CJP Jamia Millia Islamia October 9-13 2012
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Discussion on 2002 Gujarat Pogrom With Survivors and Teesta Setalvad
With
a view to let people have a first-hand account of the 2002 Gujarat
riots through a conversation with the survivors of Naroda Patiya and
Gulberg societies of Gujarat, the Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association
(JTSA) in collaboration with Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) today
organised a discussion titled “The Long Road to Justice” in the Mir
Taqi Mir Building. The discussion was chaired by well known journalist,
educationist and civil rights activist, Teesta Setalvad.
Teesta Setalvad speaking at the discussion in the Mir Taqi Mir Bldg.; Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012 (Photo: Iymon Majid)
The Naroda Patiya massacre at Naroda, Ahmedabad, during the 2002 Gujarat riots,
resulted in almost a hundred Muslims being killed by a mob of
approximately 5,000 people. The massacre at Naroda occurred during
the bandh called by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) a day after the Godhra
train burning. The Gulberg Society massacre, which took place on the
same day as Naroda massacre, saw a Hindu mob attacking the Gulberg
Society, a Muslim neighbourhood in Ahmedabad. At least 35 victims
including a former Congress Member of Parliament Ehsan Jafri, were burnt
alive, while 31 others went missing after the incident, later presumed
dead, bringing the total deaths to 69.
Teesta spoke about the unfolding of events leading to the massacre of 28th February 2002 in Narodiya Patiya and Gulberg, following the Godhra riots that occurred a day before.
A Gujarat pogrom survivor speaking at the discussion in Mir Taqi Mir Bldg.; Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012 (Photo: Iymon Majid)
“These were just the different aspects
of a mass criminal controversy. The way Gujarat burnt right from 28th
February to 18th May 2002, it was the only one of its kind. While
justice has been delivered in the Narodiya Patiya case, it is yet to
happen in case of the Gulberg society massacre in which Narendra Modi is
actually the prime accused, along with his top police officials and
other administrators.”
She shared her experience of the fight
for justice, the obstacles in the way and also about the recent Court
verdict of Naroda Patiya case that came on 29th August 2012
wherein 32 people were convicted, including the local MLA Maya Kodnani,
and also appreciated the way the narrative of gender violence returned
during the trial, calling it a “rare thing”. Castigating the media for
shying away from showing reality and being scared, Teesta added that the
media did not even dare to question the BJP leadership regarding the
conviction of Maya Kodnani, a BJP MLA, in the Naroda Patiya massacre.
She questioned media’s silence over delving deep into the sponsors of
NaMo Gujarat, Narendra Modi’s TV Channel that was recently launched and
silently taken off air after two days. “Media is terrified of this whole
ideology. BJP and RSS are fascists,” reiterated the civil rights
activist, while at the same time, appreciating Tehelka’s expose ‘Operation Kalank’ that served as important evidence in the case.
A Gujarat pogrom survivor speaking at the discussion in Mir Taqi Mir Bldg.; Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012 (Photo: Iymon Majid)
Teesta’s address was followed by
heart-wrenching stories of the massacre by some survivors, who have also
been eye-witnesses in the cases relating to the massacre. The
discussion saw some emotional moments and it was difficult to hold back
tears as the survivors went on narrating their tales of how they saw
their family members and loved ones being beheaded or burnt alive in
front of their eyes. “Hamaare saath khoon ki holi kheli gayi”,
voiced Dilawar, a survivor of the Naroda Patiya massacre. “What we lost
in 2002 is something that can never be ebbed off from our memory but
we’ll fight for justice”, added another eye-witness, Shakeela Bano.
While other survivors had similar tales of loss and devastation to
share, they all expressed their firm resolve to fight for justice and
never give up, despite the threats they received during the course of
the cases. This was followed by a question-answer session.
Talking to Jamia Journal, Manisha Sethi,
President JTSA, said “The motive of the program was to learn from the
personal stories of the remarkable courage of the survivors who have
stood firm in their quest of justice. JTSA salutes their struggle and of
all those activists who have stood with them at great personal cost”.
“If Gujarat was so developed, what was the need for the killings?”
