Tribunal 2

1 Concerned Citizens Tribunal - Gujarat 2002
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Photographs Courtesy:
AFP, AP, Communalism Combat,
Reuters (Arko Datta), Sandesh,
The Indian Express, The Tribune
Published by Anil Dharkar
for Citizens for Justice and Peace
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Recommended contribution (Vols I & II): Rs. 200
(Towards expenses incurred on the Tribunals work)
0081l81$
Ioreward 5
Introduction 9
Godhra 12
Patterns of Violence 23
Violence Against Women 38
Lconomic Destruction 44
Religious and Cultural Desecration 48
Preparation for Violence 51
State Complicity
Goernment o Gujarat 5
Police Misbehaiour 81
Role of the Central Government 96
Role of Non-BJP Parties 100
Iailure of Criminal Justice System 104
Disturbing 1rends: Police System 115
Communalisation of Public Space Hospitals 118
Relief and Rehabilitation 122
Role of the Media 132
Build-Up in Gujarat 148
Genocide 152
Consequences 155
Recommendations
Short Term 162
Long Term 16
Secularism and the Constitution 182
1he accused: Police, Ciil Serants, Politicians, Others 191
About Citizens or Justice and Peace` 105
Vhat a shock and shame that India`s air secular name should suer dastardly dis-
grace through the recent goernment-abetted Gujarat communal rage, compounded
by grisly genocidal carnage and saage arsonous pillage, ictimising people o Muslim
intage-and unkindest cut o all`- allegedly eecuted with the monstrous abet-
ment o chie minister Modi, his colleagues and party goons. The graamen o this
pogrom-like operation was that the administration reersed its constitutional role and,
by omission and commission, engineered the loot, raishment and murder which was
methodically perpetrated through planned process by chauinist \HP elements, goaded
by terrorist appetite. Vhat ensued was a ghastly sight the like o which, since bleed-
ing partition days, no Indian eye had seen, no Indian heart had conceied and o
which no Indian tongue could adequately tell. ivvtra barbarians came out on the
streets in dierent parts o Gujarat and, in all laming ury, targeted innocent and
helpless Muslims who had nothing to do with the antecedent Godhra eent. They
were brutalised by miscreants uninhibited by the police, their women were unblush-
ingly molested, and Muslim men, women and children, in a traesty o justice, were
burnt alie. The chie minister, oath-bound to deend law and order, icariously
connied at the inhuman iolence and some o his ministers een commanded the
macabre acts o horror.
There was none to question the maleolent managers o communal massacre. The
criminal outrage, there was none in uniorm to resist, not een to record inormation
o the elonies. Nor was there any impartial oicial to render succour or assure ciilised
peace. Vhen goernment ailed and the local media distorted the truth, the ascist
trend lourished and the barbaric, anatic, rapist human animals remained unchecked.
Awakened by this sinister scenario, people o conscience, all oer the country, elt
the gory, catastrophe merited inestigation. Thus was set up a committee o enquiry
ormally headed by me, but actiely and unctionally managed by a great young lady-
Teesta Setalad. She organised the serices o eminent judges whose retirement
would not inhibit them rom throwing all their energy to the enquiry process-a sig-
nal public serice. A great team, aliant paradigm, joined them. They collected
f08lN80
eidence o the gruesome eents, lethal incidents, icious enirons and the com-
plicity o people in authority who were icariously guilty o the indescribable o-
enses. Those who sat on the committee-they were superannuated judges, a mili-
tant marel o an adocate and our other noble public igures-made great sacriice
and rendered ree serice. They were eperienced as judges and seasoned social acti-
ists, and knew what a judicial enquiry called or-an objectie, yet sensitie eamina-
tion o the oerall holocaust. They pooled testimonies sought rom oicial and non-
oicial sources, and pooled all probatie material. People came and gae eidence,
some oicials showed up to unold what they knew had happened. The Tribunal
toured, restlessly stroe to get at the traumatic truth and were guided by the necessity
o hearing both parties. Grieances poured in. Tears and ears were placed beore the
Tribunal. I was there only or a day and, thereore, cannot claim to hae participated
substantially in the enquiry. But my colleagues hae done an anguished job, looking
into tons o material, siting and sorting and producing a brae, massie report. I
commend their task to the Indian People. I cannot but condemn the culpable delin-
quency o those in power in Gandhinagar nor, indeed, is it possible to absole the
Central rulers in Delhi who ailed to act and, perhaps, connied by omission, the
harrying operation in Gandhi Country, I mean Gujarat, where the greatest man o our
time was born, with the noblest eample o secular symphony o religions. \et, action
has to be taken against heinous culprits since justice shall be done under the Indian
Constitution. Be you eer so high, the law is aboe you.
My message and my mission is the presentation o an ehaustie report, which
does credit to those other than me, who prepared, sedulously and eelingly, indings
which they were commissioned to do by their conscience and the nation.
There are tragic, traumatic conclusions and creatie, correctie recommendations.
There are measures, punitie and rehabilitatie, or ictimological constitutional ac-
tion. My task is to place the report beore the people. Know ye the Truth and the
Truth shall make you lree-proided Ve, the people o India, act promptly and
earlessly.
The melody o communal unity, the beauty o religious amity and the secularity o
Indian humanity-these glorious alues are the mission and message to the nation.
Let us struggle to sustain this supreme alue, lest we, as a people, perish by diisie
ideology. The Gujarat episode is an eil eent and disastrous portent. Let us battle
or the success o our pluralist culture, secular heritage and social-justice-illumined
democracy. India must win! The integrity o our raternity shall neer surrender to
berserk, blood-thirsty political bestiality.
October 24, 2002 Justice VR Krishna Iyer
Concerned Citizens Tribunal - Gujarat 2002
An Inquiry into the Carnage in Gujarat
Report of the Tribunal
Justice VR Krishna Iyer Justice PB Sawant
Retd Judge, Supreme Court Retd Judge, Supreme Court
Justice Hosbet Suresh Adv KG Kannabiran
Retd Judge, Mumbai High Court President, PUCL
Ms. Aruna Roy Dr. KS Subramanian
Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan Retd IPS, Former DGP, Tripura
Prof. Ghanshyam Shah Prof. Tanika Sarkar
Professor of Social Sciences in Professor of History, JNU
Community Health, JNU
Dated this 21st day of November 2002
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The Concerned Citizens Tribunal - Gujarat 2002, was conceied as a response to
the carnage that rocked the state o Gujarat ollowing the Godhra tragedy on lebru-
ary 2, 2002. The eight-member Tribunal was constituted in consultation with a large
number o groups rom within Gujarat and the rest o the country. A copy o its
terms o reerence and a list o the groups urging that such a People`s Inquiry be
launched is anneed hereto and marked as Anneure 1.
The Tribunal collected 2,094 oral and written testimonies, both indiidual and col-
lectie, rom ictim-suriors and also independent human rights groups, women`s groups,
NGOs and academics. The documentation work done by relie camp managers and
community leaders, rom lists o persons killed or missing`, to the meticulous tabula-
tion o economic loss and religious desecration, is unprecedented and immense. The
Tribunal has beneited greatly rom these and they are being published in a separate
olume o anneures to our report. In addition, oer one dozen detailed act-inding
reports and inquiries were placed beore the Tribunal and we hae beneited greatly
rom a close scrutiny o these. Ve hae also collected photographs, copies o lIRs,
audio- and ideo-tapes, as eidence. The sheer olume o the eidence on record took
an enormous amount o time and human resources to sit through and ealuate. \et, as
in all human endeaours, there may be deiciencies in the report. lor these, we plead
etenuation and understanding as unlike in case o oicial inquiries, it has been olun-
tary commitment rom a whole team that has enabled the completion o this report.
The Tribunal pays tribute to the ictim-suriors, indiidually and collectiely,
who deposed beore us at great risk to their person in the simple hope that one day
justice will be done and the guilty be punished. Len as the Tribunal sat in Ahmedabad,
there were threats and premises like the circuit house at Shahibaug were denied us
due to the omnipresence o prowling mobs. Ve acknowledge our great debt to the
actiists on the ground who worked day and night to bring the ictims and reliable
eyewitnesses to us.
Ater recording eidence, isiting sites, placing on record statements and collecting
other releant material, the Tribunal arried at some riva facie conclusions. These
were orwarded along with our recommendations to both the central and state go-
ernments and their iews were awaited. Howeer, the Tribunal regrets that neither
the state goernment nor the central goernment, or indiidual ministers to whom
request letters were sent, responded. Though we are entitled to draw aderse conclu-
sions rom this lack o response, because that they did not respond to the interim
indings, we do not propose to do so.
Howeer, many senior goernment oicials and police oicers did agree to meet
the Tribunal, responded to our queries, shared insightul obserations and presented
some aluable eidence to us. One minister also appeared and deposed beore us. The
Tribunal had assured this witness minister, and other oicials that their anonymity
would be protected. Hence, while their aluable eidence is relected in the |ivivg.
o the report, they hae not been identiied. Anonymity was urged especially because
o the ear o reprisal rom political bosses i names became known.
The Tribunal has independently accessed olumes o material that helped us arrie
at our inal |ivivg. av Recovvevatiov.. The Ivteriv fivivg. av Recovvevatiov. are
anneed as .vvevre , 1ovve 1.
In a democracy, the people`s right to inormation should be paramount. Any go-
ernment wedded to this basic right should hae eagerly cooperated in the eort o a
citizen`s tribunal to inquire and let the people know what happened in Gujarat, who
engineered the carnage, and who the guilty are.
The Tribunal undertook this huge task as part o the eercise o this undamental
human reedom. The health o any society lies not in denials and hal-truths when
grae injustices hae occurred, but in courageously admitting to them, righting those
wrongs with justice and then reconciliation. That both the goernment o Gujarat
and the goernment o India did not participate in the inquiry reeals their utter
disregard or the people`s basic democratic right to know.
Haing completed its task, it is with humility that the Tribunal presents this report
to the country and the world. Len as we complete our task, we know and recognise
that our country`s record in the matter o punishment o the guilty in cases o mass
crimes, against the minorities, against Dalits, and against the poor has been pathetic.
\et, with hope that is eternal to the human condition, we do present this report in the
belie that, this time, knowing the truth will help us chalk a uture that is radically
dierent.
The sorry state o the rule o law in the country is closely connected to the unc-
tioning and accountability o our courts, and the criminal justice system is crying out
or radical reorm. Ve hope that with justice to the ictim-suriors, these reorms
will become a matter o urgent political debate.
The Tribunal would like to epress its gratitude to justice GG Loney retd, who
participated in some sittings o the Tribunal. The panel also beneited rom the in-
sights proided by justice PD Desai ormer CJ Mumbai, Kolkata and Himachal Pradesh
High Court, who met us in Ahmedabad, and oer lengthy discussions, enhanced our
understanding and grasp o the situation.
The setting up and the unctioning o the Tribunal was made possible due to the
Citizens or Justice and Peace, an association o committed citizens rom all walks o
lie, rom Mumbai and Ahmedabad, who came together to garner support or the ight
or justice, post-carnage. The Tribunal acknowledges its huge debt to this group that
elt duty and conscience bound to support and make possible such a Citizen`s Inquiry.
The committed team rom Sabrang Communications and Publishing, Mumbai, ably
handled the secretariat o the Tribunal. Dr Uma Sheth and Rashmi contributed o
their time generously. Their responsibilities included coordinating the schedules o
the Tribunal in Ahmeabad and rom it`s districts-- its sittings, recording o eidence,
translating and transcribing the eidence and handling oluminous material. Then
came the task o deliberations on the eidence by the panel which constituted the
Tribunal and inalising this report.
During the Tribunal hearings, the India Centre or Human Rights and Law, Mumbai,
Prashant, Ahmedabad, and PUCL-Shanti Abhiyan, \adodara, proided able support
or the Tribunal`s hearings.
The panel that constituted the Tribunal pays a humble tribute to all the hapless and
innocent ictims o the ghastly Gujarat carnage. Ve dedicate this report to them and
to their suriing relaties. And also to each one o those women and men who, at
great risk to their person, proided succour and helped epose the truth.
VR Krishna Iyer PB Sawant
Hosbet Suresh KG Kannabiran
Aruna Roy KS Subramanian
Ghanshyam Shah 1anika Sarkar
J.J.The Sabarmati Lpress train started rom Ahmedabad or Ayodhya on lebruary
22, 2002, with ar .era. on board. It appears that on its onward journey to Ayodhya,
there was an incident at Dahod railway station where the ar .era. indulged in an-
dalism and terrorising o Muslim endors at the station. According to another er-
sion, the Dahod incident took place on the return journey. There is no clear eidence
o the date o the incident but it is clear that it took place.
J.2. There was another incident between Rudauli and Daryabad stations closer to
laizabad, wherein the ar .era. attacked Muslim passengers, including innocent
women and children. Vhen some young man protested against this, he was thrown
o the train between Patranga and Rojagaon stations. Seeral women, badly wounded
and coered in blood, jumped o the train at Rudauli station. The ar .era. got o
and started attacking those whom they identiied as Muslim rom among those present
at the platorm.
J.3. At Rudauli station, other similar incidents occurred, such as orcing the Mus-
lims to shout, ]ai lri Rav!`, pulling the beards o some o them, including stabbing
with tri.lv. Despite the seerity o these incidents, there was no prompt action taken
either by the railway authorities or the police, nor were those seriously injured rushed
to hospital. It appears that both local Hindus and Muslims condemned the attack and
that Muslim religious leaders appealed or peace and urged that there should be no
retaliation. (Reort iv Jan Morcha, vbi.le frov |aiaba ov |ebrvar, 2:, 2002, tro a,.
before tle Colra ivcievt ov tle retvrv ovrve, of tle .ave abarvati re..- .ee .vvevre
1ovve 1.,
J.4.As the train traelled back rom Ayodhya on its return journey to Ahmedabad,
ar .era girls and boys armed with tri.lv. and lathis, were getting down at eery
station and shouting slogans like, Mavir 1aliv ava,evge!`, ]ai lrirav!`, Mv.iv
larat Cloo, Pai.tav ]ao` (Mv.iv., Qvit Ivia! Co to Pai.tav`,, Dvl vavgo tlo
leer evge, Ka.lvir vavgo tlo cleer evge` (.. for vi av re` gire ,ov leer (vivg,,
vt a. for Ka.lvir av re` cvt ,ov v`,. Many passengers elt harassed by this behaiour
6000f8
but were constrained to silence because the ar .era. had captured all the resered
seats and the train was jam-packed.
J.S. The train reached Godhra station at .30 a.m. three hours late,, on lebruary
2, 2002. There were certain incidents on the platorm. There were some reports to
the eect that a Muslim girl was molested by the ar .era. who attempted to pull her
into the train. The attempt to take her into the train was aerted due to the interen-
tion by Muslim endors at the Godhra railway station.
J.6. In a separate incident, a Muslim tea endor had boarded coach S-6 with an alumi-
num tea iti and plastic cups to sell tea. Passengers started to buy tea rom him but he
was insulted by some o the ar .era. and sent out o the coach. It appears that some
ar .era., identiied by their saron head bands and tri.lv., had climbed onto the roos
o coaches o the Sabarmati Lpress as it stopped at the Godhra railway station, stripped
themseles and made obscene gestures at Muslim women residing just opposite the
station, who had come out to perorm their morning chores. There was also some stone
throwing, both rom within and rom outside the compartments.
J.7. As the train let the platorm, at .48 a.m., it was immediately stopped by someone
pulling the chain. The obious reason or this was to enable some o the ar .era. who
were still let behind on the platorm to enter the train. The train proceeded or about a
kilometre. At Singal lalia the train stopped. Vhether this was on account o someone
pulling the chain or otherwise is not clear. The engine drier, at that point o time, had
only seen someone rom outside pelting stones at the train though not at coach S-6. Soon
thereater, coach S-6 was on ire. The question is, how did the ire occur
J.8. The ersion o the goernment appears to be that the Ghanchi Muslims
residing near the railway station, who had gathered in large numbers, threw ireballs
into the train and that resulted in the ire. The goernment ersion also has it that
these Ghanchi Muslims wanted to attack the ar .era., and that there were about
2,000 Muslims who were bent on attacking the train.
J.9. It may be stated at this stage that the ull capacity o the train is 1,100. But, in
act, the train at that time had about 2,000 passengers, o which about 1,00 were ar
.era.. As ar as coach S-6 o the Sabarmati Lpress is concerned, the reseration
capacity is 2. Howeer, it was jam-packed on that day. Only one coach was burned
and een in that coach one is not sure how many passengers were ar .era.. The train
had 11 coaches with estibule connection and the ar .era. were spread all oer the
train. So why did anyone target coach S-6 I 2,000 Muslims had gathered there,
could they not hae attacked the other coaches Again, did anyone try to come out
rom the other coaches I it is reasonably presumed that some o the passengers,
including ar .era., rushed out, did anyone attack them On all these questions there
is no satisactory answer.
J.J0. In all, 58 bodies were ound in coach S-6, out o which 26 were o women, 12
were o children and 20 were o men. It appears that 43 persons sustained injuries, o
whom only 5 were admitted to the hospital. The rest were treated or minor injuries
like bruises, and were allowed to go. Out o the ie admitted to hospital, one died,
and the rest were discharged ater 3 or 4 days.
J.JJ. Since the bodies were charred beyond recognition, it was not possible to identiy
anyone on the basis o physical eatures. The collector o Godhra told the Tribunal that
only ie bodies could be identiied on the basis o articles or things which were on their
person. One was the local station master`s wie who had boarded the train at Godhra to
go to \adodara. She had a metal tiin bo in her hand and she was thus identiied.
Thus, no one could say with certainty that the dead bodies were all o ar .era..
2. Mystery of the Iire
2.J. A ery signiicant act is that coach S-6 was the only one that got burnt. The
ire did not een spread to the other coaches. It is also not clear whether the train was
stopped because o the ire in the coach or the coach was set on ire ater the train
stopped. I it was the latter, why was the train stopped at all It is reasonable to
presume that because o the ire in the coach, someone must hae pulled the chain
and the train was stopped by the engine drier.
2.2. As the train let Godhra station, all the windows and doors o Coach S-6 were
all closed. Since there was stone throwing on the train, it is reasonable to presume
that similar was the situation in all the other coaches. In other words, as the train
stopped, nobody rom outside was in a position to identiy any particular person in
any particular coach, so as to target any particular person,s. I ar .era. were the
target, they were oerwhelmingly present in the entire train and the whole train could
hae been set on ire. The act that the ire did not een spread to the remaining
coaches, is a clear indication that the ire originated in that compartment itsel. That
also eplains why only persons in that coach died. In all probability, as the ire broke
out, there was etreme panic and, the compartment being oer-packed, many o the
able-bodied persons managed to escape through the estibules to the other coaches,
leaing mostly women and children behind, who must hae succumbed to the smoke
and suocation and allen down in a pile, one oer the other. The eidence also
suggests that the passengers had stacked their belongings against the doors and it was
just not possible or anyone to escape rom or enter the coach.
2.3. On -5-2002, we inspected the coach and the site where it was burnt. The site
where the train stopped is an eleated bvv. lrom the ground leel, the height o the
bvv could be about 12-15 eet and it is a slope. At the top, there is hardly enough
space or 2,000 persons to assemble on either side o the track. Assuming that so
many had gathered at that spot, the crowd would be spread oer a much larger area
than the stretch o coach S-6. This is only to indicate that i the goernment ersion
is true, the other coaches would hae been as easy a target as Coach S-6. Again, i one
takes into account the height o the bvv and the height o the train, and i ire-balls
were to be thrown at the train, the outside o the coach should hae shown signs o
being charred. But we ound that there were no such marks below the windows, the
charred marks were to be seen only around the windows and aboe that height. This
is a clear indication that the ire started inside the coach and the lames leaping out o
the windows singed the outside o the compartment, aboe window leel. Thereore,
een to the naked eye, it was clear that the ire was rom within and not rom outside.
2.4. Our own obserations were subsequently conirmed by the reports o the
lorensic Science Laboratory. Among its other indings, the releant section o the
lorensic Science Laboratory State o Gujarat, New Mental Corner, Ahmedabad -
16, Spot Inestigation Report No.2 regarding CR No. 9,2002, Godhra Railway Police
Station, iled by Dr. MS Dahiya, assistant director, states:
2.4.J. It was ound that the height o the window o the coach was around t. rom
the ground at the place. Under this circumstance, it was not possible to throw any
inlammable luid inside rom outside the coach rom any bucket or carboy, because by
doing this, most o the luid was getting thrown out side. At the place o the incidents,
there was one heap o grit, o three eet height at a distance o around 14-t,. in the
southern side o the coach. Vater was thrown on the windows o the coach with the
help o bucket standing on the top o the said heap, in that case only about 10 to 15
o the water went inside and the rest o the quantity was spilled outside itsel. Thus, i
the inlammable luid is thrown rom outside, then a major part o it would all around
the track outside and catch ire and cause damage to the outer part o bottom side o
the coach. But ater eamination o the coach and the track, no eect was ound o the
ire on bottom side below the windows o the coach. By taking into consideration this
act, and also the burning pattern o the outer side o the coach, a conclusion can be
drawn that no inlammable luid had been thrown inside rom outside the coach.`
2.4.2. There also appears to be no possibility that any inlammable liquid was
thrown through the door o the bogie.`
2.4.3. By standing in the passage between the compartment o the bogie and the
northern side door o the eastern side o the bogie, water was poured towards the
western side rom a container with a wide mouth like a bucket, in that case most part
o the bogie was coered with 60 liters o water. By pouring the water in this manner,
the water went only towards the Vest and no part o it came out o the door, nor did
it go towards the latrine side.`
2.4.4. On the basis o the aboe eperimental demonstration, such a conclusion
can be drawn that 60 liters o inlammable liquid was poured towards the western
side by using a wide mouthed container by standing on the passage between the northern
side door o the eastern side o the S-6 coach and the compartment o seat No. 2
and coach was set on ire immediately thereater. I the period ater the train had
started rom Godhra Railway Station, intensity o ire, the degree o burn o the
objects that were inside the bogie etc. are taken into account, it can also be concluded
that a large quantity around 60 liters, o highly inlammable luid was used to set the
aoresaid ire and that the ire had spread ery rapidly.`
2.4.S. By obsering the condition o the rames o the windows o the coach, it
appears that all the windows o the coach were closed during the time o the ire.`
2.4.6. Thus, it is clear that the ire came rom inside. Ve hae seen the inner side
o the coach. The intensity o the ire was such that een the iron rods, the seats, the
ans were all burnt to such an etent that we ound them twisted and molten out o
shape. Ve also ound rice and wheat partly burnt and scattered all across the loor o
compartment S-6. Some o the witnesses had stated that ar .era. had stoes in the
train, but we did not ind them in the coach. The lSLR shows that or such an inten-
sity o ire, 60 litres o inlammable liquid had to be poured into the coach, by using
a wide mouthed container`. The question is, where is this container There is no
eidence o anyone carrying 60 litres o inlammable liquid. At what point o time
was this taken inside the coach, or into the passage Vho was traelling in the train
I such a large number o ar .era., armed with tri.lv. and in such an aggressie
mood, were inside the train, how could Ghanchi Muslims enter the train And how
could they hae carried so much petrol openly, or een clandestinely, or that would
hae been ound out in no time. So the mystery o the ire remains, the only thing
certain being the act that it came rom within.
3. Was Godhra Pre-Planned?
3.J. The eidence as analysed aboe clearly indicates that the incident was not pre-
planned by the Muslims, as alleged by the goernment. In this connection, we would
like to reer to a statement made by the IGP, Railways, PP Agja recorded by the 1ive.
of Ivia on March 29, 2002 to the eect that there is no eidence o a pre-planned
conspiracy behind the Godhra incident. The case is still being inestigated and i
there was some deep conspiracy, then we are yet to ind it,`` said Shri Agja. He urther
told 1le 1ive. of Ivia, standing in ront o the railway police station on the platorm
where the trouble began:
3.2. According to the sequence o eents as ound by the police, all was not well in
coach S-6 o the Ahmedabad-bound Sabarmati Lpress on that day. A group o un-
ruly Ram .era. had boarded the train at Lucknow without reserations and had put
to discomort the 66 genuine passengers o the coach. Some o the ticket-paying
passengers had to sleep on the loor, so oercrowded had the compartment become
that the ticket collector who came aboard the train at Ratlam two stations beore
Godhra, was not allowed to enter the coach.
3.3. At Godhra station, the hawkers on the platorm started stoning the train ater
an unsaoury incident, especially targeting Coach S-6, because some occupants o
the coach had gien oence. At any point o time, there are some 250 hawkers on the
station. Some o them carry stoes with kerosene in them. All o them lie in the
slum called Signal lalia, net to the station.
3.3.J.This means it is not surprising that a crowd could collect at the station so
ast. The people, who lie cheek by jowl in the slums net to the station, include a air
share o criminals indulging in railway crimes like looting, pick-pocketing and steal-
ing o goods o passengers and also railway property. All o them are Ghanchi Mus-
lims and they are uneducated, without any jobs and poor.`
3.3.2. All these things are not suicient to come to any conclusion that the attack
on S-6 coach was a pre-meditated one.
4. Immediate Reaction of the Administration and the Government
4.J. The local district magistrate,collector was the irst to reach the scene o the incident.
4.2. The Prime Minister o India, Shri Atal Behari \ajpayee made a statement in Parlia-
ment at noon on lebruary 2, asking people to maintain calm since the Godhra incident
was a response to slogan shouting`. An inquiry is being held and it will ascertain acts -
what happened and why did it happen But, rom the preliminary reports, it appears that
the train was stopped maybe because slogans were being shouted in the train and clashes
took place. The Gujarat goernment has ordered an inquiry. ` Ltracts rom a compila-
tion by the PMO on PM`s reactions to the eent thereater to media persons at Hyderabad
House, New Delhi, lebruary 2, 2002, posted on the PM`s website,.
4.3. lrom 8.30 a.m., just ater the ire on the Sabarmati Lpress took place, until
.30 p.m. that eening, repeated statements by the Godhra district collector, Smt.
Jayanthi Rai relayed on Doordarshan and Akashwani radio, stated that the inci-
dent was vot pre-planned, it was an accident.`
4.4. The chie minister o Gujarat, Shri Narendra Modi, accompanied by health
minister, Shri Ashok Bhatt and other cabinet colleagues, arried in Godhra around 2
p.m. that day. Ater meeting the collector, he decided to take the bodies to Ahmedabad.
It was the decision o Shri Modi to take the badly charred bodies to Ahmedabad
against the adice o the district administration. Initially, the chie minister and his
colleagues had wanted to take the bodies in the same train onwards to Ahmedabad.
The district administration strongly adised against this or law and order reasons,
ater which a motor caalcade droe the bodies to the Sola Ciil hospital at Ahmedabad.
4.S. Lidence presented beore the Tribunal and conirmed by the administration re-
ealed that 40 shops belonging to Muslims o Godhra, many o whom lied at Signal lalia,
were demolished around 5.30 p.m. during curew hours on leb 2 itsel. Vhile the
unauthorised nature o the establishments and their location being a security hazard were
the reasons oered by the administration, the strange choice o timing or the demolition
bears mention. Vhat was the motiation or the ciil administration in undertaking this act
that caused an economic loss, o some magnitude, to one community alone, on this day
4.6. At .30 p.m., chie minister, Shri Modi made a public broadcast in which, or
the irst time, he put orward the ISI hand behind the Godhra incident` ersion.
4.7. Thereater, rom the net day onwards, the Prime Minister, Shri \ajpayee called
it a national shame` and then home minister, Shri Adani also ominously pointed to
the ISI hand.` Union deence minister, Shri George lernandes, too, joined the cho-
rus o oices, alleging that there was a oreign hand` behind Godhra.
4.8. Vhat could hae been conined to Godhra and Godhra alone was taken
and broadcast to all o Gujarat state. All that ollowed was directly related to
Shri Modi`s decision to carry Godhra to the whole state instead o containing
the issue therein.
S. 1nndh Call and the Preparation
S.J. On the eening o lebruary 2, ater isiting Godhra, Shri Modi announced
that there would be a state bavl the net day. This was ater the \HP and BD had
already gien the bavl call. Thereater, the chie minister called a meeting o senior
police oicers. At this meeting, speciic instructions were gien by him in the pres-
ence o cabinet colleagues, on how the police should deal with the situation on the
bavl day. The net day, i.e., on the day o the bavl, there was absolutely no police
bandobast. The state and city Ahmedabad, police control rooms were taken oer by
two ministers, i.e., Shri Ashok Bhatt and Shri Jadeja. Repeated pleas or help rom
people were blatantly turned down.
S.2. Senior ministers rom Shri Modi`s cabinet organised a meeting late in the
eening on lebruary 2, in Lunaada illage o Sabarkantha district. Shri Ashok Bhatt,
the state health minister and minister Prabhat Singh Chauhan rom Lunaada attended.
At this meeting, a diabolical plan was drawn and disseminated to the top 50 leaders
o the BJP,RSS,BD,\HP, on the method and manner in which the 2-hour-long
carnage that ollowed was to be carried out.
S.3. According to conidential eidence recorded by the Tribunal, these instruc-
tions were blatantly disseminated by the goernment, and in most cases, barring a ew
sterling eceptions, methodically carried out by the police and the IAS administra-
tion. There is no way that the debased leels o iolence that were systematically
carried out in Gujarat could hae been allowed, had the police and district adminis-
tration, the IPS and the IAS, stood by its constitutional obligation and ollowed Ser-
ice Rules to preent such crimes.
S.4. The bavl call made possible eactly what the chie minister and the BJP,
\HP,RSS,Bajrang Dal leadership wanted to happen ater the Godhra incident.
S.S. As is amply eident rom the oluminous eidence recorded by the Tribunal,
and substantie other eidence made aailable to it, inestigating oicials hae yet to
ind any proo o the Godhra atrocity being pre-planned. Nonetheless, Shri Modi,
union home minister, Shri Adani and others continue to reiterate the distorted er-
sion o the motie behind the incident at Godhra. The electoral and related adan-
tages or these persons in power, set to gain rom the misconceptions and prearica-
tions around Godhra, need to be understood and eposed or what they are. Thou-
sands o innocent citizens became ictims to this cynical game o politics and the
priorities or India as a country were derailed by these perpetrators o hatred and
diision, some o whom een hold the reins o goernment.
S.6. News o the deaths o passengers in Coach S-6, coneyed as the killing o ar
.era. returning rom Ayodhya, was used to uel the rage o the other ar .era. who
then tried to attack a nearby mosque at Signal lalia. The police ired 30 tear gas shells
and 14 rounds o lie bullets to disperse them. The damaged coaches, S-5 and S-6
were detached, and the train departed with the rest o the passengers at 12.40 p.m.
On the way to Ahmedabad, some ar .era. reportedly stabbed 2-3 people at the
\adodara railway station, giing a clear warning o things to come. Inquest and post-
mortem o all the recoered bodies was undertaken by 4.30 p.m. Under instructions
rom the administration in Ahmedabad, all the bodies, ecluding those o the ie
passengers rom the Godhra region, were dispatched to the Ciil Hospital, at Sola,
Ahmedabad, in a motor caalcade. Shri Jaideep Patel o the BJP, and one o the main
accused in the Naroda incidents, traelled to Ahmedabad along with the bodies.
S.7. It is apparent that by the eening o lebruary 2, a well thought out scheme
to etract maimum political capital out o Godhra had been launched. As part o
this scheme, at around 2.30 a.m., the bodies o the ar .era. were brought to
Ahmedabad. Around 500 people were waiting outside Sola Ciil Hospital in
Ahmedabad or the charred bodies to arrie rom Godhra. By 3.35 a.m. on lebruary
28, a conoy o ie trucks led by a pilot Gypsy entered the hospital compound.
S.8. Sloganeering started: Kar .era, avar ralo!` and ivv eta ivaba!` as small
bundles carrying the ictims` remains were o-loaded onto waiting stretchers. The
mood was morose but tears were ew. Anger welled in the eyes o bereaed relaties
as each bundle - the remains o a Godhra massacre ictim - was placed on ice slabs.
\ows or engeance and shouts o ]ai lri Rav!` resounded throughout the hospital
compound as a martyrs` honour was accorded to the Godhra ictims. lor the nine
rom Amraiwadi who laid their lies or the country, there will be 90 more to replace.
Ve had gone there or yagna` only, yet the afir. read Muslims, butchered the deo-
tees. This time we will go and construct the Ram temple,` said a waiting \HP man
outside the hospital, as reported by the national media.
S.9. The state goernment and the administration, instead o appealing or re-
straint and peace, became the agents o a well-planned action against innocent Mus-
lims o the state that was in act projected as a reaction.` The corpses o the unortu-
nate ictims o the Godhra arson were used to launch a statewide pogrom o decima-
tion that has not entirely stopped to date.
S.J0. A point to be noted is eidence recorded by the media, o ordinary ictims o the
Godhra arson, who did not wish to be part o any political project o engeance`. 1le
1ive. of Ivia March 3, 2002, quoted Goind Makwana, who lost his son Umakant 22,
in the ire that enguled coach S-6 o the Sabarmati Lpress. I am etremely disturbed by
what is happening in our area. I had pleaded with olded hands to all who came to my son`s
cremation to restrain themseles and maintain peace. Killing other people is not a solu-
tion. Losing a son is shattering, and I want no ather or mother to suer rom this eeling`.
6. Was Godhra' Allowed to Happen?
6.J. The crucial issue beore the entire nation today is why Godhra` happened
Vho ailed in their duty in preenting it
6.2. Gujarat and indeed the whole country was on red alert due to the aggressie
mobilisation by the \HP or building the temple at Ayodhya. In Mumbai, the police
made as many as 8,000 preentie arrests in the irst week o March, to keep the
situation under strict control. In contrast, een after Godhra happened, the Gujarat
police arrested ov, tro persons in Ahmedabad, both o whom were Muslims.
6.3. A noticeable lapse in Godhra and in the anticipation and handling o the
iolence, was the blatant ignoring o the basic principles o law and order mainte-
nance and goernance in Godhra. There was utter and complete ailure o law and
order maintenance and goernance, particularly gien the chequered communal his-
tory o the town. An inestigation into the background o Godhra shows that when
disturbances erupted in 1965, the then collector promptly arrested both Muslims
and Hindus whose names appeared in lIRs and within a couple o days the distur-
bances were curbed. Len ater the October 1980 disturbances, the then collector,
Smt. SK \erma immediately put the miscreants behind bars. I a similar, no-non-
sense and non-partisan approach had ollowed the Godhra incident o lebruary 2,
by promptly apprehending the suspected criminals, tension would hae been con-
tained. And the chances o a engeul and highly-organised spree o retaliatory
killings that demonstrate eery element o ethnic cleansing and genocide, would
hae been pre-empted. That this did not happen suggests a lack o intent on the
part o those in goernment, to take prompt preentie measures in order to de-
escalate the situation. In December 1992, a similar incident o proocation had
occurred at Palej near \adodara, but at that time, the state police cracked down on
the Shi Sainiks who had abused and prooked passengers and residents and thus
squashed potential communal trouble within hours.
6.4. At Godhra, there is always one SRP company on duty. One Railway Protec-
tion lorce contingent is posted on the railway station itsel. At the RPl station, there
are supposed to be 42 policemen in all. Generally, there are two constables per re-
sered compartment in a running train. The act that ar .era. were epected on this
route and the act that Godhra has a ragile communal history were, and are, them-
seles enough or additional precautionary deployment. Besides, as a district head-
quarter, Godhra has a police HQ, armed police, a control room, a town police station
with eight clorie., all equipped with telephones plus a tava police station. It is the
HQ o an SRP battalion, too, and it has a municipal lire Brigade. All these actors are
enough to make any responsible citizen wonder why adequate preentie deployment
was absent during the Godhra arson.
6.S. The Tribunal met and recorded the eidence o both the collector and
DySP o the Panchmahal district, o which Godhra town is the district headquar-
ter. It is clear rom the eidence recorded by us that on lebruary 2, ater the
Godhra tragedy, though the Rapid Action lorce RAl, was called in, no adequate
powers were gien to it. Though curew was declared in Godhra, the RAl men
were made to sit in the oicers` mess, helpless, unable to do anything. It appears
that though the lire Brigade station is only 5 minutes away rom the railway sta-
tion, it took a while or the ire brigade to reach the torched coach. That day,
there were only 3 SRP men on duty, o the 111 GRP Goernment Railway Po-
lice, oicers stationed at Godhra, only 2 or 3 were on duty. Two GRP jawans
reached the spot within minutes, it is a matter o serious conjecture why they did
not ire shots to disperse the mob.
7. Role of Ianatical Organisations
7.J. Godhra, and the tragic death o 58 passengers through gruesome burning, was
picked up and propagated in Gujarat and all oer the country by many anatical
organisations connected closely with the ruling BJP in Gujarat. These include the par-
ent Rahstriya Swayamseak Sangh, the \ishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal.
7.2. A serious and gross misrepresentation o acts was resorted to by these con-
glomerate organisations in a nationwide bid to create a hysteria oer the Godhra trag-
edy and thus justiy the state-sponsored carnage that was allowed to take place.
7.3. Vithin a ortnight o the statewide carnage, the RSS spokesperson, Shri MG
\aidya described it as the natural reaction o Hindus` and gae a clean chit to the
Modi administration in Gujarat, saying no goernment could hae controlled the
upsurge.` 1le 1ive. of Ivia, March 16, 2002,.
7.4. Vorse still, the publications brought out by the RSS and its ailiates spread
systematic and sinister misinormation about Godhra. lor instance, in two publica-
tions brought out by the Hindu Samad Kendra, Ahmedabad, the ollowing acts` are
listed to proe that Godhra was pre-planned:
K Passengers o a particular religion read Muslims, were asked to get down at
Dahod, the station beore Godhra,
K The patients o a particular community read Muslims, were discharged rom the
ciil hospital o Godhra one day beore lebruary 2, not a single case against anyone
rom a particular community read Muslims, was registered on lebruary 2, 2002,
K Not a single student or a teacher o a particular community read Muslims, was
present in the schools o Godhra on lebruary 2,
K Another canard that was spread deliberately was that no one rom the minorities
or the secular parties eer condemned Godhra.
7.S. The Tribunal inestigated each o these allegations during its inestigation and
isit to Godhra. Lach one o these reasons, propagated nationwide by these outits,
was patently alse and used to generate sympathetic complicity to the gruesome state-
sponsored carnage that has taken place. The act that the district administration at
Godhra and elsewhere took vo initiatie to scotch these abricated stories, being used
in the cynical and neer-ending cycle o iolence, speaks poorly o it and also reeals
the state administration`s ineptness in coping with the menace that these organisations
represent.
7.6. Among other things, the Tribunal is also in possession o hal-a-dozen separate
statements published by dierent Muslim religious leaders, independent persons and
opposition parties, outrightly condemning the Godhra incident. \et, repeatedly, the
propaganda was unleashed that neither Muslims nor secularists hae eer condemned
the Godhra tragedy.
7.7. During the recording o our eidence, senior oicials o the administration
and police who deposed beore the Tribunal on assurance o anonymity epressed
concern about the act that in most tava. o Gujarat, CDs and hate pamphlets were
circulated by the \HP during March 2002, spreading ill-will, rumours and alsehoods
about the conduct o Muslims. To eectiely counter this trend, the administration
only had to swoop down on ero centres that were being used to reproduce bulk
copies o such incendiary material.
8. Conclusion
8.J. Though all accounts suggest that there was proocation enough by the ar
.era., nothing can justiy the crime o torching 58 persons alie. The guilty need to
be brought to book and punished. The tragedy and crime simply need to be placed in
the charged and enomous atmosphere that the country and the polity has been held
ictim to, where sane, rational impulses are being oerwhelmed by the politics o
rage, reenge and iolence.
Introduction
A noticeable eature o the Gujarat carnage is the i.tivct av .iviar atterv. that
hae emerged rom dierent parts o the state. Vhile some local conditions and socio-
economic actors do dierentiate the attacks rom one place to another, detailed and
etensie eidence beore the Tribunal points to the oerwhelming and sinister simi-
larity behind the attacks that were engineered and launched. This is eident in the
manner in which innocent people were quarterised, sometimes seually iolated and
killed, in the ammunition used or the gory killings and the arson, in the immediate
and long-term preparations or the iolence. All these are detailed below:
1. Selectie Targeting o Muslims.
2. Brutality and Bestiality o Attacks.
3. Unprecedented Scale and Degree o \iolence - Lthnic Cleansing.
4. Looting and Destruction o Property.
5. Military Precision and Planning behind Attacks.
6. Complicity o Ciil Society.
. Role o the RSS,\HP,BD,BJP.
8. Use o Hindu Religious Symbols.
9. Use o Hate Speech and Hate Vriting.
10. Mobilisation o Vomen, Adiasis and Dalits.
J. Selective 1argeting of Muslims
J.J. lrom the etensie eidence recorded by the Tribunal, it is clear that Muslims
rom all social strata, rich and poor, were the prime targets or the state-sponsored
pogrom unleashed all oer the state o Gujarat. lrom cities and towns to illages, be
it the question o lie, dignity or property, barring ew eceptions, Muslims were the
sole target. Vhile the targeting o economically better o Muslims was limited to
their property, and this damage was ast and etensie the carnage in Gulberg soci-
ety, where ormer MP Ahsan Jari was speciically targeted, being an eception,, the
F8ll0f8 0l l0l000
lower middle class and the working class sector, be it in urban centres or illages,
aced attacks on their lie, property and dignity. Lcept in the ew cases where some
Hindu establishments were targeted in the immediate icinity o areas that hae
been conerted into Muslim ghettos,, in cities like Ahmedabad and \adodara, the
recent carnage was marked unlike earlier rounds o iolence where sections o both
communities were aected, by the selectie targeting o Muslim lies, Muslim homes,
Muslim business establishments and Muslim properties. Vhether it was on the posh
CG Road o Ahmedabad, the main streets o Bharuch, Ankleshwar and \adodara, or
the illages o Kheda district or the Panchmahal, small and large arms and proper-
ties, homes and shops, only o Muslims were the target o marauding mobs. A poten-
tially gruesome tragedy, where the rampaging mobs nearly set upon and burnt alie 0
children in a Muslim- run orphanage in the city o Bhanagar, was aerted by a con-
scientious police oicial loyal to his uniorm, is worthy o mention here. lor haing
shown eemplary courage and saing innocent lies, the SP Bhanagar, Rahul Sharma
was rewarded` with a summary transer.
J.2. In most places, Hindu houses amongst Muslim ba.ti. had been marked out
beore the attacks using saron lags, or pictures o Ram and Hanuman, or with
crosses. Lidence beore the Tribunal shows that in some places this marking was
done a ew days beore lebruary 2 and which was the ostensible justiication or the
retaliation`. These markings were to aoid inadertent attacks on Hindu homes and
businesses in areas that were targeted later.
There was no damage whatsoeer to the Hindu houses so marked. Months later,
saron lags were still alutter in many illages o Gujarat and it is eident how the
attacks and destruction were carried out so that the Hindu houses were not damaged. In
some illages, the adjoining Hindu houses were irst sawed away rom the Muslim houses
beore the latter were set on ire. Lach attack, thereore, took not just etensie plan-
ning but also seeral hours to eecute, which urther indicates an abdication o respon-
sibility by the police in its ailure to come to the rescue o the targeted community.
J.3. lrom the state wide eidence earlier recorded and placed beore us, it is also
clear that apart rom the lies o Muslims, seeral symbols o India`s composite cul-
ture were deliberate targets during the carnage in Gujarat. The vrgal. shrines, o
Sui saints that are reered by persons rom all communities, especially the oppressed
castes, desere special mention here.
J.4. The other targets o iolence were couples who had entered into inter-commu-
nity marriages. Lidence was speciically placed beore us about the shameul strip-
ping, gross seual abuse and subsequent quartering and killing o Geeta Mumtazbano,,
a Hindu woman rom Ahmedabad who had married a Muslim man, Salim. The couple
was tricked into isiting her amily on April 5. They were set upon while traelling on
a scooter. Geeta died while Salim suried.
J.S. \iolence against mied couples has become common all oer Gujarat and the
issue o inter-religious marriage has become part o the hate propaganda against
Muslims and those Hindus who enter into or accept such marriages.
2. Brutality and Bestiality of Attacks
2.J. The Tribunal recorded oer 1,500 testimonies o eye-witnesses, ictims and sur-
iors o the iolence rom Ahmedabad, Kheda, Mehsana, Himmatnagar, Sabarkantha,
Banaskantha, \adodara, Godhra, Bharuch, Ankleshwar, Patan, Anand, Bhanagar,
Rajkot and elsewhere. This includes the written eidence collected by others and placed
beore us. The widespread iolence that targeted Muslims in urban and rural Gujarat
was marked by utter bestiality and brutality. Ve hae recorded eidence rom Naroda
Patiya in Ahmedabad, as also rom witnesses rom Kheda, Bharuch, Ankleshwar,
Panchmahal, Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Banaskantha and \adodara, that training camps
were conducted by the Bajrang Dal and the \HP, backed by the RSS and supported by
democratically elected representaties rom the ruling BJP. The camps were oten con-
ducted in temples. The aim was to generate intense hatred against Muslims painted as
the enemy`, because o which iolence was both gorifie through the distribution o
tri.lv. and swords, and v.tifie as the legitimate means to sel-deence.
2.2. In the attacks all oer Gujarat, as recorded beore the Tribunal, areas were
besieged or -8 hours, by mobs o oer a ew thousand this aried in dierent cases
but the marked similarity was the scale o the attackers,. In all the cases, the leaders
o the mobs co-ordinating and superising the transport o gas cylinders, tri.lv. and
tarar., chemicals and gelatine sticks hae been identiied by witnesses and suriors
as prominent leaders and elected representaties rom the BJP or leaders o the \HP,
Bajrang Dal or the RSS. In most cases, there was large-scale mobilisation rom local
areas, neighbours attacked neighbours een though outsiders were called in to make
up the numbers, rapes, too, were carried out by known igures rom the illage or
locality. This, too, was the result o deinite planning, intended to terrorise completely
and to destroy the aith o the suriors in co-eistence or liing in neighbourhoods
that had been their homes, or centuries in many cases.
2.3. Vomen and young girls were targeted brutally, as were children. Lidence
recorded beore us shows how in the macabre dance o death, human beings were
quartered and the killing protracted while the terrorised suriors looked on, the per-
sons targeted were dragged or paraded naked through the neighbourhood, ictims
were urinated upon, beore being inally cut to pieces and burnt. Hundreds o testi-
monies beore us show how this manner and method o killing has let an indelible
imprint on the minds o the suriors, who saw their near and loed ones killed and,
that too, in such a ashion. These are images that hae the potential to haunt, traumatise
and enrage the suriors. In the case o the now well-known Gulberg society, where
ormer MP Ahsan Jari was killed along with 60 others estimate o independent
sources,, ater the housing colony was set upon, the massacre orchestrated, and the
suriors had inally managed to escape in the eening, the skulls o those killed were
used by some in the neighbourhood to play cricket with. (ee .ectiov ov Ivcievt. of
1ioevce, 1ovve I,. It would be releant here to record that whether it was the killings
at Naroda Gaon, Naroda Patiya or Gulberg society in Chamanpura, Ahmedabad, Ode
in Anand district, \isnagar, Kadi, Sardarpura or Kidiad in Mehsana district, in
Pandharwada, or on the highways o Panchmahal district, or in scores o other places
where lies o persons were taken, the killings were eected in a bestial ashion,
suggesting systematic training aimed at the demonisation o Muslims and their subse-
quent terrorising.
2.4. Muslim men, women and children were killed by stabbing, in priate or police
iring, or by burning them alie. Lidence beore the Tribunal shows that the burning
alie o ictims was widespread. This is not accidental. lor the ictim community,
Muslims, who bury their dead, the killing by burning was meant to annihilate as also
to terrorise and establish dominance oer the entire community. Vhen 6-year-old
Iran asked or water, his assailants at Naroda Patiya made him orcibly drink kero-
sene, or some other inlammable liquid, beore a lit match was thrown inside his gullet
to make him eplode within. Such brutality, which was encouraged or condoned by
the goernment in power, is now cynically being denied.
2.S. Bodies o ictims were dismembered in a merciless ashion beore they were
inally killed. Vomen and children were especially subject to this, women were not
just raped but all kinds o objects and instruments were brutally inserted into their
bodies. There were instances where young children, een inants, were hoisted on
swords or tri.lv. beore being lung into lames.
3. Unprecedented Scale and Degree of Violence Lthnic Cleansing
3.J. The Tribunal recorded eidence rom more than 16 districts o Gujarat. lrom the
eidence placed beore us it is clear that starting rom lebruary 28, within the irst 2
hours, een as Shri Modi claimed the situation to be under control, there was unprec-
edented loss o lie and property. Thereater, iolence continued in 3-4 distinct stages
right up to mid-May. Len the hearings o the Tribunal in the irst hal o May were
preceded by warnings to call o the Tribunal. Ve, too, had to ask or state security.
3.2. To cause the maimum possible damage switly and comprehensiely, a pow-
dery-white chemical was widely used, which not only burnt human beings to the bone,
but een cement houses were completely burnt down. lrom \atwa to Gulberg soci-
ety in Chamanpura, Ahmedabad, to ar-lung district-places like Ode, Sardarpura and
parts o \adodara, we hae recorded eidence o the use o this powdery-white chemi-
cal. Vhen Tribunal members isited Gulberg society on May 5, the compound o the
society was littered with small bottles with remnants o a whitish powder inside.
lrom \atwa we collected not only eidence o use o this powder but also ingenious
electrical wiring to ensure that all 65 homes o the \ohra Muslim Burhani society
caught ire almost simultaneously. During our isit to Ankleshwar, a ew days later,
we recorded testimonies o many ictims who said that in the attacks in that district,
gelatine sticks o the kind used in mining operations were widely used. The premedi-
tated and meticulously planned attacks were obiously intended to ensure that the
targeted homes and business establishments o the minority were reduced to bare
shells. A noticeable pattern in the attacks on rural arms was the total destruction o
bore-wells in such a way that it let no scope or repair o the deice. The scale o the
economic loss suered by Muslims in the illages can be gauged rom the act that
each bore-well costs not less than Rs. 50,000, it can een go up to Rs 1.25 lakhs.
Lidence beore the Tribunal shows that, guided by leaders, the trained mobs irst
sprinkled the targeted buildings with uel drawn rom erba. large cans,barrels,, or
een a tanker in some cases, ollowed by a spray o acid. Immediately thereater, a gas
cylinder brought along by the mobs was unsealed and tossed into the lame. The
result was a deadly eplosion that ripped buildings apart and killed a large number o
persons on the spot. The complete destruction o the Noorani Masjid at Naroda
Patiya at around 9.30 a.m. on lebruary 28 was probably the irst among the large
number o such deadly assaults launched across the state using gas cylinders and acid.
3.3. Across Gujarat, oer 1,100 Muslim-owned hotels, the homes o not less that
1,00,000 amilies, oer 15,000 small and big business establishments, around 3,000
arri gaa. handcarts,, and oer 5,000 ehicles priate cars, trucks, tais,
autorickshaws, were badly damaged or completely destroyed in the attacks. These
igures, arried at by the Tribunal through the oluminous eidence presented beore
us indicate the attempt to economically cripple a community on a scale unprecedented
in the post-independence history o communal iolence in the country.
4. Looting and Destruction of Property
4.J. The destruction o property across Gujarat, in the most aected cities o
Ahmedabad and \adodara, as also elsewhere, was thorough and precise. The eten-
sie eidence beore the Tribunal shows that this, too, was part o the pattern and the
planning behind the attacks, to deastate and completely destroy the property o the
targeted Muslim section. The Tribunal has photographs and written and oral eidence
that shows how een RCC slabs o homes and shops caed in because o the inten-
sity o the chemically-uelled ires. As signiicant is the act that eery single Muslim
household and business establishment was looted beore being reduced to an empty
shell. There are instances where, at the more aluent shops located on the main roads in
Ahmedabad or Bharuch, the middle and aluent classes among Hindus, women and
girls noticeably, were seen looting choice collections rom a boutique or shop beore it
was completely destroyed. Vhether it was household articles painully collected by the
working classes, or dowries that were careully amassed oer the years or girls to be
married, the marauding mobs made sure that no recoery was possible and that to re-
build their lies, the aected amilies would, literally, hae to begin rom scratch. This
was eident all oer, whether in the Panchmahal, Himmatnagar, Mehsana, Sabarkantha,
Chhotaudaipur, Anand and Kheda or in the cities o \adodara and Ahmedabad.
4.2. Most o the attacks in the irst round o iolence began on the morning o
lebruary 28, or on March 1, the day o the Bharat bavl. On day one o the murder
and loot, brutal state wide killings were conducted with precision. Apart rom that, in
cities and in ar-lung rural areas, eidence shows that the attacks were on the houses
and business establishments o the Muslim community, which were either in Hindu
dominated areas like market-places or on the outskirts o illages. This was almost
like a prelude or warm-up` actiity or what was to ollow. In most places, the attacks
started in the aternoon, driing Muslims out o their homes. lrom March 1-3, in all
the aected illages, Muslims were orced to lee their homes taking nothing with
them. In the illages, people irst tried to gather in the local mosque or in the ew
concrete houses that belonged to better-o Muslims. Vhen these were also attacked,
they had to lee in some aailable ehicles or on oot. Trees were elled to block roads
and obstruct Muslims trying to escape rom the renzied, armed mob. The way in
which large masses o ictimised Muslims were terrorised and made to lee is despi-
cable in a society where democracy and secularism is said to be the norm. Although in
a large number o cases, people managed to escape rom their illages and reach saer
places, many were chased, caught, killed, and sometimes een dismembered and com-
pletely burnt. Vomen were stripped naked and repeatedly seually assaulted by mobs.
In many cases, the dead bodies hae not been ound.
4.3. Once the Muslims led rom their illages, mobs looted and then burnt their
houses and shops at leisure. In many illages, houses were being torched until as late
as March 10-13, and, in some instances, een later. In eery structure targeted, be it a
house or a shop, doors, windows, window rames, grills, electric wiring, water pipes,
taps, switch-boards, electric meters, all moable property, een roos, went missing.
There were traces o the chemical powders used een when Tribunal members isited
these illages two months ater the crime. Lery place was burnt completely. In some
places, een walls hae been broken down. Llsewhere, only burnt, bare walls re-
mained. The dwellings looked as though they had been bombed. Len bore-wells
were totally damaged or blocked. Lery single tree, including all ruit-bearing trees,
was cut down. The marauders made sure there was no sign o lie let anywhere. In
most places, the looting and the destruction o property went on or days ater the
people had run away rom their illages. \ictims deposed that many o their goods
can still be ound in the homes o their Hindu neighbours but no attempt has been
made by the state to look or them and book the culprits.
4.4. The eidence recorded beore the Tribunal shows that, while Godhra proided the
pretet, there was prior mobilisation o men and materials, and an organisation in place
that made possible the systematic and calculated preparations that preceded many o the
massacres. The mass use o gas cylinders in Ahmedabad and many other places, een
while there was a shortage a ortnight beore, the training needed to torch the ire-proo
showroom o Harsoliya Motors Sabarkantha,, the selection o the kind o blasting de-
ices and detonators needed to destroy Muslim-owned actories and establishments in the
GIDC area in Modasa Sabarkantha, or \atwa Ahmedabad,, while the areas were under
curew between March 1-3, they all suggest detailed military-style pre-planning.
4.S. 1ae Orer of .gricvtvra oivg. Orve , Mv.iv.. The Tribunal has receied
eidence rom across the state o Gujarat that a eiberate votire behind driing Mus-
lims out o illages where they hae lied or centuries, and where an economic and
social boycott is een today being carried out, is to surreptitiously and illegally take
oer landholdings held by them.
S. Military Precision and Planning behind Attacks
S.J. or tle oeratiov. rere eecvte: Large mobs running into thousands were led by
well-known elected representaties rom the BJP, leaders o the \HP, Bajrang Dal
and RSS and een cabinet ministers. lrom the eidence beore us, it is clear that these
leaders see sections on Incidents o \iolence, \olume I and List o Accused, \ol-
ume II, quite oten carried computer printouts o the names and addresses o Mus-
lims homes and shops. lield operations were co-ordinated by a central command
using mobile phones.
S.2. 1le forvatiov of ar.ov battaiov.: The eidence beore the Tribunal clearly points
to scores o key actors leading large mobs, ully aware o what they had to do and
achieing their task with precision. This suggests the eistence o a priate, trained
militia running into thousands in Gujarat. A militia, moreoer, established and made
ighting it through training camps, distribution o weaponry and hate propaganda
gloriying iolence. Veapons used in attacks, such as swords, were o the same brand,
and must obiously hae been distributed in adance across large tracts o the state.The
deployment in many o the attacks o large tempos or trucks, ull o hired hooligans,
some local and others rom UP, MP or Maharashtra, identiied as such because they
spoke in Hindi or Marathi, is a worrying indicator o the scale and reach o these
underground operations. \illage-leel eidence points to hired mobs, where the hoo-
ligans were equipped with tri.lv., iron rods and swords, carrying supplies o water,
salted beans and peanuts and liquor pouches and paid Rs. 500 per day or Rs.1,000 per
night. The slogans shouted by the drunken mobs included, ivv baccla Rav a,
Mv.avav baccla larav a!``Hindus are children o Lord Ram, Muslims are bas-
tards!`, and ]ai lri Rav!`
S.3. Profie of tle a..aiavt.: The leadership o large mobs running into thousands
was proided by easily identiiable elected representaties o the BJP including cabi-
net ministers,, and others rom the \HP, the Bajrang Dal and the RSS. lrom the
eidence beore us, it is clear that these leaders were carrying computerised sheets
containing people`s names and addresses. Houses were marked o community-wise.
Lidence regarding sureys collected in adance and details obtained through re-
enue and sales ta records, apart rom electoral rolls, was placed beore the Tribunal..
The mobs, arriing in ehicles such as trucks, Tata Sumos, tempos, jeeps and Maruti
ans, were led and directed by local Hindu leaders belonging to the .avgl arirar.
Leaders, who used mobile phones while the attacks were being carried out, hae been
named by Muslim suriors in the complaints sent to the police by registered post or
in the lIRs recorded.
S.4. The second rung comprised o the chie eecutioners who wielded all the
weapons - guns, tri.lv., swords - and handled arsenals and supplies - petrol,
diesel, kerosene, chemicals and gas cylinders - or starting ires. They moed around
in ehicles loaded with chemicals and weapons. This was the group primarily respon-
sible or the brutal killings, seual assaults and other abuses. Muslim suriors rom
many illages told the Tribunal that these aggressors carried identical backpacks illed
with pouches o chemicals. The planning was so elaborate that a particular group o
people had been assigned only the task o loading guns.
The third group was mainly inoled in looting property rom the houses and shops.
In some o the tribal areas, this group consisted o Adiasis. In some illages, people
said that not all o those who came in the mob spoke Gujarati. Some o them were
also speaking in Marathi and Hindi.
S.S. . refivavce oeratiov: Money, in seeral instances, was an added actor in
mobilising mobs. The Tribunal has recorded the eidence o our witnesses who at-
tended training camps conducted by the \HP and the BD, oten inside local temples.
Swords and tri.lv. were sold to those attending. They were indoctrinated into being
prepared at all times to attack Muslims and assured that i someone lost his lie per-
orming his duty`, his dependants would be paid an adequate sum o money, one
witness said that a ew lakhs was promised as compensation. The propaganda and the
indoctrination created anatics who were comorted by the assurance that, were some-
thing to happen to them, their amily members would be well looked ater. In many
illages in \adodara rural, Panchmahal and Dahod districts, monetary incenties and
liquor were oered to Adiasis to kill Muslims. Three witnesses rom Mora told the
Tribunal that two Sindhis rom Godhra had come to Mora on the night o lebruary
28, oering money and liquor as inducement to attack Muslims and this helped in
assembling mobs. They also held meetings in other areas like Methral and Suliath to
plan attacks.
S.6. Such access to resources raises the critical question as to rlo fvve tle.e oera
tiov. and rom where such huge resources had come rom. lrom the eidence o e-
pert witnesses and ictims recorded beore the Tribunal, it is clear that groups like the
RSS, the \HP and the BD hae access to large sums.
S.7. The state bavl on lebruary 28, and the Bharat bavl on March 1 - both
called by the \HP,BD and supported by the state BJP and the chie minister himsel
- helped in the killing, loot and destruction. The ear created by aggressie sloganeering
and posturing, the deathly silence and empty streets helped the trained militia to carry
out their jobs with ease, unhindered by the state police.
6. Complicity of Civil Society
6.J. Vith their relentless hate campaign, the masterminds o the iolence ensured
such complicity rom ciil society in their murderous deeds, that there were ery ew
instances o members o the majority community coming out to protect Muslims.
This complicity was due to the ollowing actors.
6.2. Lack o remorse: The isible ac of revor.e among a large section o the Hindu
educated middle-class, about the enormous human tragedy that aected such large
numbers o people in the state, is a disturbing eature o the iolence in Gujarat. This
situation is quite unlike that in other communal riots, where this social segment played
a role in the restoration o peace. In many Hindu middle-class localities, Hindus who
had social relationships with their Muslim neighbours, gae encouragement and shel-
ter to attackers. The reality that many o these attackers were lumpen elements, o
whom they would normally be earul, did not seem to disturb them. There was en-
thusiastic participation o middle-class Hindus in the looting o shops. Right rom the
beginning o the iolence, statements like, a lesson needed to be taught` and other
justiications o the iolence were oten heard rom middle-class Hindus, ranging
rom uniersity teachers to petty businessmen. It is almost as i the aected people
are the antagonistic other`, beyond the pale o human ethics and morality. There is an
eerie silence in which ictims o the carnage appear to hae been rendered inisible.
6.3. |ear av terror geverate b, tlreat. av late .eecl: The Tribunal has recorded ei-
dence that clearly shows how Hindus who sheltered and supported aected Muslim
amilies were threatened and abused. A witness as highly placed as Shri Piyush Desai,
CMD, Vagh Bakri Chai, and a corporate leader belonging to the majority community,
took the lead in organising relie and mobilising men rom the trading and business
groups to initiate reconciliatory measures. Len on the day he deposed beore the
Tribunal, May 5, Shri Desai was threatened by local \HP-BD goons and asked to
stop his actiities. I a man as highly placed as him could be so threatened, imagine an
ordinary citizen or a amily wanting to help his,her neighbour. Len retired High
Court judges and lawyers did not hae the courage to come out openly against the
goons, or they, too, elt unsae.
6.4. 1irae. agaiv.t eace ivitiatire., .ecvari.t.: In their public ehortations and speeches,
hate pamphlets and articles published in blatantly communal newspapers like ave.l,
and mouthpieces like ivv 1i.iov and otive, top leel state unctionaries in Gujarat
and their minions, hae speciically targeted the small number o men and women
rom Gujarat and outside, who hae stood out at this moment o crisis, speaking or
sanity and reason, and against hatred.
6.S. Among those singled out or slander, abuse and threat were senior journalists
Shri Batuk \ora and Shri Digant Oza rom Ahmedabad, social actiists Shri Rohit
Prajapati, Smt. Trupti Shah and Shri Jussar Bandukwala rom \adodara, tar èr.`
political editor Shri Rajdeep Sardesai and co-editor Covvvvai.v Covbat, Smt. Teesta
Setalad. In early April, danseuse Su. Mrinalini Sarabhai was targeted simply because
she took a serious initiatie or peace in Ahmedabad. On June 11, Shri Modi stated,
Those journalists who coer Gujarat. may meet the ate o Daniel Pearl. Coer
communal riots at your own risk, look at Daniel Pearl.` This is nothing short o threat
and intimidation, an utterance unworthy o the post o a chie political eecutie.
6.6. In this contet, the Tribunal pays tribute to each one o the witnesses - rom
Ahmedabad and \adodara as much as rom ar-lung towns and illages, in Sabarkantha,
Mehsana, Himmatnagar, Bharuch, Ankleshwar, and Dahod - who ignored serious
threats and deposed beore us in their quest or justice. The Tribunal hopes that this
report lies up to the epectation o the suriors who deposed beore it in the belie
that this would be helpul in their search or justice.
6.7. Dee oari.atiov ritliv Cvarat .ociet,: The prolieration o outits like the RSS,
the \HP and the Bajrang Dal, and their sustained and unchecked hate propaganda
has, unortunately, succeeded in creating a sharp polarisation particularly in urban,
middle-class Gujarati society. Local newspapers, particularly ave.l, added to the
stereotyping o the Muslim community as anti-national and terrorist. lrom the tes-
timonies o the suriors beore arious act-inding teams, and the lIRs lodged by
them, it is eident that throughout Gujarat, while the carnage was masterminded by
the avgl Parirar and its paid hirelings, in numerous cases, Hindu neighbours, too,
actiely participated in the attacks on Muslims. Howeer, in as many instances, ic-
tims categorically stated that the iolence was the work o outsiders.
7. Role of the RSS/VHP/BD/BJP
7.J. The public ehortations to and celebrations o iolence by the avgl Parirar
leadership against Muslims and Christians in recent years, and especially during the
build up to the proposed start o the construction o the Ram temple in Ayodhya on
March 15, and during and ater the carnage in Gujarat, is eident rom their published
statements that were placed beore the Tribunal. (.ee .vvevre., ate eecl, ate
!ritivg, 1ovve I, av clater, Prearatiov for 1ioevce: ate eecl av ate !ritivg, 1o
vve II,. That these were not mere ehortations is apparent rom the direct participa-
tion in and leadership proided by many o these ery people during the carnage.
8. Use of Hindu Religious Symbols
8.J. Among the clear patterns that emerge rom the state wide iolence in Gujarat,
is the widespread use o upper caste Hindu symbols: fire, to kill and burn, tri.lv., as
weapons o assault, vai,a avvvav` literally, Riot Hanuman`, idols, to symbolise
conquest oer Muslim places o worship. The ethnic cleansing was premeditated and
the plan had been worked out to the last detail. The slogan, ]ai lri Rav!` was scrawled
on the eternal walls o Hindu houses and shops, so that Muslim premises could be
easily identiied at the time o attack.
