Tehelka did it again, this time exposing lies told by the Hindutva brigade about genocide in Gujarat. Listen from Babu Bajrangi himself caught by Tehelka’s spycam.
NARENDRA MODI visited Godhra on the day of the burning of coach S-6 of the Sabarmati Express. His outburst provided the first sign to Sangh workers that the time to corner the Muslims had come
THAT VERY NIGHT, top BJP and Sangh leaders met at Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Godhra, and gave the green signal for an all-out assault on Muslims across the state
A STRATEGY was devised on how to shield the attackers from the law after the riots. Prominent lawyers were briefed and senior police officers taken into confidence. The cadres were told Modi was squarely behind themTHE MOBILISATION of the under castes, something the Sangh had been engaged in for years, dovetailed into the deep penetration Hindutva already had among Gujarat’s higher castes. Godhra provided the perfect spark to fuse them togetherFROM THE very outset, the police played partisan, often joining the mobs. Officers who tried to do their duty found their hands tied. The complicity was led by then Ahmedabad Commissioner PC Pandey, who ensured compliance by a swathe of junior officers
WEAPONS, FROM BOMBS to guns to trishuls, were either manufactured and distributed by Sangh workers themselves, or smuggled through Sangh channels from all over India. The Bajrang Dal and the VHP already had a large cache of firearms and daggers
BJP AND SANGH LEADERS led the bloodthirsty mobs through Ahmedabad’s bylanes, Sabarkantha’s villages, Vadodara’s localities. The police stood guard to the mayhem
BJP MLA MAYABEN KODNANI drove around Ahmedabad’s Naroda locality all day, directing the mobs. VHP leaders Atul Vaid and Bharat Teli did the same at the Gulbarg Housing Society. None of them ever went to jail
FIRE WAS THE MOST FAVOURED weapon in the rioters’ hands. That cremation is considered un-Islamic fuelled their frenzy to burn. Petrol and kerosene were lavishly used, as were the victims’ own gas cylinders
BABU BAJRANGI reveals he collected 23 revolvers from Hindus in Naroda Patiya. He called VHP general secretary Jaideep Patel 11 times and informed Gordhan Zadaphia, the then minister of state for home, about the death toll
GOVERNMENT COUNSEL before the Nanavati-Shah Commission, Arvind Pandya, himself worships Modi and describes Justice Shah as “our man”. Nanavati’s own report on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots is gathering dust till today
For Tehleka’s under cover investigation visit : Tehelka.com.
Babu is a maniack. Even people in Gujarat know that. His incidents of beating eloping couples is stupid. I supported one of My cousins when he married a Muslim girl.
But I want to get into the bacground of Godhra riots. I am not taking a position of either justifying or criticising an event. I want to give a prelude.
I had a relative who got burned down in that S6 Bogie. She had given a call through mobile to someone in Vadodhra where they were happy to have been to Ram Temple for Darshan. According to her the community in train had become like a group and had lunch sometime back. This was before 2 hours the incident happened. The type of twist the story underwent later was that there was cooking happening in the bogie because of which the acident took place. A Mother of two she was charred beyong recognition in that incident. Thereafter witnesses saw the Pakistani flag being hoisted in godhra. People heard crackers being burst in Ahmedabad and I was witness to celebrations by Muslims in Baroda with Allah o Akbar being chanted. A Rickshaw driver taunted my cousin in Baroda and told her from hell they came and to hell they have returned.In incidents where victims were trying to locate bodies of loved ones in ahmedabad people were being taunted as to see BJP can’t help you.
There were incidents in some Muslim majority places about Muslims harassing passer by Hindus. Has anyone heard about Tarn Darwaza and the images associated with it? There were Muslim journalists who went on site and intervewed the very Ghanchi Muslims in Godhra and concluded that they were innocent who will get harassed by police now because they are muslims.
Coming back from this prelude. One of my Muslim friends called me up and said he was shocked by what has happened. He even donated blood to some people in hospital. His family was in forefront to provide help even in past. Guess what? His house and property was burned down in Godhra riots. There were incidents of Muslims trying to call this unislamic as burning is not allowed in Islam. But it was being considered salt on wounds of people. My cousin’s family members asked him to divorce her Muslim wife and when he refused they never talked to him afterwords. All Muslims were villains. Even the ones who were talking sense. My father broke his relations with his Muslim friend and never talked to him again. Allthough he was the one in whose house I grew up. I remember teasing his daughter as calling ammi because aapa sounded too middle class and she said that she will be my ammi always. I remember eating chicken along with his son who was elder to me by 8 years and roaming on his bike with him. I called him Salman Khan because of his biceps. He applied to many jobs in Gujarat but didnt get any so he is now working in hyderabad. I went to help my ammis husband along with my Uncle later. But My uncle. My uncle broke his partnership with his Muslim friend only to revive later. He even kicked out his Muslim accountant who had worked in their company for 20 years only to hunt him back and increase his salary. Guess he is more sensible. But my father did not talk to him for a long time.
It all seems like a Hindi movie. All that sounds to me as a young guy of 12th at that time as something not real.
Manoj,
You did nothing wrong. Why should you apologise if you haven’t killed anyone? Aap kaafi sensitive dikhte hain, but we need peace-loving souls like you.
Manek,
It does seem unreal. Kya drama hai! Aur is sab ke liye responsible woh hai jo gujarat CM ki kursi pe baithe hai!
Moderator’s Note: Comment Edited
Manek
I think your message is a very valuable contribution. I for one believed that it was an accident that was played out into a deliberate act and that there was no real provocation…not that the events later on could be tolerated.
