliedhuge stock of raw food for prasad during GaneshChaturthi.Manjuben of Kablr Tekri (Vadaj) ex-pressed disgust at the ways another local slumleader (a temple pujari) minted money from boththe BJP and the Congress and also lured thepeople with liquor.

Poll Politics

Raziaben of BabaLublabi slum

(Behrampura) wasangry at the way

BJP wascommunalising

their slum of 300households

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She was sad that the people are axing theirown feet by casting votes for such corrupt peo-ple. Rameshbhai of Ram Rahim Nagar was alsoangry with the political parties as they hadmerely paid lipservice to the compensation de-mands of several slum families whose houseswere demolished by the recent floods.

However, as any concrete help is yet to comeafter months, they have to contend with emptyassurances and oral support from thecandidates.Similarly, Samshubhai of SantoshNagar (Behrampura) is also angry with the par-ties that they are served with eviction notices(for 40 houses) during election campaigning andthe political leaders cannot do anything aboutit, apart from hollow sympathies. Even thougha BJP candidate called up some AMC official in

their presence, nothing happened and the peo-ple feel that it was mere electoral stunt!The sin-cere effort by BJP to capture the votes of Mus-lims as well as anti-communal Hindus byputting up many Muslim candidates (a laLaxman rekha) has really disturbed several RSSactivists, grown up on years of anti-Muslimrhetoric. Several local leaders with the saffronbrigade feel that rebellion by Yatin Oza and theentry of Shiv Sena is already sending jitters intothe hardliners camp who feel that it will be ideo-logically difficult to counter them as they arelogically sound on the Hindutva communalground prepared by the RSS and VHP afteryears of solid work. The BJP will only use forceto silence dissent and opposition, more and moreto its disadvantage.

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ONE state where the successful functioning ofthe panchayati raj system has been visible is inthe state of Gujarat. High levels of people’s par-ticipation in the panchayati raj institutions(PRIs) in the normal course and during the elec-tion process have ensured the vitality of this insti-tution, at present just five–years–old. For this rea-son, PRI election results have always been ana-lysed as indicative of future political fortunes bypundits who even use the zilla and talukapanchayat poll results to predict the colour andhue of the ruling and opposition benches in thenext state assembly.

The year 1995 was the first election ever ofPRIs in the state of Gujarat.The BJP captured the zilla andtaluka panchayats and ruledthe PRIs for five years. Follow-ing this trend, two years later,in 1997, the BJP won the as-sembly elections and estab-lished its rule over Gujarat. Forthe first time in the state ofGujarat, both the panchayatsand the state assembly were inthe control of the BJP.

In 1995, the BJP had won 18of the 19 zilla panchayats and154 of the 183 taluka panchayats. The successof the Hindutva wave throughout the state, cou-pled with the dysfunctional state of the Congress— the traditional ruling party in the state —were the major factors behind this result.

The BJP came to power through a clever mobi-lization of rural voters on a full–scale Hindutvaagenda, laden with false promises. After comingto power in the panchayats, however, the rulingBJP simply failed to fulfill even the barest mini-mum of its electoral promises — of generating em-ployment and eradicating poverty.

Greater attention and time was concentratedon a divisive agenda, provoking people’s senti-ments on religious lines, the important cases herebeing the violent communal riots in Dangs andother tribal areas of Gujarat during 1998 fomentedbetween Christian and non–Christian tribals.

Similarly the cases of intra–religious mar-riages between Muslim boys and Hindu girls inrural Gujarat were converted by the agents ofHindutva into a communal issue. The BJP andother segments of the sangh parivar, like theVHP, BD and the RSS, took a highly communaland provocative stand that succeeded in terror-ising the rural poor.

Simultaneously, in ruralareas of the state, between1995 and 2000, BJP’selected representatives tothe panchayats did not payany attention to basic prob-lems like poverty allevia-tion, creation of employ-ment, providing basicdrinking water and otherfacilities.