8.2. Other Hindu religious symbols that were etensiely used during the iolence
included the ollowing: shouting o ]ai ri Rav!` as a battle-cry by marauding mobs
and politicians o the ruling party, orcing Muslims to chant, ]ai ri Rav!` or ab.e
aa avvvav!`; projection o the Godhra ictims as martyrs` in the cause o Hindu-
ism, aggressie and loud blaav singing especially on March 15, the day chosen by the
\HP or .liaav in Ayodhya, but also beore and ater,, public recitations o the
avvvav Clai.a organised by those inoled in looting and arson as in Tarsali,.
8.3. Shrines, mosques and vara..a., seeral o them dating back to Gaikwadi and
een earlier times, were damaged in the iolence. In seeral cases o attacks on
mosques, copies o the Koran was andalised or burnt Naroda Gaon and Patiya,
Paldi, Ahmedabad, \adodara, Raja Rani Tala, Kisanwadi, Naayard and Raghopura
illage, Tarsali,. Books, urniture and other items in mosques and vrgal. were dam-
aged or burnt. The installation o vai,a avvvav` was eident in many religious
places that were attacked or destroyed. Temples were quickly constructed on de-
stroyed Muslim property. In Sama, or eample, on lebruary 28, poultry shops were
destroyed and a Hanuman temple was quickly raised at the same place. By the eening
o March 2, arti. were being held, with blaav. blaring oer loudspeakers and ra.a
distributed. A vai,a` Ganpati was installed at the damaged Shenshani argal on
Vaghodia Road. In Naayard, a mob attempted to install a Hanuman idol in a garage
belonging to a Muslim.
9. Use of Hate Speech and Hate Writing
9.J. Videspread hate propaganda was conducted through pamphlets distributed by
Hindu communal organisations in dierent areas in large numbers. The content o
these included calls or the social and economic boycott o Muslims, warnings about
Muslims constituting a danger to the surial o Hindus, urging Hindus to awaken
and to decimate and drie Muslims out rom India. (ee clater, Prearatiov for 1ioevce:
ate eecl av ate !ritivg, 1ovve II,.
9.2. Much o the local media played a reprehensibly partisan and inlammatory role
right rom lebruary 28 onwards. Local political leaders used the electronic media in
the most despicable manner. The intentions o leaders belonging to the ruling party
and their ailiates becomes ery clear i one eamines the speeches on local T\
channels like ]11, Dee and 1`M. lor eample, inlammatory speeches by certain
leaders on local cable news channels on March 15, ater the Machchipith incident in
\adodara, prompted combing operations by the police. Despite seeral appeals to the
administration requesting action against particularly oensie local news channels,
the police commissioner only acted in the last week o March, by iling lIRs, ironi-
cally, against two o the relatiely less proocatie channels.
9.3. It would be no eaggeration to state that the local press, particularly ave.l
and Cvarat avaclar the ormer with greater impunity, was party to uelling commu-
nal tension in the state through sensationalised, proocatie, and, at times, highly
inlammatory reporting. ave.l, or eample, carried the headline on lebruary 28:
Around 10 Hindu girls pulled out o the railway carriage by a group o religious
anatics` een though the report that ollowed merely said this was a rumour. (ee
.ectiov ov Roe of Meia, 1ovve II,. Had these newspapers played a more sober and
responsible role, allaying rather than preying on the ears o people particularly those
belonging to the majority community,, they could, perhaps, hae contributed to de-
using tension and restoring peace in the state.
9.4. ate roagava: There are numerous eamples o motiated and alse propa-
ganda used to uel local passions leading to iolence against Muslims. (ee .ectiov ov
Ivcievt. of 1ioevce, 1ovve I,. One eample bears mention here. Shri Dalsukh Maharaj
o Sanjeli, mobilised a mammoth crowd o 30-35,000 people, mostly Adiasis, some
o whom had gathered or a wedding, to slaughter local Muslims and to burn and loot
their houses. Baseless propaganda about the abduction o Adiasi women by Muslim
men, giing communal colour to the prealent eploitation o Adiasis by all traders
to paint a picture o the Muslims as eploiters`, were some o the strategies behind
ivvtra`s mobilisation among Bhils and other tribals. Similarly, the sustained propa-
gation o myths and alsehoods such as, Alarming increase in Muslim population`,
Hindu women being iolated by Muslims`, More Hindus than Muslims killed in all
earlier riots`, Muslims collecting weapons to attack Hindus`, were used throughout
Gujarat to generate widespread hostility against Muslims.
9.S. A top district-leel oicial who deposed beore the Tribunal proided eidence
o distribution o CDs and pamphlets among Adiasis and others in Panchmahal, that
contained blatant alsehoods about Muslims. The administration had to crack down on
recording and ideo parlours and photocopy shops engaged in this nasty business.
9.6. Muslim reugees rom Pandharwada Panchmahal,, Randhikpur Dahod,, Sanjeli
Dahod,, Por Gandhinagar,, Rajpardi Bharuch,, Unjha, Dasaj Mehsana, and se-
eral other areas reported the steady build-up o anti-Muslim propaganda through meet-
ings, lealets, etc. oer the last decade and, more intensiely, in the last ew years.
Kodar Doctor`, one o the chie accused in the Pandharwada iolence, would tell
Muslim illagers that Pandharwada was the land o the ie Pandaas where Muslims
were not wanted, they were repeatedly told to go away to Pakistan.
J0. Mobilisation of Women, Adivasis and Dalits
J0.J. .ira.i.: The systematic organisation o tribals by the avgl Parirar and at-
tacks on Christian missionaries working among the ormer has been common in west-
ern and central India in recent years. Lidence beore the Tribunal shows how deter-
minedly the avgl Parirar had been organising Adiasis oer the past ew years and
how this work had intensiied a ew months prior to the iolence.
J0.2. The Sewa Bharti sponsored a Hindu Sangam in the Jhabua district o Madhya
Pradesh on January 1 and 18, 2002. The Sewa Bharti, which is an outit o the
Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh RSS,, had been carried out a drie to install idols o
Lord Hanuman in the homes o Hindu tribals` in Jhabua district in the three months
rom Noember 2001 onwards. The RSS chie, K Sudershan, and Sadhi Rithambara
had addressed this gathering.
J0.3. The mass mobilisation o tribals by the RSS at Jhabua in MP - a gathering o
1,50,000 that was addressed by RSS chie, KS Sudarshan - was an occasion when
many utterances were made to relatiely innocent tribals, and which the Tribunal
iews as a deliberate attempt at communalising them. Poisoning the minds o tribals
against the minorities and drawing them into the intolerant ivvtra old, seemed to
be the agenda here.
J0.4. In the tribal dominated districts o Panchmahal, Banaskantha and Sabarkantha,
the landscape presents a prousion o saron lags alutter oer reshly painted, well
maintained temples. This is clear eidence o the growing political presence o these
orces in the tribal regions.
J0.S. The incitement o tribal communities, and the targeting o Muslims in rural
areas, is a disturbing eature o the recent iolence in Gujarat. \iolence spread to
rural areas by March 3. In August 2000, too, when the international general secretary
o the \HP, Shri Praeen Togadia, ehorted cadres o the avgl Parirar to aenge the
deaths o Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir, - !alav Ka ]araab Yalav Devge` Kash-
mir will be aenged in Gujarat`, - there was widespread destruction o Muslim prop-
erties in tribal areas like Lambadiya and Khed Brahma.
J0.6. This time, there is clear eidence that Adiasis were incited by Hindu com-
munal organisations to attack Muslim houses and property in \adodara, Banaskantha
and Sabarkantha districts. Terror was created by stoning, spreading rumours and kill-
ing animals, ollowed by mob attacks, which orced Muslims to lee. This was ol-
lowed by the looting o houses, which included carrying away their animals, such as
goats, or killing them by running them oer with ehicles,, and, inally, burning,
smashing and breaking whateer was let in or around the houses. In many cases,
ictims led to nearby ields. In Sokhada illage, all the Muslim residents hid in the
ields at night, watching their homes being looted and burnt. Howeer, Adiasi in-
olement in killings and rape seems to hae been the eception rather than the rule.
J0.7. Vhile this was a discernible and distrubing trend in many parts o Gujarat,
especially sections o Panchmahal, Sabarkantha and Dahod, where the direct political
inluence o the RSS,\HP,BD had spread, in other pockets aira.i. and Dalits rose in
deence o Muslims: Rabaris in some illages o Panchmahal actually preented a mas-
sacre and the Tribunal has eamples o Dalits, too, in rural areas who sheltered Muslims
or days beore they could escape. Oten this was at great risk to their lies.
J0.8. Dait.: Dalits and members o the denotiied tribes like Vaghris and Charas
were actie in the iolence in urban areas, especially in the more gruesome instances
o rape, killing and bestiality. The tragedy behind this pattern lies in the act that
inluential and dominant sections o caste Hindu society hae drien a wedge among
the oppressed sections, pitting Dalits, Vaghris and Charas against the Muslim minor-
ity. In urban Gujarat, especially Ahmedabad, Dalits and Muslims lie in close proim-
ity. The lower castes were cynically trained to indulge in iolence o a kind that
dehumanises the perpetrators themseles. The Tribunal has recorded eidence to show
that, especially in the past two years, in Gujarat, the Bajrang Dal paid salaries o Rs.
3-5,000 a month, to lure unemployed Dalit youth to camps where indoctrination
against Muslims and arms training were the main actiities.
J0.9. !ovev: Vomen, especially rom the aluent classes o Hindu society, were
isible participants in the iolence, in some cases, they een led the assaults and
instigated Hindu men to commit seual crimes against Muslim women. Lamples o
this are the BJP`s elected representaties, namely, Su. Maya Kotdani and Su. Amita
Patel, who guided marauding mobs that indulged in the most ile orms o iolence at
Naroda Gaon and Naroda Patiya. Or the large number o women and young girls
rom elite sections o Ahmedabad who came in their cars to loot rom the shops on
CG Road. The Durga \ahini, the militant women`s outit ailiated to the RSS,\HP,
BD, which gies arms training to women, has a signiicant presence in Gujarat. Sadhi
Rithambara, the ire-breathing priestess o the \HP who played a major role in whip-
ping up mass renzy in the build-up to December 6, 1992 and the countrywide io-
lence that ollowed, is ery popular in the state o Gujarat.
J0.J0. Covvvva rioevce .rea to ver area.: Unlike in the earlier riots o 1969, 1985
and 1992, which were largely restricted to traditionally riot-prone` areas, new areas
were aected this time. Areas where people hae co-eisted peaceully or genera-
tions hae been targets o iolence, e.g., Pira Mita and latehgunj. This trend began in
1992, when Surat, a city which had, until then, remained unaected by the communal
irus, was irst racked by large-scale iolence including gang rapes o Muslim women.
Llected representaties and persons associated with the ruling party hae played a
key role in spreading iolence to peaceul areas. Municipal councillors hae chal-
lenged colleagues rom relatiely unaected areas and implied a lack o varavgi man-
liness,, because there was no destruction or killing in those areas. MLAs o the ruling
party, in Anand district, een sent bangles to illages that maintained peace. Similar
cases were reported rom other parts o Gujarat, where local leaders rom the more
peaceul districts were sent bangles to denote a lack o manliness.
J0.JJ. The iolence aected not only Muslims but poor Hindus as well, because o
loss o lielihood, and in many cases, the burning o their homes. Poor and Dalit
women hae complained to citizens` act-inding teams o harassment and seual
abuse by the police during curew.
JJ. Preparation for violence Immediate and Long 1erm:
JJ.J. The Tribunal recorded etensie eidence on the systematic pre-planning and
preparations that also eplain the military precision with which the iolence was led
and its deastating consequences or the state`s Muslims. The eidence that was put
beore the Tribunal is dealt with in a separate section (.ee clater Prearatiov. for 1io
evce, 1ovve II). Suice it to say here that meetings, training camps and other orms
o mass mobilisation were all part o the planning and preparation or the ensuing
iolence.
JJ.2. Si months beore the carnage, the tempo o communal mobilisation had
increased in a number o illages, with the launch o the .liavav connected to the
building o the Ram temple in Ayodhya. 1ri.lv i.la` programmes, in which tri.lv.
were distributed at large gatherings, were also organised in a number o areas during
the same period. Pranti Sabarkantha,, Sanjeli, Pandharwada and illages rom all
oer Khanpur tava Panchmahal, reported such meetings. These meetings were only
held in illages where there were Muslims and where openly threatening the latter
appeared to be one o the main objecties o the assembly.
JJ.3. Shri laiz Mohammad Ahmadbhai told the Tribunal that people rom 50-60
neighbouring illages came or the meeting held at Ayodhya Chowk in Pandharwada
only a ortnight beore the atal attack on Muslims. Nearly 300 to 400 people rom
nearby illages, men and women, had collected at the meeting. They included \HP
leaders, .alv. and others. The entire meeting was broadcast on loudspeakers pro-
ided by Shri Anil Modi. According to Shri Ahmadbhai, one leader said, There were
2-3 households o Muslims earlier, now they hae 100-125 houses. The Muslim popu-
lation is increasing. Ve must do something now. Ve hae no arms. In Muslim houses
there are arms ready or use. Ve must prepare to ight them.` Shri Kantibhai Ambalal
Pandya, the principal o Shri KM Doshi High School, who chaired the meeting said,
Ve must gie serious thought to what the speakers hae said today, and we must
prepare ourseles so that we conront them. The Muslims don`t beliee in amily
planning so their population increases. Let us also also increase our population .`
JJ.4. In almost all the aected illages, meetings were held on the eening o leb-
ruary 2 or on lebruary 28 to plan the attacks. Some o the illages where such
meetings were held are Leach Mehsana,, Motera Gandhinagar,, Prantij Sabarkantha,
and Sanjeli Dahod,. In some illages, these meetings were described as lavti aviti`
Peace Committee`, meetings, but, curiously, as in the case o Sanjeli Dahod,, partici-
pants in these so-called Peace Committee` meetings led the attacks the ollowing day.
In Piplod Dahod,, the attack was launched at 4 p.m. on lebruary 28, soon ater a our-
hour-long meeting in the town, destroying the handul o Muslim houses in the area.
JJ.S. It was only due to such organisation and pre-planning that mobs as large as -
10,000 or more could be so quickly mobilised, not only in a large city like Ahmedabad
but also in the rural areas o Gujarat.
JJ.6. Lidence beore the Tribunal also reeals there were many cases where the
Muslims led the illages beore the attacks, thanks to their being alerted in time by
their peace loing Hindu neighbours. This was true especially in Bharuch, Ankleshwar
and Sabarkantha districts and in parts o Panchmahal.
JJ.7. On the strength o the etensie eidence placed beore the Tribunal, it is led
to the conclusion that the Gujarat carnage has its roots in the sustained anti-Muslim
mobilisation by the avgl Parirar, among speciic social groups. In the ace o all the
eidence o prior planning, the ratiri,a` spontaneous reaction`, eplanation or
the post-Godhra iolence touted by oicials and political leaders is hopelessly inad-
equate, to say the least.
J.J. A distinct, tragic and ghastly eature o the state sponsored carnage unleashed
against a section o the population, the Muslim minority in Gujarat, was the system-
atic seual iolence unleashed against young girls and women. Rape was used as an
instrument or the subjugation and humiliation o a community. A chilling technique,
absent in pogroms unleashed hitherto but ery much in eidence this time in a large
number o cases, was the deliberate destruction o eidence. Barring a ew, in most
instances o seual iolence, the women ictims were stripped and paraded naked,
then gang-raped, and thereater quartered and burnt beyond recognition.
J.2. In one o the allouts o the hatred unleashed by the ratl ,atra led by Shri LK
Adani or the Ravavvabloovi and ollowing the demolition o the Babri Masjid in
Ayodhya, on the night o December 8-9, 1992, a predominantly Muslim ba.ti in Surat
was subjected to a concerted attack, during which at least one dozen women were
gang raped by tri.lvcarrying mobs. Len a Hindu woman, also a resident o the same
locality, was not spared. In the pogroms unleashed under the directie o Shi Sena
supreme, Shri Bal Thackeray in Bombay in January 1993, too, at least three cases o
communally-drien rapes hae been documented, both in the Peoe`. 1erict report
o a Citizens Tribunal headed by Justice SM Daud and Justice Hosbet Suresh, both
retired judges o the Bombay High Court, and in the report o the oicially appointed
Justice BN Shrikrishna Commission o Inquiry.
J.3. Len during the horrors o iolence unleashed during Partition, drien to a
renzy o hatred, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh mobs used rape as a orm o subjugation
and humiliation o the other community`.
J.4. Vhile the large number o cases o seual iolence perpetrated during the
statewide carnage in Gujarat is shocking, the triial and dismissie manner in which
this chilling pattern eidenced all oer the state was dealt with by the CM and his
cabinet, the authorities as a whole in Gujarat and, worst o all, by ministers in the
goernment o India, make it doubly so.
J.S. The Tribunal notes with concern and outrage the shocking remarks made by
the union deence minister, Shri George lernandes on the loor o the Lok Sabha
l0l000 8l8l N0M0
during the debate on the Gujarat carnage. He said, There is nothing new in the
mayhem let loose in Gujarat. A pregnant woman`s stomach being slit, a daughter
being raped in ront o a mother aren`t a new thing.` Such things, Shri lernandes said,
hae been happening or 54 years in India and happened een on the streets o New
Delhi in 1984. Lok Sabha debate on Gujarat, April 30, 2002, reported on May 1 in
1le ivv, 1le Iviav re.., the Deccav era and 1le 1ive. of Ivia.,
J.6. The Tribunal recorded with pain the statements o women rom all oer Gujarat
who had either themseles been subject to seual iolence or were direct witness to
it. Many o the oer 33,000 children orced to lie as reugees in relie camps throughout
the state were also witness to the most debased and brutal orms o iolence. They
were mute witnesses to gross gender crimes perpetrated on their near and dear ones
- sisters, mothers, aunts and een grandmothers - with gory and military precision,
eidence o some sick minds and a icious ideology. The Tribunal shudders to think
o the impact o this on young and impressionable minds.
J.7. Vomen ictims o the carnage rom Saijpur Patia, Naroda, Chamanpura,
Behrampura, Danilimda, Gomtipur, \atwa, Narol, Shah-e-Alam, Millatnagar and
Bapunagar in Ahmedabad city deposed beore us. Not only had they been ictims o
iolence that took the lies o their near and dear ones, their dignity was made a special
target and their homes and belongings, collected painully oer the years, were looted
and then destroyed. They hae been orced to become reugees in their own homeland.
J.8. In Saijpur Patia, Naroda, on lebruary 28, a mob o around 25,000 surrounded
the Muslim areas at nine in the morning. They instigated the attacks by pelting stones
at the residents - working class Muslims who had been liing there or oer 60 years -
throwing acid and petrol bombs at them. Thereater, they orceully entered the lanes,
shouting slogans against Muslims, implying that they are terrorists and that they should
not be allowed to lie in this country. They were also shouting the slogan, ]ai lri Rav!`.
The mobs were armed with sharp swords, spears, tridents, chemicals, petrol cans, kero-
sene and priate irearms. Residents tried to deend themseles and their homes with the
aailable stones but could not do so or long. The mob then went on a rampage, looting
and burning houses. They then started killing people, irst cutting them up with swords
and then burning them saying, Ve will een spoil your deaths.` Lidently, this was not
spontaneous, but a premeditated attack meant to subjugate or een obliterate a whole
community. Muslims do not burn their dead, they bury them. The widespread use o arson
and burning was part o a methodology to annihilate a community`s culture and belies.
J.9. Vhen the residents o Saijpur Patia, Naroda, tried to escape, they were sub-
jected to the mass rapes o their sisters, wies, mothers and daughters. The helpless
men - brothers, sons, athers and husbands - were irst humiliated and then killed.
J.J0. The police, instead o iring on the assailants and protecting lies, misdi-
rected the terrorised people and lead them towards armed mobs waiting or assault.
Those who ran in the direction indicated by the police are no longer alie.
J.JJ. According to the eidence recorded by the Tribunal, the leaders o the mobs
many o whom hae been identiied, een raped young girls, some as young as 11-
years-old. The young girls were made to remoe their clothes in ront o 1,000-2,000
strong mobs who humiliated and terrorised the girls. Thereater, they were raped by 8-
10 men. Ater raping them, the attackers inserted sharp swords, knies or hard ob-
jects into their bodies to torture them beore burning them alie. In the many bouts o
communally incited pogroms that hae taken place in dierent parts o the country,
neer has there been this depth o perersion, sickness and inhumaneness. Len a
20-day-old inant, or a oetus in the womb o its mother, was not spared. They lung
babies in the pyres that they had prepared. They cut up people, threw then in a well
known as tee.ra vra` and then burnt them. The police supported the mob during the
assault by shelling tear gas shells on the hapless Muslims. They also opened ire on
men when they were trying to deend the women in the area. The State Resere Police
was ery complacent and indierent saying, Ve hae been gien orders to do noth-
ing or 24 hours in Naroda.` Vomen pleaded with the police and the SRP to stop
acting partially and sae the children at least. They begged beore these policemen,
laying their children at their eet, but it made no dierence to them.
J.J2. The sinister aspect o these gender crimes is that they hae been led and directed
by elected representaties and prominent leaders o the BJP, RSS and \HP. (ee .ectiov ov
Ivcievt. of 1ioevce, 1ovve I,. This means that the dominant political leadership o our
times is actually creating or displaying role models that gloriy gender crimes against women.
Can any ciilised society witness this without inding an urgent need to punish those guilty
and making a determined eort to purge public lie o these perersions
J.J3. In the attack on lebruary 28 on Gulberg Society, Chamanpura, Ahmedabad,
where a ormer Congress member o Parliament was a speciic target, there were at
least 10-12 cases o girls and women who were gang-raped, assaulted with swords
and rods and quartered beore being burnt to ashes.
J.J4. Similarly, on March 1, in latehpura illage outside Sanjeli, and in Morwa in
the Panchmahal district, women were gang raped by mobs. latehpura is one illage
where, among the suriors, are many women ictims o gross gender crimes.
J.JS. The inamous BLST Bakery incident that occurred in \adodara on the night
o March 1, when 14 persons were quartered and burnt the attack took place ater a
jeep o the \adodara Panigate police had drien past at 9 p.m., also inoled three
cases o communally-drien rape.
J.J6. At the mass grae that was dug on March 6 to proide burial to 96 bodies rom
Naroda Patiya, 46 women were buried.
J.J7. A rape ictim rom the Godhra relie camp told a tale that seemed to conirm
a recurrent pattern in most places, according to suriors` accounts. She was stripped,
gang-raped, her baby was killed beore her, she was then beaten up, then burnt and
let or dead. lor ariety`s sake, other women also had acid thrown upon them, and
then burnt in ires. A womens` act-inding report sums up the usual procedure: ..rape,
gang rape, mass rape, stripping, insertion o objects into their body, molestation. a
majority o rape ictims were burnt alie.`
J.J8. Beore they were inally killed, some were beaten up with rods and pipes or almost
an hour. Beore or ater the killing, their agina would be sliced, or would hae iron rods
pushed inside. Similarly, their bellies would be cut open or would hae hard objects in-
serted into them. A 13-year old girl, had a rod pushed into her stomach, and was then
burnt. A mother reported that her three-year old baby girl was raped and killed in ront o
her, while elsewhere daughters reported on the rapes o their mothers, now dead. Kausar
Bano, a young girl rom Naroda Patiya, was seeral months pregnant. Seeral eyewit-
nesses testiied that she was raped, tortured, her womb was slit open with a sword to
disgorge the oetus which was then hacked to pieces and roasted alie with the mother.
J.J9. Lidence placed beore the Tribunal also shows how, on March 1, ater the
aternoon vavaa, the police unleashed a reign o brutality and terror on women and
young men o the Danilimda area around Ahmedabad. Lleen boys were arrested on
that day, without reason, when they were returning to their homes ater praying at the
va.i. About 500 women rom Danilimda and Shah-e-Alam went to Danilimda po-
lice station to urge the police to release them. Initially, the police tried to send the
women back saying that the boys hae been transerred to Haeli police station. Vhen
the women repeatedly pleaded, argued and asked or the reasons or which they were
arrested the police told the women, \ou wait here, we will go and bring back the
boys`. They went in three police jeeps, returned with two additional jeeps ull o
policemen and immediately resorted to atli charge. They beat the women seerely
with atli. and butts o their guns, constantly using ery abusie and oensie lan-
guage. In all, 53 women were seerely injured in the attack. Terrorised with urther
implications i they went to any hospital or treatment, these women were orced to
nurse their wounds with home made remedies.
J.20. Lidence beore us also shows that on lebruary 28, armed mobs attacked
Muslim homes in Gomtipur, in the Ambika Mill va Clara and Nutan Mill va Clara
colonies. They looted and burnt houses. They were in such large numbers that the
police pleaded that deence was impossible. Police behaiour indicated no desire to
protect the lies o those targeted. On March 2, the residents o Patel i Clai in
Gomtipur closed the two main entry gates to their area, and the women gathered
outside their homes guarding their men and their houses rom both the police and the
mob. The police entered by jumping oer the gates. Head constable Narayan Modi
was leading the police. He is the head constable in D` sta in Gomtipur police sta-
tion. Vhen the women protested against his entering the area without any reason,
Shri Modi used a ery cheap and ulgar trick to humiliate and outwit the protesting
women. He and his ellow policemen pulled down their trousers and started mouthing
ery oensie and indecent language. Lncouraged by the disgusting conduct o the
police men, the mob gathered outside the gates did the same.
J.2J. Again, in the third round o iolence rom April 2 to April 5, the minority
community liing in Mariam Bibi i Clai and Chotalal i Clai constantly aced the
danger o getting killed and burnt. Shri Narayan Modi, the head constable o the D`
sta, leading a posse o policemen and some arav. o the Rapid Action lorce a
specialised wing o the police, specially created to combat communal conlict,, at-
tacked these areas, seerely beat up the residents with atli. and the butts o their
guns and then stripped themseles in order to insult and humiliate them. This behaiour
o the police towards women o the minority community had also been recorded in
some incidents o the post-demolition iolence that rocked Ahmedabad in 1992. But
the scale and requency o such shocking misconduct during the state sponsored car-
nage this time makes it most deplorable. It shows not just lawless behaiour by the
police, but an identiication with the ideology o hate and humiliation that instigated
this and earlier bouts o iolence against the minority community in Gujarat. This
kind o behaiour by the police has completely alienated the entire minority commu-
nity in Gujarat. Vomen, especially, eel ear, humiliation, disgust and anger at this.
J.22. Lidence beore us shows how, especially in the Gomtipur area o Ahmedabad,
the police een molested elderly women. Vomen managed to escape a worse ate only
by constantly escaping to the relie camps. Once they had let the area to protect their
lies and dignity, the assailants burnt down their houses. The police in Gomtipur regu-
larly used this trick o stripping to make women lee the area, so that they could detain
the men and the boys and destroy property, since women were the ones who were trying
to deend their homes and the lies o their husbands and sons. Until August 12, when
President APJ Abdul Kalam isited the area and women complained o no rehabilita-
tion measures haing been undertaken in Gomtipur, it was apparent that the state ad-
ministration and the goernment had completely turned their eyes away rom any sort
o rehabilitation or compensation. During their tours o the state, both the President
and the Chie Llection Commissioner, Shri JM Lyngdoh eidenced the unchanged state
o their homes a ull si months ater they were looted, destroyed and burnt down.
J.23. Lidence placed beore the Tribunal shows that in the later phases o iolence,
een in \adodara city, ulgar and brutal behaiour o the police with women o the
minority community was recurrent. Lidence on record shows that rom March 15 on-
wards, the \adodara police played a prominent role in terrorising Muslim residents in their
localities through combing operations and illegal arrests. Vomen, in particular, were sub-
ject to oppressie orms o harassment in their homes, especially when their men had
either led or were away. One case o a pregnant woman, about to delier, as narrated by
her mother, was especially poignant. On the night o April 30, she was brutally beaten
with atli. and the butts o riles, especially on her breasts. Though she had carried the
baby to ull term, this episode, in all probability, caused her to go into premature labour the
net day and she deliered. Vith tears in her eyes, her mother recounted to the Tribunal
how, when breast eeding her new born inant, while milk lowed rom one breast, blood
oozed out rom the other, scarred by the beatings rom the merciless \adodara police.
J.24. Apart rom physical beatings, Muslim women in localities o \adodara were
subject to seual and communal threats, policemen used highly abusie language be-
ore they andalised their homes. The Bahar colony at Ajwa Road, Rain Bassera,
Machchipith under the Karelibaug Police Station, as well as areas under the jurisdic-
tion o the Panigate Police Station were especially ulnerable to this seually per-
erse and iolent behaiour o the \adodara police.
J.2S. The seual assault on Muslim women in Gujarat since lebruary 2, has to be
seen in the contet o the carnage carried out by the right wing avgl Parirar with total
state complicity. \iolence against the minority community assumed arious orms:
mass killings, seual humiliation - including gang-rape - o women, brutal attacks
on children, and attacks on the ery surial o the minority community through
looting, burning and destruction o their property and means o lielihood.
J.26. Lidence beore the Tribunal shows that women hae suered the most bestial
orms o seual iolence, including rape, gang rape, insertion o objects into their bod-
ies, stripping, and molestation. A majority o the women who suered this iolence
were then burnt alie. Amongst the suriors, many hae spoken about the assaults but
many hae been silenced, or ear o urther attacks and or ear o censure rom their
own amilies and community. Besides the lack o aith in the system o justice, the
humiliation aced by women who dare challenge taboos and demand punishment or
gender crimes like rape hae silenced the natural cry or retribution and justice.
J.27. These crimes against women hae been grossly underreported and the eact
etent o these crimes in rural and urban areas, has yet to be grappled with. These
attacks hae been carried out in the presence o, in many instances een at the behest
o, the police and other state authorities.
J.28. In Gujarat, the degree o iolence and seual crimes against women reached
unprecedented leels. Vomen, and entire communities, hae been so traumatised and
silenced that the ull etent o this has yet to be realised. Mental trauma as well as
insecurity o an etreme orm are issues that need to be dealt with. The ineectie-
ness and insensitiity o our criminal justice system, particularly when it comes to
seual and other crimes against women, renders the ictim, her amily and een the
entire community in cases o mass and planned crimes o this sort, especially ulner-
able. These crimes call or not simply a re-orientation in thinking and alues in the
matter o justice to the ictims and punishment to the guilty, also urgently needed is
psychological and trauma counseling or some sort o a healing process een to begin.
J.29. That seual crimes against Muslim women took place on such a large scale in
post-independent, democratic and secular India is shocking in itsel. Vhat is ar worse
is the shameul triialising or denial o these crimes by agents and representaties o
the central and state goernments and outits like the BJP and its ailiates like the
RSS, the \HP and the Bajrang Dal. This amounts to a irtual condoning o such gross
crimes against women.
J.30. Attacks on children were used as instruments o terror. In what is surely the
most pererse dimension o the iolence, children were used to torture and terrorise
ictims. In one particularly tragic incident in Tarsali, an old Muslim man was shown
the head o his beheaded son on a tray beore he was himsel brutally slain. Another
woman, surrounded by a mob, had to watch as her son, who had climbed up a tree to
escape the mob, was brought down, his ingers cut o and the rest o his body dis-
membered in her presence - all beore she hersel was killed. In many cases, children
were beaten and abused in the presence o their parents. Len the police did not
spare small children - they were beaten with atli., kicked and abused, and in one
case, een lung across a room. \oung children who were badly beaten by the police
were in a state o shock weeks ater the incidents.
J.J One o the most telling testimonies presented beore the Tribunal was that o
an epert witness on the recorded words o a police oicer on tar èr. on March 9.
!alav factor, veiv aag agi lai, CIDC veiv. laav.aag agi lai. factor, ivvMv.iv
vi tli, i. veiv e artver Mv.iv tla, bai e .ab artver ivv tle.` In GIDC a actory
is on ire. yes. it is on ire. the actory was jointly owned. one partner was a
Muslim and the rest were Hindus.`,
J.2 Ltensie eidence recorded by the Tribunal points to the deastating loss o
property by the Muslim community in the state. Relying on detailed tabulation o
losses computed by community leaders at the illage, city and district leels, indepen-
dent groups estimated the total loss to the Muslim community at not less than Rs.
3,800 crore. Lcept where otherwise stated, the igures or losses gien below hae
been computed by business representaties o the community and social actiists.
(ee Detaie .vvevre., 1ovve 1II,. The pre-planning, precision and scale o destruc-
tion calls or massie reparation by the Gujarat state.
J.3 The Muslim community in Gujarat was one o the most prosperous in the coun-
try and its contribution to the economy o the state, piotal. The act that the economy
o this section o the population has been crippled suggests a sinister motie behind
the destruction. In most o the cases, chemicals were used, apparently to generate
ery high temperatures and ensure complete destruction.
J.4. In Ahmedabad, the selectie destruction has been well documented. The list
below, o some prominent targets, illustrates the point:
K Moti Mahal, a three-star hotel, situated not ar rom the oice o the police
commissioner, in Shahibag, Ahmedabad.
K Ala Restaurant, opposite Gauri Cinema, Odha, Ahmedabad.
K Ashish Restaurant, also opposite Gauri cinema, Odha, Ahmedabad.
K Tulsi Restaurant, Gulbai Tekra, Ahmedabad.
K Hotel Signor, Sarkhej, Gandhinagar Highway, Ahmedabad.
K Tasty Restaurant, near Judges` Bungalows, Bodake, Ahmedabad.
K Kabir restaurant, opposite Doordarshan, Thaltej, Ahmedabad.
l000Ml0 008lf00ll0
K Metro shop, CG Road, Narangpura, Ahmedabad.
K Cona Shoe Shop, Sardar Patel Municipal Market, Narangpura, Ahmedabad.
K Narang Restaurant, Drie-in Road, Near \ijay Cross Road, Ahmedabad.
Lidence proided by prominent businessmen belonging to both the Muslim and
Hindu communities, point to this systematic destruction. The destruction o two estab-
lishments on CG Road - Pantaloon Showroom and the Hero Honda Showroom - in
a posh area in Ahmedabad, is illuminating. The Pantaloon Showroom is a partnership o
Hindus and Muslims, with the Muslim partner owning only a 10 per cent share. The
Copper Chimney restaurant, though owned by a Hindu Punjabi, was targeted. Those
instigating the attack were obiously well-inormed, or ery ew people knew that the
owner had recently signed a deal with a Sheikh in the Gul. Inormation was gathered
rom the Registrar o Companies, the Reenue and the Sales Ta departments. Signii-
cantly, seeral months prior to the carnage, the widely circulated local Gujarati daily,
ave.l, had published a list o all Muslim-owned establishments in Ahmedabad with
Hindu` names. Vas there some unstated purpose behind the publishing o this list Vas
it used as a ready reckoner by those who destroyed these establishments later
J.S. Similarly, shops and establishments owned by Muslims were destroyed in Rajkot,
\adodara, Surat, Bhanagar, Junagadh, Palanpur, Nadiad, Himmatnagar, Mehsana,
\isnagar and Unjha. \ehicles at the General Motors showroom in Halol 60 km rom
Godhra, were also not spared. Seeral processing houses and small actories located in the
industrial areas o Narol,\atwa and Naroda on the outskirts o Ahmedabad city, suered
heay losses on the day o the Gujarat bavl, as the inished goods lying in the godowns
were set on ire. An lIR iled in this connection has named BJP MLA Sushri Maya Kotdani
and \HP ice-president o Gujarat unit, Dr. Jaideep Patel as among those responsible,.
J.6. Industries located in the GIDC estates at Godhra, Kalol near Ahmedabad,
Halol in Panchmahal and in the adjoining \adodara district bore the brunt o this
destruction. Tetile units in Ankleshwar and other industrial units in Bharuch dis-
trict, too, suered huge losses. According to Shri Narendra Brahmbutt, president o
the Ahmedabad Hotel and Residents Association, the hotel sector alone has suered
a staggering loss o Rs. 260 crore. Suppliers to the hotel industry suered losses to the
etent o Rs. 60 crore. As many as 6,00 workers belonging to the majority commu-
nity hae been rendered jobless due to the burning and arson by the anatic militia.
J.7. Detai. of o..e. .vffere:
Muslims estimate losses due to the prolonged closure o shops, industries and com-
mercial establishments in the state to be no less at Rs. 3,000 crore. The Gujarat
Chambers o Commerce and Industry puts the igure at Rs. 2,000 crore,.
J.8. ote Ivv.tr,
Approimately 1,150 hotels were burnt or looted on the National Highway rom
\api to \adodara and on to Palanpur. The total estimated loss to property and inest-
ment in looting and damage alone, across the state, is Rs. 60 crore.
K A Rs. 600 crore business loss or the hotel industry in Gujarat.
K At least 20,000 workers in the hotel industry were rendered jobless and many are
missing. Ironically, many o those who lost their jobs were non-Muslims, indicatie o
the long-term impact o destruction and terror on all sections o society, not just the
10 per cent strong Muslim minority that is the immediate target. Nearly ,000-8,000
Rabari boys were rendered jobless in Gujarat because Muslim hotels were burnt and
destroyed, according to the eidence o Tejabhai, a Rabari leader recorded by an
epert witness.
J.9. 1rav.ort ivv.tr,
The transport godowns on the National Highway hae suered damages to the
tune o Rs. 12 crore. In addition, losses suered due to the burning down o oer
1,000 trucks are estimated by transport operators belonging to Ahmedabad, Surat,
\adodara Godhra and Himmatnagar, at Rs. 60 crore.
The truck operators` insurance claims or the cumulatie damage amounted to Rs. 830 crore.
K More than Rs. 10 crore lost due to the burning down o 60 Opel Astras parked
outside the GM Motors unit at Halol.
K Rs. 4 crore lost due to the torching o the Honda City and Accord leet o cars at
the Landmark Honda showroom at Thaltej, Gandhinagar.
K The Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation estimated a loss o Rs. 12.50
crore and transport companies hae lost business amounting to Rs. 0 crore.
J.J0. Ivv.tr,
K Halol:1-18 actories destroyed.
K \atwa: All Muslim-owned actories in GIDC area destroyed.
K Mehsana: All Muslim-owned actories destroyed.
K Dahod-Godhra: Large actories destroyed.
K Naroda lruit Market: Muslim-owned ruit shops destroyed.
K Kabadi Market, Ahmedabad: Destroyed.
K Bharuch: Muslim-owned shops and showrooms destroyed in Bharuch city.
K Ankleshwar: All Muslim-owned actories in GIDC area destroyed.
K Sabarkantha,Chhotaudaipur,Banaskantha: Muslim-owned shops, hotels and com-
mercial establishments destroyed.
K lactories which had insurance coer hae lodged claims worth Rs. 400 crore.
K On National Highway No. 8, about 90 per cent o the commercial establishments,
including small shops, godowns and actories, hae been completely wiped out.
J.JJ. .gricvtvre
K Standing crops in Panchmahal, Mehsana, Dahod, Sabrakantha, Banaskantha and
Kheda districts were burnt by the miscreants.
K Motors installed in the ields or drawing water were stolen.
K Borewells in the ields, which cost anywhere rom Rs. 50,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh,
were damaged beyond repair. At least ,000 such borewells o Muslim agriculturists
rom all oer Gujarat were destroyed.
K Large and small agricultural landholdings oMuslims in Gujarat where economic
and social boycott still continues hae been taken oer by powerul interests domi-
nated by the BJP,RSS,\HP and BD.
J.J2. Mi.ceaveov.
K More than Rs. 2 crore lost in damage to the Lucky lilm Studio.
K Hundreds o crores lost due to the arson o thousands o houses and buildings.
At least 5,000 homes were seriously damaged in the destruction, o which 10, 204
were burnt down completely. At least 10,000 shops were targeted, o which oer
2,100 were completely ransacked.
K A Handloom Lpo was on in Ahmedabad when the Godhra tragedy took place.
All the Muslim artisans rom Kashmir and Vest Bengal were attacked and their dis-
plays destroyed.
J.J3. It is abundantly clear that the economic destruction took place mainly be-
cause o inaction on the part o the state goernment. Hence, the responsibility or
rehabilitation need lie squarely with it. But the goernment has not een assessed the
damages, nor laid down any guidelines or payment o compensation. Unortunately,
een the insurance companies, such as the New India Insurance and others, hae not
een considered the legitimate insurance claims o businessmen in many areas. The
eidence recorded o a prosperous businessman rom Gulberg society, who owned
ie shops and whose insurance claims were Rs. 9 lakh, but who was paid only Rs. 3
lakh, is a case in point.
J.J4. Vhile ignoring the genuine and pressing relie and rehabilitation needs o the
suriors, the sponsors o the carnage and their cadre hae now resorted to a crip-
pling economic boycott against Muslims in many parts o Gujarat. In Gandhinagar,
Mehsana and Sabarkantha districts, truck and auto driers are acing a seere eco-
nomic boycott thanks to the machinations o politicians like Gujarat ministers, Shri
Nitin Patel and Shri Narayan Laloo Patel. In \adodara, there hae been, at ea.t, oer
two dozen instances o Muslims being told by their Hindu employers not to come to
work. In Por and Paliyad illages in Gandhinagar district, illagers who had returned
were acing the seere impact o hunger and loss o lielihood due to the reusal by
illage Patels who dominate the avcla,at and who are politically associated with the
BJP, to buy milk rom milch cattle, or to hire Muslim women as arm labour on the
land belonging to the majority community.
Though oert iolence has ended, ethnic cleansing continues in the orm o the
economic decimation o the minority in Gujarat.
J.JS. The Tribunal is particularly disturbed by the act that it is not just the ordinary
worker o the avgl Parirar, een ministers and other ivvtra leaders are inoled in
instigating the economic boycott o Muslims rom behind the scenes. Home minister
Shri Gordhan Zadaphiya and reenue minister Shri Haren Pandya, ministers Shri Narayan
Laloo Patel, Shri Niteen Patel, orest minister Shri Prabhatsinh Chauhan, minister o
state or cottage industries, Shri Ranjitsinh Chawda, BJP MLAs Sushri Amita Patel and
Sushri Maya Kotdani and Dr. Jaideep Patel Gujarat \HP`s ice-president,, among many
others, hae been named by the eyewitnesses, in this contet.
J.J. Mosques, argal., small shrines and other Muslim religious and cultural places
were systematically destroyed and desecrated in the irst 2-hour round o iolence
all oer Gujarat. Copies o the Koran and other religious books were despoiled and
damaged in many places all oer the city o Ahmedabad, in \adodara, Ankleshwar
and Bharuch and in many smaller towns and illages all oer the state. (. i.t of tle
vave. of tle vo.qve. av argal. e.ecrate i. avvee, Detaie .vvevre., 1ovve III,.
J.2. In all, oer 20 mosques and argal. hae been thus destroyed. In many cases
]ai lri Rav!` was scrolled all oer the desecrated shrines. In many shrines, idols o
vai,a avvvav` translated, it means Riot Hanuman`, were installed. This shows
the cynical abuse o caste Hindu religious symbols as instruments o domination and
subjugation o Muslims. Vhen the Tribunal members isited and inspected some o
the damaged shrines in May, they were still in their ramshackle state. One mosque,
which was rebuilt through the eorts o a Muslim religious organisation, was pulled
down in July by oicials o the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, a body that is,
ironically, controlled by the CongressI,. The Noorani Masjid at Naroda Gaon was
blasted using gas cylinders. Vitnesses appearing beore the Tribunal complained that,
while desecrating the mosque at the Naroda lruit Market, the Koran was urinated
upon. The Tribunal shudders to think which religion could eer sanction such ile
desecration o the sacred tets and places o worship o people o another aith.
J.3. Detailed eidence was recorded by us regarding the desecration o the tomb o
Vali Gujarati, a renowned poet remembered as the ounder o Urdu poetry. On March 1,
his tomb, located not more than 10 metres rom the oice o Ahmedabad`s commissioner
o police also the police headquarters, was demolished and a saron lag hoisted on the
site. It is belieed that the shrine was torn down by marauding mobs under the directions
o Gujarat`s reenue minister, Shri Haren Pandya. This lag was remoed on the night o
March 2. On March 8, a tarred road was constructed at the site, leaing no trace whatso-
eer o the tomb that had stood there or nearly three centuries. It is shocking that a
callous goernment and an unprincipled administration participated in the utter oblitera-
tion o this cultural monument and allowed a road to be constructed oer it.
80lll008 80 00ll0f8l 00800f8ll0
J.4. On the night o March 3, a 400-year-old mosque owned by the Vak Board,
and located near Anjali Cinema in Ahmedabad, was broken down in the presence o
state ministers Shri Haren Pandya and Shri Amit Shah. As in many other cases, a
vai,a avvvav` idol was installed there, ollowed by ar.lav. and arti..
J.S. The mosque o Malik Asin Asas, Imadul Mulk, at Ahmedabad, built in the
reign o Sultan Mahmud Begada 1458-1511,, was also destroyed in the initial round
o iolence. A protected monument built in stone, this structure was destroyed within
hours, with military precision, using a bulldozer and cranes. At around the same time,
the mosque o Muhaiz Khan at Ahmedabad was also badly damaged.
J.6. The Madrassa Qasimul Uloom, Ansarnagar was plundered and pages o a partly
burnt Koran were scattered all oer.
J.7. Born in Aurangabad in 166, Vali Gujarati is regarded as the ounder o the
modern Urdu poetry. A widely traelled man, he was also known as Vali Aurangabadi
or Vali Dakhani. Ironically, he was a requent traeller to Gujarat and wrote loingly
o its centres, especially Surat. He died in Ahmedabad in 10, during one o his
numerous isits to the city. The people o Gujarat at the time, who subscribed to a
rich and inclusie worldiew, built a tomb or him in the city and proudly laid claim to
his legacy by bestowing upon him the title o Vali Gujarati. This was pulled down, as
mentioned aboe. Also attacked was the tomb o Ustad laiyaz Khan in \adodara,
which was attacked and wreathed in burning tyres in early March. Ltensie damage
was inlicted on the aade o the structure commemorating a man who, in 1912, was
acclaimed as one o the greatest among classical singers by the then ruling dynasty o
\adodara. The underlying motie behind these attacks is obiously to obliterate all
symbols o India`s composite heritage.
J.8. Article 25 o the Indian Constitution, which upholds the undamental right o
eery citizen to preach, practise and propagate his,her aith, was utterly and con-
temptuously iolated during the state-sponsored carnage in Gujarat.
J.9. The Hague Conention o 1954, the Conention or the Protection o Cul-
tural Property in the Lent o Armed Conlict` stipulates that the preseration o
cultural heritage is o great importance or all peoples o the world` and that dam-
age to cultural property belonging to any people whatsoeer means damage to the
cultural heritage o all mankind.` India is a signatory to this conention. In 192, a
protocol to this Conention was adopted, which identiied cultural heritage` as,
among other things, monuments, architectural works, works o monumental sculp-
ture and painting, elements or structures o an archaeological nature, inscriptions,
cae dwellings and combinations o eatures, which are o outstanding uniersal alue
rom the point o iew o history, art or science.` Lery State that had acceded to the
Hague Conention, it held, recognised that the duty o ensuring the identiication,
protection, conseration, presentation and transmission to uture generations o the
cultural and natural heritage situated on its territory, belongs primarily to that State.`
J.J0. At its general conerence meeting in 2001, UNLSCO adopted a resolution
that sought to deine the circumstances under which an act could be construed as a
crime against the common heritage o humanity.` It reiterated the need or all mem-
ber-states to accede to and obsere the arious conentions it had eoled oer the
years. And it authorised the director-general o the organisation to ormulate or the
net session o the general conerence, a Drat Declaration` that would deine the
circumstances under which the Intentional Destruction o Cultural Heritage` could
be deemed to hae taken place.
J.JJ. Lidently, besides being guilty o crimes against humanity, the chie
minister o Gujarat is also guilty o crimes against the common heritage o
humanity. And in its reluctance or reusal to interene, the BJP-led goernment
at the centre stands charged with lagrant iolation o international conen-
tions to which India is a signatory.
J. Role of the BJP and Allied Organisations RSS/VHP/BD
J.J. lrom its declaration o the Gujarat bavl on lebruary 28 and the Bharat bavl
on March 1, ollowing the Godhra tragedy, the questionable role o the avgl Parirar
in Gujarat and the ruling BJP`s actie raternal` support to them is clear. Vithin hours
o the \HP`s bavl call, on the aternoon o lebruary 2, the BJP`s Gujarat general
secretary etended to them his party`s support.
J.2. lollowing the declaration o the bavl with detailed action plans, including
steps taken to ensure police complicity, (.ee clater. - tate Covicit,, Poice Mi.belariovr,
1ovve III,, many o the BJP`s elected representaties to the ciic corporation or
Parliament, were actie in leading the mobs targeting Muslims.
J.3. They hae been named in lIRs, act-inding reports o citizens groups and
newspaper reports. (.ee clater i.t of tle accv.e, 1ovve III,
J.4. The tight control that outits like the \HP and RSS hae on the ruling BJP in
Gujarat and on the dominant partner o the National Democratic Alliance at the
Centre, has been eident or long. The Gujarat carnage has thoroughly eposed how
een the murder o innocents could be condoned by a party, the BJP, ostensibly wed-
ded to democracy and the rule o law.
J.S. Most shocking in this condonation o the Gujarat carnage, was the role o the
deputy prime minister and home minister, Shri LK Adani, whose electoral constitu-
ency is Gandhinagar, the capital o Gujarat. On innumerable occasions, Shri Adani
has been engaged in high praise or Shri Modi and gien him a clean chit, when he
should, in act, hae been upholding the Constitution o India. He reerred to the
Gujarat CM as the best chie minister in 50 years` and has repeatedly praised Shri
Modi`s Cavrar Yatra, which is nothing short o a celebration o the iolence that his
goernment eectiely sponsored. It is in the course o his Cavrar Yatra that Shri
Modi made some etremely oensie remarks, describing the relie camps as breed-
ing centres` or Muslims, which his goernment had no interest in promoting.
J.6. The close neus between the Modi-headed BJP goernment in Gujarat on the
one hand, and the RSS and \HP on the other, is apparent rom the backing that each
Ff08f8ll0 l0f l0l000
gae to the other`s statements, including those casting aspersions on constitutional
authorities like the election commission and the chie election commissioner CLC,.
J.7. Three days ater Shri Modi had hit out at the CLC, JM Lyngdoh, as well as the
Congress party president, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, because they both happen to be o the
Christian aith, on August 23, the international general secretary o the \HP, Shri
Praeen Togadia, orceully repeated the charge. Describing Shri Modi as the he-
man` o Gujarat, he charged Lyngdoh with haing an anti-Hindu` bias because o his
decision to deer the elections in Gujarat. Ater deliering a lecture on Islamic terror-
ism, organised by the Indraprastha \HP at the Constitution Club in Delhi, Shri Togadia
told reporters, There are two similarities between Mrs Gandhi and Lyngdoh. They
are both Christians and both o them don`t want early elections in Gujarat.` The
CLC, he said, had also betrayed his anti-Hindu bias` earlier, in a lecture deliered at
Mussourie in the atermath o the anti-Christian iolence in Dangs Gujarat, in 2000.
J.8. The clear connection and neus between the democratically elected BJP go-
ernment in Gujarat and outits like the RSS and the \HP is eident rom the ormer`s
conduct, since the carnage. Reports o the Gujarat goernment`s deliberate aoid-
ance o the arrest o at least 150 \HP, Bajrang Dal and BJP kingpins - their names
igure in the lIRs iled by the police or directly leading the mobs who slaughtered
Muslims and indulged in bloody iolence - hae been conirmed by the absence o
their names in the charge-sheets.
J.9. Although Shri Modi`s goernment claims to hae arrested oer 2,500 persons
inoled in the post-Godhra riots, not a single mastermind rom the \HP, BJP or
Bajrang Dal named as riot perpetrators and mob leaders in arious police com-
plaints, hae been arrested. On the contrary, police oicials who hae named these
leaders rom the avgl Parirar in the lIRs are being pressured to either drop their
names or book them under less serious charges. At least si BJP workers hae been
named as the main accused in the Naroda carnage case, where oer 150 Muslim
men and women were massacred ater girls and women were brutalised seually.
The accused include, Shri Raju Sharma, Shri Kishan Kurani, Shri PJ Rajput, Shri
Harish Rohara, Shri Bapu Bajrang and Shri Raju Chaubal, all identiied as BJP and
\HP actiists. lIRs hae been lodged against the si avgl Parirar actiists under
IPC 302, 395 and 143, 149 and 148 or slaughtering and rioting. Howeer, police
hae been instructed not to arrest the culprits. It is politically incorrect to arrest
them and we are under tremendous pressure not to act against them,` said police
oicers. 1le Iviav re.., March 9, 2002,.
J.J0. The Tribunal obseres that in Gujarat, many cabinet ministers are simulta-
neously prominent leaders o the \HP. The home minister, Shri Gordhan Zadaphiya,
is one o them. So, too, is the ormer reenue minister Shri Haren Pandya, a senior
\HP unctionary. He has been named by many witnesses who appeared beore us,
as trying to inluence police not to take action against the accused. Minister or
orests, Shri Prabhat Singh Chauhan and minister or cottage industries, Shri Narayan
Laloo Patel are also two clear eamples o this.
J.JJ. In Bhanagar, which witnessed the worst communal iolence in its history,
there are lIRs against Shri Om Triedi, the city \HP president, and Shri Mansukh
Panjwani, a city BJP oice bearer and ormer municipal councillor. Both Shri Triedi
and Shri Panjwani are alleged to hae led mobs that set ire to oer 80 Muslim-owned
business establishments. They are, howeer, yet to be arrested.
J.J2. Similarly, at Surendranagar, CR No. 54,2002 names si persons, who are pri-
mary members o the BJP and \HP, or instigating riots and indulging in mayhem. They
hae been charged under IPC 395, 436, 14, 148 and 149 but hae not been arrested.
These include district \HP in-charge, Shri Raju \aishna, BJP councillor, Shri Narottam
Satwara, \HP joint secretary, Shri Dhiren Shukla, Shri Tulsibhai Ranchhod Bharwad
and Shri Deji Bharwad, the last three being actie BJP workers,. Lach time chie
minister Shri Modi and the union home minister and present deputy prime minister,
Shri LK Adani were questioned on this matter, they hae simply eigned ignorance.
This attitude, on both their parts, amounts to shielding the guilty.
J.J3. Soon ater the Gujarat carnage, there was a nation-wide clamour or the dismissal
or resignation o the chie minister and the imposition o President`s rule in the state.
Vhile on occasions the Prime Minister Shri \ajpayee gae the impression o being some-
what shaken by the eents in Gujarat, it soon became eident that it was the RSS who had
the inal say, when the then BJP president, Shri Jana Krishnamurthy, eectiely oerruled
the PM and asserted that Shri Modi`s resignation was out o the question.
J.J4. It is clear rom these associations, and the desire o the central and the Gujarat
goernments to grant these outits legitimacy, that a close and abiding link eists
between the BJP, the RSS and the \HP,BD. Two years ago, the Gujarat goernment
decided that there lit the bar on goernment serants rom joining the RSS. The
decision had to be withdrawn ollowing country-wide protests, including those rom
the BJP`s allies in the NDA coalition at the Centre.,
J.JS. On lebruary 2, concerned oer the strident posturing related to the cam-
paign or building the Ram temple at Ayodhya on the site o the demolished Babri
Masjid, none less than the Prime Minister o India, Shri \ajpayee, met with the work-
ing president o the \HP, Shri Ashok Singhal.. At this meeting, the RSS joint general
secretary who was also present promised to tone down the moement.`
J.J6. Vithin days o the PM epressing some remorse oer Gujarat during a isit to
the US, Shri Singhal responded September 22,: PM \ajpayee`s statement in the US
regarding the Gujarat riots had lowered the image o the people o Gujarat. The
prime minister made a ridiculous remark in the US that what happened in Gujarat was
a matter o shame. The remark in act is most shameul. Gujarat is a lesson or all
times to come. Since Independence, Hindus had been ictims o Muslim andalism.
Now the Hindus o Gujarat hae beamed a message that elai programmes will no
longer be tolerated in any part o the country. Gujarat has sered as a warning to
those trying to make India a pan-Islamic nation. There are one lakh vara..a. Islamic
institutions, which are propagating a dangerous ideology to make India Dar-ul-Islam.
They are breeding grounds or terrorists.`
J.J7. The role played by the BJP and organisations like the RSS, \HP and BD in threaten-
ing internal peace and security in many parts o India is clear. There is an urgent need to put
a complete stop to these actiities, which are subersie o the Indian Constitution.
J.J8. The Tribunal would like to record here, the ample eidence placed beore it by
epert witnesses, newspaper reports and act-inding team reports, documenting the
aggressie tone and posturing o organisations like the RSS, \HP and BD, especially
since the BJP-dominated National Democratic Alliance came to power at the centre.
These actiities and such public posturing indicate seeral things:
K The intimate connection and the hold that these organisations hae on the BJP, a
party which heads the central goernment today,
K The aowedly anti-constitutional thrust o their intent and actiities, whether in
the matter o the construction o a temple on the site o a demolished mosque, in the
absence o a court erdict on the matter, or on other issues,
K The series o arms training camps held all oer the country, by the \HP and the
Bajrang Dal, both o-shoots o the RSS, with close links to the BJP, since, at least,
the year 2000. The Indian Arms Act, 1959, epressly prohibits the possession o
arms by priate parties without licence the only eception being security agencies,.
The possession o a licence before a irearm is owned is a legal requirement. The
Bombay Police Act, which applies to Gujarat, is similarly stringent on the question o
possession o arms by citizens. The police are empowered to demand production o a
licence. Section 19 o the Arms Act,. The eemption o the tri.lv which in act is a
sharp, three-pronged weapon, which can cause atal injury,, rom the proisions o
the Arms Act, through a GR issued by the central goernment, is a cleer ploy to
encourage the militarisation and arming o a section o ciil society by such groups.
The swords that are also reely sold at the arms training camps, along with the air guns
and riles that are used or shooting practice, are clear pointers to the intent o these
organisations. \et, the police in BJP-ruled states and the BJP-led central goernment
hae turned a blind eye to such ominous deelopments.
K In the speciic case o the Gujarat carnage, whether on the issue o the remoal
or resignation o Shri Modi rom the chie minister`s post or others, it is eident that
the BJP-led ruling NDA`s demeanour and actions hae been strongly inluenced by
the utterings o the RSS and its siblings, the \HP and the BD.
J.J9. The intelligence departments o three states in India - Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra and Rajasthan - hae asked or a ban on the Bajrang Dal, on the grounds
that it is generating terror` and spawning home-bred terrorists. The testimony o
many witnesses, rom both communities, who appeared beore the Tribunal, rein-
orces the assessment o the state police in Gujarat`s neighbouring states. Many
Gujaratis, Hindus and Muslims alike, elt that the Bajrang Dal had made a business o
deliberately transorming ordinary people into terrorists. Vhere people had been li-
ing peaceully, they unnecessarily spun stories about Muslims, although, so ar, Mus-
lims had neer gien them any trouble. They wondered why people were being taught
things like this.` A witness` testimony beore the Tribunal.,
2. 1raining
2.J. In recent years, groups ailiated to the avgl Parirar hae been in the ascen-
dant country-wide, gien their increased access to political power, patronage and
money. But the etent and scale o their mobilisation in Gujarat should be a matter o
grae concern or the law and order machinery.
2.2. The BJP`s rule in Gujarat, ater its return to power in lebruary 1998, has been
marked by requent attacks on the religious minorities in the state and other anti-constitu-
tional actions that remained unchallenged. (ee clater ov vi ! iv Cvarat, 1ovve II,.
2.3. Lidence led beore the tribunal rom Naroda Patiya, Naroda Gaon, Gulberg
society, Chamanpura, Gomtipur and Rakhial all in Ahmedabad,, rom \adodara,
Bharuch, Ankleshwar and rom illages in Himmatnagar, Sabarkantha, and Panchmahal
district reeals that local tensions built up ater the ormation o an RSS,\HP,BD
unit in the area. These groups started marshalling young Hindus, assuming an aggres-
sie attitude, distributing swords and tri.lv. and, in general, adopting a igilante stance
against impending attacks rom Muslims.`
2.4. The Tribunal has led speciic and detailed eidence on the method o mobilisation
and training adopted by the \HP and Bajrang Dal rom our recruitsormer recruits.
This eplains the phenomenon whereby huge mobs suraced so promptly all oer the
state during the carnage. It also eplains the ability o these organisations to collect
youngsters, indoctrinated with misconceptions and with hatred in their hearts, who were
aailable at a signal rom their leaders to commit murder, loot, arson and rape, and dey
all laws, secure in the coniction that with the BJP in power, they would hae ull
protection and need hae no ear o the law and order machinery.
2.S. Reproduced here is the gist o the testimony o the our recruits,ormer recruits
mentioned aboe, which proides a clear picture o the BD`s and the \HP`s mobilisation
techniques. The enrolment ee or a new entrant to a BD .lala cell, is Rs. 55. Once
admitted, you are epected to attend meetings held around 8 p.m. eery night, mostly on
priate premises, sometimes in small temples. Secret meetings or the more select are
held once a week, later at night, around 10 p.m. Lnrolment to the .lala entitles the
olunteer to a card identiying him as a Bajrang Dal ar,aarta actiist,. I you help
recruit 10 more youth, you are made a 1P Mavtri`. \ou are gien a tri.lv the moment
you enrol. \ou are told that tri.lv. were not meant to be kept inside a temple and
worshipped but to be used to protect the Hindu aith. \ou are also told that the tri.lv
should not be used to kill one`s brothers`, but to sae our` religion.
2.6. At the weekly meetings, members are told, more eplicitly, that the tri.lv. are
to be used against Muslims wheneer there was a riot or a ight. I you killed Muslims,
the organisation was there to protect you rom penal consequences. I something
happened to you, the organisation was there to take care o your amily. I you did get
arrested during the riots, all you had to do was to show your Bajrang dal membership
card and the police was sure to let you go.
2.7. The 1P Mavtri. are assigned the responsibility o training 60-0 boys each
day. Vhat did the training inole The training primarily inoled compiling an e-
haustie list o all Muslims liing in the area. Members had to collect inormation
about Muslim places o residence, property, businesses, amily, etc. in the locality:
Vho lied where, how much they were worth, how many children they had, etc. All
the inormation so gathered was to be passed on in the orm o a written report that
was maintained by the Mavtri.
2.8. The Tribunal notes with horror, the leel o impunity that such unlawul, armed
organisations hae come to enjoy in BJP-ruled Gujarat.
2.9. Apart rom the detailed account o the our recruits,ormer recruits to the
Bajrang Dal, other witnesses rom Naroda, near Ahmedabad, and rom Kheda, Bharuch
and Panchmahal districts also gae eidence beore the Tribunal about training camps
being organised in their neighbourhoods. In all these cases, an intensie training o
the BD,\HP olunteers began ater September 2001. An adertisement encouraging
youngsters to join the Bajrang Dal in large numbers had appeared in the Gujarat daily,
ave.l in August last year.
2.J0. This suggests sinister preparation and planning or the Gujarat carnage long beore
the Godhra tragedy, by the avgl Parirar ailiates, their leaders conident o impunity rom
the long arm o the law since they enjoyed the patronage o the ruling party.
2.JJ. Notwithstanding the in themseles startling and brazen reelations made by
proessor Kesharam Kashiram Shastri, the 96-year-old chairman o the Gujarat unit
o the \HP, in an interiew to reiff.cov, there is eidently an attempt to deny past
preparation and planning, intensiely so in Gujarat since last year. In the interiew (.ee
.vvevre., 1ovve I, Shri Shastri said that the list o shops owned by Muslims in
Ahmedabad was prepared on the morning o lebruary 28 itsel. This was in response
to the allegation that shops in Ahmedabad were looted on the basis o a list prepared
by the \HP in adance, and that the iolence was not a spontaneous outburst against
the Godhra outrage. Asked why they did it, he responded, `Karrvv ae, arrvv ae`
It had to be done, it had to be done`,. Ve don`t like it, but we were terribly angry.
Lust and anger are blind.` He said the rioters were era,ea ivv clora` well-
bred Hindu boys`,. The impunity with which Shri Shastri could speak with the candour
that he did in his interiew on March 12, and again on March 29, when he told the
same journalist that the organisation \HP, had been asked to pull back, is shocking,
to say the least. That the Gujarat goernment has taken no action whatsoeer against
Shri Shastri speaks olumes about the BJP-\HP neus.
2.J2. The constant inocation o caste Hindu symbols, militant and aggressie
posturing, the possession o tri.lv. and swords and regular weapons` training were
elements o the methodical preparation o these cadres. \oung men were told that
Bajrang Dal workers should always greet each other with ]ai lri Rav!` to identiy
themseles. One o the centres used or physical training was at a theatre beyond
Adalaj on the Gandhinagar road outside Ahmedabad. Vhile tri.lv. were oten dis-
tributed on payment o enrolment ees, members were asked to pay Rs. 310 or a
sword. They were assured at the secret weekly training sessions that the swords were
legal`. They were also told that i eer the police ound them, all they had to do was
tell them that it was a Bajrang Dal sword, and no one would say anything. Swords
were sold to the recruits quite openly and instructions on how to use them were gien
at the secret meetings.
2.J3. At the adanced stage o training, the more seasoned members were told they
would hae to participate in ights or riots alailaga, avgafa.aa, wheneer neces-
sary. They said that, as Bajrang Dal leaders, they would, necessarily, be the most actie,
but young men, too, should always be prepared. They might be woken up in the middle
o the night and should be ready to participate. The recruits were promised that when
they participated in a riot, the organisation would pay them double the money that they
lost in regular wages. \oung men were also assured that i eer they were injured or
killed during a riot, their amilies would receie adequate compensation.
