2002 Gujarat Riots

This is in response to a tweet that started off with this:

Siva’s response :

Couldn’t fit my reply to Siva in 140 chars:

Every battle, war, riot is preceded by an event that triggers it. People do not go on killing spree without a reason. There is no denying that Godhra train burning was what initiated the riots of 2002. In Zahir’s review of Kai Po Che nowhere did I see him deny the occurrence of Godhra incident. If there are other places where Zahir and Co. has implied that Muslims did not burn that train in Godhra, please point it out.

The pilgrims on the train were innocent and in no way were they deserving of such a torturous end. Killing is forbidden in Islam and is considered an unforgivable sin. Only time it is allowed is for self defence and during wars. Those people who burned Sabarmati express may have been Muslims, however they weren’t following the teachings of Islam. This goes for any Muslim around the world who kills innocent people in the name of Jihad !

The riots killed almost 2000 people and displaced around 100 000 people, majority of which were Muslims. Houses, businesses, and religious places were burnt down in the name of retaliation and revenge. Tell me, did the killing of 2000 innocent lives even out the loss of ~60 people that died in Godhra? What’s more shameful is that is riot happened in the home state of Gandhi, he’s probably turning in his grave at the moment. ‘An eye for an eye makes the world blind!’ Not only is this happening in India , but all over the world.

The most recent shelling of the Gaza Strip in November 2012 started when Israel dropped a bomb killing a teenage boy that was playing football (Israel and its supporting media will conveniently forget to point out this incident) Gaza retaliated and in response they were showered by artillery that killed around 1400 (unsure of exact figure) by the end. Comparatively, around 100 Israelis were killed. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a question of whose lives are worth more. But just look at the numbers and that itself will highlight the injustice of such war fare. In the end, it is innocent voiceless people that are affected by the ego battle between few senseless men in power.

In a fair and just world the riots would not have happened. The only response to the Godhra incident should have been the prosecution of the culprits that were responsible for it. Wiki page shows people were convicted, but who is now going to be held responsible for the lives affected in the riots ?

I have no faith in any reports conducted by the Indian government. You show me the SIT report and I’ll show you the report by Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org/news/2002/04/29/india-gujarat-officials-took-part-anti-muslim-violence , which by the way was written by a Hindu, Smita Narula. Please read this report: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/india/gujarat.pdf (‘We have no orders to save you’). This report was written in April 2002, which I’m sure is more accurate of the events than the SIT, which was written 4 years after the riots.

Here is another reason why I have no faith in investigations done by the Indian government: http://kafila.org/2013/02/23/22-years-after-kunan-and-poshpora-rethinking-kashmir-abhijit-dutta/

I maybe a Muslim, but my heart goes out to all innocent lives that have been lost in these futile riots/ethnic cleansing/wars irrespective of race/religion/colour. Only God truly knows if the Gujarat riots were premeditated ethnic cleansing of the Muslims. It’s a sad reality that Hindu Muslim riots have become a daily occurrence in India since the partition. The only way that could be removed from the future of India is if people from our generation like you and me stopped dwelling on past events in an attempt to determine who was right and who was wrong.

People need to start identifying each other as Humans, not differentiating each other based on race/religion/colour/language.