Youth slashed to death in Ahmedabad
rediff.com,
May 13, 2002.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/may/12train.htm

In unabated communal violence, a youth was slashed to
death and police opened fire and burst several
tear-gas shells to disperse rioting mobs who set shops
in curfew-bound localities of Ahmedabad on fire on
Sunday afternoon.
Two persons armed with swords and riding a scooter
attacked an unsuspecting youth at Bhaironnnath Road of
Maninagar area, police sources said.

The youth suffered multiple injuries on his head and
other parts of the body and was rushed to hospital
where he was declared dead on arrival, they added.

Mobs hurled stones indiscriminately at curfew-bound
Jamalpur locality in the Haveli police station area
and set a shop on fire, forcing the police to open
fire and burst several teargas shells.

A shop was also set afire at Behrampura in Danilimda,
which is also under indefinite curfew, fire brigade
sources said.

Meanwhile, indefinite curfew remained in force in four
police station areas of Haveli, Kagdapith, Kalupur and
Danilimda.

But curfew was relaxed in other police station areas
of the walled city during the day.

Meanwhile, K P S Gill, security adviser to Gujarat
Chief Minister Narendra Modi, directed senior police
personnel, including intelligence officers, "not to
spare the guilty" involved in rioting and asked them
to file "regular reports" on the progress of the
cases.

Terming the meeting of senior police and intelligence
officers highly fruitful, a source in Gill's office
told the Press Trust of India in Ahmedabad that he had
told them that the "law should take its course and
culprits arrested and prosecution should be pursued at
the top level".

Police officers briefed Gill about steps being taken
to revamp policing, which has come in for some severe
criticism over the last two months.

Gill was also told that despite some incidents of
stabbing, "efforts at reconciliation and appeals made
to the people, especially the minority, have been able
to stop any strong retaliation".

Gill also emphasised the need to keep a proper check
on people with a "criminal bent of mind", who are now
taking advantage of the volatile situation.

Later in the evening Gill held discussions with Union
Law Minister Arun Jaitley, the source said.

PTI

Copyright (c) 2002 rediff.com. All rights reserved.

National media highlighting 'one-sided picture' of
Gujarat: VHP
rediff.com,
May 13, 2002.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/may/13train.htm

The VHP on Sunday accused the national media of
highlighting a 'one-sided picture' of the Gujarat
situation and alleged that many Hindus have been
killed and temples destroyed in the weeks of violence,
which began on February 27.

"Looking at the national media, it seems that Hindus
are the culprits and the minority community is very
innocent. This is not the real position," VHP senior
vice-president Acharya Giriraj Kishore said.

He alleged that from March 15 to date, many ancient
and historical temples have been demolished and Hindus
attacked and murdered.

Asked about the findings of the Editors' Guild of
India mission that many Gujarati papers played a
'mischievous role' in fomenting trouble, he said, "It
is a baseless charge. The local media can feel and
understand the pulse of the people much better."

Kishore termed as 'objectionable' the appointment of K
P S Gill as security adviser to Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi and asked, "Are we creating a parallel
authority in the state? What will be the position of
the Director General of Police in the state?"

"Peace in Gujarat is a paramount necessity, but it
cannot be achieved by criticising the Gujarat
government," he added.

PTI

Copyright(c) 2002 rediff.com. All rights reserved.

Kashmiri women to adopt orphans from India's Gujarat state

Khaleej Times

May 13, 2002.

http://www.khaleejtimes.co.ae/subcont.htm

SRINAGAR - A group of women in troubled Kashmir said on Monday they would take in orphans and widows made destitute by anti-Muslim riots in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The women, who did not identify themselves, issued an appeal through the local media for other women to come forward and help the victims of Gujarat, where nearly 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, have died since late February.

"Given our own tragedy (in Kashmir), there is little we can do for our less fortunate sufferers of Gujarat," read a front-page appeal in the leading daily Greater Kashmir. "But even within our constraints, some small things can be done. Some ladies, mostly housewives, have got together to take an initiative."

The women said they "have offered to adopt some orphans and widows to enable them to resume their normal life." Riots broke out in Gujarat on February 27 after a Muslim mob torched a train carrying Hindu hardliners, killing 58 people. Human rights groups have accused the state leadership, led by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's Hindu-nationalist BJP party, of turning a blind or even sympathetic eye to subsequent attacks on the minority Muslim community.

The Kashmiri women's appeal said despite "torture, torment and deprivations here, something worse is happening in Gujarat." "The feeling of siege and helplessness among the Gujarat Muslims cannot be matched by even the worst kind of atrocities in a scenario where we have been at least free to share our agony with each other," said the appeal. Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state, has been in turmoil since 1989, when armed separatists launched a campaign to become independent or join neighbouring Pakistan. More than 35,000 people have died in the rebellion, which has created over 20,000 widows and orphans in the Himalayan former tourist haven. - AFP

Modi announces relief for minorities
PTI

[ MONDAY, MAY 13, 2002 9:22:06 PM ]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Articleshow.asp?art_id=9789858

GANDHINAGAR: After mediation of sorts by National Minority
Commission, Gujarat government on Monday announced a series of
measures for minorities in the violence-torn state including repair
of mosques damaged in the riots, lodging of fresh FIRs and a special
committee to record statements of women subjected to atrocities.

Vice-Chairman of the Commission Tarlochan Singh told reporters after
tripartite talks featuring him, Chief Minister Narendra Modi and
representatives of Muslims here that the state government would
undertake a survey of the damages to properties in the violence and
NGOs would be involved in the work to ensure the work was carried out
properly.

Modi announced Chairman of National Minority Development and Finance
Corporation Kazi Mohammed Miya Mazhari and its member Shamim Kazi
would be involved in implementing the Rs 150-crore relief package
announced by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for violence-hit in
Gujarat, Singh said.

On the issue of FIRs not being accepted by a "partisan" police in the
state about attacks on them - one of the major grievances of minority
communities - Singh said the Chief Minister has assured that every
would be given an opportunity to lodge fresh first information
reports.

