Why Delhi reminded me of Gujarat of 2002 – By Debaashish Bhattacharya

As I watch on television the chilling signs of violence wracking northeast Delhi, my mind harks back to the day I stepped into the dingy lanes of Gujarat’s Naroda Patiya, where some 97 people were killed, 36 of them women and 35 children, in a 10-hour-long carnage. The houses were still smoking and the stench of burnt human flesh made me gag.

Nearly 18 years have passed, but I distinctly remember the journey to the city centre from Ahmedabad airport. Travelling with a fellow reporter from Mumbai, where I was posted at the time, I had somehow managed to talk to a car driver, who had come to drop someone off at the airport, into taking us into a hotel.…

About 15 minutes into our journey down a deserted road, we first ran into a crowd of mostly young men wielding sticks, iron rods and crowbars. They were milling about the road.… When we identified ourselves as journalists on duty, they said we must turn back since there was “nothing to report on”. Finally, we were let through with a stern warning that we should not take any pictures.…

ALSO SEE

The Delhi darkness: Our rulers want an India that thrives on cruelty, fear, division and violence – By Pratap Bhanu Mehta (Feb 27, 2020, Indian Express)

Smoke and fury: An eyewitness account of Mob Raj in North East Delhi last night – By Ayush Tiwari (Feb 27, 2020, News Laundry)

Delhi violence: Anatomy of a riot, and its escalation – By Shishir Gupta (Feb 28, 2020, Hindustan Times)

Divided city: How barricades came up overnight between Hindu and Muslim neighbourhoods in Delhi – By Vijayta Lalwani & Karnika Kohli (Feb 28, 2020, Scroll.in)