Communal Violence in Gujarat: Rethinking the Role Of

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COMMUNAL VIOLENCE IN GUJARAT: RETHINKING THE ROLE OF

COMMUNALISM AND INSTITUTIONALIZED

INJUSTICES IN INDIA

Yasmeen Peer

Submitted to the

Faculty of the School of International Service

of American University

in Partial Fulfillment of

the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Arts

International Peace and Conflict Resolution

Chair: jOeY^J. (k u r ^ v ^ Julie Mertus m s ' Mohammed Abu-Nim€jr Irw* (1-rv L—, Dean Louis Goodman / / D ^ O Q jXQ& Date

2006

American University

Washington, D.C. 20016

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY cf^%

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Yasmeen Peer

2007

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. To all the people around the world who suffer injustices, you are not forgotten, I am

dedicating my life to bringing more light and justice into this world, and to working with

other like-minded souls, to liberate the truth from the darkness and depths of despair to a

place, where we can all live together in equality, while treading lightly on the earth, and

where profiting from another person’s misery will no longer be profitable.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. COMMUNAL VIOLENCE IN GUJARAT: RETHINKING THE ROLE OF

COMMUNALISM AND INSTITUTIONALIZED

INJUSTICES IN INDIA

Yasmeen Peer

ABSTRACT

Five years have passed since Narendra Modi’s, Bharatiya Janata Party state

government unleashed an ethnic genocide/pogrom against the Muslims in Gujarat. This

thesis explores communal violence between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat, uncovering

its history and impact on inter-communal relations, as well as approaches to prevention.

The causes of communal violence are assessed by examining conflict theory,

communalism, and communal violence in India through testimonies and interviews of

victims/survivors of communal violence. The state government’s institutionalization of

communalism and communalization as a process, as well as their impact on society are

analyzed exposing and outlining communalist tactics in an effort to understand its

advocates’ strategic successes. Resistance to the communalization process is also

examined through interviews with members of the anti-communalization movement and

a discussion of their respective programs and activities in order to determine the latter’s

type and level of impact on the occurrence of communal violence. Recommendations on

approaches to preventing communal violence include: (1) initiating a process through

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. which justice and reconciliation can be sought by and for victims/ survivors and

perpetrators, (2) resisting further communalization and polarization of society, (3)

implementing mechanisms of early warning and detection of genocide,1 and (4)

promoting a culture of social justice, human rights, and equality of all citizens. The

lessons learned through the case of Gujarat are important for assessing other conflicts of

deeply divided societies by highlighting the integral role of the state, as well as

individuals or movements who have vested interests or benefit directly from conflict as

units of analysis. Thus, this study calls on scholars of peace and conflict resolution to

incorporate a particular lens or paradigm into their methodology by asking: Who is

benefiting from this conflict? How can conflicts become less profitable?

1 For the purposes of this paper the terms genocide, massacre, pogrom, and carnage will be used interchangeably to refer to the genocide that took place in Gujarat in 2002. In Chapter 3Theoretical Approaches to Inter-Communal Conflict, the case for how the violence that took place in Gujarat, in 2002, was genocide according to international legal definitions of genocide. iii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PREFACE

In 2006, the Indian government released a report assessing the conditions of

Muslims in the country exposing their insecurities and the precarious socio-economic

position they have been pushed into since independence over six decades ago.2 While

this report was not surprising, it made me worry about the future of Muslims in India and

of inter-communal relations. The declared predicament reaffirms many of the sad

observations I made as well as the realities that were conveyed to me while living and

researching in Gujarat. Most families who suffered in the 2002 genocide were not given

any support from the state government. According to the Sachar report, throughout

Gujarat, “there are 47 rehabilitation sites where around 5,000 families have sought

refuge.” Presently, most of these Muslim families are barely surviving, on the brink of

starvation and are enduring a severe economic boycott. The report reveals the

unbelievable amounts of suffering and injustice being endured and confirms one of the

primary assertions of this paper that while there was systematic physical violence, there

was also structural violence: economic, psychological, and social discrimination and

abuse, unleashed against Muslims, on daily basis in Gujarat, which continues unabated

today. In fact, until this report was published all of these tragedies and injustices had

been completely ignored and overlooked by any representative power in India.

2Report of the Rajinder Sachar Committee. Rajinder Sachar Report. (Delhi, 2006). 3Dionne Bunsha, “Gujarat Ghettoes” Frontline. 27. December 15, 2006. iv

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. While many victims/survivors filed court cases in the hopes of establishing some

kind of justice and making their perpetrator(s) accountable for the heinous crimes they

committed - their attempts have been largely unsuccessful, leaving things unsettled and

reconstituting the despair that continues to plague them day after day. Scores of cases

were unlawfully dismissed and high profile cases are without witness protection,

encouraging intimidation and the bribing of star witnesses -some of whom are the only

remaining member of a Muslim family. This predicament hails bleak prospects for

justice or reconciliation.4

Recently, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the allotment of 7 lakhs5

Rupees (Rs.) for each of the approximately 5,000 families affected by the 2002 Gujarat

genocide. While this is a positive step, it is problematic for several reasons. First, it is

“too little, too late,” in the sense that the amount does not satisfactorily compensate the

victims/survivors—how can the money allocated for victims of the 2002 Gujarat

genocide be the same amount that the central government allotted to the Sikh

victim/survivors in 1984? Second, who would be in charge of these reparations and how

would they ensure that it is efficiently disbursed to victim/survivors? Third, how much

of the total amount would be allocated for bringing perpetrators to justice and would the

4 The reasons for dismissal of cases were not acceptable to the Mumbai High Court when an appeal was brought before requesting the cases to be reopened. Thus, some high profile cases including the Best Bakery case with the infamous witness turned hostile Zahira Sheikh, were moved to the Mumbai High Court and reopened. 5 A lakh is a Hindi word expressing one hundred thousand, thus in the above mentioned case 7 lakhs Rs. would be the equivalent o f 700,000 Indian Rupees. The Rupee is the Indian currency. V

