ACHA Peace Bulletin 03.04.02 – Page #
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A publication of Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA) www.asiapeace.org
Editors: Pritam K. Rohila & Azam Saeed
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ACHA PEACE BULLETIN (Volume IV, No. 3A, March 04, 2002 (Next issue, March 06, 2002)
Special Issue: Communal Carnage in India
CONTENTS
Something to Think About
Editorial
Petition to Prime Minister of India
Related News
Related Articles
________________________________________________________________________
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
The mind is like a parachute, it works best when it is open.
EDITORIAL
The recent communal carnage in the state of Gujarat is the most violent in India since the 1992-93 riots. About 538 individuals (mostly Muslims) have lost their lives. Some have been burnt alive along with their houses, train carriages and motor vehicles. Many are frightened to leave or return to their homes. Some businesses have been looted.
The communal hatred that led to this carnage and destruction must be condemned. All participants and instigators must be brought to justice. The current government at the center and in the sate of Guajarat, which with their incessant minority-bashing has created the climate of communal intolerance in the country, must be taught a lesson.
Resolution of the Babri Majid-Ram Mandir controversy in Ayodhya must be resolved amicably and at an early date. It might be best for the government to build a national, secular monument at the site, if the concerned parties are unable to come to a mutually acceptable solution within a year.
In a multicultural society, it is important that the majority goes an extra step to ensure the safety and security of minorities. Also minorities have an obligation to use non-violent ways to express their frustrations and grievances.
I am pasting below a petition on this subject by AsiaPeace, our electronic discussion/action group. Please let Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed Ishtiaq.Ahmed@statsvet.su.se, Co-Chair & Moderator of AsiaPeace know right away if you would like to sign it. He will need your full Name, address (or geographical location), email address for the moderator’s use to communicate with you, and, if you are signing it on behalf of a group, its name.
Also I invite you to join the current discussion on this topic by AsiaPeace. To participate in the discussion and/or to join AsiaPeace, please email a request to Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed, Co-Chair & Moderator of AsiaPeace at Ishtiaq.Ahmed@statsvet.su.se. More information about AsiaPeace is available at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsiaPeace and ACHA’s Website www.asiapeace.org
Pritam Rohila, Ph.D.
PETITION TO THE PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA
*Asiapeace Urges the Government of India to Ban all Extremist Organizations
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Prime Minister of India
New Delhi
India.
Dear Prime Minister,
Asiapeace is a network of concerned individuals dedicated to promoting peace, communal amity, social justice and human rights in South Asia.
We are profoundly shocked by the communal riots in the Indian State of Gujarat. Harrowing scenes of obscene brutality have been witnessed on the television screens by many of us. Although preliminary reports suggest that hotheads from the minority Muslim community initiated the violence, in the last few days the field has been dominated by goons belonging to various Hindu extremist organizations.
There is no doubt that such acts of terror are the handiwork of psychopaths masquerading as men of religion. It has also been widely reported that the Gujarat Government was criminally slow in taking action to stop the carnage. It is however encouraging to know that other state governments have taken appropriate measures to avoid a repetition
of such terror in their jurisdictions. The media has also been reporting cases of inter-communal support and protection.
It is therefore clear that only organized terrorist networks are behind the present upsurge of violence in Gujarat. We urge you, therefore, to move resolutely to ban terrorist organizations in India. Pakistan has taken firm measures to curb militant Islamic organizations. India should follow suit and put a ban on Hindu as well as militant organizations claiming to act in the name of other religious groups. Only through coordinated activities of the various governments in the region against extremists can South Asia be made safe for ordinary human beings.
India, as the claimant to the status of the world's biggest democracy, should provide leadership to its neighbours in matters of pluralism, tolerance and individual freedom. It cannot remain a democracy if it privileges or favours a particular religious group.
We urge you also to re-establish the foundations of the Indian polity on the high moral ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and the emancipatory path laid down by Jawaharlal Nehru.
Sincerely,
1. Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed
Moderator Asiapeace
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
Stockholm University
Sweden.
