Gujarat still starved of justice 10 years after carnage says Indian American Muslim group
Indian American Muslim Council (https://www.iamc.com) an advocacy group dedicated to safeguarding India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos is observing the 10th anniversary of the start of the Gujarat pogrom of 2002, by renewing its call for justice and reparation for the victims. IAMC has called upon its chapters across the US to observe candle-light vigils as a mark of solidarity with the victims and survivors.
At the Gulberg Society in Chamanpura area of Ahmedabad, 69 people were burnt alive, on February 28, 2002 including former Congress Member of India’s Parliament Ehsan Jafri in apparent retaliation for the burning of the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express in which 58 people were killed. The Gulberg Society massacre was the start of a pogrom in which over 2000 people were massacred, hundreds of women were raped and thousands more were forced to flee their homes. Human rights and news organizations as well as whistleblowers have presented evidence of the state government’s complicity.
ANHAD organized a programme commemorating the “decade of resilience” by the Gujarat victims under the title “Dasktak”. “Dastak is an attempt to unite people and spread the message of communal harmony while establishing the fact that justice is a precondition of peace and communal harmony in the state,” said ANHAD promoter Shabnam Hashmi.
IAMC has supported Justice Hosbet Suresh’s statement at the Gulberg Memorial in which he questioned the administration’s actions while horrific crimes against humanity were being committed. “One of the components of justice is proper reparation for all the victims of the 2002 carnage. “Sadhbhavna” without truth and justice is only a farce and has no meaning,” the statement said.
Despite strictures against Mr. Narendra Modi by the Gujarat High Court and the Special Investigation Team’s findings of inaction by the State Government in the face of the carnage, the wheels of justice have yet to turn in favor of the victims. IAMC has therefore called upon the Supreme Court to take suo motu action on the faltering judicial process with respect to the Gujarat massacres.
IAMC has noted with satisfaction that Team Anna member and Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan castigated Narendra Modi for communalizing the state of Gujarat through his propaganda campaigns. Mr. Bhushan was speaking after a documentary film “After the Storm” directed by noted human rights activist Shubradeep Chakravorty, to mark 10 years from the start of the Gujarat pogrom in 2002.
The documentary depicts the tragic victimization of seven Muslim men who were falsely implicated in terror incidents and continued to face discrimination and hardship long after they were acquitted. “Such documentaries put a human face to such stories and help create empathy in the public for such people,” said Mr. Bhushan.
Indian American Muslim Council is the largest advocacy organization of Indian Muslims in the United States with 10 chapters across the nation.
For more information please visit our new website at www.iamc.com.
Related Links
“Sadhbhavna” without truth and justice is only a farce: Justice Hosbet Suresh http://twocircles.net/2012feb27/sadhbhavna_without_truth_and_justice_only_farce_justice_hosbet_suresh.html
A decade after, memories haunt Godhra, Gulberg http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2939332.ece
“We have no orders to save you” – Report by Human Rights Watch http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/2002/india/
Concerned Citizens Tribunal – Gujarat 2002, An Inquiry into the Carnage in Gujarat http://www.sabrang.com/tribunal/volI/index.html
Contact: Zafar Haq phone/fax: 1-800-839-7270 email: info@iamc.com
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