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. expenditures, comply with the Basic guidelines on reparation?6 All of these questions

challenge the legitimacy of the Modi government and highlight the fundamental reasons

why this government should no longer be in power. As long as the Modi remains in

power there is much skepticism that the money would be allocated properly. In fact,

when in 2002 the Central government allotted funds for the rehabilitation of the

victims/survivors of the Gujarat genocide the Modi regime gave it back to the Central

government. While Modi and his criminal political cronies should be on trial for crimes

against humanity, instead they are preparing for the upcoming political campaign. It is

important to note that this period leading up to the 2007 state elections must be

recognized and treated as a ‘high risk period,’ which is undoubtedly encompassed within

in the realm of early warning systems, where the likelihood of communal violence

occurring is extremely high. This reasoning takes into account the fact that the genocide

of 2002 was executed in the months before the election.

The spread of communalism7 is, in fact, underway in the Indian state of

Karnataka and the state of Rajasthan. The reign of the Bharatiya Janata Party has led the

increasingly rapid communalizing of the states leading to many of the changes that

occurred in Gujarat in the past as part of that state’s saffronization process. In Rajasthan,

6The Basic Guidelines on Reparation are discussed in Chapter 3 Theoretical Approaches to Inter- Communal Conflict and Relations in Gujarat. 7Please refer to the Glossary at the beginning of the document. Communalism and many other terms are defined there including any term that is foreign and thus appears italicized. In addition in Chapter 4 Communal Violence and Communalism in India, the term communalism is defined and discussed at length within the context of the Indian sub-continent. vi

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. there is now a requirement that government authorities must approve any individual’s

decision to convert to another religion. In Karnataka, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

(literally translated as National Volunteer Corps, it is one of the main proponents of the

communalist/Hindutva movement, defined and discussed more thoroughly in Chapter 4)

has been removed from the blacklist of organizations, which forbids that civil servants

and government employees from joining certain organizations -which is precisely how

communalization became institutionalized in Gujarat initially. In both of the states, there

have been instances of communal violence in which the minority group was targeted by

members of the majority.

vii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In India I would like to thank Dr. Ashgar Ali Engineer for inviting me to come

and study communal violence at the Center for the Study of Society and Secularism in

Mumbai. Without him I would not have had access to many of those who were

instrumental to me in my quest to study communal violence in Gujarat. The staff at

CSSS, Puja, Qutub, Nandini, Rajini you were all so welcoming, inspiring, and your

perspectives were a great resource to me. I benefited greatly from our daily

conversations about communal violence. Father Cedric Prakash, who helped me find my

way in Gujarat including a nice place to stay. Clara and Jayden thanks for your

hospitality and opening your house and hearts to me. Professor Bandukwalla, Sophia

Khan, Ram Puniyani, Mukhul Sinha, Rafi, and Zakia Jowher for all of the literature and

amazing insight into the topic as well as the courage and bravery all of you continually

exhibit. Shahnawaz of Helping Hand, thanks for all of your help for my research, by

taking me to the rural areas, showing me reconstruction projects, bringing participants

who I could interview, translating the interviews, inviting me to the group wedding, and

most of all, for welcoming me and making me feel comfortable. Arwa, thanks for being

a great translator and for providing transport to and from interviews. In addition to this, I

am grateful to all of the journalists who helped me make contacts I would not have made

independently. Also, thanks to some of the journalists for loving to talk, it was really

great to have experienced such enthusiastic interviewees. You know who you are.

viii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. In Canada, I would first and foremost like to thank my parents for giving me the

support in all of my academic endeavors. Dad, thanks for inspiring me to reach for the

stars. Mom, thanks for being there for me and showering me with moral support,

everlasting encouragement, and the best most divine and nourishing food. Thanks also

for opening the library in the house to me for me to write my thesis, it really helped the

creative process. This was crucial. You are the best parents in the world. With each day

that passes I am more grateful for your consistent generosity, love, attention, and

kindness.

My sister, Adeela, thanks for the endless encouragement and support and all the

late night phone calls, but most of all for believing in me. My brother, Mohammed

thanks for always pushing me to strive for the best, for inspiring me, and for being a good

resource for whatever project or paper I am working on. With regards to Gujarat as a

topic, thanks for encouraging me to stick with it and reassuring me of the importance of

me pursuing it.

I was very fortunate during this process - 1 received all sorts of support. In

Toronto, I am grateful to a few friends. Neal, thanks, for the all the amazing music you

made for me and sent to me. This helped me get through the countless hours of writing. It

helped me keep my rhythm and made it fun when I would start to get tired. Also, I

deeply appreciate you being extra supportive of me during this whole period over the

phone and in person. Steve, the Richman, thanks for helping me bum every interview

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. that I had recorded onto the old mini discs onto CDs to be sent to Pakistan to be

transcribed. Mike, thanks for being on call for consultations at anytime and for all the

late night encouragement. Your support really means a lot to me.

Abdul Khalek, thanks for your patience during the whole process of trying to

make it work. We figured it out and your transcription service saved me a whole lot of

time. Thanks for emailing me every single interview already as a word document.

In Washington DC, Zahir Janmohamed, thanks for a great inspiring introduction

to the right sources on Gujarat and for your incredible analysis, insight, and resources-

especially Brass and Saffron Warriors. Also, thanks for sharing your experience of

having been there at the time of the carnage in 2002. Speaking to someone who had been

there firsthand made all the difference early on in my studies. Pushpa, without you how

would I have found Father Cedric, Crosswords, Charul and Vinay. Thanks for enthusiasm

about me taking up this topic, this means a lot coming from you who grew up in

Ahmedabad, knows Mohammed, and is in the same field.

