'It is nonsense to say that Godhra was planned'
Sheela Bhatt in New Delhi | August 11, 2004 16:36 IST

http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/aug/11sheela.htm

Act Now for Harmony and Democracy is a new
organisation that says it will be 'absolutely
action-oriented'.

And Shabnam Hashmi is the force behind it.

In 1989, her elder brother Safdar Hashmi was beaten to
death while performing a street play, Halla Bol,
during municipal elections in Sahibabad, Uttar
Pradesh.

To put pressure on the Gujarat government in
connection with the post-Godhra riots, Anhad organised
a seminar titled 'Rebuilding Justice and Hope in
Gujarat: The Agenda Ahead' in the main auditorium of
India International Centre in New Delhi on July 29.

Needless to say, 'secular activists' attended the
seminar in strength.

Some were famous personalities like actresses Sharmila
Tagore and Nandita Das, lawyers Indira Jaisingh and
Nitya Ramakrishnan, and journalists Praful Bidwai and
Rajdeep Sardesai.

Also present were about 100 students and some known
critics of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Hashmi told rediff.com, "Schoolchildren are the future
of India. We want to sensitise them on the Gujarat
issue. Also, we want to put pressure on the Gujarat
government, which is not moving at all under the garb
of neutrality."

The audience got a large dose of views, albeit
completely one-sided, on the Gujarat issue and how
Modi could be fixed by legal means; if he could be
made accountable for the 'genocide executed with State
complicity'; if the Gujarat government could be forced
to give compensation as much as that received by
victims of the riots in Karnataka [over sharing of
Cauvery river waters with Tamil Nadu] and the 1984
anti-Sikh riots; and how to stop abuse of the
Prevention of Terrorism Act, which is allegedly used
against Muslims in Gujarat.

The seminar opened with a question by
activist-journalist Farha Naqvi during a debate on
'Subversion of legal justice': Is legal justice in
cases of Gujarat relevant at all? For one Bilkis Banu
[a rape victim whose 14 relatives were murdered by
rioters] an army of lawyers is required, and even then
in her case investigation is not completed yet. What
can be expected of other cases?

Jaisingh told rediff.com, "Delhi's 1984 anti-Sikh
riots are forgotten today without any leaders getting
punishment. The Bhopal gas tragedy is a classic case
of injustice. Here courts have opted for 'settlement'
and not 'judgment' to deliver justice. Why is our
legal system not making anyone accountable for crimes
against masses? Why is Narendra Modi not at all
accountable for the riots that killed thousands of
people? How can you strengthen democracy without its
leaders being made responsible for the breakdown of
democracy?"

"A person who is in command of a riot situation must
also be made an accused. In a case filed in Gujarat,
we have made Modi responsible for the deaths of two
non-resident Indians who were murdered by rioters,"
she said.

The case relates to the complaint of Bilal Dawood, a
British citizen whose brother Fareed and cousin Shakil
were killed while they were visiting Gujarat.

Jaisingh said it would be a challenge to establish the
chain of command.

"Let us probe everyone from the chief minister, home
ministry, commissioner of police, sub-inspector and
constable... how did messages percolate?

"India is signatory to the Genocide Convention. Today
in Rwanda and Yugoslavia such international law is
evoked. Why not in Gujarat?" she asked.

[On April 30, 2004, one Dawood filed a case in
Himmatnagar, Mehsana district, seeking Modi's
prosecution. The CM's lawyer has asked for time till
August 16.]

Jesuit priest Cedric Prakash, a leading human rights
activist from Ahmedabad, said, "Territories are drawn
up in Gujarat. In Ahmedabad, the Muslim-dominated
Juhapura area is discriminated. People term it as
mini-Pakistan. No city buses are available there.
Hindus are not ready to do any economic activity in
Muslim localities."

Describing the "fascist" tendencies of the Gujarat
government, he said that the message is clear for
Muslims: you live here on our terms.

Social activist Zakia, who is relentlessly working for
the rights of victims in Gujarat, narrated the Muslim
victims' struggle to get on with life in the face of
an 'economic boycott' by Hindus.

Zakia said, "There are many whose lives have been
completely devastated . They have no homes, no food
and no livelihood. But they are given just enough
compensation to buy two pairs of clothes."

She said that in tribal areas, where Muslims want to
return to their villages, Hindus are asking them to
first withdraw the cases.

Zakia said since dalits and tribals are the foot
soldiers of upper class Hindus who carry out violence
against Muslims, there is an urgent need to carry out
a dialogue with them. Currently, she is working with
100 Gujarati women who are relatives of POTA
detainees.

"These Muslim women are restless and anguished. They
want to read and write to express their pain. Time is
just right to engage the Muslim women of Gujarat," she
said.

The session that provoked the audience was a
PowerPoint presentation titled 'In search of the truth
about Godhra' by Ahmedabad-based activist lawyer Mukul
Sinha.

He presented his take on the burning of the Sabarmati
Express, which killed 59 passengers on February 27,
2002.

With the help of the statements made by people and
policemen before the Nanavati Commission, which is
enquiring into the riots, Sinha tried to establish
that the Godhra carnage was not planned.

He said, "It is nonsense to say that Godhra was a
planned act or a conspiracy."

It was an accident, which was wrongly termed as the
'most horrendous diabolical incident'.

After his presentation some listeners wanted Sinha to
clarify if his contention also meant that neither
Muslims nor Hindus planned Godhra.

Some secularists say that fundamentalist Hindus may
have planned Godhra to ignite riots and win the
assembly election.

Sinha quipped, "The Vishwa Hindu Parishad didn't burn
S-6 compartment in Godhra, but they did burn the
country thereafter!"






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