Modi has also assured that a three-member committee of women would be
formed in every district to record the statements on excesses
committed against women which would be handed over to concerned
police officials.

The Chief Minister made it clear that no relief camp would be closed
unless proper security and rehabilitation were ensured for people who
were uprooted from their villages by the violence, Singh said.

Copyright © 2002 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved

Terrorism first, then Gujarat, says Advani
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
[MONDAY, MAY 13, 2002 11:38:11 PM ]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_ID=9799321

NEW DELHI: Home minister Advani on Monday said the ``horrific
communal violence in Gujarat'' should not divert the country's
attention from ``cross-border terrorism'', which is the ``ever
present, paramount danger to India's internal security and unity''.

``Let not the events of Gujarat make us forget the ever-present
danger of cross-border terrorism,'' Advani said after giving away O P
Bhasin awards for science and technology to five scientists. Advani
said his government would like to increase the use of science in
improving intelligence gathering, crime detection, investigation, and
in training of police personnel.

Saying that Americans would, perhaps, never forget the September 11
terrorist strikes, he said India has already forgotten December 13
terrorist attack on Parliament. ``The horrific communal violence in
Gujarat has pushed the menace of cross-border terrorism into the
background. But it is not right for us to reduce our vigilance
against this paramount danger.

``Indeed, those anti-India forces behind cross-border terrorism have
been seen to be taking a lot of interest in the happenings in
Gujarat. They may strike again not only in Jammu and Kashmir but
elsewhere too," he said.

Copyright © 2002 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved

Stray violence keeps peace at bay in Ahmedabad
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
[MONDAY, MAY 13, 2002 1:38:46 AM ]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Articleshow.asp?art_id=9799362

AHMEDABAD: Sporadic incidents of stone-throwing and bomb blasts were
reported from some riot-torn localities of the city on Monday which
left four persons injured.

Bystanders and passers-by ran helter-skelter late on Monday as
unidentified miscreants lobbed crude bombs at the Victoria Garden
near Ellisbridge. The bombs damaged two nearby slum quarters and
injured a girl. The fire was doused by locals. According to eye-
witnesses, the miscreants were in an autorickshaw and sped away after
the incident.

Earlier in the day, three persons were injured in another bomb
explosion that had the police rushing to the Raikhad Mill Compound
Area. One of the injured has been admitted to the VS Hospital while
two others were discharged after first aid.

According to residents, two persons on a motorcycle had zoomed in,
lobbed the bomb in the compound which houses a relief camp for the
riot-victims and sped off. This apart, stone-throwing incidents were
also reported from Danilimda and Shahpur areas. No one was injured.

Earlier, a sutli bomb exploded at Mahemdabad late on Sunday night
triggering alarm. One person was injured and the police have taken
cognisance of the case.

Copyright © 2002 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Articleshow.asp?art_id=9800279

Can't shut out the world, says Sorabjee
TIMES NEWS NETWORK & AGENCIES
[ MONDAY, MAY 13, 2002 11:51:54 PM ]

JAIPUR: Attorney-General Soli Sorabjee said here on Monday that India
cannot brush aside concern voiced by some foreign countries on the
Gujarat situation.

Old dogmas of state sovereignty have changed and the international
community can now express ``legitimate concern'', he said.

Speaking at the national seminar on ``Human rights in governance,''
Sorabjee said it was just not enough for the government to criticise
superficially or express resentment over critical reports of foreign
countries.

``If their reports are incorrect, false or exaggerated, our response
should be with facts or figures,'' he said. Merely expressing the
government's resentment or criticism to such reports
gave ``propaganda ammunition'' to countries hostile to India.

He said while the country had made many strides on social, political
and economic fronts in the last half century, it was lagging on human
rights issues. The recent riots in Gujarat were the worst example of
human rights violation.

Sorabjee suggested that an international law relating to human rights
should be formulated for uniform use globally.

The inaction or wilful inaction of a state to check violation of
human rights is considered equal to human rights violation by the
international fraternity. This principle of a state's accountability
is gaining ground and international obligation should also become
legislative obligation, he said.

Sorabjee made an impassioned plea to people to come forward to
establish the rule of law in Gujarat. Efforts should be made to
bridge the divide between the majority and minority communities. The
majority community should dispel the notion that the rights of the
minorities were some kind of privilege.

The minority community, on its part, should also understand that its
rights did not give it the licence to break the law.

Sorabjee called for the creation of a ``correct mindset'' among the
police and other state agencies to respect the personal dignity of
every individual.

Copyright © 2002 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved

BJP's jail bharo campaign gives cops jitters
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
[ MONDAY, MAY 13, 2002 11:00:52 PM ]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Articleshow.asp?art_id=9796708

AHMEDABAD/VADODARA: The threat of the Panchmahals unit of the ruling
BJP to organise a 'jail bharo' on Friday to protest against the
arrest of its leaders for rioting is being taken seriously by the
state police.

So much so that senior police officials say the agitation, which
threatens to spill over to the adjoining tribal pockets of Vadodara
district, has the potential to start another round of violence in
Central Gujarat, which has remained largely peaceful in recent weeks.

By organising the agitation in Godhra, the district headquarters, the
police feel the BJP and its allies are also sending a message to the
men in khaki across the state to desist from cracking down on
perpetrators of the post-Godhra wave of violence.

A senior police official in Gandhinagar said, "With the situation so
charged in Godhra after the train massacre, it is remarkable how the
district administration has managed to enforce peace in the town.
However, agitations such as these can send things spiralling out of
control".

Not wanting to take any chances, the district administration has
approached the higher-ups to send additional forces to Panchmahals to
tackle any flare-up. It is learnt that some forces stationed in
Vadodara may be sent to Godhra immediately as it appears that peace
has returned to Vadodara district. However, there are also
indications that the BJP units in the tribal areas of Vadodara, like
Chhota Udepur and Kawant, are also planning to launch similar
agitations to coincide with the 'jail bharo' in Godhra.

Sources in the police said while the police had become emboldened
after the arrival of K P S Gill and had started effecting arrests of
rioters mentioned in FIRs, the BJP was sending out signals that it
would not tolerate action against its party cadre.