At American Univesity, Professor Mohammed Abu-Nimer, your work drew me to

AU. Learning from you and working for you was just as wonderful as I hoped it would

be. Thanks for embodying and expressing the ideals you write about and bringing your

work as a ‘practitioner in the field’ into your day to day interactions with those around

you. Professor Julie Mertus, had it not been for you I do not think I would have ended

up at AU. You are one of the most incredible people I have ever met. Thanks for

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. reminding grad students how fun all of this stuff can be and inspiring us to jump right in.

Thanks for believing in me and deepening my interest and scope of knowledge in human

rights and international law. Thank you for being patient and caring and always honoring

your students’ perspectives.

Marley Crutcher, my academic advisor, thanks for being so patient and

understanding with me and all of my concerns for the whole duration of this process. You

are a great advisor thanks for caring so much. Dean Goodman, you were one of the first

people to give me a considerable amount of feedback on my thesis. Thanks so much for

all of your comments and suggestions. Your feedback had a very positive impact on me

at a period when I was not sure what to think.

Anne Marsa thanks for understanding me during this crazy process and

encouraging me. Sarah Joy thanks for the support and for leading me to Maggie, who

was my partner for the latter part of this intense and crazy journey. Thanks Maggie for

being there it was great to have a much needed support system. Glad we met through

this, I feel like a made a new friend that I am super excited about hanging out with.

Susanna, thanks so much for taking the time to teach me how to make diagrams

electronically. If you had not done this, the diagrams that appear later would never have

come to life.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT...... ii

PREFACE...... iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...... viii

LIST OF TABLES...... xxv

LIST OF FIGURES...... xxvi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS...... xxvii

GLOSSARY...... xxix

Chapter

1. INTRODUCTION...... 1

Prevention Approach...... 5

2. METHODOLOGY...... 7

Hypothesis...... 8

Collecting the Data...... 9

Significance of Studying the Genocide and Communalization of Gujarat...... 10

Research Paradigm...... 12

Methodological Design...... 13

Overall Approach and Rationale...... 13

Site and Sampling Strategies...... 14

Data-Gathering Procedures...... 16

xii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Observations 17

Field Notes...... 17

Studying Material Culture...... 17

Data Management and Analysis Procedures...... 19

Trustworthiness and Methodological Limitations...... 20

Ethical Considerations...... 21

Ethical Dilemma Rooted in Disguise of Identity: Suffering Discrimination While Conducting Research...... 22

3. THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO INTER-COMMUNAL CONFLICT AND RELATIONS IN GUJARAT...... 25

Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention Theory...... 25

Conceptualizing Peace...... 26

Galtung’s Positive and Negative Peace...... 26

Peace in Gujarat - Linking Peace to Rights...... 27

Prakash’s Rights Based Concept of Peace: A Fit for Mertus’s Human Rights Culture?...... 28

Peacebuilding...... 29

Lederach’s Pyramid of Peacebuilders ...... 30

Peacebuilding in Gujarat from the Middle-Out and the Bottom-Up...... 32

Obstacles to the Success of the Middle-Out Approach...... 35

Grassroots Approach...... 36

xiii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Conflict Theory ...... 38

Conceptualizing Conflict...... 38

Lederach’s Process Centered Definition of Conflict & Adam Curie’s Progression of Conflict Theory...... 39

Inter-Communal Relations in Gujarat and Conflict As a Progression...... 40

Horowitz on Ethnic Conflict...... 41

Frustration-Aggression Theory...... 45

Burton’s Basic Needs Theory...... 46

Edward Azar’s Theory of Protracted Social Conflict ...... 47

The Limits of Varshney’s Units of Analysis ...... 49

Why Azar’s Theory of Protracted Social Conflict & Burton’s Basic Needs Theory Fail to Fully Explain the Conflict in Gujarat Between Hindus & Muslims...... 54

Vested Interests, Elites, and Individuals: The Missing Source of Conflict and Unit of Conflict Analysis ...... 57

Vested Interests...... 57

Individual, Government, and Corporate War Profiteering...... 57

The Militarization of the US Economy: Illustrating the Profitability of War ...... 58

Restrictions of the Arms Trade...... 58

Arms Export Control Act...... 59

The Case of Gujarat and Conflict Stakeholders...... 59

xiv

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Basic Needs versus Vested Interests...... 61

Role of the State in Protracted Social Conflict...... 62

Brown on Elites and Individuals as Missing Units in Conflict Analysis ...... 63

Reconciliation and Justice...... 66

Defining Reconciliation...... 67

What is Justice?...... 68

Restorative Justice...... 69

Restitution According to Retributive/ Punitive Justice, Common Law and Restorative Justice 71

Raffs Experiments with Restorative Justice and Justice and Restitution in Gujarat...... 73

Retributive/ Punitive Justice...... 75

Reparations...... 76

Reparations Through Different Lenses Of Justice...... 79

Addressing Reparations in International Criminal Tribunals: The Coexistence of Elements of Restorative and Retributive Justice...... 83

Transitional Justice and Human Rights Violations...... 84

Trauma: The Aftermath of Violence - Danieli’s Theory of Fixity ...... 84

Defining Attacks on Minorities and Crimes Against Humanity...... 87

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Pogrom...... 88

Ethnic Cleansing...... 88

Genocide...... 89

Magnanimity of Injustice: Genocide...... 91

Gujarat 2002: Pogrom, Ethnic Cleansing, or Genocide?...... 92

Ethnic Cleansing: A Form of Genocide...... 95

Gujarat’s Final Verdict: Genocide vs. Pogrom or Genocide and Pogrom?...... 96

Getting to Coexistence...... 97

4. COMMUNAL VIOLENCE AND COMMUNALISM IN INDIA ...... 99

Communal Violence...... 99

Introduction to Communal Violence in India...... 100

History of Communal Violence in Gujarat 102

1969 Ahmedabad Burning...... 103

Ahmedabad 1969 and Gujarat 2002: Similarities in the Devastation of Communal Violence...... 104