Ishtiaq.Ahmed@statsvet.su.se
2. Dr. Pritam Rohila,
Retired Psychologist
Co-founder, AsiaPeace &
Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA)
RELATED NEWS
Devotees throng Ayodhya to attend VHP yagna
The yagna is described as a prelude to the commencement of construction of the Ram temple at the disputed site where the Babri mosque once stood.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/26ayo.htm
Ayodhya issue rocks Parliament
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/26par.htm
Fifty-nine killed in attack on Sabarmati Express http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/27train2.htm
Survivors stunned, speechless
Relatives of the dead cried inconsolably and those of the injured threw themselves in embrace when their dazed kin got off the train in Ahmedabad.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/27train5.htm
Police makes thirty-five arrests
Two companies of the Rapid Action Force and one company of the State Reserve Police have been deployed at Godhra to guard against further outbreak of violence.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/27train4.htm
We will not remain silent spectators: VHP
But the organisation insisted that it would not change its plan to construct a Ram temple at Ayodhya. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/27ayo7.htm
Govt won't hesitate to take action: Advani
Referring to the VHP's ultimatum over the Ayodhya issue, the home minister said that the outfit had embarked on a course of action fraught with danger.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/27ayo2.htm
Sangh leaders meet prime minister
Vajpayee asked them to postpone the ongoing movement in Ayodhya in view of the 'tense situation' prevailing in Gujarat following the attack on the Sabarmati Express.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/27ayo4.htm
Congress wants PM to take firm stand '
The intentions of the VHP are clear and they will go to any extent to unlawfully build the temple after March 15,' party spokesman Jaipal Reddy said.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/27ayo5.htm
VHP announces muhurat for shifting pillars
The temple construction would begin in an amicable atmosphere, VHP leader Acharya Giriraj Kishore said. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/27ayo1.htm
Keep karsevaks out of Ayodhya: Govt to UP http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/27ayo3.htm
Vajpayee cancels Australia visit http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/27vaj.htm
VHP calls for countrywide bandh to protest Godhra killings
The outfit also sought a referendum on whether the government should hand over the undisputed land in Ayodhya to it. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/28train16.htm
30 persons burnt alive in Ahmedabad http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/28train15.htm
Curfew in Ahmedabad
Violence erupted in the city during the VHP-sponsored Gujarat bandh called to protest Wednesday's attack on the Sabarmati Express at Godhra.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/28train4.htm
Mob sets fire to Wakf board office in Gujarat secretariat
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his minister were holding a meeting in another part of the secretariat when a rampaging mob set fire to the Wakf office.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/28sheela.htm
Sporadic violence in Godhra, 66 held
Unruly mobs set fire to shops and motor garages in Godhra, Lunawara, Limkheda, Kalol and Vaijapur. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/28train11.htm
Maharashtra gears up for VHP protest
The BJP has also supported the VHP's bandh call to protest against the violence in Gujarat.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/28maha.htm
VHP leaders may be arrested: Swami
The government proposed to take this step if the VHP failed to call off the Ram mandir agitation in view of the grave situation prevailing in Gujarat.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/28train3.htm
Naidu urges the PM to stop karsevaks
About 300 karsevaks who were proceeding to Ayodhya were detained at Secunderabad railway station. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/28jafri.htm
Sane voices in Ahmedabad call for reason
Ahmedadad resident Indu Jani is shocked by the violence that has gripped the city.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/01train17.htm
Ahmedabad calm; rest of Gujarat still simmers
The official death toll went up to 300 with the recovery of more bodies from the debris of burnt houses. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/02train11.htm
Curfew lifted in city areas of Ahmedabad
'We may lift or relax the curfew restrictions in 18 police station areas of the total 30 after taking stock of the situation', Ahmedabad police commissioner P C Pande said.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/02train4.htm
Curfew in parts of Surat, situation under control
Following overnight violence, business establishments downed shutters while cable operators were told to suspend operations. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/02train3.htm
Gujarat carnage a blot on nation's image: PM/PTI
Vajpayee appealed to the people to exercise restraint and ensure peace whatever be the provocation. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/02train2.htm