While police in districts like Ahmedabad had handled leaders of the
BJP and its allies named in FIRs with kid gloves, in Panchmahals, on
the other hand, the police have arrested at least 10 prominent party
members, including taluka-level leaders. The series of arrests was
kicked off with the arrest of Khanpur taluka panchayat president
Kalubhai Malivad in connection with the massacre at Limadiya Chokdi.

This was followed by arrests of a couple of other prominent persons,
including Kalol taluka BJP unit president Chandrasinh Parmar. Parmar
has been accused of mass murder in Eral village and was arrested last
week.

A few of those arrested by the police landed in even more of a soup
when they were denied bail and sent to judicial custody. Police said
while the BJP and VHP had engaged an army of lawyers in Ahmedabad,
Vadodara and other places to fight cases of rioters, similar efforts
were lacking in the tribal areas of Panchmahals and Vadodara.

Peeved at the state of affairs, the BJP's Panchmahals unit is now
planning a mammoth demonstration to court arrest on Friday.
Panchmahals is not the only region where the BJP has found itself in
a tight spot. In Vadodara district, the rural police have arrested
around a dozen persons believed to be close to the BJP or the VHP.
Says Vadodara superintendent of police Piyush Patel, "At least eight
to ten persons having connections with the BJP or VHP have been
arrested. However, we do not have the exact information regarding the
affiliation all those arrested so far."

Copyright © 2002 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.

MUSLIMS FORCED TO CONVERT, WITHDRAW FIRS IN GUJARAT’
By Our Special Correspondent
Asian Age,
New Delhi, May 12.

http://www.hclinfinet.com/2002/MAY/WEEK2/2/IndiaInsideFS.jsp

The CPI(M) has alleged that Muslims living in relief
camps in Gujarat are being forced to change their
religion and withdraw the FIRs filed by them against
the rioters if they want a safe return to their homes.

“As the inmates of the relief camps, living in inhuman
conditions with epidemics and diseases spreading,
leave in search of their destroyed homes, they are
being waylaid and killed. Those who have braved to
reach what were once their homes are being threatened
in various ways.

Some are being told that they cannot live in their
homes unless they convert their religion. Some others
are being threatened that they cannot live in their
homes unless they withdraw the FIRs and complaints
that they had filed...,” the CPI(M) said in the
editorial of the latest issue of party organ People’s
Democracy.

The party said, “These are the conditions of
‘normalcy’ that Mr Narendra Modi wants the country to
accept.” “...They (the Gujarat and Central
governments) have shown the world Indian variant of
ethnic cleansing. What they are doing in Gujarat is
reminiscent of the fascist ghettoisation undertaken by
Hitler and the Nazis in the 1930s.

It is a different matter that civilisation has
advanced during the seven decades since. The fascists,
however, continuously keep going back to barbarism as
the method to achieve their political objectives,” the
party said.

The party said that in spite of committing itself to
intervene in Gujarat under Article 355, the Vajpayee
government at the Centre has done precious little
apart from allocating a measly Rs 150 crore. The party
said that the amount allocated by the Central
government was extremely inadequate as “various
estimates have put the loss of property and economic
life as a result of this carnage at a whopping Rs
11,000 crore.”

The party said that though the need of the hour is to
ensure proper living conditions in the relief camps,
put together a rehabilitation plan and bring to book
the perpetrators of the ghastly crime, “it is
obviously ridiculous to expect either the Narendra
Modi administration or the Vajpayee dispensation to
undertake such a task.”

Copyright (c) 2002 Asian age Online. All rights reserved.

MINORITY LEADERS AGREE TO MEET MODI
FROM BASANT RAWAT
The Telegraph

http://www.telegraphindia.com/front_pa.htm#head2

Ahmedabad, May 12:
Attempts to restore normality in Gujarat made a
breakthrough today when minority leaders agreed to
meet chief minister Narendra Modi for the first time
since the outbreak of violence two-and-a-half months
ago.
As of now, however, neither representatives of the RSS
nor of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad will attend peace
talks organised by the National Commission for
Minorities (NCM) tomorrow between leaders of both
communities.

The commission had set up two committees, representing
Hindus and Muslims, 10 days ago and held separate
meetings with leaders of the minority community and
the RSS and the VHP.

Tomorrow, the committee of Muslim representatives will
first meet the commission where Modi’s security
adviser K.P.S. Gill will be present. The minority
leaders have agreed to meet the chief minister after
these talks in the first effort to break the ice with
the government.

It follows an abortive attempt earlier by the
commission when its members visited Gujarat on May 2
to get the minority leaders to sit across the table
with Modi.

Nisar Ahmed Ansari, a representative of the 16-member
committee, has confirmed that the chief minister has
invited them and that they will meet him.

Sources said the credit for the success this time goes
neither to the commission nor to the state government,
but to Gill, who appears be making some headway in
regaining the faith of the minorities in the system.

No peace move can succeed, though, without the
participation of the Sangh and the VHP, and there is
no progress on this front. At the meeting tomorrow
between the commission and the Muslim committee, the
counterpart Hindu group has not been invited. It is
not even meeting the commission separately.

Social defence secretary R.M. Patel, who has invited
minority leaders to the meeting, said he had not
informed VHP leaders. “I was not told to invite VHP
leaders. I do not know why,” he said.

Sangh and VHP leaders have said they would not take
part in any peace initiative until the commission
clarifies its views.

“We read a newspaper report in which the NCM blamed us
for engineering communal riots. If this is the
perception of the NCM about us, I think there is no
point in meeting the commission. I think the
commission should not meet any organisation which has
been accused,” said a VHP leader when asked if the
parishad would reconsider its decision if the
commission or Gill invited them for talks.

VHP state unit general secretary Dilip Trivedi said
they had not been invited “though we are open to
dialogue and any efforts for the restoration of
peace”.

“But even if we are invited, the VHP has no intention
of attending,” he said.