2.J4. The speeches at these meetings ollowed a basic pattern. Leaders would be
brought in to brainwash the young members against Muslims. The single point agenda,
eidence beore the Tribunal has recorded, indicates that the desire was to demonise
the Muslim community as also to create an armed cadre o young men, indoctrinated,
ull o hatred in their hearts, and suiciently trained to perpetrate the grossest orms
o physical abuse on their ictims.
2.JS. The Tribunal collected concrete inormation about the kind o mental train-
ing and brainwashing imparted to young men at the secret, weekly meetings - Ve
were told that until now it is the Muslims who hae been harassing Hindus. They
hae molested Hindu sisters and Hindu daughters. In Hindi ilms today, all the top
heroes are Muslims, but there are no Muslim heroines. It is Muslims who are orging
ahead in our country. They don`t let their daughters out in public but they spoil our
Hindu daughters. Muslims are the ones who always use orce. Our country was once
a Hindu nation. The Muslims inaded us by orce, married our mothers and our daugh-
ters and conerted us to Islam.``
2.J6. According to the witnesses, in the Bajrang Dal camps, young men are told: Under
the pretet o prayers |vavaa[, Muslims gather at 2 p.m. eery day and vavri. instruct
them in seeral actiities. They specially employ young men, pay them a salary and send
them to college to spoil Hindu girls. Muslims are inoled in seeral such nearious actii-
ties.` They said that they wanted to start a similar practice amongst Hindus. That was
what the secret 10 p.m. meetings were meant or. Here the members would all band to-
gether, worship,inoke Hanuman and prepare to gie Muslims a itting reply.` The se-
cret meetings - gvt .lala. - also gae special training in the use o arms.
2.J7. The Tribunal, thereore, concludes that abundant inancial resources was one
distinguishing eature o these outits, that mercenary means are adopted to sustain
the interest and participation o young cadres, ready to do the bidding o their hate-
illed masters.
2.J8. The Tribunal records that in Gujarat, quite apart rom the political patronage
and impunity rom the law accorded to these outits, there is enough money to i-
nance the mobilisation. The source o such unds, used increasingly or blatantly
unlawul and unconstitutional actiities, needs to be inestigated.
2.J9. The Tribunal receied detailed inormation on the avgl Parirar`. .lala ac-
tiities all oer Gujarat, rom the eidence o witnesses liing in neighbourhoods
where the training takes place. It should be a matter o priority or the local police to
keep a tab on such actiities, and curtail them, as they clearly disseminate hate litera-
ture to create permanent disharmony, issures and tensions in Indian society and dis-
tribute arms and gie arms training to pit one religious community against another.
2.20. Reports in credible national dailies and periodicals show that the \HP and
the Bajrang Dal hae been regularly conducting arms training camps in dierent parts
o the country, or the last two years at least. (ee Detaie .vvevre., 1ovve III,. lrom
the statements on record, the objectie behind these camps is eident, as are the
objecties o their organisers and the instructors who conduct them: to spread enom
against the minorities, especially Muslims and Christians, and to prepare a band o
heaily indoctrinated, well-trained youth ready at a moment`s notice to pounce on the
minorities. Ve are preparing these able-bodied persons to ight any eentuality. Vith
the ISI spreading its tentacles, these people are being trained to challenge the anti-
Hindu orces... It is not the gun that matters, but sel-conidence.` \ed Prakash
Sachchan, joint conenor o the UP unit o the Bajrang Dal, in an interiew to 1le
1ive. of Ivia, June 13, 2001., Such are the declared actiities at these camps. The
Tribunal has on its record, details o such arms training by these outits in dierent
states all oer the country.
2.2J. Gien this background and the detailed eidence gathered by the Tribunal in
the course o its inestigations or a ortnight in Gujarat in May 2002, on the objecties
and the kind o training gien in the course o these camps, it is clear that they are a
means to poison minds and generate hatred among Hindu youth towards other aiths
and their ollowers. lor Indian society, the consequences o such systematic and large-
scale indoctrination and training, which is blatantly unconstitutional and seriously threat-
ens internal peace, cannot be oeremphasised. Instead o orienting them towards pro-
ductie, creatie and noble purposes, hate-mongers rom the avgl Parirar are busy
mobilising youth or destructie actiities. Anyone concerned about the health o In-
dian society and its progress should be acutely disturbed by these deelopments. Go-
ernments in the states and in New Delhi should iew these deelopments with the
urgency they desere and halt such hate-drien mobilisation or iolence.
2.22. Testimonies recorded by the Tribunal rom \adodara showed that about 2
months prior to the Godhra incident, a big meeting .abla, was held at Tarsali bus
stand near \ijaynagar colony. About 2-3000 people attended. It was a meeting or
people rom the Bajrang Dal and was attended by the international general secretary
o the \HP, Shri Praeen Togadia as well a religious leader whose speech was telecast
on the local teleision channel. The Tribunal recorded eidence that showed objec-
tionable and criminal statements were made and telecast. Vitnesses testiied beore
the Tribunal saying that Hindus should not interact with Muslims on a normal basis
but should only maintain good relations with those Muslims who hae good looking
wies, so that when the time came they could do what they had to do.
2.23. In August 2001, the \HP and the Bajrang Dal had organised a \HP larti
Join \HP, programme. Nearly one lakh people marched through the streets o
Ahmedabad een though curew was declared. This went on until September. One o
the main programmes was held at the \HP`s \anikar Bhaan, Paldi. Their main aralav
call, was, Mv.iv o va.lt ar o!` Destroy the Muslims!`, Adertisements were
also released, asking or membership.
3 Impunity from Punishment
3.J. Gross and heinous crimes instigated or committed by the avgl Parirar with the con-
niance o the BJP-ruled state goernment, during the post-Godhra carnage in Gujarat, has
been matched with a celebration o the crimes and open contempt or the rule law. On
March 9, 1le Iviav re.. reported that een beore the police had apprehended or pre-
pared charge-sheets against the \HP and Bajrang Dal actiists named in lIRs or attacking
Muslims, the \HP had a team o 50 adocates ready to deend the killers in court. The
adocates will work in teams o ie each. Vhat is more, a core committee was set up on
Tuesday to proide succour` to amilies o men on the run or in judicial custody... The \HP
state wing general secretary, Jaideep Patel says, These men the Godhra ictims and those
acing police action or post Godhra crimes, hae ought a religious battle. They also ought
to protect Hindu lies under attack. Not only the \HP and Bajrang Dal, the whole commu-
nity should come orward to help them`. Patel is not sure how many o his men are already
in police reports or will be named in them, but says it will not be less than 3,000`, including
those responsible or the Gulberg society and Jakar lalia attacks.`
3.2. According to the same report in 1le Iviav re.. a top Bajrang Dal unction-
ary, Shri Harshad Gilletwala said, Cases are being registered against our men all
across the state - Ahmedabad, Surat, Panchmahal. Maybe some o our men may
hae been inoled in reprisals, being emotionally charged by the Godhra attack. But
in most cases they are being alsely implicated.`
3.3. Incidentally, Shri Gilletwala himsel aces similar charges. He is named in
seeral cases o rioting in Ahmedabad oer the last ew years, the most inamous
being the 1999 Bhagyodaya restaurant case. Gilletwala and a gang o Bajrang Dal
men allegedly set ire to the restaurant in the Satellite area and burnt alie one o its
Muslim owners in July 1999. (ee clater ov vi! iv Cvarat, 1ovve II,
4. Hate Speech and Hate Writing
4.J. Since the BJP came to power in Gujarat in 1998, the parent RSS and its progeny
hae been conducting a relentless hate campaign against the minorities, which goes
against the laws o the land and iolates international coenants, many o which India
is a signatory to. Ater the Godhra tragedy, where, in an unpardonable act, 58 passengers
aboard a train were burnt alie on lebruary 2, the hate speeches and hate literature has
been geared to both incite and justiy the gross iolence against Muslims.
4.2. The Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha o the RSS, held at Chennenahalli, near
Bangalore, rom March 16-19, relected the organisation`s role and thinking on the
Godhra and post-Godhra incidents. On the ee o the meeting o its leaders, the RSS
gae a clean chit to Shri Modi`s role during the Gujarat carnage. Describing the io-
lence ater the Godhra incident as a natural reaction o Hindus`, the RSS asserted
that no goernment could hae controlled the upsurge`. Vhile epressing the iew
that the natural reaction` read gruesome and unprecedented iolence, was unjusti-
iable, the RSS spokesperson Shri MG \aidya said, Vhole Hindu society irrespec-
tie o caste, creed and political ailiations, reacted iolently against what had hap-
pened at Godhra.` 1le 1ive. of Ivia, March 16.,
4.3. At the conclusion o the conerence, two days later, with oer 2,000 innocent
Muslims haing been brutally killed, not to mention the other indignities heaped on
the community in Gujarat, the RSS thought it it to lecture to Indian Muslims on their
etremist leaders` and Hindu-baiters`. A resolution adopted at the three-day con-
erence o the Sangh, said: Let Muslims understand that their real saety lies in the
goodwill o the majority.` Although a ew Muslim leaders interpreted ila` as not
supporting terrorism, they had not been able to inluence the etremist elements, it
said. The Sabha wants to make it clear that it does no credit to the Muslim commu-
nity to allow itsel to be made pawns in the hands o etremist leaders,` the resolu-
tion added. Describing the Godhra incident as horrible and ghastly`, the RSS del-
egates said it was imperatie to present things in the proper perspectie. The reac-
tion to the incident was spontaneous. The entire Hindu society had reacted. It was
unortunate that a number o people died in the iolence.` Shri \aidya quoted in 1le
ivv, March 18,. Ten days later, the RSS restated its position and urther elucidated
the adice gien in Bangalore. Shri \aidya demanded that Muslims re-interpret and
deine` the words afir inidels,, vfr the philosophy o inidels, and ila holy war
against inidels,. Vhen asked how, in his iew, Muslims could earn the goodwill o
Hindus, \aidya said they must condemn the actiities o those who proessed to
carry out a ila` against idol-worshippers`. He said the RSS did not consider all
Muslims terrorists, but many terrorists happened to be Muslims` and claimed that
they were pursuing ila, which is an Islamic cause`. 1le Iviav re.., March 28,.
The RSS spokesperson used the occasion to adise Christians, too. Christians should
also accept that there is salation outside the Church, too. Nobody should indulge in
mass conersions and nobody should claim to oer a superior spirituality.`
4.4. The attitude o the top leadership o the \HP to the post-Godhra carnage
embodied not just open support and celebration o the mass crimes, but also the
threat to repeat Gujarat`s eample all oer India. On March 6, 1le ivv.tav 1ive.
quoted the all-India ice-president o the \HP, Shri Hareshbhai Bhatt as saying that
he was proud that Hindus hae inally stirred: lor years, we hae been harassed and
attacked. The law protects them and goernments, including the one led by the BJP,
hae appeased them.` Shri Bhatt scoed at the idea o an inquiry into the mayhem:
Inquiry, what inquiry An inquiry is held when an oence has been committed. Vhat
happened at Godhra was an oence. Vhat happened ater Godhra was a reaction...
The \HP has taken a long-term decision that all Hindus will boycott Muslims eco-
nomically, inancially and socially. Muslims hae to change their mindsets i they
hae to lie here.`
4.S. Such statements by oice bearers o the \HP must not be seen in isolation.
Pre-and post-Godhra Gujarat and India is testimony to how these statements are also
translated into enomous actions against the minorities.
4.S.J. Since the Gujarat carnage, the working president o the \HP, Shri Ashok
Singhal, its international general secretary, Shri Praeen Togadia, and other promi-
nent leaders hae reelled in repeated public utterances gloating oer the iolence
against Muslims, instigating urther hatred against them and threatening to orce all
Indian Muslims into reugee camps, as in Gujarat.
4.S.2. On September 1, the \HP`s national secretary, Shri Surendra Jain, told a
news agency that what happened in Gujarat ater the Godhra killing was not a mat-
ter o shame but a matter o pride.` He was criticising the Prime Minister who had
described the Gujarat happenings as a matter o national shame.`
4.S.3. On September 3, describing Gujarat as a successul eperiment,` Shri Singhal
said, Godhra happened on lebruary 2 and the net day, 50 lakh Hindus were on the
streets. Ve were successul in our eperiment o raising Hindu consciousness, which will
be repeated all oer the country now.` The ery net day, he epounded on his proposi-
tion. Shri Singhal spoke in glowing terms o the act that in the state o his dreams, entire
illages had been emptied o Islam` and large numbers o Muslims had been orced to
seek the shelter o reugee camps. People say I praise Gujarat. \es, I do.`
At a press conerence on October 11, Shri Singhal stated, Vhat happened in Gujarat
will happen in the whole o the country. Hindus were not born to be cut like carrots
and radishes. the ivvarav Hinduisation, o the people o Gujarat was a direct
result o the elai` mentality o Muslims.`
4.S.4. On September 15, Shri Praeen Togadia, who has repeatedly mocked the
law o the land in recent months, (.ee .ectiov ov .vvevre., 1ovve I, said that Gujarat
would decide the country`s politics.
4.S.S. On August 9, the \HP leader Acharya Giriraj Kishore demanded that Mus-
lims should amend certain erses .,aat, in the Koran.
4.S.6. On September 9, the chie minister o Gujarat, Shri Narendra Modi, ad-
dressing a rally in Mehsana district during his Cavrar Yatra, said: Relie camps are
actually child-making actories. Those who keep on multiplying the population read
Muslims, should be taught a lesson.` 1le ivv, September 10,
Shri Modi`s ery oensie remarks created a national uproar. Vhen, ollowing news
reports, the National Human Rights Commission demanded a copy o the taped speech
o the chie minister, the Gujarat goernment pretended that no such tape eisted,
until tar èr. telecast the same. Undeterred by all this, Shri Togadia announced at a
press conerence, The \HP will distribute all oer the country one lakh copies o
the cassette o Modi`s speech deliered on September 9, to make the people aware o
the double standards o the so-called secularist parties including the Congress.` 1le
Deccav era, September 24,
4.S.7. The time was ripe or orming a separate army o Hindu youths who would
protect the religion rom attacks by elai..` Praeen Togadia, 1le 1ive. of Ivia,
October 18, 2002,
4.6. The aboe statements and others made at dierent points by inluential oice
bearers o the \HP and BD, jubilant oer the Gujarat carnage post-Godhra and eulogising
Shri Modi as one o the three modern day heroes o Hindus, along with Shri Singhal or
his role in the Ramjanmabhoomi moement and demolition o the Babri Masjid, and
Shi Sena leader, Shri Bal Thackeray or his anti-Muslim pogrom in 1992-`93,, relect
the intimate connection between them and the common design by which they operate.
They also reeal the real intent o these organisations. Not only is the generation o
animus and hatred against a particular section celebrated and justiied, there is little
concern that such an attitude militates against the country`s secular democratic ethos. It
is clear to the Tribunal rom the ast eidence placed beore it that the real intent and
purpose o the avgl Parirar is the subersion o the Constitution o India.
4.7. Quite apart rom the public statements and utterances that hae been widely
publicised in the national media ater the Gujarat carnage, the plethora o hate pam-
phlets in circulation in Gujarat beore, during and since the carnage are testimony to the
calculated use o demonising tactics, by these outits, to spur their cadres into action.
4.8. Lidence in the orm o the originals and translations o these pamphlets were
placed on record beore the tribunal. (ee .ectiov ov .vvevre., 1ovve I,. Many o these
hae been in circulation, intermittently, oer the past our years. But the period between
lebruary and April, 2002 saw the prolieration o such literature, some identiying the
author, others anonymous, but all a oul testimony to the debasing leels o hatred that
the ideologues o a Hindu State` can reduce ordinary people to. The Tribunal records
with horror, the deep-rooted conspiracy and design that is eident rom a perusal o all
these pamphlets. lrom openly asking or a blatantly anti-constitutional boycott o Mus-
lim shops and establishments, there are also ehortations to iolence against Muslim
women and children that are too shocking and painul to detail here. They reeal a
depth o hatred that can be no good or the people it grips and takes hold o. Only a sick
and degenerate leadership can want the whole o Indian society to descend to such
demeaning leels o hatred whereby any ecuse is good enough to unleash bloodshed
and mass iolence. The Tribunal has recorded dozens o testimonies rom dierent
parts o Gujarat that show how in the past our years, 3-4 times a year, tens o thou-
sands o such pamphlets would lood Gujarati homes, thrust upon een those Hindus
who are repulsed by their contents. lrom lebruary-April 2002, the circulation o these
pamphlets intensiied considerably. It is astounding that no action was initiated by any
wing o the Gujarat state intelligence or police against such hateul and incendiary
writing, nor did the judiciary take .vo votv action, which it is empowered to do. Vhile
most o the hate pamphlets are anonymous, there were at least our or which both the
\HP and BD claimed proud authorship. (ee .ectiov ov .vvevre., 1ovve I,. It is a matter
o proound shame that een in these cases, no action was initiated against the errant
outits and their oice bearers.
4.9. One such pamphlet which bears special mention here, is one that mentions,
with name and ull address, a \HP oice bearer as the author and publisher o this
\HP,BD pamphlet: Chinubhai N. Patel, \ishwa Hindu Parishad Oice, \anikar
Smarak Bhaan, 11 Mahalakshmi Society, Mahalakshmi Cross Roads, Paldi, Karnaati.
Tel. 6604015, 6631365 Tel. res., 454699. This pamphlet, which was in wide circu-
lation, openly propagated hatred against Indian Muslims:
The terrorist and traitorous Muslims o this country get weapons rom more
than 50 Muslim nations to carry out their religious wars. They are supplied with
AK-56 and AK-4 riles, automatic machine guns, small canons, rocket launchers
and seeral kilos o RDX. The entire country is sitting on a heap o weapons and
heading towards ciil war and internal strie... Vhen Pakistan attacks India, the
Muslims liing here will reolt... In 194, they only had sticks, swords and spears
but now they hae modern weapons... They are plotting to kill crores o Hindus and
we will be ighting these traitorous Muslims in eery lane and by-lane o the coun-
try... I the Parliament and the Kashmir assembly can be attacked then what saety
is there or the citizens o the country.`
4.J0. The aboe-mentioned pamphlet, which was produced beore the Tribunal is
nothing short o a iliication o Muslims. It is shocking that under a constitutional,
secular-democratic order, such a pamphlet was not seized, the organisation whose
iews it obiously represents immediately banned, and its oice bearers, who are a
grae threat to national security, detained.
4.JJ. Proocatie statements by \HP oice bearers and by elected representaties
in Gujarat in the immediate atermath o the reprehensible killing o 59 Hindus on a
train in Godhra, are widely belieed to hae been interpreted by \HP cadres,
sympathisers and other indiiduals in Gujarat as a call to iolence, which led to wide-
spread killings throughout the state, earlier this year.
S. Communalisation of the State and Civil Society in Gujarat
S.J. Undeterred by the country-wide condemnation and outrage at the Gujarat
carnage, the \HP`s oice bearers, especially Shri Singhal and Shri Togadia, hae
been touring the country and making newspaper headlines each day, pouring
resh itriol against the minorities and undermining the constitutional scheme
itsel. The act that they continue to do so, unchecked by the political eecu-
tie, the law and order machinery, or by .vo votv action by the judiciary, is a
sorry comment on the state o the rule o law, or the lack o it, now prealent
in this country.
S.2. Vhen the country`s chie election commissioner CLC,, Shri JM Lyngdoh de-
cided that in the circumstances still preailing in Gujarat, elections ree and air,
could not be held immediately as desired by Shri Modi and his party, both Shri Modi
and Shri Togadia alleged that the CLC was a Christian who was taking reenge or
the attack on Christians in Dangs in 1999.` This is nothing short o the denigration o
a constitutional authority on sectarian grounds.
S.3. The agenda o these outits or Gujarat becomes clear when you see their
unabashed proclamation o Gujarat as a ivv Ra.ltra` Hindu state`,. During
their tour o seeral areas o Gujarat in May, Tribunal members saw signboards all
oer the state, welcoming people to Hindu Ra.ltra`. Karnaati city o this Hindu
Ra.ltra welcomes you,` proclaims a board painted in saron, in the heart o
Ahmedabad. Karnaati is the \HP`s preerred name or Ahmedabad,. In
Chhotaudaipur, 200 km south o Ahmedabad, the signboard on the highway is more
direct. It simply says: Velcome to Hindu Ra.ltra`. Chhotaudaipur town.`
S.4. These signboards are just one part o the legacy o nearly ie years o BJP rule
in Gujarat. Vheneer cornered, the BJP claims it has nothing to do with the hidden
agenda` o the avgl Parirar, but neither the party nor the goernment it runs has any
diiculty with their raternity`s open challenge to the constitutional idea o India by
ivvtra`s long cherished dream o a Hindu India`.
S.S. Len the Congress party, which returned to power in the Ahmedabad Mu-
nicipal Corporation AMC, two years ago, has been reluctant to pull down these
boards, despite a directie to this eect issued recently by the new state Congress
president, Shri Shankersinh \aghela.
6. Role of the RSS
6.J. The Rashtriya Swayamseak Sangh RSS,, is an organisation with the sel-
proessed goal o India as a Hindu state`. (ee .ectiov beor, i.torica acgrovv
of tle R,. It spawned the \ishwa Hindu Parishad in 1964 which in turn set up
the Bajrang Dal in 1986, an aggressie militant outit whose actiities are nothing
short o criminal. The RSS` links with the BJP are well known. In the early 50s,
when the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the earlier aratar o the BJP, was ormed to dabble
in parliamentary politics, trusted RSS raclara. propagators, were delegated` to
the party. lollowing the ailed Janata eperiment o the 190s, ater the end o
Lmergency rule, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh resuraced as the Bharatiya Janata Party,
which dominates the National Democratic Alliance coalition goernment at the
centre today. The antecedents o both present Prime Minister, Shri Atal Behari
\ajpayee, and deputy prime minister, Shri LK Adani, are as trusted raclara.
o the RSS, loaned to the BJS decades ago, to translate ivvtra`s ideology into a
political programme.
6.2. The loyalties o Shri \ajpayee, Shri Adani and other senior BJP leaders like
ormer law minister Shri Arun Jaitley and the chie minister o Gujarat, Shri Narendra
Modi, to the RSS are well known and hae been established beyond any doubt.
6.3. The role o the RSS in the build-up to Godhra the .liaooav in Ayodhya on
March 15, and the post-Godhra carnage is both curious and enlightening. On March
15, the RSS gae a clean chit to the Modi-run administration in its handling o the
iolence. As mentioned aboe in the section on hate speech and writing, it justiied
the carnage as a natural reaction`. Two days later, as also detailed in the section
aboe, it castigated Indian Muslims or their etremist leadership.
6.4. In January 2002, the RSS announced that henceorth, it would hoist the National
llag at all its .lala. on eery Republic Day and Independence Day. This is a recent
phenomenon. Until now, when, as a body, it claims the inculcating o nationalism and
patriotism in eery citizen to be its primary objectie, it had doggedly shunned the na-
tional lag - a precious national symbol or any country - ecept on a ew occasions.
6.S. In January 2002, the RSS conened a massie rally in Jhabua in MP state in
which an estimated 1.5 lakh Adiasis rom Gujarat, MP and Rajasthan participated.
As the crow lies, Jhabua is not ar rom the Panchmahal district in Gujarat. Inlam-
matory speeches made by the RSS chie, Shri KS Sudarshan, and others at this rally
are belieed to hae contributed to the incitement o tribals to iolence against Mus-
lims in the tribal areas o north Gujarat. lrom news reports, it appeared that the rally
had more to do with Hinduisation` o Adiasis and inciting them against minorities
than with anything related to the genuine welare o the Adiasis.
6.6. The statements o RSS leaders made at training camps in Bihar, teaching stu-
dents that because President Shri APJ Abdul Kalam reads the Gita, He is a Hindu`
1le tate.vav, etevber ,, and the constant questioning o Article 25 o the Indian
Constitution, which upholds the reedom o aith, are urther indicatie o the
organisation`s anti-constitutional thrust.
6.7. A clear demonstration o the communal and blatantly unconstitutional man-
ner o unctioning by the RSS was the recent campaign launched by that organisation
in Rajasthan, to draw the city`s youth into its old by undertaking a communal surey
o the city`s population. At the end o this campaign, the RSS hopes to hae a data-
base on eery Hindu boy and young man in the city o Jaipur. Its aim being, To
proselytise uninitiated Hindus, and to gie memberships to those who show sympa-
thy or the .avgl.` 1le ivv.tav 1ive., Jaipur August 21, 2002,,. The report also
pointed out that a similar surey was conducted in Gujarat si months prior to the
carnage. The Tribunal is coninced that gien the track record o this organisation
and gien the act that a large part o its mission is to engender communal eeling
among sections wherein none eisted beore, the actiities o these outits need to be
watched and, i necessary, curtailed.
6.8. Roe of tle R iv Iviav Poitic.: The RSS has always epressed keen interest
and taken its own stance on what it considers to be key national issues. Since the
BJP`s assumption o power in New Delhi, this articulation became more pronounced.
Lery so oten, it has attempted to issue a whip` to its parliamentary wing - the BJP.
Routine political utterances by RSS unctionaries, either in approal or disapproal
o the decisions taken by the BJP-led cabinet are eamples o this.
7. Historical Background: 1he RSS
7.J. An inestigation into the state-sponsored carnage in Gujarat would be rudder-
less without an eamination and understanding o the ideology and the workings o
the RSS and the \HP, the ideological ountainheads o the Hindu right wing. The
BJP, which leads the NDA goernment at the centre, is merely the parliamentary
epression o the sectarian ideology o ivvtra. The Bajrang Dal is the youth wing
o the \HP, whose mandate inoles the use o arms, i necessary, to nurture Hindu
pride` and Sae the Hindu Nation`.
7.2. The RSS, the \HP and its numerous ailiates and branches are committed to
an ideology that militates against the basic principles that underpin the Indian Consti-
tution. The principle o equal rights to all citizens and non-discrimination are unda-
mental alues in the Indian Constitution. It is clear rom its ideological orientation,
utterances and actiities that the avgl Parirar - the RSS, \HP, BD, BJP and their
ideological ospring - is undamentally opposed to the Indian Constitution.
7.3. In his book, !e or Ovr àtiovloo Defive, published in 1939, Shri MS Golwalkar,
the second .ar.avglclaa` head, o the RSS, reerentially reerred to by avgl Parirar
members as Guru Golwalkar` or simply Guruji`, clearly spelt out his notion o cul-
tural nationalism`, drawing unabashed inspiration rom the eample o Adolph Hitler.
Through painstaking research, some scholars hae unearthed inormation in recent
years, to establish, beyond doubt, the ideological and organisational inspiration that
RSS leaders drew rom ascist Italy and nazi Germany in the late 20s and `30s. (ee
Detaie .vvevre., 1ovve III,. The public utterances o the RSS today, its constant
inocation o the Hindu nation` ideal, its consistent adersarial stance against the
country`s religious minorities, clearly establish the link between the tleor, articulated
by Guruji` in 1939 and the cvrrevt ractice o the avgl Parirar.
7.4. In January 2000, the BJP-controlled Gujarat and UP goernments decided to
lit the ban on goernment serants joining the RSS. This raised a nation-wide outcry
orcing withdrawal o the notiications, but not beore Shri Adani had paid glowing
tributes to his parent organisation. The act that the BJP leadership would like to
encourage and legitimise such close links between the RSS and the bureaucracy is a
clear indication o the close links between the two organisations. That the short-lied
Janata eperiment, post-Lmergency, collapsed oer the issue o ormer Jana Sangh
leaders` insistence on their right to publicly retain their relationship with the RSS
dual membership`, is well-known. It is, o course, another matter that this is no
longer an issue or the other non-BJP, political descendents o the Janata Party who
are now part o the NDA.
7.S. On January 30, 1948, barely ie months ater India won her Independence and
the sub-continent was partitioned on religious lines, the unthinkable happened - Gandhi,
aectionately called the Mahatma` and lather o the Nation` was assassinated by
Nathuram \inayak Godse, a young Maharashtrian. Godse, who belonged to the e-
tremist Hindu Mahasabha, had, in the past, also been been member o a small oluntary
organisation, the Hindu Rashtra Dal, and, in the early 1930s, o the RSS.
7.6. lollowing the assassination, the goernment o India treated both the Hindu
Mahasabha and the RSS as constituting a threat to law and order. Shri Golwalkar, the
RSS .ar.avglclaa and Shri \G Deshpande, general secretary o the Hindu Mahasabha,
were arrested, and the goernment declared that no organisation preaching iolence
or communal hatred would be tolerated. On lebruary 4, 1948 the union home minis-
try headed by Sardar \allabhbhai Patel, released a communiqu announcing that the
RSS was an unlawul association, the subsequent arrest o a number o its leaders and
members reduced its actiity to a minimum.
7.7. Vhen a ew sympathisers o the RSS within the Congress initiated a moe to
lit the ban, the home ministry, under Shri Patel, issued yet another communiqu
dated Noember 14, 1948: The inormation receied by the goernment o India
shows that the actiities carried on in arious orms and ways by the people associ-
ated with the RSS tend to be anti-national and oten subersie and iolent and that
persistent attempts are being made by the RSS to reie an atmosphere in the country
which was productie o such disastrous consequences in the past.`
7.8. Vhile rejecting all pleas rom Shri Golwalkar that the RSS was a reormed body,
the communiqu continued: He has written letters both to the Prime Minister and the
Home Minister eplaining inter alia that the RSS agrees entirely in the conception o a
secular state or India and that it accepts the National llag o the country and request-
ing that the ban imposed on the organisation in lebruary should now be lited. These
proessions o the RSS leader are, howeer, quite inconsistent with the practice o his
ollowers and or the reasons already eplained aboe, the Goernment o India ind
themseles unable to adice proincial goernments to lit the ban. The Prime Minister
has, thereore, declined the interiew which Mr. Golwalkar had sought.`
7.9. In a letter to Shri Golwalkar, on the ban on the RSS ollowing Gandhiji`s assas-
sination, Sardar \allabhbhai Patel had written: It was not necessary to spread poison
in order to enthuse Hindus and organise or their sel-protection... As a inal result o
their poison, the country had to suer the sacriice o the inaluable lie o Gandhiji.
The RSS men epressed joy and distributed sweets.` lrom 1rvtl 1rivvl., published
by a pro-RSS publication in 199 and distributed by Sahitya Niketan, Hyderabad,.
7.J0. In August 1948, Shri Golwalkar began a correspondence with Pandit Nehru and
Sardar Patel to hae the ban against the RSS lited. His letters to both on September 24,
1948, harped on the ostensible danger to India rom communism, as eidenced by the alarm-
ing happenings in Burma, Indochina, Jaa and other neighbouring states.` Lentually, the
RSS agreed to adopt a written constitution, maintain regular registers o members, not ad-
mitting minors without parental permission, and working openly in the cultural ield only.
7.JJ The RSS won back its legal status on January 12, 1949. lollowing the demo-
lition o the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, the union goernment imposed a ban
on the RSS, the \HP, BD and organisations like the Jamaat-e-Islami and Islamic Seak
Sangh ISS, on December 10, 1993. But the Bahri Tribunal set up under the Unlawul
Actiities Preention , Act, eonerated the RSS and the ban was lited on June 4,
1993. The ban on the \HP, BD and the Jamaat-e-Islami was lited subsequently.
8. 1he VHP and Bajrang Dal: 1heir Lvolution and Role
8.J. In an RSS publication, Matrv.av.tla. literally, mother organisations`,, on the
numerous ailiates and organisations which the RSS has spawned oer the decades
and which orm part o the avgl Parirar, are included the \anasi Kalyan Ashram
and the \HP. (ee Detaie .vvevre., 1ovve III,.
8.2. The \HP was born in 1964, when the RSS chie, Shri Golwalkar, met a select
group o .av,a.i. and heads o religious organisations in Mumbai with the aim o
launching a new organisation to unite all Hindu religious sects under a single um-
brella. During the irst ten years o its eistence, the \HP worked largely in the north-
eastern states, proselytising against the Christian missionaries. But ollowing the mass
conersion o Dalits to Islam in Meenakshipuram Tamil Nadu, in 1981, it shited its
ocus and turned against Muslims. In this new phase, it sought to enlarge and ormalise
the institutional links between the high priests o Hinduism across the country. Two
ape bodies were created or this purpose - the Marg Dar.la Mava, which meets
once or twice annually, and the Dlarav av.a, which meets only when needed. The
Shankaracharyas, all heads o top vatl., were gien a prominent role within them and
most o them became closely identiied with \HP politics.
8.3. In legal terms, the \HP was conceied o as a trust, with a 100-member board
o trustees and a 51-strong goerning council. The latter body includes only one
.av,a.i at present, Swami Chinmayananda. An indication, perhaps, that the ultimate
controlling power rests not with traditional religious leaders, but with the RSS patri-
archs. \HP actiists are called litclivta. well-wishers,.
8.4. In a relatiely short span o time, the trust has deeloped eighteen depart-
ments. These include the Dlarva .vv.tlav department, which organises irtav. and
blaav. in temples. Another branch looks ater larva raclar missionary work, geared
towards glar raa.i reconersion, or literally, return to home, o Christians and Mus-
lims. \et another is the .clar,a 1iblag, which trains vari. priests, or the \HP as
well as or other non-\HP run temples. The Parra avavv,a,a department co-ordi-
nates common estials with non-\HP temple committees.
8.S. Since the early `80s the \HP has become politically isible with its aggressie
Ravavvabloovi .voav`. The declared aim was to reclaim` the birthplace o Lord
Ram` in Ayodhya on which the Babri Masjid stood and to build a Ram temple in its
place. Among other things, the campaign inoled a series o national mobilisations
- the atva Yava 1983,, lri Ravavai ]avvabloovi Yatra 1984,, other ratl ,atra.
1985-89,, liaooav and liav,a. ceremonies at Ayodhya 1989,, and inally, Shri
Adani`s ratl ,atra 1990,. All these, ecept the last one, which was organised under
the BJP banner, were conceied and organised by the \HP.
8.6. Vhile some o these ,atra. were or consciousness-raising`, others required
actie contributions rom eeryone - a brick, a rupee, or the sale o a bottle o Ganga
water in each illage o the country. The mobilisations were a means to claiming and,
to an etent, creating Hindu unity` under the \HP`s auspices.
8.7. O the myriad tets that eist or the eclectic aith o Hinduism, it is curious that
Mavv.vriti and .rtla.la.tra are treated as central by the ideologues o ivv Ra.ltra. It is
interesting to remember that the Mavv.vriti prescribes a rigidly stratiied caste and gender
hierarchy, while the .rtla.la.tra recommends a police state under a single despotic head.
8.8. In retrospect, the core concern behind the ormation o the \HP was the
desire to orge unity` in a society ragmented by the rigidities o caste. Beginning with the
tribals o the north-east, \HP actiities then etended to Delhi, Karnataka, Orissa, Andhra
Pradesh, MP, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, UP and Bihar. The Hinduisation`
o eploited social groups became urgent, particularly ater the Meenakshipuram incident.
In UP, the \HP has been wooing the orest-dwelling Kol tribes. The nature o the \HP`s
actiities among such groups reeals that their inspiration is drawn entirely rom the RSS
worldiew. On paper, the \HP is engaged mainly in educational work: setting up o
libraries, ,oga.lrava., barai., student hostels and child .av.ar centres or the deelop-
ment o the knowledge o Hindu tets and Hindu national heroes. But the central thrust
- though the \HP seldom describes it as such - is clearly the conersion` o tribals and
Dalits to ivvtra-approed orms o worship. Raghunandan Prasad Sharma`s 1P: .iv.,
.ctiritie. av .clierevevt. adises the spread o the chie religious .av.ara.` among ravra.i.,
giriav. and lariav.`. Clearly these are meant to replace eisting belies and practices among
tribals and ensure a homogenised ersion o religion.
8.9. The Bajrang Dal See http:,,www.hinduunity.org,bajrangdal, looks ater the
training o young boys. It calls itsel by dierent names in dierent parts o the coun-
try. In Bengal, or instance, it is known as the \iekananda \ahini.
8.J0. The aboe mentioned website describes the ormation o the Bajrang Dal
thus: \isha Hindu Parishad decided to start Ram-Janaki` ratl ,atra or awakening
the society on October 1, 1984. Many elements reused to gie protection to Ratl
and the participants. The Holy saints made a call to the \ouths to protect Ratl`.
Hundreds o youth gathered in Ayodhya. They perormed their duty ery well. Thus
Bajrang Dal was ormed with a temporary and localised objectie o awakening youth
o UP, and get their inolement in Ravavvabloovi moement... In 1986, the \HP
decided to orm Bajrang Dal in other states and ery soon Bajrang Dal was ormed in
other states too, as its youth wing.` (ee Detaie .vvevre., 1ovve III,.
8.JJ. It is clear rom these assertions that whether it is the \HP, BD or the Durga
\ahini, perceied wrongs against a supposedly homogenous Hindu society are played
upon to whip up sentiments against India`s religious minorities, be they artisans rom
Aligarh or Moradabad, peaceul residents o laizabad or businessmen, traders and agri-
culturists rom Gujarat. Implicit in their agenda is aggression against ellow Indians.
8.J2. The Durga \ahini wing o the \HP works among young girls and women.
8.J3. Centres o the BD are oten located at Hanuman vavir. where they organise
weekly .at.avg. prayer meetings,. The BD was largely instrumental in recruiting ur-
ban youths or the ar .era` at Ayodhya.
8.J4. The distortion o Indian history, in a bid to project a Hindu history` o a
people who or centuries were ictims o Muslim marauders and Christian design, is
at the heart o the mobilisation o these outits. School tetbooks and eery other
orum o public discourse are used or this purpose.
8.JS. During the Ramjanmabhoomi moement between 1989-1992, Sadhi
Rithambara an incendiary \HP protg,, requently proclaimed an all-out war: Kloov
laraba lota lai to e bar love o` I there has to be bloodshed, let it happen once and
or all`,. The call or blood was suicient to instigate cadres into iolence against
Muslims in Meerut, Maliana, Bhagalpur, Ahmedabad, \aranasi, Kanpur, Jaipur, Hubli,
Ahmedabad, Surat, and Mumbai.
8.J6. .vgr, ivv! Ye.. !l, vot? !l, are ivv. iv tle Doc?` An RSS booklet by
that title celebrated manuactured rage as the saing grace or the community. A ivv
]agarav Mavcl lealet rom Khurja, published during the same period, eoked the im-
age o diine engeance, seeking Muslim blood, eleating ivvtra`s blood-thirst to
diine desire: Ravclavi lai laar i,e gai gai riclar rali laiv` The goddess o
war is roaming the streets thirsting or blood`,. The open call or bloody reenge
underpins the thinking o these organisations.
8.J7. A distinct component o the \HP strategy to eole an all-Hindu reality` is
to mobilise Dalits to do their job so that caste Hindus can aoid getting blood on their
own hands. Thus the \almikis Dalits, were deployed in communal conlicts in
Nizamuddin New Delhi, in 1983 and during the riots in Delhi`s walled city in 198.
A more undamental motie seems to be the assimilation Hinduisation`, o Dalits
ater their trial by ire` in Ram`s name. Dalits are inited to embrace the ideal o
Hindu unity` een as discrimination against them and their eploitation remains a
harsh reality. A Harijan was thus gien the great priilege o laying the irst ounda-
tion stone at the Ram temple site in Ayodhya in 1989.
8.J8. The \HP`s promotion o the \almiki group, in particular, is signiicant. It co-
ordinates with the \almiki temple committees or its estials and \HP literature
pays glowing tributes to \almiki and Rai Das as Hindu` religious leaders. The asso-
ciation between \almiki and Ram is striking. It is also signiicant that in Delhi, \almiki
temples abound and constitute practically the only isible actiity o the \HP among
the low caste groups. The strategy is to recruit the traditionally neglected and e-
ploited tribals and \almikis to deend the high caste Hindu cause, by gloriying them
een while showing little concern or their socio-economic status.
8.J9. The \HP and the BD hae played an important role in Gujarat is recent years.
Since the BJP came back to power in 1998, these outits hae been breaking the law
with impunity, certain as they are o political patronage rom both the state and the
centre. The Tribunal was presented with abundant eamples o lIRs lodged against
the cadre o these outits in the past our years. The police, howeer, hae launched
no inestigations. (ee clater ov vi!, 1ovve II,
9. Iunding of RSS and its Affiliates
9.J. Non-resident Indians NRIs, o Gujarat hae been the lieline o inance or
ivvtra organisations.
9.2. The Tribunal recorded eidence o the ast amounts o money at the avgl
Parirar`. disposal, to lure cadres, pay or adertisements in the mass media, print hate
literature, hold arms training camps, distribute tri.lv. in lakhs or ree and een em-
ploy ully paid cadres.
9.3. lund-raising has become a zealous actiity or the RSS and \HP, the latter
known as the Vorld Hindu Council abroad. Lidence beore us suggests that
organisations such as the Hindu Seak Sangh HSS,, a UK-based charity` and many
such ronts in the US collect and contribute large sums o money to these organisations.
9.4. The \HP inances the Bajrang Dal, which remains an unregistered body, rom
the money it receies as donations or charitable work.
9.S. Lidence beore the tribunal suggests that the \HP itsel has loated seeral
organisations through which it collects unds that are in addition to the contributions
it receies rom other sources.
9.6. The most actie hae been \HP USA, and \HP UK,, both o which are also
connected with other charitable` societies in these countries.
9.7. The Hindu Swayamseak Sangh HSS,, the oerseas incarnation o the RSS
and the lriends o India Society International lISI,, the political mobilisation wing
o the HSS, work ery closely with the India Deelopment and Relie loundation
IDRl, in the USA. The IDRl was set up as a ta-eempt, non-proit organisation in
1989, under the proisions o section 501c,3, o the ta code in the US. Its osten-
sible purpose is to raise money or organisations in India, assisting in rural deelop-
ment, tribal welare, and urban poor.` According to its ta returns, the IDRl raised s
3.8 million in the year 2000, o which it disbursed s1. million in relie and deelop-
ment work.` lrom the eemption application o the IDRl iled with the IRS in 1989
and lorm 990 iled by the IDRl or the 2000 ta year,. http:,,www.hssworld.org,
usa,wc,shakha,LosAngeles,rss_5years_iles,rame.htm,
9.8. Howeer, a closer scrutiny o the projects that the IDRl unds, the IDRl
itsel, the political ailiations o its oice-bearers and o the organisations that raise
unds or it, reeals that the IDRl is closely linked with the avgl Parirar - the RSS,
\HP,BD and BJP.
9.9. Lidence placed beore the Tribunal points to a strong link between the IRDl
and its Indian ailiate, Sewa International. On its web site and in its literature, the
IDRl lists Sewa International as IDRl India` and Shri Shyam Parande, the general
secretary o Sewa International, as the IDRl adisor in India. And on its web site,
Sewa International also states that it is associated with the IDRl, USA and Sewa
International, UK.` The Sewa International, UK calls itsel the serice project` o
Hindu Sea Sangh, UK,.
9.J0. lrom the eidence beore us, it is clear that Sewa International identiies itsel
with the ision o the RSS. The organisation`s ailiation with the RSS is urther con-
irmed by the contents o the section entitled, Lperiments and Results` on Sewa
International`s web site. This section epounds the isions o many RSS leaders and
only RSS leaders,, the arious community` actiities taken on by the avgl and the
resulting spread o avgl philosophy in dierent areas. In some o its earlier literature,
the address o Sewa International is the same as that o the RSS headquarters in Delhi.
9.JJ. erai.la, a publication o the Sea \ibhag Serice Ving, o the RSS also
lists Sewa International as an RSS ailiate, established primarily to mobilise interna-
tional support or organisations working within the Parirar ramework: \et another
deelopment is the establishment o an international organisation titled Sea Inter-
national` which now has branches in many countries. Sewa International will look
ater the interests o .era serice, related issues not only in the respectie countries
where they hae chapters but also take up global` leel care o .era serice, work
carried out under the avgl ideology.`
9.J2. The lISI and HSS hae held und-raising dries or the IDRl. Many o the
people associated with the IDRl, its ounders, ailiates in India and its oicials hae
etensie ailiations with other ivvtra organisations in this country, or the avgl
Parirar in India. The IDRl`s lounders: Shri Bhishma Agnihotri, a well-known RSS
ideologue and an HSS avglclaa Chie,, is one o the ounders o the IDRl. Two
o the IDRl`s other ounders, Shri Jatinder Kumar and Shri Ram Gehani are oice-
bearers o the lISI, while Shri Gehani is also associated with the organisation Oer-
seas lriends o the BJP.`
9.J3. The Tribunal has eidence that ollowing the earthquake last year, Sewa
Bharati, Gujarat, receied a lot o unds rom oreign donors as well as the Indian
goernment or rebuilding illages in Gujarat.
9.J4. The Tribunal has eidence which shows that money was raised by the IDRl,
through Sewa International, or ie organisations belonging to the \anasi Kalyan
Ashram \anasi Kalyan Ashram in MP, Gujarat and Nagar Haeli, the Giriasi
\anasi Sewa Prakalp in UP and the G. Deshpande \anasi \astigrah in Maharashtra,.
\anasi Kalyan Ashram is one o the major avgl ailiated organisations actie in
the tribal regions in India. lrom the eidence beore the Tribunal, \anasi Kalyan
Ashrams located in Bharuch, \adodara, Kheda, Sabarkantha and Banaskantha dis-
tricts hae been ery actie on issues that are a clear part o the RSS agenda, as many
witnesses told the Tribunal during its isit to these areas.
9.JS. Among what the IDRl describes as its ailiates, most appear to be linked
with the ast network o organisations ailiated to the RSS. lor eample, the One
Teacher Schools Lkal \idyalays,: This is a scheme started by the \HP to indoctri-
nate students in remote illages tribal illages,. Dierent avgl organisations hae
raised money or this scheme and helped in the administration o the schools. Some
o them are the Bharat Kalyan Pratishthan, the \HP, the Swami \iekananda Rural
Deelopment Society, the lriends o Tribal Society, and the \anasi Kalyan Ashram
- all o which hae been unded by the IDRl based in the USA. Recently, the Lkal
\idyalay loundation has been set up as an independent organisation, but it is still
under the control o Dr. BK Modi, the current president o \HP-Oerseas.
9.J6. It appears clear rom the eidence placed beore us that Sewa International is
the IDRl ailiate in India, oerseeing its Indian operation. In terms o monetary
reimbursements, it may be the most signiicant sister organisation` o the IDRl. Sewa
International is a avgl Parirar organisation that was set up primarily or co-ordinating
the low o oreign contributions or avgl projects in India. Sewa International clearly
identiies itsel as a avgl organisation and states in its mission statement that it is an
umbrella or more than 2,000 projects and programmes all oer India` oerseeing
more than 50,000 olunteers .ra,av.era., inoled in running 6 dierent types
o actiities.` A .ra,av.era, which literally means a olunteer`, is a term that is
increasingly identiied with an RSS member, especially when used in Lnglish. This
organisation`s RSS ailiation is urther conirmed by looking at the section entitled
Lperiments and Results` on Sewa International`s web site.
9.J7. Sewa International, UK- the counterpart o IDRl in the UK, which also
raises money or projects oerseen by the Sewa International, India - is registered
under the name o HSS, UK. Lord Adam Patel, a Labour Party peer who was a patron
o this organisation, resigned rom it ater the Gujarat carnage, claiming that Sewa
International had links with right wing etremist groups blamed or prooking riot-
ing in India.` A newspaper rom the UK reported Lord Patel as saying that he had
eamined Sewa International`s own records: I am satisied that Sewa International is
a ront or controersial militant Hindu organisations and so I hae been orced to
resign as one o its patrons.`
9.J8. In iew o the aboe, the Tribunal notes the lack o accountability and transpar-
ency in the unding and running o organisations like the RSS,\HP,BD which hae been
indicted een by seeral judicial commissions o inquiry or their role in communal io-
lence. Gien their huge network o ailiates, religious-deelopmental organisations, edu-
cational trusts, etc. it is diicult to athom the manner in which unds are raised, the
ostensible purpose or which they are raised and or what purposes they are actually utilised.
9.J9. In the course o an inestigation into the ta returns and assets o the \HP
under the National lront goernment headed by Shri \P Singh - the income ta
oicial, Shri Gupta had issued summons to \HP leaders, Shri Ashok Singhal, Shri
\ishnu Hari Dalmia, Mahant Nrit Gopal Das and Mahant Paramhans to question
them on the accounts submitted or the inancial year 1988-89. But using a technical
loophole, the goernment quashed the case within 24 hours, ater senior BJP leaders
threatened to withdraw support to the goernment. Shri Gupta was transerred to
Tamil Nadu. Later, newspapers reported that the entire record o the IT returns iled
by the \HP was ound missing.
9.20. The Tribunal`s inestigations into the Gujarat carnage reeal that ree access
to unds, rom abroad and India hae contributed greatly to the strength o avgl
Parirar outits which openly conduct armed training camps, ehort young men and
women to iolence and seriously jeopardise communal amity and internal security.
9.2J. To check the spread and prolieration o hate ideology any urther into the country`s
social and political lie, it is imperatie that the unding sources and links o these
organisations and their myriad outits are immediately and thoroughly inestigated.
J0. Indictment in Communal Crimes
J0.J. \irtually eery judicial commission o inquiry oicially appointed to inestigate
communal riots since Independence and Partition, has indicted organisations ailiated
with or allied to the RSS,\HP,BD,BJP combine, including the Maharashtra-based Shi
Sena, or their role in iolent crimes against India`s minorities. (ee Detaie .vvevre.,
1ovve III,.
J0.2. \et, the Indian state has been reluctant to prosecute those guilty o these
crimes. Such ailure amounts to oicial complicity and shows reluctance on the part
o goernments to gie justice to a section o its citizens. The Tribunal recommends
that such crimes are dealt with seriously and switly and punishments accorded so
that the demands o internal peace, justice and reconciliation are met.
J0.3. Through their high-pitched, Vho casts the irst stone` propaganda, Hindu
majoritarian outits seek to absole themseles o any blame or responsibility or the
iolence and bloodshed, in the public eye. Lpert eidence placed beore the Tribu-
nal shows that in conlict ater conlict, these outits deend their actions as justii-
able retaliatory acts by Hindus in sel-deence` against attacks started by Muslims.
J0.4. Howeer, ater detailed inestigations, most judicial commissions o inquiry
hae concluded that Hindu communal organisations systematically inject the poison
o communalism into the atmosphere and cause deliberate proocation to prompt a
reaction rom Muslims, a reaction which is then projected as proo o Muslims haing
thrown the irst stone. (ee Detaie .vvevre., 1ovve III,.
J0.S. In their indings on the Jabalpur riots o 196, Ahmedabad 1969,,
Kanyakumari 1982,, Jamshedpur 199,, Ranchi 1969,, Bhiwandi-Jalna, Mumbai
190,, Tellicheri 191,, the arious judicial commissions o inquiry appointed by
the appropriate state and central goernments to probe into the iolence hae in-
dicted one or other member o the avgl Parirar and other otaries o Hinduta. That
they hae escaped subsequent action is, o course, another matter. (ee Detaie
.vvevre., 1ovve III,. A singular eception was the anti-Sikh riots in Noember 1984
where the Congress party and its then leadership must bear the blame or the massa-
cre o 3,000 Sikhs in the nation`s capital.
J. The post-Godhra carnage in Gujarat was an organised crime perpetrated by the
state`s chie minister and his goernment. The state`s complicity is eident rom the
arious acts o commission and omission o the goernment and its oicials.
J.J. It was the chie minister who declared that the Godhra incident was pre-planned
when the inestigating agencies had not reached such a conclusion. Shri Modi`s cabi-
net, notably the minister or home, Shri Gordhan Zadaphiya, reiterated strongly that
Pakistani hands were behind the Godhra act. These statements were irresponsible,
gien the sensitiity o the situation and the anger that they generated. Once they
generated a climate ripe or apportioning blame, or the acts o a ew criminals, the
entire Ghanchi Muslim community o Godhra was branded. This led to a eeling o
justiying the systematic massacre, plunder, loot and cultural decimation o the entire
Muslim community in Gujarat thereater.
J.2. It was the chie minister who decided that the charred, unidentiiable dead bod-
ies be taken rom Godhra to Ahmedabad in a motor caalcade. As the caalcade headed
or Ahmedabad, senior members o his party and organisations ailiated to it shouted
slogans and incited mobs to retaliate. The CM`s role in condoning this behaiour, and in
using oicial machinery to propagate the unsubstantiated iew that the Godhra tragedy
was a sinister conspiracy, is condemnable. Thus, it was the chie minister who was
primarily responsible or the spread o iolence, post-Godhra, in the rest o Gujarat.
J.3. The \HP gae a call or a Gujarat avl on lebruary 28 and or a larat avl
on March 1. The Gujarat BJP president, Shri Rajendrasinh Rana, was quick to an-
nounce the state BJP`s support or both the bavl calls, giing a clear signal to the
administration that it need not take a hard line against those who enorce the bavl.
The state goernment`s reluctance to take adequate steps in the wake o the pro-
posed bavl. amounted to an abdication o all its responsibilities and an open inita-
tion to anarchy.
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J.4. Shri Modi played an actie role, along with at least three cabinet colleagues, in
instructing senior police personnel and ciil administrators that a Hindu reaction
was to be epected and this must not be curtailed or controlled.`
J.S. On the eening o lebruary 2, two cabinet colleagues o the chie minister,
Shri Ashok Bhatt and Shri Pratap Singh Chauhan, met at Lunaada in Panchmahal
district along with others. In this meeting, the manner and methods o unleashing
iolence on Muslims were planned in detail.
J.6. It is clear rom what happened in Ahmedabad and its enirons on lebruary 28
and all oer the state on March 1-3 and thereater, that there was deliberate conni-
ance and support o the goernment.
J.7. The sectarian approach o the goernment and the inaction on the part o the
administration allowed the iolence to spread. According to dozens o testimonies
beore the Tribunal, een some ministers o the Gujarat goernment led the carnage
and rapes, in many cases. The CM did not take adequate preentie measures, nor did
he keep the army on stand-by. Though the situation was grim, and tension was at its
peak, Shri Modi alsely claimed on March 2 Newshour, tar èr., 2,03,2002,: Cvarat
veiv balvt tei .e .lavti ra.tlait lo rali lai, vorvac, aa rali lai. .lveaba e raar
.e a raat e baa, vri tarala ivcievtfree rala lai.` Gujarat is well on the road to
peace and normalcy is slowly returning here. Ahmedabad too has been largely peaceul
since last night.`, This, while the attacks in Panchmahal district, Mehsana, Kheda,
Nadiad, Bhanagar - which included hacking, lynching and burning alie o people-
continued. This was done deliberately to mislead the rest o the country and the
world, though what was going on in Gujarat was clear to the whole world through the
print media, radio and T\.
J.8. Shri Modi claimed on March 3 Talking Heads, tar èr., 3,03,2002,, that the
Army was called or on the eening o lebruary 28, and joined duty rom the morning
o 1
st
March.
Although 12 columns o the Army approimately 600 troops, had reached
Ahmedabad and other sensitie areas on March 1, they were kept on standby. Military
intelligence puts the blame on the state goernment. News reports maintained that the
initial delay was due to the absence o clear instructions rom the Gujarat goernment.
1le 1ive. of Ivia, Ahmedabad, March 11, Pg. ,. (ee clater ov Colra, 1ovve II,.
J.9. In the past, communal riots had been mostly an urban phenomena that did not
spread to the illages. But this time, due to the sectarian politics o religion, it spread
to the illages as well. One o the worst incidents was at Sardarpura illage where 38
illagers were hacked and torched. This is what Shri Modi had to say about the grue-
some killings on March 1: In some illages, especially in one illage o Mehsana
district, due to rumours, due to suspicion, due to mistrust, due to tension on both
sides, there was an ivcievt emphasis added, in the Sardarpura illage.` He took no
steps to nip the rumours in the bud.
J.J0. Other ministers in the state cabinet displayed the same attitude. Llectoral
constituencies o ministers in the state cabinet were more prone to iolence, in some
cases, ministers themseles were leading the mobs. It may not be a mere coincidence
that Bapunagar, home constituency o the minister o state or home, Shri Gordhan
Zadaphiya, witnessed one o the worst communal scenes since the 1969 riots, when
the area was the hardest hit. Some o the senior BJP leaders and ministers in Shri
Modi`s cabinet were also alleged to hae participated in the destruction o minority
places o worship. Minister or reenue, Shri Haren Pandya and health minister, Shri
Ashok Bhatt led the mobs enthusiastically in Ahmedabad. Shri Bharat Barot, a sitting
MLA, was also at the oreront. Residents o Paldi, rom where Shri Pandya was
elected, actually saw him lead arson attacks. Shri Pandya`s election promise the last
time was to wipe any trace o Muslims out o Paldi.` Smt. Maya Kotdani, an MLA,
has also been named by a ew dozen witnesses as an actie participant in the iolence.
Gujarat ministers Shri Nitin Patel and Shri Narayan Laloo Patel led iolence, arson
and een seual iolence against women in Kadi and Unja in Mehsana respectiely.
J.JJ. The utter disregard or the loss o lie and property and the anguish that a
section o the citizenry suered due to unprecedented iolence could be seen in the
act that until Prime Minister Shri Atal Behari \ajpayee lew into Ahmedabad and
isited the Shah-e-Alam Camp, Shri Modi had not isited a single one. This, despite
the act that there were as many as 66,000 persons, according to collector`s igures,
huddled in camps in Ahmedabad, while independent assessments put the igure at
close to 98,000. Instead o proiding succour and assistance, which is the undamen-
tal duty o a goernment towards its citizens, terror tactics through atli-wielding
policemen were employed with the residents o these camps. In areas o Gujarat
outside Ahmedabad, too, there were as many as 60,000 persons internally displaced,
liing in terrible conditions. But the goernment and the administration did precious
little to gie them prompt and adequate relie.
J.J2. The attitude o the goernment showed it had no regard or the lie, well-
being and uture o students rom the minority community. Traumatised and dis-
tressed students had requested a postponement o the annual eaminations. But the
state goernment, and later een the Gujarat High Court, rejected their plea. On
April 10, the Gujarat goernment took a decision to shit out all centres located in the
minority dominated areas, out o concern or the lies o students belonging to the
majority community. Howeer, minority community children were still epected to
trael to eamination centres located in majority dominated areas.
J.J3. The CM announced Rs. 2 lakh as compensation or the ictims,suriors o
the Godhra tragedy. But the compensation declared by the CM or the suriors o
the carnage that ollowed was Rs. 1 lakh or the amily members o each ictim.
Vhen widespread criticism was made about the discriminatory stand o the state,
the amount was equalised by reducing the compensation to the Godhra ictims` ami-
lies to Rs 1 lakh, rather than by increasing the amount to Rs 2 lakh in all cases., As o
now, there is no inormation on how many amilies concerned hae been paid the
compensation amount. As regards the injured, the goernment decided to pay com-
pensation amounts ranging rom Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 50,000. This compensation amount
was decided in accordance with the norms ied or the ictims o the earthquake on
January 26, 2001, a goernment notiication said. Here, again, there is no statistical
data oered. As regards the destruction o homes, properties and businesses, the
state goernment has been perunctory and callous in announcing compensation. There
are no clear guidelines, some hae been paid paltry sums ranging rom Rs. 500 to a
ew thousand rupees, without any proper assessment o the loss suered.
J.J4. On March 1, the CM announced a judicial commission o inquiry into the
Godhra tragedy alone, appointing retired judge, Shri KG Shah at its head. Again, only
ater widespread protests, did he announce the inclusion, in the terms o reerence o
inquiry o the judicial commission, o the post-Godhra carnage. On March 5., The
appointment o the KG Shah Commission was the subject matter o serious contro-
ersy because o the conduct o this particular judge in an earlier matter and also on
the simple ground that due to the situation in Gujarat, where judges, academics, pro-
essionals and others lie under threat o anatic groups who hae become a law unto
themseles, tle criteria of a free, fair av iveevevt ivqvir, evav. tle aoivtvevt of a
.evior vge (referab, vge., frov ovt.ie tle .tate. Now, the goernment has included
Justice GT Nanaaty ormer judge o the SC, as an additional member, without
speciying as to what would happen i the two judges dier on any matter.
The terms o reerence o the KG Shah Commission are also controersial. They
do not reer to the need to look into the cav.e. o the disturbances,eents,killings as
also the need to ivoivt the groups, indiiduals and organisations behind the iolent
proocation, and also the role o the police and the administration in controlling the
spread o riots and on the ailure o the state goernment in taking prompt and eec-
tie relie measures or the ictims o the riots.
J.JS. The RSS and the \HP control key unctionaries in the State. Chie minister Shri
Modi is an RSS raclara. Minister o state or home, Shri Zadaphiya, is a \HP actiist.
Shri SS Bhandari, the goernor o Gujarat, who has not deemed it it to send a true report
on what is happening in the state to the centre, is also an RSS leader. As a consequence o
all these actors, the Gujarat goernment has unctioned not as a constitutionally bound,
non-partisan and independent body, but one controlled by, and answerable to, the avgl
Parirar. The role and the unctioning o the Gujarat goernment, thereore, is directly
determined by its penetration by the avgl Parirar including its most etreme elements, the
\HP and Bajrang Dal. This act underlies the conduct o the Gujarat goernment beore,
during and ater the peak period o communal iolence in the state during lebruary-
March 2002. As a result, while the Goernment had made certain arrests, vo arre.t. of
aravg Da,1P av ]P rorer. rere vvertaev. The arrests o at least 150 such accused,
whose names igure in lIRs, are being aoided by the state goernment.
J.J6. Not only the criminal justice system, the entire Administration has ailed. IAS
and IPS oicers who are supposed to be independent, hae succumbed to the pres-
sure o the avgl Parirar. There is no ciil serice let in Gujarat,` said the ormer
Indian cabinet secretary Shri TSR Subramanian 1le Iviav re.., .ri 10,.Vhat
has happened is something much more undamental than Gujarat: The ciil serice is
gone. There is no such thing let. Oer the years, the ciil serice has turned rom a
steelrame to non-eistent. And that is a shattering thought.
Vhen the goernment wants something done it has the ability, it has the taat
strength,. It can do it in illage ater illage, town ater town. That it has not done so
in Gujarat is a telling indictment not only o the way o the present goernment, but
also the collapse o the police and ciil magistracy,`` he says.
J.J7. The goernment o Gujarat has been utterly secretie about the disbursal o the
Rs. 150 crores promised by the Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari \ajpayee or rehabilita-
tion on April 4, 2002. In all this, the conduct o the chie minister Shri Narendra Modi,
has not simply iolated the spirit and the law as laid down by the Indian Constitution.
He has, in eect, blatantly deied eery constitutional institution, including that o the
Prime Minister. Shri Narendra Modi is accountable or criminal negligence o duty in
ailing to proide any relie and rehabilitation to the ictims o carnage in Gujarat.
2. Role of Chief Minister and His Ministerial Colleagues
2.J. The acts mentioned in this report clearly establish that chie minister Shri
Narendra Modi is the chie Author and Architect o all that happened in Gujarat ater
the arson o lebruary 2, 2002. It is amply clear rom all the eidence placed beore
the Tribunal that what began in Godhra, could hae, gien the political will, beev
covtroe rovt, at Colra it.ef. Instead, the state goernment under chie minister
Shri Narendra Modi took an actie part in leading and sponsoring the iolence against
minorities all oer Gujarat. His words and actions throughout the deelopments in
Gujarat show that he has been openly deying the Constitution and indulging in ac-
tions which are positiely detrimental to the interests o the country.
2.2. Shri Modi was the one who took Godhra to the rest o Gujarat. He was the one
who directed the police and the administration not to act. He was the one who re-
used to help the likes o ormer member o Parliament, Shri Ahsan Jari and the
large number o people in Shri Jari `s home, who were all butchered later on.
2.3. He reused shelter and succour to the ictims o the carnage.
He reused, and continues to reuse, basic human amenities and was using coercion
and other tactics to wind up reugee relie camps.
2.4. He has reused to buy land and rehabilitate persons in new locations or to gie
transparent accounts o the Rs. 150 crore rehabilitation package announced by Prime
Minister Shri Atal Behari \ajpayee during his isit to the state on April 4, 2002. He
has no remorse or the rapes, the butcherings, the loss o properties, the agony o
displacement and the acute insecurity and lack o belonging elt by large numbers o
the people o Gujarat.
2.S. As late as September 3, 2002, the international working president o the \ishwa
Hindu Parishad, Shri Ashok Singhal made a shocking statement that receied wide
publicity, in which he described Gujarat as a successul eperiment` and warned that
it would be repeated all oer India. Shri Singhal urther stated that the success o the
Gujarat eepriment lay in the act that entire illages were purged` o Islam and
Muslims. This outrageous and pathetic statement was not only anti-constitutional but
also in iolation o the law itsel, or which he could be prosecuted. But Shri Modi, by
not epressing any outrage at Shri Singhal`s remarks, and by indulging in blatant mi-
nority-bashing himsel, appears to hae accepted Shri Singhal`s warning that what-
eer happened in Gujarat was an eperiment, a precursor o things to come in the rest
o the country. He has made no secret o his hatred or the minorities, and his utter-
ances rom time to time keep emphasising that he is still an RSS raclara propaga-
tor, with a hostile attitude. His role as CM is nothing short o an etension o his
unctioning as an RSS raclara.
2.6. It is unortunate that all his ministerial colleagues hae toed his line with no
regard to the oath that they took under the Indian Constitution. They are, thereore,
equally guilty o the commissions and omissions committed by the chie minister.
These rabid, communal, anti-national and anti-constitutional statements and conduct
on the part o the chie minister o Gujarat, Shri Narendra Modi and his cabinet
colleagues make them unit to hold any public oice. The interests o the people o
this country are not sae in their hands.
