Justice Before Reconciliation: Negotiating A
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Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:22 24 May 2016 List of Plates Ô i Justice before Reconciliation Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:22 24 May 2016 ii Ô Justice before Reconciliation Religion and Citizenship Series Editor: Surinder S. Jodhka Professor of Sociology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi Social science research and popular discourse on ‘religion and public life’ have gradually moved away from binaries such as communal– secular, tradition–modern, or community–individual. It is now widely recognised that religion and cultural traditions do not simply disappear from public life with economic development. In countries like India, this shift has also been reinforced by the emerging social and political trends where issues relating to citizenship are raised through identity movements of historically deprived categories such as the Dalits, Adivasis, and religious minorities such as the Muslims, for inclusive and just development. This ‘positive’ view of religion parallels changing attitudes in other parts of the world as well where there is growing interest on religious communities and faith-based organisations and their potential role in enhancing development and service delivery. While this has led to a renewed interest in the study of religion, rigorous social science research on ‘religion and citizenship’ is still; at a nascent stage. This series attempts to fill the gap by bringing together scholarly writing on this important and rapidly expanding area of research in the social sciences. Also in this Series Religion, Community and Development: Changing Contours of Politics and Policy in India Editors: Gurpreet Mahajan & Surinder S. Jodhka 978-0-415-58566-8 Research for this book was funded by DFID, University of Birmingham (Religions and Development Research Programme) who do not necessarily share the views Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:22 24 May 2016 presented here. List of Plates Ô iii Justice before Reconciliation Negotiating a ‘New Normal’ in Post-riot Mumbai and Ahmedabad DIPANKAR GUPTA Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:22 24 May 2016 LONDON NEW YORK NEW DELHI iv Ô Justice before Reconciliation First published 2011 in India by Routledge 912 Tolstoy House, 15–17 Tolstoy Marg, Connaught Place, New Delhi 110 001 Simultaneously published in the UK by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Transferred to Digital Printing 2011 © 2011 Dipankar Gupta Typeset by Star Compugraphics Private Limited D–156, Second Floor Sector 7, Noida 201 301 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-0-415-61254-8 This book is printed on ECF environment-friendly paper manufactured from unconventional and other raw materials sourced from sustainable and identified sources. Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:22 24 May 2016 List of Plates Ô v Contents List of Plates vii List of Abbreviations ix Acknowledgements xi 1. Citizens or People: Majoritarian Politics in India 1 2. A Contested Normal: What Happens Afterwards? 38 3. By-passing Development: Livelihood Responses of Riot-affected Muslims 69 4. Social Rehabilitation: Justice or Forgiveness 100 5. Lessons Learnt: Majoritarian Politics and Democratic Equality 128 6. Summary and Policy Options: Placing the Citizen in the Centre 142 Appendix I: Annotated Bibliography 152 Appendix II: The Politics of Gujarat: Getting the Facts Right 164 Bibliography 172 About the Author 179 Index 181 Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:22 24 May 2016 vi Ô Justice before Reconciliation Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:22 24 May 2016 List of Plates Ô vii List of Plates 1.1 Property destroyed in the ethnic violence in Paladi, Ahmedabad. 25 2.1 Victims standing in front of what were once their homes before the violence destroyed what they had. The boards display their house numbers. 45 2.2 Occasionally when the IRC builds a house or a shop destroyed in the violence, it places its stamp on the construction. This is a re-built shop in Ahmedabad’s Naroda Patiya. 54 2.3 The plaque at the entrance of Citizen Nagar says it all. 56 2.4 Citizen Nagar constructed by Islamic Relief Committee. Note the mound of rubbish that looks like a hill in the background. 57 2.5 A Muslim family happy to be together in their one-room home re-built by Islamic Relief Committee in Ahmedabad. 58 2.6 Widows of Naroda Patiya and Vatava, Ahmedabad. 67 3.1 Home-based work in Gomtipur, Ahmedabad. 74 3.2 Child workers rolling incense sticks in Akbarnagar, Ahmedabad. 86 3.3 Informal labour in Dharavi, Mumbai. 90 3.4 An impressive mosque in Khoja Chawl, Byculla, Mumbai. On this street, nearly all commercial establishments are owned by Muslims. 