High Frequency of Communal Violence in Gujarat...... 106

The Relationship Between Caste and Communal Violence 107

Gujarat Carnage 2002 ...... 108

The Systematic Raping of Women as a Weapon of War...... 109

xvi

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dalit and Adivasi Participation in Violence...... I ll

Why Did the Violence in Gujarat Occur?...... 112

Economic Impact of the 2002 Genocide-Pogrom...... 113

Current Discourse on Communal Violence...... 114

Wilkinson’s Theory of Electoral Incentives and Communal Violence...... 117

Brass’s Institutionalized Riot Systems...... 117

Tambiah and the Rise of Ethnonationalism ...... 119

Engineer’s Communal Violence Benefactors and Opportunists...... 120

Communal Riots, Ethnic Pogrom, or Genocide...... 121

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS...... 122

How the RSS Works ...... 124

What is Hindutva and How is it Different From Hinduism? 124

Communalist Tactics...... 125

The Conversion Irony...... 125

Infiltration, Intimidation, and Monitoring of Non- Governmental Organizations Working Against Communalization by Communalist Forces...... 127

Cooptation of Low Castes for Short-Term Gain...... 129

Silencing Commissions of Inquiry to Conceal The Truth...... 129

The Return of the Divide and Rule Policy...... 130

xvii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Saffron Colored History and the Creation of A Communalized Collective Memory...... 131

Propaganda: Spreading Hate in Convincing Ways...... 132

State Capacity and Involvement in Communal Violence...... 133

The Rise of Hindu Nationalism and the Failure of the Congress Party’s Secularism...... 135

Conclusion...... 138

5. COMMUNALIZATION OF INSTITUTIONS...... 140

The Gradual Eradication of Resistance...... 140

Communalization as a Process...... 141

Puniyani’s Three Level Process of Communalization...... 142

Zakia’s Indicators Of the Stages of Communalization...... 142

NGO Response to Kutch Earthquake vs. NGO Response to Communal Carnage in 2002...... 144

When the BJP is in Control of the State...... 144

Communalization of Institutions Fuels the Three Cycles of Negativity...... 146

The Saffronization of Education...... 146

Revisionist Hindutva Versions of History are the Only Versions ...... 147

Saffronization of Research Institutes...... 149

The Panchayat: Empowering Voices Through

xviii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Organization or a Vehicle for Propagating Communalization...... 150

The Panchayat System- An Overview...... 150

The Communalization of the Panchayat System ...... 152

The Corruption of the Panchayat System...... 152

The Police: Citizens Protection Force or an Armed State Communalist Perpetrator?...... 154

Non-existent Police Protection for All Residents in Mixed Localities: Recipe for Segregation and Ghettoization...... 156

Scholarly Research on Police and Minorities 157

Police Methods of Training and Recruiting are Suspect...... 158

Can Demographic Representation of Different Groups Impact Institutions?...... 159

Communalization of Politics...... 161

Ayodhya and the Destruction of the Babri Masjid: The Final Approval and Solidification of the Communalization of Politics in India...... 163

Saffron or Secular: All Parties Have Played the Communal Card...... 164

6. POLARIZATION AND SEGREGATION OF GUJARAT...... 166

Undercover in Ahmedabad...... 166

A State Segregated...... 167

xix

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Was Gujarat Always Divided by Religion?...... 168

How Does Segregation Occur?...... 170

The Story of Ali From the Village of Mogri: A Tale of Amicable Inter-Communal Relations Pre-2002 and the Communalist Operatives Infiltration into the Village...... 172

Uthman from Badran and His Testimony of Assault, Burnt Houses, and Forced Migration...... 173

Kareem from Nawli Tells of Forced Migration, Displacement, Ethnic Cleansing and Dispossession, and Recognition of the Attackers ...... 174

Ghettoization of the Minority Community...... 176

Uncovering the Origins of the Term Ghetto...... 177

Alienation, Increasing Insecurity, and Vulnerability While Maintaining a False Perception of Security in Numbers Accompanied by a Decreasing Quality of Life...... 177

Indicators of a Ghetto...... 179

Juhapura: A Glance into Gujarat’s Largest Muslim Ghetto 180

Bombay Hotel: The Aftermath of the “Muslim Free Zone” Policy Also Known As Genocide ...... 183

Veravil and Kodinar: A Tale of Attempted Ethnic Cleansing, Gated Communities, and Ghettoization of the Minority Community...... 185

Attempts to Cleanse Areas of Muslims...... 186

Segregation through Separate Infrastructure...... 186

Gated Communities and Ghettos...... 187

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Salatnagar: Island of Hope and Symbol of Resistance ...... 188

Jansangharshmanch Movement: The Creation And Sustenance of Inter-Communal Unity...... 189

Opposite of Divide and Conquer: Salatnagar’s Mantra Is ‘United We Are Strong’...... 190

Part 2: The Man Who Saved Their Lives...... 190

The Blueprint That Saved Them...... 192

Hindus and Muslims from Salatnagar Sustain Communal Harmony After the Attack in the Relief Camps...... 195

Resistance to Communalization...... 195

Attempts to Segregate Salatnagar and Destroy the Island of Hope and the Communal Harmony that Flourishes There...... 196

Paldi: An Example The Dangers of Living Together with Hatred and No Security...... 197