There were even cases atthe gram panchayat levelwhere Dalit women were

elected as sarpanch under the new panchayatiraj amendment, but not given power in anyreal sense. One of the Dalit sarpanchs of Matvad— a BJP ruled gram panchayat — in Navsaridistrict of south Gujarat was not allowed towork. Besides, false cases were made againsther as the land owning community was opposedto her pro–poor approach. Instead of favouringher, the state level leadership sided with thelandlords. Such anti–poor stance of the BJPleadership became more and more visible overthe past five years.

Explosion in the ‘laboratory’Results from zilla and taluka panchayat elections in

Gujarat, considered Hindutva’s laboratory show a clear-cut rejection by the people of the communal experiment

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All the tribal areas of Gujarat, notified as aScheduled Areas under the Fifth Schedule to theConstitution of India by the Scheduled Area Act,1977, are spread over nine districts and 38talukas and are home to 14 per cent of the state’stribal population. The provision of thePanchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Area)Act, 1996 is applicable to the tribal areas ofGujarat too. In consonance with this Act, theGujarat government passed the bill in Decem-ber 1997 that applies to all tribal areas of thestate. Under the provision of this Act, the localgram sabha needed to be consulted before acquir-ing land in any of the Scheduled Area for develop-ment projects.

Under this Act, it is also mandatory for thegram sabha to approve all plans, programmesand projects for social and economic developmentbefore they are taken up for implementation. Theabove procedure is to be followed even if the ur-gency clause is evoked. This bill was passed bythe Gujarat assembly during the tenure of theSankarsingh Waghela ministry. (Waghela hadrevolted and toppled the then Keshubhai Patelministry and formed his government in 1996).

After the BJP returned to power in 1998, itdid not take any interest in implementing thislaw. There were repeated demands from triballeaders to implement it but the BJP high com-mand never took them seriously. Where thegram sabhas managedto have their way, theyrestricted the operationof the sangh parivar andits cadres in completingtheir ‘unfinished busi-ness’ in tribal areassince a majority of the cadres belong to the ur-ban areas.

It is a well–established fact that under theBJP–ruled regime in Gujarat, it is the RSS, theVHP and the Bajrang Dal who have been call-ing the shots, controlling both the panchayatsand departments of the state government. It isfunctionaries of the RSS who dictate terms toelected representatives, so much so that with-out a go–ahead from the RSS, elected repre-sentatives have even been restrained from tak-ing any decisions.

A widely known fact, oft–quoted in newspaperarticles, was that ministers and presidents oftaluka or zilla panchayats who did not belong tothe RSS were under constant surveillance,watched and monitored by RSS men. Panchayatpresidents and even ministers just could not takeany decisions on their own. This caused acute dis-satisfaction and anger, often displayed by thenon–RSS BJP politician in public.

A glaring example was Babubhai Halpati,a tribal taluka panchayat president from the

Umbergaon taluka of Valsad district in SouthGujarat. Babubhai had been with the BJPsince the 1980s and had worked painstak-ingly for the party, eventually succeeding incapturing the Umbergaon taluka panchayatin 1995. After coming to power, Babubhaitried working independently but the RSS andits workers interfered at every juncture.Babubhai, agitated with such an undemo-cratic style of RSS, reacted. However, the in-terference from RSS workers persisted andincreased leading to his decision to quit theBJP. In the just–concluded election, heworked for Congress. There are many suchexamples in Gujarat.

The friction between the BJP and the RSS touchedan all–time high leading to BJP cadres making openallegations against the state BJP president,Rajendrasingh Rana, state vice–presidents SureshGandhi and Amit Shah and party general secretary,Jayantibhai Kevat stating that they were hard–coreRSS workers. The party brought over anotherstaunch RSS leader, Sanjay Joshi, from Nagpurknown for his unflinching pro–RSS views. Anotherimportant office bearer of the party, GorthandasZadafia, is an active member of the VHP.

These factors help to explain significantly thereasons behind the debacle of the BJP in the re-cent panchayat elections. Out of 23 districtpanchayats, which went to the polls in Septem-

ber, Congress cap-tured 22 districtpanchayats. Out ofa total of 735 dis-trict panchayatseats for which elec-tions were held Con-

gress bagged 519 seats while BJP managed tosecured only 207 seats; 14 went to other parties.Similarly in the taluka panchayats, out of 210taluka panchayats, Congress captured 160 talukapanchayats in the state.