Trivedi said the VHP had sent a fax to the commission
asking it to clarify whether it considers the
“representatives of Hindu organisations as the
culprit”. “But we have not yet got the reply from the
NCM. Unless we get a satisfactory answer we will not
meet the NCM or any minority leaders.”

Copyright 2002 The Telegraph. All rights reserved.

Over 300 leave Gujarat camp for safer havens
Deccan Herald,
AHMEDABAD, May 12 (PTI)

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/may13/n4.htm

Over 300 minority community inmates from Bakarshaka
Roza relief camp in riot-hit Gomtipur area of the city
have left for Rajasthan in last two days, camp
coordinator Lalabhai said today.

“About 330 people from Ghanchi community left for home
near Jaipur after a month long shelter in our relief
camp,” he told PTI here.

Lalbhai said the victims “left for safer havens near
Jaipur with shattered dreams after receiving
compensation worth Rs 1250”.

“They were in utter despair and helplessness. Their
dreams have been shattered. These people had come to
Ahmedabad with lot of hopes... until the other day
they hoped to get some help but what they got was
cheque worth paltry sum,” he said.

The camp inmates strength in last few days have
dropped from 29,036 to 2,600.

He said there would be 70 more families who could
leave within a day or two as “they think their houses
in Chartola Kabarsthan and Mariam Biwi ka chawl areas
would be better than the life in the relief camps”.

“Sweltering heat, absence of water and any good cover
overhead have made life worse than one could imagine.
These people, whose houses were ransacked but not
burnt, are now willing to return provided there is
security,” he said.

To a question, the camp coordinator Lalabhai, who runs
an electric repairing centre near Kalidas Mill in
Gomtipur, remarked, “As a relief worker I am also
losing patience... how long can we continue to watch
people suffer such negligence?”

© Copyright, 1999 The Printers (Mysore)Ltd.

‘We want our Muslim neighbours back, life isn’t the
same’
At Naroda Patiya, Hindu families regret not being able
to save those who were killed — and wait for the ones
who fled to return
Indian Express.
Palak Nandi.

http://www.indian-express.com/full_story.php?content_id=2620

Ahmedabad, May 12 In the ghost town that is Naroda
Patiya today, Sej Bahadur longs for some human
company.

In his lane comprising 15 houses, Sej Bahadur (75) was
the only one left behind, untouched and unharmed. His
Muslim neighbours fled after the February 28 massacre.
‘‘They used to look after me whenever I was ill, get
food for me from the market. I was chacha to everyone,
from children to grandparents,’’ he says. ‘‘This lane,
this whole locality is no longer the same.’’

The day after the Godhra attack, armed mobs surrounded
Naroda Patiya. Around 85 Muslims were reportedly
killed that long, bloody day. Of the 1,000-odd houses
in the slum, only those belonging to Hindus were
spared, identified by images of gods, diyas and puja
niches.

The Hindus fled too, and took refuge at the
Dhanushdhari Mata temple across the road from Naroda
Patiya. Many went away from there to their villages or
to relatives’ homes and haven’t returned since.

However, around 20 of the 50-odd Hindu families with
homes in Naroda Patiya have chosen to return after
they had nowhere else to go. They say oppressive
loneliness is all around, in every empty lane, in the
ashes of the demolished and burnt shanties, outside
every destroyed house, in the mangled iron cots and
utensils that are still strewn about.

Bahadur was among the first to return. ‘‘I started
living here again eight days after the riots, although
everyday I would come here to light a lamp at a
Nageshwar shrine,’’ he says. ‘‘But I wish my
neighbours return. My life is not complete without
them.’’

Standing outside his kholi, where he has lived for 50
years, Bahadur speaks of how he has seen his lost
neighbour’s children grow up, get married, and have
their children calling him chacha.

‘‘Today, I’m not even sure how many of them are
alive,’’ he says, choking. ‘‘I saw Ravan take over
mankind that day. I could do nothing to save my
neighbours, I myself had to run from the attacking
haivaans.’’

Like Bahadur, the Mishras’ home is one of the pockets
of life in the desolate slum. Prabhashankar Mishra, a
factory hand, has persuaded his brother and five other
members of his joint family to return to their Pandit
Ni Chawl hovel, built by his father. ‘‘We wish they
were back, our Muslim neighbours,’’ says Mishra, who
has lived in the colony for more than 40 years.
‘‘Never before has this lane seemed so haunted.’’

Bhagyawati Madankar, who has lived here for more than
30 years, finds the silence terrifying: ‘‘Before the
riots, our lanes were filled with the laughter of men,
the talk of women, and cheers of children at play.
This silence cuts through to my heart. We wish our
neighbours return.’’

Children miss their playmates. Dilip (11) has lost his
constant companion. ‘‘Rehman and I went to school
togther, played together, we were always together.
Even our birthdays are on the same date,’’ he says.
‘‘His parents came here one day to take some things
from their home, locked it and left.’’

‘‘But they didn’t bring Rehman along. Looks like I’ll
never see him again.’’ he says quietly. ‘‘I wish we
belonged to the same community.’’

For most of the Hindu families, the Muslims residents
were all friends. Vijay Padam remembers a biryani he
had at his neigbour’s house on Bakr Id, the week
before the rioting.

‘‘If we didn’t have good relations, would I have gone
to his house?’’ he asks. ‘‘They too participated in
our Gudi Padwa and Diwali celebrations.’’

Padam says the riot that robbed him of his neighbour
was the worst. ‘‘Even during the earlier riots in the
city — in 1969, ’71, ’89, and ’92 — nothing happened
here.’’ Which is what makes the destruction around a
reminder of helplessness. ‘‘These locked doors, burnt
houses keep making us realise how we just could not
help them,’’ says Pushpa Navtambhai, whose house is
opposite Noorani Masjid, near where over 60 people who
hid in a shed were burnt alive.

‘‘They were friends in times of need. I never felt shy
in asking them for anything, even borrowing money,’’
she says. ‘‘And it pains me to remember how helpless
we were that day that we could not save them.’’

© 2002: Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd. All
rights reserved throughout the world.

