2002 Gujarat violence
2002 Gujarat violence was a three-day period of inter-communal violence that occurred in the western Indian state of Gujarat in early 2002. The burning of a train in Godhra the day before, which caused the deaths of 58 Hindu pilgrims and karsevaks returning from Ayodhya, is cited as having instigated the violence. Following the initial violence, further outbreaks occurred in Ahmedabad for three months; statewide, even further outbreaks of violence against the minority Muslim population of Gujarat continued for the next year.
Though officially classified as a communal riot, the events of 2002 have been described as a pogrom by many scholars; some commentators alleged that the attacks had been planned and that the attack on the train was a "staged trigger" to obfuscate what was actually premeditated violence. Scholars studying the 2002 riots state that they were premeditated and constituted a form of ethnic cleansing, and that the state government and law enforcement were complicit in the violence. Observers have stated that these events had met the "legal definition of genocide".
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Quotes
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[edit]- Modi is a terrorist. He unleashed state-sponsored terrorism in Gujarat. With an excuse to curb terrorism, innocent people have been arrested and harassed.
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[edit]- Violence broke out on 27 February in Godhra, a district headquarters in eastern Gujarat. Fifty-seven Hindus were killed, including 25 women and 14 children, who were burned alive aboard the Sabarmati Express [...] Those who were originally from Gujarat and were returning home aboard the Sabarmati Express had gathered together in a few coaches. They chanted Hindu nationalist songs and slogans throughout the entire voyage, all the while harassing Muslim passengers. One family was even made to get off the train for refusing to utter the karsevaks' war cry: "Jai Shri Ram!" (Glory to Lord Ram!). More abuse occurred at the stop in Godhra: a Muslim shopkeeper was also ordered to shout "Jai Shri Ram!" He refused, and was assaulted until the kar sevaks turned on a Muslim woman with her two daughters. One of them was forced to board the train before it started going again...
The anti-Hindu riot was thus a reaction to provocation from Hindu nationalist activists. The aftermath of the events clearly showed that the violence reached unprecedented proportions precisely because of the political strategy these Hindu nationalists employ.- Christophe Jaffrelot describing the Godhra train burning attack, in Communal Riots in Gujarat: The State at Risk?, Heidelberg Papers in South Asian and Comparative Politics (July 2003).
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[edit]- This is a travesty of justice. We have seen our loved ones killed and raped, and we are still waiting for justice. Everyone knows how Ehsaan Jafri was killed. The police did nothing and Modi orchestrated the riots.
- Salim Sheikh, a member of the Jan Sangharsh Manch, as quoted by Deutsche Welle
