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FACTS THAT NEED
VERIFICATION
1.
There
was a conspiracy to reduce the effectiveness of the fire fighting system
of Godhra municipal committee.
2.
The mob
that burnt the coach had Muslims from outside the town as well.
3.
Firearms were used by the mob.
4.
Police
could have caught or killed some of the miscreants at the spot.
5.
Local
politicians and elected representatives took active part in instigating
the mob.
6.
Railway
Police at Dahod sent a message to Godhra Railway police that some Muslim
youths on board Sabarmati Express are likely to create mischief at
Godhra.
7.
Head of
a passenger of S-6 coach was cut when he tried to get out of the window.
The head was later thrown back into the coach to burn.
INFORMATION THAT
APPEARS TO BE UNTRUE
1.
Some
female passengers are missing.
2.
Some
female passengers were raped or molested.
3.
Passengers had pulled the beard of a vendor at Godhra Railway Station.
4.
Passengers carried weapons with them.
5.
Railway
staff connived with the miscreants.
6.
The
pilgrims had taunted certain Muslims of Godhra while returning from
Ayodhya.
7.
Police
firing while they were burning the coach killed two Muslims.
SOME MYSTERIES
1.
Assistant Collector, Godhra (a young Muslim from eastern UP) goes on
leave two days before the incident and does not return till the middle
of the March while the district of his posting was aflame with communal
riots.
2.
The
unusual growth rate of Muslim population in Godhra.
3.
Absence
of information with the District officials about the number of arms
licenses issued.
4.
Abnormally large number of passports issued to the residents of Godhra.
5.
Presence of a very large number of persons without ration cards in
Signal Faliya and Polan Bazar areas of Godhra.
6.
A large
number of unemployed Muslims in Godhra have mobile phones.
7.
Very
high traffic of telephone calls from Godhra to Pakistan (mainly Karachi)
before 27.02.02.
8. Holding of
istema - religious gatherings - at Godhra that were attended by
foreigners in large numbers.
COMMUNAL RIOTS IN
GUJARAT AFTER 27.02.02
BOTH SPONTANEOUS AND
PLANNED BUT A TRAP OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM
The news of the
events of 27.02.02 at Godhra at about 0800 hrs spread like a wild fire
all over the country by the afternoon. The television media, which has
the advantage of instantaneous reporting, played its role in
disseminating the information about this carnage. Nothing happened for
almost twenty-four hours, though the situation must have been very
tense. Vishwa Hindu Parishad gave a call for statewide bandh against
Godhra carnage. Communal violence erupted almost simultaneously on
28.02.02 in many parts of the state when the dead bodies and the injured
and the passengers travelling in the ill-fated train reached their
homes. It became more intense during next twenty-four hours and started
subsiding after that. After 01.03.02 stray incidents were reported from
various parts of the state on a daily basis.
On 15.03.02, after
shila daan ceremony at Ayodhya by Ramchandra Paramhans processions
of Ram dhun were taken out all over Gujarat. The participation on
these occasions was very large in
Gujarat, presumably as a reaction of what had happened in Godhra.
The Ram dhun processions at many places including Ahemdabad and
Vadodra became the points of communal tensions once again and the
communal tension that was subsiding again flared up. Although the Muslim
elders had assured the police at Vadodra that peace would be maintained
at all costs, the processions were stoned from a mosque. The intensity
of the attack proves that these were pre-meditated. The attack was so
massive that the police had a tough time handling it. The state once
again came under the grip of communal riots. The rioting was very
intense for about three days. Sectarian violence, however, continued in
several parts of the state.
Incidents of violence
on a large scale were initially reported from Ahmedabad, Vadodara towns
and the districts of Panchmahals, Sabarkantha and Mehsana. Later it
spread to other areas also. However the communal violence was mainly
confined to Central and North Gujarat. Saurashtra and South Gujarat
remained relatively peaceful. There was no communal violence in one half
of Gujarat. The team was told that when the charred bodies of the dead
reached their families or the news of their killings reached the
relatives, friends and neighbors attacked the nearby Muslim
establishments. Similar incidents took place when chautha and
kriya ceremonies of the dead were solemnised.
Gujarat has a long
history of communal riots. The first such riot has been reported in
1714. After independence major riots broke out on several occasions
since 1969. Jagmohan Reddy Commission of Inquiry. 1969 and Dave
Commission of Inquiry 1985 have analysed the process and events of
communal tensions in great detail. Serious rioting occurred in 1970 and
also in 1992-93. According to official data between 1970 and 2002
Gujarat has witnessed 443 major communal incidents. Another character of
the communal frenzy in Gujarat is that it has always taken a long time
to return to near normalcy. For instance in Godhra itself in 1985 curfew
remained imposed for about a year. Communal disturbance in 1985
continued for more than five months from Feb. to July 1985.
The Study team has
not gone into the facts and figures of the number of persons killed,
injured and displaced, the extent of the property damaged and the number
of cases of female molestation, if any. It is not because these facts
are not important but because the team lacked the time and resources to
go into these details. However the Study Team has analysed the situation
for:
1.
Administrative response
2.
Deployment of Army
3.
Relief
and resettlement measures
4.
Confidence building measures
5.
Socio-economic profile of the rioting mobs
6.
Involvement of vanvasis
7.
Role of
media
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