Communal Harmony in an Enclosed Area: Ram Rahim Nagar...... 199

Divide and Conquer Saffron Style...... 199

Legislating Apartheid...... 200

7. RESISTANCE TO COMMUNALIZATION ...... 203

Anti-Communal Strategies Need to Mirror Communal Strategies...... 205

Conflict and Peacebuilding as a Process in Gujarat...... 209

The Institutionalization of Anti-Communalization and Equality...... 213

xxi

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Mechanisms, Tools, and Methods of Resistance to Communalization...... 215

Legal Realm...... 215

Basing Anti-Communal Struggle in Legal and And Constitutional Rights Framework...... 216

Empowerment Through Constitutional Rights.. .217

Upholding the Laws Against Spreading Communal Hatred through Public Speeches...... 218

Pressuring the Government to Implement the Commission Inquiry Report Recommendations...... 220

Preventing Communal Violence: Creating a Deterrent by Holding the Guilty Accountable...... 221

Propaganda- Uplifting the Truth Correcting the Revisionist Communalist Version of History...... 223

Education...... 225

Stopping the Spread of Communalism through Textbooks: Reconstituting the Education System ...... 226

Altering the Socialization of Children: Transforming The Pedagogy of History in Schools ...... 227

Growing the Anti-Communalization Movement...... 228

Anti- Communal Media...... 228

Replacing the Pedagogy of Hate with the Pedagogy of Justice: Reconstituting the Police...... 229

Recruitment and Training Must Include Conflict Resolution & Identity Sensitizing Workshops...... 229

xxii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Connecting the Cycle of Poverty to the Cycle of Violence 230

Gauging the Effectiveness of the Programs...... 231

Evaluation of Programs...... 233

Promotion of Inter-Community Relations...... 234

NGOs or Social Movements...... 235

Conclusion...... 235

8. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 237

Recommendations...... 240

Effective Counter Measures to Eradicate the Economic Boycott of Muslims...... 240

Banning of Communal Parties...... 241

Witness Protection...... 241

Minority Representation and Adherence to the Constitution 242

Repeal the Supreme Court Ruling that Legislated Apartheid.. ..242

Institution of a Day of Remembrance for Victim/ Survivors Of Gujarat Genocide...... 243

Early Warning System ...... 243

Establishment of Monthly Nationwide Communal Harmony Workshops...... 245

Address Ghettoization, Impoverishment, and the Widening Gap between Identity Groups...... 246

Forming a Coalition of Organizations Against

xxiii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Communalization 246

Decommunalization of Institutions: Exhaustive Purging of all Hindutva Loyalists and Communalists...... 247

Strengthening the Rule of Law...... 247

Upholding the Constitution of India to Establish Justice: Holding Modi’s Ruling BJP State Government Accountable For Violating the Constitution...... 248

Learning from Examples of States that Eradicated Communal Violence...... 249

Inter-Communal Coexistence...... 250

De-Communalization is Just One Front in the Battle to Bring Equality and Justice to the World’s Largest Democracy...... 250

Connecting Communal Violence to the Larger Social Malaise in India: The Caste System Connection ...... 252

Limitations and Future Research...... 253

APPENDIX A ...... 257

APPENDIX B...... 258

APPENDIX C...... 263

APPENDIX D ...... 265

APPENDIX E...... 268

BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 270

xxiv

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLES

Table Paj

1. Peacebuilding Activities of NGOs in Gujarat in the Three Stages of Conflict...... 2

xxv

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. FIGURES

Figures Page

1. India’s Demographics...... 101

2. The State’s Role In Communal Violence: Tri-State Comparison of State Communal Violence Policy And Impact on Occurrence and Frequency of Incidents of Communal Violence...... 134

3. Process of How Segregation Occurs...... 171

xxvi

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABBREVIATIONS

BD Bajrang Dal

BJP Bharatiya Janata Party

CSSS Center for the Study of Society and Secularism

cc Communalism Combat

CCT Concerned Citizens Tribunal

CBM confidence building measure

DM district magistrate

DSP deputy superintendent of police

FIR first information report

HR human rights

HRW Human Rights Watch

INC Indian National Congress

ICC International Criminal Court

ICTR International Criminal Court Tribunal for Rwanda

ICTY International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

ID International Development

IPCR International Peace and Conflict Resolution

ISI Inter Services Intelligence

LA Legislative Assembly

xxvii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LS Lok Sabha (Indian Parliament)

MLA Member, Legislative Assembly

MP Member of Parliament

NGO Non-Governmental Organization

OBC Other Backward Castes

POTA Prevention of Terrorism Act

PSC Protracted Social Conflict

PUCL People’s Union for Civil Liberties

RSS Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteer Corps)

SC Scheduled Castes

SSP senior superintendent of police

SAFAR Social Action Forum Against Repression

UN United Nations

UNGA United Nations General Assembly

U.P. Uttar Pradesh (United Province before Independence)

VHP Vishwa Hindu Parishad

xxviii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. GLOSSARY

Ahmedabad / Gandhinagar - the capital city of Gujarat, birthplace of Gandhi, and also

one of the most divided cities in both Gujarat and India as a

whole.

Arya Samaj- a movement / sect of Hinduism, that, professed more just and equitable

interpretations of Hinduism with the aim of maintaining

Hindu low castes. It was prompted by the large scale Dalit

conversions out of Hinduism to Buddhism, Christianity,

and Islam, with the intention of freeing themselves of the

subordinating shackles the caste system placed on them.

Asabiyya - Asabiyya is religious or tribal group loyalty. Ibn Khaldun theory of asabiyya

is one that glorifies religious or tribal loyalty.

BJP Bharatiya Janata Party - translated as the People’s National Party. A communalist

party, that was power during the pogrom in 2002 at both

the state level and the national level. Narendra Modi the

Chief Minister of Gujarat has been tagged as the architect

of the ethnic pogrom in 2002.

Burkha - the headscarve a Muslim wears which would be synonymous with hijab.a In

some cases it can also refer to the covering of the face and

xxix

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. body that certain Muslim women wear also known as the

pardah.

