On 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengers burned near Godhra, killing approximately 60 people. The train carried a large number of Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. In making a public statement after the incident, Modi declared it a terrorist attack planned and orchestrated by local Muslims. The next day, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a "bandh" across the state. Riots began during the "bandh", and anti-Muslim violence spread through Gujarat. The government's decision to move the bodies of the train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence.
2002 Gujarat riots
Narendra Modi
Narendra Modi | 2002 Gujarat riots
A Hindu Religious ceremony at the site of the Demolished Babri Masjid and the Demolishing itself was the reason for this. A train with several hundred passengers; Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. They were burned near Godhra, killing approximately 60 The incident was seen as an attack upon Hindus, and sparked off massive anti-Muslim violence across the state of Gujarat that lasted several weeks. Due to the Godhra Train Burning
full name of current prime minister of india
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Narendra Damodardas Modi
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when did he become the prime minister?
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In 2014
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what has been his policies towards the environment?
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Cancelled the Requirement of clearance  from NBA for projects close to wildlife, rRelaxed or Abolished regulations related to Industrial Activity & Modi lifted a moratorium on new industrial activity in the most polluted areas in the countries.
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did he win another term after the first?
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Yes. By securing 353 seats in the Lok Sabha with the BJP alone winning 303 seats.
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what political party is he affiliated with?
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Modi is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
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has this party ever been accused of any violence?
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Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
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when was his party established?
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In 1980
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by whom?
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By the Bharatiya Jana Sangh,
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is mr.modi married?
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Yes. To Jashodaben
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before becoming the pm , what other careers did he have?
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He was the Chief Minister of Gujarat
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did this place face any riot?
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Yes. The Godhra Riots
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why did this take place?
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On 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengers burned near Godhra, killing approximately 60 people. The train carried a large number of Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. In making a public statement after the incident, Modi declared it a terrorist attack planned and orchestrated by local Muslims. The next day, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a "bandh" across the state. Riots began during the "bandh", and anti-Muslim violence spread through Gujarat. The government's decision to move the bodies of the train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence.
Narendra Modi | 2002 Gujarat riots
The president of the state unit of the BJP expressed support for the "bandh", despite such actions being illegal at the time. State officials later prevented riot victims from leaving the refugee camps, and the camps were often unable to meet the needs of those living there. Muslim victims of the riots were subject to further discrimination when the state government announced that compensation for Muslim victims would be half of that offered to Hindus, although this decision was later reversed after the issue was taken to court. During the riots, police officers often did not intervene in situations where they were able.
Narendra Modi | 2002 Gujarat riots
Modi's personal involvement in the 2002 events has continued to be debated. During the riots, Modi said that "What is happening is a chain of action and reaction." Later in 2002, Modi said the way in which he had handled the media was his only regret regarding the episode. In March 2008, the Supreme Court reopened several cases related to the 2002 riots, including that of the Gulbarg Society massacre, and established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the issue. In response to a petition from Zakia Jafri (widow of Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre), in April 2009 the court also asked the SIT to investigate the issue of Modi's complicity in the killings.
Narendra Modi | 2002 Gujarat riots
Though officially classified as a communalist riot, the events of 2002 have been described as a pogrom by many scholars. Scholars studying the 2002 riots state that they were premeditated and constituted a form of ethnic cleansing, and that the state government and law enforcement were complicit in the violence that occurred. However, Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Supreme Court of India, rejected claims that the state government had not done enough to prevent the riots. In September 2002, there was a terrorist attack on Akshardham temple complex at Gandhinagar. Modi led BJP won December 2002 election with majority.
History of Gujarat | 2000–present
After the 2002 riots, a group of social activists had formed the "Concerned Citizens Tribunal" to analyze the riots. Gujarat's home minister Haren Pandya allegedly told this tribunal that Modi had organised a meeting at the Chief Minister's residence on 27 February 2002, after the Godhra train burning, in which over 63 Hindu pilgrims died. According to Pandya, in this meeting, Modi had asked the police officials not to come in the way of "the Hindu backlash". Pandya had named several police officials who attended this meeting; Bhatt was not among these. Pandya was later assassinated by unidentified men. On 14 April 2011, 9 years after the riots, Bhatt filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court of India, making similar allegations.
Sanjiv Bhatt | Affidavit against Narendra Modi
The state government stated that the massacre was "a spontaneous reaction to the Godhra train carnage and the state government and ruling party had nothing to do with it". On 1 March 2002, Modi, talking about the violence, said that he tried everything to control the "riots resulting from the natural and justified anger of people", ". Referring to the massacre, Modi said, "The five crore (50 million) people of Gujarat have shown remarkable restraint under grave provocation". The state government appointed a "Gujarat state commission of inquiry" to investigate the case and give recommendations. The committee was chaired by retired Gujarat High Court judge K.G.
Naroda Patiya massacre | Response by the government of Gujarat
Following the attack on the train, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) called for a statewide "bandh," or strike. Although the Supreme Court had declared such strikes to be unconstitutional and illegal, and despite the common tendency for such strikes to be followed by violence, no action was taken by the state to prevent the strike. The government did not attempt to stop the initial outbreak of violence across the state. Independent reports indicate that the state BJP president Rana Rajendrasinh had endorsed the strike, and that Modi and Rana used inflammatory language which worsened the situation. Then-Chief Minister Narendra Modi declared that the attack on the train had been an act of terrorism, and not an incident of communal violence.
2002 Gujarat riots | Post-Godhra violence
The Indian Election Commission ruled out early elections citing the prevailing law and order situation and held them in December 2002. The BJP capitalised on the violence using posters and videotapes of the Godhra incident and painting Muslims as terrorists. The party gained in all the constituencies affected by the communal violence and a number of candidates implicated in the violence were elected, which in turn ensured freedom from prosecution.
2002 Gujarat riots | Organisational changes and political reactions
Modi refused to apologise and denied that the government had a role in the riots. Twenty-nine people were acquitted during the verdict. Teesta Setalvad said "For the first time, this judgment actually goes beyond neighborhood perpetrators and goes up to the political conspiracy. The fact that convictions have gone that high means the conspiracy charge has been accepted and the political influencing of the mobs has been accepted by the judge. This is a huge victory for justice."
2002 Gujarat riots | Naroda Patiya Massacre
Suresh and P.B. Sawant were members of an Indian People's Tribunal (IPT) fact-finding team headed by former Supreme Court of India judge V. R. Krishna Iyer that went to Gujarat in March and April 2002 following the communal riots triggered by the Godhra train attack. The tribunal gathered 2,094 oral and written testimonies and met with many senior police officers and government officials. Findings were documented in their report ""Crime Against Humanity"". In February 2012 Suresh said that on that visit the former state home minister Haren Pandya had told him and Sawant that Chief Minister Narendra Modi had told the police not to restrain the rioting Hindus.