VHP to spread ‘Gujarat Shourya’
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
[ MONDAY, MAY 13, 2002 1:51:18 AM ]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=9708558

LUCKNOW: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad will take the
‘Gujarat Shourya’ message to every nook and corner of
the country in a bid to unite members of the majority
community.

The organisation began a massive cadre-training
programme all over the state for this purpose from
Sunday. The main aim of the training-cum-workshop is
to take the VHP programmes to the people, particularly
in rural areas.

Such programmes will be organised in all 125 district
units of the organisation in Uttar Pradesh between May
12 and May 23. After that the VHP workers will be
asked to fan out all over the state to carry the VHP
message.

A senior VHP leader said that pamphlets about ‘Godhra
Carnage’ and ‘Gujarat Shourya’ had already been sent
for printing and the same would be made available to
workers after successful completion of the training
for distribution among the masses.

The Durga Vahini and the Bajrang Dal, offshoots of the
VHP, will also organise ‘Shourya Prashikshan Shivirs’
at different parts of the state between May 12 and
June 30. During the camp, workers will be given
training in fire-arms and self-defence.

After the conclusion of these cadre-building camps,
the Bajrang Dal will organise a seven-day special
training camp at selective places for full-timers.
These full-time members, forming the core group, in
turn, will impart training to outstanding workers to
carry out special assigned tasks.

The summer training camps by the VHP are aimed at
mobilising and training cadre before the two-day
Margdarshak Mandal meeting, beginning June 22 at
Hardwar. It will be followed by a week-long VHP
governing council meeting at Ranchi from July 5.

The Margdarshak Mandal, the highest decision-making
body, is likely to take some important decisions on
the VHP’s Ram temple construction plan. The
cadre-building exercise will help the organisation to
implement its decisions. In Lucknow, the VHP city unit
organised a training-cum-workshop at Umaro Dharamsala.
The interactive session, divided into three parts, was
attended by hundreds of VHP members from the city. In
the first session, workers were told about the
history, aim and objectives of the organisation. The
second session revolved around prevailing political
and social situation in the country, particularly in
the light of the Godhra and Gujarat incidents.

Addressing the concluding session, the VHP central
secretary Ramphal cautioned the majority community
members about conspiracy being hatched by
fundamentalist forces to destabilise the country.
“Godhra carnage is an eye-opener and every Hindu must
take a lesson from it,” he pointed out.

Copyright © 2002 Times Internet Limited. All rights
reserved.

VHP stickler on FIRs hinders rehab plan
Rathin Das
Hindustan Times,
(Godhra, May 12)

http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/130502/detNAT13.asp
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ahmedabad may be still be burning, but a four-phase
rehabilitation plan may succeed in bringing normalcy
to the district where it all began. There is, however,
one stumbling block. The insistence of VHP and Bajrang
Dal activists to have their names removed from the
FIRs filed by the fleeing villagers.
Though Godhra itself did not witness much violence
after the Sabarmati Express was torched, the hate
campaign launched against the minorities in the
villages of the district displaced

nearly 8,000 people, forcing them to take shelter in
relief camps.

The four-phase rehabilitation plan evolved by district
collector Jayanti Ravi has started paying dividends
with many villagers returning to their homes over the
last fortnight.

The insistence for the withdrawal of FIRs is coming
mainly from Anjanwa village in Panchmahal and
Randhikpur in Dahod district, sources in a relief camp
in Godhra said.

During the first week of riots, 18 people were killed
in Randhikpur and 12 were killed in Anjanwa. Several
local VHP and Bajrang Dal men were named in the FIRs
filed by the villagers, the sources said.

About 170 displaced people are not being able to
return to Randhikpur with the Sangh Parivar men, all
supporters of local MLA Jaswantsinh Babhor, demanding
that their names be first removed from the FIRs before
the minorities are allowed to settle back.

©Hindustan Times Ltd. 1997.

Forget fatigue, these men had their jobs to do
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
[ SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2002 11:39:44 PM ]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=9699376

AHMEDABAD: Everybody talked about 'riot fatigue' in
the very first month of its outbreak since February
27. If they expected the mobs to get simply pooped out
by sheer exhaustion, it hasn't happened. If anybody is
exhausted, it is the common man who is desperately
seeking peace. But, the riots of 2002 were another
call of duty like the earthquake of 2001 for those
unsung heroes who performed it with unflinching
commitment. 'The Times of India' profiles three such
men :

Lalji Zinzal, resident doctor, general surgery

Two hours of uninterrupted sleep is a luxury. For
hands that wield the scalpel cannot afford to rest
when communal elements just do not seem to be getting
enough of cutting each other's throats.

"The first four days after the Godhra carnage were
mind-boggling. All of us doctors, including our
seniors, worked non-stop, running from emergency wards
into operation theatres into post-operative wards. By
the time, you had settled one set of patients, forty
more would turn up at the casualty with serious
injuries ranging from people who were burnt alive or
ripped open by mindless stabbing. It has almost become
a vicious circle with patients streaming in till
date," says Lalji.

He confesses that there were times when they were
forced to go without food and even tea and coffee for
hours. "But it really doesn't matter. When you have to
work, you work."

Lalji has lost count of how many open wounds he sewed
up and how many bullets he extracted. "One thing which
I cherish most about the entire experience is the fact
while communal misgivings have poisoned minds, we
doctors successfully treated victims without ever
letting the bias rear its ugly head," he says.

Dilipsinh Chavda, fireman

The job of a fireman in Ahmedabad during these riotous
times have been difficult indeed. Looking at the
number of arson incidents reported since February 27,
Chavda had a non-stop work schedule as the fires
turned night into day.

While arsonists continue to hold the city to ransom,
Chavda has to rush to the site of a fire everytime
there is a call. The moment the hooter starts blaring
at his fire station, no matter what hour of the day or
night it is, Chavda has to immediately ready himself
and rush.

Even before the fire tender halts at the spot he
quickly unloads hosepipes and arranges them
strategically to douse the fire. He comes back only to
attend another fire call waiting in queue. Like
Chavda, another 430 firemen of the Ahmedabad Fire
Brigade (AFB) are following the same routine for more
than two months now. "I was not able to attend my
grandfather's funeral and attend another social at my
sister's place," he says.