Communalism- According to Ram Puniyani, it has “many facets and has been understood

in different ways” including a “popular view” that claims it

“is the politics of the elite and for the elite, but executed by

mobilizing the broad layers of society in the belief that they

are joining hands in a collective endeavor to protect an

order that is sanctified by religion and a time-honored

tradition. The aim is to further the political and social

aspirations of the elite. It success depends of the intensity

of the appeal and begins with the premise that this brand of

politics is based on the understanding that there is a

commonality of interest among all those with a similar

religious persuasion. In a more intense form, the appeal is

articulated in a manner that states that people of different

religions are different. In its most rabid form, the polemic

is built round the theme that the interests of one religious

community are inimical to the interests of the other

o religious community.”

8 Ram Puniyani,Communal Politics facts versus myths, (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2003), 18. xxx

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dargah - A shrine or tomb, usually of a Sufi or Hindu Saint. In many parts of India

Hindus and Muslims visit shrines and decorating them with

flowers, incense, and essential oils while offering prayers

for Saints regardless of whether they share the religious

tradition of the deceased revered one. Unfortunately, many

dargahs have been destroyed as a result of the increase of

communalism and communal violence.

FIR- First Information Report is the initial report of any criminal incident for the police.

In many cases of communal violence because of the police

bias and common complicity in the attacks on minorities

FIRs are often tampered with so that facts are distorted to

relieve communalist of guilt or the reports are “lost” or

“misplaced” so that they can not be used as evidence in the

event of court trial.

Ghetto- According to the Wikipedia a “ghetto is an area where people from a specific

racial or ethnic background or united in a given culture or

religion live as a group, voluntarily or involuntarily, in

milder or stricter seclusion.”9 Historically the word

“referred specifically to the Venetian Ghetto in Venice,

9 Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghetto xxxi

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Italy, where Jews were required to live; it derives from the

Venetian gheto (slag from Latin GLITTU [M] cfr. Italian

ghetto (slag)), and referred to the area of the Cannaregio

sestiere, the site selected for the Ghetto Nuovo where a

foundry cooled the slag (campo ghetto).10

Ghettoization- the process by which a particular religious, ethnic, social or economic

class is pushed into seclusion and cut off from society at

large in order to further deprive, disenfranchise, and

persecute them. According to Dictionary.com, ghettoize

means; (1) to place or collect in a ghetto, (2) to set apart in

or as if in a ghetto; isolate, (3) to make into or similar to a

ghetto.11

Hindutva- literally translates as Hinduness, however, it is distinct from what is commonly

understood as Hinduism, or the religious practices of

Hindus. In fact, according to Ram Puniyani, one of the

foremost scholars on communalism, it is a kind of

“religious based nationalism” however he contends that

10 Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghetto

11 ghettoization. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved April 24, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http ://dictionarv.reference. com/browse/ ghettoization xxxii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. notions and definitions of it have evolved over time. In the

beginning Hindus were touted as India’s original

inhabitants, then Golwarkar brought about the notion that

all others are foreigners, and in the present the Hindutva

ideology “is based on hatred of the “other.” The ‘other’ in

this case refers to the foreign religions and ideologies, i.e.

Islam, Christianity, and Communism. The RSS took on the

onus of propagating this ideology from Savarkar’s Hindu

Mahasabha and did so in a very meticulous way. It chose

to work amongst ‘young boys’ in the age group of 10-15

years and mixed Hindu games”... “with Hindu ideology.”

In addition to this, Puniyani asserts that it is also “a ‘total’

parallel ideology that encourages the ideological

subjugation of the weaker sections of society. It scorns the

idea of caste and gender equality through clever maneuvers

in which the caste struggle is quelled by homilies about the

need to promote caste harmony; gender equality is throttled

by mealy-mouthed talk about ‘respect for women.’ There

is no aspect of human relationship where it has not

intervened. When it began to assert its presence in the

xxxiii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. arena of culture, practically all aspects of social life were

brought within its ambit of operation.”12

Hindutva movement -is made of up various splinter organizations, militias, political

parties, and associations that fall under the banner of the

Sangh Parivar. Their main aim is to attain a Hindu Rashtra.

In other words they embrace the likes of Hitler, Mussolini

and other fascists who fought to create national entities that

consist of only one race or ethnic or religious group. Thus,

they envision India as a state only for Hindus, presuming

that all other groups that are non-Hindu are essentially

foreigners and must either be expelled, convert to

Hinduism, or remain in India as a second class citizen

completely surrendering to inferior status. They employ

propaganda and violent tactics such as genocide to attain

their goals.

Hyper-asabiyya- Asabiyya is religious or tribal group loyalty. Hyper-asabiyya an extreme

form of this type of loyalty often coupled with a sense of

being under siege.

12 Ram Puniyani, Communal Politics- facts versus myths, (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2003), 22-24. xxxiv

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Juhapura- is the largest Muslim ghetto in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The influx of Muslims

increases at rapid rates preceding communal violence. The

number of new Muslim residents increased three fold post

the 2002 pogrom against Muslims in Gujarat. Many

Muslims move to Muslim ghettos like Juhupura because

they feel safer. Juhapura lacks basic necessities like:

running water, electricity, transportation, proper

infrastructure, schools, banks, healthcare facilities, political

representation and employment opportunities.

Laboratory of Hindutva - The Western Indian state of Gujarat has been declared the

laboratory of Hindutva because the communalist forces

have been employing strategies and tactics to infiltrate all

sectors of Gujarati society over the last 15 to 20 years with

the aim of communalizing the entire state including every

institution that exists. They have been largely successful in

this dreadful endeavor inflicting tremendous amounts of

suffering on minorities and lower castes in addition to this

they have diminished inter-communal harmony and

severely limited the possibility for peaceful coexistence

between communities in the state by orchestrating bloody

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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. instances of communal violence every so often and making

it appear as though the minority communities instigated

harm against the majority community initially thereby

attempting to justify the brutal attacks they unleash on the

minorities.