J.J. Lidence beore the Tribunal clearly establishes the absolute ailure o large sec-
tions o the Gujarat police to ulil their constitutional duty and preent mass massacre,
rape and arson - in short, to maintain law and order. Vorse still is the eidence o their
actie conniance and brutality, their indulgence in ulgar and obscene conduct against
women and children in ull public iew. It is as i, instead o being impartial keepers o
the rule o law, they were a part o the ivvtra brigade targeting helpless Muslims.
J.2. To start with, the Godhra incident would not hae taken place had the police
taken due precautions right rom the beginning. Gien Godhra`s history and communal
background, the police should hae maintained a strict igil as ar .era. crossed Godhra,
on their way to Ayodhya and on their return journey, more so because the climate in the
country was already tense because o the \HP`s Ayodhya plan. On their way to Ayodhya,
the ar .era. had indulged in proocatie acts at Godhra station. Despite these warning
signs, there was not enough deployment o orces. (ee clater ov Colra, 1ovve II,. In
the circumstances, one may well ask whether this was a case o intelligence ailure on
the part o the police orce, or a deliberate absence o pre-emptie action
J.3. Once the Godhra tragedy had occurred, the Gujarat police made no preentie
arrests. (ee .vvevre. Poice .tati.tic., 1ovve I,. The only two arrests made on lebruary
2 were those o Shri Mohammed Ismail Jalaluddin and Shri lateh Mohammed, who
were picked up at Astodia that night, or shouting slogans.
J.4. Signiicantly, the police waited in the wings as subsequent eents unolded. By
the eening o lebruary 2, the \HP had made its intentions apparent with its strident
call or a Gujarat avl` the net day and a Bharat avl` the day ater. Seeing the
Godhra incident as a maniestation o Islamic undamentalism`, the \HP gae a 24-
hour ultimatum to the state goernment to bring the culprits to book. Two years ago, in
the Gujarat avl it enorced on August 1, 2000, the \HP and the BJP had gone on the
rampage, destroying Muslim property worth Rs. 15 crore. (ee clater ov vi! iv Cvarat,
1ovve II,. This recent history alone should hae been suicient reason or the police to
make preentie arrests and take other precautionary measures.
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J.S Since 1998, there has been a prolieration o hate speech and incendiary pam-
phlets all oer Gujarat. The Gujarat goernment and the police had enough eidence
o this incendiary and proocatie literature, printed in hundreds o thousands and
thrust een on those opposed to the iolent brand o politics that they typiy. \arious
communal Hindu groups - Dlarav Ra.la aviti. Committee or Protecting Hin-
duism,, the \HP, the Bajrang Dal - hae been circulating these pamphlets inciting
its cadres to rape, humiliate, destroy and kill. As o early lebruary this year, a highly
proocatie pamphlet ehorting cadres to economically boycott Muslims was in cir-
culation throughout the state.Another anonymous pamphlet decreeing ilthy conduct
against Muslims, especially women, was not only in circulation but had it`s desired
eect as the bestiality o the iolence reeals. The Gujarat police are guilty o not
initiating or pursuing criminal action against the hate-mongers or our long years,
een ater hate speech and hate writing had requently been used to create an appro-
priate` social climate to precipitate iolence against the minorities. To argue that hate
speech is not related to engineered iolence would be puerile. In August 1998, the
\HP`s pamphlet, Onward To Sanjeli` resulted in anti-Muslim iolence in Sanjeli and
Randikpur. In December 1999, the avgl Parirar`. reign o terror in the Dangs in south
Gujarat was preceded by anti-Christian pamphlets that were distributed in lakhs. (ee
.vvevre., ate !ritivg, 1ovve I,.
J.6. There is adequate eidence recorded by the Tribunal rom rural and urban Gujarat,
which points to systematic data collection by the \HP,RSS,BD outits, aided by sections
o the state administration under the direct control o the raternal BJP. The ehaustie
surey included drawing up o lists using reenue and sales ta records, electoral rolls,
inormation rom the registrar o companies and door-to-door inormation collection dries
by .lala. cells, o these outits, to enable action, both precise and swit, at the right
time. Throughout the sinister planning and plotting, the Gujarat police maintained a dis-
creet distance, adopting a non-interering stance to blatantly unlawul actiities. On March
12, reiff.cov posted an interiew by the Gujarat \HP chie, KK Shastri on its website. He
reealed in the interiew: In the morning lebruary 28,, we sat down and prepared the
list o Muslim shops ands establishments to be targeted,. Ve were not prepared in ad-
ance.` The police hae not thought it ight to initiate any inquiry or action against Shri
Shastri despite his sel-conession o the \HP`s criminal misconduct.
J.7. The Tribunal receied direct inormation through a testimony rom a highly placed
source o a meeting where the chie minister, two or three senior cabinet colleagues, the
CP o Ahmedabad, and an IG police o the state were present. This meeting took place
on the late eening o lebruary 2. The meeting had a singular purpose: the senior-most
police oicials were told that they should epect a Hindu reaction` ater Godhra. They
were also told that they should not do anything to contain this reaction.
J.8. The Tribunal also has eidence o a secret meeting, held late in the eening o
lebruary 2, in Lunaada illage o Sabarkantha district. Between 3 and 6 p.m., a call
was made rom the house o Dr. \ogesh Ramanlal Pandya, in Godhra to Dr. Anil
Patel a member o the Gujarat Doctor`s Cell,, intimating him about the meeting. A
call was also made to the police housing corporation chairman, Dr. Chandrakanth
Pandya rom Kalol,. Shri Ashok Bhatt, the state health minister who was then sitting in
the Godhra collectorate, was also intimated about the meeting. Transport minister, Shri
Prabhat Singh Chauhan, who hails rom Panchmahal, was reportedly also called to attend.
One AP Pandya was also present at the meeting. The phone calls were made to inite 50
top people o the BJP,RSS,BD,\HP and the plan was to assemble them at someone`s
house in Lunaada Sabarkantha,. lity top people, the Tribunal was told, met at this
undisclosed destination and detailed plans were made on the use o kerosene, petrol or
arson and other methods o killing. The state intelligence did not or could not track such
meetings and preparations or the gruesome iolence that was to ollow.
J.9. On the night o lebruary 2, some companies o the State Resere Police
SRP, were rustled into action: one was sent to Godhra rom SRP Group-III Naroda,
and another to Ahmedabad rural. Some more companies rom Ghodasar were moed
into parts o Ahmedabad by early morning. But they were split into groups o our or
ie jawans each, which rendered them largely ineectie against the mobs that went
on the rampage on lebruary 28.
J.J0. The police tried their best, but they couldn`t stop the mobs. They were grossly
outnumbered when the mobs grew,` Ahmedabad`s police commissioner, Shri PC Pandey
had pleaded. But in most cases, inadequacy o orces is a mere ecuse touted by
sering police oicers who ail in their primary duty. Len in Gujarat this time, in
seeral cases where good oicers held out against political pressure, the same small
deployment was enough to act decisiely and control the situation. In the ast major-
ity o cases, howeer, the police either did not act or acted on behal o the mob.
J.JJ. PC Pandey publicly changed his stand our months later when, on June 1,
2002, in an interiew he stated that \HP and BD were responsible or the iolence
in the state.` (reiff.cov.ee Detaie avvevre., 1ovve III,.
J.J2. On the eening o lebruary 2, DD telecast the statements o DGP Gujarat,
Shri K Chakraarty: As a precautionary measure, since there was a possibility o a
lare-up, the district authorities hae imposed curew in Godhra town and in all other
sensitie towns in Gujarat, especially the towns and cities which are coming on the
train route, maimum alert was kept. The entire state police machinery has been put
on red alert. The state resere battalions hae been positioned in all the communally
sensitie areas and instructions hae been gien to all the SPs and the commissioners
to take strict action against all anti-social elements and such action is already is in
progress. since the incident took place all o a sudden, there was no possibility o
that being preented.` In retrospect, these comments proed to be arcical, gien the
sheer inadequacy and complicity o the police the ery net day.
J.J3. The shocking leels o police complicity in the Gujarat carnage cannot be
oer-emphasised. On lebruary 28, o the 40 persons shot dead by the police in
Ahmedabad city, 36 were Muslims. This, despite the act that it was the minority
community which was being targeted by huge and well-armed mobs on that day, at
both Naroda Gaon and Patiya as well as Chamanpura. (ee .vvevre, Poice tati.tic.,
1ovve I,. Among the numerous instances o the police making ictims the target, is
also one that took place on April 15, when two persons belonging to the minority
community, Shri Ayub Khan Pathan being one o them, were shot dead at Dariapur,
Ahmedabad. The police was eectiely aiding an attacking mob that was pelting
stones on the hapless Muslim residents in the area. Len minors were shot at, a ew
atally, by the police. (ee .vvevre., Poice: Dereictiov of Dvt,, 1ovve I,.
Gujarat Police has inally admitted that it killed more Muslims than Hindus in its
ostensible attempts to stop what was clearly targeted Hindu iolence against Mus-
lims. O the 184 people who died in police iring since the iolence began, 104 are
Muslims, says a report drated by Gujarat police orce itsel. This statistic substanti-
ates the allegations o riot ictims rom irtually eery part o the state that not only
did the local police not do anything to stop the Hindu mobs, they actually turned their
guns on the helpless Muslim ictims.
At some places in the state though, this trend, o more Muslims alling to police
bullets than Hindus, was reersed. In both Bhanagar and Banaskantha districts, ie
Hindus died in police iring on rioters. No Muslim was killed in Banaskantha, only
one died in Bhanagar. The superintendents o police o both districts were promptly
remoed rom their posts. The number o Muslim and Hindu deaths in police iring,
despite haing been computed by the Gujarat police, hae, so ar, not been released.
Coming out with the truth would only inlame the situation, it is eared.
J.J4. Shri Pandey`s comments, telecast during the Newshour` bulletin o tar èr.
on lebruary 28, on the role o the police under his command was telling: These
people also, they somehow get carried away by the oerall general sentiment. That`s
the whole trouble. The police are equally inluenced by the oerall general senti-
ments.` Here we hae a top police oicial being indulgent towards his policemen who
somehow` get carried away by general sentiments`, when the least that could be
epected o him would be a categorical assertion that those in the orce who had
ailed to enorce the rule o law` were a disgrace to the uniorm they donned and
would themseles be punished in accordance with the law.
J.JS. Shri Pandey pronounced on Newshour` tar èr., on March 2: The situa-
tion is well within control. In act, it is ast returning to normal. So we hope that
within the net maybe 12-24 hours, we would hae complete peace.` The people o
Ahmedabad who lied in terror until late April know otherwise.
J.J6. The police did not een conduct the mandatory police drill. They did not een
ollow basic procedure stipulated or such circumstances. It did not contact religious
and community leaders to make appeals or peace, nor did it take steps to arrest the
culprits and gie support to the ictims.
J.J7. On lebruary 28, as careully planned mass killings were engineered in 30
dierent locations all oer the state, two senior cabinet ministers sat in the police
control room in Ahmedabad and the state police control room in Gandhinagar and
directly inluenced police action, or inaction. Gujarat`s health minister, Shri Ashok
Bhatt - who, incidentally, aces a criminal charge or the murder o a police head
constable, Desai, on April 22, 1985 at Khadia in Ahmedabad - was in the police
control room PCR, at the Ahmedabad police commissionerate in Shahibaug or more
than three hours on lebruary 28. And urban deelopment minister, Shri IK Jadeja who
is considered Modi`s right hand man, had parked himsel in the state police control
room at Gandhinagar or our hours rom 11 a.m. onwards on the same day. Commis-
sioner Pandey`s untenable eplanation is that they were only there to acilitate the easy
low o goernment directions, as union deence minister George lernandes was to
arrie in the city on March 1. In a crisis situation, the control room is a critical area o
operation since this is one place where eery bit o inormation is sent to and receied
rom arious locations in the city, or the entire state. The oicer-in-charge o the con-
trol room is always kept inormed on wireless about what is happening. To hae cabinet
ministers sitting inside the state and city police control rooms can mean only one thing:
they were there to inluence the independent unctioning o the police. The actions and
non-actions o the Gujarat police on that day and thereater, are, barring a ew sterling
eceptions, proo o the partisan, political control oer the police.
J.J8. The police chies o Ahmedabad, \adodara, Rajkot, Mehsana, Panchmahal,
Dahod and Sabarkantha stand indiidually indicted or their ailure to control unprec-
edented iolence under their respectie jurisdictions. The SPs o seeral o Gujarat`s
24 districts are also directly culpable. (ee clater i.t of .ccv.e: Poicevev, 1ovve II,.
The general message sent out to the police was: minimum response to panic calls and
minimal action thereater, indulgence towards armed mobs as they went about their
business o killing, rape, loot and arson, either non-registration or tailoring o com-
plaints rom ictims. It is unpardonable that the police obeyed such unwritten direc-
tions rom Shri Modi and other political bosses.
J.J9. The Tribunal has enough eidence to establish that the Gujarat carnage was
not simply a case o ailure or abdication o duty, in ar too many cases, the police
were accomplices in the carnage. (ee .ectiov ov Ivcievt. of 1ioevce, 1ovve I,. Ve recall
here just a ew o the most glaring instances o obious police complicity:
On lebruary 28, ormer Congress MP, Shri Ahsan Jari rom the Gulberg society
in Chamanpura, made repeated rantic calls pleading or police assistance against a
huge mob in a murderous mood. He kept calling the control room or seeral hours,
until, inally, with no one to check the mob, he was charred to death along with 65 o
his relaties and neighbours. Pleading anonymity, police oicials who met the Tribu-
nal conirmed that Shri Jari had also made rantic calls to the director general o
police, the police commissioner, the chie secretary and the additional chie secretary
home, among others. Three mobile ans o the city police were on hand around Shri
Jari`s house but did not interene. linally, when he came out o his house with olded
hands and appealed to the crowd to spare all the others who had taken shelter in his
house, the marauders cut him to pieces and then consigned him to lames. They also
set ire to the house in an attempt to burn alie all those who were in the house. It was
only vive lovr. later that the Rapid Action lorce RAl, o the central goernment
interened, by which time it was ar too late.
At around the same time as the carnage in Chamanpura was taking place, the
massacre in Naroda Patiya began, in which, by the end o the day, oer 91 Muslims
had been torched. Oer two dozen suriors rom Naroda Gaon and Naroda Patiya
who appeared beore the Tribunal said that they had attempted oer a hundred dis-
tress calls to the police commissioner and other police oicers or help, all in ain.
They said that the commissioner`s mobile was permanently switched o. The re-
sponse rom most o the other top oicers - additional CPs and DCPs - was equally
callous. Police inally arried only around 11 p.m.
Shri KK Mysorewala, police inspector, Naroda police station, was indicted by
seeral eyewitnesses or being a mere bystander, watching the massacre o helpless
men, women and children at Naroda Gaon and Patiya.
The police could not, or did not, respond to pleas or protection to a retired and
a sitting judge o the Ahmedabad high court Justice Akbar Diecha and Justice MH
Kadri respectiely,, compelling them to seek army help on the night o lebruary 28-
March 1. None less than the sitting chie justice o the Gujarat High Court told his
brother judges not to rely on the police.
The police did nothing while a ery large number o shops, hotels and business
premises were looted and burnt. Almost nine months ater the carnage, they hae
made no attempt to recoer the goods looted een by people rom educated, rich and
middle-class backgrounds. In all probability, the looted goods could be recoered rom
the homes o the culprits een today.
The state police was nowhere to be seen as huge mobs comprising seeral thou-
sands looted and torched Muslim property, rom arms to actories large and small, on the
Ahmedabad-Modasa highway, the Baroda-Godhra road and the Sanjeli,Randhikpur-Baria
road in broad daylight. Armed mobs wreaked haoc all oer, their actions co-ordinated by
troop leaders who issued instructions on their mobile phones as they were drien around
on motorcycles. These motorcycle riders would track leeing Muslims and instruct mobs
that would soon close in on them to rape, brutalise, hack and kill. This was particularly the
case on the Godhra-Modasa route, which runs through Panchmahal district. There was no
patrolling o the highways in Gujarat, which only demonstrates the police`s utter igno-
rance o, i not indierence to, the vov. oeravi o the avgl Parirar leadership and cadre
who hae consistently mocked the law and order machinery in the past two years.
In the Best Bakery Case in \adodara, policemen rom the Panigate police
station simply droe by the bakery, totally unmindul o the huge mob that had en-
circled it. Not long ater that, 14 persons were burned alie.
Vhen \adodara`s commissioner o police, Shri DD Tuteja was contacted by con-
cerned citizens and traumatised suriors to protest against the oerall ailure o the
police to respond to complaints, he is claimed to hae remarked, .aa vavar i.a
aav arega?` Vho`s work would your serant do`,, implying that the police is subser-
ient to the ruling party in power. In the meeting which he agreed to hae with the Tribu-
nal and which lasted or seeral hours, Shri Tuteja was urbane throughout and kept insist-
ing that he and his police orce did the best that was possible in the circumstances.
The loot and plunder o the home o senior citizen and prominent human rights actiist,
proessor Jussar Bandukwala in \adodara city also eposes the police. Shri Bandukwala
chose to lie in a Hindu dominated Sama, society. Howeer, his home could not be saed.
The Panchmahal and Dahod police were party and priy to the burning alie
and hacking o illagers. The police posted at Anjanwa, Mora, Pandharwada illages,
as also those near Limkheda and Limwada and latehpura Dahod district, did noth-
ing to stop the killings. The Mehsana district police were also guilty o the same
misconduct, when they ailed to preent massacres like the ones at Sardarpura, \isnagar
and Unjha. Similarly, in Anand and Kheda districts where massacres hae taken place,
the police presence was o no help. Detailed testimonies recorded rom Ankleshwar
and Bharuch also reeal complete dereliction o duty by the police.
J.20. One o the most shocking aspects o the Gujarat carnage was that the
constituencies o some ministers and sitting MLAs were the arena or the worst
incidents o carnage. Bapunagar in Ahmedabad, one o the worst aected areas, is
the home constituency o the minister o state or home, Shri Gordhan Zadaphiya.
Paldi, Ahmedabad is the constituency o Shri Haren Pandya, ormer state home minis-
ter and, until recently, reenue minister in Shri Modi`s cabinet. Shri Nitin Patel, also a
state cabinet minister, is charged with leading the iolence including seual assault o
a woman, in Kadi, Mehsana district. Shri Nararayan Patel is transport minister in Shri
Modi`s cabinet, rom Unjha in Mehsana district who allegedly inspired and abetted mob
iolence, including seual assault and arson. Rajkot, rom where Shri Modi recently won
an election, had neer witnessed a riot beore. Shri Prabhatsinh Chauhan, transport
minister rom Panchmahal has been directly indicted by witnesses. Shri Ashok Bhatt,
state health minister, is named in the eidence o ictims. In all these areas, the police
took no preentie steps, worse, in areas like Paldi, Gomtipur and many district places,
many eyewitnesses hae charged them with helping and een leading mobs.
J.2J. To begin with, police ailure to quash rumours, deliberately loated to inlame
passion and uel iolence, is unpardonable. Justice Jagmohan Reddy`s commission o
inquiry report ater the 1969 iolence has recommended detailed methods or the po-
lice, especially to tackle rumour. These should be reised and re-interpretated gien the
act that 33 years hae elapsed and immediately implemented. ee Detaie .vvevre.,
1ovve III,. In addition, rom lebruary 2 to April 10, it ailed miserably in taking deci-
sie action to control the iolence that ollowed. The daily newspaper ave.l was used
to actiely promote ear and insecurity in the minds o the majority while the minority
was being targeted. Howeer, the police did precious little to diuse the situation.
J.22. As i this were not bad enough, the police itsel committed atrocities against
Muslims, especially in \adodara Bahar Colony, Noor Park and other areas, and
Ahmedabad Gomtipur and elsewhere,. Len women were beaten and thrashed, oten
on their breasts and aginas. In act, such widespread seual misbehaiour o the police
with Muslim women marks a new low in police misconduct against the minorities.
J.23. It is a matter o public knowledge that in the past 3-4 years the \HP and the
Bajrang Dal hae distributed tri.lv. on a large scale in Gujarat. Barely disguised as a
religious symbol`, tri.lv. are sharp, three-pronged weapons that can easily cause atal
injury. These organisations hae had no qualms in publicising their arms training camps,
een or young children and women. Vitnesses rom the area who deposed beore the
Tribunal said that Kathwada, near Mehmdaad in Kheda district, is one o the loca-
tions that the avgl Parirar combine allegedly used or training in the use o weapons
and techniques o killing. The Gujarat police cannot pretend to be unaware o the
regular camps that hae been conducted in recent years, arming and training bands o
youth. Besides, as is eident rom the track record o these outits that in Gujarat, and
elsewhere in the country, the \HP,BD hae requently disturbed peace and harmony.
\et the Gujarat police took no steps to seize the weapons, stop the training camps or act
against its practitioners in any other way. Signiicantly, een ater the carnage, the distri-
bution o tri.lv., swords and other arms continued in Gujarat until late March. It was
only in mid-April, ater the orgy o iolence had claimed a ery large number o ictims
and more or less run its course, did the police inally seize arms in Bejalpur, Shahpur,
Maninagar, \atwa and Kalupur in Ahmedabad. Howeer, there has been no prosecu-
tion, no arrest o persons indulging in such acts, no seizure o the tri.lv. and swords
distributed on such a large scale. Carrying weapons that can be used to kill is an oence
and the police should hae taken action against the oenders right at the outset.
J.24. In one case, on May 16, the Rajkot police did seize 10 swords rom Mansukh
Patel, a BD actiist, and or which they arrested him. This time it was SM Soni, the
irst class judicial magistrate who let the accused o lightly.
J.2S. Police conduct ater the Gujarat carnage, with regard to the registration o crimes,
conducting o inestigations etc., has been marked by a desire to please political bosses
and an utter disregard or the law o the land. This is nothing but calculated miscarriage o
justice. The police are required to ile separate lIRs or each incident. Instead, separate
incidents o crime committed by dierent aggressors at dierent places at dierent times
hae been clubbed together in single omnibus lIRs. Pavclvava. hae either been made 3-
4 weeks ater the incidents or not at all. Also, i the charge-sheets iled in the Gulberg
Chamanpura,, Naroda Gaon and Patiya massacres are anything to go by, the names o
the main accused hae been coneniently dropped. Vorse still, in places like Pandharwada,
Anjanwa, Mora Panchmahal district,, Randhikpur and Sanjeli, latehpur and Dailol Dahod
district, as well as in illages in Bharuch, Sabarkantha, Mehsana and Himmatnagar dis-
tricts, the Tribunal has eidence o the police bullying ictim-suriors into iling lIRs
wherein only mobs are mentioned, without naming the assailants and mob leaders whom
the ictim-suriors had clearly recognised during the incidents o iolence. The CPs o
Ahmedabad and \adodara are also culpable or similar police misconduct.
J.26. In ar too many incidents o iolence, the police reused to interene, sided
with the perpetrators o crimes, itsel indulged in criminal acts, and denied curew
passes to social workers and human rights actiists who, at great risk to lie and limb,
moed around nonetheless at the height o the iolence, in a bid to restore peace.
J.27. The police completely ailed in proiding protection to relie camps shelter-
ing traumatised and desperate suriors, or as long as si months in many cases.
J.28. Police conduct in compiling data and statistics about the loss o lie, destruc-
tion o property, missing persons, too, has been totally callous to say the least.
J.29. Covtivvivg rioevce: In Ahmedabad city, \adodara, Himmatnagar, and Mehsana
district, where iolence continued unabated, as also in places like Panchmahal dis-
trict, Rajkot and Bhanagar where sporadic incidents occurred, the police inspired no
conidence amongst the aected, een ater the irst round o brutalities. It is respon-
sible or highly dubious conduct rom mid-March to mid-May. On the ee o PM Atal
Behari \ajpayee`s isit to Ahmedabad on April 4, the police led an assault against
Muslims in the curew-ridden parts o Gomtipur. In the presence o Shri Parmar, an
oicial rom the Ahmedabad collectorate, the police led by PI, SD Sharma, set upon
the 50 reugees o the Suleiman Roza Relie Camp behind Nutan Mills,, Saraspur,
and actually shot two persons, Shri Pirujbhai Mohammad Sheikh 30, and Smt.
Khatoonbi Sharuddin Saiyed 45,. As a result, the 50-strong camp was wound up
under threat o iolence. On April 3, Adocate Shri Nizam was shot dead by the
police inside his home while Dr. Ishaq Sheikh, ice-president o the Al Ameen Garib
Niwas Hospital, was brutally assaulted. (ee .ectiov Ivcievt. of 1ioevce: Covtivvivg 1io
evce, 1ovve I,. On April 14, the police shot dead two more persons at Dariapur, een as
they were being attacked by a iolent mob. The Tribunal is certain that the number o
lies lost due to deliberate police criminality is astronomically high. These igures are
being withheld by the state goernment., All its acts o commission and omission are
suicient to indict the Gujarat police beore any orum or justice.
J.30. As late as Noember 12, as CLC, JM Lyngdoh, was isiting the state to oersee
operations or sae elections, rampaging mobs terrorised Muslim amilies who had re-
turned rom Dasaj town to their nearby illages Mehrwada, Jaska and Kohda Mehsana
district,. Minister Narayan Laloo Patel was actiely inoled in instigating the iolence
and the SP Arun Sharma did not quite inspire conidence among the targeted community.
2 Communalisation of the Police Administration
2.J. Lidence beore the Tribunal clearly indicates that since the assumption o
power by the BJP in Gujarat in lebruary 1998, there was a calculated moe to side-
line Muslim police oicers. Muslim oicers were gien non-eecutie posts. they
were assigned to crime inestigation etc.,. The eight Muslim oicers, rom a total o
141 IPS oicers in the state, were kept away rom decision-making posts.
2.2. The Tribunal notes with shock that, as a result o this discriminatory practice by
the Gujarat goernment, the younger batch o Muslim IPS oicers who joined serice
in `92-`93 hae not known eecutie policing because they hae simply been denied the
opportunity to test their eecutie capabilities.
2.3. Gujarat is the only state in the country where IPS oicers who are Muslim hae
neer been assigned the post o deputy SP o police. lor an IPS oicer, the charge o SP,
or DySP is a critical training opportunity to gain in eecutie and superisory eperience.
2.4. The Tribunal recorded the testimonies o many police oicials who, or obi-
ous reasons, cannot be identiied. In eery police clori, the normal practice is to
make head constables in-charge o a beat or outpost. Since the BJP assumed power in
Gujarat, it has ensured that in the ew instances where a head constable might be a
Muslim, he would not be in-charge o the beats,outposts under the clori.
2.S. Lidence led beore the Tribunal indicates that ministers in the BJP goern-
ment in Gujarat made public statements to ensure that Muslims in the state`s police
orce were sidelined. lor instance, in 1999, Shri Mahen Triedi, the minister o state
or home, stated publicly at a police unction: Ve hae told you that we don`t want
Muslims in controlling posts. Vhy is he posted there` Conidential testimony o
police oicers beore the Tribunal,.
2.6. Currently, there are 65 Muslims in police serice, at the DySP and inspector le-
els, in Gujarat. Vith the eception o one, who has a close relationship with a minister, the
rest hae all been shunted to CID crime, computer training, ciil deence and railways.
2.7. Discrimination in the police orce is in line with the discrimination in other
goernment departments in the state. In the three critical goernment departments
concerned with recruitment - the Gujarat Public Serice Commission, GPSC,, the
Panchayat Serice Selection Board and the Gram Sea Samiti - there is not a single
member rom any minority community. In the ital departments o goernment -
establishment, recruitment, law and order, inance and loans department, there are no
minority persons at all. This is blatantly anti-constitutional as it iolates the principles
o non-discrimination and equal opportunity.
2.8. Politicians o all hues resort to punitie transers, which only reinorces the
ot reiterated demand or an independent police orce in the country. (ee clater. ov
Di.tvrbivg 1rev. iv tle Iviav Poice c Recovvevatiov., 1ovve II,. In Gujarat, such
transers take place at the behest o the avgl Parirar.
2.9. Ater the carnage, seeral police oicers suered or their upright behaiour
in controlling iolence and preenting urther loss o lie. lrom the eidence placed
beore the Tribunal these are:
K lri 1ire rira.tara, P, Kvtcl: The young oicer arrested a Home Guard com-
mandant ater he assaulted a Muslim woman. The commandant is a known \HP
worker. Shri Sriastaa was shunted to the post o SP Prohibition,.
K lri Prareev Covia, DCP Zove I1, .lveaba Cit,: Shri Gondia registered lIRs
against prominent BJP and \HP leaders or their role in the rioting. He was trans-
erred to Ciil Deence.
K lri ivav.lv latt, P, ava.avtla: He suspended a sub-inspector who had
allowed a Hindu mob to plunder a illage in the district. The PSI is close to seeral
BJP and \HP leaders. Shri Bhatt was transerred to the Intelligence Bureau.
K lri Ralv larva, P, larvagar: The riots erupted when he had only been in
charge or 25 days. Shri Sharma ired on a mob that was trying to set a vara..a
school, on ire, and put all its leaders behind bars. By his irm act, 400 young lies were
saed. A local BJP leader wanted the culprits released but Shri Sharma reused to oblige.
The oicer is now DCP Control Room,. On March 1, the 1992-batch oicer broke up
a rally led by a Shi Sena leader and \HP actiists. lor seeral days, Shri Sharma held
his ground, resisting pressure rom BJP MLAs, minister o state or home, Shri Gordhan
Zadaphiya and others. Vhen leaders in the rally including the SS leader, Shri Kishore
Bhatt and 21 \HP actiists raised inlammatory slogans, the SP issued instructions or
their immediate arrest. This brought the situation under immediate control.
On the eening o March 1, when mobs were prowling the streets, the Bhanagar
police, who had neer aced a riot beore, momentarily seemed to lose conidence.
Sensing that my men were hesitating, I got out and ired the irst round and they
immediately joined me. Ve managed to disperse the mob and did not allow them to
regroup,` Shri Sharma had told the press at the time. lor this, he had to ace the heat
rom political bosses. The BJP MLA, Shri Sunil Oza, called up Sharma, accusing him
o stirring up trouble by arresting Sena and \HP leaders. The MLA, in act, threat-
ened the police, saying that i the arrested were not released, it would cause a serious
law and order problem. But the police stuck to their principles.
Shri Oza is reported to hae then eerted pressure on the DGP`s oice, but ater
considering the case, the DGP`s oice chose not to pressurise Shri Sharma. They then
tried to instigate riots to get Shri Sharma into trouble. All o a sudden, 22 incidents were
reported rom his district. That is when the police decided to use orce. The Bhanagar
police were on their toes, opening ire whereer and wheneer necessary. By March 3,
there was nothing to report but peace. Vhen the Army eentually reached Bhanagar, it
had little to do. But the intererence did not stop here. Shri Zadaphiya called up the
Bhanagar city police and told them not to register cases against those injured in police
iring. The police reused to oblige. Shri Sharma paid the price or his uprightness.
K lri .it rira.tara, PI, Khanpur police station, sureillance branch, Ahmedabad
city: On lebruary 28, this oicer saed the lies o 35 Muslim women who were
trapped inside some hutments with a mob surrounding them within his jurisdiction. It
took him oer 40 minutes to conince the women to trust an oicer. He then risked
his lie and limb by jumping into the ire that had already started and ortunately
saed them. Later that day, around 8 p.m., while he was in the Madhopur police
station area, Shri Sriastaa risked his let or the second time the same day to rescue
134 Muslims surrounded by an oer 20,000-strong mob. In the process, he preented
what could ery likely hae been two more incidents o ghastly massacre in
Ahmedabad city.
K lri liravav ]la av lri 1M Pargli, aitiova CP av DCP of .lveaba:
They were transerred on April 8 and appointed as DIG, Armed Unit, Rajkot and
commandant o SRP, Group Light, Gondal, respectiely. Shri Parghi was the oicer
who beat up journalists at the Gandhi Ashram on April 8, while Shri Jha had admon-
ished him and tried to do his duty.
K lri 1ivo Ma, P vrevravagar: lor haing eiciently controlled iolence and
oiled attempts at proocation in his district, he was gien a promotion posting in
Ahmedabad which eectiely depried him o direct charge o a district.
2.J0. The Gujarat goernment under the BJP has used the IB Intelligence Bureau,
to promote the savgl arirar`. political agenda o targeting the minority community. In
the past, police stations maintained details o places o residence and business o
members rom the minority community, to ensure them protection wheneer neces-
sary. The present goernment grossly misused the IB machinery to ind out who lied
where, making their cadre`s job o loot and arson easy.
2.JJ. A secret circular, issued by Gujarat`s director o police intelligence, to the
top brass o the state police in 1999, reeals the hostile attitude o the BJP-led state
goernment towards Muslims oer the last three years. The circular directed all police
commissioners, district police oicers and range IGPs,DIGPs to intimate details o
persons Muslims, inoled in communal riots which occurred in their city,district
during the last ie years - iz., oence registration section, place, what was the
judgement by court, how many times the person was booked under CrPC Sections
10,151,110, or PASA, NASA.` According to the circular No. D 2,2, Com,Mus-
lim,Actiity,84,99 o 1,2-2-99,, the district police oicials and others were asked
to intimate to the state, how many darul ulmas vara..a., were unctioning in their
districts,cities and where they are located.`
2.J2. The present goernment had attempted to use the police to put together a
selectie census o Christians and Muslims but was compelled to withdraw ater a
nation-wide protest. The Gujarat police, under instructions rom the goernment,
instituted a Cell to Monitor Inter-Community Marriages`, a step that is in gross iola-
tion o the Indian Constitution. That the police could undertake such actiity with-
out questioning its inherent anti-constitutional and sectarian basis is a sorry relection
on the state o the Indian police.
2.J3. One o the graest charges made by the ictim-suriors and also senior police
oicers too who deposed beore the Tribunal, is o the great danger to the neutrality o the
Gujarat police orce by oert and coert measures to iniltrate it with persons owing alle-
giance to the thinking and mind-set o the RSS,\HP,BD and BJP. The dangers o such
deelopments cannot be oer-stated. Instead o a man or a woman wedded to constitu-
tionalism and attendant alues, the result o such placements could be a police oicial
who does not care to protect lies without ear or aour, regardless o caste, creed and
community. He or she is more concerned with urthering a particular thinking that has on
many an occasion in the present been the cause o the perpetration o iolence.
2.J4. Some lists o politically conenient appointments to the police department
were placed beore the Tribunal. (ee o, avgl èv. ritl Poice,. This needs urther
inestigation and, i true, the situation must be redressed. This is imperatie i a clean
and politically untarnished police orce is to be put in place to ensure justice and peace.
2.JS. Apart rom the police, the BJP has illed seeral posts within the
state`s Home Guards with members o the \HP. The head o the Home Guards in
Mehsana district is also a senior \HP unctionary. Signiicantly, the public prosecu-
tor in Mehsana district, Dilip Triedi, is also the \HP`s district chie. Moreoer, the
district magistrate,collector, Amrut Patel is a close relatie o Shri Narayan Laloo
Patel, a BJP minister and one o the prime accused or leading attacks in the district,.
There is a policy decision under the Home Guards` scheme to create a new post,
.vra.la .ala,` security assistant, akin to the eisting post o .li.la .ala,` assis-
tant teacher, Under this scheme, policemen are hired on a monthly remuneration o
Rs 2,500 or our years. The recruitment procedure is a loc and does not ollow the
normal rules. The intention is, obiously, to make them permanent ater our years.
Oer the last 5 years more than 8,000 \HP workers hae been inducted into the state
Home Guards, with many district chies being \HP oice-bearers. The Home Guard`s
position is a critical one or the maintenance o law and order in rural areas. Through
massie iniltration oer the past our years, the BJP and its rabid wings hae irtually
taken control o the Home Guards machinery. The act that in the testimonies re-
corded by the Tribunal ictim suriors spoke o the launching o attacks on their
persons and property by Home Guards is both shocking and reealing. (ee .ectiov ov
Ivcievt. of 1ioevce, 1ovve I,.
2.J6. The intense insecurity elt by Muslims in Gujarat is borne out by the act that
een Muslim policemen are,were araid to put name tags on their uniorms and had
sought special permission to be on duty without their name tags. Special IG, Shri AI
Saiyed, with oer 25 years o serice, was asked to help a group on his way to Karai
in Gandhinagar district. Vhen Shri Saiyed tried to help the hapless people, he was
himsel attacked when the mob saw his name.
2.J7. On May 3, the police made attempts to restore peace, by sering notices on many
.aravcle. who ailed to inorm the authorities about the iolence in their illages.` More
than two dozen .aravcle. in Chhotaudaipur, Kanwat and Pai Jetpur tava. were shocked
when they receied notices under section 40 o the Criminal Procedure Code CrPC,
asking them to eplain why they did not inorm the police when mobs ran riot.
2.J8. The Tribunal was inormed that police only wanted to keep the .aravcle. on
alert and was not intent on pursing the notices seriously. The idea was merely to ensure
that they would preent urther iolence in their areas. Contrary to what the police had
epected, none o the .aravcle. diulged the names o persons inoled in riots. The
notices require the .aravcle. to appear and eplain their side o the story to the police.
2.J9. The height o the ear and aour` policy o the current political dispensation
is borne out by CM Modi`s treatment o senior oicials. On September 18, the Gujarat
state intelligence bureau chie and his two deputies were summarily transerred on
punishment postings because tar èr. gained access to police tapes on Shri Modi`s
shocking anti-Muslim remarks made at Bahucharaji near Mehsana on September 9,
2002. The additional director general o police Shri Srikumar was transerred to the
police reorms department. He had joined the state IB just our months earlier. Deputy
inspector general o police, Shri L Radhakrishna, in-charge o political and commu-
nal aairs, was transerred to Junagadh as principal o the Police Training College,
while DCP, Shri Sanji Bhatt, in-charge o internal security, was transerred as princi-
pal o the State Resere Police Training College.
2.20. The Tribunal is o the iew that a signiicant section o the Gujarat police is
guilty o gross dereliction o duty and o louting the Indian Constitution and Indian
criminal law. Thereore, all the indiidual policemen named by the Tribunal in the list
o accused must be promptly prosecuted. The shameul and brazenly partisan con-
duct o the police in the Gujarat carnage is a blot on Indian democracy and Indian
secularism. Our democratic and secular credentials are truly tested only in times o
such acute crisis. In such situations, the police hae been utterly partisan and commu-
nal, repeatedly ailing to protect and een themseles trampling on the undamental
rights o India`s religious minorities. This highly disturbing trend needs to be dealt
with urgently and comprehensiely.
3. Legal Remedies
3.J. Sections 10-110 and sections 143-152 o the Criminal Procedure Code CrPC,
gie adequate rerevtire and vvitire powers and deem it the vt, o district magistrates
and police chies to preent breach o peace and ensure the rule o law. They hae
the power and the duty to:
K Demand eecution o bonds, with or without security, rom persons likely to
commit breach o peace sec 10,,
K Demand security or good behaiour rom any person who intentionally dissemi-
nates or attempts to disseminate or abets the dissemination o any material that is
likely to incite communal passion or religious hatred sec 108,,
K Demand security or good behaiour rom suspected persons sec 109,,
K Demand security or good behaiour rom habitual oenders sec 110,,
K Prohibit repetition or continuance o public nuisance sec 143,,
K Issue orders in urgent cases o nuisance or apprehended danger sec 144,,
K Arrest without warrant sec 145-148,,
K Preent cognisable oences sec 149,,
K Inorm to immediate seniors, o design to commit cognisable oences
sec 150,,
K Arrest to preent the commission o cognisable oences sec 151,,
K Preent damage to public property sec 152,.
I the aboe-mentioned proisions o the CrPC spell out the powers and duties o
district magistrates and police chies to ensure the rule o law, the All India Serice
Rules 1969, proides or the punishment o errant IAS and IPS oicials:
3.2. Apart rom iolating Indian penal and constitutional law, dereliction o duty is a
clear iolation o the All India Serices Discipline and Appeal, Rules, 1969, Part III -
Penalties and Disciplinary Authorities`. Under these rules, there area, ei.t proisions or
the dismissal rom serice o IAS and IPS oicials guilty o any act or omission which
renders him liable to any penalty speciied in rule 6.Ì (ee Detaie .vvevre., 1ovve III,.
4. Communalisation of the Bureaucracy
4.J. The Tribunal has receied substantial eidence o the deep communalisation
o the state bureaucracy. Collectors and deputy collectors are appointed on the basis
o political epediency. Again, in these posts they do not perorm their constitutional
duty. They hae in act been suberting basic rights guaranteed through the Indian
Constitution and to which they are sworn, whether in the matter o relie and reha-
bilitation or compensation claims or law and order. The Tribunal, or instance, re-
ceied speciic complaints about three deputy collectors rom Naroda, Rakhial and
Ahmedabad city who hae not only sered more than their our-year term but are
patronised by BJP MLA Sushri Maya Kotdani who is directly indicted in killings and
massacres and Naroda Gaon and Naroda Patiya. Their names are Shri Manoj Macwana
deputy collector, Rakhial,, Shri Manoj Patariya deputy collector, Naroda, and Shri
Gaura Prajapati deputy collector, Ahmedabad,. Besides this, many DMs,collectors
hae been indicted in speciic cases as in Bharuch and Ahmedabad city and their
names hae been included in the List o Accused with a strong recommendation rom
this Tribunal that they be switly prosecuted and punished.
Annexure Police and 11ndu:+nnd1 Organisations
All ital and sensitie postings in the Gujarat police were systematically politicised
and saronised by the BJP immediately ater coming to power.
Here are some eamples o the police-arirar neus:
Ahmedabad
1. Police Inspector \B Raal, PCB, Ahmedabad City, Crime Branch: He par-
ticipated in the demolition o the Babri Ma.i as a ar .era and proudly displays
a photograph thereo as a trophy. This deed o his is said to hae etched him
such a plum post.
2. Shri RD Makadia, DCP Zone I\: \ery close to \HP leader Shri Prain
Togadia, works as his agent.
3. Shri Saani, DCP Zone \: A close ally o Shri Togadia.
4. Shri RB Jebalia, DCP Zone \I: Hails rom Amreli district, as does Shri
Togadia. He is said to be under a personal obligation to Shri Togadia, though he
may not be outright communal.
5. Shri PB Gondia IPS,, DCP Zone III: His ather is an e-MLA Congress.,
He was oered a BJP ticket rom Panchmahal dist. during the last Assembly
elections. He was ready to contest but his ather persuaded him not to.
6. Shri Parghi IPS,, DCP Zone I: Brother-in-law o Shri Gondia. He was
seen moing in his oicial ehicle along with Shri Haren Pandya during the riots.
. Shri DJ Patel, DCP Zone II: Also ery close to Shri Togadia.
Himmatnagar Sabarkantha,
8. Shri ND Solanki, SP Himmatnagar: His ather is an actie oice-bearer in the \HP.
J.J. The complicity o the state goernment is obious. And, the support o the
central goernment to the state goernment in all that it did is also by now a matter o
common knowledge.
J.2. The entire country had been held to ransom by the itriolic rhetoric around the
building o the temple at Ayodhya, the threatening statements by leaders o the RSS,
\HP, Bajrang Dal and the BJP kept communal temperatures on the boil. It was in the
midst o this surcharged national climate that Godhra happened and the Gujarat car-
nage was masterminded.
J.3. Vithin hours o the Godhra arson, an organised carnage was planned and ruth-
lessly eecuted oer the net 2 hours in 15 o Gujarat`s 25 districts. It was apparent
that thanks to the instructions rom the state goernment, the administration and the
police stood paralysed as the brutal massacres - Naroda Patiya and Gulberg society in
Ahmedabad, Pandharwada in Panchmahal and Sardarpura, Unhaa and Kadi in Mehsana
apart rom Nadiad - were clinically eecuted, yet the goernment o India turned a
blind eye. In a situation such as post-Godhra Gujarat, when huge, organised mobs o
the majority community were attacking the minorities, when the state goernment and
the administration sided with the majority, it was a clear case o a breakdown o the
constitutional machinery in the state. The culpability o the central goernment in the
Gujarat carnage lay in its ailure to inoke its eecutie powers aailable under Article
355, read with Lntry 2.2A o List 1 and Lntry 1 o List II and Lntry I o List III o the
Constitution o India, to take oer the administration o law and order in Gujarat, and
to send in the Army under direct orders o the Centre.
J.4. At no time during the Gujarat carnage did the central goernment and its unc-
tionaries show any initiatie or commitment to constitutional alues, impelling them
to interene and interene switly and eectiely to end the iolence.
J.S. lar rom inoking the proisions o the Constitution and perorming their con-
stitutional obligations and duties, neither did the Prime Minister nor the home minister
een issue a stern order to the chie minister to crackdown on the lawless elements.
J.6. Late on lebruary 28, ater he had cancelled a scheduled oreign isit, the PM
80l0 0l l00 00lf8l 6090fM0l
met RSS and \HP leaders in the nation`s capital, not to discuss the quartering and
massacre o innocents in Gujarat, but to dialogue on the Ayodhya issue! Later, the
Cabinet Committee on Security met and merely ordered the Army to be on alert.
J.7. The attitude o both Shri \ajpayee and Shri Adani appeared to aim at irertivg
the nation`s attention away rom Gujarat, and directing it instead towards Ayodhya
and the happenings there.
J.8. The conduct o the railway minister, who rushes to the spot wheneer a train
accident takes place, ailed in his duty to isit Godhra, to surey the situation or him-
sel and to order an immediate inquiry into the cause o the ire. Questions about the
ire in the railway compartment at Godhra still beg or an answer. Vho pulled the chain
How did the ire occur Surely this merited the urgent attention and immediate inter-
ention o the railway minister \et, to this date, the minister has not isited Godhra.
Vhat eplanation has he to oer or his utter inaction
J.9. The conduct o the railway ministry related to the entire Godhra arson is shock-
ing. On lebruary 2, as reported in 1le 1ive. of Ivia lebruary 28,, Shri Nitish con-
demned the attack on the Sabarmati Lpress and asked the Gujarat goernment to
take proper measures to ensure the saety o railway property and passengers. Shri
Kumar, who spoke to the Gujarat chie minister on telephone in this regard, asked
the state goernment to take appropriate measures to ensure the smooth and sae
running o trains, rom the capital without isiting the scene o the incident.
J.J0. Howeer, in the si months that hae ollowed, Shri Nitish Kumar has been
distancing his ministry rom the Godhra carnage on the ground that what happened was
not a rail accident` but a law and order issue. But the ery act that the Railways made
speedy e-gratia payments to the relaties o those killed and to those injured is proo
that the ministry indeed treated Godhra as any other accident` with a dierence: in
many earlier rail accidents the e-gratia payment has not necessarily been so prompt.
J.JJ. In act it was not until the media made speciic inquiries that the internal
Vestern railway reseration list o that day was made aailable. lrom this, it is not at
all clear i all those killed were ar .era.. Reserations or coach S-6 were made in
Lucknow and not laizabad. The Gujarat goernment released the names o 39 o
those who died. Nineteen o the 58 dead hae yet to be identiied. One o the pas-
sengers who suered grieous injuries was a Muslim.
J.J2. The Prime Minister`s prearicating statements, saying dierent things at dier-
ent times at dierent places, let eerybody in utter conusion. Had he already pre-
judged the situation and apportioned blame or the Godhra arson to the Muslim minor-
ity or did he attribute guilt to the goons rom the Hindu majority who indulged in this
carnage and brought a bad name to the country in the international community
J.J3. On lebruary 2, hours ater the Godhra tragedy, the PM said in Parliament
that rom the preliminary reports it appeared that the incident was the result o slogan
shouting. On April 4, when he isited the Shah-e-Alam Camp, he bemoaned the burn-
ing alie o women and children, the rapes and killings and urged the Gujarat goern-
ment to obsere its duty. But only a ortnight later, at his party`s national eecutie
meeting in Goa on April 22, he said the Gujarat carnage would not hae occurred but
or the Godhra arson. Thereater, he bemoaned India`s loss o ace in the interna-
tional community. He termed the Gujarat carnage as a blot on the nation.` His state-
ment at his party`s national eecutie in Goa bears mention. Vhereer there are
Muslims, there is a problem. Vhat happened in Gujarat I the passengers o the
Sabarmati epress, innocent, unblameworthy, had not been deliberately burnt alie,
Gujarat`s tragedy Gujarat i tra.ali, could hae been aoided. But this did not happen.
People were burnt alie. Vho were they Intelligence is inestigating but we still need to
ask, how did this all happen The latter happenings should not be criticised till we under-
stand who set Gujarat on ire. Vho lit the ire How did it spread Our country is multi-
religious, multi-linguistic. Ve beliee in cooperation, we beliee in .arra larva .avblar
respect or all religions,. Ve are proud o our secularism. lrom Goa to Guwahati,
whereer I go, the Indian is not a attarrai. Yel vaati e lai the Indian is not a anatic.
This soil is one,. But wheneer I trael around the world, our oicials in all the embassies
tell me, militant Islam raa.te veiv aavte bo rala lai` militant Islam is sowing thorns in our
path`,. One Islam there is which is tolerant to all, that beliees in truth: .avreva avr a,a
.ilata lai it preaches compassion and mercy,. But the kind o Islam being perpetrated in
the world today is a iolent, intolerant Islam that has no room or tolerance.` This state-
ment, made ater the worst state-sponsored carnage against Muslims post-Partition had
been so cynically carried out, is unortunate, to say the least.
J.J4. The role o the then union home minister and now deputy Prime Minister, Shri LK
Adani appears to be patently partisan. His pat on the back or Shri Modi, not once but on
seeral occasions and his rejection o the state goernment`s lorensic Science Laboratory
Report lSLR, as soon as it appeared in the press, amounted to no less than his assuming
the role o a judge. His dogged reusal to acknowledge within the country that the Gujarat
carnage was an inhuman, shameul act on the part o the communal elements among
Hindus, yet accepting it as a blot on the country during his oreign jaunt in Lngland, makes
people wonder whether he is a spokesman o the party which he represents or the home
minister,deputy Prime Minister in the goernment o India Is he simply a time serer
when it comes to a oreign audience Vhat is inecusable on his part is the assumption o
the role o both a lawyer holding the brie or Hindu communalists as also o a presiding
judge giing his erdict on the carnage. Vhen he rejected the state goernment`s lorensic
Science Laboratory Report, was he doing so on behal o the Hindu communalists or the
central goernment It appears that like Shri Modi, he too keeps orgetting that he holds
constitutional oice and is not a Sangh raclara.
J.JS. His statements with regard to the entire carnage make people wonder whether
any impartial inestigation is at all possible into the charges against the accused, with
him in charge o the home aairs o the country.
J.J6. As noteworthy was his reluctance to isit etensiely, aected areas o the
post-Godhra carnage, immediately ater it took place, despite the act that he is elected
rom the Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency each year.
J.J7. Shri Adani is one o the leading igures in the central goernment who has
irresponsibly peddled the theory o a oreign hand` behind the Godhra arson with-
out any proo, described Godhra as an act o terrorism` and the subsequent carnage
as a communal riot`, debunked the indings o oicial inestigations as contained in
the lSLR, repeatedly praised Shri Modi as being the best chie minister India has
seen in 50 years` and lauded him as being the best eample o good goernance`,
and, most dangerously, gien a clean chit to indicted organisations like the \HP and
BD, who were openly gloating oer the iolence.(ee .ectiov ov .vvevre., 1ovve I,.
J.J8. It needs to be recorded here that barely a ew days ater Re. Graham Staines,
the Australian priest who had been working with lepers or years, was torched to
death along with his two young sons inside a jeep in Orissa on the night o Jan 22,23,
1999 and Shri Dara Singh, a man with clear links with the RSS,\HP and BD was
named as the main accused in the case, Shri Adani had shown similar partisan con-
duct when he had said on the loor o the Lok Sabha, I know these people Bajrang
Dal,, they will neer do such a thing.`
J.J9. Shri George lernandes, the union deence minister, emerges rom the entire
episode as a pathetic character. Vhile he no doubt isited Gujarat immediately ater the
outbreak o the iolence to oersee the role o the Army, and or which he undoubtedly
deseres appreciation, it appears he learnt nothing rom whateer he may hae sur-
eyed. Had he done so, he would not hae made the statement that he did in the Lok
Sabha on April 30. That statement not only added insult to the injury o those brutalised
by the pogrom but also undermined all human alues. I a minister o his rank and a
politician o his eperience chooses to liken the mass instances o gender iolence
perpetrated against 150-200 women and girls, and the subsequent slaughter o most o
them, as nothing new`, it is suicient indication o the seriousness with which the
whole carnage was looked upon by the central goernment. His attempt at whitewash-
ing his statement at a later stage made things een worse.
J.20. As the union law minister, it was epected that Shri Arun Jaitley would hae
more respect or the rule o law than Shri Modi. Instead, he showed complete disregard
or the basic human rights o innocent men, women and children who ell ictim to the
carnage. He patted Shri Modi`s back, the man who was the root cause o the massacre
o humanity in the state o Gujarat. His attitude was and is suiciently representatie
o the iew and attitude o the central goernment to the entire incident.
J.2J. In short, the inaction on the part o the central goernment and the utterances o
its spokesmen occupying responsible positions show that not only had the central goern-
ment ailed in its duty but it also had no intention to discharge it at all. Contrast this
conduct o the central goernment with its prompt action ater the Akshardham Mandir
massacre. This only shows that i the central goernment intended to take action, it could
hae done so. The act that the central goernment ailed in its constitutional obligations
during the post-Godhra carnage is indisputable. In the eent o any international authority
also indicting the state goernment, which we beliee to be ineitable, the central goern-
ment will hae to bear a major share o the blame and will be liable or censure.
J. National Democratic Alliance
J.J. The BJP`s allies in the National Democratic Alliance goernment at the Centre
were shaken by the iolence in Gujarat but ailed to go beyond shedding the usual
crocodile tears. The Tribunal notes with anguish that the allies in the NDA who claim
to continue to be wedded to democracy and secularism, did nothing more than issue
statements ater the Gujarat carnage. Much more was epected rom them and history
will hold them guilty or ailing to rise to the occasion, putting narrow political con-
siderations aside and using all the strength at their command to ensure that the central
goernment acted and acted switly to control the Gujarat carnage. This they did not
do, and hence, a goernment indicted beore the country and the world continues to
be in power in Gujarat today.
J.2. The Tribunal has no great epectations that the NDA allies will do anything in
uture to assure the physical, emotional and economic rehabilitation o Muslims in
Gujarat. Howeer, it obseres that the NDA allies must push or a proper rehabilita-
tion o, and justice or, the ictim-suriors i their claim to be wedded to the Indian
Constitution is to hae any meaning.
2. Role of the Opposition Parties
2.J. The role o the opposition Congress party in the state o Gujarat, though oci-
erous in demanding the dismissal o the Modi goernment, was obiously lacking in
any political or moral resole while the iolence was actually taking place. lormer
MP Shri Ahsan Jari, who belonged to this party, was killed along with others ater,
ater his house had been besieged or 8 long hours and during which period he made
innumerable calls or help. The Tribunal inds it shocking that not a single senior
member o his party went physically to his aid, or tried, independently, to contact the
police commissioner to ensure his saety. Barring a ew eceptions, Congressmen were
absent while the iolence was at its height. Independent MP, Shri Madhu Sudhan
Mistry rom Sabarkantha and Shri Praeen Rashtrapal rom Patan are eceptions. The
mayor o Ahmedabad Shri Himmatsingh Patel was isible on teleision, and on the
80l0 0l 808lF F8fll08
streets and in the hospitals at the time, working or peace and helping ictims. On
March 5, a peace march o prominent Gujaratis was organised by the Gujarat Lok
Samiti. Independent indiiduals sent out this much-needed message or peace, against
hatred. Political parties became actie much later.
2.2. Howeer, the conduct o the Congress-controlled Ahmedabad Municipal Cor-
poration - in aiding and abetting the demolition o the tomb o Vali Gujarati oppo-
site the police commissioner`s oice in Ahmedabad, or the demolition o the 100-
year-old Madni mosque in \asna, Ahmedabad, months later, is shocking to say the
least. The corporation body aced a crisis ollowing the resignation o 19 party corpo-
rators rom arious committees, in protest against the demolition o the Madni mosque,
on July 3. The Congress mayor, Shri Himmatsingh Patel, claimed that the demolition
was carried out under instructions rom Gandhinagar and the municipal commissioner
and had kept the elected representaties in the dark.
2.3. The mosque had been in the eye o a storm or causing obstruction to traic.
Howeer, no temples were similarly targeted though hundreds dot Gujarat roads een
in the heart o the city. Hooligans damaged the mosque, along with nine shops adjoin-
ing its boundary wall, during the recent iolence. Repair work had just been taken up
by a priate Muslim trust when municipal bulldozers demolished it.
2.4. Objectionable bill-boards, proclaiming Gujarat to be a ivv Ra.ltra` Hindu
state, hae come up in Ahmedabad city oer past months, ater the carnage. Karnaati
city o this Hindu Rashtra welcomes you,` proclaims a bill-bill-board painted in sa-
ron in the heart o Ahmedabad. 1le 1ive. of Ivia, August 18, 2002,. In
Chhotaudaipur, 200 km south o Ahmedabad, the bill-bill-board on the highway is
more direct. It simply says: Velcome to ivv Ra.ltra`s Chhotaudaipur town.` These
are a legacy o ie years o BJP rule. Though symbolic, they send out clear a message
that is entirely in tune with the ideology o the sangh pariar and the conduct o the
BJP in Gujarat. A reshly painted bill-board on a crossroad outside Shahpur Gate in
Ahmedabad proclaims the roundabout to be Kashi \ishwanath Chowk`.
2.S The bill-boards hae been put up by the \HP, Bajrang Dal and Durga \ahini.
Most o them proclaim Dlaravra.la Protection o laith,, Ra.ltrara.la Protec-
tion o Country, and Gauraksha Protection o Cows, as the main objecties o these
organisations. But while welcoming people to Karnaati city o ivv Ra.ltra`, a bill-
board at Kalupur, Ahmedabad, goes a step urther: Carr e Kalo vv ivv aiv`
Say with pride you are a Hindu`,.
2.6. It is tragic that een the Congress, which was returned to power in the
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation AMC, two years ago, is dragging its eet on pull-
ing these bill-bill-boards down, despite a directie to this eect issued by new state
Congress president Shankersinh \aghela recently.
2.7. The Gujarat carnage has shown to India and the world how some political parties
that use the electoral process to come to power work towards the steady erosion o
secular and democratic alues and deiance o the Constitution through the manipula-
tion and misuse o the ery state institutions that were created to protect them.
2.8. The Constitution o India is ounded on a notion o representatie nation-
hood. It is this critical principle that gies eery citizen equal rights and an equal stake
in the nation. But this constitutional proision is seriously compromised when reli-
gious or some other sectarian identity redeines the share and stake o dierent citi-
zens in public lie. lor genuine secularism to be re-injected into Indian political and
public lie, it is imperatie that political parties that proess commitment to secular-
ism are undaunted in their critique o discrimination and hate politics. Ultimately,
their actions must speak as much as words. Vhat India badly needs today are men and
women o stature, committed to countering iolence wheneer and whereer it oc-
curs. And or this are prepared to risk their lie and limb.
3. Role of Neighbouring States
3.J. The relatiely more sensitie goernance being proided by the state goern-
ments and administrations o neighbouring Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh deseres
appreciation.
3.2. Attempts were made by the Bajrang Dal and the \HP, supported by the RSS
and the BJP, to inlame sentiments in the neighbouring districts o both Rajasthan and
Madhya Pradesh. The act that there was no spill oer iolence in these areas is testi-
mony to the act that communal tension and iolence spread only when the state
wishes them to, and when it connies with such communal elements. In the border
areas o Rajasthan, commissioners o police in the cities and SPs o districts were
personally in charge or a ortnight while the situation simmered.
3.3. Vhile returning rom Mecca, Haj pilgrims who hail rom Gujarat dierted their
journey and sought reuge in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The goernments there, in
sharp contrast o the state o aairs in Gujarat, housed and ed them. They returned
only when they elt comortable about their security. Similarly, in Rajasthan, the local
administration in the districts bordering Panchmahal, Sabarkantha and Banaskantha
actually ran reugee camps or ictims who had led rom Gujarat in terror.
3.4. On August 1, 2000, haing amended the Indian Arms Act, the MP goern-
ment ordered a crackdown on \HP-Bajrang Dal cadres in that state trying to oment
trouble through mass distribution o trishuls. The Indian Arms Act, 1959, prohibits
possession and carrying o sharp-edged weapons longer than si inches. Taking ad-
antage o this proision, the \HP had decided to distribute Tridents measuring ie-
and-three-quarters o an inch. Thousands o trishuls would hae been distributed all
oer the state. Howeer, the goernment amended the Arms act, curtailing the per-
missible limit to our inches.
4. Role of Gandhian Institutions
4.J. Gandhian institutions hae been a piotal orce in the state o Gujarat. In the
past they hae had a signiicant inluence on political orces like the CongressO,.
Howeer, since 19, their distance rom actie politics has played a signiicant role
in their declining inluence. The absence o any organisational work among the young,
too, has contributed to this. These actors culminating in an actie distancing rom
actie politics hae added to their declining inluence. Gandhian organisations, which
number oer 2,000 in the state o Gujarat and are beneiciaries o state unds, hae
thereore lost the stature they had in past decades. Indiidually, senior Gandhians
hae condemned iolence and communalism. But their silence in some signiicant
cases, and open allegiance to stances taken by ivvtrarai organisations on occa-
sions hae urther contributed to the communalisation o ciil society in Gujarat.
S. Godhra 1ragedy Condemned
S.J. Among other things, the BJP and the .avgl arirar hae requently reiterated
that Hindu anger` was uelled largely by the reluctance o opposition parties, secular
groups and Muslim organisations to condemn the merciless killing o ar .era.` in
the Sabarmati Lpress. This, howeer, is ar rom the truth.
S.2. Leaders o arious opposition parties hae repeatedly challenged this conten-
tion, pointing out that on lebruary 2 itsel they had condemned the Godhra killing in
unambiguous terms. Ve hae eamined this and ound the BJP and the .avgl arirar`.
charge as unounded. I their statements did not get the prominence they desered is o
course another issue altogether that needs to be addressed, iv tle fir.t ace, by the mass
media.
S.3. Heads o Muslim organisations throughout India condemned the killing o 58
passengers o the Sabarmati Lpress. In a statement released on lebruary 28, they
called upon the people o Gujarat to eercise restraint. The signatories included Shri
Syed Shahabuddin, president, All India Majlis-e-Mushawarat, Qazi Mujahid-ul-Islam
Qasmi`s Milli Council, Shri Asad Madani, president Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Hind, Shri
Saiyid Hamid, president, Moement or Lmpowerment o Muslim Indians, Shri
Jalaludin Umri, acting amir, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Shri Mohd. \aha, president, Markazi
Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith, Shri HR Nomani, president, All India Momin Conerence, Shri
Syed Nizamuddin, general secretary, All India Muslim Personal Law Bill-board, Shri
Amanullah Khan, general secretary, Rahat Committee, Shri M. Azal, president, All
India Urdu Lditors` Conerence and Shri Naaid Hamid, secretary, Minority Council.
S.4. Statements promptly condemning Godhra were also made by independent citi-
zens like Shri Jaed Akhtar, Shri Alyque Padamsee and other concerned citizens rom
Mumbai and elsewhere.
The eents that took place in Gujarat prior to the Godhra tragedy, during and ater
it, and during and ollowing the state-sponsored carnage are marked by a singular and
shameul collapse o the criminal justice system.
J. Iailure of Intelligence
J.J. The conduct o the police machinery in Gujarat is marked by a lack o intelli-
gence about the likely commitment o oences against public order, which was not
collected rom all oer the state. The lack o systematic sureillance on the conduct
o ar .era. going to and ro rom Ayodhya, or at least a month beore the Godhra
tragedy, especially gien their recorded propensities to break the law by consistently
prooking religious minorities and een behaing aggressiely with them, has been
dealt with by the Tribunal etensiely in the chapter on Godhra.
2. Preventive Arrests
2.J. The Godhra tragedy took place on the morning o lebruary 2, 2002. The
\HP gae a call or a bavl on lebruary 28. It was obious that the situation was
tense and could get out o hand. The minimum that the state does in similar situa-
tions is to eect preentie arrests o persons who are likely to cause iolence. Such
lists are aailable with all police stations. Such arrests are aected routinely, een i
there is the likelihood o a minor law and order problem. Leae alone other parts o
Gujarat, the preentie arrests made on lebruary 2 in Ahmedabad itsel throw a
light on the intentions o the police:
Poice tatiov .rre.t.
Naroda 0
Gomtipur 0
Shaherkotda 0
\ejalpur 0
Kalupur 0
Gaekwad Haeli 0
f8ll0f0 0l 0flMl8l l08ll00 $8l0M
Lllis Bridge 0
Narangpura 0
Naranpura 0
Ghatlodia 0
Astodia 2
The two persons arrested at Astodia were both Muslims.
2.2. Section 151 o the Criminal Procedure Code CrPC, permits preentie arrests
by the police. It reads: 1511,. A police oicer knowing o a design to commit any
cognizable oence may arrest, without orders rom a magistrate and without a war-
rant, the person so designing, i it appears to such oicer that the oence cannot be
otherwise preented.`
2.3. Similarly section 3 o the National Security Act, 1980, allows preentie ar-
rests by the central or the state goernment o any person likely to act in a manner
prejudicial to the maintenance o public order. The Gujarat police, by abdicating its
responsibility in the matter o preentie arrest, reealed not just its unproessional
character and conduct. In the longer term, the ailure o the law and order machinery
to act and to act airly and switly, oten against politicians and their cadres, is relec-
tie o the symptomatic erosion that has taken place in the criminal justice system in
India. Today it would be no eaggeration to say, in the contet o Gujarat, that the
criminal justice system in India has collapsed.