Amid back-breaking work schedule and cancellation of
leaves he keeps a smiling face when asked about 'riot
fatigue'. Interestingly, Chavda also worked
relentlessly during the quake. His only regret is that
unlike the quake, this time even the fire brigade had
become the target of mob attacks.

Nagji Jaiswal, constable

Posted at the Gaikwad Haveli police station, Jaiswal
has been assigned the job of bursting tear-gas shells
whenever a mob gathers.

He has lost count on how many tear-gas shells he has
lobbed since February 27. Though he himself doubts the
efficacy of his weapon to control mobs, he believes
that it helps scatter the growing mobs. "If the tear
gas doesn't work, we fire bullets," he says.

Sometimes, for days, he does not get home because his
house is located in an area which is also trouble-torn
and it's risky going there at night, even for a
policeman.

His marriage, scheduled for April 28, was postponed
due to the riots and his busy schedule. He has no
regrets for he feels the riots have dampened the
city's spirits and marriage wouldn't have been fun
anyway during these times.

"We are a disciplined force. We can't complain what
problems we have, but if the government redresses our
problems on its own it would be nice," he adds.

Copyright © 2002 Times Internet Limited. All rights
reserved.

Gangs lure jobless into booming bomb business
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
[ MONDAY, MAY 13, 2002 11:33:58 PM ]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=9698977

AHMEDABAD: Names like 'salli', 'dabba', and 'dungri'
are no misnomers to men who have vowed to destroy the
peace. They are names of the variety of crude bombs
that are freely available - at a price - from
organised gangs which have employed those without work
in this deadly cottage industry spread over eastern
Ahmedabad.
Insiders say there are seven such organised gangs
operating in the city which have specialised in the
art of bomb-making in the last 75 days of the riots.
Interestingly, each gang leaves its own unique marking
on the bomb, usually an engraving or a hole at a fixed
place on the pipe or box or leather case, in a unique
branding of these explosives.
Police are also aware that bombs, more than any other
weapon, are now being used by mobs as the violence
enters the 11th week. What's surprising is that a
large number of labourers, who were without work and
desperate for daily wages, are being inducted into
these gangs.
A 'salli', for instance, is a pipe (half an inch in
diameter), stuffed with the explosive material called
'masala' and bolted on both ends. It has a fuse fixed
to one end. A 'dabba' is a regular container of
'zarda', and a 'dungri' is leather stuffed with
'masala' and pieces of nails and sharp objects which
act as shrapnel.
'Dungri', which is now under production, would prove
to be quite popular because of its destructive power
once it is out in the market. The basic ingredients of
these bombs are also feature in regular fire-crackers.
Gun powder, for instance, forms the primer which
comprises potassium nitrate, charcoal and sulphur.
Altering this basic composition can either make the
device explosive or a propellant.
At present, there are seven such organised networks in
the city engaged in this dubious trade. Jobless
labourers like Bholu, Prakash, and Bappan from
Rajasthan who did not have money to go back to their
native place after the riots broke out, found making
bombs a quick and easy way to earn some much needed
money.
According to Bholu, there are 22 such labourers like
him in this trade. The trio was promised Rs 1,200
each, which they never received, to make these bombs.
They have found shelter with an NGO and await a chance
to return home.
Prakash, who was picked up by one of these gangs,
says: "They (the gang leaders) used to get the usual
Diwali firecrackers. We took the 'masala' from them
and added another reddish black powder to it. The
mixture was packed in pipes, containers and leather
pouches. We had to put a mark on the finished
product."
Fearing their lives could be in danger once the riots
were over and the job done, he decided to quit and
advised his friends to do the same.
"We were holed up in Kalupur for ten days. When
tension mounted, we shifted base. It was a dark room.
I was in the place for 17 days," says Prakash. It was
only after he came out of the ghetto did he realise
what shape the city had taken.
(Names have been changed to protect identity)

Copyright © 2002 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved

Gill's appointment in Gujarat criticised
The Hindu

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2002/05/12/stories/2002051202600700.htm

RAIPUR May I1. Renowned journalist and Coalition for
Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) national
executive member Praful Bidwai, today said the
appointment of K.P.S. Gill, as security advisor would
not help improve the situation in riot-hit Gujarat.

Speaking at the inaugural session of a peace
conference, organised by the CNDP and other social
organisations at the Ravishankar Shukla University
here, he alleged that the Gujarat Government had
appointed Mr Gill, despite knowing the fact that there
were blatant human rights violation during his tenure
in Punjab.

"Mr. Gill is known for dealing with terrorism while
the situation in Gujarat is different'', he said
adding that he was not confident that the presence of
Mr. Gill would help improve the situation in Gujarat.

Claiming that it was for the first time after
independence that a particular community was targeted
in such a manner, Mr. Bidwai alleged that it was also
for the first time that those indulging in riots got
patronage from those in power.

Quoting official sources, he claimed that more than
2000 people died in the Gujarat riots.

Mr. Bidwai claimed three independent inquiry teams
have concluded that Gujarat violence was well planned
and not just a reaction to the Godhra carnage.

— UNI

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu.

Nowhere to run and no place to hide
Sunday Herald,
May 13, 2002.

http://www.sundayherald.com/24550

For Muslim refugees, relief camps are the only escape
from Gujarat's howling mobs. Now, the monsoon
threatens to close the crowded havens reports Helen
Rowe in Ahmedabad

Saberabanu Shaikh clutches her young son and stares
bleakly into the distance. Despite the chaos of one of
Gujarat's biggest refugee camps it is difficult not to
notice her severely burnt arm.
Ten weeks ago, Saberabanu's life changed forever when
Muslim extremists set fire to a train at Godhra,
killing 58 Hindu pilgrims. The religious violence that
followed has claimed some 900 lives in Gujarat,
including those of 24-year-old Saberabanu's two sons,
aged six and eight, and four of her in-laws.