Muhurram - The first month of the Islamic calendar.13 It is also the month when the

Shiite holy day Ashura takes place. Ashura commemorates

the death of Hassin, the grandson of the Prophet

Muhammed P.B.U.H. Hassin was the son of Fatima

(the daughter of the Prophet) and Ali (cousin of the

Prophet). The commemoration takes the form of

community physical repentance.

Nagar - area or neighborhood.

Naroda Patia - is town/ area in Gujarat that is now known for the egregious atrocities

carried out there during the 2002 pogrom. Between 91 and

200 people were massacred in addition to the scores of

women who were raped. This is the place where a pregnant

Muslim woman, named Kausarbibi, who was supposed to

give birth just two days later, was attacked in cold blood by

13 The Islamic calendar follows the lunar cycle and currently is in the year 1427. xxxvi

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Hindutva mobs. Her belly was slit open and her unborn

baby was taken out and flung onto a spire in a fire and

burned to death. Kausarbibi was then dragged away,

brutally mutilated, and burnt to death.14

Partition - 1: to divide into parts or shares b: to divide (as a country) into two or more

territorial units having separate political status 2: to

separate or divide by a partition (as a wall) -often used

with off. In 1948 India was partitioned and created the state

of Pakistan for Muslims. Pakistan is one of only two states

in the world created on the basis of a religious group /

religious identity. Israel is the other one. Part of the

partition process included population transfers of huge

numbers of Hindus migrating from areas that would be part

of Pakistan to areas that would be part of India. There were

also massive numbers of Muslims that left the areas that

they lived in what would remain as part of India to areas

that would become Pakistan. In fact, the population

transfers during the time of Partitioning of India remain the

largest population transfers to date.

14 Siddarth Varadarajan, “Narratives from the killing Fields” Gujaratin - The Making o f a Tragedy, (New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2002), 135-140. xxxvii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Pogrom - The literal translation from Yiddish and Russian is devastation, (1903): an

organized massacre of helpless people; specif: such a

massacre of Jews.15

Polarization - 1: the action of polarizing or state of being or becoming polarized 2 a:

division into two opposites, b: concentration about

opposing extremes of groups or interests formerly ranged

on a continuum.16

Polarize- to break up into opposing factions or groupings.17

Pracharaks- fulltime RSS publicists or propagandists spreading the message of Hindutva,

and /or Hindu fundamentalism.

Saffronized - when institutions or individuals have been communalized. Saffron, is the

orange color that has come to symbolize and represent the

Hindutva movement. Saffron is a spice that is commonly

used in Indian cooking. It grows on trees in Iran and Spain

which where it is usually imported from. Indians

sometimes color the top of a rice dish or add aromatic

flavor in tea by using saffron as the flavor, scent, and color

15 Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Tenth ed. Springfield: Massachusetts, U.S.A., 2001, p.895 16 Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Tenth ed. Springfield: Massachusetts, U.S.A., 2001, p.898 17 Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Tenth ed. Springfield: Massachusetts, U.S.A., 2001, p.897 xxxviii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. are released when the little red-orange strands of saffron

come into contact with water, especially that is a high

temperature.

Salatnagar- is a section of Gomptipur, which is one of the largest informal settlement

areas in Ahmedabad. It also proudly boasts rank as one of

the few remaining mixed identity Hindu-Muslim areas left

in Ahmedabad. This makes it an island of inter-communal

harmony in a sea of communal hatred.

Sangh Parivar - is literally translated as the Family of Associations. It is the collection or

network of Hindutva splinter: organizations, associations,

militias, and political parties.

Shuddi- the attempts made by the Arya Samajs to win back Dalits and others who had left

Hinduism and converted to other faiths. Purification is a

synonym.

Slum / informal settlement - also known as ghettos, these are areas that consist of large

numbers of residents who live beneath the poverty line.

These areas have not been officially zoned by local or state

authorities. The land inhabited in these areas is usually not

owned by those living on it. In many cases the government

or private landholders own the land and execute careless

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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. forcible evacuations of land whenever they deem

appropriate often without giving those inhabiting the land

much if any notice. Bulldozers are often employed to

completely clear off or destroy any dwellings or structures

put up on the land.

Stay order- The kind of order that is required to prevent the bulldozing or forced eviction

of residents of informal settlements on land that legally

belongs to someone else, in the case of India either the

government or private land owner.

Yath Ratra- is the procession that L.K. Advani, a fervent communalist politician, and past

leader of the BJP initiated in 1990 that started at Somnath

in Gujarat all the way to Ayodhya in the UP with the

purpose of going to the Ram Temple/ Babri Masjid. This

procession left a trail of blood throughout the country in its

wake. The employment of this yath ratra played a pivotal

role in consolidating power in support of the communalist

agenda gaining the BJP a lot of political power and seats in

the Lok Sabha, especially in Gujarat and the UP. A ratra is

a procession.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Through a comprehensive process of examination and deep analysis of the data it

is evident that Gujarat is a deeply divided society. However, it is also apparent that this

has not always been the case. Gujarat is often referred to as the epicenter of the RSS -

communalists or a laboratory of Hindutva. Why is this? What does this mean? How does

this manifest in everyday reality? Are communal disturbances and /or instances of

violence planned? What kinds of short-term and long-term impacts do these instances of

violence have?