There were a total of 3,848 seats out of which theCongress bagged 2,299 while BJP secured only 1,248.It was thus that the BJP was routed in the panchayatpolls in the state.

Ironically, the Congress won by a thumping ma-jority not due to its performance but due to thestrong negative swing against the BJP. The ruralvoters of Gujarat are the major contributors tothe BJP defeat. But, Congress is a divided houseand intense factionalism still prevails

As we go to press, the BJP leadership is busyanalysing its debacle and has constituted a com-mittee to look into the matter. Apart from thesuper–imposition of the RSS–VHP cadres inpanchayat affairs, widespread corruption anduncontrollable price hike are also considered tobe important reasons behind debacle.

The rural poor are unable to cope with the

Those ministers and presidents of talukaor zilla panchayats who did not belong tothe RSS were under constant surveillance,

watched and monitored by RSS men

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(The Asian Age, October 11, 2000, news report)By Kumuda DoraiMumbai October10: Actor Farooq Shaikh is

wondering whom to turn to for justice in India.Shaikh’s ancestral home in Amroli village,Vadodra taluka, in Gujurat was attacked by amob of BJP workers on September 24. His 102-year-old grandmother, uncle and two aunts wereseriously injured in the attack.

The actor rushed to New Delhi immediatelyafter the incident to meet Union home ministerL. K. Advani and senior BJP leader SushmaSwaraj. He was assured of immediate action.

Now, more than 10 days after the incident,Shaikh and his family are still waiting for jus-tice. Speaking to the Asian Age, Shaikh said, “Theincident took place on September 24, which was apolling day for the local zilla Parishad elections. ABJP leader from the adjoining village, a Mr K TBhil, was campaigning for the local party candi-date, who lost to his opponent from the Congress.In fact, the BJP fared badly in the polls and l;ostseven seats in the taluka.

According to Sheikh, the same night at around9 pm a mob of around 70-80 people in trucksand jeeps, led by the same Mr Bhil, arrived inAmroli brandishing swords and knives andlathi’s. “They had a tractor filled with rocks andstones”, the actor added. The mob was shoutinganti-Muslim slogans and chose to attack onlythe homes and shops of the village’s Muslims.“Initially everyone thought that they weredacoits since the area has never witnessed com-munal tension before. All traders shut shop andfled the scene. But this Mr Bhil started exhort-

ing his men to drag out and beat up the womeninstead.

Shaikh says the mob then made way to hisancestral home, which is among the largest andoldest homes in the area. “My relatives havelived in that house for five generations. I wasborn in that house, even though I grew up inMumbai,” said Shaikh. :Even this Mr Bhil isknown to three generations of our family. Heand his sons — Chetan and Laxman — were inthe forefront of the mob, shouting slogans, bring-ing them up to a frenzy and exhorting them toattack members of the Muslim community.

Hearing the commotion, those present in thehouse – the actors 102-year-old grandmother, a77-year-old aunt who had come down from theUS, an uncle, 77, and his wife, 75, and Shaikh’scousin’s wife. 35 immediately locked and boltedall the doors. “They shone the lights on the houseand started pelting stones and rocks. Luckily,the door is ancient and solid and managed towithstand the attack. However the windowsbroke. The rocks hit my family, most of themabove the age of 70. They were shouting thingslike, ‘ lets finish them all of them,’and trying tobreak into the house with the help of axes andstones,” he added. The attack lasted 20-25 min-utes. Since the door still withstood the assault,the men announced that they would be backwith reinforcements.