Hosbet Suresh | 2002 Gujarat Riots
On 29 July 2012, an Indian court convicted thirty people in the Naroda Patiya massacre case for their involvement in the attacks. The convicted included former state minister Maya Kodnani and Hindu leader Babu Bajrangi. The court case began in 2009, and over three hundred people (including victims, witnesses, doctors, and journalists) testified before the court. For the first time, the verdict acknowledged the role of a politician in inciting Hindu mobs. Activists asserted that the verdict would embolden the opponent of Narendra Modi, the then chief minister of Gujarat, in the crucial run-up to state elections later that year, when Modi would be seeking a third term (The BJP and he eventually went on to win the elections).
2002 Gujarat riots | Naroda Patiya Massacre
He returned to Gujarat from Delhi in 2001, just a month before the events of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake. He replaced Keshubhai Patel from his position and was also chosen as the CM Candidate for the upcoming election, and he became the Chief Minister. Just after being elected, he faced the 2002 Gujarat riots. He sought help from other state governments and from the federal government, but in vain. Due to his planning and strict law enforcement, he was successful to end the violence. Just after the riots ended, an attack on the Akshardham Temple by the terrorists again brought tensions among the communities.
PM Narendra Modi | Plot
The 2002 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections were held in December 2002; they necessitated by the resignation of Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the dissolution of the legislative assembly in July 2002, 8 months before its term was due to expire. Modi resigned due to widespread allegations that he had taken insufficient action to prevent the riots that took place a few months earlier. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was led by Modi, with the Indian National Congress being the chief opposition. As a result of those communal riots, a major issue in the election was the place of Muslims in Gujarati society.
2002 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election | Introduction
Many scholars and commentators have accused the state government of being complicit in the attacks, either in failing to exert any effort to quell the violence or for actively planning and executing the attacks themselves. The United States Department of State ultimately banned Narendra Modi from travelling to the United States due to his alleged role in the attacks. These allegations center around several ideas. First, the state did little to quell the violence, with attacks continuing well through the Spring. The historian Gyanendra Pandey described these attacks as state terrorism, saying that they were not riots but "organized political massacres." According to Paul Brass the only conclusion from the evidence which is available points to a methodical Anti-Muslim pogrom which was carried out with exceptional brutality coordination.
2002 Gujarat riots | Allegations of state complicity
The 1985 Gujarat riots began in February 1985 and lasted till August, in the Indian state of Gujarat. Most of the rioting occurred in the city of Ahmedabad; some other cities, including the state capital of Gandhinagar, were also affected. Between 220 and 275 people were killed in the violence, while several thousands of others were injured, and tens of thousands were displaced. The riots also caused widespread property damage. In January 1985 the Gujarat government of Chief Minister Madhav Singh Solanki announced a change in its policy of reservation that increased the benefits to people from "backward" classes. Resentment over this policy among upper castes led to an agitation against it that began in February 1985.
1985 Gujarat riots | Introduction
On 3 May 2002, former Punjab police chief Kanwar Pal Singh Gill was appointed as security adviser to Modi. Defending the Modi administration in the Rajya Sabha against charges of genocide, BJP spokesman V. K. Malhotra said that the official toll of 254 Hindus, killed mostly by police fire, indicates how the state authorities took effective steps to curb the violence. Opposition parties and three coalition partners of the BJP-led central government demanded the dismissal of Modi for failing to contain the violence, with some calling for the removal of Union Home Minister L. K. Advani as well. On 18 July, Modi asked the Governor of Gujarat to dissolve the state assembly and call fresh elections.
2002 Gujarat riots | Organisational changes and political reactions
On 27 February 2002, a train carrying Hindu pilgrims was burned outside the town of Godhra, killing 59 people. The incident was seen as an attack upon Hindus, and sparked off massive anti-Muslim violence across the state of Gujarat that lasted several weeks. The death toll estimated was as high as 2000, while 150,000 were displaced. Rape, mutilation, and torture were also widespread. The then-Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and several high-ranking government officials were accused of initiating and condoning the violence, as were police officers who allegedly directed the rioters and gave them lists of Muslim-owned properties. In April 2009, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was appointed by the Supreme Court to investigate and expedite the Gujarat riots cases.
Bharatiya Janata Party | 2002 Gujarat violence
This ultimately provoked the anti-Mandal riots in 1985, which later turned anti-Muslim, which helped the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat. Chimanbhai Patel became chief minister again with BJP support in 1990.
Navnirman Andolan | Aftermath
Of the dead, 790 were Muslim and 254 Hindu. The Concerned Citizens Tribunal Report, estimated that as many as 1,926 may have been killed. Other sources estimated death tolls in excess of 2,000. Many brutal killings and rapes were reported on as well as widespread looting and destruction of property. Narendra Modi, then Chief Minister of Gujarat and later Prime Minister of India, was accused of initiating and condoning the violence, as were police and government officials who allegedly directed the rioters and gave lists of Muslim-owned properties to them. In 2012, Modi was cleared of complicity in the violence by Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Supreme Court of India.
2002 Gujarat riots | Introduction
The SIT also rejected claims that the state government had not done enough to prevent the riots. The Muslim community was reported to have reacted with anger and disbelief. In July 2013, allegations were made that the SIT had suppressed evidence. That December, an Indian court upheld the earlier SIT report and rejected a petition seeking Modi's prosecution. In April 2014, the Supreme Court expressed satisfaction over the SIT's investigations in nine cases related to the violence, and rejected a plea contesting the SIT report as "baseless".
2002 Gujarat riots | Introduction
When people missing after the riots were declared dead after seven years, total deaths rose from 1,044 to 1,267 Unofficial estimates put the death toll closer to 5,000, with Muslims forming the majority. Police records say that 298 dargahs, 205 mosques, 17 temples and three churches were damaged during the riots. Opposition parties and three coalition partners of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government demanded the dismissal of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for failing to contain the violence, with some calling for the removal of Union Home Minister L. K. Advani as well. On 18 July 2002, Modi asked the governor of Gujarat, Sunder Singh Bhandari, to dissolve the state assembly and call fresh elections.
Naroda Patiya massacre | Aftermath
The SIT questioned Modi in March 2010; in May, it presented to the court a report finding no evidence against him. In July 2011, the court-appointed "amicus curiae" Raju Ramachandran submitted his final report to the court. Contrary to the SIT's position, he said that Modi could be prosecuted based on the available evidence. The Supreme Court gave the matter to the magistrate's court. The SIT examined Ramachandran's report, and in March 2012 submitted its final report, asking for the case to be closed. Zakia Jaffri filed a protest petition in response. In December 2013 the magistrate's court rejected the protest petition, accepting the SIT's finding that there was no evidence against the chief minister.