3. Police Participation in the Riots
3.J. Numerous cases hae come to light that hae eposed the conduct o police person-
nel during the Gujarat carnage. Police either turned a blind eye to the mass and systematic
assaults by large mobs led by political leaders or een actually participated in the iolence.
3.2. During the irst 48 hours in the city o Ahmedabad, while the assaulting mobs
and their leaders clearly belonged to the lumpen, communal elements rom the Hindu
community, police single-mindedly targeted innocent ictims, who were, oerwhelm-
ingly, Muslims. On lebruary 28, 40 persons died in police iring, out o whom 36 were
Muslims. Besides, the Tribunal has recorded eidence rom all oer Gujarat that shows
a sinister pattern - the police, despite being present, did nothing, especially during the
irst ew days, to stop the mobs. Detailed instances o police misdemeanour hae been
etensiely recorded by the Tribunal. It must be noted here that inaction during such a
situation is punishable under section 166 o the Indian Penal Code IPC,.
4. Illegal Registration of IIRs (Problems with IIRs)
4.J. Lidence rom arious towns and districts o Gujarat, recorded by the Tribu-
nal, reeals a shocking pattern o behaiour among the police in:
K their ailure to record lirst Inormation Reports lIRs,,
K police complicity in not naming the accused despite repeated insistence o the
ictims,suriors that all accused should be named,
K worst o all, their insistence on recording omnibus lIRs or whole areas, regions
and towns instead o separate detailed ones or eery crime and oence committed.
Section 154 o the CrPC deals with the lirst Inormation Report o cognisable
oences and is the irst crucial step in the prosecution o oenders.
1.2. Ovvibv. |IR.
It is a undamental principle o criminal law that eery oence needs to be sepa-
rately registered, inestigated and tried. liling omnibus lIRs is one o the simplest
ways o aoiding detailed inestigations and eectie trials. In many cases in Gujarat,
where 80 or 90 shops hae been burnt or a large number o people hae been killed,
instead o iling separate lIRs in respect o each incident, the police has registered
collectie lIRs, thus irtually scuttling the possibility o detailed inestigation or
coniction. Apart rom this, many incidents, separated oer time sometimes days,
and place and concerning dierent ictims and accused, hae been clubbed together.
Moreoer, when indiiduals came orward to lodge their lIRs, they were told that the
lIRs hae already been recorded, and that no second lIR was possible.
1.. |IR. !itlovt àve. of tle .ccv.e
Most o the lIRs which hae been iled, especially where the police are the inor-
mants, do not contain the names o the accused and only say that an unidentiied
mob attacked. There are a signiicant number o cases (.ee Detaie .vvevre., 1ovve
III, where the ictims actually named the accused but the Gujarat police hae reused
to lodge their names in the lIRs. Instead, the police took on the role o a partisan
intermediary in the eidence recorded rom Naroda, Chamanpura, Ode, Sardarpura,
Bharuch, Ankleshwar, \adodara, Mehsana, Himmatnagar, Sabarkantha and
Banaskantha. In these cases, the police told the complainants that the lIR would be
lodged only i the names o the accused were deleted. lor eample, at illage Por, 3
women and 3 children were killed. The ictims hae identiied and named 95 attack-
ers but the police reused to include their names in the lIRs. The detailed area-wise
list o incidents is coered by the Tribunal.ee .ectiov ov Ivcievt. of 1ioevce, 1ovve I,.
1.1. Deiberate Obfv.catiov of tle Ievtit, of tle .ccv.e
In a number o other cases, hundreds o ictims hae testiied beore the Tribunal, stating
that though some people hae been named in the lIRs, they were not the persons actually
present at the site. This would not only subert inestigations by casting serious doubts on
the intentions o the complainant but would also let the real accused go scot ree.
Similar is the case with a number o persons who hae been arrested. Due to public
pressure, some arrests had to be made. To take an easy way out, the police has, in
some areas, arrested persons not at all connected with the crime and not een named
in the lIRs. This makes the case against the actual perpetrators ery weak.
All the aboe series o actions by the police are oences under section 16 o the
Indian Penal Code but the Tribunal notes with shock that not a single police oicer
has been charged under this section.
4.S. The police has ailed to respond to the threats and intimidation meted out, as a
matter o course by organisations ailiated closely to the ruling party in Gujarat--theRSS,
\HP and BD. Senior jurist, Shri Girishbhai Patel was threatened in his home by young
leaders o the \HP-BJP ater the genocide simply because o his staunch espousal o
human rights issues that in recent years has meant deending minority rights at great risk to
his person. It was not the police that checked the threats and posturings but the interen-
tion o Shri Arun Oza, state public prosecutor who is a senior member o the RSS.
S. Minority community victimised
S.J. Apart rom targeting sections o the Muslim population with bullets, the Gujarat
police hae urther blackened their conduct by indiscriminate arrests o innocent young
Muslims all oer the state. The Tribunal has recorded details o these arrests and we estimate
that at least 500 innocent Muslims languish in police lock-ups and jails o the state.
6. Unprofessional investigations
6.J. Both the Godhra tragedy and the post-Godhra carnage show up the criminal
justice system or tardy and loose inestigations.
K The police, who are the inestigating agency, hae simply not collected the
orensic eidence in many o the mass crimes that took place in Gujarat.
K Pavclvava. hae not been recorded or not recorded properly. Irregularities in
search and seizure operations are amply eident.
K The list o ictims and witnesses directly related to dierent oences has not
been compiled.
7. Real culprits not arrested
7.J. Vhether it is the Naroda Gaon, Naroda Patiya and Gulberg society mass killings or
the Sardarpura, Ode, Godasar, Pandharwada, \ishnagar, Unhaa massacres, the major mas-
terminds who led the mobs and co-ordinated the attacks, hae not been arrested. State
cabinet ministers who hae been named in lIRs are also scot ree. The criminal justice
system o Gujarat has been especially la with those among the accused and perpetrators o
mass crimes who belong to the BJP, \HP or Bajrang Dal. Len when they hae been named,
these persons hae not been arrested. lor eample, in Bhanagar, Shri Om Triedi, the city
\HP president and Shri Mansukh Panjwani, a city BJP oice-bearer, hae been named as
haing led mobs which set ire to 80 Muslim shops. Neither has been arrested.
7.2. Similarly, in Naroda Gaon in Ahmedabad, Dr. Jaideep Patel, leader o the \HP
and Sushri Maya Kotdani, MLA rom the BJP, hae been named as perpetrators in a
number o oences. But not only hae they not been arrested, they hae in act been
discharged in respect o these oences. State ministers Shri Ashok Bhatt, Shri Bharat
Barot, Shri Haren Pandya, Shri Narayan Laloo Patel, Shri Nitin Patel, Shri Prabhat
Singh Chaan and Shri Ranjitsingh Chawda too, hae escaped any criminal action.
8. No identification parades
8.J. In a number o cases, the ictims could identiy the perpetrators by sight as
they hailed rom the neighbourhood, but did not know their names. It was essential
or the police to conduct identiication parades in such cases. But no such identiica-
tion parades are known to hae been conducted.
9. Combing Operations
9.J A large number o combing operations hae been carried out in Muslim locali-
ties and a number o persons hae been arrested. Howeer, gien who the mass o-
enders were, gien the act that it was the communal and lumpen element among
Hindus who were the aggressors in the post-Godhra carnage, what was essential was
that combing operations be carried out in non-Muslim areas. I proper combing op-
erations had been carried out in these areas, a large amount o arms and ammunition
like tri.lv., swords, gas cylinders, proocatie lealets, and later on, stolen goods
could hae been recoered. But interestingly, no such operations hae been carried
out. Len as the combing operations were being carried out, the police resorted to
indecent behaiour against women and children, the real motie being to harass and
humiliate them and to terrorise them on the pretet o searching their houses.
J0. Rape Victims
J0.J. Many women hae been molested and raped. The inestigations by arious
ciil society groups, including the eidence recorded by the Tribunal, suggest that as
many as 250 young girls and women were ictims o gross seual crimes. It was in-
cumbent upon the law and order machinery to acilitate speedy medical eaminations
o the ictims. But this was not done. Thus, there is no medical proo o rape. Sec-
ondly, a number o women hae complained that though they inormed the police
about rape, the lIR does not mention rape at all.
JJ. No Action Against Lrrant Media
JJ.J.ave.l and Cvarat avaclar hae especially played a ery proocatie role in
the carnage. Most act-inding reports, including the Lditors` Guild report, hae ound
them guilty o generating communal propaganda against Muslims. The police has
suicient powers under section 153 B o the Indian Penal Code to take penal action
against these papers. The editors and the authors could hae been arrested but not
een a complaint has been lodged against them.
J2. No Action Against the VHP/Bajrang Dal
J2.J. It is obious that the \HP and Bajrang Dal played a major role in the carnage.
Their leaders hae made highly proocatie statements and hae justiied the car-
nage. Again, they could hae been arrested under section 153B o the Penal Code but
this has not been done. SIMI Students Islamic Moement o India, has been banned.
The \HP and Bajrang Dal could also hae been banned by the state or the central
goernment or inlaming communal passions under POTA and under the Unlawul
Actiities Preention, Act. But this has not happened.
J3. Non-implementation of NHRC Recommendations
J3.J. The Tribunal notes and records with concern the callous indierence with
which the interim and inal recommendations o the NHRC hae been regarded by
the criminal justice system in Gujarat. Vhen the National Human Rights Commis-
sion, presided oer by a retired Chie Justice o the Supreme Court, isits Gujarat,
meets ictims and oicials and makes certain elementary recommendations, one would
epect that a goernment which is keen to bring about normalcy would at least accept these
recommendations. But een this has not been done. Police are the accused in many o the
cases. NHRC, or instance, recommends that at least ie such cases be handed oer to the
CBI Central Bureau o Inestigation, or inestigation. Len this has not been done.
J3.2. Len the eisting proisions o Indian criminal law, i applied with stringent
regard to the rule o law, could hae helped ensure that the entire carnage was aoided.
None o the more than 2,000 persons who died would hae died i the State had
implemented the letter o the law.
J4. Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act, J976
J4.J. Under section 3 o this Act, any area within the state can be declared as
Disturbed Area -
Vhere a state goernment is satisied that there was, or there is, in any area
within a state etensie disturbance o the public peace and tranquility, by reason o
dierences or disputes between members o ifferevt reigiov., racial, language or re-
gional groups or castes or communities, it may, by notiication in the oicial Gazette,
declare such area to be a disturbed area.`
J4.2. Once an area is declared as disturbed, all scheduled oences within the noti-
ied area hae to be tried quickly by specially designated judges. Murder and rape are
some o the scheduled oences.
J4.2. I the aected areas in Gujarat had been declared as Disturbed Areas, the
prosecution o the cases would hae been quick and, possibly, eectie.
J4.3. Since section 32, o the Act limits any notiication to incidents that hae
taken place three months prior to it being issued, today this proision o law cannot
be inoked. Thus, now the opportunity under this law is lost.
JS. 1he Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, J984
JS.J. Under this Act, any person who commits mischie in respect o public prop-
erty can be imprisoned or a period o up to 5 years. Though a majority o the io-
lence, arson and looting has been in respect o Muslim property, there hae been
certain major incidents o targeting public property. The oice o the state minorities
commission at Gandhinagar and the shrine o Vali Gujarati are two o the many
instances o public properties, in respect o which mischie has been committed. Howeer,
to the best o our knowledge, no case under this Act has been registered against any one.
J6. Status of Criminal Investigations into Major Massacres
J6.J. Partisan language in chargesheets iled by the police
The oertly partisan behaiour o the Gujarat police can be assessed rom the
language contained in the chargesheets related to the major incidents o mass massa-
cre. lor instance, the chargesheet iled in the Gulberg society killings, where no less
than 60-0 persons were brutally killed, irtually begins with a deence o the ac-
cused and paints the ictims as instigators.
It was ater the iring by Jari on members o the mob o 23,000, that the mob got
iolent and attacked the locality`. This recording o the oence is shocking to say the
least. Gulberg society was under a iolent siege since .30 a.m. on lebruary 28, the
commissioner o police, Shri PC Pandey isited Shri Jari at 10.30 a.m. and assured
him protection, the crowds grew ominously by 11.30 a.m., and inally Shri Jari gae
himsel up to the aggressors, in order to sae innocent men, women and children who
had sought shelter in his home, at 2.30 p.m.
J6.2. In a similar misrepresentation, the Tribunal records with horror the way the Naroda
Patiya chargesheet reads: The unruly crowd at Naroda Patiya went on the rampage ater
a mini-truck drien by a Muslim ran oer a Hindu youth and the mutilated body o a
Hindu was recoered rom the area. the crowd was anguished by the incident.`
J7. Progress of Major Cases
J7.J. ararvra va..acre, Mel.ava: Thirty-three persons, mostly women and children,
were burnt alie in a small room in Sardarpura illage in Mehsana district. In all, there are
46 accused and they hae been released on bail ollowing our dierent applications iled
beore the additional sessions judge, Mehsana, Judge DR Shah. lour applications hae
also been iled by representaties o the suriors, or cancellation o bail o the accused.
The public prosecutor PP, in the district court, Shri Dilip Triedi, is also a general secre-
tary o the \ishwa Hindu Parishad, Mehsana district. He gae an etremely proocatie
statement on lebruary 28 to the ave.l daily,. The our applications or cancellation o
bail are on the grounds that ater being released on bail, the accused attacked a mosque in
the same Sardarpura area. lIR no. 110,2002 dated May 13 is lodged with the \ijapur
police station.,. The PP did not take any interest in the cancellation o bail. The High
Court has issued notices in all these our matters iled under section 4392, o CrPC.
Chargesheets hae been iled. This case and the conduct o the PP reeals the clear and
criminal anti-constitutional conduct.
J7.2. Deea Darraa, 1i.vagar, Mel.ava i.trict: Lleen persons were hacked or
burnt to death. Thereater, with a iew to destroy the eidence, the culprits col-
lected their remains and dumped them in a lake situated in a Patel community area.
Two cancellation o bail applications hae been iled against the 43 accused who
were released on bail. Predictably, the same PP Shri Triedi who is also general
secretary o the district \HP, who neer objects to bail applications by the \HP
and the BJP, had, registered his no objection` to bail being gien to the accused in
this case as well. These applications hae made seeral pleas, the main ones being
that the police conduct in non-registration o names o the accused, deliberate
non-recording o avclvava. and subsequent ailure to help locate the ictims` bod-
ies, all ensured that easy bail was obtained. Priva facie, there appears to be biased
police conduct, a patent eample o culpable negligence. A special criminal appli-
cation has also been made challenging the same.
J7.3. Covtivr oice atrocitie. ca.e, .lveaba: This case pertains to the death o si
persons in reprisal killings by the police on April 21, ater a police constable was
killed at Danilimda. Signiicantly, there were no disturbances in the area on that day
and no members o the majority community reside anywhere around where the ic-
tims were targeted or shot dead. The police killed Sushri Haniabibi Bashir Ahmed
Sheikh 42,, a woman residing at Modi Chawl, or no reason. So also, Shri Kalubhai
Sheikh 20,, male, residing at Jhoolta Minara, Ahmedi society, was shot dead. He
suered a head injury and died on the spot. Sushri Naziabibi and Shri Mehmood
Husein Sheikh daughter and ather, aged 18 and 42 respectiely residing at Patel
Chawl, Kamdar Maidan were similarly killed. Sushri Naziabi was cooking in the kitchen.
Her ather was shot at in the same incident, outside the house. Shri Abrar Ahmed
Hani Qureshi 22,, male, was killed in the compound when the police aimed rom
a hole in the gate and shot him. He suered neck injury and died on the spot.
Similarly, one Shri Mehboobbhai Sultanbhai Sheikh 22, was shot ater the police
entered the chawl rom a priate house. All the post-mortem reports show that the
ictims died as a result o ire-arm injuries. \et, no lIR has been iled. lour dier-
ent applications hae been iled beore the Gujarat High Court on behal o the
ictims and supported by the Islamic Relie Committee, praying or special inesti-
gation by the crime branch and inquiry against the culprits,police constables and
or compensation. They are all pending.
J7.4. Dr. larvagari ca.e, .lveaba: On lebruary 28, when many areas o Ahmedabad
and the state o Gujarat were being attacked, a large mob o 5-,000 had targeted the
Paldi area o Ahmedabad. Dr. Bhanagari, a respected doctor, and his son lied in
Delite Apartments at Paldi, which was also seerely attacked and damaged by the mobs.
Dr. Bhanagari owns a licensed gun and is also an ace shooter, being a member o the
National Rile Shooters` Association. Vhen the mob adanced close and threatened the
doctor and his amily, he used his gun and ired. Two persons were injured and later, one
ell ictim to the bullets.
The police arrested Dr. Bhanagari, despite there being a strong case under section
6 onwards o the Indian Penal Code, which permits a person iring in sel-deence when
his lie is endangered. The police also iled an lIR against both Dr. Bhanagari and his son
on the ground that both had ired. The son surrendered to the police in late March.
Though the police met one o those who suried the bullets on March 3, they
recorded his statement only on March 14. In his statement, the young man stated that
both ather and son had ired, in which two persons died. Applications or anticipa-
tory bail, iled or both ather and son were rejected in the City Ciil and Sessions
Court, Ahmedabad. The bail applications were then pending beore the Gujarat High
Court. In its report, the police stated: I he had not ired, he would hae died. A mob
o 1,500-2,000 had attacked the building, shops were burning, they had deadly weap-
ons and it was only when sections o this mob climbed the staircase o Delite Apart-
ments that Dr. Bhanagari and his son ired.` Vhen this report was iled in the Ses-
sions Court, Shri Chetan Shah, adocate or the \HP he is appearing or them in all
their cases,, asked to be joined as party. Magistrate Purani turned down the applica-
tion saying that he had no ocv. .tavi. The matter or deliberation on the police report
under section 159 was pending. Meanwhile, 90 days had passed since Dr. Bhanagari`s
arrest. Under section 162, o the CrPC, i no chargesheet has been iled within
three months, a person has to be released. Both appeals or bail came up beore the
HC. Granting bail, the judge, Justice Behram J Sethna passed strictures against two
police oicers - additional commissioner o police Shri Satish Sharma and police
inspector Shri NH Joshi - or iling the report, which only stated the truth. It appears
that the learned judge recommended departmental action against the police oicers,
which we consider as rather unwarranted.
J7.S. e.t aer, Ca.e: In the Best Bakery Case in \adodara where 12 persons were
killed by a mob o around 1,000 people, the police hae played a shocking role by booking
one Muslim, Shri \asin Alibhai Khokhar, among others, and charging him with murder,
robbery and arson.
J8. Investigations into Godhra 1ragedy
J8.J. Ater the Godhra tragedy, the Gujarat police initially arrested 62 persons,
including at least seen boys, all said to be under the age o 16. They were booked
under the Preention o Terrorism Act POTA, by the goernment railway police
GRP, or the lebruary 2 attack on the Sabarmati Lpress at Godhra. lollowing
public outrage, the application o POTA to these seen boys was withdrawn. But all
the accused, including the seen boys, still aced charges o murder, attempt to mur-
der, criminal conspiracy, arson, rioting and damaging public property. lamily mem-
bers o the arrested minors were not inormed, in direct contraention o the orders
o the Supreme Court in the Joginder Singh case. The boys are: Haroon Iqbal, larooq
Kharadi, lirozkhan Pathan residents o Signal lalia,, Asi Kader, Alta Diwan and
Naseer Pathan residents o \ejalpur Road,, and Hasankhan Pathan o Dahod. The
attitude o the police ater arresting these minors was telling. The inspector o Godhra
town police station, Shri K Triedi said it was not possible to check their ages at the
time o arrest. They were seen near the site o the incident, so we arrested them. The
rest will be taken care o by the judiciary,` he said.
Hasankhan Pathan, who is a Class IX student in Dahod in the Panchmahal district,
150 km. away, had come to Godhra to meet his aunt and uncle on lebruary 26. His date
o birth according to school records is October 31, 1986. Lidence recorded by the
Tribunal records his relatie Hussain Khan Pathan as saying: In the morning, he was
playing with some other local boys, including liroz and Mustaq, when they heard o
something going on near the railway track. They got scared and came inside their houses.
Ater a ew hours, the police came and picked up Hasan near Ali Masjid, on charges o
mass murder.` Under the Juenile Justice Act, minors below 16 years o age hae to be
sent to a juenile home, not to a police lock-up. But they hae been kept in police
custody, along with the other accused in this case. Ve showed the age-proo documents
o these minors to the police, but they did not listen to us,` said Shri Soukat I Samor, a
senior adocate, who represents some o the accused. This is one more instance o
police misconduct in the contet o the Godhra tragedy and the carnage that ollowed.
J8.2. The Godhra police ailed in their irst major case, when additional sessions judge
\iram \ Desai acquitted all 3 accused o all charges against them on September 22,
2002. The judge accused the police o etracting the names o the accused rom those
who were arrested irst, and the inestigating oicer IO, o abricating eidence. He
epressed doubts oer whether one o the incidents occurred at all. These indings by the
judge cast a major cloud on the conduct o the police in the Godhra inestigations.
lollowing the Godhra incident, these 3 who were arrested, were charged with
conspiracy, rioting, arson, inciting communal passions, attacking the police, rob-
bery, etc. All the Hindus got bail, whereas most o the Muslims accused o burn-
ing property belonging to their own community, including a mosque and school,,
remained in custody till the trial was oer. Some o them continue to be in cus-
tody on the charge o burning the train. The witnesses or the prosecution were
all policemen. The prosecutor argued that since the area was under curew at the
time o these incidents o iolence, it was diicult to ind independent witnesses.
Hence, the testimony o the policemen should be belieed, as also the avclvava.
made on the spot by them.
J8.3. The judge ound that none o the charges were proed because o the con-
duct o the inestigating oicer IO, who irst brought in a set o accused persons to
the police station, who in turn named others as co-accused, who were later arrested in
combing operations. The judge held that this reealed that there is no concrete ei-
dence against the 3 accused, who were picked up out o 2,000 people.` This erdict
o the Sessions Judge points out seeral serious lacunae in police inestigations. (ee
Detaie .vvevre., 1ovve III,.
J9. Medico-Legal Issues
J9.J. During the post-Godhra carnage, goernment and municipal hospitals that
gae post-mortem reports recorded shocking lapses when detailing causes o injury in
the case o police irings. The post-mortem reports in such cases mention nothing
about injury by bullets but state that death was due to injury and shock. These lapses,
we hope, were not deliberate, as otherwise it would legitimately inite the criticism
that hospitals in Gujarat are not dierent rom other public institutions, which hae
been communalised.
20. Role of the Judiciary
20.J. The Tribunal records that the oerall conduct o the judiciary, higher and
lower, when in times o serious law and order breakdown and when complete anarchy
preails, is decidedly wanting. Vhile we are clear that, as a rule, courts cannot play
the role o the legislature or the eecutie and take charge o the maintenance o
public order, there comes a time when the judiciary is looked upon as the last resort.
At such times, and such moments were eident during the Gujarat carnage and re-
main important to date, the judiciary is epected to rise to the ull capability o its
constitutional obligations and duties and take swit and clear .vo votv action, i neces-
sary, to restore the belie o the disillusioned, marginalised and alienated sections o
our population, who hae been ictims o state sponsored massacres. In not doing so,
the courts ail in their primary duty. Ve state with regret that the casualness with
which matters relating to the Gujarat carnage hae been handled by the courts,, high
and low, is a matter o serious concern or the rule o law and the surial o consti-
tutional principles in any real sense in this country. Len open acts o threat, against
two high court judges belonging to the minority community, did not stir the high
judiciary into any action against the goernment. This is a sad relection on the judi-
ciary, which in the past, had considered the slapping o a magistrate a suicient
enough reason to inoke the contempt jurisdiction o the Ape Court!
1he evidence shows that the investigation process
was totally inactive, in that,
K There was no recording o complaints made by aected persons, een while
the incidents were taking place.
K lIRs were recorded ater seeral days.
K Len the recorded lIRs contained incorrect ersions and not the ersions as
reported by the complainants.
K The names o the culprits, een when disclosed, were not recorded.
K In act, the complainants were told not to name the accused, otherwise the
complaints would not be recorded.
K The lIRs o indiidual ictims were not recorded and omnibus complaints
containing seeral incidents were recorded, which would deny proper inestiga
tion and stall the deliery o criminal justice.
K In many cases, the panchnamas of tle .ceve. of offevce lare vot beev vae. 1le forev.ic
erievce la. vot beev coecte.
K The leaders o the mob iolence hae not yet been arrested.
K The police participated in the iolence and, in spite o clear and well-docu
mented eidence against the police, no policeman has been prosecuted or pro
ceeded against otherwise.
K Search and seizure o weapons and looted material hae not been eected at
all, despite direct eidence o armed mobs committing the crimes.
K Most o the prosecutors who are in charge o these cases owe allegiance to the
organisations perpetrating the crimes, with the result that the ictims hae no con
idence in the due process o law.
lrom the eidence recorded, many persons, politicians and oicials among others,
hae been repeatedly mentioned by witnesses, as directly taking part and inlicting
iolence on innocent ictims and also leading the mobs.
J.J. The Tribunal has looked at a lot o eidence on trends in police behaiour
especially related to communal riots.
J.2. lindings and recommendations o seeral oicially appointed judicial com-
missions o inquiry appointed by arious state and central goernments to probe into
communal iolence, the report o the National Integration Council and the sith re-
port o the National Police Commission hae all indicted the police or partisan
behaiour towards religious minorities and Dalits in particular and hae made recom-
mendations to check this disturbing act.
J.3. This disturbing trend has become more acute in recent years thanks to the
unchecked politics o intolerance pursued by the avgl Parirar.
J.3.J. Justice Shi Dayal Sriastaa`s report on the riots in Jabalpur, Sagar, Damoh
and Narasinhapur MP,, lebruary 1961, comments adersely on the laity in inesti-
gation. ee Detaie .vvevre., 1ovve III,.
J.3.2. The Justice Raghubar Dayal Commission o Inquiry into the 196 riots in
Ranchi, Sholapur, Malegaon, Ahmednagar, Sursand, Jaipur and Suchetpur ound the
conduct o the police to be ar rom satisactory.
J.3.3. The Justice Jagmohan Reddy Commission o Inquiry inestigating the
Ahmedabad riots o 1969 has cited more than hal a dozen instances where Muslim
religious places adjoining police lines or police stations were attacked or damaged. The
argument adanced by the police oicers that because they were busy quelling riots at
arious other places, these police stations were shorn o adequate strength and hence
these attacks on religious places could not be stopped, did not impress the Commission.
It made this obseration because not a single Hindu place o worship near a police
station was reported to the Commission as haing been damaged or destroyed.
J.3.4. Report o the Justice DP Madon Commission o Inquiry into the Communal
Disturbances at Bhiwandi, Jalgaon and Mahad in May, 190: Seeral instances hae
been proed beore the Commission in which police oicers and policemen either did
not preent Hindu rioters rom indulging in rioting, looting or arson, or showed com-
munal discrimination in dealing with the rioting mobs, or gae incorrect inormation
to the control room or lodged incorrect lIRs, in order to make out that the persons
0l8l0f0l 1f008. F0ll00 $8l0M
who had rioted or were responsible or looting or arson in particular incidents were
Muslim rioters not Hindu, or actiely assisted Hindu rioters in burning and looting
Muslim properties.` (ee Detaie .vvevre., 1ovve III,. The commission`s comments
on the Special Inestigation Squad o Bhiwandi: The working o the Special Ines-
tigation Squad is a study in communal discrimination.`
J.3.S. Report o the Commission o Inquiry, Tellicherry Disturbance, 191, Justice retd,
Joseph \ithyathil: 236.Through the eidence o the deputy SP, he says that while on patrol
duty he had to curb many among his rank and ile who could not restrain themseles when
they met Muslims on the road. Similar eidence was gien by the sub-collector and other
witnesses who hae testiied saying that while chasing away some Muslims many policemen
yelled at them to go to Pakistan. At Mattambaram one or two o them got into the mosque
and besides beating Usmakutty Haji, a ery respectable person, broke the tube-light and
chandeliers in the mosque. There is nothing to show that there was any justiication or this
action. I am inclined to think that this was a high-handed act done by some policemen who
made use o the opportunity to ehibit their anti-Muslim eelings.`
J.3.6. Report o the Commission o Inquiry into the Jamshedpur riots in April 199,
by Justice J Narain, Shri SK Ghosh and Shri SQ Rizi: During the course o inquiry
by the commission there were wide-ranging complaints regarding the anti-Muslim
behaiour o the Bihar Military PoliceBMP,. the acts and circumstances o the
attack on the Muslim ba.ti did gie rise to the suspicion that deliberate or otherwise,
iring by the police on the Hindus had no eect. Not a single Hindu could be identi-
ied as haing been injured or killed as a result o 108 rounds ired by the BMP in this
area oer a period o 24 hours, this couples with the act that when the Hindu attack-
ing mob had been drien away rom the area, 9 Muslims were ound dead in their own
homes. The Commission eels that the composition, training discipline and leader-
ship in the BMP leaes much to be desired.`
J.3.7.. Inquiry report on Meerut Riots, September-October 1982, by Shri NC Saena,
ormer director, Indian Institute o Administration, Mussourie, to the central Minorities
Commission o which he was joint secretary: As regards the irst act o iolence which
led to the riots, the district administration tried to gie an impression that the riots broke
out in Meerut town because the Pvari o the disputed temple in volaa Shahgasa was
murdered on September 6, 1982. The aggressieness o the Hindus, unlawul actiities
o the Hindu communal group and police inaction prior to the murder o the Pvari was
not highlighted in either the reports o the district administration or in the national
newspapers. Right rom the beginning the district administration saw the communal
riot as instigated by the Muslims and the Hindu action as retaliation and thereore chose
to take stern action against Muslims only. The orders rom the senior oicers in the
district to the police could be summarised in one phrase, Muslims must be taught a
lesson`. The PAC and the police aithully implemented this policy. Looting and arson,
in this contet, was considered legitimate and necessary, and was thereore ignored. The
district administration was ery keen to retain the PAC in the district and bitterly op-
posed suggestions or getting it replaced by CRPl or BSl.`
J.3.8. The Report majority, o the Commission o Inquiry into the Bhagalpur Ri-
ots o October 1989, signed by Justices RCP Sinha and S Shamsul Hasan and pub-
lished in 1995, said: The role o magistracy was no dierent rom that o the police.
In general they were cowardly, communal and indierent to the suerings o the
common man. Admittedly hordes o Hindus, the number going up to thousands,
attacked the localities and illages o Muslim inhabitants, but nobody was arrested in
the process o attacking an area... lrom the oicers to ordinary police constables, and
the smaller unctionaries o the administration, barring a ew eceptions, they were
totally inected with an anti-Muslim bias. This is eident rom the act that eery
unlawul act succeeded, totally uninterrupted by any administratie intererence e-
cept in one or two cases. Ve would hold the SP o Bhagalpur, KS Dwiedi wholly
responsible or whateer happened beore October 24, 1989, on that day and ater
October 24. His communal bias was ully demonstrated by the manner in which he
arrested Muslims and by his etending no adequate protection to them.`
J.3.9. Report o the J Ranganath Misra Commission o Inquiry into the 1984 riots
in Delhi: The riots occurred broadly on account o the total passiity, callousness
and indierence o the police in the matter o controlling the situation and protecting
the people o the Sikh community.`
J.3.J0. Sith Report o the National Police Commission, March 1981: There are,
seeral instances where police oicers and policemen hae shown an unmistakable
bias against a particular community while dealing with communal situations. The
composition o the police, is heaily weighted in aour o the majority community.`
J.3.JJ. In its report, the National Integration Council, drew similar conclusions:
The most disquieting eature in recent times is the loss o credibility o the police in
the eectie tackling o communal disturbances. The charge o partisanship was le-
elled against the PAC during the communal iolence at Aligarh. A police orce which
cannot command the trust o all sections o the community is sel-deeating. Po-
lice, like the judiciary, must not only be impartial but must maniestly be so. Ve hae
to build up a police system without caste and communal prejudices aecting its role
and perormance, a system igilant, alert and impartial, capable o eercising opera-
tional reedom in the ruthless suppression o communal riots.`
J.4.The Tribunal thereore obseres that this disturbing trend o partisan, communal and
anti-constitutional police behaiour has grown oer time. Len prior to the Gujarat carnage,
the police hae almost always been charged with unproessional, partisan conduct.
J.S. The issue o police bias has been a subject o nationwide debate in recent years
underlining the urgent need to proessionalise the country`s police orce.
J.6. Despite the well-documented indings o so many commissions o inquiry, that
reeal clear and distinct trends, despite the act that eery resh communal conlagra-
tion proides urther proo o police bias, vo gorervvevt has displayed the moral courage
to legislate on a statutory police commission with an independent structure and an
independent grieances cell to inestigate complaints against police misconduct.
J.7. It is imperatie that steps to reorm the police orce are placed on the national
agenda or debate and resh legislation immediately.
J.J. One o the most disturbing and sinister truths about some prominent master-
minds behind the Gujarat carnage was the act that many o them hailed rom the medical
proession and, despite their proessional allegiance to the Hippocratic oath, iolated it to
lead mobs to rape, pillage, maim and kill and that too, in the most barbaric ways. Dr.
Praeen Togadia, Dr. Jaideep Patel, Dr. Amita Patel and Dr. Bhartibehn, Dr. Maya Kotdani
the latter three are BJP MLAs, are all doctors by proession who were named by ictims
as masterminds and leaders in brutal crimes.
J.2. Dr. Praeen Togadia, international general secretary o the \HP, is well- known or
his requent threats o hatred and iolence. He is a cancer surgeon by proession and also
owns the Dhanantri Hospital at India Colony, Ahmedabad. Doctors belonging to the
Muslim minority testiied to the act that, on lebruary 28, Shri Togadia had put in an ad-
slide o his, which was telecast on Citicable in Ahmedabad city, asking all doctors and
nurses to report to his hospital. He was making this appeal to all doctors. Many witnesses
who deposed beore us raised the question o whether this was also part o a master plan,
to keep, through threats and warnings, Hindu doctors away rom Muslim-run hospitals.
J.3. Justice AP Raani spoke o his personal acquaintance and knowledge o Hindu,
doctors being threatened and told by the \HP, not to treat Muslims. He knew o one
doctor in the Shahibag area who must hae attended to 1-20 delieries or women
staying in camps. The doctor was personally threatened by Shri Togadia himsel, Stop
this, otherwise consequences will not be good.` Other doctors hae also conided to
Justice Raani saying they too had receied similar threats.
J.4. Ahmedabad`s Sola Ciil Hospital receied the bodies o the martyred` ar .era. at
8 a.m. on lebruary 28. This enue became the scene or sharp and ocussed anger that
quickly progressed into the raising o hate-illed slogans. The \HP organised a religious
ceremony where its ice-president, Acharya Giriraj Kishore said that the day`s iolence
was a natural outburst`. He also said, Islamic terrorism was responsible or the Godhra
incident and that Hindus had acted with restraint.` 1le 1ive. of Ivia, March 1,.
J.S. Soon ater the bodies o the ar .era. had been cremated, rom the eening o
lebruary 28, the bodies o another set o ictims started pouring in, this time bearing
00MM08ll88ll0 0l F00ll0 $800 808ll8l8
another identity. They were Muslims rom Chamanpura, Rakhial, Bapunagar,
Behrampura, and late, at night, Naroda Gaon and Naroda Patiya.
J.6. The borders` drawn within Ahmedabad hae ensured a seerely ghettoised
eistence. This has been an unortunate act or the past three decades and it has had
serious implications or inter-community interaction and relations. In the recent state-
sponsored genocide, it was used cleerly by large, well-organised and well-armed mobs
numbering seeral thousand, through bloodshed, iolence and intimidation, to re.trict
the passage o ambulances rom the inner, old city to either the \adilal Sarabhai \S,
Hospital or the Sola Ciil Hospital. This was another cruel method o preenting
ictims rom receiing urgent medical attention.
J.7. At least si injured persons rescued rom Chamanpura Gulberg society,, testi-
ied beore the Tribunal conirming that the \S Hospital had reused them treatment,
demanding that a police statement be obtained irst. This, rom a group o persons
who had been brutalised and traumatised, haing been witness to 60-0 o their close
relations or neighbours stripped, raped, cut into pieces, and burnt alie.
J.8. One eyewitness rom Jamalpur stated, The worst conduct was at the Sola
Ciil Hospital. Here Bharti belv and Anita belv, both BJP corporators Bharti belv is
rom Mani Nagar,, were actually telling doctors whom to treat or not to treat.` At the
\S Hospital, which gae more access to the minorities initially due to the presence o
Congress corporators on the hospital`s managerial board, there were attempts to deny
treatment to Muslims that were not entirely successul.
J.9. Len in the second week o April, while iolence in the city o Ahmedabad
had trickled down to stray incidents, ear stalked public spaces - hospitals, schools,
goernment oices and een the Gujarat High Court. One witness told the Tribunal
that on April 11, groups o 15-20, armed with unsheathed swords, stalked the corri-
dors o the \S Hospital each night and no one challenged them. They did not directly
harm or kill but the message spread through nurses and class I\ sta was that the
area was out o bounds or the marked - the Muslim population in Gujarat.
J.J0. But no incident can typiy the etent o communalisation o hospitals more than
the brutal murder o a Muslim who had brought a seerely injured person to the \S
Hospital by ambulance on May , while the Tribunal sat. The youth was stabbed when he
alighted rom an ambulance carrying a patient who had been stabbed in the Juhapura
locality. The assailants were .avgl arirar actiists who were demonstrating against the
alleged partisan attitude` o the hospital authorities against Hindu patients. The act that
such brazen incidents could take place in broad daylight is a clear indicator that these
orces, murderous and threatening, hae no ear o the arm o the law.
J.JJ. As bad as the perpetration o crimes by medical proessionals during the Gujarat
carnage, and the attempts to brutally communalise hospital spaces, were the attempt
by the police in Ahmedabad and \adodara to actually harass and stop ambulance
serices belonging to the minority community. At the height o the carnage, these
ambulance serices were the only ones to proide desperately needed medical sup-
port, reaching help, saing groups, carrying mutilated bodies, etc. The act that een
they were stopped, as were trucks carrying relie, indicated the premeditation o the
carnage at the ery top leels as also the genocidal nature o its entire eecution.
J.J2. Seeral witnesses who deposed beore us actually detailed how, in Ahmedabad,
one police oicer, stopped the Nobel Ambulance Serice personnel at Bawa Lababi
to preent it rom reaching Danilimda, Char Rasta, Sardarbridge and Calico, despite
the act that they had curew passes.
J.J3. The Tribunal recorded the written statement o Dr. Ishaq Shaikh, ice-presi-
dent, Al Ameen Garib Niwas General Hospital, Ahmedabad. This 40-bed hospital
had oer-stretched itsel in serice o the community rom lebruary 28 onwards. He
described how, rom 12.30 p.m., there was a lood o patients - irtually a patient per
minute. Vith this pressure they had to make painul decisions o which patients to
treat and which to leae to their ate.
J.J4. Twice on lebruary 28, when Dr. Shaikh tried to drie a grieously injured patient
to the \adilal Sarabhai Hospital in his ambulance, he was attacked at Raipur between 4
and 5 p.m. Vhen this happened a second time, mayor Himmatsingh Patel helped them out
by calling or an ambulance rom the Ahmedabad municipal corporation.
J.JS. A seere strain on community health serices was eidenced during and ater
the carnage, with the state abdicating its primary role. In the numerous relie camps
that sprung up across the city,state, there was a seere problem o clean drinking
water, sanitation acilities and adequate ood. Children were suering rom jaundice,
a water-borne disease, diarrhoea and dehydration. One child died in a camp in mid-
April. The strain on small priately run hospitals increased. On April 3, Dr. Shaikh
was brutally beaten by inspectors Modi and Parmar as he tried to take his ambulance
to Shamser Bagh, Gomtipur, where two persons had been shot in the leg. He was
pounced upon by the police and beaten badly.
J.J6. This most appalling state o aairs can be appreciated and properly understood rom
the act that ictims and doctors had petitioned the NHRC, pleading or SRP protection
ritliv hospitals. This is a sad commentary on the situation in Gujarat during those months,
and relects the depth o communalisation o Gujarati state and society. Muslims were
terriied to go to goernment run hospitals to claim their dead because systematic eorts
were made to create an atmosphere o dread and terror there. Menacing groups o Bajrang
Dal and \HP youths would stalk the casualty departments o hospitals, 50-60 at a time.
J.J7. It appears that these were well-organised and coordinated eorts to deny medi-
cal aid to the Muslim community. Since most o the Muslims, dead or injured, were
being taken to \S Hospital, it was made the target o the mobs. Muslim driers would
be so scared that they would reuse to go there. Iv 12, tli. .ev.e of fear i vot rerai
ritliv lo.ita.. Though initially the injured were not attacked while in hospital, there
was enormous psychological ear. Hence, ictim-suriors started going to small hos-
pitals, which had neither adequate acilities nor sta. They neer struck the ictims,
they merely showed us the swords, but it was enough to righten us` said Sharie
Khan Pathan o the Nobel Ambulance Serice.
J.J8. The Tribunal also heard the account o a doctor who practised in \adodara
and another goernment hospital 40 km away. He stated that in the irtual deluge o
patients pouring into this hospital rom on lebruary 28 and March 1, there were inju-
ries on their person that he had neer seen beore.
J.J9. There were countless injuries caused by swords. The mutilation o breasts in the
case o women was common. There were some cases o mutilation o the penis. In yet
another \adodara hospital, a doctor conducted 1 post-mortems, the majority o whom
were women who had been gang-raped. There were three suriors o gang rape. In one
case, the police had interened and saed the ictim rom death. A woman rom Kheda
district who was gang raped, had her head shaed and an Ov cut into her head with a
knie by the rapists. She died a ew days ater she was admitted to hospital. There were
other instances o Ov engraed with a knie on the back and other parts o women`s
bodies, as well as o some men. According to the doctors, the deaths o the ew Hindus,
both men and women, who were admitted to hospital, were o people who had dis-
obeyed prohibitory orders and ell ictim to iolent circumstances.
J.20. Dr. Ali Shaikh, \adodara, a witness who appeared beore the Tribunal, ran
a 15-bed nursing home in a building near the Panigate police station in \adodara.
The building is just ie minutes away rom the police station, and all the ehicles,
mobile ans etc. belonging to the police station were usually parked outside it.
Despite this, his clinic and eerything inside it, including the ICU and epensie
medical equipment, was looted or destroyed on March 1. Two days later, the nurs-
ing home was burnt. As o May, the police had not taken any action in the matter.
The witness tried to return to the premises about three weeks later and to resume his
practice, when he was assaulted by a group o people. He and his son had a narrow
escape. The Tribunal records with shock and horror that, two-and-a-hal months ater
the crimes, een when insurance oicials isited the building or a surey, the crowd,
comprising o local people who lied around the clinic, did not allow them to enter the
premises. That these incidents could occur in such close proimity to the Panigate po-
lice station makes the whole situation almost arcical. Another community health cen-
tre - the Muslim medical centre in Bhoiwada was also destroyed and burnt.
J.2J. The Gujarat goernment is culpable o ailure to protect the lies o at least
2,000 ictims. It is also guilty o ailure to proide medical aid and relie to ictim-
suriors in lie-threatening situations.
J.22. To allow the spaces occupied by doctors and hospitals, which are sacred by
sheer nature o the job they do, to be itiated by hate speech and propaganda sounds
a serious warning to the etent o percolation o communal ideology in Gujarat.
J.23. The act that many leaders and perpetrators o the crimes are doctors surely
behoes upon the Indian Medical Association to initiate disciplinary action against
them or neer can the mandate o a doctor, who`s irst job is to sae and presere
lie, become eactly the opposite - o being the one to snatch lie away.
J Relief
J.J. lrom the night o lebruary 28, when brutal and systematic attacks against tar-
geted sections o the Muslims population in Ahmedabad city began, distressed resi-
dents were shepherded out o their homes and localities, oten in hired buses, in the
dead o the night by community leaders. Oer night, relie camps came up in the city
and by March 5 a staggering 98,000 reugees were housed there. Len by the admission
o the district magistrate and collector o Ahmedabad, there were 66,000 reugees in
these camps. In none o these eorts was any state presence isible.
J.2. By March 1, a similar situation was obsered in oer one dozen districts o
Gujarat (.ee Detaie .vvevre.: i.t of Cav., 1ovve III,. Independent sources show
that outside Ahmedabad, as many as 6,000 reugees were housed in camps all oer
the state. Oicial igures put this amount at about 25,000. In any eent, een by the
state goernment`s own assessment, at least 91,000 persons were displaced as a di-
rect result o the carnage. Independent assessments put these at closer to 1,4,000
reugees in the state o Gujarat ater the irst lush o brutal iolence, a staggering
igure by any standards. Besides, not all the suriors moed into camps- many
went to the homes o their relaties and so on. Including them in the calculation,
independent estimates put the total number o displaced Muslims in Gujarat at not
less that 2,50,000.
J.3. In the days ollowing the irst bout o brutal iolence, agents o the state,
notably the collectors,district magistrates o Ahmedabad, \adodara, Mehsana,
Himmatnagar, Anand, Sabarkantha, Banaskantha, Bharuch and Ankleshwar districts,
as also the oicials o some police stations, obstructed truckloads o priately
mobilised relie material - milk, oodgrains, etc. - rom reaching the camps. There-
ater, the same oicials harassed and penalised the reugees by, among other things,
not giing them suicient ood. The conduct o these IAS and IPS oicials calls or
strong penal action.
J.4. The Tribunal is greatly concerned and outraged by the act that only the leader-
ship o the Muslim community was inoled in the running o the relie camps be-
80ll0l 80 80080llll8ll0
cause others did not come orward. Though some non-Muslim NGOs did contribute
substantial amounts o aid to these relie camps right until August, the ast bulk o
relie assistance to the reugees came rom the community itsel.
J.S. The goernment is under a constitutional obligation to protect the basic rights
o eery citizen and duty bound to start and run relie camps or the iolence a-
ected. Instead, or days and weeks, the Gujarat goernment adamantly reused een
to recognise the eistence o reugees a direct consequence o the state sponsored
carnage,. It reused to register the relie camps and denied relie assistance - water,
ood, medical aid, sanitation - rom state coers.
J.6. In blatant and brazen contrast to the Gujarat state`s attitude to the earthquake
ictims just one year earlier, when the ghastly earthquake o January 26, 2001 rocked
the state, this time neither the Gujarat goernment nor the goernment o India applied
to the UN and other international agencies or relie and rehabilitation measures.
J.7. Lqually, the Tribunal notes with concern and anguish that an insigniicant number
o international aid agencies came orward in the case o the Gujarat carnage, to help
the ictims. Gien the scale o the state-perpetrated iolence and gien the response o
international aid agencies to such carnages in other areas in the past, it was incumbent
on the United Nations relie agencies, including the United Nations Deelopment
Programme UNDP,, the United Nations Children lund UNICLl,, the Vorld lood
Programme VlP,, the Vorld Health Organisation VHO,, and the United Nations
Oice or the Coordination o Humanitarian Aairs OCHA,, as well as international
humanitarian organisations, to proide relie and rehabilitation assistance to all those
displaced and dispossessed by the communal carnage in Gujarat, without discrimina-
tion. That this did not happen speaks olumes about the political dimensions o aid and
interention by oreign countries when mass crimes o this kind occur.
J.8. Similarly, the act that major national newspapers which, during such calamities
in the past, hae always set up independent relie unds, did not do so in the contet o
Gujarat 2002, speaks or the silence and complicity that surrounds relie and rehabilita-
tion o the suriors o the Gujarat carnage. This bodes ill or India`s polity.
J.9. Si relie camps had to approach the Gujarat High Court special ciil applica-
tions 33 o 2002, through a writ petition - supported by the Citiev. for ]v.tice av
Peace - and a senior adocate had to be lown down rom Mumbai or arguments,
beore the Gujarat goernment gae an assurance in court that it assumes responsibility
or proiding adequate relie to the camps - ood, water 30 litres per person per day,,
public toilets, medical aid, timely payment o rupees 5 per person per day and .laviava.
or protection rom the scorching heat. Justice Pradeep PB Majmudar deliered the
order on this writ petition on April 22, 2002. The petition had also urged army protec-
tion or the relie camps since, on more than one occasion, instigated by politicians
belonging to the ruling party and the police, relie camps had been attacked.
J.J0. The attitude o the chie minister o Gujarat, Shri Modi and that o his cabi-
net colleagues obiously percolated down to the entire state administration and po-
lice, towards innocent persons made ictims o a state sponsored carnage and ren-
dered reugees in their own homes and homelands, is nothing short o shocking. lor
this alone, Shri Modi and his cabinet are guilty o gross dereliction o their constitu-
tional obligation and duty.
J.JJ. On March 6, none less than Gujarat`s minister or ood and ciil supplies, Shri
Bharat Barot had the temerity to state in a much publicised interiew that since Hindus in
his constituency, liing close to the Dariakhan Ghumbat camp in Ahmedabad, elt inse-
cure with so many Muslims liing in a camp nearby, the camp should be closed down.
J.J2. As recently as September 9, at Becharaji, Mehsana, during his Gujarat Cavrar
Yatra, none other than the chie minister made a shocking public declaration: Vhat should
we do Run relie camps or them Do we want to open baby producing centres``
J.J3. The irst time that the Shri Modi condescended to isit the Shah-e-Alam Relie
Camp in Ahmedabad city was a ull month ater the carnage broke out, on April 4.
J.J4. Again on May 31, a public interest litigation special ciil application number
5311 o 2002, had to be iled in the Gujarat High Court by the Citiev. for ]v.tice av
Peace and Covvvvai.v Covbat to elicit an assurance rom the state that relie camps
would not be orcibly closed down. On June 4, the petitioners obtained an oral assur-
ance rom the goernment pleader that there would be no closure o the camps at
least until June 30, 2002. It was on this precise date, that the state goernment, through
the collector o Ahmedabad, began eerting pressure on camps and threatened penal
measures against camp managers, i they did not oluntarily` sign a statement saying
they wished to close down their camps. On June 26, when the matter came up or
hearing, the petitioners, seeral camp managers and reugees iled 25 aidaits, de-
tailing the etent o abdication o primary duty by the state and shocking instances o
coercion and pressure being used against reugees and camp managers.
J.JS. Due to the callous attitude o the goernment and threats o penal action
against indiiduals, a camp at Jahangirnagar, \atwa was orced to shut down on June
1. As a result, oer 600 reugees were orced to reside under the open sky despite
heay rainall. None o these reugees had until mid-May receied any compensation
or the destruction o their homes. In a way, the pending writ petition, ensured re-
sumption o rations and shiting o some o the reugees to camps in permanent
places like the Haj House and Qureshinagar. Shri Jaed Munnabhai Sheikh, the ad-
ministrator o the Patrewali Masjid relie camp, Saraspur, Ahmedabad was threat-
ened directly by the collector on the issue o the number o reugees liing there.
Inariably, the collector would come or a headcount in the aternoon - when some
o the reugees would hae gone out or a ew hours - not in the morning or at night.
This was a deliberate ploy used by the state administration to discredit the camps.
Vhile the Tribunal has detailed some o the speciic instances where direct coercion
was used to threaten camp managers to shut down, there was not a single relie camp
in Gujarat where oicials did not try and browbeat the managers. Camps in rural areas
were orcibly shut down in mid-May itsel. This appears to be a clear ploy on the part
o the Gujarat goernment to portray an image o normalcy, when there is nothing
about Gujarat that is normal een now.
J.J6. The writ petition pertaining to relie is still alie beore the Gujarat High
Court. To enable a proper assessment o the condition o the reugees and the
scope and etent o goernment rehabilitation, the petitioners also conducted a
detailed, state wide reugee surey. They presented this beore the court in the
orm o an aidait and urged that a monitoring committee or rehabilitation be
put in place. They hae also demanded that the court ask or complete account-
ability rom the Gujarat goernment regarding the Rs. 150-crore rehabilitation
package announced by the Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari \ajpayee when he is-
ited Gujarat on April 4.
J.J7. Certain aspects o the surey are important. It points out that apart rom the
nearly 20,000 persons who remained in camps in early-May within Ahmedabad city
only 13,500 as per goernment igures,, another 2,000-odd persons were still liing
in camps located elsewhere in the state, but they all had ceased to eist or the go-
ernment. These camps - Nandasan, Gandhinagar district 419 persons,, Dasaj, Mehsana
district 400 persons,, Lunaa, Shiali, Gunja near \isnagar, and Unjha, all in Mehsana
district with100 persons, 400 persons, 50 persons and 250 persons respectiely,,
Lunaada, Panchmahal district 460 persons,, and \adali, Sabarkantha district 200
persons, - were summarily closed down between mid-May and early July and the
goernment assumed no responsibility or their relie or rehabilitation needs. The
state admited in court that there are only 13,482 reugees in the state all o them in
Ahmedabad city,. To these, the state was then supplying oodgrains grudgingly through
the district collector, with only three-our days ration being dished out at a time. This is
not, howeer, an accurate picture o the number o displaced persons. The actions o
the state goernment on the ground, thereore, run contrary to their assurances made to
the court. Moreoer, the actions o the state goernment and its agencies in coer-
ciely shutting down relie camps is malaide, gien the abject reusal o the goern-
ment o Gujarat and its chie eecutie, Shri Modi, to actiely engage in any rehabili-
tation or reconciliatory measures. The reluctance o the Gujarat goernment to pro-
ide relie to the inmates o these camps where een water and oodgrains had to be
obtained through court orders,, and its subsequent use o coercion to close them
down, is intrinsically connected to an abject and crude reusal to concern itsel with
rehabilitation o it`s citizenry.
J.J8. None will argue that lie in a relie camp should continue oreer. But the
scale and brutality o the iolence at a dozen places across the state o Gujarat,
where ictims were quartered, and girls and women gang raped beore being burnt to
ashes to destroy eidence, requires re-location o the ictim-suriors to more con-
ducie surroundings where lie, liberty and security can be somewhat assured. Hence
the attitude o the Gujarat goernment in coerciely closing down camps, thus orc-
ing ictims to disappear`, is shocking, to say the least. Moreoer, it is linked to the
issue o the reusal o the goernment to rehabilitate the ictims o the carnage. Both
are iolations o the just and humane principles underlying Indian constitutional law
and international coenants related to iolence, reugees and state responsibility.
2. Compensation
2.J. This brings us to the crucial issue o compensation or the enormous human
and material loss during such mass man-made disasters and crimes. Can the amount
o Rs. 1.5 lakh eer compensate or the loss o a lie deliberately, cruelly and brutally
taken away Vhat when a amily loses not one but oer ie amily members, men
and women, especially those who are in the prime o their lies, leaing bitter heirs
behind Vhat about the loss o lielihood, dignity, a sense o amily and security
2.2. The Gujarat goernment showed itsel in a crudely partisan and anti-constitu-
tional light when it initially announced discriminatory amounts o compensation or
the suriors o the Godhra tragedy and the post-Godhra carnage.
2.3. The history o compensation in our country is a chequered one. Lach time
there are mass crimes o the kind o the carnage witnessed in Gujarat, goernments
hae issued GRs announcing compensation. In Mumbai, ater the 1992 iolence, largely
against the minorities, the goernment announced compensation to the tune o Rs. 2
lakh or eery lie lost. Obtaining this amount by the bereaed amilies was acilitated
by NGOs who continually put pressure on the goernment. Howeer, the amily
members o at least 14 missing persons`, whose bodies were either not ound or
deliberately burnt beyond recognition, hae, till date, been denied this compensation.
In addition to this, the goernment`s insistence that a Rs. ,000 bond be gien by the
suriors lends urther indignity and injustice to the paltry compensation.
2.4. A surior o the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi was granted Rs. 2 lakh as
compensation ten years ater the pogrom, by an order o the Delhi High Court.
2.S. The death o a military oicer under mysterious circumstances, due to gross
negligence and callousness, saw the Supreme Court awarding Rs. 6 lakh to the widow
o the deceased Charanjit Kaur ,s Union o India AIR SC, 1994,. In a historic
judgement by the Supreme Court in DK Basu ,s State o Vest Bengal, 1996, the
court laid down the undamental principles o monetary compensation, ruling that
appropriate compensation is indeed an eectie and sometimes, perhaps, the only
suitable remedy or redressal o the established inringement o the undamental right
to lie o a citizen by a public serant.` The court also held that in the assessment o
compensation, the emphasis should be on the compensatory and not on the punitie
element. The award o compensation in public law jurisdiction is also without any
prejudice to any other ciil action or damages.
2.6. These are just a ew o the judicial awards o compensation made in a ariety
o cases. The Gujarat high court itsel had awarded Rs. 2 lakh as interim compensa-
tion to the widow o Narendrasinh Zala, a 29-year-old assistant intelligence oicer,
who was subjected to mental and psychological torture that led to his death in police
custody in 199. Dharmishtaben Narendrasinh Zala ,s. State o Gujarat 199,.
In this case, the court ruled that when great loss and injustice is caused to a person
who has lost her beloed, and her lie has become miserable by way o an atrocity by
a police oicer, she is not in a position to undertake any orthodo litigation and
proceeding. Thereore, interim compensation can be awarded under Article 226.
2.7. Suice it is to say that in the case o mass crimes like the Gujarat carnage, or
other such instances o selectie and targeted crimes against sections o the population,
like the anti-Sikh pogrom o 1984, or the anti-Dalit iolence that takes place periodi-
cally, the discretionary dole that the state announces as compensation is in no way
commensurate with the loss o lie, dignity, lielihood and property o the ictims.
2.8. Similarly, abdicating its primary role as protector and proider o all its citi-
zenry, the Gujarat goernment has made no eorts to compute the etent o the loss
o lies, the quantum o the destruction o homes, belongings, businesses and agri-
cultural properties to date.
2.9. A measly Rs. 2,500 is being gien as dole to persons or loss o household
goods glar ralari, and, though the Prime Minister had announced that Rs. 50,000
would be gien or loss o homes, less than 10 per cent o those who hae obtained
home compensation rom the Gujarat goernment at least 25 per cent o the total
aected hae not receied anything at all, hae got more than Rs. 30,000 each. lor
most o the suriors o the Gujarat carnage, the state goernment has rubbed salt
on the wounds already suered, by giing them paltry amounts o Rs. 1,200-2,500
each or less.
3. Rehabilitation
3.J. The Gujarat goernment has shown a similar callous indierence to the reha-
bilitation o the ictims o continued iolence. Barely a year ago, when a deastating
earthquake struck the same state, the Gujarat goernment eoled an elaborate Larth-
quake-2001 Rehabilitation Package No. 1 or the earthquake aected and similar
Packages No. 2, 3, 4, 4a, 4b, 5 ollowed. The Tribunal has closely eamined these
packages. They show an elaborate and responsible concern on the part o the state
goernment to categorise the damage to homes and compensate the loss on the basis
o this categorisation. These packages show that the state goernment awarded dam-
ages rom Rs. ,000, or a hut that had ully collapsed, to Rs. 8,000, 15,000, 30,000,
45,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh, depending on the etent o damage. Besides, the packages
show goernment inolement in the repair and replacement o inrastructural acili-
ties like health, sanitation, roads, education, water supply and power. It also talks o
the restoration o community assets and economic lielihood. It talks o restoration
o cultural and heritage sites. The packages include the suspension o property ta
and other taes or a year and grants-in-aid to sustain the municipalities. It talks o a
detailed surey to be conducted by the state, using technical teams, photographs and
other data, to assess the damage. Only the bare details o these seen-eight packages
announced by the goernment o Gujarat, run by the same party, just oer a year
beore the carnage, hae been detailed here. The intent is to simply establish how
deeply discriminatory, callous and objectionable the conduct o the Gujarat goern-
ment is in the contet o the carnage.
3.2. Not only has no comprehensie rehabilitation package been declared een ie
months ater the iolence, no surey has been conducted. And by its behaiour and
action, the goernment has made it clear that it wishes to hae nothing to do with the
physical and psychological rehabilitation o its own people, the Muslims o Gujarat.
In act, unoicial NGO sureys and reports suggest mass migrations rom Gujarat to
Mumbai, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, UP and Bihar. The
number could be a staggering 15,000.
3.3. Apart rom the loss o about 2,000 lies, the destruction o businesses is
worth at least Rs. 3,800 crore. The damage caused to priate homes and agricultural
properties o at least 3,00,000 ictims o Gujarat has not been computed. Not less
than 20 mosques, argal. and other shrines, representatie o our composite cul-
ture, were systematically destroyed in the irst ie days o the carnage. Instead o
showing shock and remorse at the act that the religious places o worship and the
cultural heritage o the minority community were damaged and destroyed, Shri Modi
has made public pronouncements, stating that there was no question o his goern-
ment either buying land to re-house suriors, or whom returning to a threatening
enironment is an impossibility, or o repairing or rebuilding mosques, argal. and
shrines that hae been damaged.
3.4. Reporting on a meeting o a 100-odd representaties rom among the Muslim
community with the CM, 1le 1ive. of Ivia said, CM outrightly rejected the demand
that riot-aected ictims rom the worst-aected areas like Naroda Patia, Chamanpura,
Sardarpura, Best Bakery, Panad and other carnages be proided with alternate re-
settlement sites. He also reused any goernment und to rebuild the ransacked
shrines. The CM`s tough talk came at a gathering organised by the Gujarat Minorities
linance Deelopment Corporation chairman, Shri Gani Qureshi.` 1le 1ive. of Ivia,
Saturday, June 8, 2002,. It becomes clear rom this and other reported decisions that
the Gujarat goernment does not eel in the least obligated to rehabilitate the ictims
on humanitarian, egalitarian, constitutional or on any other grounds.
3.S. This attitude o the chie minister and his goernment is in direct iola-
tion o the recommendation o the National Human Rights Commission NHRC,
that has directed the goernment to rebuild a the shrines o religious and cul-
tural importance that hae been destroyed. In act, according to a news report
that appeared in 1le Pioveer on August 28, 2002 titled, ASI ordered to repair
Gujarat monuments`, it was reported that the union minister or culture and tour-
ism, Shri Jagmohan had ordered the Archaeological Surey o India ASI, to re-
pair any protected monuments damaged or destroyed in either the Gujarat earth-
quake or the carnage. According to the ASI, some o the protected monuments to
be repaired include historic mosques like the Ishanpur Masjid at Paldi, Ahmedabad
and vabara.` tombs, rom the Sultanate period, destroyed during the carnage,
and the Lothal and Dholaira sites o the Indus \alley ciilisation that were dam-
aged during the earthquake. Lidence recorded beore the tribunal shows that
many historic, religious and cultural sites were systematically targeted in the io-
lence. It is to be hoped that this decision o the central tourism and culture min-
istry is implemented switly.
4. Situation of Muslims in Gujarat
4.J. The Tribunal notes with concern and dismay, the continuing misery o
the ictim Muslim community in Gujarat. In areas where the most brutal inci-
dents o mass killing, quartering and killings oten ater seual crimes against
women and girls were committed, took place, statewide sureys by indepen-
dent groups show that there is no question o the ictimised section o resi-
dents returning to their original place o residence. (ee Detaie .vvevre.: .ta
tv. of Refvgee., 1ovve III,. These include suriors o Ghodasar, Sardarpura,
Pandharwada, Ode, Sanjeli, Randhikpur and Chanasma massacres, as also resi-
dents o illages in Gandhinagar district itsel, where Muslims were in a small
and hopeless minority. They also include areas like Gulberg society, Ahmedabad.
Though many residents o Naroda Gaon and Patiya hae returned, this has been
under duress, ater the orced closure o the reugee camps where they had
sought shelter. Many others hae been rehabilitated by Muslim NGOs in dier-
ent parts o Ahmedabad, while a signiicant number hae migrated to other
states.Agricultural land holdings owned by Muslims in districts are being cal-
lously taken oer by miscreants and dominant interests.
4.2. In many illages, especially in Mehsana, Gandhinagar, Panchmahal and Dahod
districts, Muslims who hae returned to their battered homes were acing a strictly
enorced economic boycott by the dominant castes and communities through their
reusal to buy milk products rom them, to hire them as labour on their ields, etc. A
near permanent loss o lielihood, and thereore a reduction to penury, was an immi-
nent and serious likelihood. The urgent need or interention by central and state
agencies is a must beore this enorced destitution causes urther alienation and
marginalisation o these populations.
4.3. In welcome contrast to the aboe, in many regions o Sabarkantha and
Banaskantha districts, it appears that a sincere eort was being made by members
rom the dominant community to isolate those in their midst who hae led and o-
mented trouble, and to take a stand against iolence in the uture. In Chhotaudaipur,
where sections o the Adiasi population hae been misled and misused by dominant
sections o their own and other castes, there has been a genuine epression o re-
morse, too, about the incident.
4.4. That only a ragile peace preails in the state can be gauged rom the act that,
with the slightest hint o resh aggression or trouble, ulnerable sections o the Mus-
lim population who hae returned to their original or new places o residence rush
back to the security o those camps that are still running. This happened, the Tribunal
has noted, or a whole week around the time o the July 12, 2002 ratl ,atra, which the
Gujarat goernment, in its irresponsible attitude to goernance, reused to postpone
or re-route. The same thing happened again, on September 24, when the attack on the
Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar took place. Oernight, the reugee camp at Haj
House had to proide or oer 4,000 terriied persons, while the capacity o the camp
is only 1,925. Needless to say, on such occasions, not only has the Gujarat goern-
ment ailed in proiding a sense o security to large sections o its own citizenry, it
has not een proided the ration and costs to camp managers who hae borne the
entire epenses.
4.S. It is shocking and unortunate that while the situation on the ground
remains grim in the state, where no remorse has been epressed, no justice is in
sight, where relie has only grudgingly been gien and rehabilitation measures
hae been meagre, the sole desire o the goernment appeared to be to proclaim
normalcy` beore the country and the world. At no time was this babble o
normalcy eposed more eectiely than during the isit o the two teams o
the Chie Llection Commission to the state in August 2002. The etensie is-
its o the teams to the towns and illages o Gujarat, their assessment o the
status o criminal inestigations, the pathetic plight o homes that een si
months ater the iolence lie in a state o total disrepair, are shocking pointers
to the etent that the goernment o Gujarat has gone, and continues to do so,
to literally delegitimise the rights and the ery eistence o a section o its
citizens - the Muslims o Gujarat.