In the meantime Shaikh’s cousin who, wasnot present in the house during the attack, calledup the police. Some policemen “strolled” in a lit-tle while later saying they were following up acomplaint that a BJP worker was kidnapped bypeople in the house. “How can some seventy

No action on BJP attack on Shaikh’s family home

price hike of grains and other essential commodi-ties. Grain prices at the ration shop are at parwith the free market, hence it is difficult for ru-ral poor to survive. Corruption by party mem-bers is also a key reason for defeat. State jailand rural housing minister, Jaspal Singh hasblamed corruption in high places as the main rea-son for the BJP’s debacle. Many panchayati rajfunctionaries are also openly saying this. A dis-trict panchayat account officer told this writeron condition of anonymity: “Corruption existedduring Congress rule, too. But the level and man-ner in which the BJP leaders were involved incorruption is utterly mind–boggling. Even grassroot level BJP workers had to bribe the higherlevel BJP leaders in order to get things done. TheRSS–VHP cadres are extorting money from poorpeople. I have not seen this scale of corruption in

thirty years of service in panchayat.”An optimistic reading of the voting trends and

the results suggest that the BJP’s tactics of cap-turing power through communal politics hasbeen understood, and even rejected, by rural vot-ers. This combined with a rejection of the su-perimposition of RSS–VHP–Bajrang Dal cadreson the more liberal sections within the BJP hassent a clear message to the ruling BJP.

While the primary aim of the panchayti raj in-stitution is to delegate more power to local peo-ple, under the BJP–ruled panchayats the powerremained in the hands of the dominating few.The victory of Congress is not the victory of partybut it is a victory of inherent secular-democraticfabric of Indians.

(Article published in Communalism Combat ,October 2000)

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years old and a woman over 100 kidnap ayouth?” asks Shaikh.

The actor’s grandmother and other membersof the family were seriously injured in the attack.“At that time even if u jostle them a bit they gethurt. They were pelted with rocks,” he says.

The actor’s cousin brought the local Congressworker to the house the next day and togetherthey made a video of the entire scene, as well asthe injuries suffered by the family. “We gave itwith the panchnama at the police station alongwith a sword and scooter that the miscreantshad left behind.

As soon as he came to know of the attack, FarooqSheikh left for Delhi to meet L K Advani and MsSushma Swaraj. ”I met the home minister Mr.Advani and Ms Sushma Swaraj. They were gra-cious enough grant me an appointment. Mr Advaniimmediately called up Gujarat home minister ofGujarat Mr Haren Pandya and even sent him aletter, a copy of which he gave me. “Since then Ihave heard nothing to suggest that action has beentaken or even an indication that it will be taken.

In fact, an atrocity case has been registered

against my family, which in Gujurat means thatan act has taken place against a member of thescheduled caste or tribe.

How can that be in the case of my aged rela-tives?” he questions. Shaikh feels the police isnot acting out of political pressure from withinthe Gujarat government. “How else can u jus-tify that even Mr Advani’s orders have not beenadhered to? If he does not have the power to getaction done to set things right, then tell me, whoin India has.

“This is just an example of the malaise inIndia at the moment. On one hand you haveBJP president Bangaru Laxman exhorting com-munities in India to come together and on theother hand you have a group of brigands whocan run affairs,” he adds. The actor now plansto file a case in court.

To date no action has been taken in thisincident as in many others. If a citizen of thestature of Farooq Shaikh, given direct accessto the country’s home minister does not getredressal what can be expected of dozens ofother communal crimes in the state?

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The following brutal and violent actions onthe ground, backed by state level policy deci-sions reveal how in fact the current political dis-pensation has been running in direct violationof the equity principals enshrined in the IndianConstitution and in fact like the laboratory ofHindutva. It proves the anti-democratic thrustof the project of Hindutva.

November 13, 1997 – August 16, 1998There were over 40 recorded incidents of as-

saults on prayer halls andChurches belonging toChristians in the State(theworst incidents were of theattacks on century oldeducational institutions inNaroda and Rajkot (theSt. Mary’s and IP MissionSchool during which cop-ies of the Bible were alsoburnt) and violent attacksagainst religious assemblyas well as four major inci-dents against Muslims ofRandikpur and Sanjeli thateven involved Muslimsforcibly evacuated fromtheir villages and theirtransport businessesusurped by sections of theassailants

One of the worst inci-dents included the forcibleexhuming of the body ofSamuel Christian, a Methodist Christian by theVHP (ably assisted by the BJP corporators –Indian Express dated July 27, 1998) simply be-cause he was buried in a burial ground overwhich the VHP-BJP local leadership had onlyrecently began creating a dispute.

