Ram Puniyani
In a recently
televised interview the Vice-President of Indian National Congress, Rahul
Gandhi (Jan 2014) raised the storm when he said that some Congressmen might
have been involved in 1984 Sikh Massacre and that Narendra Modi has a blame to
take for the Gujarat carnage of 2002.
There were
multiple responses to this interview. Already Arvind Kejriwal had promised to
set up SIT into Anti Sikh violence of 1984 even before elections. Now his
Government seems to be taking it up more seriously and it is likely that a SIT
will be formed to investigate the Delhi tragedy. One can say that it may be too
late by now as lot of valuable evidence might have been lost or destroyed.
Still whatever of process of law can be retrieved, should be saved and justice
should be done to victims of Delhi. It goes without saying that the justice
should be done to the victims of communal violence irrespective of the fact as
to which religious community they belong to. The Kashmiri Pundits also need to
be given required justice and rehabilitation even today. The tendency to flaunt
Kashmiri pundits or anti Sikh massacre, after every talk of justice to violence
victims of Gujarat or any other place is an attempt to deflect the attention
from issue on hand.
Two wrongs
don’t make a right. Violence against one religious community can’t give justice
to another religious community which has been wronged. On the same level to
turn a blind eye to the atrocities on Muslim minorities in India because Hindus
are being persecuted in Pakistan or Bangla Desh is totally inhuman and vice
versa. Justice should be demanded for all religious minorities, in all the
countries, all the time. Tolerating injustice at one place is like tolerating
injustice everywhere.
In response
to Rahul Gandhi’s comments on Gujarat, the BJP spokespersons lashed out that
Modi has been given clean chit by SIT in Gujarat and also by the court of law,
by legal process. This is a false propaganda. Right from the beginning of
Gujarat violence, the comments of National Human rights commission indict Modi
for his role in orchestrating Gujarat Violence. Though Special Investigation
team (SIT) commented that there is no case against Modi, in the findings of
SIT, there has been a strong element which indicts Modi for his acts of
commission and omission. The apologists of Modi will point that in Delhi the
military was not called for three days, while forgetting that in Delhi violence
was contained in three days and in Gujarat process of violence went on unabated
till May 2002, starting from 27th February. This stoppage of violence in
Gujarat could happen only when the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
sent K.P.S. Gill as the special officer to overlook the control of violence in
Gujarat. Modi personally got adverse comments all through, right from the
beginning as his role was too glaring to be undermined at any stage of time.
In the
initial period the Hon’ble Supreme Court first pulled up the State government and
observed “The Nero’s in Gujarat fiddled as Gujarat burned” (http://teestasetalvad.
Even the
interpretation of the report of SIT is fallacious. Supreme Court had appointed
the SIT and also Amicus curiae, Raju Ramchandran. To say that SIT gave a clean
chit to Modi is not true. The fact is that the
SIT in its 2010 report clearly said: In spite of the fact that ghastly and
violent attacks had taken place on Muslims at Gulberg Society and elsewhere,
the reaction of the government was not the type that would have been expected
by anyone. The chief minister had tried to water down the seriousness of the
situation at Gulberg Society, Naroda Patiya and other places by saying that
every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Ramu Ramchandran based on same report pointed out that there is enough
evidence in the SIT report to prosecute Modi.
One recalls
that NHRC much before all this had concluded its report 31.5. 2002 and said
that “there was a comprehensive failure of the State to protect the
Constitutional rights of the people of Gujarat” Amicus Curiae
in his final report, recommended the prosecution of Narendra Modi under
Sections 166 and 153a and 153b of the Indian Penal Code. So where is the clean
chit? If we see three major factors, The National Human Rights commission has
indicted Modi. Second, based on SIT observations Supreme Court appointed Amicus
Curiae holds that Modi can be prosecuted. Third, the process of justice through
Courts in Zakia Jafri has begun. After the Court verdict Ms Jafri said that she
will appeal to the higher courts. Our process of justice begins with
Magistrates Court, does not end with that. Proclaiming that Modi has been given
a ‘clean chit’ for his role in Gujarat carnage is far from truth. It’s a clever
propaganda, which has been dished out with a deliberate purpose.
At another
level, Modi acolytes, Babu Bajrangi and Maya Kodnani are in jails for their
role in the carnage. The Tehelka sting shows the collusion between the Babu
Bajrangi clan and the state led by Modi. The tribunal set up by Citizens for
Justice and Peace with eminent jurists like P.B.Sawant also outlined Modi’s
role in a very clear manner. There has been some justice in few cases of
Gujarat. And that is due to yeomen struggle for justice launched by the victims
and human rights defenders. The process of justice needs to be pursued. The
state of Gujarat has created all possible obstacles in the justice being given
to the victims. The claims of clean chit hold no water, we need to look beyond
the propaganda and the truth will show the blood tainted hands of Modi.
1 comments:
an insightful post.
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