92 3.5 Muslim primary school in Arsh Nagar, Ahmedabad. Note that the children are not wearing ‘orthodox’ uniforms. 95 3.6 Independence Day celebration in Anjuman Muslim school in Ahmedabad. Note the obvious demonstration of patriotism. 96 Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:22 24 May 2016 viii Ô Justice before Reconciliation 4.1 A well-appointed mosque in Ramola camp constructed by Jamaat-i-Ulema-i-Hind, Ahmedabad 116 4.2 Contrast the mosque with the Spartan living quarters constructed by Jamaat-i-Ulema-i-Hind, Ramola, Ahmedabad. 116 4.3 A row of unoccupied dwellings in Ramola colony, Ahmedabad, which were built by Jamaat-i-Ulema-i-Hind. I have not seen these doors unlocked or anyone living in these rooms. 117 4.4 Girls returning from school in the Muslim slum of Behrampada, Mumbai. Notice the girls are wearing an ‘orthodox’ uniform. 121 4.5 Middle class neighbourhood in Mumbra, about 35 km from Mumbai. This came up as a residential area after the 1993 ethnic carnage in Mumbai and is populated almost entirely by Muslims. 121 4.6 Poor neighbourhood in Mumbra 122 4.7 Slums in Mumbra, 35 km from Mumbai. 122 4.8 A well-constructed mosque in Mumbra. 123 4.9 Different views of the much written about ‘wall’ in Gupta Nagar, Ahmedabad. Notice how unimposing they actually are. 126 4.10 A gate separating the Hindu Dalit part of the slum from the Muslim quarters in Gomtipur, Ahmedabad. 127 Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:22 24 May 2016 List of Plates Ô ix List of Abbreviations ANHAD Act Now for Harmony and Democracy BJP Bharatiya Janata Party GSRC Gujarat Sarvajanik Relief Committee IDEA International Institute for Development and Electoral Assistance IRC Islamic Relief Committee JI Jamaat-i-Islami-Hind JU Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind RSS Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh SEWA Self Employed Women’s Association TJ Tablighi Jamaat Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:22 24 May 2016 x Ô Justice before Reconciliation Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:22 24 May 2016 List of Plates Ô xi Acknowledgements In 2007, Surinder Singh Jodhka and Gurharpal Singh, old friends, convinced me to work on how victims of ethnic violence cope with their tragedies over the long term. I had written about several ‘riots’ in the past but had never systematically enquired into the long-term effects of such violent episodes. I am therefore grateful to them for giving me the opportunity to conduct this research, which I found both enriching and humbling. I am painfully aware that much of our academic aspirations are built on tragedies of those less fortunate than us. Hopefully, this effort will redeem itself by joining with other more profound interventions on this subject to raise our collective sense of guilt when large sections of our fellow citizens are denied their basic rights and dignities. Carole Rakodi has been a source of constant encouragement and advice through this period. She was meticulous in her scrutiny of earlier drafts and offered helpful suggestions and bibliographical advice in the hope that the eventual product would live upto her standards. I have clearly not fulfilled her expectations, but without her support this work would have been much poorer. Both Surinder Singh Jodhka and Gurharpal Singh kept up their pressure to make sure I delivered on time and met all their stated objectives. In addition, Surinder Jodhka took special care to make my task easier by attending to many administrative details. This research would have been impossible to conduct but for the assistance of Kaustubh Deka, Dakxin Bajrange, Rashidaben and Anil Mhatre. They helped conduct interviews, find out addresses and collate a lot of the information. I am, however, most grateful to them for attending to many of my requests at very short notice. They have certainly done much more than I had expected them to do. In particular, I depended heavily on Kaustubh Deka’s memory for details, names and addresses, and the information base that Dakxin Bajrange, Rashidaben and Anil Mhatre could offer because of their activist commitments. Amongst the many soul mates we met during our research, I must mention with gratitude Hanif Lakdawala, Gagan Sethi, Mukul Sinha, Indubhai Jani, Jayant Diwan, Julius Ribeiro and Satish Sahani. They Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:22 24 May 2016 helped in orienting and positioning this study by generously sharing with me their prodigious knowledge on the subject. xii Ô Justice before Reconciliation N Chandkheda Gandhinagar Prantij Jagatpur Road RS Gujarat Gandhinagar Himmatnagar Chandlodia RS Kali NH-8 Stadium NH-8 Kali Road RS Gota Sabarmati River Taj Residency Kotarpur Muthia Bhagwat Sabarmati Hansel Ranip Vidyapith Chandlodia r Naroda RS e Comfort Kuber v i Inn Sunset Nagar Naroda Dehgam R GIDC Sabarmati i t Sardar Sola a m Nagar Sabarmati RS r a NarodaNaroda Rd.