April –July 1998The state of Gujarat witnesses a spate of pam-

phlets authored by the VHP, Gujarat, HinduJagran Manch, Gujarat or simply anony-mously that systematically justify and provokeinflammatory feelings and violence againstChristians and Muslims. One such, headed‘Baroda:Strong protests and agitation by Hinduyouth against ‘Christianisation and Blind Faith’appeared in the Vishwa Hindu Parishad News,April 1998 in Gujarati published from Baroda;‘Onwards Sanjeli –Let’s unite to put an end to

these unholy incidentsof Hindu women beingsold in Muslim coun-tries-Let’s respond tobricks with stones’dated July 7, 1998 pub-lished by VHP-Bajrang Dal, Sanjeli(Communalism Com-bat, October 1998, Wel-come to HinduRashtra).

Keshubhai Patel’sstint in power has beenmarked by a plethoraof such pamphlets of-ten reproduced in fullby mainstreamGujarati papers. Nei-ther the publishers ofthese incendiary pam-phlets nor Gujarati pa-pers have attractedsection 153a and 153bof the Indian Penal

Code, a section of law meant to guard againstprovoking of violence against members of aparticular community.

July 1998The Gujarat government ruled by the BJP set

up a Police Cell for Monitoring Inter-ReligiousMarriages, another step that is clearly violativeof the Indian Constitution. An announcement

Dateline GujaratHindutva’s Laboratory in Operation

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to this end was made by the minister of statefor home, Haren Pandya in the state assemblyand also justified on the grounds that such mar-riages were not made of free choice but wereforced on Hindu women out of ulterior motives.

July-August 1998The same state government disbanded an-

other police cell set up by a previous govern-ment to investigate atrocities against women.

December 1998Dangs district in southern Gujarat saw

Christmas time being reduced to fear for theminority Christian community that was system-atically terrorised by the BJP-VHP hit squads.On December 25, 1998 Churches and prayerhalls were attacked at Gadvi village,Nadagkhadi village, Jamlapada village,Padalkhadi village,Dewan Tembrun village.

The next day attacks continued atKaradiamba village and Vaki village. On De-cember 27, 1998, prayer halls and Churcheswere destroyed at Bordel village, Bhondvihir vil-lage, Saverpada village, Gougen village,Mulchond village, Lahankhadmal village,Bharipada village, Raochand village, Pipaldhadvillage and Karenjpada village. Undeterred bythe law and order machinery attacks continuedinto the fourth, fifth and sixth days on Decem-ber 29, 30 and January 3, 1999 respectively whenprayer halls and churches at Mathalbari village,Jhalsod village and Kasadbari and Natyanuvatvillage were destroyed by goon squads leed byJanubhai Pawar of the VHP. (Comunalism Com-bat, Conversions!, January 1999)

Incidentally, due to the public outcry primeminister Atal Behari Vajpayee had visitedDangs after which instead of commenting on thefailure of the rule of law, called for a nationaldebate on conversions!

February 2, 1999The following circular was sent out by the Di-

rector General of Police(intelligence) Gujaratstate showing a blatantly partisan attitude ofthe state. The United Christian Forum for Hu-man Rights took strong objection to this censuscircular, directed all Christians and Institutionsnot to reply to it, stating clearly that it was vio-lation of Article 15(1) enshrined in the IndianConstitution which states that no citizen canbe segregated on grounds of religion. (ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF AGUJARATI CIRCULAR SENT BY THE DI-RECTOR OF POLICE (Intelligence),GUJARAT STATE FAX MESSAGETo : All DSPs and Police Commissioners ofGujarat State Police, For Information : PoliceAhmedabad; IGPs of all Ranges

(Thru:DS.Pol.Control) From Director of Police(Intelligence), Gujarat State, Ahmedabad Ref :No. :D.2 : Hindu - Christi/83/99 Date 02.02.1999(1058)

DETAILS :Presently, the incidents of class-conflicts be-

tween Hindus and Christians are increasing verymuch. It is very necessary to stop these activi-ties.