Narendra Modi | 2002 Gujarat riots
The state government stated later that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed. Independent sources put the death toll at over 2000. Approximately 150,000 people were driven to refugee camps. Numerous women and children were among the victims; the violence included mass rapes and mutilations of women. The government of Gujarat itself is generally considered by scholars to have been complicit in the riots, and has otherwise received heavy criticism for its handling of the situation. Several scholars have described the violence as a pogrom, while others have called it an example of state terrorism. Summarising academic views on the subject, Martha Nussbaum said: "There is by now a broad consensus that the Gujarat violence was a form of ethnic cleansing, that in many ways it was premeditated, and that it was carried out with the complicity of the state government and officers of the law." The Modi government imposed a curfew in 26 major cities, issued shoot-at-sight orders and called for the army to patrol the streets, but was unable to prevent the violence from escalating.
Narendra Modi | 2002 Gujarat riots
Justice Verma severely indicted the Government of Gujarat at the time of the riots. The NHRC report was quoted by the US when denying Narendra Modi a visa. The NHRC report on 31 May 2002 stated: "The tragic events in Gujarat, starting with the Godhra train burning incident and continuing with the violence that rocked the state for over two months, have greatly saddened the nation. There is no doubt, in the opinion of this Commission, that there was a comprehensive failure on the part of the state government to control the persistent violation of the rights to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the people of the state.
J. S. Verma | National Human Rights Commission
The 2002 Gujarat riots, also known as the 2002 Gujarat violence and the Gujarat pogrom, was a three-day period of inter-communal violence in the western Indian state of Gujarat. Following the initial riot incidents, there were further outbreaks of violence in Ahmedabad for three months; statewide, there were further outbreaks of violence against the minority Muslim population for the next year. The burning of a train in Godhra on 27 February 2002, which caused the deaths of 58 Hindu pilgrims karsevaks returning from Ayodhya, is cited as having instigated the violence. According to official figures, the riots ended with 1,044 dead, 223 missing, and 2,500 injured.
2002 Gujarat riots | Introduction
In the Godhra train burning incident on 27 February 2002, a train carrying pilgrims ("karsevaks") from a VHP-organized ceremony at Ayodhya, was burnt, killing 59 people, including 25 women and 15 children. Jaideep Patel was present in Godhra to attend to the victims of the incident. He proudly told news reporters that he entered the burnt compartment even before the police did. He is believed to have had a role in the controversial decision taken by the Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Gordhan Zadaphia and the District Magistrate, Javanti Ravi, to send the bodies of victims to Ahmedabad. The charred dead bodies were handed over to him by the executive magistrate of Godhra, allegedly at the behest of his senior officers, to be transported to Ahmedabad.
Jaideep Patel | Role in 2002 Gujarat riots
G. Shah as a one-man commission to look into the incident, but following outrage among families of victims and in the media over Shah's alleged closeness to Modi, retired Supreme Court judge G.T. Nanavati was added as chairman of the now two-person commission. In 2003, The Concerned Citizens Tribunal (CCT) concluded that the fire had been an accident. Several other independent commentators have also concluded that the fire itself was almost certainly an accident, saying that the initial cause of the conflagration has never been conclusively determined. Historian Ainslie Thomas Embree stated that the official story of the attack on the train (that it was organized and carried out by people under orders from Pakistan) was entirely baseless.
2002 Gujarat riots | Godhra train burning
Attackers arrived in Muslim communities across the region in trucks, wearing saffron robes and khaki shorts, bearing a variety of weapons. In many cases, attackers damaged or burned Muslim-owned or occupied buildings while leaving adjacent Hindu buildings untouched. Although many calls to the police were made from victims, they were told by the police that "we have no orders to save you." In some cases, the police fired on Muslims who attempted to defend themselves. The rioters used mobile phones to coordinate their attacks. By the end of the day on 28 February a curfew had been declared in 27 towns and cities across the state.
2002 Gujarat riots | Post-Godhra violence
In April 2012, the three-member SIT formed in 2008 by the Supreme Court as a response to a petition by one of the aggrieved in the Gulmerg massacre absolved Modi of any involvement in the Gulberg massacre, arguably the worst episode of the riots. In his report, Raju Ramachandran, the amicus curiae for the case, strongly disagreed with a key conclusion of R. K. Raghavan who led SIT: that IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was not present at a late-night meeting of top Gujarat cops held at the Chief Minister's residence in the wake of 27 February 2002 Godhra carnage. It has been Bhatt's claim—made in an affidavit before the apex court and in statements to the SIT and the amicus—that he was present at the meeting where Modi allegedly said Hindus must be allowed to carry out retaliatory violence against Muslims.
2002 Gujarat riots | Special Investigation Team
"The Times of India" reported that over ten thousand Hindus were displaced during the violence. According to police records, 157 riots after the Godhra incident were started by Muslims. In Mahajan No Vando, a Hindu residential area in Jamalpur, residents reported that Muslim attackers injured approximately twenty-five Hindu residents and destroyed five houses on 1 March. The community head reported that the police responded quickly, but were ineffectual as there were so few of them present to help during the attack. The colony was later visited by Modi on 6 March, who promised the residents that they would be taken care of.
2002 Gujarat riots | Attacks on Hindus
On the morning of 27 February 2002, the Sabarmati Express, returning from Ayodhya to Ahmedabad, stopped near the Godhra railway station. The passengers were Hindu pilgrims, returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. An argument erupted between the train passengers and the vendors on the railway platform. The argument became violent and under uncertain circumstances four coaches of the train caught fire with many people trapped inside. In the resulting conflagration, 59 people (nine men, 25 women, and 25 children) burned to death. The government of Gujarat set up Gujarat High Court judge K.
2002 Gujarat riots | Godhra train burning
A government minister stated that although the circumstances were tense in Baroda and Ahmedabad, the situation was under control, and that the police who had been deployed were enough to prevent any violence. In Baroda the administration imposed a curfew in seven areas of the city.
2002 Gujarat riots | Post-Godhra violence
Julius Ribero, the Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force with a reputation for bringing the underworld in Mumbai under control, was made head of the state's police. The violence continued despite Solanki's dismissal. The strike by government employees continued, and grew in strength. The government eventually reached an understanding with the agitating students on 18 July, when it announced that the 18% increase in reservations would not be implemented, and a commission would be appointed to examine the existing 10% reservation for underprivileged castes after 1988. The army was withdrawn from the city on 17 July, but during and immediately after its withdrawal further violence occurred.
1985 Gujarat riots | July and August 1985
Once troops were airlifted in on 1 March, Modi stated that the violence was no longer as intense as it had been and that it would soon be brought under control. The violence continued for 3 months with no intervention from the federal government till May. Local and state-level politicians were seen leading violent mobs, restraining the police and arranging the distribution of weapons, leading investigative reports to conclude that the violence was "engineered and launched." Throughout the violence, attacks were made in full view of police stations and police officers who did not intervene. In many instances, police joined the mobs in perpetrating violence.
2002 Gujarat riots | Allegations of state complicity
The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce called for another "bandh" on 5 June, citing the "government’s inability to maintain law and order". Widespread violence occurred on this day, including when a crowd of 200 women attempted to enforce the shutdown by stopping traffic. During the violence that occurred over the next few days, 34 people were killed. Notably, a family of eight Dabgars, a Hindu community, were burned alive, and the fire brigade that arrived to put out the blaze was prevented from doing so. Hindus in the neighborhood reacted by looting and burning stores owned by Muslims. In response to these incidents, the Solanki government decided to delay the proposed changes to the reservation policy, and set up a judicial commission to investigate the violence that had occurred.
