Gujarat: wounded forever

By Binu Alex

The fall of the BJP has brought peace and relief in Gujarat, but some feel that the peace is fragile and temporary

Originally published in HUMANSCAPE magazine
VOL. XI ISSUE VII JULY 2004

Much water has flowed in the Sabarmati since the genocide of 2002 in Gujarat. But analysts believe that the peace in Gujarat is borrowed for political stability. A stability through peace that is cosmetic and fragile.Gujarat is wounded forever is what Gujaratis themselves admit, though reluctantly. The blame game is still on and there is greater concern over the news of the riots spreading internationally rather than analysing how a state with five crore peace-loving people is now wounded. Come Rath yatra or Muharram or Idd or Navratri, the threat of a potential riot has always loomed large since over two decades. The threats would die down soon, however, and it was more than clear that those riots, which lasted only for a few hours, were engineered to gain petty political gains in municipal elections or assembly elections. The Muslims are equally responsible for those part-time riots as those who engineered it. Gradually, sectarian violence between Hindus and Muslims became a common phenomenon till it graduated to genocide.But since the riots of 2002, Gujarat has witnessed very little ‘part-time’ violence. The beneficiaries gained whatever has to be gained from the riots, and that too with additional bonus. Dr JS Bandukwala, the Vadodara-based Muslim activist, who was at the receiving end of the violence himself believes the peace is cosmetic. “Tension below the surface is still very much there. Even after two years of this violence, I see no remorse. How can this wound be healed if justice is not given or an apology offered?” But neither Dr Bandukwala nor the average Muslim wants the newly formed Congress government to dismiss the chief minister Narendra Modi, widely blamed by human rights groups and international organisations for presiding over the riots. “BJP is a poison for each and every Muslim. We are very happy that by this defeat the party has been demoralised beyond a certain revival. But we don’t want to make people like Modi a hero by his dismissal. We want him discredited while in power, and recollect and repent the violence he perpetrated when he is out of power,” Dr Bandukwala added. Dr Bandukwala’s prediction could turn prophetic. Modi is now in a chair that not only has his bete noirs as thorns in the side but he’s facing opposition from his own organisation -- like the Bharatya Kisan Sangh -- and some of his colleagues as well. The argument is that he came to power showing the previous chief minister Keshubhai Patel in poor light on the defeat of a single assembly seat. By that logic, they argue, Modi should have tendered his resignation after the virtual route of the party in the state. That is unlikely to happen given the equations. It is unlikely that Modi will be put under scanner and the arrogance that he ‘boasts’ to have will see the end of his political career. BJP is unlikely to relocate him in any national position considering the mandate the country has given to the BJP, even with their development plank, in the recently concluded elections. Trouble is brewing for Modi from all quarters including the MLA quarters. The rebellion against him for his autocratic rule is not likely to end gently. Even the international human rights organisations are not going to let this genocide pass by without any concrete action. A case has already been filed in a local court against the government by the UK-based relatives of two Muslim UK citizens in north Gujarat. With the BJP out of power, many more worms are likely to come out of the can. Sophia Khan, a Muslim social activist, had almost lost her faith in the prosecution, judiciary and the democratic set-up of the country; the election result has turned her into a die-hard believer in the Indian system. “Nothing was moving. Everyone was in collusion with each other to deny justice to the riot victims. But now we are confident that justice is possible,” she said. Khan, who worked extensively with the riot victims, especially women, added that the accused who were sure that, with the BJP in power, they would get away with their atrocities have suddenly disappeared. “Due to the fear of the BJP, we were scared even to mention our names. Now we have got some breathing space and are feeling relatively safer,” she declared. With the Supreme Court watching the ‘modern-day Neros’ very closely and with prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh expressing his concern over the Gujarat riots and the judiciary here, social activists in Gujarat are pleased. One such activist is Dr Hanif Lakdawala who is very happy about this triumph of democracy. “What more do you want than Modi’s weakening at the loss of his government at the centre? His style paid dividends in the short-term but it boomeranged in the long run. This is certainly a matter of celebration,” he remarked. And in one such ‘celebration of change’, some hundred activists gathered together. Father Cedric Prakash, a human rights activist who organised the programme, however, said that until each and every victim gets justice, celebrations will not be complete. Also celebrating the fall of the BJP was a former staunch BJP supporter, Vithalbhai Pandya, father of slain BJP leader and former state home minister Haren Pandya. The senior Pandya considers Modi a modern-day dictator and blames him for his son’s death. “Where are all the yatras now? Are we in a fool’s paradise to vote for someone who does nothing but spend money on yatras. Now I think they should come out with another yatra – antim yatra (the last journey),” he said to an applauding audience. But outside the celebration hall, the Muslims are still not confident about getting justice. There are many reasons for this. One of them is the hit-me-if-you-can attitude of the state government. When the Congress announced it plans to repeal POTA, the state government came out with its own version of it. Some of them, disillusioned with the treatment of the state government, have already left the state. Hussain Abu Baker and Mariam Biwi left for Kerala after their handicapped son was burnt, tied to his wheel-chair, and the only source of income -- a teashop -- was set on fire. Their two sons and three daughters are now struggling to make ends meet. Like this aged couple in the Naroda-Patiya area, there are thousands who have moved out of their village and settled in ghettos made for Muslims. These ghettos, developed out of compulsion, have nothing to offer to the new generation of Muslim youth. Like their forefathers, they may land up out of schools and colleges and end up with petty jobs. Like Naroda-Patiya, Gulbarg Society was one of the worst-affected areas where former MP, Ehsaan Jaffrey, was brutally done to death. Nobody has returned to Gulbarg Society. The entire society is abandoned. None of the residents are willing to come back after what they have seen during the riots. Despite cases like this, authorities insist that peace has returned to Gujarat. FA Bhatia is a school principal and the only time he returned to his home in Gulbarg Society was to vote during the parliamentary elections. “How can we stay here? This is our graveyard where all our dreams and aspirations are buried,” he said as his wife nodded in agreement. “We have been saying this for the last two years and now we are tired. But the government has not shown any mercy. We have been left to cope on our own,” said Mehboob Ali, one of the Naroda Patiya residents. After his pillow-mattress shop was gutted down, he is carrying on his business from his home, re-built by the Islamic Relief Committee. Though these Muslims could bank on the Congress to get them justice, they cannot rely on them for development. ‘Mini Pakistan’, as some right-wing activists address a Muslim area, Juhapura, is likely to spring up more ghettos and the divide between the two communities will only worsen. Hasmukh Patel, the Congress spokesperson, has no doubt that the BJP will coin new terms to multiply this divide. He is of the opinion that the BJP will come with another emotive issue to increase the hatred towards minorities, especially Muslims. “They have mastered this art and I don’t think they have any other issue now for the next elections. Whether it is the Indo-Pak relations or Kashmir or it is Gujarat, Muslims will be in the forefront,” Patel has no doubt. One-time politician and senior columnist, Batuk Vora, is confident of the new government and he believes that there may not be any need for transfer of cases if the prime accused in the entire carnage -- the chief minister and the VHP gang -- are charge-sheeted or arrested without the dismissal of the government, which, he says, will bring in constitutional problems. But with or without Narendra Modi, the Muslims have learnt the hard lesson of life. Clueless and led by radical clerics, many of these Muslims are likely to remain where they are -- with or without riots.