In your District :1) What is the total population of Christians ?2) Which all places do they live in ?3) At which places are their missionaries lo

cated ? (Alongwith the number and name)4) They are encouraged by which foreigncountries ?5) From which foreign countries andhow much amount of grant do they get ?How do they make use of it ?6) Population of Christians in your district,

taluka-wise and village-wise. You are requestedto give information about the name,address andtelephone numbers of their main leaders.

7) In the last five years, how many cases ofclass-wars between Hindus and Christians havebeen registered in your district ? What was theirresult in the court ?

8) How many Christians are involved and inwhich all offences ? You are requested to cer-tainly send the name, address and the case reg-istration number of the offender along with theirdossiers.

9) In your districts, what type of trickery isbeing used by the Christian Missionaries fortheir defilement activities ? How are they in-creasing it ?

10) How many and what types of vehicles dothey possess ? You are requested to inform thenumber of vehicles.

11) Amongst them, how many have got whatall type of licenses for keeping weapons ? Whenwere these licenses issued to them ?

12) What all arrangements have been madeby you for their security ? You are requested toinform the number and the approximate amountof expenses incurred after their security.

13) You are requested to send the dossiers ofall such Christians who are involved in criminalactivities and having criminal attitude.

NOTE : You are kindly requested to send theabove information after completing the neces-sary procedures before 15.02.99.

Signed/P.B. Upadhyaya

February 16, 1999Within days of the first circular, another (D:2/

2: Com/Muslim Activity/84/99 dated 1/2-02-99)was also circulated, containing similarly offen-

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sive questions about the Muslim minority com-munity that was also violative of the Indian Con-stitution.

Organisations immediately approached theGujarat High Court following which the circu-lar was withdrawn from circulation. Howeverit has still not yet been cancelled.

July 1999On July 21-22, there was an outburst of com-

munal frenzy provoked by a blatantcommunalisation of the Kargil conflict. For twoweek previously, July 7 and 11, 1999 the warat the border was cynically used by state andcentral BJP functionaries who needed to winan election the next month in the state (thedeath in Kargil of anarmy man, MukeshRathod fromMeghaninagar was usedby the BJP MLA fromthe city Harin Pathakand union ministerL.K.Advani to lead ral-lies through the city ac-companied by Rathod’sbody) to generate anti-Muslim venom on theground. Slogans like Abto nagara baj chukka haisarhad pe shaitan ka,Nakshe par se nam mitado, papi Pakistan ka;another one read Khoonse tilak karo, goliyon seaarti; Pukarti hai yehzameen, pukarti MaBharati proudly wall-written by BJP’s YuvaMorcha contributedtheir mite to the alreadytense situation.

Two Bajrang Dal activists on July 21-22, 1999,Harshad Gillatwalla one of them earlier accusedfor the murder of a Muslim boy one year before(1998) took the lead in the provocations by set-ting fire to the Muslim owned Bhagyodaya res-taurant in the Hindu dominated Memnagar area..

The flare-up, literally begging to happen, fi-nally took place on July 20, 1999. Muslims con-stantly abused for weeks were agitated by theteasing of a mentally challenged boy by Hindusand demanded an FIR be lodged by the police.Instead of leaving the matter to be settled be-tween the police and Muslims, the BJP-VHPbrought in their own mob that led to a full-fledged riot at Dariapur, Dabgarwad, Vadigam,Kallupur etc.

The second phase of this violence began onJuly 22, with a Muslim boy being stabbed and

more stabbings of minority community membersby leaders of the BJP and VHP near Dariapurgate, Gheekanta and Gomtipur areas. Namesof senior functionaries of the BJP and VHP (cityconvenor of the BJP, Parabatbhai) have theirnames lodged as accused in the FIRs of the time.

(Communalism Combat,April 2000, Face toFace with Fascism)

December 1999-January 2000A bill against religious conversions, directly

counter to Article 25 of the Indian Constitutionsought to be moved in the Gujarat state assem-bly was moved, and thereafter put on hold afterit generated a nationwide controversy. The Billis termed “Gujarat Freedom of Religion Bill.’