On February 28, the day after the Godhra massacre, the
Shaikhs were confronted by a howling mob of up to 2000
Hindus at their home in the state capital Ahmedabad.
Terrified, they dropped everything and fled.

For six hours, Hindu friends gave Saberabanu and her
Muslim family shelter. But when news leaked out of
their whereabouts the Hindu family, fearing for their
own lives, asked them to leave.

As the Shaikhs went in search of another safe house,
they found themselves cornered.

'The mob had knives and swords,' said Saberabanu.
'They threw petrol and kerosene over us. We were
running to get away from them but they cornered us. We
were trapped. We had nowhere left to run to.'

In the next few horrifying minutes eight-year-old
Wasim and six-year-old Salim, and four of Saberabanu's
brothers and sisters-in-law were burnt alive. In a
desperate attempt to save the life of her youngest
son, Saberabanu tossed four-year-old Shabbir away from
her.

'I was holding him in my arms so I threw him away from
the fire so he would not die with me,' she said.

Inexplicably, Saberabanu also survived. As the young
mother tried to escape she tripped and fell. A burning
man fell on top of her. The next thing she remembers
is the arrival of the police who took her to hospital,
effectively saving her life.

Saberabanu was discharged 10 days ago after eight
weeks of painful treatment on her arm which remains
covered from shoulder to fingers in thick red scar
tissue. Now living at one of Ahmedabad's largest
relief camps, she said her only comfort is that her
husband and youngest son were saved.

To outsiders, the plight of the camp's residents
appears pitiful. The afternoon temperatures reach
45ûC. Privacy is non- existent. Ten thousand people
share a handful of latrines and the entire camp
population sleeps in a communal area beneath make-
shift shelters.

But the camp dwellers feel secure and show no sign of
being ready to leave. Located deep in the heart of a
Muslim quarter, the district is a no-go area for
Hindus. Around the camp, burnt-out, half-destroyed
shops and homes line the silent streets. Nearby, a
mosque stands partly demolished -- just 100 yards from
a police station whose officers, it is claimed, did
nothing to prevent the destruction. Around 120,000
people -- the majority of them Muslims -- remain iin 53
camps across Gujarat, according to figures compiled by
the Indian Red Cross Society.

Aid agencies say many want to return to their homes
but have been deterred by renewed violence in which
more than 20 people have been murdered. Some semblance
of normal life does appear to have returned to parts
of Ahmedabad. But driving through the city last week
it is clear the violence is far from over.

Streets that hours earlier were bustling appear
suddenly empty as violence erupts nearby. The army
continues to patrol the city and an indefinite curfew
remains in force in the city's main commercial area.
Some 60 people have also been injured while handling
home-made bombs made from a deadly mix of gun powder
and pieces of metal and glass. Red Cross deputy
medical chief Dr J Ganthimathi says many women are so
frightened of leaving the security of the camps they
have been refusing to go to hospital even to give
birth.

As a result, nurses have been given one-day crash
courses in midwifery to help them spot high-risk
cases. Whatever the fears, Ganthimathi stresses that
the camps will have to close before the onset of the
monsoon to avoid a public health disaster.

But many in the camps remain too frightened to even
think of returning home. Ruksarabanu Mansuri, a
32-year-old mother-of-four, lost her brother, sister,
aunt and two cousins in the bloodshed. All five were
stabbed and then set alight after a mob invaded the
slum where she lived. Ruksarabanu says she fled with
her husband and children and spent the next eight days
hiding in deserted buildings.

Threatening to kill herself by taking poison, she said
she still has constant nightmares about being found by
a mob and burnt alive. 'There is no way out,' she
said. 'I don't want to be in this camp but these
things that my children saw in one week were the worst
things imaginable so nothing can be worse than that.

'I am frightened to death of returning to our home. I
want to go somewhere else where there is a Muslim
majority. Until the 28th of February we were safe in a
mixed area, but now we will never be.'

There is also fear in the Hindu camps. 'For years we
lived side by side in peace and harmony but how can we
go back now?' asked one woman.

'The mob told people in our slum that they already had
burned the houses and made them black. They said that
if we came back they would kill us all and make the
streets red.'

Hindu Narendrashinh Rathod, a driver for an
international charity, shrugs in despair as he spots a
pall of smoke from burning homes. 'Five, 10 people die
and nobody bothers now. I keep thinking it has to stop
soon and yet I can see no end to it.

'In my area there are 20,000 people awake all night.
If a bell sounds it is the signal that a mob is
coming. Everybody jumps up and suddenly from nowhere
there are knives and swords and all sorts of weapons
everywhere.

'They say the army will stop it but what can the army
do if people are determined to kill each other?'

©2002 smg sunday newspapers ltd.

`INTERVIEW`

Gujarat no reflection on Hindutva, it’s a riot, plain
and simple’
Indian Express.

http://www.indian-express.com/archive_full_story.php?content_id=2514

At one time—all Fernandes’s profiles begin with at one
time—he was the rebel’s pin-up boy. Today, the
poster’s curled at the edges. The man who led the
historic 1974 railway men’s strike, a watershed in
terms of bringing down Indira Gandhi by 1977, is today
lurching from one scandal-stop to another. The latest,
his apparent cosying up to the Sangh. Although he was
the first leader to visit Gujarat after the riots, and
Orissa after the murder of Graham Staines, in both the
cases he defended rather than admonished the Parivar.
His continued protection of the Narendra Modi
administration in Gujarat forced the resignation of
his party’s spokesperson Shambhu Srivastava. Does he
want to the be the Prime Minister backed by the Sangh?
I don’t even know where I will be tomorrow, Fernandes
smiles. Excerpts from an interview with Ajit Kumar
Jha.

Let’s begin with your speech in the Lok Sabha—your
remark that women being raped, pregnant women having
their stomachs cut, isn’t something new. Even Home
Minister Advani snubbed you. Why did you say that?
The Home Minister referred to my talking in the larger
context. I said if governments can prevent a riot,
what about the 15,000 plus riots in the country in the
past. Take for instance, 1984, where kids were burnt
alive, women raped and people slaughtered. I was
reacting to the censure motion by the Congress and the
Marxists who argued as if this is the first riot in
the country.