4.6. The story o Gujarat today, especially o cities like Ahmedabad, is one o
brutally enorced ghettoisation o the Muslim minority in their residential colonies as
much as in their business and trade enterprises. This phenomenon has been growing
steadily oer the past two decades (ee clater, vi! iv Cvarat, 1ovve II, but the
present carnage has made it ery acute. In parts o Ahmedabad, it is becoming in-
creasingly diicult or the Muslim minority to lie, inhabit and moe reely in areas
that are now seen as Hindu`. This state o aairs should be unacceptable in any part
o Constitution-bound India.
4.7. During the iolence, communal polarisation had taken place in public and
priate hospitals, in schools and in many other public arenas. The Tribunal inds that
not only is this ugly reality in Gujarat shocking, there is no eort at all on any signii-
cant scale, either by the state or in ciil society, to protest and rectiy the situation
through short and long-term measures.
4.8. lor the religious minorities, the state o aairs in Gujarat is blatantly discrimi-
natory and in iolation o the Indian Constitution. The Tribunal regrets to record that
with the conniance o the state, they hae already been reduced to the status o
second-class citizens.
S. Violation of Basic Human Rights
S.J. The crimes against humanity that took place in the state o Gujarat ater leb-
ruary 2, were all gross iolations o basic human rights. The suriors were rendered
destitute. All the homes, schools, cultural and religious places, that hae been dam-
aged or destroyed need to be rebuilt.
S.2. All the oences were oences under sections 302,30, 295 and 153 o the
Indian Penal Code.
S.3. Despite the mass crimes committed against large sections o the population o
Gujarat, the police response to the crimes was such that justice was not done. This is
eident rom the act that mass lIRs were iled, oten een avclvava. were not re-
corded and an inestigation o orensic eidence was not undertaken.
Our eamination o the oluminous eidence, including the statistics gathered by
dierent groups, clearly reeals that in each case the system was not geared to cope.
S.4. In Gujarat, een the appointment o public prosecutors ollowed neither con-
stitutional principles nor the basic principles o criminal justice.
S.S. Section 164 o the IPC empowers the judge to inorm himsel,hersel
about the truth. This is a section that can be, but has not been used in many
cases, to get at the truth.
J.J. The Tribunal recommends that all the recommendations made by the Lditors`
Guild in its report on the Gujarat carnage be implemented. (ee Detaie .vvevre.,
1ovve III,
J.2. The role o the mass media - audio, isual and print - is critical in times o
internal conlict. Unbiased coerage, the urge to inestigate and report the truth, and
to epose injustices are the positie aspects o media coerage. On the negatie side,
proocatie headlines and non-actual reporting can reinorce stereotypes, uel
rumours, an the lames o hatred and justiy or instigate iolence against the targeted
community. In the latter case, the media abandons what is epected o a ree press -
air reporting, analysis and comment - and, instead, acts as a partisan in the conlict.
J.3. lollowing Shri Modi`s diktat, the bodies o the passengers burnt to death in a
compartment o the Sabarmati Lpress at Godhra, were taken by road in a caalcade
to the Sola Ciil Hospital in Ahmedabad. Ravblat.` in the caalcade resorted to
proocatie sloganeering, epressing their rage and threatening reenge. The state-
controlled media was used to broadcast this message and the local .a.lravi radio
station een announced the caalcade`s scheduled time o arrial in Ahmedabad. By
the time the dead bodies reached the ciil hospital, a highly charged crowd had al-
ready assembled there, shouting incendiary slogans like, Kloov a baa loov .e evge`
Ve will aenge blood with blood`,.
J.4. It was during the .30 p.m. broadcast on .a.lravi radio that Shri Modi, or the
irst time, alleged that the ISI or a oreign hand was behind the Godhra tragedy.`
This, then, became his goernment and party`s oicial ersion, and or his avgl Parirar
raternity, the justiication or the reaction`. The tragedy was that the state eecutie
touted the oreign hand` ersion without any inestigatie proo and that large sec-
tions o the media published it uncritically, without asking Shri Modi the basis on
which he had so quickly arried at such a conclusion.
J.S. Len Lnglish language newspapers, which, to their credit, played a non-parti-
san role ater the outbreak o iolence post-Godhra, altered somewhat on the ques-
tion o the ISI link in the Godhra crime. lor eample, based on inormation proided
by oicials inestigating the Godhra tragedy, 1le 1ive. of Ivia carried a report in the
80l0 0l l00 N00l8
last week o March, debunking the pre-planned theory`. But weeks earlier, the same news-
paper had uncritically reported statements made by Gujarat ministers, baselessly asserting
that the Godhra attack could not hae been spontaneous.` Later, ater etensie inestiga-
tion, the Ahmedabad based lorensic Science Laboratory concluded that the inlammable
material that set coach S-6 alame could not possibly hae been poured in rom outside.
J.6. .a 1a was the irst T\ news channel to lash the news o the Godhra deaths.
Thereater, Zee 11s local cameraman in Godhra rushed his ootage to Ahmedabad.
This was aired soon ater 2 p.m. Others, including Doorar.lav, ollowed, deputing
camera crew rom Ahmedabad, \adodara and Delhi. The magnitude o the horror
only unolded seeral hours ater the tragedy, as the eening T\ news bulletins re-
peatedly telecast gruesome pictures o the burnt train and the corpses. The telecast
o such pictures raises ethical issues that the isual media should deliberate upon.
J.7. On lebruary 28, the two largest circulation, multiple-edition Gujarati newspapers,
ave.l and Cvarat avaclar, which are airly dependent on the state goernment`s lar-
gesse, played up the unsubstantiated oicial ersion o there being a oreign hand` behind
the Godhra tragedy. It was only 3-4 weeks later that reports rubbishing this theory began
to appear in newspapers. But by that time, the damage had already been done.
J.8. ave.l and Cvarat avaclar hae been playing a blatantly communal role
since the BJP returned to power in Gujarat in 1998. The BJP goernment`s patronage
o these dailies needs to be looked into careully, so that they do not continue to act
as mere goernment agents. In the recent carnage, too, the role o ave.l was par-
ticularly mischieous, while some smaller circulation newspapers like Cvarat 1oa,,
alblar and Cvarat Mitra acted responsibly.
J.9. On lebruary 28, the day ater the Godhra tragedy, ave.l published photo-
graphs o the burning coach o the Sabarmati Lpress with the headline, lity Hin-
dus burnt alie` aboe the masthead. Besides, it also had a gruesome colour spread o
photographs o the Godhra corpses. This was the fir.t major breach o media ethics
and law in the contet o the Gujarat carnage. Vitnesses told the Tribunal that copies
o this issue o ave.l were widely photocopied and launted by cadres o the RSS,
\HP and BD in rural areas, to prooke anger and prompt the participation o ordi-
nary people in the carnage that ollowed.
J.J0. In the same issue, another ront page headline that read, lrom among those
abducted rom the Sabarmati Lpress, two dead bodies o Hindu girls ound near
Kalol in mutilated state` had the ollowing report: \adodara, Thursday: News about
the dead bodies o two girls, abducted rom the bogies during the attack on the
Sabarmati Lpress yesterday, ound in a mutilated and terribly disigured orm near a
pond in Kalol, has added uel to the already olatile situation o tension, not only in
Panchmahal, but in the whole state. In an act o inhumanity that would make een a
deil weep, both girls had their breasts cut o. It is eident rom the dead bodies that
the ictims had been repeatedly raped. There is speculation that the girls might hae
died because o gross seual abuse.` Ater inestigations, the police ound the report
to be entirely baseless.
J.JJ. The police, too, stands indicted in this case by choosing to remain silent and
doing nothing to epose the newspaper and initiate action against it or publishing a
totally baseless but highly inlammatory story. Meanwhile, ave.l continued, un-
checked, to paint Muslims as murderers and traitors. On March 1, a report titled, Call
rom the mosque: Slay the non-belieers - Islam is in trouble` told its readers: On
lebruary 2, at 11.30 a.m., a mosque located along the railway tracks incited a crowd
with the call: Slay the non-belieers. Islam is in danger.` Responding to the call, the
crowd attacked the suriing Rav .era. rom the torched train compartments, who
were sitting by the railway tracks.` This, too, was a story without any basis.
J.J2. lrom the news clippings perused and the testimonies collected by the Tribu-
nal, it appears that the deliberate labelling o the miscreants responsible or the Godhra
tragedy as anti-national Pakistanis` was the brainwae o Gujarat`s home minister,
Shri Gordhan Zadaphiya, who is also a senior \HP leader. The bogie-burning is a
terrorist act similar to the attack on the American Centre in Kolkata. The culprits in
both cases are the same,` Shri Zadaphiya claimed, and issued a dire threat: Ve will
teach a lesson to those who hae done this. No one will be spared and we will make
sure that the orces behind this act will neer dare to repeat it.`
J.J3. On March , ave.l carried a report with a damaging headline, suggesting
that Indian Muslims returning rom the Haj pilgrimage could be a potential terrorist`
threat to Hindus. Titled, Hindus in danger! Possibility o attack with terrorists` sup-
port! lrightening scheme o attack by returning Hajis!`, the report stated: \arious
goernment agencies hae receied rightening inormation that, ater the Godhra
incident, the ear o terrorist attacks is looming. The terrorists will use RDX pur-
chased with oreign unds, attack with bombs or hijack planes. Inestigating agencies
hae conirmed that the ISI is responsible or the attack on ar .era. in Godhra. The
anti-social elements hae gone underground or the present and are waiting or an op-
portunity to attack. It is possible that the attack will take place ater the international
pilgrims return rom Saudi Arabia ater Haj. The attack was postponed so that the pil-
grims can return saely. According to the SP o the intelligence bureau, Shri Sanjee
Bhatt, the bombings will be as serious as those that took place in Mumbai, in 1993. As
i in support o this, the chie minister, Shri Modi, told the trading community that the
Godhra incident was not communal. It was well-planned and according to the acts
being reealed, it indicates that we hae to be more alert. Only Pakistan beneits rom
all this... That there are internal disturbances in India, and the citizens are harassed,
appears to be in the interest o the perpetrators. The chie minister stated that the
goernment is determined to get to the roots o the Godhra incident and destroy the
elements that harmed the common man... Similarly, the ormer chie minister, Shri
Chhabildas Mehta said that the goernment and the people should take adequate steps
to ensure that Pakistan`s secret serice cannot do whateer it likes whereer it likes.`
J.J4. Vhen Muslim leaders shouted slogans like ivv.tav Zivaba!`, read a ave.l
headline on March 8. The report said that the Circuit House witnessed an unprec-
edented eent`, when Muslim leaders o the city came together to shout slogans like
the one mentioned aboe, and appeal or peace. The implication was clear: that Mus-
lims are inherently anti-national and iolent, whose raising o patriotic slogans and
appealing or peace was unprecedented`.
J.JS. Typically, the opening lines o most reports concerning the post-Godhra io-
lence began with, In the continuing spiral o communal rioting that broke out as a
reaction to the demonic or barbaric, Godhra incident...` The denunciatory words used
liberally to describe the Godhra incident were strikingly absent when reporting the sub-
sequent genocide. Clearly, like the Gujarat goernment, ave.l, too, continued to jus-
tiy the carnage in the rest o Gujarat as a reaction` to the heinous arson in Godhra.
J.J6. There were seeral instances o misreporting that helped uel rumours. The
report, on March 16, o an incident that took place in Machchipith, \adodara, where
our Muslim youths in a Tata Sumo had been picked up or carrying arms, was com-
pletely misleading. I one read the ave.l report, it appeared as though the youths
had a whole cache o arms in the ehicle. The truth was that one o the occupants
was carrying a irearm or which he had a license. Similarly, there were misleading
reports about Tandalja in \adodara, which has a large Muslim population. It also
housed the largest relie camp, giing shelter to more than 5,000 people rom the city
and nearby areas. ave.l`s reports on Tandalja were instrumental in uelling rumours
and spreading alse inormation. In act, on March 18, members o Shanti Abhiyan,
an NGO, orced ave.l to publish a reutation o an article it had earlier published,
which reported that there was tension in Tandalja.
J.J7. Inlammatory tactics were used consistently by ave.l. Reports on gruesome
acts, like the burning alie o people, were published in bold letters, under banner
headlines. Photographs o burnt, mangled bodies were a regular eature on the ront
page, or the last page resered or important local news. In the irst week o iolence
in the state, ave.l published colour photographs o scenes o the carnage, superim-
posed with a burst` giing readers the latest igure o casualties. Photographs o
tri.lvwielding Rav .era.` were splashed on the ront pages in the irst week. The
photographs sered to instill terror amongst Muslims and to prooke intense passions
and mutual hostility between the two communities.
J.J8. ave.l did worse than ignore the journalistic code o conduct that prohibits
naming the communities inoled in iolent conlagrations. It published reports like:
a mob o religious anatics` read Muslims, who were abducting tribal women, ha-
ing to ace the wrath o the people, or: religious anatics` about to attack a temple
causing tension in certain areas in \adodara city, bringing deotees` read Hindus,
out on the street to protect their place o worship.
J.J9. Throughout the iolence, ave.l cynically propagated the idea o Muslims
being anti-national and pro-Pakistan. Areas in the city or the state with a sizeable
Muslim population were described as mini-Pakistan`. On March , a report claimed
to hae discoered Godhra`s Karachi connection`: an entire area in Karachi named
Godhra. On March 1, the headline o a news item claimed that a mini-Pakistan` was
in eistence in the Naayard area o the city. The article went on to say that such
pockets` were being created in the city, and asked the police to take note o the crimi-
nal` UP migrant labourers who lied in this area. That Muslims in such ba.ti. were liing
in complete terror at the time, was a triial detail the ave.l reports had no use or.
J.20. On March 1, a report claimed that the entire Sabarmati Lpress would hae
been put to lames had it not been delayed. The headline claimed, A mob o -8,000
was waiting or the Sabarmati Lpress to arrie at Godhra.` The mob, ave.l re-
minded its readers, was made up o religious anatics`.
J.2J. Cvarat avaclar, the other leading Gujarati paper, also played a role in in-
laming passions, though not as consistently as ave.l. Reportage on the Godhra
incident, in particular, was inlammatory and irresponsible. But it also carried reports
highlighting the need or communal harmony.
J.22. On lebruary 28, the lead story on page 1 carried the headline, 3-4 young girls
kidnapped.` The source o this inormation was not mentioned. On page 10, a report
quoted \HP leader, Shri Kaushik Patel, who claimed that 10 girls had been kid-
napped. The reporter, eidently, had not cross-checked the concocted claims, either
with the IGP or the railway police. The report did not mention the names o any o
the girls or any other details about the alleged kidnapping. \et another report, on page
2, carried the account, ostensibly, o an eyewitness, Sushri Hetalben, ater the train
reached \adodara. She was quoted as saying, \oung girls rom Ashraiwadi, who
were traelling with us, are lost.`
J.23. On March 6, the Cvarat avaclar carried a report on the last page with the
headline, The Plan was to torch the whole train, not just one bogie.` A bo item on
the last page stated that, a mob was ready or the second attack.` Again, the source o
inormation was not mentioned, the tone and tenor o the reports, howeer, sug-
gested they were reports based on careul inestigation.
J.24. On March , Cvarat avaclar carried a bo item on the last page, claiming
that, ISI is creating trouble in Gujarat, Kalota and his colleagues are important link,
the deputy commander o Huji`, arrested in Kolkata, has conessed to the conspiracy.`
The report uses the term Ravblat` seeral times or the traellers on the Sabarmati
Lpress on that ateul day. On March 6, the headline o a report read Torching o
the train at Godhra was pre-planned. Kalota was tipped o by a railway oicer on
how to cut open the acuum pipes.` The source o inormation was not mentioned.
J. 2S. On March 16, a page 1 story titled, Indiscriminate iring rom latehganj
Mosque,` was a complete abrication.
J.26. On March 18, a photograph on page 1 showing bombs recoered by police during
combing operations in the Danilimda area o Ahmedabad, had a caption that said: People
talking o secularism should be asked i protecting criminals is secularism.`
J.27. There were many other stories that contributed actiely to the belie that
Muslims were mobilising on a large scale to attack Hindus. It is eident rom the
communal pogroms and conlicts in recent years, that a section o the mass media is
being increasingly used to peddle the amiliar communal tactic o depicting the ic-
tim as the aggressor and ice ersa. On March 24, a heading on page 1 o Cvarat
avaclar read, Sat Kaial temple receies threat, Sarsa temple and atl.laa under
threat o being blown up using remote control.` And a heading on page 2 in the same
issue read, Possibility o attack with deadly weapons, Secret agencies receie inor-
mation, Religious and educational institutions will be targeted. All DSPs alerted.` On
March 26, Cvarat avaclar had a story on the last page, Sabarmati Lpress incident
was nothing but a pre-planned incident, many youths ready to commit crimes on just
one signal rom Bilal.` There was absolutely no basis to any o these reports.
J.28. Howeer, unlike ave.l and Cvarat avaclar also carried some positie
stories. Here are some eamples:
K Muslims saed a Hindu shopkeeper`s shop in Halol. March 2, p.5,
K Residents o Ram-Rahim tera in Ahmedabad are an eample o communal
harmony. March 5, p.1,
K Hindus saed the lie o a Muslim woman in Halol. March 5, p.5,
K No one wants riots. Rare scenes o communal harmony in sensitie areas o the
city. March 6, last page,
K Llol illage near Himmatnagar is an eample o communal harmony.
March 6, p.5,
K A Muslim woman oered shelter to a Hindu amily. March , p.3,
K At Bhoj illage in Padra tava, Muslims were gien shelter in a temple.
March , p.8,
K Oh! He is our Rahim Clacla. our gvrvi.` and they saed him.
March 10, p.11 - An article by Bhaen Kachchhi in Sunday supplement.,
K At Lilapir Dargah o Talaja, deotees include all - Hindus and Muslims.
March 11, p.5,
K An old Muslim woman saed rom a mob by a Hindu youth. March 22, p.2,
K A pregnant lady taken to hospital by a Muslim youth risking his lie. March 28,
J. 29. Cvarat 1oa, is an 11-year-old Gujarati daily with a claimed circulation o 0,000.
It is published by the Lokhit Prakashan Trust, Ahmedabad. The paper was started by Mus-
lim liberals, and is probably the only Gujarati daily with a large Muslim readership. The paper
carries news rom illages and district towns that are not generally coered by the main-
stream media. Gien that Muslims constitute the ast majority o the readers o Cvarat
1oa,, the role it played during the carnage is particularly noteworthy and signiicant
J.30. In its report on the Godhra incident on lebruary 28, the paper reported that
ar .era. caught hold o some Muslim tea-endors at Godhra station and orced
them to say ]ai lri Rav`, which sparked o the incident. This is also highlighted in
a bo on another page. In contrast to the more temperate language used in later re-
ports, the reportage on lebruary 28 was distasteul in parts. Vhen the Sabarmati
Lpress arried at \adodara station, the saron mob o the Bajrang Dal and \HP
ran like dogs, attacking people with swords... ar .era. got down rom the train shouting
slogans like ar ar Malaer!` larat Mata i ]ai!` Kill Muslims, chop up Mus-
lims`...` The paper also carried a report and a photograph o a Hindu youth, Shri Arun
Paswan, who was also attacked at \adodara railway station.
J.3J. There was no editorial on the Godhra carnage on lebruary 28, to condemn the
heinous crime o torching a train compartment, whateer the proocation. Principles
apart, the daily, it would seem, was een obliious to the enormous communal conse-
quences o what had happened.
J.32. Howeer, thereater, the etensie coerage o the incidents, helplines and
inormation about the police and the administration was actual.
J.33. Details o relie camps in Ahmedabad - their location, the kinds o acilities
aailable and what was necessary, in the camps - as well as appeals or assistance
were published.
J.34. The paper carried detailed inestigatie reports o the iolence. Some o
these were:
K Details on the conditions o people in the relie camps, including issues o legal
assistance, marriages organised and the deliery o babies in the camps. March 6,
K Inestigation into the Naroda Patiya incident, with details relating to the pro-
curement o petrol, diesel and gas cylinders used or burning.
K Use o the inlammable chemical Lakgel` or burning. March 8, This has not
been reported in any other paper.
J.3S. The daily also made a consistent eort to report on instances o communal
harmony, and to project the iew o Hindu liberals and progressies who were critical
o the ivvtra project in Gujarat. Some eamples are reports on: how the lies and
properties o 15 Muslims o Naroda in Ahmedabad were protected by local shep-
herds, how Hindu doctors in Bhanagar saed properties rom burning and made eorts
to treat the injured, relie in the orm o oodgrain and clothes proided by Hindus to
ictims in Jhagadia, a group marriage o Hindu and Muslim youths in Mangrol.
J.36. Also reported was news rom Prantij, where a woman .aravcl successully
stopped riots occurring in her illage. The March 8 edition carried news items about
peace committees in \agra, Palej, Dholka and Bharuch. On March 10, the paper had
a report on how Hindu amilies saed the lies o 15 Muslims in Kaitha illage near
Borsad. Vhile there were reports rom Juhapura, o how Muslims saed Hindus, there
was also a report on how looting o both Hindus and Muslims took place.
J.37. The March 12 issue carried news o a Hindu amily in Dehgam, which shel-
tered 20 Muslims in their house, and a boed item about a relie camp in Bhalej
illage, Kheda district, run by Hindus and Muslims. The March 15 issue had a report
o how Muslim women saed the lies o Hindus. News o unity among the Hindus
and Muslims o Lambadia and Sami was reported in other issues o the paper.
J.38. The Gujarat goernment, the Tribunal notes, was selectie about action against
T\ channels and publications. Vhile it banned some local T\ channels, and also a
national channel - tar èr. - on March 2, because it had eposed the goernment`s
inaction, it took no action against newspapers like ave.l. The ban was lited on the
assurance that the CM would be gien a chance to air his iews on the channel.
J.39. The Lnglish language newspapers, with their local editions in Gujarat, did a
commendable job through most o that period. Although the oer-emphasis on urban
reportage meant that the illages and rural districts aected by the carnage receied
eposure much later een though the iolence took place in the same 2 hours ater
Godhra,, the abiding impression gained by the Tribunal, on perusing the Lnglish media,
was its commitment to secular alues een in the ace o intimidation. The Ahmedabad
and \adodara Newsline` supplements o 1le Iviav re.. and 1le 1ive. of Ivia`. local
edition, did a ine job in eposing the truth, doing ollow-up stories etc. The Ahmedabad-
edition o 1le ..iav .ge, too, relected this urgency and sense o purpose. Many o the
stories eposed the goernment`s complicity and the police buckling under political
pressure.1le Iviav re.. especially went out o it`s way on the issue. The resident editor
o the newspaper, Shri \irendra Kumar had to ace threats and intimidation rom both the
goernment and leaders o the accused organisations but he did not buckle down.
J.40. The Tribunal would like to record its appreciation o the !ate. ov tle Cvarat
Carvage put out on the website .abravg.cov, which were, in a sense, the irst insightul
accounts and analyses o the horrors o the Gujarat carnage. The conditions at the
relie camps, the abdication o state responsibility in giing succour, and the sheer
scale o the deaths, were recorded accurately by this and other eorts o this
organisation. Journalist Teesta Setalad`s tracking o the Gujarat carnage, in the re-
port brought out by Covvvvai.v Covbat and in earlier publications, also deseres
aourable mention.
J.4J. Through a statement issued on April 3, the chairman o the Press Council,
Justice K Jayachandra Reddy, warned the errant media o action under section 295-A
o the IPC and allied proisions. Section 295-A deals with Deliberate and malicious
acts intended to outrage religious eelings o any class by insulting its religion or
religious belies.`,
J.42. The national print and electronic media documented the holocaust and the
systematic targeting o Muslim homes, volaa., shops and establishments, actories,
hotels and eateries and other economic assets as well as argal., mosques, shrines and
abri.tav. graeyards,.
J.43. The reiff.cov portal posted an interiew that journalist Sushri Sheela Bhatt
conducted with Shri KK Shastri, the 96-year-old president o the Gujarat unit o the
\ishwa Hindu Parishad, which makes or chilling reading. According to Shri Shastri,
the list o Muslim-owned shops to be targeted was prepared on the morning o
lebruary 28. This because, Ve were terribly angry oer Godhra,. Lust and an-
ger are blind`... ivvtra was attacked. This is a tremendous outburst that will
be diicult to roll back`. Ve cant condemn it because they are our boys.` Shri
Shastri added, The \HP has ormed a panel o 50 lawyers to help release the
arrested people accused o rioting and looting. None o these lawyers will charge
any ees because they beliee in the RSS ideology.` Shri Shastri is said to hae
denied making these remarks. The two \HP joint general secretaries rom Gujarat,
Dr. Jaideep Patel and Dr Kaushik Mehta, whom the Lditors` Guild met at the \HP
oice in Ahmedabad, also contradicted the report, making out that Shri Shastri was
old and hard o hearing. They rejected the theory that Muslim premises were tar-
geted. But Sushri Sheela Bhatt has the tape. (ee .ectiov ov .vvevre., 1ovve I,. The
tenor o the April issue o 1i.lra ivv avaclar, published by Rashtra Chetna
Prakashan and edited by none other than Shri Shastri himsel, lends credence to
what he told reiff.cov. A two-page article therein praises the Cllote arar` CM
Shri Narendra Modi, or his handling o Godhra and its atermath.
J.44. The Tribunal recorded the eidence, in detail, o representaties rom the print
and electronic media. There are a large number o Gujarati newspapers, there being 32
large and small ernacular publications, in Ahmedabad alone. |vclab, in Rajkot, was,
characteristically, the irst to take out a peace rally immediately ater Godhra. avblar
with 4 editions in Gujarat,, Prablat published rom Ahmedabad and Mehsana, and Cvarat
1oa, which has a Muslim ownership, and is published in Ahmedabad, are seen to hae
been moderate and balanced in their reportage and editorial approach. The CMD o avblar,
Shri Kiran \adodaaria, aoided publishing pictures o corpses. The paper receied an
anonymous threat on April 1, because it had carried a column by Shri MJ Akbar, the
editor-in-chie o 1le ..iav .ge. Though curew passes were denied to the editorial sta
o avblar, they were able to moe about quite reely with their normal press cards.
Prablats director, Shri Ashish Kothari, has testiied beore the Lditors` Guild
about swords and liquor being distributed on lebruary 2. The Kvtcl Mitra ran a
statement by a prominent vovari on its ront page or seeral days, condemning
Godhra and epressing regret oer what had happened while the March 2 issue o
avra.ltra avaclar, Bhanagar, carried a special supplement deoted to religious
harmony. Lidence beore the Tribunal also indicates that smaller Gujarati papers
like Mal,avtar, edited by Shri Jashwant Rawal, incited iolence through prooca-
tie reporting. The publication`s April 3 edition, produced beore the Tribunal al-
leged that a Muslim police oicer was behind the local riots in Anand district. An
eight-column commentary on the ront page was headlined, Muslims will hae to
proe that they are ull Indians.`
J.4S. The widely reported statements o Sri Modi and ormer union law minister,
Shri Arun Jaitley, about the media`s role in prooking iolence` generated a lot o
discussion and debate. ...I would also appeal to the media to do their bit. The media
is supposed to gie subdued coerage to such olatile situations.... I you show dead
bodies and then identiy which community the bodies belong to, then, instead o
playing the role o reducing tensions you are actually prooking people.` - Arun
Jaitley. Telephonic interiew on the programme, Is Vaqt`, Zee èr., March 1,.
J.46. The Tribunal inds these statements arcical, since these top-leel goern-
ment unctionaries did nothing to control obious eorts by the \HP,RSS,BJP lead-
ership to uel rage and instigate reenge` post-Godhra. Vhen the ree press did its
job, highlighting the crimes committed and the goernment`s complicity in it, they
chose to lay the blame at the doors o the messengers` rom the media.
J.47. Journalists coering communal riots in the country eperience a sea change
oer the last decade and a hal, in the conditions o work and the risks they now ace.
Prior to 1992, when communal iolence did not inole the mobilisation o large
mobs,cadres, a reporter or a press photographer could moe around more or less
reely, secure that, in the perormance o journalistic duty, they themseles would not
become potential targets. But ater December 6, 1992, this can no longer be taken or
granted. The iolence and andalism accompanying the Ayodhya moement changed
all that. As the demolition o the Babri Masjid was in progress on December 6, 1992,
seeral reporters, correspondents and media persons were brutally attacked.
A signiicant deelopment, negatiely in this regard has been the physical danger
eperienced by women and men journalists rom the targeted Muslim community
coering the carnage. The Tribunal met at least three such who had identity cards
with assumed names, supported by their respectie publications and managements to
ensure sae passage in their work.
J.48. Media persons were targeted during the Gujarat carnage as well. Shri Modi
himsel made repeated and eiled threats about the teleision coerage by national
channels like tar èr. and .a 1a. He een attempted a ban on the ormer news
channel, which did not quite work.
J.49. On lebruary 28, Shri Bhargaa Parikh o Zee 11 and his cameraman were at-
tacked because the attackers thought that they were documenting eidence o indiiduals
leading the mobs. Shri Dibang rom .a 1a was attacked near the Kabadi Market on
March 2. Shri Rajdeep Sardesai o tar èr. was threatened. ANS sta was also attacked.
Two correspondents o `D11, Shri Sanjay Singh and Shri Sanjay Rokhade were detained
at Bhanagar or ie hours. They were terrorised and traumatised by a band o Bajrang
Dali. who taunted them repeatedly, asking, should we kill you, should we not
J.S0. On April 3, the crime reporter o 1le ..iav .ge in Ahmedabad, Sushri Sonal
Kellogg, and the reporter o a Surat-based daily were beaten up by the police in the
Mariam Bibi Ni Chawli area in Gomtipur. Vhen she complained to the deputy com-
missioner o police |Zone \[, Shri RJ Saani, whom she knew quite well, all he said
was that it might hae been a mistake.` Vhen she protested to the police commis-
sioner, Shri PC Pandey, in his oice, he was dismissie, Don`t bother me.I don`t
hae time.ile a complaint i you want.` As the journalist hersel puts it, I police-
men can be so brutal towards journalists on duty, their behaiour with ordinary citi-
zens could be so much more atrocious. It is a pity that the police in Gujarat is either a
mute spectator or it harasses and tortures innocent people.`
J.SJ. On April 8, the Ahmedabad police, who had ailed to control mob iolence
oer the past 33 days, seerely assaulted about two dozen reporters and photogra-
phers at the historic Gandhi Ashram. The journalists, who had assembled to coer
two peace meetings, including one attended by Medha Patkar, were beaten up ruth-
lessly. Leading his men was deputy commissioner o police, Shri \M Parghi. Three
media persons, 1le Iviav re.. photographer Shri Harsh Shah, `D11 cameraman
Shri Prana Joshi and 11 reporter Shri Harshal Pandya were seriously injured, and
Shri Prana Joshi had to be admitted to the ICU at a priate hospital. .a 1a corre-
spondent Shri Dhimant Purohit, who suered a racture in his hand, `D11 reporter
Shri Sanjee Singh, ]av.atta photographer Shri Amit Dae, Cvarat avaclar reporter
Shri Ketan Triedi, a photographer o the same newspaper Shri Gautam Mehta and
reporter Shri Ashish Amin were amongst the other ictims.
J.S2. The Lditors` Guild team also aced the wrath o ivvtra orces. On April 1,
one o its members was closeted with some print and T\ journalists at the Circuit
House in Ahmedabad, when there was a big commotion. A group o 6-8 \HP storm-
troopers burst into his room, shouting and gesticulating, jostling those present and
ehemently accusing them o hatching a dark conspiracy behind closed doors. A Gujarat
Inormation Directorate oicial sought to interene and said that discussions were in
progress with a representatie o the Lditors` Guild. The mob turned on the latter
demanding to know whether he was Hindu or Muslim. He replied saying that this was
irreleant, and that he was a ivv.tavi` Indian,. Giing them his name, he asked the
intruders to identiy themseles and state their purpose. They reused to identiy them-
seles, shouting vv ivv laiv` Ve are Hindus`,, each insisting in turn that this
was his name. Only gradually did the group cool down. Its spokesmen accused the
Lnglish media and national T\ channels o deaming the majority community with
one-sided` and totally biased` coerage. They only listen to Muslims and ignore
Hindus. They do not ocus on Muslim rioters and on damage to Hindu property. Hin-
dus who escaped rom the Godhra inerno and hae been admitted to hospital in
Ahmedabad and Hindu reugees in the Prem Darwaza and other relie camps hae
not been interiewed.` .a 1a inited the harshest rebuke, especially or its coer-
age o the iolence in the irst ew hours o lebruary 28. The group demanded that
this channel should be shut down and its licence` reoked. .a 1a was probably the
irst on air with lie ootage o the rioting. 1le 1ive. of Ivia and 1le Iviav re..,
both o which hae Ahmedabad editions, were also singled out or mention.
J.S3. The Lditors` Guild report comments etensiely on the language used in the
press notes o the Gujarat goernment. Some o these desere mention here: The
phraseology most oten used or the Godhra incident was, inhuman genocide`, in-
human carnage` or massacre`, while the subsequent incidents o iolence were in-
ariably described as disturbances`, and occasionally, as iolent disturbances,inci-
dents.` The chie minister isited Godhra on the aternoon o lebruary 2 itsel, and
the press note issued thereater described the torching o the Sabarmati Lpress as a
pre-planned, inhuman, collectie, iolent act o terrorism.`
J.S3.J. Seeral press releases o the goernment reer to the situation haing been
brought under control within 2 hours. An oicial release on March 5 carried twin
headings, The state goernment has taken stringent action to stem riots and io-
lence: Narendra Modi` and Chie minister`s appeal to trade and industry, religious
heads and intellectuals or the reial and restoration o economic actiities has eoked
encouraging response.` The occasion was a Citizens` meet organised by the Gujarat
Chamber o Commerce and Industry, in response to an appeal by the CM to reie
and restore economic actiity.` The release notes: Modi said it was the duty o the
state goernment to proide security to the citizens een by taking drastic actions.
Reerring to the keen interest shown by the people around the globe in the Resurgent
Gujarat` ater deastating earthquake, he said that entire world was looking at the
progressie and ast deeloping Gujarat.`
J.S3.2. Ater again reerring to the pre-planned, collectie terrorism against Gujarat`,
Pakistan`s proy war` and its clandestine role.behind the Godhra genocide`, Modi
asserted that at this critical juncture, interest o Gujarat was to maintain peace and said
that the Goernment had discharged its duty to stop iolence.` lurther, he said, the
elements wanting to perpetuate iolence and destabilise Gujarat were disappointed.`
Making a reerence to Shabana Azmi`s demand to ile a case o mass murder against the
chie minister, Modi said that he would not hae any regret to be hanged at the Bhadra
lort i restoration o peace within three days was considered an oence.
J.S3.3. Another press release dated March 9 was headed, Ve will not surrender to
the elements out to malign Gujarat says the chie minister.` The occasion was another
address to leading business men and the merchant community` under the auspices
o the Maskati New Cloth Market Mahajan. Shri Modi said Mahatma Gandhi had
taught Gujarat to ight against injustice. Health minister Shri Ashok Bhatt who also
spoke, was cheered when he said that the trading community hails the chie minister
as the Sardar opposed to terrorism`, because he restored peace to Ahmedabad in
only 2 hours.` The press release concluded with the obseration that businessmen,
traders and the owners o process houses were ull o praise or the strong will power
o the chie minister and described him as Cllote arar``
J.S3.4. A March 4 press release rom Ahmedabad on the occasion o Shri LK
Adanis isit to Gujarat stated, Home minister LK Adani today said that the Godhra
genocide had gien a setback to the our years o peaceul Bharatiya Janata party rule
in Gujarat.` This comment was relected in the heading.
J.S3.S. There were a ew press notes on communal amity. A release dated March
2 quoted the chie minister as denying newspaper reports o people haing been
burnt alie in Pandharwada illage in the Panchmahal district. It turned out to be one
o the worst instances o rural iolence. This incident was irst reported by the
monthly Covvvvai.v Covbat in its special issue, Genocide, Gujarat 2002`, March-
April issue, No. -8.,`
J.S4. Among the teleision networks, in addition to Doorar.lav, .a 1a and 11
Lenadu, operate Gujarati channels. There were ew critics o 11, and its coerage
was described as balanced. But .a 1a, in particular, receied a lot o lak or its
candid coerage. A year ago, during the earthquake in 2001, it had been praised or
going o the beaten track and picking up special nuances on the ground. It is possible
that a similar approach proed an embarrassment to the powers that be on this occa-
sion. Like the other networks, it used mobile OB ans that allowed or quicker and
more ehaustie coerage.
J.SS. tar èr. telecast some graphic ootage and interiews in the thick o the
riots in Ahmedabad, and along the \adodara-Godhra highway, where a number o
industrial establishments and trucks were burnt. It also carried an etremely moing
interiew with proessor JS Bandukwala in \adodara, a man whose secular conic-
tions continue to burn bright, een ater going through a terrible ordeal.
J.S6. There is little doubt that some o the teleision coerage eposed the state goern-
ment. It hit back by banning tar èr. on March 2 or seeral hours. In an interiew to
Ovtoo March 18,, Shri Modi was asked why he had sought to muzzle the press. His re-
sponse was, There is no ban on the media. I blacked out just one channel because o the
proocatie reporting methods used. Traditionally, the print media has used its own methods
o sel-censorship, taking care not to mention the names o communities while reporting
riots. I eery hal an hour, names o communities are going to be mentioned, without any
substantiation or any attribution, it inlames the situation instead o allaying it. It is not
diicult to see what impact it will hae. I must also tell you that since then, the channel has
tendered an apology and made amends.` Asked about this, Star News sources commented
that they met Shri Modi at a press conerence and requested him to lit, what they termed, an
unair ban. The chie minister did so. It must also be added that Shri Modi was gien an
opportunity to air his point o iew on eents in Gujarat on the channel, by prior
arrangement beore the ban was lited.
J.S7. The coerage by Doorar.lav and . Ivia Raio .IR`s, Ahmedabad stations
was restrained. Many iewers and listeners who appeared as witnesses beore the Tribu-
nal said that they appreciated this, although others epressed dissatisaction, comment-
ing on the act that while .IR reported the acts, Doorar.lav kept saying that the
situation was under control.` The chie ministers appeal or peace was telecast repeat-
edly by Doorar.lav. Peace rallies in dierent parts o the state and programmes
emphasising communal harmony were aired. These included sound bytes in Gandhiji`s
oice, culled rom archial material, and stories o Hindus sheltering Muslims. Lorts
were made to counter rumours and scenes o joint Holi celebrations were screened.
J.S8. According to a report in 1le Iviav re.. March 8,, .IR, Delhi was quizzed
by somebody in the Prime Ministers Oice, regarding an Lnglish discussion that was
critical o the manner in which the Gujarat riots had been handled. This is said to
hae resulted in an inquiry and the transer o the concerned programme oicer.
J.S9. Many cities in Gujarat hae local cable-teleision channels that telecast news
and programmes seeral hours a day. Cvarat avaclar has one such channel in
Ahmedabad. There is another, a 24-hour channel in Anand, known as Clarotar .rea
ètror iv or CAN-Link. The group also publishes a local newspaper, à,a Paar.
Vhat subscribers wanted rom their local media was positie stories o community
liing and hard inormation about iolence-aected areas, curew hours, sae routes
or commuting, and so orth. This was not orthcoming and such inormation, when it
was proided, was sometimes conusing.
\adodara has 4 cable channels. Vhile they did carry some oicial peace messages,
it is alleged that they were politically eploited and that some o their coerage
amounted to incitement. In the eidence placed beore the Tribunal, members o the
ciil liberties` group, PUCL, as well as Shanti Abhiyan were particularly critical o the
]11 and Dee channels. The police commissioner o \adodara elt that the cable
networks had played haoc` and issued them a warning. The licences o two opera-
tors were suspended on March 1, ater they showed lie ootage o rioting in the
sensitie Machchipith area on March 15, when the \HP celebrated news o the per-
ormance o .liav,a. at Ayodhya. This same ootage was telecast again the ollowing
day. The licences were restored ater 48 hours. lIRs were, howeer, registered against
èr. Pv. and the 1`M Clavve respectiely and the operators were released on bail.
Political leaders used the local electronic media in the most despicable manner. The
intentions o a number o leaders belonging to the ruling party and its ailiates be-
come ery clear, i one eamines their speeches on local T\ channels such as ]11,
Dee and 1`M. The speeches o leaders like Shri Ajay Dae BJP,, Shri Nalin Bhatt
BJP,, Shri Deepak Kharchikar Shi Sena,, Shri Neeraj Jain \HP,, Sushri Bhartiben
\yas Mayor o \adodara, and Shri Jitendra Sukhadia BJP,, were particularly pro-
ocatie, obiously intended to incite crowds to iolence. I these were the speeches
made on T\, one can well imagine the role o these people during the iolence on the
streets. lor eample, on March 18, Sushri Bhartiben \yas conened a lavti aviti`
meeting which was attended by the police commissioner and the collector, as well as
leading political igures o arious parties. She made appropriate paciist remarks at
this meeting but later that day, she made inlammatory remarks against the minority
community in the \adodara Municipal Council.,
J.60. The Tribunal also recorded eidence that shows the misuse o the media by
channels like Citicabe and àrvaa, which inluenced public perceptions or the worse
in Bharuch-Ankleshwar.
J.6J. Networks are subject to rules ramed under the Cable Teleision Networks
Regulation, Act, 1995. Operators hae to seek registration by an authorised oicer,
who may be a district magistrate, sub-diisional magistrate or police commissioner
within his,her area o jurisdiction. The rules prescribe a code or programmes and
adertisements. No programme may be carried, which oends good taste or decency,
attacks religious communities, incites iolence, contains alse and suggestie innuen-
does and hal-truths, or is unsuitable or unrestricted public ehibition. Any authorised
oicer may prohibit certain transmissions inringing the code or otherwise, i epedi-
ent to do so in the public interest. Penalties include ines and seizure o equipment.
J.62. The Lditors` Guild was inormed that during long periods o curew between
March 1 and 15, some cable channels made it a point to screen patriotic` or nation-
alist` ilms such as Caar, orer and Ma 1vle aaav.
J.63. The Gujarat carnage was probably the irst o its kind, where mobile phones
and cellular serices were actiely used. They were used by the leaders o large mobs
to coordinate and launch attacks. Lqually, they were used by ictims, suriors, rights
actiists etc. to contact authorities or to make rantic appeals or peace, which, unor-
tunately, were not always heeded.
J.64. The long history o communal iolence in India is replete with instances
where rumours hae been a prominent part o the vov. oeravi adopted to stoke
hatred and iolence. But it works dierently now. Larlier phases o inter-community
iolence, riots started oer small and reak incidents and oten spread due to the
residual mistrust and suspicion between communities. Since the early eighties, the
pattern o communal iolence has increasingly assumed the characteristics o po-
groms and genocidal killings, and has made the generation o hate speech and rumour
an eercise put into orce by the elements who lead and mastermind the killings. Hate
speech, pamphlets and propaganda are conspicuously used to these ends, and een
mainstream newspapers put into use or the purpose.
J.6S. The rumours that were spread during the Gujarat carnage ollowed amiliar
lines: Impending attacks rom Muslims, threat o retaliation rom the relie camps,
Muslim youths being armed, decapitated bodies ound in a temple, etc. Rumours such
as these, which were doing the rounds, were not adequately countered by the authori-
ties, regrettably, the mass media, too, did not pay heed to this. In what might appear
paradoical, and reminiscent o the 1992-1993 anti-Muslim pogrom in Mumbai, while
the minorities were the ictims, it was the majority that eperienced the threat per-
ception most acutely. This was so because the ear psychosis was deliberately cre-
ated, in Mumbai earlier and in Gujarat this time, so as to justiy the carnage and
killings as deensie` acts by protectors o Hindus`. In response to this, sections o
the minority ormed igilante squads to deend themseles in majority dominated
areas o Ahmedabad and \adodara.
J.66. Hate speech and hate writing, rumour-mongering and actual reportage hae
now become critical issues that need to be addressed by the police, the goernment
and the media, to maintain internal peace and security.
J.67. The Tribunal would like to put on record that an anonymous e-mail message
was widely circulated in early March, the gist o which was that the trigger or the
tragedy at Godhra was proided by riotous ar .era., who, among other things, mo-
lested a young Muslim girl on the railway platorm and dragged her with them into the
compartment. It was this misdemeanour which enraged the Muslim stall-owners try-
ing to rescue the girl, the e-mail claimed. It added that two local correspondents, Shri
Anil and Sushri Neelam Soni, were eyewitness to all this but that their report was
suppressed. To make the inormation appear authentic, the designations and tele-
phone numbers o the correspondents were gien.
The e-mail message said that the girl was molested` and abducted`. lurther, as
the train began moing out o the station, incensed hawkers pulled the alarm chain to
stop it within a ew hundred metres o the station, near the outer signal cabin adja-
cent to the Ghanchi neighbourhood, to which the endors belong. The train was
mobbed and stoned and coach No. S-6 was set on ire.
Vhen, eactly, this e-mail message was actually sent, is not clear. Howeer, on
being questioned by the Lditors` Guild, the Sonis denied haing iled the story and
disclaimed it as a abrication. Neertheless, others also put out somewhat similar
ersions, supplementing their account with a news report published by the laizabad-
based ]av Morcla on lebruary 25, narrating accounts o the misbehaiour o ar .era.
on their way to Ayodhya. traelling by the same Sabarmati Lpress.
That the ar .era. attempted to drag a Muslim girl standing on the platorm to
their compartment is a act. But rumour had it that she was actually pulled into the
train. A senior journalist who deposed beore the Tribunal, clariied that she had spo-
ken to the amily concerned, who said that an attempt was made to pull the girl into
the train, but Muslim endors interened at once and rescued her.
J.68. The Tribunal records rom the eidence placed beore it that our young men
rom Ahmedabad - Shri Memon Mohammed Samir B and Shri Memon Ayub Abubakar
rom Juhapura and Shri Memon Gulam Mustaa J and Shri Mansuri Makbul I, both
rom Sarkhej Road - hae iled an lIR under sections 153A,, 155, 295, 295A, o
the Indian Penal Code against ave.l and Cvarat avaclar. The complaint, aed to
the commissioner o police, Ahmedabad, Shri PC Pandey, and dated March 10 states,
Ater the incident o lebruary 2, these two publications, instead o reporting news
airly, made baseless accusations against Muslims and printed allacious news and also
spread the news in a proocatie manner, which is detrimental to the interest o the
nation and as such, caused proocation resulting in large-scale destruction. Due to
the articles carried by the publication on lebruary 28, which were inlammatory, not
only was the integrity o the Muslim community questioned, but unspeakable atrocities
were also inlicted on it. By such proocatie news articles, the accused displayed
support to particular right-wing etremist organisations like the \HP and the Bajrang
Dal, which has not only ruined the prestige o the state but brought national shame to
India in the eyes o the international community. The rit caused between citizens on
the grounds o religion and communal disharmony is becoming irreocable and as such
the accused, large circulating newspapers, hae committed a heinous crime, as contem-
plated by the sections aboe. They can also be booked under the POTO ordinance.`
The Tribunal notes with regret that no action has been initiated against the newspapers.
ee Detaie .vvevre.: P!C Reort ov Meia, 1ovve III,.
J.J. In the past our years o BJP rule in Gujarat, seeral unconstitutional measures
hae been initiated. Since lebruary 1998, when the BJP was returned to power or a
second term, undamental rights o citizens hae been iolated, the rule o law louted
and the security o the lie and property o citizens, particularly the religious minori-
ties and Dalits, consistently threatened. No action has been taken against the culprits.
A plethora o outits like the Hindu Jagran Manch and Dharam Raksha Samiti spawned
by the .avgl arirar, hae been engaged in the task o mobilisation or intimidation,
threats, terrorisation and iolence.
J.2. lrom the eidence placed beore the Tribunal, it is eident that a ull catalogue
o the words and deeds o the .avgl arirar in the last our years, and the BJP goernment`s
unabashed support and encouragement to these on the one hand, and dogged reusal to
book the perpetrators o hatred and iolence on the other, is itsel an appropriate sub-
ject or a separate report. Gien below are mere eamples to illustrate how the calcu-
lated spreading poison has been systematic and sustained, especially since 1998.
2. 1argeting the Minorities
2.J. The whole o 1998 and 1999 saw a spate o attacks on minorities, especially
on Christian institutions and Christian religious persons in remote areas o Gujarat
state, as well as in cities like Rajkot and Ahmedabad. But no action was taken by the
state goernment against the oenders.
2.2. Around Christmas time in 1998, 1 churches were destroyed in Dangs in south
Gujarat in a concerted attack on the minority led by \HP leaders Janubhai Pawar and
Swami Aseemanand.
2.3. During 1998, as part o the attacks on Christians by the BD, \HP, RSS, and
BJP all oer Gujarat, some incidents took place in \adodara as well. One o the
major incidents was the attack on the ie-day National Conention o Christians
Alpha Group,. The gang, led by Shri Niraj Jain \HP leader, and others allegedly
belonging to the \HP and Bajrang Dal, started threatening the participants to stop
the conention and quit as they resorted to orcible conersions o Hindus to Chris-
80ll00 l 60(8f8l
tianity.` Police supported them. Seeral people were beaten and one man suered a
racture o the hand. At midnight, the \HP men also attacked women delegates who
were staying at the Vomen`s Hostel in latehgunj.
2.4. In many parts o Gujarat, the police isited Christian institutions at Christmas
time 1998, asking how many people attended Christmas mass. Should this be al-
lowed in a country that calls itsel both secular and democratic Lach act o iolence
oer the past our years was preceded by hate-mongering and icious propaganda
through pamphlets signed by Janubhai Pawar o the Hindu Jagran Manch \HP,. No
action was taken until a year later, in December 1999, he was arrested at Dangs
beore Christmas. lor details on the hate propaganda unleashed in Gujarat against
Christians and Muslims, see chapter on Hate Vriting, \olume II,.
2.S. A priate members Bill, to preent conersion by coercion or orce`, but
which did not consider conersion to Hinduism an oence, was sought to be rushed
through the state legislature in Noember-December 1999. It was ultimately held
back because o the outcry by local groups. The campaigners pointed out that eisting
proisions within the Indian Constitution were adequate to preent conersions by
inducements and coercion and that the maimum number o conersions, post-Inde-
pendence, hae been o tribals to Hinduism.
2.6. In August 2000, Pakistan-trained terrorists shot down 33 Hindu pilgrims in
Kashmir and in the cross ire another 100 died. The \HP leader, Shri Praeen Togadia,
took it upon his organisation to aenge` these deaths and targeted unsuspecting Mus-
lims o Gujarat. At a press conerence in Ahmedabad on August 1, 2000, he declared,
Ve will gie a itting reply to these killings here, in Gujarat.` lor the net ten days,
the law and order machinery was held to ransom, as gangs o the RSS,\HP,BD led
by elected representaties o the BJP destroyed Rs. 15 crore worth o Muslim prop-
erty in Surat, Ahmedabad, Khhedbrahma, Lambadiya, Rajkot, Porbander and other
Gujarat cities. Not a rupee in compensation was paid to any o the ictims. Leaders
and actiists o RSS,\HP,BD igure in the lIRs o the police, yet no action has
been initiated against them.
In September 1999, police ired 80 rounds o bullets on Muslims rom Rajpurani
Pole near Mandi, in \adodara to stop any Muslim who would come out on the road
to sae his,her property or to protect the Jumma Masjid. Shri Nalin Bhatt, then a
minister in the state goernment, personally directed the iring by the police. He een
made the statement, Muslims hae no place in Hindustan. Lither they go to Pakistan
or Kabra.tav graeyard,.` In the current riots, some BJP leaders and members o
iolent mobs made similar statements.
3. Lnforcing Ghettoisation
3.J. On lebruary 8, 2000, a horde o people ransacked the homes o Muslim ami-
lies who had bought homes in Paldi, a posh and predominantly Hindu inhabited local-
ity o Ahmedabad. The amilies who had just bought a lat there were terrorised, their
belongings destroyed. Two municipal corporators o the BJP led the mob, shouting,
]ai ri Rav!` One senior \HP leader was also present. The motie was to terrorise Mus-
lims to moe out o a pre-dominantly Hindu locality. (1le ..iav .ge, |ebrvar, , 2000,.
3.2. Vhat happened in Paldi is becoming more and more common all oer Gujarat
state. This iolates Article 14 Lquality beore the law,, Article 15 Non-Discrimination
on grounds o religion, race, gender, caste,, Article 16 Lquality o opportunity in matters
o employment,, Article 19 Protection o the reedom o speech, epression and moe-
ment,, Article 21 Protection o lie and personal liberty,, Article 22 Protection against
arrest and detention,, Article 25 lreedom o conscience and reedom o religion,.
This was not an isolated incident. Social and economic boycott enorced through
terror and iolence is happening eery other day in BJP-ruled Gujarat, where the writ
o the RSS runs large.
4. Lncouraging the RSS
4.J. In early December 2000, the then CM Keshubhai Patel took the lead in liting the
ban on goernment serants rom joining the RSS. In response to a national outcry within
and outside the Indian Parliament, on December 15, 2000, the Prime Minister, Shri
\ajpayee, assured the Indian Parliament that there was no question o army or goern-
ment oicials being allowed to join the RSS. On lebruary 6, 2000, Shri \ajpayee an-
nounced that he saw nothing wrong in the moe since the RSS was a cultural organisation.
Howeer, the BJP goernment in Gujarat was orced to rescind its earlier directie ollow-
ing relentless pressure rom the opposition parties and een some o the BJP`s NDA allies.
4.2. Soon ater the Gujarat goernment announced its no ban on goernment ser-
ants rom joining the RSS policy, it played the role o a generous host at a national
meet o the RSS, an organisation that openly espouses its goal o a Hindu State.
Photographs o the then union home minister, Shri LK Adani, standing alongside
the then chie minister Shri Keshubhai Patel the latter donned in the trademark
khaki shorts o the RSS,, at the head o the rally, were published by major national
newspapers throughout the country. On January 11, 2000, ollowing its conention,
the RSS heaped laish praise on the state goernment or the ree serices` it pro-
ided to the three-day ava libir`. Pvcca roads were laid oernight especially or
the eent and ree drinking water and sanitation serices proided. The Gujarat State
Road Transport Corporation stationed 260 new buses at the enue to acilitate trans-
portation o participants. This amounted to a blatant misuse o goernment and semi-
goernment machinery. Billboards put up by the \HP all oer Gujarat since 1998,
proudly proclaim: Velcome to ivv Ra.ltra`. Velcome to a Hindu State`,.
S. Discrimination Politics
S.J. The Gujarat goernment has also taken a series o administratie measures
that directly iolate the Constitution. These are:
K A selectie census specially directed at Christians and Muslims in the state.
K A selectie census o SCs and STs initiated to ascertain when they conerted to
Islam or Christianity.`
K A directie to the state police asking them to inestigate` eery case o inter-
religious marriage. This ollowed spurious propaganda by the RSS-\HP-Hindu Jagran
Manch combine that Muslims were abducting and marrying Hindu girls in order to
conert them to Islam, while Christians were guilty o orced conersion.
K Inter-community marriages between couples are rowned upon by the state. In
1998, the goernment directed the police to set up a special cell to inestigate eery
case o inter-community marriage. Recently a Christian groom was orced to conert
to Hinduism een ater his marriage to a Hindu girl took place in a ciil ceremony
beore the courts.
6. Imposing Hindutva
6.J. Muslim children hae had to sit or eams on Id day. A ew years ago, the
Gujarat goernment also tried to remoe Good lriday rom its list o public holidays.
A olley o protests rom the Christians orced them to shele the plan.
6.2. In January 2001, the education department o the Gujarat goernment issued
a circular, directing all schools in the state to subscribe to the RSS mouthpiece, alava.
The directie was allowed to lapse thanks to widespread criticism and protest.
6.3. In January 2002 the Gujarat state`s education department ordered that all
grant-in-aid schools must perorm larti ooav on January 26, the day on which a
killer earthquake had deastated Gujarat a year ago. The act that such actiity is
contrary to the practice o religious minorities was deliberately ignored. A goern-
ment circular issued earlier this year, inormed tribal welare institutions receiing
grants rom the goernment that a part o the sanctioned amount this time would be
paid to them in kind - copies o Hindu scriptures.
J. Nothing but Genocide
J.J. Oer the past three decades, a disturbing trend in mass crimes has been the single-
handed targeting o ulnerable sections o the population. This includes caste massacres
against Dalits or lower castes, and iolence against the country`s minorities. On seeral
occasions, responsible persons and organisations hae termed massacres such as the re-
cent one in Gujarat, the one in Delhi in 1984 and those in Hashimpura Meerut, in May
198, when PAC personnel killed more than 40 Muslim youth, as genocide killings.
J.2. Ater Vorld Var II, an International Conention was brought into eistence
worldwide on December 9, 1948 to Preent and Punish the Crime o Genocide. In
all, it has 19 Articles, o which Article II and III are particularly important. Article II
deines the crime o Genocide as: .Genocide means any o the ollowing acts
committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part a national ethnical, racial, or
religious group, as such:
K Killing members o the group,
K Causing serious bodily or mental harm to the members o the group,
K Deliberately inlicting on the group conditions o lie calculated to bring about
its physical destruction in whole or in part,
K Imposing measures intended to preent births within the group,
K lorcibly transerring children o one group to another group.
The Conention has also enumerated the oences that are punishable and they are
K Genocide,
K Conspiracy to commit genocide,
K Direct and public incitement to commit genocide,
K Attempt to commit genocide,
K Complicity in genocide.`
J.3. Under the Conention, the acts that are punishable are, genocide, conspiracy
to commit genocide, the direct and public incitement to commit genocide, the at-
tempt to commit genocide and complicity in genocide. The persons who can be pun-
ished or these crimes are any o the persons committing any o the aboe acts, een
i they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public oicials or priate indiiduals.
6000l00
J.4. Under the Conention, it is a responsibility o member states to make legisla-
tion to gie eect to the proisions o the present legislation, and to proide penalties
to persons responsible to be tried by a competent tribunal o the state, or such inter-
national penal tribunals whose jurisdiction the contracting party may hae accepted.
J.S. To proe the crime o genocide, there has to be eidence o the physical de-
struction o a section, community, racial or ethnic group as well as the eidence o
mental harm. At the cru o it all, the eidence needs to point to an intention` to
destroy and harm, it is a crime not computed in numbers o dead or harmed but in the
intention and desire to commit it - the sheer planning, pre-meditation, etent and
thoroughness o the killings.
J.6. The Gujarat carnage was especially coloured by state complicity in the io-
lence, premeditation and planning behind the attacks on the lies, dignity, lielihoods,
businesses and properties o a section o the population - Muslims - and a selec-
tie assault on their religious and cultural places o worship. Muslim women were
targeted as objects o their community and similarly abused with an inhuman leel o
iolence and seual crimes. Lconomic and social boycott o the community was openly
encouraged and continues in many parts o Gujarat, to date.Agricultural land hold-
ings o Muslims, small and large hae been taken oer by dominant community and
caste groups. Lielihood or Muslims has been snatched away and there is a clearcut
and ongoing design to economically cripple the community.
J.7. The chie Minister o Gujarat, Shri Narendra Modi has been held by this Tribu-
nal to be directly responsible, along with cabinet colleagues, and organisations that he
leads and patronises - the BJP, RSS, \HP and BD. lor all these reasons together there
is no way that the post-Godhra carnage in Gujarat can escape being called squarely
what it was - Crimes against Humanity and Genocide.
J.8. The case or genocide against the \HP and the Bajrang Dal as well as Shri
Narendra Modi and members o his cabinet is being made or the ollowing reasons:
K There hae been a number o statements and pamphlets rom the \HP and the
BD and its leaders in the past, which establish that they hae been consistently against
the Muslim community, making them the target o erbal and physical attacks and
hae been prooking people to economically and physically attack Muslims and, there-
ater, subject them to economic and social boycott.
K There is suicient eidence to show that the carnage in Gujarat, post-lebruary
2, was led by the\HP and the Bajrang Dal.
K The carnage was at si leels: Physical destruction o a part o the community,
economic destruction, seual iolence and rape o a large number o Muslim women,
cultural and religious destruction, resistance to rehabilitation, publicly declared de-
sire to physically and morally destroy the Muslim community o Gujarat.
K The oences that were committed in the irst lush o organised iolence con-
tinue at a lower intensity under the same political dispensation een today (ee De
taie .vvevre.: tatv. of Refvgee vrre,, 1ovve III,.
J.9. The chie minister is equally liable or prosecution or genocide or the ol-
lowing reasons:
KReusal to take any preentie measures and protect the lies and properties o
Muslims,
K Conniance in and acilitation o the carnage,
K Transer o good police oicers,
K No action against erring police oicers or party unctionaries who were named
by ictims,
K Persistent threats to close down priately run relie camps,
K Abusie comments against the aected and ictimised community that qualiy
as Hate Speech,
K Reusal to comply with the NHRC recommendations,
K Total ailure in the proision o relie and rehabilitation,
K Absence o punitie action against proocatie press and other organisations,
K Inluencing criminal inestigation - the omission o the names o \HP,RSS,
BJP unctionaries rom charge-sheets although their names appear in lIRs.
K The case or the Gujarat carnage being nothing short o genocide is clinched by
the act that Muslim journalists, Muslim police oicers, Muslim bureucrats, Muslim
teachers hae had to unction only ater concealing or changing their identities and
this continues to be a trend een now.
J.J0. Considering these acts and the distinct tendency and trends that mass crimes
committed against marginalised groups hae taken in past years, it is a grae lapse on
the part o the goernment o India, which has, to date, not enacted any law in com-
pliance with Article \ o the International Conention on the Preention and Punish-
ment o the Crime o Genocide, 1948. India has signed the Genocide Conention in
1948 and ratiied it in 1958. Under the Conention, a state that is signatory is bound
to eectiely act upon and legislate upon the intents o the legislation. So ar, India
has not enacted any law in compliance with the Conention.
2. Note on the International Criminal Court
2.J. The ICC came into eistence rom July 1, 2002. India has, howeer, reused to
ratiy the treaty. Under the treaty, any person can be tried and punished or crimes
against humanity, acts o genocide, etc. beore the International Court, irrespectie
o where the crime is committed. India, not being a ratiying party, cannot be orced
to hand oer any person charged or conicted to this Court.
2.2. The genocide in Gujarat could not hae been taken up at the ICC since the
Court came into being only on July 1, 2002. Howeer, since it is not the irst time that
mass crimes o this kind hae been allowed and condoned internally, it is ital, as a
saeguard or the uture, that India ratiies the ICC treaty and subjects itsel to inter-
national scrutiny, especially in respect o heinous crimes committed by goernment
unctionaries. I the carnage in Gujarat had taken place post-July 2002, and India had
still not ratiied the ICC treaty and acceded to the Court, the issue could hae come
up through the UN Security Council reerence.
J. Alienation
J.J Hate speeches and the atrocities that ollow against sections o our people
are generating issures and diisions in our society. Deep-rooted and serious
alienation is being caused by these hate campaigns against minorities in dier-
ent parts o the country. As is eident especially in Kashmir, Muslims all oer
India are eperiencing this alienation. In the absence o any concerted eort,
on the part o goernment, central or state, to check growing hate politics and
brutal iolence, it is diicult to see how the problem o alienation and its dam-
aging consequences can be remedied. Among those engaged in this cynical
project are the chie minister o Gujarat, Shri Narendra Modi, his ministerial
team, the Bajrang Dal and the \HP represented by people like Shri Praeen
Togadia and Shri Ashok Singhal.
J.2. The current practitioners o hate, preach and pursue the same philosophy that
contributed to the tragic partition o the country in 194. Haing made impressie
organisational gains since then and haing spawned numerous ailiates - \HP,
Bajrang Dal etc - the same orces are back to playing the same game. Through word
and deed they relentlessly send out the message that Muslims are not sae in this
country. The ineitable consequences are clear or eeryone to see.
J.3. Apart rom numerous instances o brutality and bestiality, and the sheer
scale and magnitude o the maleolence, the Gujarat carnage is perhaps epitomised
by the act that een High Court judges - one sitting, the other retired, both
Muslims - eperienced deep insecurity and utter ulnerability at the time. Vith
the goernment oering them no protection whatsoeer, both had to lee their
homes. The house o Justice Diecha retired, was ransacked and partly destroyed.
Vhen the Tribunal met him in May, two months ater the carnage, Justice Kadri,
a member o the bench, did not eel sae enough to return to his oicial accom-
modation. This threat to the judiciary cannot be treated lightly. Lery citizen is
ully entitled to equal protection o law. But when judges are not sae, what o
the common man
0080@00008
2. Muslims as Second Class Citizens
2.J. Reducing Muslims to the status o second-class citizens would appear to hae
been the central objectie o the perpetrators o the carnage. Light months ater the
iolence, the Muslim community in Gujarat continues to ace terror and economic
boycott. There is little hope o speedy justice being done. Many o the accused, al-
most all the chie culprits, are out on bail. Lidence placed beore the tribunal showed
how, in illages where people hae dared to return, organised economic and social
boycott had reduced them to penury. This is the story in parts o Gandhinagar,
Sabarkantha, Anand, Bharuch, Ankleshwar, Mehsana and Dahod districts as also in
Ahmedabad and \adodara city. Tens o thousands hae not been able to resume
work because o the comprehensie economic crippling, een insurance claims hae
not been met in many cases. lar rom helping a badly bruised and battered commu-
nity, with word and deed, Shri Modi`s goernment continues to gloat oer their pre-
dicament. This state o aairs calls or immediate interention rom eery institution
o the state and ciil society, not only in Gujarat but also rom all oer the country.