1985 Gujarat riots | May and June 1985
According to Bhatt, at this meeting on 27 February 2002, Modi asked top police officials to let Hindus "vent out their anger" against the Muslims. He said that the meeting determined to bring the bodies of the Hindu pilgrims to Ahmedabad before cremation and that he had cautioned against this, fearing religious violence. According to him, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Hindu nationalist Bajarang Dal were stirring tensions in the city, and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had proposed a bandh (an illegal general strike). Bhatt claimed that the then Director General of Police, K. Chakravarthi, and the city Police Commissioner, P.
Sanjiv Bhatt | Affidavit against Narendra Modi
The Naroda Patiya massacre took place on 28 February 2002 at Naroda, in Ahmedabad, India, during the 2002 Gujarat riots. 97 Muslims were killed by a mob of approximately 5,000 people, organised by the Bajrang Dal, a wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, and allegedly supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party which was in power in the Gujarat State Government. The massacre at Naroda occurred during the bandh (strike) called by Vishwa Hindu Parishad a day after the Godhra train burning. The riot lasted over 10 hours, during which the mob looted, stabbed, sexually assaulted, gang-raped and burnt people individually and in groups.
Naroda Patiya massacre | Introduction
Gujarat was being ruled by a BJP government, with Narendra Modi as the chief minister. The state government was criticised for mishandling the situation. It was accused of doing little to stop the violence, and even being complicit in encouraging it. Vajpayee reportedly wanted to remove Modi, but was eventually prevailed upon by party members to not act against him. He travelled to Gujarat, visiting Godhra, and Ahmedabad, the site of the most violent riots. He announced financial aid for victims, and urged an end to the violence. While he condemned the violence, he did not chastise Modi directly in public.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee | 2002 Gujarat violence
As an aftermath of the riots, there were calls for Modi to resign from his position as chief minister of Gujarat. The opposition parties stalled the national parliament over the issue and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP), allies of the BJP, also asked for Modi's resignation. Modi submitted his resignation and the state Assembly was dissolved. In the resultant elections the BJP, led by Modi, won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly.
Kantilal Amrutiya | 2002 Election
When asked as to what would be his message to the chief minister in the event of the riots having taking place, Vajpayee responded that Modi must follow "raj dharma", Hindi for ethical governance. At the meeting of the BJP national executive in Goa in April 2002, Vajpayee's speech generated controversy for its contents which included him saying: "Wherever Muslims live, they don’t like to live in co-existence with others." The Prime Minister's Office stated that these remarks had been taken out of context. Vajpayee was accused of doing nothing to stop the violence, and later admitted mistakes in handling the events.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee | 2002 Gujarat violence
According to R. B. Sreekumar, police officers who followed the rule of law and helped prevent the riots from spreading were punished by the Modi government. They were subjected to disciplinary proceedings and transfers with some having to leave the state. Sreekumar also claims it is common practice to intimidate whistleblowers and otherwise subvert the justice system, and that the state government issued "unconstitutional directives", with officials asking him to kill Muslims involved in rioting or disrupting a Hindu religious event. The Gujarat government denied his allegations, claiming that they were "baseless" and based on malice because Sreekumar had not been promoted.
2002 Gujarat riots | Police transfers
Muslims were immediately blamed for the murder; over the next few days, 33 people were killed and several more were injured. Many of the casualties were victims of stabbings, particularly in the older parts of the town, and arson and stone-pelting also continued. Leaders of three political parties from the opposition, the BJP, the Janata Party, and the Lok Dal, went on a hunger strike demanding Solanki's removal. The government also faced pressure from those supporting the reservation, who threatened to "revolt" if the additional quotas of 18% were not enacted. Negotiations took place between the student protestors and the government, but failed to reach any agreement.
1985 Gujarat riots | May and June 1985
Following the post-Godhra communal carnage in Gujarat in 2002, Tendulkar reacted by saying that "If I had a pistol, I would shoot [Gujarat Chief Minister] Narendra Modi". This reaction of Tendulkar had evoked mixed reactions, local Modi supporters burning his effigies while others lauding his remark. Later, when he was asked if it was not strange that he, who was known as a strong voice against death penalty, had a death wish for Modi, Tendulkar had said that "it was spontaneous anger, which I never see as a solution for anything. Anger doesn't solve problems."
Vijay Tendulkar | Comment on Post-Godhra communal carnage
Property worth 42 million rupees was destroyed during the riots, with Muslims losing 32 million worth of property. A distinctive feature of the violence was the attack on Muslim chawls by their Dalit Hindu neighbours who had maintained peaceful relations with them until this point. The riots happened during the chief ministership of the Indian National Congress leader Hitendra Desai. The Justice Reddy Commission set up by his government blamed the Hindu nationalist organizations for the violence. Various writers trace the causes of the riots to a mix of socioeconomic and political factors (see Background below). The violence started on 18 September 1969 after Muslims attacked some Hindu sadhus and a temple, after the cows herded by the sadhus caused injury to them.
1969 Gujarat riots | Introduction
Protesters demanded Chimanbhai Patel's resignation. A strike on 10 January became violent in Ahmedabad and Vadodara for two days. A statewide strike was organised on 25 January 1974 and resulted in clashes between police and people at least in 33 towns. The government imposed a curfew in 44 towns and the agitation spread throughout Gujarat. The army was called in to restore peace in Ahmedabad on 28 January 1974.
Navnirman Andolan | Early student protests
Then Chief Minister Narendra Modi has also been accused of initiating and condoning the violence, as have the police and government officials who took part, as they directed the rioters and gave lists of Muslim-owned properties to the extremists. Mallika Sarabhai, who had complained over state complicity in the violence, was harassed, intimidated and falsely accused of human trafficking by the BJP. Three police officers were given punitive transfers by the BJP after they had successfully put down the rioting in their wards, so as not to interfere further in preventing the violence. According to Brass, the only conclusion from the evidence which is available points to a methodical pogrom, which was carried out with "exceptional brutality and was highly coordinated".
Violence against Muslims in India | 2002 Gujarat violence
The events in Gujarat were the first instance of communal violence in India in the age of 24-hour news coverage and were televised worldwide. This coverage played a central role in the politics of the situation. Media coverage was generally critical of the Hindu right; however, the BJP portrayed the coverage as an assault on the honor of Gujaratis and turned the hostility into an emotive part of their electoral campaign. With the violence receding in April, a peace meeting was arranged at Sabarmati Ashram, a former home of Mahatma Gandhi. Hindutva supporters and police officers attacked almost a dozen journalists.
2002 Gujarat riots | Media coverage
The subsequent day, thousands of Muslim women defied the curfew to protest the army's conduct during the violence, and demanding government action against the leaders of the procession.