January 1 –July2000

A spate of six moreattacks on Christianschools all overGujarat, individualprayer meetings ofChristians disrupted.Most Christians nowaver that there prayersin churches in townslike Ahmedabad,Baroda Rajkot andSurat have to be con-ducted with closeddoors and windows, soas not to ‘upset and pro-voke Hindu organisa-tions!’

January 3, 2000The Gujarat CM

lifted the ban on gov-ernment servants join-ing the RSS – a deci-sion he was compelled

to revoke a month later after the hue and crythat it generated.

February 2000The RSS held it’s massive sankalp shibir on

the outskirts of Ahmedabad at thich 30,000 per-sons participated. Patel was flanked by unionhome minister L.K.Advani on the occasion, eightstate cabinet ministers participated. The 5-acreplot was provided free with water and electric-ity costs on the house (!) for the occasion.

February 2000Secret Hindutva Document:Communalism Combat accessed this secret

document from Gujarat that is a step by stepguide for sanghis on how and why to break thelaw. It has been translated from Gujarati

Aum

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‘Now that we have our own government we(should take the proper advantage of it) andshould get our work done by it’

‘We should arrange to have our men as wit-nesses. Many times real witness also may giveanswers anyhow when cross-examined and asa result, the reliability of the witness suffers.So when we give the name of the witness in thecourt first we have to make sure whether hewill remain firm in the court and also whetherhe is reliable otherwise.’

‘A recent state home ministry circular directsthe executive magistrate(mamlatdar) to regis-ter a crime if the police is not ready to do so; webelieve that such complaints can be made to thesub-divisional magistrate (deputy collector) anddistrict magistrate(collector) also’

‘The main attack on Hindu Samaj is that oursisters of tender age are being abducted throughoffering them inducements and allurements andthen they are made to sign on the marriage reg-ister after getting converted by force. Hundredsof Hindu girls are being (converted to Islam)made Muslims like this in Gujarat State.’

‘It is not wrong if we can lift the woman andkeep her under our custody. But girl’s peopleshould take the initiative.’

Many times the girl does not agree and if habeascorpus petition is filed in the court, and there if thegirl changes her mind, we will be let down. As Imentioned earlier, these problems are not going tobe solved by Law under the protection of the Policeor the Court. The Hindu Samaj needs to resort tosocial opposition to find a solution to this and evenresort to violent attacks if necessary.

February 5, 2000Recent bomb attacks on homes of Muslim

families in the Paldi area of Ahmedabad, led byBJP corporators, led by BJP coporators and mo-tivated by the singular idea not to allow Mus-lims to move into the Paldi area took place atthe recently constructed Tulsi Apartmentswithin the Vishwakunj Society. A writ petitionfiled by Haroobhai Mehta on behalf of the PUCL,sought the intervention of the Court in protect-ing the fundamental rights of the individualIndian citizen that include the right to settle andreside anywhere in India ( Article 19(1)(d) wasunfortunately not entertained by the Court.Naved Siddique, the builder involved in part-nership in the transaction is being threatenedto evacuate and sell off those and remaining flatsat a loss of a huge Rs. 50 lakhs. Needless to say,no protection from the police or no redressal fromthe state government has been provided.

(Asian Age, Feb 16, 2000)February 19, 2000Thirty hit-men of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad

vandalised the office of the mayor of theAhmedabad Municipal corporation, a BJPcorporator, Mlini Atit demanding the immedi-ate reconstruction of a temple near Uttamnagargarden that had been demolished by the AMC.Despite the fact that public property had beendestroyed, the Mayor refused to lodge a com-plaint saying “This was our internal matter, wedo not need the police.”

(Indian Express, February 20, 2000)March 17, 2000Bakri Idd. The occasion was used this year as

in years previously by the BJP-RSS-VHP com-bine to provoke the Muslim minority by deliber-ate emphasis on the Cow Protection Act. Boththe municipal commissioner and the police com-missioner issued an appeal to citizens to bemindful of the act and members of the VHP andBajrang Dal decided, suo moto to act as inform-ants of the police despite repeated announce-ments that matters of law should be left to thepolice. Violence and tension resulted, an unnec-essary death of a young Muslim.