3. Women
3.J. An issue that needs to be recognised and sensitiely handled is the high number
o emale-headed households, widows and ictim-suriors o seual iolence. Spe-
cial measures need to be taken or the material, emotional and psychological healing
o this section.
4. Children
4.J. There are at least 33,000 children and young persons who hae aced attacks
on their own person or been eyewitness to most gruesome orms o iolence being
inlicted on their near and dear ones. Both state and society must make consistent
eorts to reach out to them so that the trauma that they hae been inlicted with is
dealt with in a humane ashion and does not become the cause o growing alienation.
S. Ghettoisation
S.J. Cities o Gujarat, especially Ahmedabad, hae seen increasing ghettoisation
since 1991. This enorced ghettoisation ollowing requent communal clashes, iso-
lates communities rom each other, ruptures normal social interaction and inter-de-
pendencies, and creates a dangerous climate within localities and colonies where
demonisation and stereotyping o the other` becomes so much easier. This is hardly
conducie to peace and social harmony in a multi-religious, multi-cultural, multi-
ethnic society like ours. Actie steps at the policy leel need to be taken to reerse the
trend, which is being so cynically promoted by the RSS,\ishwa Hindu Parishad,BJP.
6. Communalisation of Public Space
6.J. Gujarat, claimed as the laboratory o ivvtra where a successul eperiment`
was recently conducted by proponents o this ideology, has seen a gross
communalisation o public spaces in many o its cities, Ahmedabad probably being
the worst. Today, there are many schools, especially elite and middle class ones, that
will simply not admit Muslim children. Despite complaints being iled, the goern-
ment has done little to curb or control this sort o discrimination. During the Gujarat
carnage, medical doctors were seen leading the carnage and clinics and hospitals were
used to plan the attacks. Dr. Praeen Togadia o the \HP is a cancer surgeon while
his second-in-command in Gujarat, Jaideep Patel, is also a doctor. During the car-
nage, the Sola Ciil Hospital, Ahmedabad, was almost entirely out o bounds or
seerely injured Muslims in need o urgent medical attention. The \S hospital, on the
other hand, was accessible and that is where most o the injured were taken. Until
late April, goon squads o the avgl Parirar sporting saron scares around their
necks stalked the \S hospital`s corridors, brandishing bared swords to terrorise Mus-
lims into running away. Muslims in the police orce, other goernment departments,
or in the public sector, too, hae been completely alienated and hae to ace constant
humiliation and threats.
7. Impact on Lducation
7.J. Vith regard to the state eaminations or the Standards X and XII, which took
place in end-March and early-April 2002, the Gujarat goernment was openly parti-
san. The eamination centres o Hindu children were relocated to majority-predomi-
nant areas, while terrorised Muslim students were orced to appear or eaminations
in Hindu-majority localities where \HP,BD goons roamed the streets. The goern-
ment reused to re-schedule eams, whether o Std X and XII or RTBA and MA II,
despite pleas rom Muslims as thousands o students were physically dislocated and
emotionally tormented by what the community had been through.
8. Lconomic Decimation
8.J. The state-sponsored carnage economically crippled the Muslim commu-
nity which suered losses to the etent o Rs. 3,800 crores, according to inde-
pendent estimates. The Gujarat Chamber o Commerce has estimated the pri-
mary damage to industrial outits, hotels and establishments belonging to the
Muslim minority at around Rs. 2,000 crores. Non-Muslims, too, suered heaily
due to the disruption o economic actiities. O the oer 20,000 persons who
lost their jobs as a result o the destruction o hotels belonging to Muslims,
some -8,000 were rom the tribal Rabari community. Today, the majority com-
munity, too, eels the impact o the economic deastation sorely. (ee clater ov
covovic De.trvctiov, 1ovve II,.
9. Religious and Cultural Desecration
9.J. Like other parts o India, Gujarat too has been home to a lie syncretic culture
enriched by dierent traditions. Local history, shrines, language and poetry relect
this. One tragic consequence o the Gujarat carnage has been the systematic targeting
o numerous symbols o Muslim culture, be they the shrines o great Indian classical
singers, litterateurs, argal. or centuries-old mosques. (ee clater ov Reigiov. av Cv
tvra De.ecratiov, 1ovve II,.
J0. Minority Identity a 1arget
J0.J. The situation in Gujarat was so malignant that or weeks it was diicult or
Muslims to be hailed by their names een in elite Hindu-predominant parts o the city
o Ahmedabad. Many Hindus shaed o their beards or ear o being mistaken as
Muslims. In the genocidal climate that preailed, eery aspect o a Muslim`s identity
was a target or iolence.
JJ. Iorced Migration
JJ.J. The sheer brutality o the iolence triggered a mass migration o Muslims
rom Gujarat. Daily wage earners rom Naroda hae led to Karnataka and
Maharashtra, their natie states. Thousands rom Panchmahal and other districts moed
to Rajasthan and UP. In many cases, Muslim girls hae been sent back to their natie
places in rural UP, thus putting an end to their education.
J2. Impact on Muslim minority in other states
J2.J. The impact o the recent carnage in Gujarat, and the years o hate campaigns
that preceded it, is not restricted to Gujarat alone. It has already impacted into intra-
community and state-citizen relations in other parts o the country. It is thereore
critical that drastic measures are initiated soon, to bring justice to the ictim-suri-
ors o the Gujarat carnage, ensure reparation and heal the deep wounds caused by
the unprecedented iolence. It is imperatie that the goernment o India absorbs the
ull message and meaning o Gujarat and ensures that this sort o iolent mobilisation
is not allowed to grow and spread in other states o the country.
J3. Conservative 1rends among Women
J3.J. Lperience shows that any community which eels threatened and ulnerable
tends to cling harder to past traditions and lapses into more conseratie religio-cultural
practices, especially with regard to women. The apparent burgeoning o the bvrqa in Mumbai
ater the 1992-1993 pogrom against Muslims is a case in point. The widespread incidents
o seual crimes against women hae gien rise to a similar trend in Gujarat.
J4. Arming of Civil Society
J4.J.The common man`s threat perception has increased dramatically since the car-
nage in Gujarat. The Tribunal gathered eidence to show that there was a steep rise in
the demand or ammunition by those licensed to carry irearms. The largest gun dealer
in Ahmedabad, and arms dealers in \adodara, hae recorded a marked increase in the
sale o cartridges, reolers, pistols, and guns. There are oer 3,300 licensed arms
holders in Surat. This growing need among citizens in Gujarat to arm themseles, is a
dangerous trend, to say the least. Vith aith in the state and the police machinery
totally eroded, this can only lead to more iolence and internal conlict.
JS. Hidden Agenda
JS.J. Irrespectie o what some o them might otherwise proclaim, by their actual
conduct, the saron brotherhood comprising o the RSS,\HP,BD,BJP,Shi Sena
among others, has increasingly demonstrated its hostility to the Indian Constitution
since the late-eighties. Now, with state power in their hands, the hidden agenda is
being pursued rom within the goernment. The sectarian and undemocratic worldiew
inherent in the ery ideology o ivvtra has, in the past decade, been eplicit in the
politics o hate and iolence preached and practised by its proponents. The political
atmosphere in the country has been increasingly itiated since the Somnath to Ayodhya
ratl ,atra o the then BJP president, Sri LK Adani in 1990, culminating in the demo-
lition o the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992.
J6. Decline in India's International Stature
J6.J. India`s respected stature beore the global community as a secular, democratic
nation has been irretrieably damaged by the state-sponsored carnage in Gujarat. That
this is so is apparent rom the recent statements o Prime Minister, Shri \ajpayee and
the deputy Prime Minister, Shri Adani, both being orced to admit, while on oreign
soil, that the Gujarat carnage was a blot on the nation.`
J7. Brutalisation of Women, Adivasis and Dalits
J7.J. The iolence in Gujarat was marked by the cynical manipulation and
mobilisation o a section o Adiasis and Dalits or loot, rape and mass murder. The
avgl Parirar has worked assiduously and intensiely since 1998, indoctrinating and
training Dalits in urban areas and Adiasis in the tribal belts. Vomen rom middle and
upper middle class Hindu houses hae participated in the iolence. In Naroda and
some parts o \adodara there hae been disturbing signs o their egging on their men
to brutal iolence. They een actiely participated in the looting o shops.
J8. Attack on Akshardham
J8.J. The terrorist attack on Akshardham on September 24, 2002, shocked the
country. It appeared to be a direct reaction to the Gujarat carnage. The mindless
attack on innocent worshippers at the Akshardham temple suggests a blind desire or
reenge and retaliation. It is the selsame politics that goerned the carnage unleashed
ater the Godhra tragedy.
J8.2. Unless this cynical cycle o iolence and counter-iolence is stopped, eco-
nomic progress, a healthy society and deelopment all around will be sacriiced. Nei-
ther Gujarat, nor India can aord this. The deep schisms caused by the Godhra trag-
edy, the post-Godhra carnage and the Akshardham attack will take years to heal. The
lies lost, oten in the most inhuman and degrading way, cannot be recoered, homes
destroyed, looted and burnt will take years o tearul labour to reconstruct, properties
lost and destroyed in the calculated iolence hae been lost oreer.
J8.3. More diicult than eectie reparation and reconstruction will be the hugely
diicult task o restoration o trust between ictim-suriors and the rest, a aith so
utterly destroyed in the most brutal way.
J8.4. Ater the attack on the temple, which claimed 28 innocent lies, the plea o a
parent who had lost a child in the massacre comes to mind. Telecast all oer the
networks, she pleaded strongly that her sorrow was priate, that she did not want
her grie to be conerted into political capital. \ictims o the arson who lied at
Naroda had made similar pleas ollowing the Godhra carnage but they went cyni-
cally unheeded.
J8.S. Genuine reconciliatory measures at community leels, unmindul o political
considerations need to be undertaken. Justice must be done and the guilty punished
or peace and reconciliation to result. How successully the physical and emotional
healing takes place is dependant on the sincerity o the eorts made by politicians,
the administration, the police and other sections o society.
The system needs to be cleansed and a genuine commitment to secularism and
democracy reairmed.
J8.6. The message that needs to go out is that the poison o communalism, which
is the politics o hatred and diision, can take us only urther on the road to disaster.
The ordinary Hindu, the Muslim and people o other aiths hae no aith in this, it is
cynical politicians who hae been playing with this dangerous ire.
J9. All is Not Lost
J9.J. I this report, concerned with uneiling the truth and identiying the hate-
mongers, the instigators and the perpetrators o iolence, points to a ery grim reality,
it must not be concluded that there is no room or hope any longer. The Tribunal
remains coninced that the ast majority o Indians, whateer their caste, creed, or
community, still beliee in tolerance and compassion. Len at the height o the state-
sponsored carnage and at great personal risk, many indiiduals and organisations
showed great courage, and, through word and action, worked or peace and amity.
This is true o Gujarat as much as the rest o India. It is to such indiiduals and
organisations that the state should turn, and engage with them to initiate an action
plan or political cleansing, or cleansing o the administration, or the secularisation
o public space and or the speedy deliery o justice to those so brutally and morally
wronged by the hate-bred iolence.
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J.J. Implement all the recommendations o the National Human Rights Commis-
sion NHRC,.
J.2. Prosecute all those indicted in the NHRC report, including the chie minister
and his ministerial colleagues who hae aided and abetted the iolence by word and
action, under the releant proisions o Indian Law - the Indian Penal Code IPC,,
Preention o Terrorism Act POTA, and the Unlawul Actiities Preention, Act.
The Tribunal is also o the iew that Shri Modi is guilty o crimes against humanity
and o genocide under the releant international statutes. It is the iew o the Tribu-
nal that the CM and his concerned ministers are not it to hold public oice since they
are guilty o the aoresaid crimes. The Tribunal is urther o the iew that the interests
o the country are not sae in the hands o people like Shri Modi and o those who
hold his iews and hae his attitude and approach in public lie.
J.3. The Tribunal recommends immediate banning o the \HP and the BD under
the releant proisions o the Unlawul Actiities Preention, Act, 196, or com-
mitting an unlawul actiity` and unlawul association` within the meaning o that
Act. Unlawul actiity` under section 2 o the Act relates to an indiidual or any
association and any action taken by such indiidual or association whether by com-
mitting an act or by word, either spoken or written, or by sign or by isible represen-
tation or otherwise, i, which is intended or supports any claim, to bring about, on any
ground whatsoeer, the cession o a part o the territory in India or the secession o
the territory o India rom the union, or which incites any indiidual or group o
indiiduals to bring about such cession or secession, ii, which disclaims, questions,
disrupts or is intended to disrupt the soereignty and territorial integrity o India.
Unlawul association` means under section 2g o the Act i, which has or its object
any unlawul actiity, or which encourages or aids persons to undertake any unlawul
actiity, or o which the members undertake such actiity, or ii, which has or its
object any actiity which is punishable under section 153-A or section 153-B o the
Indian Penal Code 1860 45 o 1860, or which encourages or aids persons to under-
take any such actiity, or o which the members undertake any such actiity.`
J.4. By their public utterances and behaiour, which includes prooking their armed
cadres through hate propaganda, they are disturbing the law and order machinery o di-
erent states in a democratic country like ours. This publicly proclaimed hate propaganda
and celebration o iolent pogroms against the country`s minorities, makes public their
secret agenda -- an agenda, moreoer, that is not contained in the written constitutions,
o these outits. Through this public agenda, which clearly iolates the Act, the \ishwa
Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal are holding the country to ransom. Moreoer, the
declared agenda is being promoted by senior oice-bearers who trael all oer world.
J.S. Immediate steps must be taken by both the central and the state goernments
to prohibit the distribution o tri.lv. and swords since, by these means, attempts are
being made to arm ciil society and prepare a section o Indian society to unleash
iolence against other sections, an altogether dangerous and ragile situation or peace
and internal security in the country. The Tribunal recommends that the law and order
machinery seize and coniscate, not merely in Gujarat but in all other parts o the
country, the tri.lv. and swords which hae been and are being distributed or the
purpose o generating terror against other sections o the people.
The Tribunal obseres that the distribution o tri.lv., particularly to young men across
the length and the breadth o the country, hae nothing to do with the traditional practices
o Hindu religion. \et, through a goernment resolution, the central goernment has e-
empted the tri.lv rom the puriew o the Arms Act. The Tribunal recommends the with-
drawal o this central goernment resolution, suitable amendments to the Indian Arms Act
to include small but deadly weapons like the tri.lv and the seizure o all tri.lv. orthwith.
J.6. The goernment o Gujarat should crack down on the arms training camps
being conducted by the RSS,\HP and BD, as these are breeding grounds or home-
bred terrorists who propagate iolence against sections o Indian society and hence
pose a threat to internal peace and security.
J.7. The Tribunal recommends the arrest o, and immediate criminal action against,
those guilty o iolence and o incitement to iolence in Gujarat, including politi-
cians, policemen, administratie oicers and all those named by the ictims o the
iolence, as well as others who are guilty o dereliction o duty. (1le i.t of tle accv.e
.o vave i. avvee .earate,,.
K Ve hae eidence beore us which discloses the direct complicity and actie
participation in the carnage, o the chie minister and other ministers, o leaders o
the \HP and Bajrang Dal at the state and local leels, o the complicity o the then
commissioner o police and seeral other policemen at the leel o inspectors, sub-
inspectors and the constabulary.
K Lamination o the eidence also shows that elected representaties, including
cabinet ministers, supported and led large unlawul assemblies that indulged in large-
scale arson, loot, murders and other oences, including crimes against women.
K Our inquiry shows that the entire bureaucracy o the state, barring a ew ecep-
tions, ehibited a callous and culpable indierence to what was going on in the state
rom lebruary 28 onwards. A ormer chie justice who appeared beore us, summed
up the situation succinctly. Constitutional law and authority stood suspended or se-
enty-two hours. No preentie measures were taken against the Hindu marauders.
This attitude is ineplicable and unpardonable. Despite the presence o proisions
or keeping peace and public tranquility in the Criminal Procedure Code, the proi-
sions o the National Security Act, state laws proiding or the preentie detention
o anti-social elements or their eternment and the proisions o the Unlawul Ac-
tiities Preention, Act 196, none o these were applied.
K Lery one o these oicers should ace due procedure or this culpable indier-
ence and be charged or utter incompetence and ineiciency.
K The chie minister and his cabinet colleagues should be dismissed orthwith,
een rom the caretaker status he and his colleagues are enjoying now.
K As many o our political parties increasingly relect an absence o proprieties and
non-adherence to the basic principles o democracy and the rule o law, there is need
or a law deining the constructie liability o indiidual ministers and the political
goernment collectiely, when such gross crimes take place. This alone will enable
people to hold their representaties accountable.
J.8. The Tribunal recommends the immediate detention and prosecution o Shri
Praeen Togadia and Shri Ashok Singhal o the \HP, and Shri Narendra Modi o the
BJP, who, repeatedly, and with impunity, do not merely incite communal hatred and
iolence against the country`s minorities through their rabid armed cadres, in iolation
o sections 153A and B o the IPC and 295 etc. o the CrPC, which in themseles are
serious enough oences, but also disrupt public peace and order, itiate communal
peace and harmony and create an atmosphere o insecurity, tension and actie conlict.
J.9. The National Human Rights Commission NHRC, noted the need to take irm
action on proocatie statements, which hae the potential to incite communal ten-
sions and iolence. In its linal Order on Gujarat dated 31st May, 2002`, the NHRC
has stated that it had urged that these |statements[ be eamined and acted upon, the
burden o proo being shited to such persons to eplain or contradict their statements.`
J.J0. The promotion o enmity between dierent groups on grounds o religion is a
recognised criminal oence under Indian law. Indian Statutory Law also proides e-
ectie protection or the rights o minorities whether in Gujarat or in the rest o the
country. The Indian Penal Code IPC, prescribes criminal prosecution or wantonly
giing proocation with intent to cause riot` section 153,, promoting enmity be-
tween dierent groups on grounds o religion` section 153A,, imputations, asser-
tions prejudicial to national integration` section 153B,, uttering words with deliber-
ate intent to wound the religious eelings o any person` section 298,, statements
conducie to public mischie ` section 505 1,, b and c,, and statements creating or
promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes` section 5052,,.
J.JJ. The Judiciary is also empowered to initiate .vo votv action, which it has been
loth to do in these circumstances. In addition, section 108 o the Code o Criminal
Procedure allows an eecutie magistrate to initiate action against a person iolating
section 153A or 153B o the IPC.
J.J2. The Guidelines to promote communal harmony` issued by the Indian ministry
o home aairs in October 199, speciy the precise responsibility o the state machin-
ery when dealing with potentially inlammatory statements in the contet o communal
tension. Guideline 15 states that eectie will needs to be displayed by the district
authorities in the management o such situations so that ugly incidents do not occur.
Proisions in section 153A, 153B, 295 to 298 and 505 o IPC and any other Law should
be reely used to deal with indiiduals promoting communal enmity.`
J.J3. Besides, Article 20 o the International Coenant on Ciil and Political
Rights, which India ratiied in 199, airms that Any adocacy o
national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to
discrimination, hostility or iolence shall be prohibited by law.` Despite the eistence
o these proisions, oluminous eidence relating to the Gujarat carnage shows that
they hae been iolated. The eecutie, the law and order machinery and the judiciary
hae shown a marked reluctance to haul up oenders who are guilty o mass crimes.
J.J4. The Tribunal recommends that the state goernment urgently proide ad-
equate security to the sections o the Muslim population o Gujarat who wish to
return to their original places o residence and business.
J.JS. The Tribunal recommends independent inestigation into cases relating to the
Gujarat carnage under the direct superision o the chie justice o the state. The CJ may
also be requested to select the sessions judges and magistrates who should try these cases
eclusiely. Special courts should be set up to try the guilty. Inquiries must be instituted by
the CBI against senior police oicers and bureaucrats suspected o dereliction o duty.
òte: Trials in the 1985 riot cases in Gujarat, registered against the then health
minister, Shri Ashok Bhatt - one o those who sat in the police control room in
Ahmedabad during the carnage in 2002 - and also against Shri Harin Pathak, are yet
to begin, een ater 18 years. The cases hae been stayed in the wake o a High Court
order. In the 60 cases registered against the 263 persons accused o aulty construc-
tion, leading to the death o nearly 800 people in the January 2001 earthquake, trial
has still not begun in a single case, a year and a hal later. This is a sorry record o the
justice deliery system,.
J.J6. The impartial and swit prosecution o those guilty o iolence, both in the
Godhra massacre and in the incidents that took place throughout the state thereater,
would go a long way in building conidence in and in reestablishing the credibility o
the state administration. Vithout legal and social justice, the issues o peace and the
process o healing or the traumatised suriors, will, simply, not be addressed.
J.J7. The establishment o a State Human Rights Commission in Gujarat is a mat-
ter o urgency and should be accomplished orthwith.
J.J8. Suitable amendments need to be made in the eisting laws relating to seual
assault, to incorporate the dierent kinds o seual assault that occurred during the
iolence in Gujarat. Testimonies beore us narrate that there were numerous instances
o gruesome seual iolence, which inoled the insertion o a ariety o objects into
women`s bodies, and seual mutilation o all kinds. The eisting deinition o rape is
totally inadequate to deal with the arious kinds o rape that took place in the contet
o the genocide in Gujarat.
J.J9. The Tribunal recommends the immediate suspension o, and action against,
the district magistrates,collectors o Ahmedabad, \adodara, Bharuch, and
Himmatnagar since these oicials hae iolated arious laws and serice rules.
J.20. Public prosecutors should be appointed by the chie justice and not the state
goernment. There should be adequate representation o the minority communities
among the public prosecutors. To this end, the Tribunal recommends an amendment
to the CrPC, as has been made in the Ciil Procedure Code with eect rom July 1,
2002, to ensure that the appointment o public prosecutors is carried out by the chie
justice o the concerned High Courts, in consultation with at least ie judges. At
present, the appointment o goernment pleaders in all districts is being done by the
state goernment in consultation with the district judge,.
J.2J. The Tribunal recommends the quick manning o police stations and relie
operations by a sizeable and signiicant number o representaties rom the minority
community (ee clater, Recovvevatiov.: Poice,.
J.22. On account o the brutal manner in which people were attacked, killed and
burnt across the length and breadth o the state, including residents o ar-lung and
hitherto unaected` rural areas, many who were killed could not be identiied. These
could well be termed missing` persons, although they hae all been killed. lormali-
ties and paper work, and een post-mortem eaminations hae not been possible in
many cases where bodies were destroyed without a trace. Thereore, as part o its
wider duty, the state goernment should compile and declare a list o missing` per-
sons and epedite the payment o compensation to amily members who are eligible.
In cities like Ahmedabad, \adodara, Bharuch, Ankleshwar, Anand and elsewhere,
ictims deposing beore the Tribunal complained o the completely indierent atti-
tude displayed by the administration, as a rule, in the matter o payment o compen-
sation to ictim-suriors and especially towards the relaties o the missing per-
sons` who were mute witness to the brutal killing o their near and dear ones and, yet,
hae no proo such as a post-mortem or any other record, o their deaths.
J.23. Many sections o the IPC, the CrPC and other laws pre-date the Indian
Constitution and hae not undergone a thorough reision, restructuring and ori-
entation in keeping with the undamental principles o democracy, equity, ree-
dom and equality as contained in our Constitution. Vhile the Constitution o
India was ramed in 1950, ater India attained independence, our criminal laws
date back to the colonial period and hae not been modiied to conorm to con-
stitutional proisions in many respects. Thereore, a new law, termed the Na-
tional Human Rights Law, should be ormulated to encompass a rights-based per-
spectie. To this end,
K The proisions o eisting criminal justice laws such as the IPC, CrPC and the
Lidence Act should be suitably incorporated in the new law.
K A legal ramework should be deeloped to institutionalise the rights o the ic-
tims o wanton iolence to compensation and restitution rom the state, along with
relie and rehabilitation.
K A legal ramework should be deeloped to enable the ictims o iolence to
participate in conlict resolution.
K A legal ramework should be deeloped to promote the rights o ictims o iolence
and underdeelopment, and to ensure their right to humane treatment and humane deel-
opment and goernance in the light o the UN reports on human deelopment and the
Mahbub-ul-Haq Human Deelopment Centre reports on humane goernance.
K An independent monitoring system should be established, to monitor goernment
operations in conlict situations and to ensure the rights o the conlict-aected com-
munities to adequate protection, compensation, relie and rehabilitation.
J.24. Conlict-aected communities, and especially women and other more ulner-
able sections among them, should be gien a oice in determining the course o ac-
tion to preent, mitigate and resole structural and political iolence. Only by reers-
ing the process o disempowerment engendered by structural iolence and conlict,
can sustainable strategies or deelopment be achieed.
òte: a, The newly enacted constitutional amendments to institutionalise Panchayati Raj
Institutions PRIs,, empower the PRIs to deal with speciic deelopmental unctions but
leae out regulatory and police unctions. PRIs should be empowered to deal with police
unctions and the DM and the SP should be placed under the Pavcla,at chie in each district.
K The sections o the Commission o Inquiry Act that do vot make the report o
the commission statutorily binding on the goernment, need to be amended.
K Another is section 19 o the IPC, a proision that requires the goernment to
grant sanction or the prosecution o persons spitting enom orally and in writing, in
iolation o section 153 A and B o the IPC. The Tribunal recommends the repeal o
this section, which precludes any indiidual rom criminally prosecuting persons or
hate speech until the goernment has granted sanction.,
J.2S. The Tribunal beliees that no rehabilitation is possible unless the guilty are
brought to book. Vhereer the accused hae been named, the goernment needs to
take necessary action so as to instil conidence in the people and enable them to
restart their lies. The Tribunal condemns all measures taken by the goernment to
orce compromises by pressurising ictims to withdraw the names o the accused
rom police complaints. Instead the Tribunal demands that:
K Proper lIRs be registered and immediate action be taken. The police should
collect and inestigate orensic eidence.
K Vhereer possible, searches should be conducted to recoer goods that hae
been looted rom people`s homes or compensation be paid or the goods lost.
K In iew o the etraordinary circumstances under which the crimes against women
were committed, and the eidence that the state machinery was not accessible to
ictims, there is a need to rela some normal requirements o the law to goad the legal
process into swit and speedy action.
K Vhereer plots o land and properties belonging to the minority community
hae been illegally occupied by Hindu illagers, as is the case in many districts and
illages, urgent and immediate action needs to be taken to restore these lands and
properties to their rightul owners. Beore this, an urgent oicial surey, statewide, o
such lost lands` needs to be undertaken at the earliest.
K Thorough procedures o inestigation hae been consistently ignored by the
police. The culpability o police personnel, where they hae ailed to ollow basic
inestigatie procedures, should also be reerred to the Grieances Authority. (ee
clater, Recovvevatiov., ovg 1erv: Poice,.
K The Tribunal recommends that the police and courts taken legal cognisance o,
een i retrospectiely, o lIRs and complaints sent by ictim suriors and aected
communities, by registered AD immediately ater the genocidal carnage, gien the
Gujarat police`s criminal ailure in accurately recording lIRs. Len though months
hae passed, this needs to be done.
J.26. The establishment and actiities o peace committees in the aected areas should
be encouraged. All eorts must be made to preent urther ghettoisation o the Muslim
community. To this end, speciic interest needs to be shown in the matter by the state
goernment, ciil society and the central goernment and by their respectie agencies.
J.27. The goernment should take the necessary steps to restore conidence amongst
all communities. The state goernment has not addressed the issue o the betrayal o trust
by arious sections o the administration and the consequent sense o etreme insecurity
elt by the ictims. So ar, rehabilitation has been totally ignored by the state and central
goernments, and, to date, the goernment has treated the post-iolence scenario solely
as a matter o law and order and o maintaining the peace. It has also tried to sweep the
enormity o the crimes committed under the carpet. Light months ater the attack on the
Sabarmati Lpress, the towns and illages o Gujarat continue to simmer. The goern-
ment, and the party that controls the goernment, should not indulge in any actiity which
undermines public conidence and harmonious relations between communities.
2. CLN1RAL GOVLRNMLN1
2.J. In iew o the breakdown o the constitutional machinery in Gujarat, and the
patent, concerted and systematic challenge to the secular oundation o the polity, to
the etent that it ailed to protect the lie, liberty, reputation and property o a sitting
High Court judge as well as a retired High Court judge still in serice o the goern-
ment, both belonging to the minority community, to the etent that in the ery heart
o the commercial capital, the large-scale looting, arson, rape and killing to which the
minority community was allowed to be subjected in a planned and systematic man-
ner, to the etent that the entire criminal justice system is being polarised and per-
erted, the Tribunal recommends that, under the obligations enjoined on it by Article
356, the union goernment should immediately impose President`s Rule and assure
the minorities o the saety and the security o their lie, liberty, reputation and prop-
erty. The present goernment, which is in power een ater the dissolution o the
Assembly, is an irresponsible goernment, not answerable to anyone. It is an anti-
democratic goernment.
2.2. During President`s Rule, stringent and etensie measures may be undertaken to
de-politicise and de-communalise the bureaucracy and the police at all leels. The im-
partial and eicient unctioning o the Gujarat administration and police orce, must be
restored in accordance with the proisions and injunctions o the Constitution.
2.3. The central goernment should ensure the criminal prosecution o those o-
ice-bearers in the Gujarat goernment who are ound guilty.
2.4. The central goernment must end its apathy and impassiity towards the
minorities and stop the present campaign against them, in the name o the so-called
Cavrar Yatra., which are nothing short o a shameless ehibition o the perersion
and gloriication o crimes committed against the minority community.
2.S. The deliberate attempts to communalise the polity and to generate the politics
o hate are bound to hae both short term and long term impacts on national lie as a
whole. These impacts can be wished away but only at the cost o the unity and integ-
rity o the nation. It is the solemn responsibility o the central goernment to keep
the nation intact, a duty, which it has quite patently, chosen to ignore.
2.6. The centre should take a speciic and special interest in measures o reparation,
to enable the rehabilitation o aected persons. Adequate compensation should be gien
or the reconstruction o residential, commercial and industrial establishments that were
damaged or destroyed. The releant rules must be reised and the centre should proide
the necessary inancial support, to complete the task o reparation.
2.7. The centre must bring in a new legislation to implement the Genocide Conen-
tion, which India has signed and ratiied, and must use these measures to prosecute and
punish all those who participated in the planning and the eecution o murder, seual
iolence, thet and destruction in the state o Gujarat during the communal carnage.
The Tribunal inds that the state sponsored crimes committed in the state o Gujarat are
nothing short o Genocide and Crimes against Humanity. Hence the need to hae a
suitable legislatie measure as required by the Genocide Conention.
2.8. The goernment should suitably amend electoral laws so as to disallow parties
that espouse a particular religion, and which act or behae by word o mouth, print or
in any other manner with a iew to secure power through a religious policy, to contest
elections to Parliament, to the Assembly, to the municipal corporation to Panchayats.
2.9. The goernment should appoint three high-powered commissions:
K To determine the etent o communalisation within the administration bureau-
cracy, and to suggest arious measures to remedy the situation so as to ensure a
secular, independent administration.
K To determine the etent o communalisation o education and educational
institutions, and to suggest arious steps to ensure that uture generations are not in
any way communalised beore they come out o the schools and colleges.
K To inestigate and determine the actiities o all organisations indulging in
communal actiities, to determine whether their actiities are detrimental to the in-
terests o the country.
On December 18, 1992, the UN General Assembly passed the Declaration o Rights
o Persons Belonging to National or Lthnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities under
which States and Nations are bound to assure the basic rights, saety and cultural and
religious rights o minorities. Vhile the world was taking cognisance o the acute
need to presere the lie, security and dignity o all minorities - gien the iolent
ethnic conlicts that erupted in Lurope inoling minorities in this period- India,
ollowing the Babri Mosque demolition on December 6, 1992 and iolent pogroms there-
ater, launched into a phase in its history where the lies, security and aith o minorities
hae become increasingly endangered. Article 1, 2 and 4 o this Declaration need to be
borne in mind. This Declaration, taking cognisance o Article 2 o the International
Coenant on Ciil and Political rights under Article 1, states that 1. States shall protect
the eistence and the national or the ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity o
minorities within their territories and shall encourage conditions or the promotion o that
identity. 2. States shall adopt appropriate legislatie and other measures to achiee those
ends.` Article 2 states that 1. Persons belonging to National,. Lthnic, Religious and Lin-
guistic minorities hae the right to enjoy their own culture, to proess and practise their
own religion and to use their own language in priate and in public reely and without any
intererence or any orm o discrimination .2. Persons belonging to such minorities hae
the right to participate eectiely in cultural, religious, social, economic and public lie.`
Article 4 states that States shall take measures to ensure that persons belonging to mi-
norities may eercise ully and eectiely all their human rights and undamental reedoms
without any discrimination and in ull equality beore the law.`
2.J0. To ensure impartial assessment o damages, we call on the Indian goernment
to bring in the UN Special Rapporteur on \iolence Against Vomen as also the UN
Special Rapporteur on Religious Minorities and other UN agencies or arious treaties
that India is signatory to, or inestigation and assessment
3. UN/IN1LRNA1IONAL COMMUNI1Y
3.J. Until that happens, and because national legal mechanisms are etremely inad-
equate to deal with crimes o this magnitude where state complicity o the ery high-
est leel has been ound, and where there are no laws to deal with issues o genocide,
seual iolence against women in these circumstances, and so on - there is an urgent
need or international agencies to interene and help in the process o justice or the
ictims o the Gujarat genocide.
Hence the Tribunal appeals to the International Community to use all the inluence
at its command with the goernment o India and the Gujarat goernment to ensure
the speedy carriage o justice.
3.2. To impress upon the goernment o India, through its Parliament, to legislate
mechanisms or the implementation o the Genocide Conention- which India has
both signed and ratiied - and to use these mechanisms to prosecute and punish all
those who participated in the planning and eecution o murder, seual iolence,
thet, and destruction in the state o Gujarat during recent months.
4. MLDIA
4.J. Action needs to be taken against those who gae proocatie speeches on T\
channels and made statements in newspapers, as well as against the newspapers and
T\ channels who hae published the same, as well as those that published news and
gae it a communal colour, as conirmed by the report and recommendations o the
Lditors` Guild o India. (ee Detaie .vvevre., 1ovve III,
4.2. The role o sections o the media, particularly the Gujarati language press, in
spreading and inciting iolence, should be inestigated and all acilities proided to
it, such as adertisements rom public authorities and bodies, postal and transport
concessions, credentials, entry cards and passes, should be withdrawn.
S. RLLILI & RLHABILI1A1ION
S.J. Restoration and repair o places o worship damaged and destroyed during the
iolence, in consultation with the community concerned.
S.2. Constitution o a tribunal or compensation,reparation to ictims. This tribu-
nal should hae enough benches spread oer an entire city like Ahmedabad and also
hae benches in the districts. The tribunal should be gien clear guidelines or the
assessment o compensation in respect o the losses suered by eery indiidual in
the iolence. The losses would include the loss o and damage to homes and belong-
ings, the loss o lie and injuries sustained, the destruction o or damage to businesses
and the loss o means o lielihood, as well as the impact o seual assaults on women
and their relations. It is the iew o the Tribunal that such tribunals like those set up
ater the Dockyard Lplosion in Bombay in 1944 by the colonial power at the time,
should be set up without any urther delay to restore a eeling o justice in the ictims
o the state sponsored carnage.
The benches o the Reparation Tribunal must hae:
K the status o independent judicial authority to assess the losses suered and to
award and enorce the payment o compensation.
K speciic time rames within which they should unction.
K the necessary inrastructure to discharge their unctions.
S.3. In the meanwhile, the ictims should be rehabilitated on aailable land, includ-
ing goernment land, at goernment epense.
S.4. vrre, of Davage to ife av Proert,: The state goernment should immediately
conduct a detailed surey to determine the loss o lie, dignity, property, lielihood
and business suered by the ictims and the compensation, i any, that has been
gien to them so ar. The indings o the surey should be made public as was done at
the time o the earthquake in 2001 . The indings should include:
K The manner in which the amount o Rs. 150 crores, proided by the central
goernment as aid to ensure rehabilitation, has been disbursed.
K Detailed tabulations o the amounts disbursed as compensation or houses that
were damaged or destroyed.
K A detailed surey o the aected persons and the manner in which they hae
been aected.
K The identiication o destitute women and orphans.
K The tabulation o ictim suriors who suered serious injuries, including especially
bullet and burn injuries, and payment o compensation-reparation to them. The amount
that is paid should be astertained on the basis o not simply compensation or the medical
aid required or the injury itsel, but rom the cumulatie impact o it, including loss o
lielihood, physical handicaps suered and the mental trauma that resulted.
S.S. Qvic i.bvr.a of Reief:
S.S.J. The goernment has put a low ceiling o Rs. 50,000 in assessment o the
damage to houses. The ast majority o payments made are well below this amount,
some assessments and sureys claim that the damages are as low as 5,000 and 10,000.
A cursory glance reeals that in the majority o cases, the damages caused are much
higher than the ceiling. In light o the almost uniorm and etensie damage to houses
and shops, a minimum o Rs. 50,000 should be gien to all people whose houses and
shops hae been damaged. These payments should be made immediately, as mini-
mum compensation pending detailed assessment by the tribunal as suggested aboe.
There should be no ceiling on the compensation awarded.
S.S.2. The state, along with groups and organisations rom among the aected
community and ciil society, should ensure that all those who were aected receie
compensation.
S.S.3. The state should ensure that oodgrain rations reach the camps and, therea-
ter, also reach people rom aected communities who hae tried to rehabilitate them-
seles but still ace the loss o lielihood and impending hunger and staration be-
cause o the economic and social boycott being aced by them.
S.S.4.The rations proided should be adequate and camps should not be closed
until the inhabitants are properly rehabilitated.
S.S.S. The state should take complete responsibility or the running and mainte-
nance o the camps in a humane manner.
In particular:
K Adequate acilities must be proided to address the health needs o pregnant
women and trauma therapy to all camp residents, particularly women.
K Adequate and nutritious ood should be made aailable to all, and in particular to
women and children. Lactating and pregnant women should be gien etra attention.
K In the camps, proision should be made or adequate sanitation acilities, which
allow or priacy and hygiene that are particularly important or women during the
menstruation period.
S.S.6. Comprehensie health care, including counselling or trauma, should be pro-
ided on a regular basis and ree medical aid should be gien to all ictim-suriors.
In iew o the trauma that the ictims, especially women and children, hae suered,
ree medical aid, including psychiatric care, should be proided to them. As there has
been widespread rape, including that o minor girls, special counselling by medical
personnel as well as by social workers should be organised.
S.S.7. Sureys and avclvava. should be rapidly and properly conducted to ensure
timely disbursement o interim and other relie.
S.S.8. Interim and other relie should be handed oer to women and men o a
amily, jointly.
S.S.9. Ration cards and other identity cards should be proided to those who hae
lost such documents immediately.
S.S.J0. Lducational documents,certiicates should be proided to those who hae
lost such documents immediately. lull protection should be proided to those who
wish to return to their homes, and legal,ownership documentation should be pro-
ided epeditiously in cases where they hae been destroyed.
S.S.JJ. The state should allocate land or people who want to shit rom camps into
sae localities o their choice, and a special rehabilitation package should be proided
or widows, single women and emale-headed households.
S.S.J2. The goernment policy regarding compensation to heirs o missing` per-
sons should be changed in iew o the abnormal circumstances in which the people
went missing`.
S.S.J3. A single window system should be established to complete all administra-
tie ormalities, including those concerning relie and rehabilitation.
S.S.J4. Proper procedures should be laid down to ensure transparency and the right to
inormation, and this should also apply to arrests, relie and rehabilitation measures.
S.S.JS. Outstanding dues to managers o camps should be paid by goernment.
S.6. Lconomic rehabilitation needs to be undertaken on an urgent ooting. Lco-
nomic rehabilitation should not be equated with the interim relie. Although interim
relie is crucial in the short term, the state has to address itsel to the issue o long-
term employment opportunities or those aected by the iolence. The compensa-
tion and relie package announced by the goernment o Gujarat does not relect the
etent o losses sustained nor does it allow or a reasonable opportunity or economic
rehabilitation. The compensation package does not take the ground realities into
account and is, at best, mere token relie.
K The Tribunal recommends urgent and quick disbursal o interest- ree loans or
business through a single window clearance system.
K The Tribunal recommends quick disbursal o insurance claims.
K The eidence recorded by the Tribunal rom dierent districts o the state re-
eals the depth o communal polarisation in dierent sectors, aided and abetted by
the party in power in Gujarat. Small and big businessmen and traders who deposed
beore the Tribunal testiied to the communal and partisan attitude o assessment
oicers rom the Oriental Insurance Company, and showed that een those who had
insured their businesses and trades are being denied air recompense by the insurance
company. The goernment must look into this matter and take the guilty to task.
K Job opportunities or women and men should be encouraged by creating a pool
o inormation, particularly or those on daily wages. The proision o small, interest-
ree loans or those wishing to set up aari. handcarts,, stalls and small shops or any
other small businesses should be made.
K Steps should be taken to ensure education and employment opportunities or
women o the minority community.
S.7. vcatiov,Clirev
K Mass promotion o children who hae not been able to take the annual and
Board eaminations should be made to ensure that they do not lose an academic year.
K School transers should be proided without the insistence on ormal transer certii-
cates, to acilitate the process o school transers or those displaced by the iolence,
K The Tribunal recommends the immediate withdrawal o tetbooks in Gujarat and
elsewhere, which distort history, sow communal discord and teach communal hatred.
K The genocide in Gujarat has had a serious impact on the young, their mental and
phsyical well-being especially their schooling and education. Special attention needs
to be paid to this tragic consequence o the iolence on children to ensure how we
draw these children back into the system. The goernment should encourage and
acilitate creatie, ormal and non-ormal interentions, goernmental and non-go-
ernmental, to ensure this.
S.8 Rearatiov, vot covev.atiov
The deastation o a section o the population on a mass scale such as the one
witnessed in Gujarat has to be distinguished rom sporadic iolence against a ew
indiiduals resulting in the loss o lie and property. In the ormer, an attempt is
made to uproot people through an organised plan, with the conniance and sup-
port o the state, with a iew to wiping them out without a trace. In such cases,
the usual compensation doles cannot recuperate the losses suered by the people
in question. Vhat is needed is their complete rehabilitation, physically, psycho-
logically and spiritually. In such cases, losses hae to be calculated, not only in terms
o the loss o men and material, but also in terms o the loss o human-sel o
suriors who hae to be resuscitated as human beings and induced to start a new lie
by oercoming the trauma o the deastation. The cost o such a reial is inesti-
mable. The loss o all that is near and dear, including the lies o close relaties, the
complete deacement o past eistence, the shattering o all dreams, hopes and aspi-
rations, and the cruel uncertainties o the uture are all that the surior is let with.
He or she has to lie with it eery moment o his or her lie. Vhat is needed in such
circumstances is not mere rehabilitation o material eistence but the digniied resto-
ration o all the suriors in all aspects o societal lie. Hence, what is needed to be
paid is not only compensation or the material loss but also the cost o reparation as
a societal being. The goernment, thereore, is duty bound to assess these costs in
human terms as well, while calculating the losses suered by the ictims.
6. CIVIL SOCIL1Y
Peace committees must be set up in all localities, including the unaected ones.
These committees should be inoled in creating a conducie atmosphere or the
ictims to return home once their places o residence are reconstructed.
7. NA1IONAL HUMAN RIGH1S COMMISSION
7.J. In compliance with Article \ o the International Conention on the Preention
and Punishment o the Crime o Genocide, 1948, which India signed in 1948 and
ratiied in 1958, a state that is signatory is bound to eectiely act upon and legislate
upon the intents o the legislation. Our country has not complied with this requisite in
the Conention although more than ie decades hae passed. The Tribunal has clearly
held that the crimes in Gujarat were Crimes against Humanity and Genocide. To date,
howeer, there is no law in orce to ensure the punishment o those who are guilty o
these crimes. Under the present political circumstances, the Tribunal does not epect
either the state o Gujarat or the union o India to enact such a much-needed law.
7.2. Despite the act that there is no law on genocide at present, the Tribunal holds
that the Coenant on Genocide has become part o customary law, as it does not
conlict with any other eisting law. Such an interpretation o the law is imperatie
and binding on the NHRC. Such an approach would help the NHRC to conduct a
detailed inestigation into the crimes in Gujarat and submit a detailed report to the
goernment and the nation. The acts narrated in the NHRC`s Summary Report on
Gujarat already add upto a riva facie accusation o genocide. The Commission has a
present and urgent obligation to the people and a mandatory obligation to posterity to
inquire into the Gujarat iolence and record its indings so that no political party and
no goernment in uture eer resort to such brutal practices.
7.3. As part o this obligation, the NHRC must prepare a Model Statute on Geno-
cide including proisions that allow or eectie preentie measures to protect reli-
gious, ethnic and linguistic minorities rom attack. This is mandatory because, under
the International Criminal Code, genocide and crimes against humanity are declared
as oences. State actors may not ollow this but Human Rights Commissions set up
by arious countries will hae to enorce them, howeer limited their jurisdiction may
be. Genocide is an attack on human diersity as such, that is upon a characteristic o
the human status without which the ery words mankind` or humanity` would be
deoid o meaning`` Hannah Arndt,. The carnage in Gujarat was nothing short o
genocide and needs to be dealt with in a manner beitting the graity o the oence.
8000MM008ll08
l0 10fM
J. NA1IONAL CRIMLS 1RIBUNAL
J.J. A Standing National Crimes Tribunal be established, orthwith, to deal with all cases o,
- Crimes against humanity, pogroms,
- Oences in the nature o genocide,
- Cases o mass iolence and genocide,
- Cases o riots and incidents where there is large-scale destruction o lies
and property, including caste, religious, linguistic, regional, ethnic and racial iolence.
J.2. A suitable Statute should be enacted or the purpose by Parliament
J.3. The Standing National Crimes Tribunal SNCT, should be an independent
body, the personnel o which should be selected by a committee consisting o the
Chie Justice o India, the Prime Minister o India and the Leader o the Opposition
in Parliament. Persons with legal and judicial background should be appointed on the
tribunal or a ied tenure o not less than years.
J.3. The members o the SNCT should be ree to ollow such procedure as they
may ind it notwithstanding the proisions o any other law.
J.4. The SNCT should hae the power to inestigate oences through its own
inestigating agency, created or the purpose. The SNCT should hae, or its inde-
pendent use, a special inestigating and enorcing agency.
J.S. The SNCT should take cognisance o mass crimes as soon as they occur. Once
the cognisance o such crimes is taken, no court should hae the power to deal with
them. The SNCT should depose o these cases within a ied time-rame.
J.6. The SNCT should hae the power to arrest, try, and punish the accused, as
well as to compensate, and rehabilitate the ictims and their dependents.
J.7. Jurisdiction, Admissibility and Applicable Law
lor the purpose o the statute to be enacted, mass iolence and genocide` should
mean, as it does in the International Conention on Prerevtiov av Pvvi.lvevt of tle
Crive of Cevocie, any o the ollowing acts committed with intent to destroy in whole
or in part an ethnic, racial caste or religious group:
K Killing members o the group,
K Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members o the group,
K Deliberately inlicting on the group, conditions o lie calculated to bring about
its physical destruction in whole or in part,
K Imposing measures intended to preent births within the group,
K lorcibly transerring children o the group to another group.
In addition, the ollowing acts should also be punishable under the proposed statutes:
K Genocide,
K Conspiracy to commit genocide,
K Direct and public incitement to commit genocide,
K Attempt to commit genocide,
K Complicity in genocide.
2. CRIMLS AGAINS1 HUMANI1Y
2.J. Vithin the deinition o crimes that all under the deinition o crimes against
humanity, seual crimes against women should be recognised as crimes against hu-
manity. Seual crimes should not include only rape in the conentional sense, but
should also include seual slaery, debasing, enorced pregnancy, enorced sterilisation,
orcible insertion o any object into the agina. The deinition o crimes against hu-
manity should also include attacks on the lies and dignity o a section o the people,
attempted or actual obliteration o a section o the people, economic annihilation o
a targeted section, as well as their religious and cultural obliteration.
3. GLNDLR CRIMLS
3.J. The deinition o rape and seual assault under the new statute should recognise
that it cannot be restricted to the act, or the proo, o the penis orcibly entering a
woman`s agina. Any object used to abuse a woman`s body, and een erbal assault
should be considered a part o the same crime. The present laws o eidence and proce-
dures inole medical eamination o the ictim as well as o the accused, as proo o
such an assault. In situations such as that o mass rapes and gang rapes during the recent
iolence in Gujarat, this is an impossibility because in some cases, where the ictims
hae led or days on end i they hae suried the assault at all, or where the police has
reused to ile any complaints, or hae deliberately iled incorrect complaints, no ac-
cused may be apprehended. It is important that the onus o proo, in all such cases o
mass and gang rapes, should rest on the accused and the ictims should not be burdened
with proo o the crime. The testimonies o the witnesses, in cases where women hae
been burnt or killed, hae to be gien due weight as those o the ictims themseles.
3.2. In most cases, the accused might be unknown, or due to the presence o a large
number o people, it may be diicult to identiy the persons inoled directly in the crime.
In such situations, the state has to be held responsible or the crime, or not protecting its
citizens. The persons holding responsible oices must be made accountable or the same.
3.3. The concept o justice has to be widened in such cases. It must deal, not only
with the punishment o those ound guilty o the crime, but should also consider repa-
ration or the women who suered physical and mental injuries, since such assaults
urther curtail women`s rights to be a part o mainstream social lie, besides inlicting a
damning long term impact on the coming generation. Precisely or this ailure to protect
the basic human rights o these citizens, the state has to proide reparation. linancial
reparations are no doubt etremely important, but ought not to be seen as ull compen-
sation. Since all indiidual women are not in a position to register their complaints,
reparation should be proided to all women o the aected community.
3.4. Vomen and witnesses who hae come orward to gie testimonies should be
gien adequate protection by the SNCT, holding the state and the oenders respon-
sible and punishable or any harm that may be caused to them.
4. JUS1ICL AND 1HL JUDICIARY
4.J. The near collapse o the criminal justice system in our country has made the
delierance o justice an eception rather than the rule. It is a painul reality and has
to be acknowledged by all. Hence, when situations like the Gujarat carnage,genocide
occur, where mass scale iolence takes place, it is unrealistic to epect prompt justice
rom the present system. It has, thereore, become necessary to suggest a mechanism
such as the SNCT aboe, with special composition, status, power and procedure.
Section 11 o the UN Declaration o Basic Principles o Justice or \ictims o Crime
and Abuse o Power, 1985 enisages such a tribunal.
S. SUPRLML COUR1
S.J. The Tribunal thereore recommends that all necessary steps including seeking
direction rom the Supreme Court and making a statutory recommendation to the
goernment o India to i, appoint such a Tribunal or iing the responsibility or acts
and omissions o oicials and the political eecutie in the Gujarat carnage o lebru-
ary-March 2002, and to ensure that persons ound derelict make restitution and repa-
ration, and to ensure compensation or all suerers in the iolence ii, enact a law on
the Preention and Punishment o the Crime o Genocide. iii, Such a comprehen-
sie law on riots and disorders should take into consideration detailed recommenda-
tions made by the National Police Commission, the NHRC and the NCM.
6. RLHABILI1A1ION
6.J A long term and systematic plan should be worked out by the ciic and town
planning administrations in urban centres in Gujarat, with the assistance o the
housing boards and housing inancing authorities, to actiely break the aggressie,
iolent and enorced ghettoisation o Gujarat`s cities, especially Ahmedabad,
\adodara and the like. This can be ensured with adequate political and moral will,
committed to the belie that enorced ghettoisation makes communities more ul-
nerable as target groups or mass iolence and also actiely preents healthy inter-
action that breeds tolerance between communities.
The municipal authorities and the housing boards o cities in the state need to
prepare plans that encourage mied, inter-religious, inter-caste housing. This is ital
or the uture health o all sections o the population.
6.2. Proision o alternatie housing to those who are not in a position to return to
their old homes, and the ormation o volaa committees, to rebuild trust in mied
neighbourhoods, will also go a long way in the direction o rehabilitation.
6.3. Dissemination o accurate inormation about the Muslim community, includ-
ing their comparatie socio-economic deelopment indices, statistics on bigamy etc.,
in an easily understandable orm, will help preent alse propaganda against them.
6.4. Dissemination o inormation on the history o the struggle or indepen-
dence, and the part played by the dierent communities, classes and tribes in the
reedom struggle, will increase awareness about the contribution o all communi-
ties to the building o India as a nation and their deep interdependence on one
another.
6.S. Recruitment o a non-partisan, gender-sensitie police orce and bureau-
cracy, by building gender sensitiity and impartiality indicators into the selection
process and ollowing it up with periodic training programmes, is a must and must
be ollowed strictly.
7. POLICL
7.J. Recommendations made by the National Police Commission |199-81[, in or-
der to establish the autonomy o the police and ree it rom undue political control,
should be accepted and implemented immediately, especially in relation to:
K the setting up o a composite State Security Commission to deal with, among other
things, the selection o the police chie, to ensure his autonomy, independence and
proessional unctioning, and to coner on him the iity o tenure to remoe ear o
punitie transer and to empower him to act within the ambit o his statutory authority,
K the ealuation o the perormance o the police and receipt o complaints rom
police oicials about illegal and irregular orders rom aboe,
K recasting o the Police Act o 1861.
7.2. An independent Police Complaints Authority should be created, on the lines
o the British model, to hear complaints rom the public against police isbehaiour. In
the recent iolent incidents in Gujarat, a large number o complaints about human
rights iolations by the police had to be registered with the ery same police authori-
ties who had committed the iolations in the irst place, creating a ery bizarre situa-
tion. The creation o an Independent Police Complaints Authority is
essential to obiate such a situation in the uture.
7.3. The Tribunal is o the iew that it is the urgent need o the hour that
law-enorcement be made impartial, eectie and humane. lor impartial law-
enorcement, the unctioning o the police must be independent o political
direction and intererence. Courses on human rights, the eradication o caste
and communal prejudices, and humane riot control methods should be included
in the training programme or police and other law-enorcement agencies. Train-
ing o police personnel on the especially sensitie matter o dealing with commu-
nal iolence is also necessary. The eamination o ideo ootage o telecasts by local
T\ channels as well as o police ideos, should become mandatory, to identiy and
prosecute those ound guilty o making proocatie speeches,statements and indulg-
ing in acts o iolence.
7.4. The social composition o all law-enorcement agencies should be dierse, wherein
the presence o at least 25 percent o the personnel rom among the minorities and women
should be ensured. lor this purpose, a study should be undertaken to assess the present
representation o these categories in the police and the deiciency should be made up.
7.S. Recommendations o the Committee on Police Training, 192, should be imple-
mented, especially in relation to social justice and attitudinal reorientation o the
police through appropriate training on social justice issues.
7.6. The need or the eistence o centralised All India Serices, such as the IAS
and the IPS, should be eamined in the light o increasing democratic decentralisation
in the country. An Administratie Reorms Commission with a comprehensie man-
date, should be set up to eamine a gamut o issues that arise in this connection.
7.7. Oicial and NGO inquiries and inestigatie reporting by eminent per-
sons hae noted the partisan role o the police during riots. These reports include
those o the Justice Madon Commission 190,, National Police Commission
1981,, studies by Shri NC Saena 1983, and Shri \N Rai 1996,, and inally, by
the Justice Shrikrishna Commission on the Mumbai riots 1992-93,. (ee Detaie
.vvevre, 1ovve III,.
The etremely partisan role o the law-enorcement agencies has been generally
attributed to the ollowing our actors:
K A culture o goernance which makes the police unction as a subordinate body,
carrying out orders and directions o the political eecutie.
K Deeply entrenched communal prejudices in the minds o a section o oicials
and police personnel.
K Social composition o the police and o the other wings o the law-enorcement
and criminal justice system, wherein minorities are persistently under-represented.
K Lack o training in humane and eectie mob control by the police. This is a state
o aairs that needs to be rectiied and rectiied quickly. The Tribunal notes with an-
guish and concern that vo oitica art, has eer paid heed to the urgent need or radical
police reorms. The Tribunal recommends that this be a matter that is debated and
legislated upon with the utmost urgency. Let it not happen that more carnages take
place and are condoned by the political class, simply because they lack the moral cour-
age to initiate and push or an independent police authority in the country.
7.8. Legal proisions must be enacted to ensure restitution o rights and compen-
sation to suerers,ictims o the riots. The rationale and modalities or taking these
measures hae been discussed in the National Commission on Minorities Report on
Communal Riots: Preention & Control 1999,.,
8. CIVIL SOCIL1Y
8.J. Joint orums o all social groups - castes, religions, etc. - should be created to
discuss, debate and deliberate upon all matters o common concern.
8.2. Common estials and estiities should be organised not only on national
occasions but also to celebrate the special occasions o all religious groups.
8.3. Discourses should be held to educate people on the merits o each religion and
the denigration o any religion should be statutorily banned and made punishable.
8.4. Mied localities, housing complees, housing societies, clubs, educational and
recreational institutions should be promoted and social intercourse and interactions
including oluntary inter-caste, inter-religious marriages should be encouraged.
$000l8fl8M 80 l00 008lll0ll0
The preamble o our Constitution begins with the epression Ve, the People o
India` and states that it is the People` who hae re.ore .oevv, to constitute India into
a Soereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic and to secure to a it. citiev.,
- JUSTICL social, economic and political,
- LIBLRT\ o thought, epression, belie, aith and worship,
- LQUALIT\ o status and o opportunity,
and to promote among them all,
- lRATLRNIT\ assuring the dignity o the indiidual and the unity and
integrity o the nation.
Although the ideal o secularism was added together with that o socialism epressly in
the preamble by the 42
nd
Amendment o the Constitution enacted in January 19, it was
implicit in the ideal o democracy itsel, or there cannot be democracy when any section
o society is discriminated against on any account - be it caste, religion, race, language,
territory, se etc. Lquality in the matter o eercising all democratic rights and the absence
o inequality among citizens on any account are the basis o a democratic regime. Secular-
ism is thus the basis o democracy and a non-secular state cannot be democratic. Conse-
quently, communalism, or the practice o discrimination against any indiidual or group o
indiiduals in any orm, in any walk o lie is undemocratic and unconstitutional.
Ve, the people o India` does not urther mean Ve, the Hindus` much less, Ve,
the upper castes or the upper class`. It means the people o all castes and religions, the
rich and the poor, those liing in the plains and on the hills, in Kerala as well as in
Kashmir and the North-Last. The Constitution does not coner special aours on
any social group or deny any rights to any group. lurther, it is all the people o this
country who hae accepted the Constitution and pledged themseles to constitute
this nation into a democratic, socialist and secular state. Not the Hindus, the Brah-
mins, the Kshatriyas and the \aishyas alone.
Social, economic and political justice, the liberty o thought and o epression,
belie, aith and worship, the equality o status and o opportunity and the dignity o
the indiidual as declared by the Constitution are to be ensured to all, irrespectie o
the social group to which they belong. Likewise, the undamental rights are conerred
on all and the directie principles hae to be operational or the beneit o each and
eery indiidual in the country.
O particular signiicance in this connection are the undamental rights enshrined
in Articles 14, 16, 19 to 22 and 25, 26, 2, 29 and 30. Together, they ensure equality
beore law, equality o opportunity or education and employment, equal ciil rights
and liberties, equal reedom o conscience and o opportunity or all to proess, prac-
tice and propagate one`s aith and religion and also the right to the religious and the
linguistic minorities een to run and manage their own educational institutions.
The undamental duties laid down in Article 51A are urther binding on all citizens
and none can ignore them. O particular importance are the duties:
K to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions,
K to uphold and protect the unity and integrity o India,
K to promote harmony and the spirit o common brotherhood amongst all the
people o India transcending religious, linguistic and sectional diersities,
K to alue and presere our rich heritage and composite culture.
K and to deelop the scientiic temper, humanism and the spirit o inquiry and
reorm.
Inspite o the aoresaid epress proisions o the Constitution, a section o Indian
society continues to beliee that the country belongs eclusiely to those who proess
the religion o the majority, namely, the Hindu religion, and that those belonging to
the other religions are aliens in this country. This way o thinking is urther sought to
be spread, and deepened and perpetuated een by resorting to iolence. Vhat is dis-
maying is that een among the so-called educated sections o society and those be-
longing to the economically higher strata, many hae become a party to this irrational
belie and attitude, either due to sheer ignorance, or on account o the mistaken
notion o superiority o their religion and o the ineriority o the other aiths, or, due
to some acquired prejudices or selish reasons o their own.
It is thereore necessary to remind this section that Muslims and Christians in this
country are as much o Indian origin as are the Hindus. About 95 per cent o the
Muslims and 99 per cent o the Christians o today are those who were originally Hin-
dus and had oluntarily embraced their respectie religions, een while the rest might
hae been conerted orcibly or under duress. The higher castes and the higher classes
embraced these religions to seek pel, power and position under the regimes o the time,
while the lower castes, who ormed the ast majority, did so to escape the tyranny and
eploitation o the caste system and o the rituals prealent in Hinduism. laiths like
Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism were born as reolts against this ery tyranny, inequal-
ity and inhumanity.
Recent archaeological inds and other historical data conirm that Indian ciilisation
and culture began with the Draidian alias Sindhu ciilisation, which was one o the
most ancient and adanced ciilisations o the world. It is the Draidians who are the
original inhabitants o this land, and not the Aryans who came rom the North about
1,500 years ater the Draidian ciilisation had already been ully established, and
was at the peak o its progress. The Aryans were a semi-nomadic, semi-barbaric and
pastoral tribe when they arried in this land around 1,500 BC. They raided the
Draidians who were traders and agriculturists and who had settled on the banks o
the rier Sindhu, Harappa and Mohenjodaro being their major centres o settlement.
The Aryans raided not once but seeral times oer a period o years, massacred and
looted the Draidians and abducted their emale and male children, the ormer or
marriage, the latter to sere in their armies. The peaceul Draidians, who do not
seem to hae had any standing armed orce, ell an easy prey to the semi-barbaric
Aryans and led mainly to the South.
Later, as happened in the case o some o the other raiders on this land such as
Huns and Shaks, the Draidians and Aryans assimilated with each other. The present
Indian population has thus a mied racial composition. That is why this country has
always been looked upon as a land with a composite culture. The massacres, loot, and
abductions o the naties were not new to this land, which was always ulnerable to
the raiders and the marauders rom abroad, or a ariety o reasons that need not be
gone into here. The point to be noted is that almost all the people o this country
today hae been inhabitants o this land or centuries. None is an alien and none can
claim purity o race. Accidents o history, the eploitatie and tyrannical caste sys-
tem, the selish and intolerant attitude o the priileged classes, the rise o indigenous
rebellious religions like Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, the arrial o religions like
Judaism, Christianity and Islam rom abroad and the embracing o all o them by the
naties - all these hae contributed equally to the distribution o the inhabitants o
this land among arious religious communities and sects. This distribution is not a
diision and is certainly not one between naties and oreigners. Non-Hindus are as
Indian as are the Hindus o arious castes and sects.
Covvvvai.v
Beore the Partition o the subcontinent on religious lines, the total population o
this country was about 30 crores, o which about 8.50 crores were Muslims and. It is
not necessary to consider here the population o the Christians, Sikhs, the Jains, the
Buddhists, the Jews or the Parsees. Today, India has about 84 crore Hindus and 12
crore Muslims. India has the second largest population o Muslims in the world, net
only to Indonesia, Both Pakistan and Bangladesh are behind India terms o the size
o the Muslim population.
Vhat eactly orms the basis o a nation is certainly a ascinating subject or dis-
cussion. But that need not tempt us to digress rom the main issue here. Suice it to
say that religion, though a major actor, is neither a necessary nor always a bonding
element. History is replete with instances o intra-aith wars between the Hindu king-
doms, the Christian nations and the Muslim states and o iolent conlicts between
dierent sects o the same religion. Vhen Hindu kings and Muslim kings ought with
each other, their armies had sizeable proportions o Muslims and Hindus respec-
tiely, een as commanders and chies o their armies. Vhile Hindu India and Hindu
Nepal were neer one nation, Muslim Bangladesh separated rom Muslim Pakistan
within a quarter o a century ater a bloody war, mainly on the question o language.
Besides, the lapse o 55 years ater Partition should not allow us to orget that the
Muslims in Pakistan and Bangladesh hae the same legacy o the original Draidian
ciilisation as hae the Hindus, Muslims and others ecept Parsees, o this land.
In this connection, it should also not be orgotten that Hindus hae neer been a
united community. The dierent castes, particularly the higher castes and the lower
castes, hae been in continual conlict with each other and unortunate incidents o
iolent attacks against each other occur requently een today. \et, it is a act that the
two-nation theory based on religion came to be propounded and the partition o the
country was eentually eected on that basis.
!lo rere tle roovevt. of tle tleor,?
In 1923, Shri \D Saarkar, then associated with the Hindu Mahasabha and who
later became its president, propounded his thesis o ivv Ra.ltra ivvtra,. Ac-
cording to this thesis, all Hindus were tied together by the bonds o a common ather-
land, ties o blood, a common culture and ciilisation, common heroes, common
history and, aboe all, the will to remain united as a nation. lurther, according to him,
culture was inetricably linked to territory and the membership o the Hindu nation
depended upon the acceptance o India botl a. |atlerav av o, av. This e-
cluded Muslims and Christians who look to Mecca and Jerusalem respectiely as their
Holy Land, although Shri Saarkar did not deny that they looked upon India as their
atherland. In deining Hindu nationality, urther, he underlined the importance o
ivvtra, a religious, racial and cultural entity in which Hinduism as a religion ormed
a part o the whole.