1985 Gujarat riots | May and June 1985
Gujarat was hit with a devastating earthquake on 26 January 2001 which claimed a staggering 20,000 lives, injured another 200,000 people and severely affected the lives of 40 million of the population. Patel resigned as chief minister in October 2001 due to his failing health. Allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration; as well as a loss of BJP seats in by-elections and mismanagement of relief works during the aftermath of the 2001 Bhuj earthquake; prompted the BJP's national leadership to seek a new candidate for the office of chief minister. He was replaced by Narendra Modi. The Gujarat Riots of 2002, was a three-day period of inter-communal violence in Gujarat between the Hindus and Muslims, characterized by mass murder, loot, rape, and destruction of property, affecting thousands of people, mostly Muslims.
History of Gujarat | 2000–present
The state government banned television news channels critical of the government's response, and local stations were blocked. Two reporters working for STAR News were assaulted several times while covering the violence. On a return trip from having interviewed Modi when their car was surrounded by a crowd, one of the crowd claimed that they would be killed should they be a member of a minority community. The Editors Guild of India, in its report on media ethics and coverage on the incidents stated that the news coverage was exemplary, with only a few minor lapses. The local newspapers "Sandesh" and "Gujarat Samachar", however, were heavily criticised.
2002 Gujarat riots | Media coverage
Historians and commentators have stated that the caste-related violence and the communal violence had a common origin. Upper castes felt threatened by the increasing social and economic opportunity available to lower castes, and by political alliances between underprivileged castes, Muslims, and adivasis. The rioting that was triggered by caste-related tensions thus turned into communal violence, and Muslims, who played no role in the reservation debate, were victimized. The religious violence that occurred also strengthened the Hindu nationalist movement, including the BJP's position in Gujarat. According to the government commission that investigated the riots, members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the Vishva Hindu Parishad, along with those of the BJP, also played a role in exacerbating the violence.
1985 Gujarat riots | Introduction
After the Godhra riots, it was reported that in a cabinet meeting, Pandya had opposed the bringing of bodies of the victims to Ahmedabad because that would arouse passion. He was the only person able to arrange meetings between victim's family members and Muslim leaders for peace talks, but he was shouted down at the meeting by some ministers. In November 2007, Outlook reported that Pandya had revealed to the magazine in May 2002 that on the night of 27 February 2002 Narendra Modi had held a meeting in his residence, in which he instructed the attending bureaucrats and police officers to allow "people to vent their frustration and not come in the way of the Hindu backlash." Pandya had disclosed this information on condition of confidentiality.
Haren Pandya | 2002 Gujarat Riots
Relief camp organisers alleged that the state government was coercing refugees to leave relief camps, with twenty-five thousand people made to leave eighteen camps which were shut down. Following government assurances that further camps would not be shut down, the Gujarat High Court bench ordered that camp organizers be given a supervisory role to ensure that assurances were met. On 9 September 2002, Modi mentioned during a speech that he was against running relief camps. In January 2010, the Supreme Court ordered the government to hand over the speech and other documents to the SIT. What brother, should we run relief camps? Should I start children-producing centres there? We want to achieve progress by pursuing the policy of family planning with determination.
2002 Gujarat riots | Relief efforts
Gujarat saw violent reactions by upper caste groups when the policy of reservation was introduced beginning in 1975; rioting occurred in 1975, and more severe riots in 1981, when more than fifty people, mostly members of underprivileged castes, had been killed. The agitation in 1981 began after reservations were implemented in post-graduate medical courses, and was begun by Brahmin, Bania, and Patidar students of a medical government in Ahmedabad. Although the government acceded to their demands within a week, the agitation intensified, and led to widespread atrocities against Dalits in particular over more than three months.
1985 Gujarat riots | Background and motivation
Gujarat experienced large scale communal violence and riots in 2002. With Jan Sangharsh Manch, he participated in the Nanavati-Mehta Commission appointed by the Government of Gujarat to seek justice for the victims. As a party to the law suit, he managed to obtain mobile phone 'call data records' (CDR) submitted by Indian Police Service officer Rahul Sharma. A thorough analysis of these records enabled lawyers, activists and victims to cite the CDRs as evidence, implicating a number of political leaders and police officers. The CDRs of Maya Kodnani and Babu Bajrangi were crucial evidence in corroborating the testimonies of Naroda Patiya massacre victims.
Mukul Sinha | 2002 Gujarat Riots
In 2005, the Vadodara fast-track court acquitted 108 people accused of murdering two youths during a mob attack on a group of displaced Muslims returning under police escort to their homes in Avdhootnagar. The court passed strictures against the police for failing to protect the people under their escort and failing to identify the attackers they had seen.
2002 Gujarat riots | Avdhootnagar case
K. R. Narayanan, then president of India, also blamed Vajpayee's government for failing to quell the violence. After the BJP's defeat in the 2004 general elections, Vajpayee admitted that not removing Modi had been a mistake.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee | 2002 Gujarat violence
On 27 February 2002, the Sabarmati Express train was attacked at Godhra by a Muslim mob. 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya were killed in the attack. Lasting for over a month, the riots claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims. The state government, led by Narendra Modi of the BJP, was severely criticised for being unable or unwilling to stop the violence. Vajpayee officially condemned the violence. Later Vajpayee made controversial remarks: "Wherever there are Muslims, they do not want to live in peace with others. Instead of living peacefully, they want to propagate their religion by creating terror in the minds of others." According to Sanjay Ruparelia, Vajpayee used Muslim terrorism to justify the violence in Gujarat.
Premiership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee | Gujarat violence
Although the changes to the reservation policy were announced in January, no large-scale reactions occurred until mid-February. At that point, students of an engineering college in Ahmedabad decided to boycott their preliminary examinations, scheduled for 18 February, in protests. Students formed an committee, called the All-Gujarat Educational Reform Action Committee (AGERAC), and began an indefinite strike, boycotting all exams. In response, the government closed all schools and colleges. Students initially responded with boycotts and protest marches, but their agitation soon turned violent. Government and municipal property saw considerable damage as a result of arson and stone-pelting. The participants in the agitation were largely upper caste students, and the violence was initially confined to the western part of the city.
1985 Gujarat riots | February and March 1985
This shift from caste-based violence to communal violence also strengthened the Hindu nationalist movement, and specifically strengthened the BJP's standing in Gujarat. In addition to the immediate conflict over the reservation policy, several factors have been described as driving the violence of 1985. The conflict was exacerbated by land developers seizing an opportunity to remove slum dwellers from desired property by any available means, and by conflicts over the bootleg liquor industry in the nominally dry state. Shani suggestion that the killing of police sub-inspector Mahendrasingh Rana in May was the result of conflicts between local bootleggers and the police over payoffs that the police were receiving.