RSS, VHP appeal for peace in Gujarat
They asked their volunteers to avoid any action that would disturb peace in the country and expressed hope that `good sense will prevail'.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/02train10.htm
Noted writer urges President to intervene
In a letter to K R Narayanan, Mahasweta Devi said the Centre and state governments 'are doing too little too late'. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/02train9.htm
Hindus protect mosque in Bihar
During Friday's VHP-sponsored bandh in Muzzaffarpur, a group of hooligans tried to enter the Company Bagh mosque and vandalise it, but were prevented by Hindus.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/02train14.htm
Situation returning to normal in Aligarh
Seventeen companies of paramilitary forces, including four of the Rapid Action Force and three of the CRPF, have been deployed in the communally sensitive city.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/02train5.htm
Curfew-bound Rajasthan towns calm: PTI
No untoward incident has been reported since Friday evening from Kishengarh-Madanganj and Simalwara in Ajmer and Dungarpur districts where police resorted to firing to quell communal clashes. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/02rajas.htm
'Karsevaks' start trooping out of Ayodhya
In a subtle change of stand, VHP bigwigs are now laying greater stress on the 'purna-ahuti yagya' instead of temple construction. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/02ayo3.htm
Sonia against any concessions to VHP
The outfit wants an assurance from the government or the RSS that worshipping of pillars would be allowed on the acquired land in Ayodhya within three months.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/02ayo5.htm
Muslim groups suggest tripartite talks
Khaliq Ahmed Khan, convenor of the Helal Committee, said that the Babri Masjid Action Committee and 'unlawful organisations' like the VHP, RSS and Bajrang Dal should be kept out of the talks. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/02ayo1.htm
In the name of God
Mansi Bhatia wonders if the construction of a building, or the prevention of it, is worth killing for.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/02diary.htm
Ram temple issue: VHP adamant on March 15 deadline
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/04ayo.htm
Gujarat: Restore confidence of Muslims, Shahnawaz tells PM
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/04train6.htm
Babri panel threatens to move SC to restrain VHP
It is demanding reconstruction of the Babri mosque at the site where it stood.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/04ayo3.htm
Karsevaks take out symbolic procession in Ayodhya
Significantly, notices informing people of the imposition of prohibitory orders banning rallies and demonstrations had disappeared.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/04ayo2.htm
Sonia wants all-party delegation to visit Gujarat
The Congress president urged Prime Minister Vajpayee to arrange for such a delegation to visit the riot-affected areas and assess the situation there.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/04train4.htm
Two killed in police firing in Palanpur
Police opened fire in Danta village of Palanpur taluka after tear gas shells failed to have the desired effect on the crowd. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/04train1.htm
COMPLETE COVERAGE: The turmoil in Gujarat
http://www.rediff.com/news/godhra.htm
COMPLETE COVERAGE: Temple controversy
http://www.rediff.com/news/ayodhya.htm
RELATED ARTICLES
*On The Human Richter, By Kaifee Parshuran, http://outlookindia.com/
On Wednesday, February 27, groggy passengers were waking up to a warm sunny morning as the Ahmedabad-bound Sabarmati Express pulled into the Godhra railway station off Baroda at 7.20 a.m.
Slogans of Jai Shri Ram rent the air as the train coming in from Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh and carrying a fair sprinkling of kar sevaks came to a halt. With thoughts of getting home uppermost in their minds, weary passengers alighted for tea and bhajia. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary-the scene was a usual one witnessed at any railway station. Even a confrontation between two
vendors and some passengers over a petty matter seemed routine and no one spared it a thought as the train left Godhra after a brief halt.
It must have proceeded barely a kilometre when it stopped in its tracks-someone had pulled the
emergency chain. Everyone was irritated at the prospect of a further delay to a train already running behind schedule. But nobody at that point had any inkling of what was to come. Suddenly, a fusillade of stones smashed into the window panes of the second-class sleeper coach S-6 in which VHP volunteers were travelling.
In coach S-6 as in other bogies, passengers panicked and pulled down window shutters and bolted the doors. Soon burning rags and acid bulbs landed inside the compartment while the mob rained petrol from the outside. Within minutes, the coach was blazing and the fire spread to the adjoining coaches. Innocent passengers trapped in S-6 were roasted alive. Of the 58 who perished, 26 were women and 16 children.