Mohammad AliShe underlined the fact that unlike in the 1984 Sikh riots in Delhi and the 2008 Kandhamal riots in Odisha where the violence was concentrated to particular areas, the killing of Muslims in Gujarat was widespread. Does that mean the violence was spontaneous or the law and order agencies of the State have been infiltrated by fundamentalist elements which didn’t bother to act during the killing of the minority community or “nationalism” in India has come to be defined as being Hindu, she asked?Putting the discourses of communal riot and the idea of majority and minority in Gujarat in a historical perspective Ms. Thapar talked about the ideological built up over centuries which led to the genocide. She said that the idea of Hindu trauma was result of the theory put forward by the colonial historians about Mahmood Gaznavi’s attack on the Somnath temple. This idea was later espoused by Gujarati intellectuals like K. M. Munshi and was later entrenched in the Gujarati middle class psyche due to its eager readings of his writings. But most importantly, it was this idea of the “Hindu trauma” which the BJP tried to revive by starting its Rath Yatra from Somnath, she added.
In the context of the healing of the survivors of the post-Godhra genocide, she said the repentance and apology for the killings along with punishment to its perpetrators can start the process of reconciliation in the present Gujarati society, but added that none seems to be coming from the present political dispensation in the State. She also argued that genocide is frightening especially when it is seen as a political solution. The minority community in the State has been pushed to the margins of ghettos because ghettos are not only “easy to control” but as targeted violence of 2002 showed, they are also “easy to destroy”, she added. While talking about the memorial built by the survivors of post-Godhra riot, academician and scholar Prof. Shiv Vishwanathan asked: “How do you remember when the society desperately wants to forget through ‘development?” He said the memorial, which include a photo retrospective, statistics, a missing persons’ wall, acknowledgments and survivors’ conversations, will remind people of the justice which is yet to be delivered to thousands of the survivors of the genocide.
Activist Teesta Setlwad said the memorial has been built to energise the society toward seeking justice and also to resist attempts to forget the 2002 genocide. While she spoke, she echoed a poster fixed on one of the walls quoting a survivor Sakina Bibi: “My child sleeps with me, waking up again and again screaming. The violence never goes away.”JMI Vice-Chancellor Najeeb Jung said the response 2002 genocide evokes can only be summed up in the insightful poetry of Sahir Ludhiyanavi -- “Jinhe naaz hai Hind per who kahan hain? (Where are those who are proud of India?)
Jamia Millia Islamia and 'Citizens for Justice and Peace' are jointly organizing a series of programmes around "Memorial to a Genocide: Gulberg Gujarat 2002-2012" from October 9 to 13, 2012 on Jamia campus.
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A series of programmes around the Gujarat Genocide on Jamia Campus
New
Delhi 08-Oct (RINA): Jamia Millia Islamia and ‘Citizens for Justice
& Peace’ are jointly organizing a series of programmes
around “Memorial to a Genocide: Gulberg Gujarat 2002-2012” from October 9-13, 2012 on Jamia
campus.
The programmes will include a Photo Retrospective, Statistics, Missing Person’s
Wall,Acknowledgements and Survivor’s Conversations among other things.
The programme will begin on the 9th of October with the Inauguration of the “Memorial as
Resistance’ by Professor Romila Thapar. The inaugural event will begin at 6 PM on the 9th and will be held at M.F. Hussain Art Gallery, Jamia Millia Islamia.
The inauguration will be followed by a panel discussion to be held at the same venue where Prof Romila Thapar will be joined by Prof Shiv Vishwanathan, Prof Purushottam Agarwal, Prof Francis Gonsalves.
On the same day, i.e. on the 9th, a “Music in Memorium’ will be held in which there will be musical
performances by Vidya Shah Rao and Madan Gopal Singh. This will be held from 7 PM onwards on
October 9, 2012 at Safdar Hashmi Ampitheatre, Jamia Millia Islamia
Mr. Najeeb Jung, Vice-Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia will inaugurate a Seminar Workshop titled “In Pursuit of Justice: Media and the Law” which will be held on October 12, 2012 at 9.30 AM in the
Edward Said Hall, Jamia Millia Islamia.
In the first Panel Discussion, which will be on, “Justice for Mass Crimes”, the panelists include MM
Tirmizi, Y.B. Shaikh, RB Sreekumar (former DGP Gujarat), Harsh Mander, Aruna Roy, Anuradha Chenoy.
Prof Prabhat Patnaik will chair the above session.
The second Panel Discussion will be on “Media and Mass Crimes”. The Discussants are – Prof
Dipankar Gupta, Ashish Khetan, Siddharth Vardarajan, Kamal Mitra Chenoy. Mr. Vinod Mehta, Editor-inChief, Outlook will Chair.
o o o
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Jamia Millia Islamia to discuss Gujarat ‘genocide’
9 October 2012, New Delhi, Agencies
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