1985 Gujarat riots | Causes and impacts
Khare's comments on there being an appearance of complicity between the state government and the rioters during the 2002 Gujarat violence have been criticized by Narendra Modi. According to Modi:
V. N. Khare | Criticism
AGERAC called for a "bandh", or general strike, on 25 February. The strike was observed in some parts of the city but not others. It received the support of some lawyers and doctors organizations, as well as of student groups associated with the BJP. Most members of these groups, which had also supported the 1981 agitations, came from upper caste and upper-class backgrounds. On 28 February, a passenger on a bus died when it was burned, but a lull in the violence followed during the first week of March. Elections to the Gujarat State Assembly were held as scheduled during this period, and the Congress, led by Solanki, won 149 of the 182 constituencies.
1985 Gujarat riots | February and March 1985
On 28 February 2002, when riots broke out in Gujarat, he was killed by a rampaging mob. By early morning, a large mob gathered at the Gulberg Society in the Chamanpura suburb of Ahmedabad. This was an almost entirely Muslim housing society where the septuagenarian Ehsan Jafri lived. According to First Information Report of the incident filed by police inspector K.G. Erda, the violent Hindu mob started attacking Muslim owned establishments in the morning and were dispersed by the police. However, they reassembled around 1 PM armed with swords, sticks, pipe and kerosene. The mob had blown up gas cylinders to blast through walls in the Gulbarg Society.
Ehsan Jafri | Death
The media has described the attacks as state terrorism rather than "communal riots" due to the lack of state intervention. Many politicians downplayed the incidents, claiming that the situation was under control. One minister who spoke with Rediff.com stated that though the circumstances were tense in Baroda and Ahmedabad, the situation was under control, and that the police who had been deployed were enough to prevent any violence. The deputy superintendent of police stated that the Rapid Action Force had been deployed to sensitive areas in Godhra. Gordhan Zadafia, the Minister of State for Home, stated that he believed there would be no retaliation from the Hindu community.
2002 Gujarat riots | Allegations of state complicity
They also claimed to have carried out the 2008 Delhi bombings in revenge for mistreatment of Muslims, referencing the destruction of the Babri Mosque and the violence in Gujarat 2002. In September 2002 there was an attack on the Hindu temple of Akshardham, gunmen carried letters on their persons which suggested that it was a revenge attack for the violence that Muslims had undergone. In August 2002 Shahid Ahmad Bakshi, an operative for the militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba planned to assassinate Modi, Pravin Togadia of the VHP, and other members of the right wing nationalist movement to avenge the 2002 Gujarat violence.
2002 Gujarat riots | Further promotion of communal violence by Shiv sena, VHP and Muslim extremist groups
On 27 February 2002, the Godhra train burning incident initiated a series of riots in Gujarat. Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya on the Sabarmati Express train were attacked and the train, which had stopped at Godhra station, was set on fire causing the death of 58 Hindus including 25 women and 15 childrenactivists of Vishva Hindu Parishad and Kar Sevaks. Following the attack, false rumours were spread by a senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader that Muslims had kidnapped three Hindu girls during the incident. Retaliatory attacks on Muslims began the same evening; a number of incidents in which Muslims were attacked and killed were reported in various cities in Gujarat before the Naroda incident.
Naroda Patiya massacre | Background
While the report was criticised by some as being politically motivated, some newspapers said the revelations simply reinforced what was common knowledge. However, the report contradicted official records with regard to Modi's alleged visit to Naroda Patiya and a local police superintendent's location. The Gujarat government blocked telecast of cable news channels broadcasting the expose, a move strongly condemned by the Editors Guild of India. Taking a stand decried by the media and other rights groups, Nafisa Hussain, a member of the National Commission for Women accused organisations and the media of needlessly exaggerating the plight of women victims of the riots, which was strongly disputed as Gujarat did not have a State Commission for Women to act on the ground.
2002 Gujarat riots | Media investigation
On 29 April, the central government denied a demand by the opposition parties in Gujarat to dismiss Solanki's government.
1985 Gujarat riots | April 1985
People were also evacuated out of the Ajabdi Mills area as a precaution. Frontline wrote of the incident unlike the riots of 2002, this was only a skirmish. There were spontaneous clashes between two communities. There were casualties on both sides, of innocent people just like in 2002 but at much milder scale. The violence of 2002 was a far more widespread and has been opined to be a state-sponsored, planned and systematic targeting of Muslims." The Independent People's Tribunal, an NGO has stated that the police had targeted Muslims during the incident. The home minister for Gujarat, Amit Shah, stated that as a result of the incident paramilitary forces had been deployed and security increased in five of Gujarat's districts
2006 Vadodara riots | Riots
The CCT consisting of eminent high court judges released a detailed three-volume report on the riots. Headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Krishna Iyer, the CCT released its findings in 2003 and stated that, contrary to the government allegation of a conspiracy in Godhra, the incident had not been pre-planned and there was no evidence to indicate otherwise. On the statewide riots, the CCT reported that, several days before the Godhra incident, which was the excuse used for the attacks, homes belonging to Hindus in Muslim areas had been marked with pictures of Hindu deities or saffron flags, and that this had been done to prevent any accidental assaults on Hindu homes or businesses.
2002 Gujarat riots | Inquiries
The Hindus later attacked a Muslim dargah, and Muslim protesters also attacked the temple again, leading to a mass breakout of violence. The riots started in Ahmedabad, and then spread to other areas, notably Vadodara, Mehsana, Nadiad, Anand and Gondal. By 26 September, the violence had been brought under control, however some more violent incidents happened during 18–28 October 1969.
1969 Gujarat riots | Introduction
They were transported in 5 trucks, along with a police escort, to Sola Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, reaching there at 4 A.M. on 28 February. Patel testified to the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) that the BJP MLA's Maya Kodnani and Amit Shah visited the hospital the next morning, and the Hindu mobs gathered at the hospital "thrashed them" for the inability of the Government to protect the karsevaks. Subsequently, Kodnani and Patel were accused of being involved in the Naroda Gam and Naroda Patia massacres where 95 Muslims were murdered in a gruesome attack by Hindu mobs. The senior Police Officer PB Gondia, who registered First Information Reports (FIR) naming Kodnani and Patel was transferred out of his post, and the FIR mysteriously vanished.
Jaideep Patel | Role in 2002 Gujarat riots
Navnirman movement started in December 1973 due to price rise and corruption in public life. People demanded resignation of Patel. Due to pressure of protests, Indira Gandhi asked Patel to step down. He resigned on 9 February 1974 and President's rule imposed. The governor suspended the state assembly and President's rule was imposed. Opposition parties led stepped in with demand for dissolution of state assembly.Congress had 140 out of 167 MLAs in state assembly. 15 Congress (O) and three Jan Sangh MLAs also resigned. By March, protesters had got 95 of 167 to resign. Morarji Desai, leader of Congress (O), went on an indefinite fast in March and the assembly was dissolved bringing end to agitation.