Forty-three people, including nine women and three children, sustained injuries. Twenty of them were admitted to the hospital. It took two fire-tenders over an hour to douse the flames. By then it was too late.
The news of the torching set all of Gujarat on fire. The situation became even more volatile as rumours that the mob had attacked the Sabarmati Express, kidnapped Hindu women and raped them spread like wild fire. Vernacular newspapers duly splashed the news prominently the
next day. Though subsequently scotched by the government, the damage had already been done.
All hell broke loose on February 28, the day the VHP, backed by the BJP, called for a state-wide band.
Rampaging mobs in Ahmedabad and other towns and cities resorted to reprisal attacks, even as the police turned a blind eye (shoot-at-sight orders were instituted only two days later). Expectedly, the rioters targeted establishments run by Muslims. Their residential areas too became the focus of mob ire. The official death toll was 80 although unofficial estimates put the
number of people killed at around 200.
How much the rioting spread can be gauged from the fact that 26 cities and towns including Ahmedabad, Baroda, Rajkot and Surat had to be placed under curfew. Hitherto an urban phenomenon, communal riots this time also spread to the smaller towns and rural areas. The
Saurashtra region, which has in the past largely remained aloof, was also sucked into the communal cauldron. Even the highways were not spared.
Trucks belonging to the minority community were stopped and torched by irate mobs.
The stories that surfaced at the end of the day were horrifying. None worse than that of former Congress MP Eshan Jaffri who was killed along with his family when a mob entered his house in Ahmedabad's Gulmarg Society. As many as 37 people in the housing society in the predominantly labour area of Chamanpura perished. Police sources now admit that Jaffri had made frantic calls to all and sundry, including the police control room, since 9 am seeking help. When the mob began closing in around the house, Jaffri opened fire from his revolver in self-defence. But it proved ineffective in the face of mob frenzy.
Jaffri even rang up local Congress leaders who in turn informed the police but again it was to no avail.
According to reports, a police picket of four constables led by an inspector remained silent spectators to the entire incident.
The rest reached the scene two hours after the attack and the fire brigade only three hours later.
Ahmedabad police commissioner P.C. Pandey lamely cited obstructions on the way as an excuse for their tardiness. Such was the ineffective response of the police that even when a building opposite the commissioner's office was targeted and set ablaze, the police failed
to respond. Finally, it was the mob which stirred the police into action as the police commissioner's office too was pelted with stones.
It could well have been a re-run for those witness to the Bombay riots of 1993. The State Reserve Police sitting idle waiting for orders to act. Inadequate police deployment in sensitive areas. Senior police officials refusing to act on information of rioting in a particular area. And
last but not the least, a chief minister saying that he was happy with the police action and that the cops could not be expected to be present everywhere. Ironically, despite CM Narendra Modi's all-is-well statement, the Cabinet Committee on Security in Delhi asked the army to be on standby lest the violence escalate.
Ahmedabad by far was the worst-affected city with pinpointed targeting of Muslim establishments, large-scale arson and looting. It was almost as though the mobs were operating to a plan, breaking open shops, business establishments, even paan shops run by members of the minority community. From atop high-rise buildings, one could see plumes of smoke rising from innumerable spots across the city. No part of Ahmedabad was spared, whether it was the labour-class dominated areas of Dariapur, Bapunagar and Meghaninagar or the densely- populated walled city. The posh shopping arcades of C.G. Road and the plush western suburbs too came under attack.
Even the state capital, Gandhinagar, which has never witnessed communal riots till date, got caught in the spiral this time around. The secondary secretariat-also known as the
old sachivalaya-lay open as mobs just walked in, ordered the employees inside to vacate the premises, attacked and set fire to the government Waqf Board office inside. The office of the Minorities' Finance Corporation in an adjoining building met the same fate. Government vehicles in the high-profile Udyog Bhavan complex which houses the offices of the state public sector corporations were similarly attacked.
VHP activists seemingly working to a plan even targeted the media. A car carrying the ANI team was attacked and burnt while a camera of the Zee News team was smashed and its reporter beaten up.
Journalists were being prevented from going into sensitive areas where targeted attacks were on. In some areas of Ahmedabad, cable operators were even warned to black out news
telecasts.