Will you give this explanation to a woman at the Shah
Alam relief camp who has been raped during the riots?
No, I will never do that. Why should I?

The Opposition says this riot is different from
others. The state is an accomplice here, there is hard
evidence for that. Chief Minister Narendra Modi didn’t
even go to the relief camps until the Prime Minister
went there. What did you tell Modi?
I spoke to Modi several times, told him to go and
visit the camps and meet the people. During my Gujarat
visit, when some people shouted Modi murdabad, I
reminded them: ‘‘Beete kal ki baton ko choro, aage ki
socho.’’ (Forget the past, think of the future). It’s
hard to believe that even those who suffered in the
riots listened and soon began chanting Narendra Modi
zindabad. This happened in three places.

Why are you bent on protecting Modi?
Does change of one person change a situation
dramatically? Is a mere regime that important in terms
of its social consequences?

I’m surprised you are asking this. You were the one
who in 1977 argued Indira hatao, desh bachao. Have you
ever thought of advising the Prime Minister on a
change of regime in Gujarat?
Well, the PM himself made a statement that he was
considering a change of regime in Gujarat. Only when
it dawned on him that it might have a worse effect in
terms of violence that he changed his mind once again.

Have you advised the PM to drop Modi? Or are you
defending Modi just as you defended the Sangh Parivar
when Graham Staines was murdered in Orissa?
Now that you mention the murder of Graham Staines,
remember, I was the first one to go to the spot. I met
the DM and the SP, then went to the local church, met
the Christian population of the area. Believe me,
every question that I put to them collectively or
individually, none of them blamed any outfit of the
Sangh Parivar for the murder. The Wadhwa commission
was appointed, which vindicated my statement. The
truth is that I did not try to protect anybody.
Whosoever committed the act, it was one of total
madness, indeed a very heinous act. I hope they will
finally identify the culprit and punish him.

In which capacity did you go to Gujarat: as the
country’s Defence Minister, as the the NDA convenor or
as a Samata leader?
As the Defence Minister I was not required to go but
wherever the Army goes I go as well. Whether it is
Siachen or Kargil, the North-East, Rajasthan or Punjab
border, wherever the Army is deployed I go. After
speaking to the Army in two batches I went to the
police headquarters and the control room. I faced some
difficult situations, my car was stoned, and I was
caught in between two warring groups. I had gone
earlier to Gujarat in 1969 in a similar situation. But
this was more difficult.

In 1975, Jayaprakash Narayan, your political guru,
started the Nav Nirman movement against a corrupt
regime in Gujarat. If JP were alive today wouldn’t he
ask for Modi’s dismissal?
I quoted JP during my peace march in Gujarat, both to
the youth and the old who had participated in the JP
movement. I reminded them of JP having said: Mein
andhere me tha, Gujarat ke naujawanon ne mujhe roshni
dekhayee. But remember, JP wouldn’t have been in the
government.

So are you saying that if you were not in the
government you could have asked for the dismissal of
Modi?
A government has to act, it cannot simply run by
making recommendations. All governments have their
limitations.

Do you prefer to be in the government and live by
these limitations rather than be a mass leader as in
the past and make a difference?
I am in the government. I am bound by the code of
conduct of the NDA government.

Why did you force spokesman Shambhu Srivastava to
resign when he asked for Modi’s dismissal?
Shambhu Srivasatava was not forced to resign. He made
a statement— Narendra Modi should resign—which had not
been discussed inside the party. The party, therefore,
took the decision that he had to go. You see, any kind
of policy statement can only be made as a collective
decision.

The issue is whether the Modi government has not
directly or indirectly sponsored the attack on
minorities?
The resignation of the Modi government cannot resolve
the situation. The Gujarat government has to and must
act, not run away from the situation. The local police
and intelligence networks have to come into play.

In 1999, you recommended the dismissal of the Rabri
Devi government in Bihar when it failed to protect the
massacre of Dalits by the Ranvir Sena. What’s happened
now?
Bihar is no way comparable to riot-torn Gujarat. While
in Gujarat communities fight each other in Bihar,
corruption has destroyed the state. The human
development report says that Bihar has gone back ten
years. It is rapidly disintegrating.

Isn’t the state disintegrating in Gujarat, at least
for Muslims?
In Gujarat, the Hindus and the Muslims must reconcile
the situation and live together. If they do not, then
the hatred will go beyond the borders of Gujarat.

Did you buy the caskets meant for the Kargil martyrs
at double the price? Who were the beneficiaries of
this deal? Or will you explain it as a case of simply
bad decisions?
No, we did not buy the caskets at double the price. It
is a false allegation. There were neither any
beneficiaries, nor was it a case of bad decisions. In
fact, I did not know about the existence of such
caskets. The caskets were ordered much after the
Kargil war and the only reason was because it was only
during the Kargil war that the bodies of the slain
soldiers were taken for the first time to their near
and dear ones. None of the caskets was used.

Why did you attack, discredit the Comptroller and
Auditor General (CAG)—not only an institution but a
watchdog of your government?
I did not attack the CAG, I have merely challenged his
conclusions. The CAG’s conclusions were wholly wrong.
Although the CAG did not say that money was made in
the deal, but did say that the caskets cost $172 per
casket. This is not true. If the CAG would have
investigated properly he would have found out that I
had nothing to do with the deal.

All NDA allies except Samata have distanced themselves
from the BJP on the Modi issue. Samata has become the
sole protector of the Sangh Parivar’s Hindutva agenda.
Are you aiming to be the PM with the help of the
Sangh?
What is happening in Gujarat is no reflection of
Hindutva. If Godhra had not taken place, Gujarat would
not have erupted. When we analyse action- reactions
one has to be careful. It was a riot, plain and
simple. It has acquired a Hindu-Muslim dimension.
Finally I am not trying to protect anyone. I have no
ulterior aim of becoming PM. I don’t even know where I
will be tomorrow.

© 2002: Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd. All
rights reserved throughout the world.