The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC -
www.iamc.com),
an advocacy group dedicated to safeguarding India's pluralist and
tolerant ethos has marked the 13th anniversary of the Gujarat pogroms of
2002, by pledging to continue the struggle for justice, regardless of
the passage of time and the vicissitudes in the electoral fortunes of
the masterminds behind the genocide. IAMC has expressed its dismay over
the brazen mockery of justice in cases related to the pogroms, since the
new government came to power in May 2014.
The Gujarat pogroms of 2002 represent the most horrific case of
mass targeted violence against a specific religious community in
independent India. In systematic and organized attacks against Muslims,
over 2,000 people were massacred and over 150,000 were displaced and
rendered homeless. The genocide was accompanied by brutal forms of
sexual violence against hundreds of women.
In several high-profile cases, the perpetrators have
either been acquitted by the infamous and compromised Special Investigations Team (SIT), or
granted bail after having been convicted.
In parallel, activists such as Teesta Setalvad, who demonstrated
exemplary courage in pursuing justice for the victims, are being hounded
by the police and subject to harassment by the state under trumped-up
charges.
Last Friday, six people accused in the barbaric killing of three British citizens during the Gujarat massacres
were acquitted
by the court for "lack of evidence." The three Britons were Saeed and
Shakil Dawood and Mohammad Aswat. They were burned alive near Prantij
town of Gujarat's Sabarkantha district.
"The denial of justice for the victims of the Gujarat pogroms
compounds the enormity of the crimes committed against them in 2002,"
stated Mr. Umar Malick, President of IAMC. "The BJP government has
continued in the tradition of the Gujarat government, of shielding the
guilty and harassing those that are striving to bring them to justice,"
added Mr. Malick.