Though it made the right noises, the state government seemed to be working overtime clogging the news flow. Even seasoned crime reporters were finding it difficult to get information on the communal violence.
The official version when it finally came was aimed at underplaying the incident. While the first official toll was 28, the actual numbers had by then already crossed the 100 mark.
That the torching of the Sabarmati Express would trigger off communal violence was evident even on the day the incident happened. Even as firefighters were battling the flames, the news of the attack scorched Godhra town. Angry mobs battled it out on the streets. The police fired in the air and burst teargas shells but that could not contain the mob fury and curfew was clamped down on the town.
The Sabarmati Express itself, which recommenced its journey, left a bloody trail at all the key railway stations it stopped at. Despite the heavy police presence at Baroda, three people were stabbed at the station. One later succumbed to his injuries. At Anand, the train's next halt, one person was killed.
Immediately after the incident, cases of stabbing and arson were reported from Ahmedabad.
Yet despite all this evidence, there are allegations from the common citizenry that the government failed to take adequate preventive steps. When confronted by newspersons over
the widespread violence and police inability to act, Modi said that when viewed in the context of the fact that the feelings of five crore people of Gujarat had been grievously hurt by the happenings in Godhra, the administration had succeeded in containing the violence.
Though Modi has been mouthing dubious platitudes, the ability of a CM who hails from RSS ranks to act against a VHP-sponsored bandh had always been suspect. A fast-eroding
BJP bastion, Gujarat is considered a stronghold of the VHP which enjoys considerable clout in
the state government. This is perhaps a reason why the police failed to act against the rioters. In
fact, the lower police cadres obliquely hinted at being told not to act. "We're caught between the devil and the deep sea. If we do not act we may be in trouble. But if we do we'll be in worse trouble with people in the government," said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity.
Gujarat has always been a communal tinderbox and even a small spark ignites big trouble. The ghost of Godhra looks set to walk its streets for months.
How It Happened
That there was an element of planning involved in the entire affair is clearly evident. What triggered off the Godhra incident? There are conflicting versions. According to one rumour,
news from the nearby town of Dahod had reached the Muslim community in Godhra that the kar sevaks on the Baramati Express had attacked a mosque. Since Godhra is just an hour away, the mob was waiting and ready by the time the train arrived there.
The police say the possibility of the carnage being the handiwork of outside forces can't be totally ruled out. That there was an element of planning involved in the entire affair is clearly
evident. Police sources say that a minor tiff on the platform could not have evoked such a quick and organised response in a span of 10 minutes. Nor do they think the pulling of an emergency chain in a predominantly Muslim area with the train coming to a halt close to a petrol pump was a coincidence. Besides, the mob arming itself with acid bulbs and petrol cans at such short notice was also not possible.
There are also reports that some Tabligh Jamaat preachers from Kashmir had come to the mosque in Dahod and Godhra during Ramzan. Their presence and fiery invocations during prayer meets had been the subject of debate between Godhra's moderate and hardliner Muslims. Police say there are enough reasons to believe the two could have been ISI agents. The rumour of the mosque attack could have been deliberately floated to trigger the attack.
The Arson Within: Vajpayee faces the worst-ever dilemma in his tenure as he sets out to douse Ayodhya's flames
The ghosts of December 6, 1992, returned to haunt Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee on the opening day of the Budget session of Parliament. Gujarat burned: communal tensions erupted after 57 kar sevaks, on their way back from Ayodhya, died when bogies of the Sabarmati Express were torched. Retaliatory violence claimed nearly 200 more lives the next day, 26 cities were placed under curfew and the army was called.
In Delhi, desperate efforts were being made to persuade an adamant VHPleadership to defer its Ram mandir programme, with only a fortnight left to go for the March 15 deadline. The government's main fear was that a large gathering in Ayodhya could lead to untoward incidents like the breaking of barricades around the disputed site, which could have communal/legal consequences. The government clamped down on Ayodhya, sealing all routes to the temple town.
The VHP's cooperation was seen as crucial; while kar sevaks could be beaten into submission in Ayodhya, a call to satyagrah by the VHP could lead to countrywide conflagrations.