History of Gujarat | 1974–2000
Human Rights Watch and other Indian human rights groups alleged that the Gujarat government authorities and police helped the mob on the day of violence in Naroda. Human Rights Watch found evidence that the state government helped the mob in the attacks because action by police and other officials was delayed and "less effective". A Bharatiya Janata Party insider alleged to Human Rights Watch that Narendra Modi and state government were involved in the riots, stating; "Insiders in the Bharatiya Janta Party admit that the police were under instructions of Narendra Modi administration not to act firmly". Celia Dugger of the "New York Times" reported that witnesses were "dismayed by the lack of intervention from local police", who often "watched the events taking place and took no action against the attacks on Muslims and their property".
Naroda Patiya massacre | Allegations against the state government and Narendra Modi
The Indian National Congress had been fragmenting, leading to tensions between its factions: the Congress eventually split into Congress (O) and Congress (I) in 1969. At the same time, the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had established local strongholds in the eastern parts of the city.
1969 Gujarat riots | Background
In February 2002, a train filled with Hindu pilgrims returning to Gujarat from Ayodhya stopped in the town of Godhra. A scuffle broke out between Hindu activists and Muslim residents, and the train was set on fire, leading to the deaths of 59 people. The charred bodies of the victims were displayed in public in the city of Ahmedabad, and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a statewide strike in Gujarat. These decisions stoked anti-Muslim sentiments. Blaming Muslims for the deaths, rampaging Hindu mobs killed thousands of Muslim men and women, destroying Muslim homes and places of worship. The violence raged for more than two months, and more than 1,000 people died.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee | 2002 Gujarat violence
In April 2009, the SIT submitted before the Court that Teesta Setalvad had cooked up cases of violence to spice up the incidents. The SIT which is headed by former CBI director, R. K. Raghavan has said that false witnesses were tutored to give evidence about imaginary incidents by Setalvad and other NGOs. The SIT charged her of "cooking up macabre tales of killings." The court was told that twenty-two witnesses, who had submitted identical affidavits before various courts relating to riot incidents, were questioned by SIT and it was found that the witnesses had not actually witnessed the incidents and they were tutored and the affidavits were handed over to them by Setalvad.
2002 Gujarat riots | Perjury cases
Solanki formed a cabinet in which 14 of the 20 ministers were members of his KHAM caste coalition. After this, the student agitation resumed; more buses were attacked, along with private vehicles, and two buses were burned. Another statewide "bandh" was called for 18 March. In response, the government decided to postpone any changes to the reservation policy by a year, defer exams in schools and universities, and to publish the commission report that had recommended changes to the reservation policy. The agitators hardened their position, stating that they wanted an end to all reservation. During the statewide "bandh" on 18 March, a number of violent incidents occurred, mostly targeting the police, buses, and government establishments; the police recorded more than fifty such incidents.
1985 Gujarat riots | February and March 1985
After police dismissed the case against her assailants, Bilkis Bano approached the National Human Rights Commission of India and petitioned the Supreme Court seeking a reinvestigation. The Supreme Court granted the motion, directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over the investigation. CBI appointed a team of experts from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) Delhi and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) under the guidance and leadership of Professor T. D. Dogra of AIIMS to exhume the mass graves to established the identity and cause of death of victims. The team successfully located and exhumed the remains of victims.
2002 Gujarat riots | Bilkis Bano case
The rioting abated soon after; the curfew was lifted, and by 2 April the army moved out.
1985 Gujarat riots | February and March 1985
The extent of violence again declined briefly in the last week of April and the first week of May. Demonstrations continued; a strike by government employees, initially as a protest against police atrocities but subsequently demanding an end to reservation in government jobs, was described as drawing the support of one million workers. The strike ended on 7 May after the employees withdrew their demand, and the government committed to publishing the report of a 1981 commission studying reservation. Clashes between Hindus and Muslims resumed on 8 May after a police sub-inspector, Mahendrasingh Rana, was shot dead in a Hindu neighborhood.
1985 Gujarat riots | May and June 1985
Ramachandran was of the opinion that Modi could be prosecuted for alleged statements he had made. He said there was no clinching material available in the pre-trial stage to disbelieve Bhatt, whose claim could be tested only in court. "Hence, it cannot be said, at this stage, that Shri Bhatt should be disbelieved and no further proceedings should be taken against Shri Modi." Further, R. K. Shah, the public prosecutor in the Gulbarg Society massacre, resigned because he found it impossible to work with the SIT and further stated that "Here I am collecting witnesses who know something about a gruesome case in which so many people, mostly women and children huddled in Jafri's house, were killed and I get no cooperation.
2002 Gujarat riots | Special Investigation Team
Communal violence increased, particularly in the eastern neighborhoods of the city, where residents stated that Hindus were attacking Muslim houses, with the support of the police. Several hundred houses were burned down, and many thousands of people, most of whom were Muslims, were displaced and were forced into a relief camp. Government records stated that 17 people were killed in the violence on 23 April alone; unofficial tallies put the number at 50, with 85 people injured. The extent of the violence led to protests against the role of the police, demands for an inquiry, and demands for the removal of the state government led by Solanki.
1985 Gujarat riots | April 1985
Zakia Jafri-CJP Special leave petition seeks a criminal trial of Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat and the current Prime minister of India and 62 other politicians and government officials for alleged complicity in the Gujarat violence of 2002. The criminal conspiracy complaint alleges that in a meeting of senior police officers and officials convened by the then Chief minister Mr Modi on 27 February 2002 following the Godhra tragedy, he issued his "let Hindus give vent to their anger" directive. In all, there are 30 interrelated and closely interlocked allegations including In response to the petition, the Supreme Court on 27 April 2009 ordered the Special Investigation Team (SIT) they appointed to undertake the investigation.
Teesta Setalvad | Zakia Jafri-CJP petition
They don’t wait for orders. Police should not be looking for here and there for nods". According to official figures, 2002 Gujarat riots ended with 1,044 dead, 223 missing, and 2,500 injured. Of the dead, 790 were Muslim and 254 Hindu. Unofficial sources estimate that up to 2,000 people died. There were instances of rape, children being burned alive, and widespread looting and destruction of property. It is believed to have been incited by the Godhra train burning, where 59 people (who were mostly returning from Ayodhya after a religious celebration at the Babri Masjid demolition site) were burnt to death.
Human rights in India | Religious violence
His widow Zakia Jafri has subsequently argued that the state of Gujarat and its then-chief minister, now the current prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, was partly responsible for the violence and lack of police intervention in favor of the victims at Gulbarg Society. This argument was rejected by a Special Investigation Committee appointed by the Supreme Court in 2008. A review petition was filed by her again and is currently in the Supreme Court.
Ehsan Jafri | Introduction
There were more than sixty investigations by national and international bodies many of which concluded that the violence was supported by state officials. A report from the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC) stated that res ipsa loquitur applied as the state had comprehensively failed to protect uphold the rights of the people as set out in the Constitution of India. It faulted the Gujarat government for failure of intelligence, failure to take appropriate action, and failure to identify local factors and players. NHRC also expressed "widespread lack of faith" in the integrity of the investigation of major incidents of violence.