Does it not indicate our effort should be first to strengthen our system so that no criminal escapes unscathed? The average man can be swayed by the mob violence to do acts that he/she may be ashamed of later, but the evil terrorist/politician is quick to use this opportunity. On the other hand if our civic defence systems are strong enough so that rule of law prevails, then none of the mischief mongers will get away. For all we know, there might have been people planted from across the border/SIMI who raised those Pakistani flags to create problem.
Had the Police acted and caught the people involved, and Modi had shown some responsbility in preventing the issue from becoming a riot where innocent people were killed in the most inhuman manner, we would all have been better off. The Gujrat riots may have created more “terrorists” out to seek vengeance that we had to begin with. At the end of the day, people recover and things do come more or less to normal – time takes care of it all. But what about the precious lives that were lost and the criminals who got away to fight another day.
Thanks Sudie. I find your view as an Indian Muslim quite encouraging and democratic. Otherwise all I hear from People is an aversion towards facts. How can you treat a disease if you don’t go into all facts? You are mostly likely shouting against the symptom.
Who doesn’t blame Modi? He is a symptom only. Let’s shift to only facts. Let’s not be like media who have become modern day judges. More than facts they tend to force views on gullible spectators.
I have seen a society which was once a happy family turn into a polarised one.
Muslims in Gujarat are living amicably and many of them are entrepreneurs who are doing well or on their way to success. Azim premji is a Gujarati. Muslims were the ultimate sufferers in 2002 but not all was bad as media tends to projects or makes people believe. I guess it’s more of a mad rush for limelight, awards where humanity or terms like sense do not matter to the media. Why not only bring complete facts? That’s all media should do. But rather than doing ethical journalism media is painting a gory picture of a state and of the Gujarati society. Gujarat is a political battleground for more national politics but ultimate harm is happening to the society which already has become fragmented.
It was not the middle class educated Muslims who were celebrating Godhra but they were the ones who bore the brunt. The ones who actually were giving statements like Milk has become poison were the Maulanas in mosques who had the following of the uneducated poor Muslims who I am sure knew nothing about their own religion.
Why Gujarati’s voted Modi might be a dilemma for all the secularists? But for Gujarati’s they voted for Progress and less corruption wanted from any government. And the main reason for a non violent veggie Gujarati society voting Modi is the experience of those 2 days of Godhra and after where they felt a sense of insecurity in their own nation. All modi should have done was to punish the ghanchi Muslims. And when everyone knew the truth about Godhra Lalu brought in U C Banerjee who didn’t even took pains to interrogate the other passengers who by some fortunate luck remained alive in that train. Who benefited? It was Mr Modi who again highlighted that this is the negationist attitude of the secularists towards history and towards facts. Negationism might be good in the larger interest as no one should bother what happened in past or 400 years back but not when everyone knows the truth and culprits are at large.
I know many Gujarati’s who supported Modi but who have helped Muslims and gone out and worked with them. The society has recovered and is recovering but all that is needed now is not to make Gujarat a political laboratory. I am all for announcing guilty to perpetrators of the 2002 riots and Godhra but with law taking its own course which can happen.
And I agree there might be people seething with vengeance but again they will only be creating another circle like Godhra and Gujurat where only innocents from both sides suffered. Like my father who became an irrevocable Islamophobe after seeing the mother of 2 and pregnant lady charred beyond recognition. Or People like Gujurat Muslim revenge force.
I only pray that journalists and politicians rather than seeking power through evil means shoud work for progress and peace for all otherwise we will see products in society which will make all of us lose our peace, happiness and smiles.
Manek…
Just one of the mistakes you may be making is assuming that Sudie is an Indian Muslim. Not that it matters, but didn’t want you jumping to another conclusion.
Thanks Iconoclast
I have been accused of many things; being called a Indian Muslim is thankfully an honor I take pride in. Yup, in my religion field I fill in “Hindu” though may be considered a blasphemous by my VHP compatriots. I do enjoy the occasional steak and the pork chops (though not at the same time) but now avoid both as it totally messes up my diet routine. My definition of being a Hindu is an inclusive nationalist and not divisive of the religious bigot.
I believe that the Indian civil society has a long way to go before we really start valuing ourselves. We continue to be a humorless society snapping at one other. Somehow like losers, many of us continue to search for “enemies” when where it exists, is in our minds – the devils that make us suspicious of someone who thinks different from us. We recognize the evil forces – whether it’s VHP or the Shiv Sena or the SIMI but still when they preach hate for the “other” we are an easy prey. To be a society that believes in winning we need to take the best what everyone has to offer. That is what made America a great nation. Today more people hate America out of envy of their success than out of any political reason. It became so because of great leadership. We too had ours – Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Azad – but the Vajpayee could not live up to the expectations we had. In the US elections, a person who talks hatred can actually get defeated as a negative candidate, while in India we tend to think of them as protectors. Not that the so-called liberals are any better. Apart from often being incompetent, they indulge in favoritism of the reverse kind. For them it’s all about making the right winning equation to make the numbers.
That’s why in India we need the rule of the law so much more. More we have society’s “watch dogs” exposing corruption, hypocrisy and clearing misconceptions, the better we will be. For every Praveen Togadia we have a Teesta Setalvad and for every Shahi Imam Bukhari we will also have a Javed Akhtar. It’s about who we choose to listen to.
PS: I am interested to read a write-up on Kashmir. It’s conspicuous by its absence.
Sudie you should feel pride. The word Muslim doesn’t mean a follower of Islam. I think the word has more to do with purity of spirit than anything else. So if you’re a pure spirit, the way God made you, not corrupted, you are in all probability a Muslim!
And I may be missing your point here, but talking of togadia & Teesta in the same breath??? bukhari & Akhtar???
Kashmir even I’m curious about. Maybe some books would be a good starting point. Any recommendations people?