Suspended between raj-dharam and Ram-dharam, Vajpayee finds himself in the mother of all dilemmas. If he attempts to pander to the VHP, the NDA allies will pull the rug from under his
government. If he cracks down on the VHP, he could well face a mini-revolt from his own MPs and alienate the Sangh parivar.
In fact, so frustrated was the PM that when talks with the VHP ended in stalemate, he reportedly said the Sangh parivar, which had created the problem in the first place, better come up with
a solution or let him quit. In the meeting between RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan and VHP leader Ashok Singhal, the sarsanghchalak reportedly emphasised that the government should at no cost be endangered. But the VHP appeared unconvinced, with its general secretary Praveen Togadia saying: "We are here to build the temple and not make or break the government."
The path to compromise lies through a legal and political minefield: if the government decides to hand over part or all of the 67 acres acquired by it in 1993, except for the 80 by 40 feet
disputed site, to the VHP-led trust Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas, it will have to seek not just the Supreme Court's sanction, but the NDA's as well. It can also go for day-to-day hearings to resolve the title suit to the disputed site, but that would still take months. And judging from the VHP's
intransigent mood, the Vajpayee government may well be running out of time.
The VHP says the PM has until March 12 to come up with a solution. On March 14, 'dharmacharyas' will meet in Ayodhya to take stock and reach a final decision on temple construction. It looks as if the PM will have to make a personal appeal to the sants before the crisis can be resolved. Senior BJP leaders are already hotfooting it to Ayodhya to sweet-talk the mahants. The RSS is willing to help, though it wants the government to be more flexible.
That the VHP's anger, lashed to fever-pitch by the Godhra massacre, could not be soothed by negotiation and promises of future settlements in its favour was evident from the statements coming from its headquarters at Delhi's Sankatmochan ashram. Singhal reportedly told BJP leaders he'd rather the VHP was dissolved than defer the construction of the Ram temple.
The VHP says the BJP-led government hasn't taken a single concrete step towards resolving the Ayodhya dispute, despite the PM having promised-in the Lok Sabha-to come up with a solution by mid-March. BJP MP Swami Chinmayananda says: "He (Vajpayee) cannot be trusted. He says
something on the floor of the House and then goes back on it. Yeh rajpaat nahin, raj part kar rahe hain (he is not governing, he's dividing the country)."
Significantly, the VHP is also miffed with the prime minister personally, accusing him of doublespeak: of playing Rambhakt in private and the moderate in public. VHP sources even recall his provocative speech on December 5, 1992, in Lucknow, which has effectively been downplayed in subsequent accounts. The anti-Vajpayee mood is evident in Ayodhya, where VHP leaders have dubbed him "traitor" to the cause of Ram.
"Those who came to power on the strength of our sacrifices are now appeasing the minority community," said VHP spokesperson Vireshwar Dwivedi. Vajpayee's statement on the Godhra
incident "appears to lay the burden of responsibility on the kar sevaks rather than the miscreants. This is surprising and shocking", he added.
In response to the VHP's tough stance, the government adopted a two-pronged approach, of negotiation and intimidation. Through the RSS, it attempted to talk the VHP into deferring its agitation, at the same time making it clear that the sants and kar sevaks would be at the receiving end of the government's lathi if they erred. "We have to take a tough stand. If the VHP violates the law, to lathi khayenge (they'll get the stick)," said the minister of state for railways, Digvijay Singh.
However, there's trouble within the party, as the directive to all BJP workers to stay away from Ayodhya and not participate in any VHP programme hasn't gone down too well. Says rural
development minister Venkaiah Naidu: "Aakrosh to hai. There is genuine anger, but no government can allow the law to be violated."
At least, five BJP MPs made it clear that for them, Ram came before rajniti (statecraft) and they would proceed to Ayodhya for kar seva in violation of any party directive, regardless of disciplinary action. Among them were Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Yogi Aditya Nath, Prahlad Patel, Swami Chinmayananda and Faizabad's Vinay Katiyar. The latter, who created a rumpus in the House over Godhra just before the Budget was tabled, said: "I am the one who started the movement. No one should expect me to draw back now."