The thesis, besides being diisie, is ahistorical and unscientiic. The obious laws,
to state only a ew, are that all the original inhabitants o the land hae common
blood. But i blood is to be distinguished by religions or other social grouping, then
there are no common ties o blood on account o the pernicious caste system. Conse-
quently, there is also no common culture and ciilisation. The lower castes were hardly
eer allowed to play their role in the making o history. Their gods and heroes hae
also been dierent. The caste system has always preented social unity and een
interaction and echange among the Hindus and also among those who carried the
caste system with them when they conerted into other religions. As regards the he-
roes o the same castes, Rama and Raana who are depicted as the enemies o each
other by one o the two great epics o the Hindus, namely the Ramayana, they are
both worshipped, in the north and the south respectiely. According to this thesis,
Indians liing abroad can no longer look to this country as their Holy Land, while the
Buddhists in other countries who look to Bodh Gaya as their Holy Land should be
considered aliens in their own countries.
As regards the willingness to lie together as a nation, this begs the question. No
people desire to be torn away rom the soil and the surroundings in which they hae
been born and grow up unless they are denied the elementary right to lie with dignity
as human beings. Constant insecurity o lie, the denial o equal status and opportu-
nity, discrimination in the social, political, economic and cultural lie o the nation
and threats to their distinct language, aith, religion or culture alienate sections o
society rom the mainstream o national lie. Lery nation has within it more sub-
social groups than those based on race, religion, language etc. It is or the major na-
tional group, which is in a position to dictate and dominate, to see that no social group
is discriminated against in any walk o lie on any grounds. No nation is planned. It
emerges out o the eeling o togetherness, which is created by common hopes and
aspirations, common apprehensions and a common stake in progress and prosperity.
Bonds o unity and raternity are to be built by chords, which hae to eole and
grow rom within. They cannot grow when sectarian orces attempt to keep the people
apart or one reason or another. The responsibility to keep a nation together lies with
the majority, by allowing no scope or the generation o any eeling o alienation
within any social group, instead, the majority should take all steps to oster the sense
o unity and integrity.
lurther, while deining the meaning o the word Indian`, Shri Saarkar has obi-
ously and completely ignored the Draidian ciilisation. According to his criteria,
India will not be one, but many nations. Incidentally, those like Shri MA Jinnah and
others, who promoted and propagated Pakistan, also claimed this actor, among oth-
ers, on the grounds that there were no common heroes, no common culture, ciilisation
and history and no common Holy Land.
In a conerence held in Lahore in 1940, the Muslim League passed a resolution
calling or the ormation o a separate state o Pakistan or the irst time, although
the concept o Pakistan was let ague, with no deinite ormulation o territorial
boundaries. The demand or partition was, o course, based on religion, with Muslim
majority territories being grouped together as a nation. Some o the reasons or this
demand were the same as those sanctiied by the Saarkar thesis, which was men-
tioned earlier.
During alien colonial rule, communal orces rom both the major religious groups,
namely, Hindu and Muslim, did not participate in the reedom struggle, and while
Muslim communalists welcomed the ormation o Pakistan when it was announced,
Hindu communalists maintained a strategic silence. Howeer, it was ultimately a Hindu
anatic who, consumed with rage at the partition o the country, assassinated Ma-
hatma Gandhi while holding him responsible or this partition. Vhile riots between
the two communities did erupt during the course o the reedom struggle, rocking the
country rom time to time, Partition triggered o a wae o iolence - loot, arson,
rape and massacre - unprecedented in the history o the world. The large-scale com-
munal clashes resulted in the loss o no less than ie lakh innocent men, women and
children on both sides. The bitterness born during the pre-partition riots became enom-
ous ater the carnage in the days that immediately ollowed Partition. Howeer, due to
adroit handling o the situation by the leadership o the country at the time, the country
soon witnessed the restoration o peace and the gradual harmonisation o relationships
between the two communities. Vere it not or the wisdom and oresight displayed by
the committed and secular statesmen who led the nation then, this amazing eat would
indeed hae been impossible to perorm within such a short time.
Howeer, the riots that took place just beore and ater Partition, and the carnage
that was witnessed then, ed communal orces in both communities and hae kept their
ires burning until today - always awaiting an opportunity or conlagration. Oer the
last 55 years, the smallest incidents, whether actual or rumoured, hae been used as
pretets by which to uel riots at one place or another. These years hae also witnessed
pre-planned and organised attempts by communal orces to disturb age-old peaceul
and harmonious relations between the two communities in arious places, which had
withstood the test o time despite much proocation elsewhere in the country. \ested
interests on both sides appear to concentrate on keeping communities diided, and the
conlicts and tension between them constantly alie, and to thrie at the cost o the
innocent men, women and children o both the communities.
The only persons who hae beneited and are beneiting rom the communal conlicts
are irstly, the priests and the vvit. and the vval. and the vavri.. Not only does their
lielihood depend on their respectie religion, but their status, power and position are
equally sustained by it. The priest o eery religious group is an uncrowned king o his
ollowers. His word is law and his preaching is the last word in wisdom. His interpreta-
tion o the religious tet is inal and his pronouncements are the ultimate authority on
eery subject. He is interested in epanding the empire o his ollowers and maintaining
its identity strictly distinct rom the others. Any blurring o distinction between his
ollowers and the others is perceied as harmul to his interests, and he loses no time in
raising the alarm o religion in danger` the moment he apprehends or imagines any
intrusion in, or encroachment on, his regime.
Another class o people who hae always beneited rom communal disharmony is
politicians, who look upon ollowers o their religion as their ote banks. Any har-
mony between dierent religious groups is detrimental to their interests. They hae,
thereore, no interest in bridging the gap between communities, but hae, in act, a
positie stake in ensuring that it remains as wide as possible. Vhen they hae no
issues, policies or programmes to oer the electorate, or when they are not interested
in these issues, or when they want to diert people`s attention rom the real issues,
which they are either unable to sole or the solutions o which are likely to aect
their own interests, they resort to the easiest path, namely, an appeal to the religious
sentiments o the people to garner otes. This phenomenon is particularly common
among politicians who hae nothing in common with the people and their problems.
Like the priests, they succeed in misguiding their ignorant co-religionists in the wrong
direction and towards the wrong goals, which are against the interests o the people
themseles. The capital asset o both priests and politicians is the ignorance o the
common man, who is caught up in the humdrum o daily lie and burdened with its
strains. He alls as easy prey to appeals to his religious sentiments, which are manipu-
lated by priest and politician or their selish purpose. So ar, that is how both these
groups hae succeeded in stoking the lames o communal hatred, bias and prejudice
and in triggering iolent clashes wheneer conenient to them. The blame or such
misuse o the ignorance o the masses lies squarely on the responsible sections in
society who hae so ar ailed to educate the people on proper lines.
Religious anaticism among the people also has its source in the constant preaching
and actions o communal organisations. Since they are interested in sharpening the
dierences between religious groups, it is in their interest to make their ollowers
hard-boiled, unreasonable and passionate ollowers o a manipulated orm o the
religion concerned, a orm which is, in act, arthest rom the actual tenets o the
aith. That is why it is a common eature, obsered in eery religious group, to unite
wheneer the religion in danger` slogan is raised. Priests and politicians ie with each
other in mobilising people around this slogan, and they perseere in keeping the slo-
gan alie all the time. This ostering o anaticism is, o course, acilitated by the igno-
rance and the lack o awareness amongst the people. That is why ested interests hae
a stake in keeping ignorant as many people as possible and or as long as possible. This
is the reason or their insistence on undamentalist and anatical notions and on ollow-
ing strictly eery word handed down to them by the religious tets, custom and tradi-
tion. Any attempt at a scientiic inquiry into these tets and traditions is not only rowned
upon and resented, but those who attempt it are socially boycotted, persecuted and
oten een physically eliminated. lundamentalism and anaticism thus continue to thrie,
inspite o the adances made in science and technology.
ecvari.v
Inspite o the clear declaration in the Constitution that this country shall be a
secular state, the Hindu communal orces in the country hae always preached that
the country can only be a Hindu state and has to be goerned as such. Those who
insist on its secular character hae been derisiely nicknamed pseudo-secularists by
them. To buttress their contention, they argue that while others hae been ollowing
and supporting policies and measures to appease the minorities, particularly Muslims,
they alone preach true secularism by insisting that no special aours be bestowed on
the minorities.
It thereore becomes necessary to eamine the concept o secularism as is under-
stood and accepted in this country and interpreted by the Supreme Court. The his-
torical contet in which the concept o secularism was born and thereore the mean-
ing it bore initially were dierent rom the present contet and the usage it has come
to acquire today. The conlict between the King and the Church, which was ulti-
mately resoled in aour o the ormer, ormulated the well-known proposition:
Render thereore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar`s, and unto God, the things
that are God`s.` Vhat this meant was that secular actiities are the eclusie preroga-
tie o the goernment while spiritual actiities were the business o the Church, and
that one would not interere with the actiities o the other.
Once religion was diorced rom the business o state, the state ceased to be iden-
tiied with any particular religion or its practices, and the religion Protestant or Catholic
in the speciic historical contet, that the indiidual king or queen practised aried
with the incumbent o the oice. Thereater, the open hostilities against and the
harassment and persecutions o those who proessed and practised the tenets o a
religious order other than that o the ruling king or queen ceased. The persecution o
rial religions or sects had also its own unsaoury history as a backdrop to the ulti-
mate airmation and the triumph o the principle o the obserance o secularism in
the goernance o the state. As a logical corollary, all religions and sects were treated
equally with their ollowers ree to proess, practice and propagate their aith.
The undisturbed and unhindered practice o one`s aith later came to be recognised
as a part o undamental human rights - the reedom o conscience and also the
right to reedom o speech and epression. Both these rights are basic to any mean-
ingul scheme o democratic rights o the people and one cannot think o any demo-
cratic regime without them. A nation which enthrones any particular religion as the
religion o the state not only relegates the other religions and religionists to a second-
ary status, but also negates the basic tenet o democracy in that it denies them the
equality o status and o the rights so essential to democracy. It disqualiies itsel
rom being a democratic nation.
There are at present two dierent modes o practising secularism. In the USA, a
leading secular state, the state keeps itsel equidistant rom all aiths and does not
aour een giing grants to educational institutions where religious prayers are recited.
On the other hand, the secular practice accepted in this country, which is also endorsed
by the interpretation o secularism gien by the ape court, is dierent rom the US
ariety. In India, instead o equal indierence to or equal distant rom all religions as in
the USA, we ollow the principle o equal aours or equal protection to all religions,
sects and aiths. Vhether a religion is o the majority community or o the minority, is
immaterial or the secular state, all religions being treated as equal and no religion or
religious practice being adopted by the state in the goernance o the country.
Ve hae been ollowing this meaning o secularism in all our state aairs, since the
inception o our Constitution. In act, this was the concept o secularism adocated
and promised to all sections o our society during the reedom struggle, and een
beore Independence, this was the way the then elected proincial goernments ad-
ministered the country. It is strict adherence to this concept o secularism that prompted
the then national leadership to reject the two-nation theory as well as the demand to
make this country a theocratic state by adopting the religion o the majority, namely,
the Hindu religion as the state religion. People belonging to dierent religions, sects
and aiths could come together to struggle or reedom because o this promise by the
leadership o the then dominant national political party, namely, the Indian National
Congress. The secularism o the kind we hae been practising in this country has thus
been an article o aith with us, and not a mere proision in the Constitution. It is also
an essential part o the basic structure o our Constitution. The deiance o secular-
ism in any manner, by word or action, is thus a deiance o the Constitution itsel.
The persons who met in the Constituent Assembly knew too well that they would
hae to deal with a conlict-ridden, pluralist society. So they proided or secularism
as a alue. The major inarticulate premise o the constitutional scheme has been
secularism until the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution, when it was made eplicit
as one o the objecties. Secularism as a concept came into eistence during periods
o early capitalism, as a response to the misery inlicted on the poor by unregulated
working conditions. In act, the dictionary deines secularism as a doctrine that moral-
ity should be solely based on regard to the well being o humankind in the present lie
to the eclusion o all considerations drawn rom a belie in God or in a uture state.
Secularism was later eclipsed by the emergence o Socialist thought.
Thus secularism is included in the objecties set out in the Preamble, the Article
pertaining to abolition o untouchability, bonded and child labour and almost all o
the Directie Principles in the Constitution. This is how the Supreme Court deined
Secularism in the crucial SR Bommai case, a decision rendered in the backdrop o the
Ayodhya controersy. Now that ethnic claims and conlicts abound all oer the world
there is a necessity or the world body to bring orth an International Coenant on
secularism in plural societies within states.
The reusal to see any good in others, the claim o the superiority o one`s aith and
the ineriority o other aiths, the all-out attempts to maintain separate identities, the
anti-social policy o eclusieness and the irrational interpretation o traditions and a
strict adherence to the religious tets, all tend to thwart the deelopment o the scien-
tiic temper and the spirit o inquiry, which in turn preents indiidual and social
progress. Mankind today needs the acceptance o an an all-embracing humanism, not
sectarian indoctrination. A religion beret o humanism is no religion at all and a
religion which preaches humanism can neer be sectarian.
List of policemen and civil servants as named by witnesses:
Chie secretary, Subha Rao
Home secretary, Ashok Narayan
DGP K Chakraarty
AHMLDABAD
1o officia. vave: 1, Commissioner o police, PC Pandey, 2, Collector, K Sriniasan,
3, Chie secretary, Subha Rao.
Gulberg society, Chamanpura: 1, Commissioner o police PC Pandey, 2, PI Police
inspector, KG Lrda, Meghaninagar Police Station.
Naroda Gaon and Naroda Patiya: 1, DGP, K Chakraarty, 2, Commissioner o police, PC
Pandey 3, PI KK Mysorewala, 4, PSI Parikh, 5, SRP-G II Saijpur bough, Police Head Quarters.
Gomtipur: 1, Inspector Modi, 2, Inspector Parmar, RAl while on duty at Shamser Bag,
Gomtipur,, 3, PSI Modi Gomtipur Police Station,, 4, PI Patel Amraiwadi Police Station,.
Naroda Iruit Market: 1, PSI \ada, 2, PSI Chada, 3, PI Jadeja, 4, PI Barot..
Paldi: 1, DCP Deputy commissioner o police, Parghi, 2, PSI Birja.
Vatwa: 1, DCP, KC Patel, 2, PI Singh, 3, PI Damod, 4, Jagdish Patel, Home guard.
Lllis Bridge: 1, PSI \ada, 2, PSI Chada, 3, PI Jadeja, 4, PI Barot, 5, PSI \ada, 6, PSI
Chada , PI Jadeja.
PANCHMAHAL DIS1RIC1
1o officia.: 1, Superintendent o police SP, Raju Bhargaa. 2, Mavatar Bakor, , Mavatar
Lunaada.
Malav, Kalol, Panchmahal: Kalol Police Station.
Mora, Morvad Hadap, Panchmahal: 1, SI Mora, 2, SI Damod, 3, Constable Nawat
Singh, 4, Constable Maatlal.
100 000800 - l
F0ll00M0 8 80f0800f8l8
Babaliya, Panchmahal: 1, Khanpur Police Station 2, SP, Raju Bhargaa.
Mora village, Morva Hadap: 1, PSI Mora, 2, PSI Damod, 3, Constable Nawat Singh 4,
Constable Maatlal.
Dailol, Kalol: 1, Khanpur Police Station, 2, Mamlatdar Bakor, , Mamlatdar Lunaada,
4, SP, Raju Bhargaa.
PA1AN DIS1RIC1 : 1o officia. vave: 1, SP, I Jadeja, 2, DySP, Harikrishna Patel , 3,
Collector, JC Rathod.
Ghasiavas, Radhanpur :nIuLn: Police Post, Ghasiawas.
DAHOD DIS1RIC1 : 1o officia. vave: SP I Jadeja.
Sanjeli: 1, SP I Jadeja, 2, Sanjeli and Dahod police, 3, Kalol police Station.
BHARUCH DIS1RIC1 : 1o officia. vave: 1, SP Manoj Antani 2, DySP Shastri, 3,
DySP Harikrishna Patel, 4, Collector, Smt Anju Sharma.
Bharuch City: 1, SP Manoj Antani, 2, PI GM Chawda, 3, Home Guard Bharat Sunderlal
Bhatia, 4, Home Guard Deepak Samardas Rana, 5, DySP Harikrishna Patel.
Ankleshwar/GIDC: DySP Deputy superintendent o police,, Shastri.
Rajpardi village: 1, PI Ninama, 2, Jhagadiya Police Station.
VADODARA DIS1RIC1
1o officia. vave: 1, CP DD Tuteja, 2, Collector, Bhagye Shah.
Wadi 1aiwada, Vadodara city: 1, PI PP Kanani 2, DCB sta.
Bavamanpura, Vadodara city: 1, PI Katara, 2, PI Kanani.
Raghovpura, near 1arsali, Vadodara city: PSI \adalia.
Kisanwadi, Vadodara city: 1, PI PP Kanani 2, DCB sta.
Machchipith, Vadodara city: 1, PI NK Rathod, 2, MS Patel, Raopura Police Station, 3, PI
Bhagirathsinh Jadeja 4, PSI Rao, LCO cell station, 5, Kanu Patel, Karelibaug Police Station,
6, latehsinh Patel, Karelibaug Police Station.
Bajwa, Vadodara city: PSI Saraiya
1ejgadh, Vadodara: 1, PSI Pandya, 2, Tejgadh police station.
Ajwa Road, Aalishan Apartments No. 2, Vadodara city
1, Hemraj R Parmar, Panigate Mobile Unit.
Borsali Apartments, Bahar Colony and Sabina Park, Vadodara city
1, PSI Parmar, Panigate Police Station.
SABARKAN1HA DIS1RIC1: 1o officia. vave: 1, SP, Nitiraj Solanki.
MLHSANA DIS1RIC1: 1o officia. vave: 1, SP, Anupam Gehlot, 2) Collector, Amrutlal Patel.
RAJKO1 DIS1RIC1 : 1o officia. vave: 1, CP, Upendra Singh, 2, Collector, PN Patel.
List of politicians as named by the witnesses:
Chie minister, Narendra Modi
Minister or home, Gordhan Zadaphiya
Minister or reenue, Haren Pandya
Minister or health, Ashok Bhatt
Minister or transport, Narayan Laloo Patel
Minister or orests, Prabhatsinh Chauhan
Minister or cottage industries, Ranjitsingh Chawda
International general secretary, \HP Praeen Togadia
List of others as named by the witnesses:
AHMLDABAD
Gulberg Society, Chamanpura, Ahmedabad
1, Girish Prabhudas Sharma 26,, Patni society, Chamanpura.
2, Dinesh Prabhudas Sharma 23,, Patni society, Chamanpura.
3, Ramesh Choti 30,, Asha Trading, Patni Nagar society, Chamanpura.
4, Kapil 22,, petrol pump near Swami Narayan Mandir, Babusingh Madhesinh
society, opp. Gulberg society, Chamanpura., belongs to Bajrang Dal.
5, Suresh Alias Kali Dhobi 22,, Babusingh Madhesinh society,
Opp. Gulberg society, Chamanpura.
6, Narayan Tonk alias Kabra - Channelwala 40,, Gheewali Chali, Chamanpura.
, Bharat Lakshman Rajput, he lies behind Ramji Mandir and works behind
Dr. Sultan`s Dispensary, Chamanpura.
8, Surendra 22,, Dr. Gandhi Chawl, Chamanpura.
9, Krishna son o Champabehn,, Dr. Gandhi Chali, Chamanpura.
10, Lala Mohanji Darbar, Dr. Gandhi Chali, Chamanpura.
11, Sushil Brij Mohan Sharma 26,, resident o Ramchandra colony, Takri, Chamanpura.
12, Poona Sinh Rajput 40-42,, works in Arind Mills, a Congress I, actiist,
resident o Opp. Gheewali Chawl, aboe Ramlal Uttamchand, Chamanpura.
100 000800 - ll
F0llll0l88 8 0l00f8
13, Manish Prabhudas Jain 25,, Owner Raja Kirana Store, resident o Dr. Gandhi Chali,
Chamanpura.
14, Dharmesh 20,, son o Ram Achal Pathak, Resident o Chandulal Chali,
Chamanpura.
15, Gabbar, son o Mandan Jhingar, resident o Babusingh Madhesinh Chali, Opp.
Gulberg society, Chamanpura.
16, Chunnilal Prajapati 55,, e-municipal corporator, rom BJP,
resident o Mohanlal Vadi, Chamanpura.
1, Mehsingh Dudhsinh Chaudhary 45,, an adocate and e-municipal corporator
o the Congress.
18, Jagrup Sinh Rajput 48,, an adocate and e-deputy mayor o Ahmedabad,
Nai Chali, Om Nagar Road, Chamanpura.
19, Dayaram Mochi, liing in Bungalow No. 1 and Ashok alias Jhingar, resident
o Bungalow No. 1, Gulberg society, Chamanpura.
20, Mangelal Jain 32,, owns the Adhinath Kirana Store, opposite Chamanpura
Pumping Station.
21, Dilip Suraj Bali, Ramchandra Colony, Near Vater Tanker, Chamanpura.
22, Naresh Krishnadas Brahmania, Talati Nagar, Near Rohidas Bus Station, Block
No. 32, Talati Nagar.
23, Lakhia 2,, lies in Block 55, Talati Nagar.
24, Girish Alias Kalia 25,, lies near Rohidas bus stop.
25, Dhobi Kailash, lies in Gopal Nagar.
26, Madan Mochi`s son, Gabbar.
Naroda Gaon & Naroda Patiya, Ahmedabad
1, Dr Jaideep Patel Gujarat state joint secretary,\HP,, 2, Rana 1eecov`, 3, Mayaben Kotdani,
BJP MLA,, 4, Bhartibelv BJP corporator,, 5, Anitabelv BJP corporator,, 6, \allabh BJP
MLC,, , Ashok BJP MLC,, 8, Jai Bhagwan Gangotri apartments,, 9, Naresh, 10, Chotta,
accused nos. 8-10 are local leel BJP,\HP workers,, 11, Sunil Jaratha, 12 ,Sunil Patel, 13,Pochia
Dada, 14,Suresh aka Sarezad, 15, Manilal Thakore, 16,Padumal Patel, 1,Bipinbhai Patel, Bipin
Auto Centre,, 18,Shureshbhai Chhara, 19,Uddchhara Mekda, 20,Jay Harijan, 21,\ijay Harijan
bhaiyya, 22, Harish Lakshmanbhai Koshti Shi Sena leader,, 23, Manoj Lakshmanbhai Koshti
Shi Sena leader,, 24, Bha Daruwala aravcl,, 25, \ijay Dada Shi Sena leader,, 26,Bharatbhai
Rabati Shi Sena leader,, 2, Anil Madrasi, 28, Arind C Mali, 29, Popat \aghri, 30,Raju
Ambetwala, 31,Dineshbhai Cycleraa, 32, Dr.. Parmar.
.ccv.e vave iv .earate ivcievt. iv àraoa area: 1, \asant Rathod, 2, Solanki, 3, Guddu
Chhara, son o Mukesh Jiwanlal Banya local leel BJP,\HP worker,, 4, Ratilal, son o
Bhaani Singh 5, AMTS drier, Mungna Chhara 6, Murli Naran Sindhi, , Satish Mahadik
8, Bipin Panchal Sindhi, owner, Uday Gas Agency, 9, Praeen Modi, 10, Langda Chhara, 11,
Natarajwala Sindhi, 12,Sangeet lurniturewala Sindhi`. 13, Ratilal, 14, AMTS drier Mungna
Chhara, 15,Owner, Manoj \ideo.
Naroda Iruit Market, Ahmedabad
1, Gordhan Zadaphiya Home minister,, 2, Babu Zadaphiya, 3,Reenue minister, Haren Pandya,
4, BJP MLA, Ashok Bhatt or inciting arson and destruction at Naroda lruit Market,.
Vatwa, Ahmedabad
eaer.,oiticiav.: 1, Principal Naneet Patel, 2, Keshubhai abiraa, 3, Babubhai
Patel, 4,Mahesh Patel Bajrang Dal,, 5, Girish Pandya BJP corporator,, 6, Amita Patel
BJP corporator,.
Vandarva 1alav, Ahmedabad
1, JP Pandey, 2, Hardegiri \anraj, 3, Ranio Ishwar \aghri, 4, Sushil Panwla, 5, Balde, 6,
Jitu, , Darmesh T\raa`, 8, Rana Shanker Nai 1aar Kivararaa`, 9, Sankar, 10, \ijay, 11,
Guddu, 12, Sunil Panwala, 13, Ramesh Dudhawala, 14, Nikul, 15, Babu Pande, 16, Ramesh
Dadhi, 1, Jitu Darbar, 18, Mahesh Dari`, 19, Millan Daliraa`, 20, Ramesh Bhia security
guard o Rajdeep Lstate, and others.
Bachubhai no Kuvo, Ahmedabad
1, Rajesh, 2, Prem Prabhdayal Pal, 3, Om Prakash avgo - aoiraa`, 4, Samshir
\ada, 5, Mahesh Chhotabhai Patel, 6, Raju Sabjiwala, , Sunil Ram Kaial, 8, Panday and
others.
Bismillanagar and Burhani society, Ahmedabad
1, Ashinkumar Rao o Dharmabhumi society and others. Complainants do not know the
names o the other accused but they recognise the aces o all.,
Rosni Row house, Ahmedabad
1, Paresh Daruala Chunara, 2, Ketiyabhai, security guard o Maruti Cargo, 3, Arun Patel,
4,Mahesh Patel builder, o Narol, 5, Kanti Chunara and others.
Jahidsa Pir ni Dargah, Ahmedabad
1, Kausik Patel, 2, Mahesh Patel, 3, Kirit Patel, 4,Kishan Patel, 5, Sambhbhai Patel
Vireman`, 6, Mahendrabhai member o Bajrang Dal, and others.
Navapura, Ahmedabad
1, Mahesh Chotabhai Patel Bajrang Dal leader,, 2, Suresh Chunara, 3, Babu Chunara,
4,Ramesh \ada, 5, Mahendrasingh Zala, 6, Magan Patel Manibhai na Kuaraa,, , Harishbhai,
8, Rameshbhai Zala, 9, Ashok Singh, 10,Shobharam Singh, 11, Jignesh Bhasar, 12, Rashik
\anad, 13, Parag - Patil Lakhel 1ata vvoraa`,, 14, Chirag Yavalaraa` bike no. 4444,, 15,
Jayantibhai, 16, Jago o Chunaraas, 1, Sitaben Chunara, 18, Soniben Chunara, 19, Santosh
Chunara, 20, Ranchhod Chunara, 21, Pradeep Chunara.
GIDC, Ahmedabad
1, Subriyam, 2, \aude, 3, Sikhalisingh, 4, Raju, 5, \asude Pande, 6, Manoj Ivarao,-
Leader, , Iswer Rabari, 8,Bharat Bharad, 9, Gullsingh, 10, Kalalkar, 11, Papu aav, 12,
Bhola Pandit, 13, Kalicharan.
PaldiLllis Bridge, Ahmedabad
1, Reenue minister, Haren Pandya, 2, BJP MLA Ashok Bhatt, 3,Bhartibelv BJP corpora-
tor, 4, Anitabelv BJP corporator, and other \HP leaders and actiists rom Paldi area.
PANCHMAHAL DIS1RIC1
Pandharwada, Panchmahal
1, aravcl Anil Modi BJP,, 2, Mahendra \akil, 3, Jaswant Manilal Patel BJP,, tava
avcla,at ravvl, Khanpur, 4, Pramilal, 5, Arind Patel, 6, Mansukh Bhai, ,Chamunda,
8, Sanjay \HP district president, Panchmahal,.
Pandharwada (farm massacre), Panchmahal
1, Pramilal, 2, Jaswant Manilal Patel, 3, Arind Patel, 4, Mansukh Bhai Chamunda and 5,
Sanjay, \HP district president, Panchmahal, 6,Mahendra \akil also inoled in irst massacre
in Pandharwada,
Anjanwa, Panchmahal
Minister or orests, Prabhatsinh Chauhan BJP,.
Malav Gaon, Kalol, Panchmahal
1, Dilip Babu Shah 2, Ulhas Daya Patel.
Dailol, Kalol tava, Panchmahal
1, Arind Singh Ranjit Singh Thakore owner, tempo, no. KJ1 X 5838,, 2, Mehta Hitesh
Kumar Jayantilal owner, Mehta photo studio at Bakor,, 3, Jayantilal Parma Bhai Patel Gangta,,
4, Panchal Mohan Bhai Soma Bhai Naroda, runs hotel,, 5, Bharat Singh Ranjit Singh Thakore
Tarakdi, owner, tempo no. GJ1 T 121,, 6, Bhagan Bhai Sabur Bhai .aravcl, Koyla
illage,, , Babubhai Patel Yoa`, 8, Nareshbhai Patel owner, commander jeep no: GJ1R92,,
9, Kanku Bahen Dalabhai Gangta, runs hotel at bus stand,, 10, Maliad Nanabhai Bhurabhai
runs hotel near Ganga petrol pump,, 11, Patel Rameshbhai Bhaga Bhai drier o priate
ehicle,, 12, \ikram Nagar Solanki and others.
Dailol, Panchmahal
BJP minister Pratapsinh Chauhan
Dailol (highway crime, J3 slaughtered), Panchmahal
1,The manager o People`s Bank, JP Shah, 2, Owner o \ijay Talkies, 3,Jaggubhai and
others.
Mora village, Morvad Hadap tava, Panchmahal
1, Amrishbhai Panchal BJP valavavtri,, 2, Bipinbhai Bhoi BJP,, 3, Kantilal Rana BJP,, 4,
\inod Ambalal Bhoi Bajrang Dal, president,, 5, \ikrambhai Dindod BJP, Rajasthan,, 6, aravcl
e. rom the tribal illages o \eramya, Suliath, Mora, Deloch and Rajaita, , Dayabhai Gangabhai
Khudra,, 8, Chandubhai Sohanbhai Chandpur,, 9, \inodbhai Chandubhai Chandpur,, 10,
Jaswantsingh Jagalbhai Chandpur,, 11, Manglabhai Parsingbhai Chandpur,, 12, Prajapati
Dineshbhai Ranchhod, 13, Bhasar Hiteshbhai Ambalal, 14, Harijan Kanji Mansukh, 15, Nigora
Lakshman Abhesingh.
(1le.e accv.e lare a.o beev vave b, rictiv .vrriror. frov otler riage. for ifferevt crive. iv Pavclvala
av veiglbovrivg Dalo i.trict.
Kuvajar, Morvad (Hadap) tava, Panchmahal
1, \inu Budha Patel, net to Shreeji Tiles lactory, \ejalpur, tava Kalol, ia avcl,, 2,
Amarsinh Budhabhai Patel, Net to Shreeji Tiles lactory, \ejalpur, tava Kalol,ia avcl,,
3,Santosh Rama \aghri, \aghriwad, Tejalpur, tava Kalol,, 4, Anand Rama \aaghri,
\aghriwad, Tejalpur, tava Kalol,, 5, Girish \aria Kanti Kantawala, Kheda faia, \ejalpur,
tava Kalol,, 6, Dharmendra Jada, Godhra Highway Road, \ejalpur, tava Kalol, , Holo
Barot Garagewala, Bahar faiv, \ejalpur, tava Kalol,. 8, Saratsingh Daulat Kuajar,, 9, Rana
Balwant Kuajar,, 10, Arjan Bharat Kuajar,, 11, Jaswant Singh Ramsingh Chaupur,, 12,
Shauka Hira Parmar Chaupur,, 13, Babu Bhasingh \anjara Khudra,, 14, Amarsingh Patel
Khudra,, 15, Jaswant Ramsingh Patel Chandpur,, 16, Prabhat Ramsingh Patel Chandpur,,
1,Himmatbhai Ramsingh Patel, 18, Himmatsingh Naalbhai Nayak Khudra,, 19,
Rajesinghbhai Kanjibhai, 20, Sesingh Sardarbhai, 21, Dashratbhai Rawesingh, 22, Samatsingh
Amarsingh Patel, 23, Kiran Abhesingh, 24, Samatsingh Manji, 24, Narsingh Khatra.
Lral village, Kalol tava, Panchmahal
1) Rajubhai \ithalbhai Talati, 2) Purshottambhai Gordhanbhai Parmar, 3, Ganabhai
Chandubhai Parmar, 4, Bhailalbhai Maganbhai, 3, Narendra Singh Chandulal.
Vejalpur, Kalol tava, Panchmahal
1, \inu Budha Patel net to Shreeji Tiles lactory, \ejalpur, tava Kalol, ia avcl,, 2, Amarsinh
Budhabhai Patel Net to Shreeji Tiles lactory, \ejalpur, tava Kalol, ia avcl,, 3, Santosh
Rama \aghri, \aghriwad, Tejalpur, tava Kalol, 4, Anand Rama \aaghri, \aghriwad, Tejalpur,
tava Kalol,, 5, Girish \aria Kanti Kantawala, Kheda faia, \ejalpur, tava Kalol,, 6, Dharmendra
Jada, Godhra Highway Road, \ejalpur, tava Kalol,, , Holo Barot Garagewala, Bahar fai,v,
\ejalpur, tava Kalol,.
av veiglbovrivg Dalo i.trict,; 8, Mukesh Deidas Jaswani aka Gungo, Sindhi Bazar,\ejalpur,,
9, Rajeshbhai \ensimal Jaswani aka Sindhi, Sindhi Bazar,\ejalpur,, 10, Rajesh Ballu Jaswani,
aka Sindhi, Sindhi Bazar, \ejalpur,, 11, Rakesh Nagindas Soni, aka Sindhi, Sindhi Bazar,\ejalpur,,
12, Bharat \ensimal Jaswani, aka Sindhi, Sindhi Bazar,\ejalpur,, 13, Prakash Urshandas Aswani,
14,Amit Sheth aka Rana, avcla,at member,.
Babaliya village, Panchmahal
1, Arind Singh Ranjit Singh Thakore owner, tempo, no. KJ1 X 5838,, 2, Mehta Hitesh
Kumar Jayantilal owner, Mehta photo studio at Bakor,, 3, Jayantilal Parma Bhai Patel Gangta,,
4, Panchal Mohan Bhai Soma Bhai Naroda, runs hotel,, 5, Bharat Singh Ranjit Singh Thakore
Tarakdi, his tempo no. GJ1 T 121,, 6, Bhagan Bhai Sabur Bhai .aravcl, Koyla illage,, ,
Babubhai Patel \oka,, 8, Nareshbhai Patel Has Commander jeep no: GJ1R92,, 9, Kanku
Bahen Dalabhai Gangta, runs hotel at bus stand,, 10, Maliad Nanabhai Bhurabhai runs hotel
near Ganga petrol pump,, 11, Patel Rameshbhai Bhaga Bhai drier o priate ehicle,, and a
crowd o 250 under the leadership o the aboe-mentioned accused
Limkheda, Panchmahal and Piplod Road, Dahod
1, Rameshkumar R. Chandana .aravcl,, 2, Shailesh C. Bhatt, 3,Mitish C Bhatt, 4, Pradip
Ramanbhai Modhia, 5, Naresh Ramanbhai Modhia, 6, Goind Hukam Rawal, , Jaswant
Rawal, 8, Gopaldas Babulal Shah, 9, Shreepal Ajablal Jain, 10, \ikas Subhash Jain, 11, Gopal
Dama Rawal, 12, Goind \arsing Bilwad, Radheshyam B. Shah lawyer,, 13, Ashish B. Shah,
14, Bhagubhai Kuar Shah, 15, Kesar Khima \ahomia, 16, Rajukant Modhia came with jeep
no. 3605,, 1, Mukesh Pawar \anjara, 18, Umeshkumar Shah doctor,, 19, Maukabhai
Mansingh Guniji, 20, Raju Chhagan Harijan, 21, Shankar Chhagan Harijan, 22, Maat Moghilal
Prajapat, 23, Harshad Kantilal Patanwadia, 24, Natu Dala Parmar, 25, Bharat Raal, 26,,
Dae Raju Magan Maharaj, 2, Khicha \ahomia, 28, Pankajkumar Naran Luhar, 29, Ashok
Naran Luhar, 30, Raju Karan \anjhara, 31, Mangalbhai Mogilal Prajapati, 32, Pradyumbhai
Majisaiik came in car no. GJ-1--528,, 33, Gopal Prakash Modhia, 34, Jignesh Prakash
Modhia, 35, Dilip Manalal Darji, 36, \ijaykumar Ramanlal Modhia, 3, Harish B. Shah, 38,
Manish B. Shah, 39, Kambhai Lalit Bairyawala tailor,, 40, Dilip K. Chandana, 41, Kanti
Kadakia Shilot, 42, Lakshman Bhabor Dasana,, 43, Natu Dhirsingh Sangada, 44, Bharat
Dhirsingh Sangada, 45, Kambhai Master Dasa,, 46, Padamsingh Labana Bandibarwala, 4,
Kamleshkumar Manharlal Dae, 48, Pramukhkumar Bhagabhai Dabgar, 49, Rajubhai Babulal
Soni, 50, Mahesh Sualal Shah, 51, Budhabhai ShamabahiBilwad, 52, Umeshkumar
Gopikrishan Shah, 53, Nileshkumar Anadilal Shah teacher,, 54, Rajeshkumar Anandilal Shah.
(. tle abore :1 are re.ievt. of Ravlivr,, 55, Jaswantbhai Patel Chhapan Road, tava Limkheda
came in his car, 56, Mahendra Drier Chhaparwad came in car, car No. GJ-1-C-2853,, 5,
Narsingh, .aravcl Dhamanbhai.
DAHOD DIS1RIC1
Jhalod, Dahod
Prearatiov for attac,cov.irac,: The leaders o the BJP rom Jhalod named by the local
people are: 1, Bhagwan Panchal, 2, Agnesh Panchal, 3, Bhaesh Babubhai Katar son o the
MP,, 4, Subhash Agrawal, 5, Sunil Agrawal, 6, Kaloobhai Sangada, , Chhagan Bhunatar e-
corporator,, 8, Narainbhai rom Limli,, 9, Mukesh Karnawat, 10, Dalsukh Maharaj, 11,
Mukeshkumar Nandkishor Purohit, 12, Shankar Labana, 13, Maheshbhai Bhuria, 14, Suresh
Charal, 15, Ramanbhai Admat Khutawala .aravcl, and others.
Prirate |irivg: Subhash Makhanlal Agrawal, Bhaesh Babulal Katara, Gopal Makhanlal
Agrawal, Kirit Makhanlal Agrawal, Mukesh Makhanlal Agrawal, Suresh Charel, Balji Patel,
Rajni Patel.
Randhikpur, Dahod
.ccv.e of gavg rae. av tle vvrer of 11 favi, vevber.: 1, Shailesh Bhat, 2, Raju Soni, 3, Lala
doctor, 4, Goind Nana, 5, Jaswant Nai, 6, Lalo \akil, son o Bhagu Kuerji, , Kesar
Khima, 8, Baka Khima \asaa a frov Ravlivr,.
av veiglbovrivg Dalo i.trict,.
.r.ov iv Ravlivr : 1, Rameshkumar R. Chandana .aravcl,, 2, Shailesh C. Bhatt, 3,
Mitish C. Bhatt, 4, Pradip Ramanbhai Modhia, 5, Naresh Ramanbhai Modhia, 6, Goind
Hukam Rawal, , Jaswant Rawal, 8, Gopaldas Babulal Shah, 9, Shreepal Ajablal Jain,
10, \ikas Subhash Jain, 11, Gopal Dama Rawal, 12, Goind \arsing Bilwad, 13,
Radheshyam B. Shah lawyer,, 14, Ashish B. Shah, 15, Bhagubhai Kuar Shah, 16,
Kesar Khima \ahomia, 1, Rajukant Modhia came with jeep no. 3605,, 18, Mukesh
Pawar \anjara, 19, Umeshkumar Shah doctor,, 20, Maukabhai Mansingh Guniji, 21,
Raju Chhagan Harijan, 22, Shankar Chhagan Harijan, 23, Maat Moghilal Prajapat, 24,
Harshad Kantilal Patanwadia, 25, Natu Dala Parmar, 26, Bharat Raal, 2, Dae Raju
Magan Maharaj, 28, Khicha \ahomia, 29, Pankajkumar Naran Luhar, 30, Ashok
Naran Luhar, 31, Raju Karan \anjhara, 32,Mangalbhai Mogilal Prajapati, 33,
Pradyumbhai Majisaiik came in car no. GJ-1--528,, 34, Gopal Prakash Modhia,
35, Jignesh Prakash Modhia, 36, Dilip Manalal Darji, 3, \ijaykumar Ramanlal Modhia,
38, Harish B. Shah, 39, Manish B. Shah, 40, Kambhai Lalit Bairyawala tailor,, 41, Dilip
K. Chandana, 42, Kanti Kadakia Shilot, 43, Lakshman Bhabor Dasana,, 44, Natu
Dhirsingh Sangada, 45, Bharat Dhirsingh Sangada, 46, Kambhai Master Dasa,, 4,
Padamsi ngh Labana Bandi barwal a, 48, Kaml eshkumar Manharl al Dae, 49,
Pramukhkumar Bhagabhai Dabgar, 50, Rajubhai Babulal Soni, 51, Mahesh Sualal
Shah, 52, Budhabhai Shamabahi Bilwad, 53, Umeshkumar Gopikrishan Shah, 54,
Nileshkumar Anadilal Shah teacher,, 55, Rajeshkumar Anandilal Shah. - a vave iv
tle |IR rlo are re.ievt. of Ravlivr and 56, Jaswantbhai Patel Chhapan Road, tava
Limkheda, came in his car, 5, Mahendra drier, Chhaparwad, came in car No. GJ-
1-C-2853,, 58, Narsingh, .aravcl Dhamanbhai frov ovt.ie.
Piplod, Dahod
.r.ov: 1, Ketan Parikh, 2, Prithi Puwar (.aravcl o Guna illage,, 3, Bhuderbhai Mulabhai
e.aravcl ,, 4, leader o Salia Manubhai \alabhai 1ava ravvl,, 5, Pradipbhai Manabhai,
6, Sunil Rameshchandra Soni.
Sanjeli, Dahod
.vovg tle accv.e ievtifie b, tle riager. are a.o vav, rlo rere re.ov.ibe for tle brvta
attac. agaiv.t Clri.tiav. iv 1. 1le accv.e vave lere are: 1, Dalsukhdas Maharaj, 2,
Mukesh Nandkishor Purohit, 3, Jagdish Premchand Jain, 4, Dimple Occhalal Desai,
5, \ijaysinh Dalpatsinh Raolji, 6, Prakash Jagannath Dlobi, , Ramchandra Ghanshyam
Agrawal, 8, Digijaysinh M Chauhan, 9, \aktabhai Salabhai Khant, 10, Chandubhai
Prajapati, 11, Ramesh Maharaj Nenki ar avcl,, 12, Shankar Kotha Prajapati , 13,
Bhopat Luna Prajapati, 14, Chadiya Ghala Harijan, 15, Prakash Shomabhai Raal, 16,
Popat Somabhai Raal drier,, 1, Mansingh Raat Picchhoda,, 18, Shashikant Mahida,
19, Pardhibhai Kamabhai Marel, 20, Dalsingh Bhagabhai Marel, 21, Tajsingh Bhundabhai
Marel, 22, Ashok Bhoi. 23, Rajubhai \ithalbhai Talati, 24, Purshottambhai Gordhanbhai
Parmar, 25, Ganabhai Chandubhai Parmar, 26, Bhailalbhai Maganbhai, 2, Narendra
Singh Chandulal, 28, Dilip Babu Shah, 29, Ulhas Daya Patel, 30, Dalsukh Maharaj \HP
Marg Darshak Mandal,.
KHLDA DIS1RIC1
Mehmdavad
1, RSS, \HP and Bajrang Dal, 2, Pankaj Bhai, 3, \inod Bhai Patel BJP,, 4,aravcl o
Kheda town.
PA1AN DIS1RIC1
Ghasiavas, Radhanpur, Patan
1, Shankarbhai Lakdhirbhai Chaudhri Arbuda Society, MLA Santalpur,Radhanpur,, 2,
Prainbhai Thakkar Mahalakshmi Radhanpur, chie o the Radhanpur tava BJP,, 3, Prakash
Keshalal Thakkar, who is known as Prakash Da.livi`, 4, Doctor Rawal, hospital in Lalbaug,
5, Kanubhai Deri, 6, \inod Kumar Goklani, , Satishbhai Thakkar, sells dish antennae, 8,
Thakore Ajmalbhai Abhabhai Chalwada, tava Radhanpur,. 9, Bharatkumar Kalyanji Thakkar
Dandia suburb, Radhanpur, business: Ambika Llectronics, Lalbaug, Radhanpur,, 10, Ratilal
\yas, ice-chie o Santalpur tava avcla,at. \arahi,. Also other residents o Radhanpur city
and tava, a mob o more than 00 \HP, Bajrang Dal, and RSS members, 11, Sukhadia
Bakulkumar Pannalal Gogasheri, Radhanpur,. 12, Shankarbhai Lakdhirbhai Chaudhri Arbuda
Society,, 13, Prainbhai Thakkar Mahalakshmi, Radhanpur,, 14, Prakash Keshalal Thakkar,
alias Prakash Dakshini, 15, Doctor Rawal, whose hopital is in Lalbaug, 16, Kanubhai Deri,
who is a ormer corporator..
1le accv.e lare beev accv.e vver IPC, .ectiov. 11, 11, 11, 0, 12, 1.
ANAND DIS1RIC1
Ode, Anand
1, Harish \alabhbhai, 2, Nantubhai Sana,Anand 3, Basant Poonambhai, 4, Lalabhai Bakoor
bhai. eaivg tle vob rere: 5, Dilipbhai \alabhbhai Patel, 6, Chotobhai Ranabhai Patel, ,
Prakashbhai Jamnadas Patel, 8, Hemand Kumar Rathod. ..o iv tle vob rere: 9, Ghanshyambhai
Ambala, 10, Deendrabhai Harshadbhai Patel, 11, Prakashbhai Jashbhai Patel, 12, Dilipbhai
Sanabhai Patel, 13, Girishbhai Somabhai Patel.
MLHSANA DIS1RIC1
Visnagar, Mehsana
1, Daya Purushottam, 2, Babubhai Purushottam, 3, Ramesh Daya Madhabar, 4, BJP MLA
Prahlad Ghosa (.vie arv.,.
VADODARA DIS1RIC1
Wadi 1aiwada, Vadodara city
1, Sandip Bhonse, 2, Mukesh D. Sirsagar, 3, Hitesh R. Dhomse, 4, Bharatesh Desai RSS,.
Bavamanpura, Vadodara city
1, Jayanti 2, Satya.
Hajimiyan ki Sara, Baranpura, Vadodara city
1, Ishwar Machhi, 2, Soni Bhooria, 3, Dr Thakore Patel, 4, \imal Thakur, 5, Bhaya Mochi,
6, Bhuriyo Soni, , Ramesh Mochi, 8, Hardik, 9, Maniyo, son o Ranjeet, Chobdar Mohalla.
Roshannagar (1ulsiwadi/Hathikhana), Vadodara city
1, Umakant Joshi e-mayor,, 2, Kanubhai Panwala, 3, Narendra Pandya s,o Parati, 4,
Rajubhai Kuberbhai, 5, Suresh Sharma STD raa
Machchipith, Vadodara city
1, Ajay Dae, Leader o BJP,, 2, Niraj Jain, leader o \adodara chapter o \HP,, 3,
Baka Brahmbhatt a actory owner in GIDC, Makarpura,, 4, Milind Ambegaonkar Shikshan
Samiti, \MC,.
Vadsar Road, Vadodara
1, Manoj, 2,\ogesh, 3, Maradi 4, Mr. Shrimali.
Shivshakti Nagar and Indiranagar, Vadodara
1, \HP and the Bajrang Dal, 2, Nattubhai
Makarpura, Vadodara
1, Dayabhai Prajapati, 2, Naresh Sharma 3, A.P. Singh all residents o Indiranagar, D
group,, 4, Raju \ishnu More, 5, Lotan Patil, Hiralal Lotan Patil, 6, Sanju Marathe resi-
dents o Narayan Nagar,, , Dilipsingh Jethisingh Raj resident o Tulja Nagar,, 8,
Ramanand R \ada, 9, Sahebrao Patil residents o Shreeji Nagar,, 10, Shyam \ishnu
More, 11, Sanju Marathe drier, (re.ievt. o Ghanshyam Nagar,. Otler. frov Maretla
ivrore rere: 12, Sanabhai Thakur, 13, Ishwarbhai Thakur, 14, Narayanbhai Thakur, 15,
Sureshbhai Chotabhai Thakur, 16, Mansinghbhai Jethabhai Thakur, 1,Nilesh Bhogilal Patel,
18, Chimanbhai Tribhoanbhai Thakur.
Best Bakery, Dabhoi Road, Vadodara
1, Jayanti Clairaa`, 2, Mahesh, 3, Munna, 4, Sanjay Thakkar, 5, Santosh Thakkar, 6,
Jagdish Rattiwala, , Dinesh Bakeriwala, 8, Shanabhai.
Noor Park, 1arsali, Vadodara
.ccv.e iv aiv Mevov`. vvrer: 1, Raju Bangri o Adarsh Nagar, a Bajrang Dal leader,, 2,
Alpesh Bajrang Dal,, 3, Jagdish Patel e-aravcl o Tarsali and BJP member,, 4, Amar
Ghanti, 5, Raman Ishwar Dishwala, 6, Raju Thakore & , Anil Tailor both o \ijay Nagar,.
.ccv.e for riotivg av ar.ov: 1, Raju Thakore, 2, Jasbhai Patel.
Vishal Nagar, 1arsali, Vadodara
.ccv.e iv Iqba v..aiv av à.ir v..aiv`. vvrer.
1, Narendrasinh Solanki BJP, tava avcla,at member,, 2, Sunil Bhoieto, 3, Ajit Kalia
o \ishal Nagar,, 4, Sunil Patel o BJP,, 5, Sudhir Meldi, 6, Pradip aka Padiyo, , Kallo
Jaiswal, 8, Bhupendra, 9, Rai, 10, Dharmendra, 11, Kanchia, 12,Manish Gurkha all o
\ishal Nagar,
Raghovpura village, near 1arsali, Vadodara
1, aravcl Shantilalbhai Patel
Gotri village, Vadodara
1, Ghanshyam Brahmabhatt BJP worker,, 2, Kanchanben Barot BJP councillor,, 3, Bhailal
Parag Patel 4, Dilip Bhagat Patel.
Kisanwadi, Vadodara
1, \ishnu Prajapati, 2, Kishore Marathi, 3, Santosh Hajam, 4, Jogi, 5, Chandrakant, 6, Uma,
, Dhamma, 8, Rahul, 9, Karia, 10, Jayanti, 11, Pappu, 12, Subhash,13, Natu, 14, Chandu
Plumber, 15, Ramesh ticerraa`.
Indiranagar, Karelibaug, Vadodara
1, Shankar 2, Pinto.
Roshannagar-Ashapuri, Navayard Cabin D Area, Vadodara
1, Pradip Joshi councillor,Vard no. 12,, 2, Bharat Shah councillor,, 3,Rajubhai, 4,
Dilipbhai 5,Painter`.
Amarnagar, Navayard, Vadodara
1, Kanu Acharya, 2, Kamlesh Gandhi 3,Pradip Joshi councillor, 4, Raju \aghela.
Das Patel ni Chaal, Sardarnagar, Navayard, Vadodara: 1, Dilip Keria.
Lktanagar, Navayard, Vadodara: 1, Pradip Joshi councillor,.
Iatehgunj, Vadodara
1, Gopal N Rabadi, 2, Mahendra N Rabadi, 3, Ashoo Dubey 4, Guddu Dubey.
Sama, Vadodara: 1, Pradip Joshi BJP councillor,.
Atladra, Vadodara
1, Arunaben Pandya, 2, \ogesh Patel, 3, Hari Krishan Patel 4, Nikeshbhai G Patel.
Bajwa, Vadodara
1, Jagdish Patel, 2, Dhirubhai Patel, 3, Jagdish Armanbhai Patel, 4, Arun Patel o
Karachiya illage, 5, Sampat \aghri o Rajasthan colony, 6, Mukesh Patel, , Jayaben
Thakkar BJP MP,.
Maretha, Vadodara
1, Sanabhai Ishwarbhai Thakur, 2, Sanjay Chiman Thakur, 3, Mahendra Magan Thakur,
4,\ishnu Raisingh Bhuria (a re.ievt. of latlvi |aia,, 5, Sana Thakur resident o Santoshi
Nagar, 6, Prakash Mulchand Vagh resident o Magan Park,, , Bipinbhai Patel resident
o Alamgar,, 8, Sukhdeo Thakur, the aravcl o Talsat, 9, Pramodbhai o Chappad,
10, Nilesh Bhogilal Patel, 11, Mahesh Haribhai Rabari, 12, Raghubahi Bharwad, (a
aravg Da eaer.,, 13, aravcl Kantaben Sanabhai \asaa, 14, \eenabhai Chagganbhai
Patel e-BJP leader,, 15, Goindbhai Ramsibhai Rabari, 16, Haribhai Icchabhai Rabari
1, Narayanbhai Chottabhai Thakur.
Sokhada, Vadodara
1, Motiya Pura, 2, Lalji Pura, 3, \ashna, 4, Madhusudhanbhai Muljibhai .veriaraa` 5,
aravcl Mahendrabhai Ramanbhai Patel, 6, Jagdishbhai Mohanbhai Tailor,, , Hiteshbhai
Purushottam 1D Pavgaaraa`, 8, Manojbhai Thakorebhai Patel newspaper dealer, 10,
Sanjaybhai Thakorebhai.
Chappad, Vadodara
1, \illage .aravcl, 2, Pramodbhai Shankarbhai Patel, 3, Rajubhai Shankarbhai Patel,
4, aravcl`. daughter-in-law, 5, Pradipbhai Tarjabhai Patel, 6, Manojbhai Laljibhai Patel, ,
Somabhai Himmatbhai Patanwala, 8, Pramod Thakkar, 9, Pradip Patel, 10, Jyotishbhai \asaa,
11, Kanu Ratilal \asaa.
Ranoli, Vadodara
1, aravcl Chandrakant Patel, 2, & 3, aravcl`. two sons, 4, Kaushik Patel an employee
o GACL,.
Samiala, Vadodara
1, Narendrabhai Gordhanbhai \aid ar avcl,, 2,Kamlesh Gordhanbhai Patel Dy
aravcl,, 3, Bhogilal Mohanbhai Patel, 4, Mahendrabhai Harmanbhai Patel, 5,Kishorebhai
Laljibhai Baria, 6, Natubhai Dayabhai Patel, , Jagdishbhai Dayabhai Patel, 8, Hiteshbhai
Bacchubhai Patel.
Lakshmipura, Vadodara
1, Bhagatsinh Gaikwad Pavcla,at member,, 2, Labhubhai Crav.era,, 3,Bharatbhai Doc-
tor,, 4, Rameshbhai Bakorbhai Solanki, 5, Chiragbhai Maganbhai Panchal, 6, Narendrabhai
Raojibhai Patel, , Lakshmansinh Bodana, 8, Poonambhai Solanki, 9, Ranjitsinh Chatrasinh
Gohil, 10, Umeshbhai Natubhai Rawal, 11, Kantilal Bhatt, 12, Shantilal Shanabhai \aghri, 13,
Rameshbhai Chimanbhai Padiyar, 14, Punitbhai Solanki, 15, Sukhabhai \aghri, 16, Dilipsinh
Gaikwad, 1,Sureshbhai Rajput, 18,Chandrasinh Maganbhai Rajput, 19, Dilipbhai
Shantilal \aland.
1aiwasa, Vadodara
1, Sandip Bhonse, 2, Mukesh D Sirsagar, 3, Hitesh R Dhomse, 4, Bharatesh Desai o the RSS,.
.fter tle Colra ivcievt av vrgevt veetivg of tle actiri.t. of ]P. 1P, R, c aravg Da
ra. le vver tle eaer.li of 1, \ogesh Patel MLA,, 2, Nalin Bhatt e-chairman o
GLB,, 3, PC Patel, 4, Jani Mama councillor & librarian o MS Uniersity,, 5, Jiraj
Chauhan, 6, Milinbhai Ambegaokar, , Ajay Dae, 8, Pradip Joshi, 9, Niraj Jain, 10,
Pankaj Jain Adocate,, 11, Jatin \yas, 12, Raju Bareliwala, 13, Chiman Maradia, 14,
Ashok Pawar, Samata Party corporator,, 15, Prana Patel BJP corporator,.
1ejgadh, Chhotaudaipur, Vadodara
1, aravcl and 2, Adiasis rom illages nearby.
SABARKAN1HA DIS1RIC1
Bhiloda, Sabarkantha
1, Gunantbhai Bhagwandas Triedi, BJP member, and 11 others 2, aravcl, Rupesh
Triedi RSS raclara,, 3, Shri Prabhudas Lalabhai Patel joint secretary o RSS or Banaskantha
and Sabarkantha.,, and 8 others.
Kidiad, Sabarkantha
1, Kalubhai Malwad BJP, M. and tava avcla,at ravvl,.
Kediagaon, Sabarkantha
1, Kalubhai Malwad BJP, MLA and tava avcla,at ravvl,.
Prantij, Himmatnagar, Sabarkantha
1, Minister o state or cottage industries, Ranjitsingh Chawda, 2, Jagdish Taral \HP
leader,.
Mujethi, Idar tava, Sabarkantha
1, ar avcl Kantibhai Hiralal Patel 2, Jayantibhai Patel, 3, Nalinbhai Bhogilal Mehta,
4, Dearkumar Chandrakant Tulsi 5, Saratkumar Kantilal Doshi. 6, Suryakant Joshi BJP
tava leader,.
BHARUCH CI1Y
1, \HP Bharuch president, \iral Desai 2, Ranjan Mistry, 3, Champak Mistry, 4, Satish Mistry
BJP corporator, also an actie member o the BD,RSS,.
Ankleshwar, Bharuch
1, Pintu, 2, Janak Shah, 3, Jeetu Patel, 4, Ganesh Agrawal, 5, Prain Master, 6, Harendra
Solanki, , Dinesh Solanki.
Rajpardi, Bharuch
1, Rohit Shah Adocate,, 2, \ogesh Kanti Patel.
Andada, Bharuch
1, Naresh Nagji Patel works in the postal department,, 2, Prakashbhai Rameshbhai Patel, 3,
Anilbhai Ramanbhai Patel 4, Dineshbhai Bhikabhai Patel.
Mandwa, Bharuch
1, Mahesh Shankar, 2, Bipinbhai Gunwantbhai Pandya, 3, Mahesh Dalpat Parmar, 4,
Khushal Chiman Machhi Patel, 5, Thakore Jina, 6, Chandubhai Bhikhabhai Machhi Patel, ,
Bhikha Sardar All belonging to the Bajrang Dal,.
BANASKAN1HA DIS1RIC1
1, Brahmin Thakar, 2, Rajendra Prasad, 3, \asude and others.
Aims & Objects
The burning of innocent women and children inside a train at Godhra on February 27 and the
subsequent ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Gujarat, justified by chief minister Narendra Modi
as a natural reaction, has thrown up an unprecedented challenge to Indian democracy and
the rule of law.
To respond to this brazen communal assault on the countrys secular democratic polity,
concerned citizens from Mumbai and Ahmedabad have came together on March 31, 2002 to
form an Association of Persons (AOP), to be called, Citizens for Justice and Peace - CJP.
Activities
Following intensive interaction and consultation with a wide cross-section of survivors of the
carnage in Gujarat lawyers, human rights groups and communal harmony/peace activists
from across the country, CJP has set for itself the task of mobilising finances for the following
activities:
1. Citizens Tribunal: Gujarat 2002: A Citizens Tribunal consisting of retired judges
and prominent citizens from different walks of life will examine and investigate the
incident of arson at Godhra and the subsequent statewide violence that took lives,
destroyed property and attacked cultural symbols and places of worship of sections
of the population.
2. Public Interest Litigation: To make legal interventions in the Gujarat High Court and
the Supreme Court for the redressal of grievances (Relief, Rehabilitation, Reparation
by the Gujarat state) and prosecution of all those guilty for the killing of innocents in
Godhra and the rest of Gujarat (Punish the Guilty!).
3. Intervention before the Gujarat-govt. appointed official commission of inquiry: To
assist any lawyer/team of lawyers formed to effectively highlight before the commis-
sion the case of the victims and survivors of violence.
4. Public campaign and advocacy: To build public opinion on the need for justice as
an essential step towards reconciliation and peace.
C.t.:cs |o Jest.cc ac |cacc
5. Relief and rehabilitation: To accept contributions from concerned citizens and
organisations and assist organisations, groups and individuals engaged in relief work
in Gujarat.
6. Documentation, Research, Translation: To put together the information needed for
any or all of the activities outlined above.
7. Legal Training: To hold legal training workshops in order to prepare a team of junior
lawyers and social activists who will assist senior advocates in the various legal
interventions proposed.
The proposed activities will be carried out by members of CPJ or by other appropriate
individuals or organisations selected by the CPJ Working Committee.
The accounts will be audited by a reputed chartered accountant and extracts of the auditors
report will be sent to all persons/organisations contributing Rs.5,000 or more. All contributors
can, however, obtain the extract of the audited report on request.
No surplus is anticipated but in case there is, it will be applied for similar objects
elsewhere in India.
All cheques should be drawn in favour of Citizens for Justice and Peace and posted to
the address given below.
Members of CJP
The following are members of the committee formed to mobilise resources and oversee its
judicious disbursal for the activities identified above.
MUMBAI:
Alyque Padamsee Anil Dharkar Cyrus Guzder
Ghulam Mohammed I.M. Kadri Javed Akhtar
Nandan Maluste Titoo Ahluwalia Vijay Tendulkar
Teesta Setalvad Javed Anand
AHMEDABAD:
Indubhai Jani Uves Sareshwala Batuk Vora
Fr. Cedric Prakash Najmal Almelkar
Address:
P.O. Box No. 28253, Juhu Post Office, Juhu, MUMBAI 400 049.
Phone/fax: 2660 22 88; Phone: 2660 39 27; e-mail cjp02in@yahoo.com
(C`:12 Covaivavt: ]avaviv .bvblai Qvre.li,
Accused
1, Dr. Jaideep Patel \HP joint secretary, Gujarat,, 2, Ashok Saheb corporator,, 3,
Parikh Patel Pana Ice-cream Parlour, 4, \allabh Patel corporator,, 5, Padyuman Mistry
Balbhai Patel BD,
(C`:2 Covaivavt: Patlav à.eerlav ]afferlav,
1,Jaideep Patel, Prakashbhai, 2,Sunil Jaratha, 3,Sunil Patel, 4,Pochia Dada
(C`:1 Covaivavt:Rafi Kavblai lail,
1,Naani Singh, Gudu Chhara, 2,Suresh aka Sarezad
(C`:1: Covaivavt:Ya..ievlav .vrarlav Patlav,
1,Jaideep Patel \HP leader,, 2,Pachund da, 3,Manilal Thakore,4,Padumal Patel
(C`:111 Covaivavt:Yvvv.blai Ralevavblai Mav.vri,
1,Bipinbhai Patel Bipin Auto Centre,, 2,Manoj Sindhi Manoj Audio Cassette,, 3,Shureshbhai
Chhara
(C`:11 Covaivavt:Qa,,vvlav Ra.ilav,
1,Uddchhara Mekda
(C`:1 Covaivavt:Mariavbev Molavveblai Mav.vri,
1,Jay Harijan, Rai 2,\ijay Harijan bhaiyya, 3,Marathi people opposite our house, 4,Harijans
on the loor below, All the neighbours
(C`:1 Covaivavt:.vivbavv .. Cavi lail,
1, Ashok
(C`:1:01 Covaivavt:|arilav Mv.ivlav Patlav,
1,Babuben Rambhai Thakore, 2,Khegar Bharad, All the illagers
(C`:1:0 Covaivavt:abiblav lilavlav Patlav,
1, Harish Lakshmanbhai Koshti Shi Sena leader,, 2, Manoj Lakshmanbhai Koshti Shi
Sena leader,, 3, Bha Daruwala aravcl,, 4, \ijay Dada Shi Sena leader,
(C`:1:10 Covaivavt:.bv Ibraliv ala,
1, Harish Lakshmanbhai Koshti Shi Sena leader, 2,Manoj Lakshmanbhai Koshti Shi
Sena leader, 3,Bharatbhai Rabati Shi Sena leader, 4,\ijay Dada Shi Sena leader,
(C`:1:1 Covaivavt:|eroelav abvlav Patlav,
1,Bipinbhai
(C`:1:1 Covaivavt:aivblai Mvvvablai lail,
1, Manoj Koshti
(C`:1:2 Covaivavt:.vrar lalbviv 1aibee,
1, Arind C. Mali, 2, Anil Madrasi, 3, Popat \aghri, 4,Raju Ambetwala, 5,Babu Kerosenewala
(C`:1:: Covaivavt:av.viv lalbvivg 1aibee,
1, Anil Madrasi, 2, Arind C Mali, 3, Popat \aghri
(C`:1:11 Covaivavt:.. Klaiq .. Kariv lail,
1, Bipin, 2, Manoj, 3, Guddu, 4, Haria, 5, Suresh Langda
(C`:1:12 Coviavavt:aivlav ariflav aocl,
1, Bipin, 2, Guddu Chhara, 3, Suresh Langda, 4, Manoj Dariya
(C`:1:: Covaivavt:]alavgirlav Ralivlav Patlav,
1, Paresh, 2, Shankar
(C`:1:: Covaivavt:.biai laiav,
1, Nanit, 2,Manisha Chanalal, 3, Naresh
(C`:1: Covaivavt:Raleevabibi .lvelav Patlav,
1,Paresh
(C`:1:: Covaivavt:Kaiv .ltar agvfta 1aior,
1, Pankajbhai STDraa, 2,Dineshbhai Cycleraa, 3,Parmar Dr.

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1 Concerned Citizens Tribunal - Gujarat 2002

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