(Gulf News
24/02/2007 12:00 AM (UAE))
Activists remember the Gujarat riot horrors
By Pamela Raghunath, Correspondent
Mumbai: It's five years since Gujarat witnessed the worst ever communal killings and human rights activists say the horrific incidents must not be forgotten until the victims get due justice and the pathetic condition of minorities addressed by the state.
Starting from February 26 to March 3, 2007, Prashant, an Ahmedabad-based human rights organisation, as well as various groups, have drawn up a line of events including seminars, a convention with survivors, film shows, drama, street plays and painting exhibitions to serve as a platform where "all of us stand together for preserving the memory against forgetting what happened in this state," says Father Cedric Prakash of Prashant.
Whilst commemorating the fifth anniversary of "Gujarat Carnage 2002" called Sach Ki Yadein, Yadon Ka Sach (memories of truth), activists are once again rewinding the horrors of communal killing that followed the burning of a train in Godhra in which 48 Hindus were charred to death.
What followed in the next few days was Hindu fanatic mobs attacking Muslims in retaliation. "Gujarat 2002 witnessed an estimated killing of 2,000 people, rape of approximately 400 women, property damage worth Rs38 billion, around 1,100 restaurants destroyed, 563 religious places destroyed or damaged and 250,000 people displaced," says Prakash.
Not recognised
According to him, a recent survey reveal that 5,000-10,000 families are still living in about 80 relief camps, not recognised by the state government and without basic civic amenities. Out of a total 4,252 First Information Reports (FIRs), 2,208 cases were summarily closed and most of the accused were released within one year of the carnage.
Like other human rights activists, he, too, says that the situation has changed little for the minorities in Gujarat. "The politicians are still reaping the benefits, academics trying to make sense of it for the long-term future of Indian democracy, mediapersons still divided over it, activists trying to wrest whatever little doles they can get for the victims from an hostile state and victims still coming to terms with the nightmare they had to undergo," he says.
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