Off the record, several MPs and even Union ministers admitted that they shared the kar sevak's sentiments. Shaken by the Godhra incident, a Union minister said: "With what face can we now
ask the VHP to take back its campaign?" A BJP Rajya Sabha MP says: "It is ironic that when Hindus are killed, there is a demand by the Opposition to ban the VHP."
More than one MP was upset with the tepid condemnation of the Godhra incident in Parliament.
The party is also worried about upsetting its core constituency. Says VHP's Acharya Giriraj Kishore: "They cannot shed their Hindu image, no matter how hard they try." A senior BJP leader privately agrees. "Why should we try to shed it? If the Hindus are not with us, why should any other party join us?" he asks.
The "Atal-Advani" chorus of "the government will not permit violation of rule of law" has both relieved and amused Opposition members, who are quick to point out the irony of the man who led the rath yatra now leading the charge against the sadhu-sants of the VHP. They are, however, playing their role to the hilt. The Lok Sabha was adjourned on March 1 after proceedings were blocked.
The NDA has closed ranks behind the prime minister, with the caveat that he should not be seen to yield to the VHP's demands. "The atmosphere is that of 1992, just before Babri Masjid was demolished. The difference is that the government today is determined not to allow any untoward incident, unlike its predecessor".
The VHP is haunted by a crisis of credibility if it backs down in the face of the prime minister's resignation threat and pressure from the RSS. The indifferent response to its jan chetna yatras was a clear indication that public support for the Ramjanmabhoomi movement was waning. It picked up after the election, with thousands of kar sevaks converging on Ayodhya in the run-up to March 15, the designated date for commencing construction of the Ram temple. Says a BJP MP and a VHP sympathiser: "We cannot keep building up momentum and then withdrawing."
What's clear is that the prime minister's credibility vis-a-vis the Sangh parivar has never been lower. And he has only himself to blame-having ridden the tiger, he can't easily get off.
*Hindus protect MOSQUE in Bihar, By Anand Mohan Sahay, Rediff.Com, March 2, 2002 http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/02train14.htm
Anand Mohan Sahay in Patna
While Gujarat was burning, a small town in Bihar set an example of communal amity, when a group of Hindus got together and protected a mosque from being vandalised.
During Friday's bandh in Muzzaffarpur, called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to protest the Godhra carnage, a group of hooligans tried to enter the Company Bagh mosque and vandalise it.
A senior police official, who was present on the spot when the incident occurred, said that when the word spread about the bid by the hooligans to enter the mosque, almost 100 Hindus converged on the spot from the nearby Goriamath and Sariyaganj area and challenged them.
A tussle broke out in which quite few Hindus were injured while guarding the mosque, but the hooligans had to beat a hasty retreat in face of stiff resistance, he said.
By the time police reinforcement came in, the hooligans had done the vanishing act.
Muzzafarpur has the distinction of never having witnessed a communal riot.
"Thanks to timely intervention of local Hindus a major incident was averted," a senior police officer said, heaving a sigh of relief.
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Time to test the RAM card again, By Zafar Agha, tehelka.com, Feb 28, 2002
Maintain peace in AYODHYA, By Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr, tehelka.com, February 27, 2002
Gandhi's land in FLAMES:There's only mourning in the morning after, By Mansi Bhatia, Indian Express, March 2, 2002
FIRE of Fanaticism, By Ram Puniyani, March 1, 2002
Where the TRISHUL is held high, By Darshan DESAI, Indian Express, March 03, 2002
Gujarat events state terrorism, ban VHP: By His Holiness Jagadguru Shankaracharya, March 1, 2002
An eye for an eye BLINDS Gandhinagar, Indian Express, February 28, 2001
American FEDERATION of Muslims of Indian Origin (AFMI)
condemns violence in Gujarat, A Press Release
ANGER is no excuse to kill innocents, Amberish K Diwanji, Rediff.com, March 4, 2002 http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/04akd.htm
Memories of resolution and RESOLVE, By Dilip D'Souza, Rediff.com March 3, 2002
The MONSTER Within Us, By V. K. Tripathi
Spurned HINDUTVA Launches Ethnocide, By I. K. Shukla