2002 Gujarat riots | Inquiries
In a review of the book published in "India Today" magazine, Karan Thapar writes: Thapar has claimed that just as there is no direct evidence for Hitler's personal complicity in the Holocaust, and his complicity has to be inferred, so also Narendra Modi's complicity in the 2002 Gujarat riots will have to be inferred after constructing and reconstructing the available evidence.
Gujarat: The Making of a Tragedy | India Today
The 2006 Vadodara riots also known as the 2006 Dargah riots occurred on 1 May of that year in the city of Vadodara in the state of Gujarat in India. The riots were caused by the municipal council's decision to remove the "dargah" (shrine) of Syed Chishti Rashiduddin, a medieval Sufi saint. The shrine was between two and three hundred years old. The incident resulted in six to eight people being killed and forty-two injured, 16 of these were from police shooting.
2006 Vadodara riots | Introduction
The Times of India newspaper carried an exclusive news item based on his report to the Nanavati-Mehta Commission in which he documented the state's connivance at the perpetration of riots. Subsequently, he was denied promotion by Gujarat government to the rank of Director General of Police. He took his case to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) that gave its ruling in September 2006 in his favour. However, this order was once again reversed by the Gujarat High Court in 2015.
R. B. Sreekumar | 2002 Gujarat Riots
The commission was led by a judge, V. S. Dave, and was referred to as the Dave commission. In doing so, the government conceded to most of the demands of the anti-reservation agitators; however, the agitation continued, with demands being made for the abolition of the existing 10% quota for "socially and economically backward classes" after 1988. A second notable incident of violence occurred soon after, when, on 20 June, a Hindu religious procession coincided with Muslim celebrations of Eid al-Fitr, despite a prior agreement between the organizers of the procession and the government. Despite the army's presence in the area, the two celebrations degenerated into violence.
1985 Gujarat riots | May and June 1985
Some reports say this enabled VHP and Bajrang Dal to orchestrate so-called saffron terror during the 2002 Gujarat riots. But these allegations on Narendra Modi was removed by subsequent courts proceedings. Togadia and VHP/BJP activists also interfered with the treatment of victims in hospitals, telling doctors whom to treat and whom to turn away. Togadia hailed the conduct of the riots as the "Hindutva laboratory" and said that it will be replicated in Delhi. "A Hindu Rashtra can be expected in the next two years... We will change India's history and Pakistan's geography by then," he said. In the December 2002 elections to the Gujarat Assembly, Togadia campaigned for BJP enthusiastically, addressing more than 100 rallies.
Pravin Togadia | Activism
Pandya was murdered in March 2003. When he provided the information, which was recorded on audio tape, Pandya had asked the two judges not to reveal his name. In reaction to the mass killings in Gujarat, Suresh was one of the drafters of a proposed law ""The Prevention of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity Act 2004"". This would make Ministers and officials criminally responsible if they failed to exercise control in cases of mass violence against a group of citizens.
Hosbet Suresh | 2002 Gujarat Riots
A November 2007 report by the investigative news magazine "Tehelka" used a video sting operation to record a number of Sangh Parivar activists describing the riots from their perspective. Taking over six months, the reporter pretended to be an author interested in writing a book with a Hindutva point of view and interviewed the key accused. The report's table of content reads: There was substantial media interest in the report's description of Narendra Modi's role in the riots, based, for example, on video footage of a senior Bajrang Dal leader saying that at a public meeting on the day of the fire, "he had given us three days to do whatever we could.
The Truth: Gujarat 2002 | Contents
Local newspapers and members of the state government used the statement to incite violence against the Muslim community by claiming, without proof, that the attack on the train was carried out by Pakistan's intelligence agency and that local Muslims had conspired with them to attack Hindus in the state. False stories were also printed by local newspapers which claimed that Muslim people had kidnapped and raped Hindu women. Numerous accounts describe the attacks on the Muslim community that began on 28 February (the day after the train fire) as highly coordinated with mobile phones and government-issued printouts listing the homes and businesses of Muslims.
2002 Gujarat riots | Post-Godhra violence
Narendra Modi's Role in 2002 Gujarat Riots probe, Gulbarg Society Massacre Case and the Naroda Patiya Massacre Case Y.C. Modi was part of a Supreme Court-appointed SIT (Special Investigation Team) that probed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. As part of the SIT, where he was inducted in 2010 and served until July 2012, among the other incidents he probed was the Naroda Patiya massacre. The SIT cleared Narendra Modi, who at that time was Gujarat’s Chief Minister. Controversy related to Haren Pandya Case
Yogesh Chander Modi | Notable Cases
C. Pandey, had raised concerns regarding the manpower available to deal with this, and both men advised that it was not wise for the bodies to be taken to Ahmedabad. Bhatt also says that he sent some fax messages to major officials soon after the meeting ended and that these referred to the meeting itself, the decision regarding the bodies of the dead and the growing activity of the BJP and Bajrang Dal. Subsequently, riots occurred in which around 1000 people died, three-quarters of whom were Muslim. Described as a whistleblower both by some of the Indian media and some pressure groups, Bhatt has since referred to the events as "state-sponsored riots" and has alleged both that Modi told his officials to be "indifferent" towards rioters and said that Muslims needed to be "taught a lesson".
Sanjiv Bhatt | Affidavit against Narendra Modi
Statewide religious riots between Hindus and Muslims began after the Godhra train burning incident near the Godhra railway station on 27 February 2002, where about 59 train passengers were burnt alive. It was in Godhra that Vallabhbhai Patel first met Gandhi in 1917 and was subsequently drawn into the Indian freedom struggle.
Godhra | Introduction
Although the violence had briefly abated, the conflict over reservation continued in the month of April. Boycotts and rallies continued to occur; in Gujarat's capital of Gandhinagar, a thousand people were arrested when they tried to hold a rally. A movement emerged in support of reservation, demanding the implementation of new quotas. After an anti-reservation rally on 4 April was dispersed by the police using "lathis", or truncheons, demonstrators stated that police had damaged houses and assaulted women, and demanded an investigation. Student organisations supporting and opposing reservation clashed at a statewide gathering. Incidents grew more violent as the month progressed, despite a curfew being reimposed on some parts of the city on 13 April.
1985 Gujarat riots | April 1985
Zakiya Jafri, wife of Ehsan Jafri, who was burnt alive on the day, first made the complaint on 8 June 2006 alleging that the police had not registered the FIRs against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, and 62 others including several ministers and alleging a conspiracy to allow the massacre of Muslims, which involved instructing policemen and bureaucrats not to respond to pleas for help from Muslims being attacked during the riots. The complaint included VHP leaders Praveen Togadia and Jaideep Patel, DGP of the state PC Pande for abetting the riots. She then approached the Gujarat High Court with her complaint, which on 3 November 2007, refused to entertain her plea, and instead asked her to present the case before magistrate's court.
Gulbarg Society massacre | Aftermath