This study conveys the lengthy and profound effects of the process of the

communalization of Gujarat taking place over the last 15 years. In 2002, in Gujarat, a

brutal attack of violence was carried out by the Hindu majority against the Muslim

minority population, thus, it was communal violence. While initially these massacres

were called ‘riots,’ they differed from ‘riots’ in numerous ways. Eventually, they have

come to be understood by many Non Governmental organizations and citizens in India to

be “ethnic pogroms” and some even labeled the tragedies, meted out in those gruesome

days, as ‘genocide.’ The 2002 genocide/ ethnic pogrom in Gujarat, constitutes this

paper’s primary case study. In addition to being used as an electioneering campaign tool

to ensure the majority of Gujarat’s Hindus as a ‘BJP votebank’ (a political voting bloc for

BJP), this genocide/ethnic pogrom symbolizes the height of the communalization process

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and the peak of communal violence. In many senses, the 2002 genocide finalized the

plethora of communal projects that were underway at the time in this Western Indian

state. The projects of ethnic cleansing, forced migration, and segregation which had

already begun were advanced and in some areas were fully realized. Ahmedabad, the

largest city in the state, is now completely ethnically and/or religiously segregated, save a

few neighborhoods which overtly resisted attempts at division and neighborhoods in

which a very small number of minorities remain. The minorities in these areas live in

constant and continual fear that if communal tensions are to escalate, they would

probably be the first and primary targets. In other words, these minorities acknowledge

that such a course of events would compel them to vacate their homes immediately if

they want to remain alive.

Following the methodology, theoretical, and contextual background chapters,

which respectively are Chapter 2 Methodology, Chapter 3 Theoretical Approaches to

Inter-Communal Conflict and Relations in Gujarat, and Chapter 4 Communal Violence

and Communalism in India are Chapters 5, 6, and 7 that explore the various themes that

emerged out of the data. The themes are split into two separate sets: the first set which

are discussed in Chapter 5 Communalization of Institutions and Chapter 6 Polarization

and Segregation of Gujarat focuses on the epidemic of communalization and communal

violence and their devastating impacts on Gujarati society: the second set which are

discussed in Chapter 7 Resistance to Communalization focuses on the paths of prevention

of communal violence, through de-communalization and or anti-communalization

processes. The latter set details some of the programs of the Non-governmental

organizations in Gujarat who engage in anti-communal efforts. It highlights some of the

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successes and failures of these programs, and addresses the critical need for justice,

equality of all castes and religious identity groups.

In assessing the impact of communal violence I pose research questions:

Can planned communal disturbances:

A.) - exacerbate existing tensions between different religious communities?

B.) - cause long term impact even if the physical violence took place over a period of a

day or several days?

Through the data, the interviews, and the existing literature on communal

violence, it is clear that the answer to question (A) is affirmative. Taking the positive

answer into account, it is imperative to uncover the source of these tensions. Where do

these previously existing tensions emanate from? This study found several sources of

origin of these tensions including: (1) stereotypes about the “Other”; (2) past communal

incidents that were negative; (3) particular interpretations and perspectives of history,

including both real and imagined collective memories; (4) the entrenchment of the caste

system in Indian social relations, especially between identity groups; and finally, (5)

personal or familial experience (recent history).

Similarly, the research also indicates an affirmative answer to the second question

(B). In what ways could this occur? The data indicates that communal violence impacts

society long-term, in a multitude of ways. Such effects include: (1) influencing /

determining election results; (2) psychological and emotional trauma of victims; (3)

creation and sustenance of mistrust of the “Other”; (4) displacement of minority groups

who are largely victims of communal violence - leading to ghettoization; (5) loss of

livelihood/ employment/ businesses for minority groups; (6) increased vulnerability of

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women as targets of violence; (7) loss of life/ family/ loved ones; (8) loss of

property/community; (9) increase in religiosity, ( this deepens the divide because it

sharpens identification with a particular group thereby, decreasing identification with

broader society at large). In addition to this, there are alarming long-term implications

for the demographic landscape in terms of ethnicity. These implications are a result of

the complete apartheid- like segregation occurring in Gujarat currently between Hindus

and Muslims. How can this type of apartheid be prevented? What are the consequences

of this type of division of people? The Partition of India in 1947, which divided India to

create Pakistan, provides an interesting but cautionary tale of what can occur when

people are divided. India and Pakistan have fought several wars in and over the disputed

territory of Kashmir which in fact, boasts the highest elevated battlefield in the world.

There are over 100,000 troops stationed at the line of control between the two countries

in Kashmir. The division of Partition is also the cause of the largest population transfer

in history in which over 100,000 lives were lost. These two states have still not resolved

their differences and both currently possess nuclear weapons, bloated military budgets,

and policies which fail to address the pervasive poverty that they also share in common.

Simply separating groups does not resolve conflict. However, separation can sometimes

provide a geographic buffer for minority groups or those that are vulnerable to

domination by the majority group. While Muslims in Pakistan are not in the vulnerable

position that Indian Muslims are in, Hindus and Christians, as minorities in Pakistan,

similarly suffer at the hands of the majority Muslim group. Moreover, by removing a

particular minority group from an area, the communalists succeed by achieving “ethnic

cleansing,” which is one of their goals.

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Prevention Approach

A multi-pronged approach is needed to prevent and decrease the risk of

communal violence occurring as well as to contain it and resolve conflict if or when it

occurs. A broad array of actors including NGOs, social movements, academics, artists,

authors, media outlets, government institutions, and political authorities must work at all

levels using diverse techniques. While all actors are crucial to the long term success and

sustainability of efforts to de-communalize society -by bringing justice and eradicating

institutionalized discrimination -the government has a responsibility to all of its citizens

regardless of whether they voted a particular government in or not, to protect their rights

and uphold the constitution. Additionally, the government led by the ruling political

party has the authority and capacity to tackle the malaise of communal violence. The

middle out approach,18 advocated by John Paul Lederach, provides the most viable

method to access and deeply impact both top-level officials and grassroots groups and

bringing all levels and communities of a society and communities and groups within a

society -from the Dalits to the Brahmins, including all the groups in between, together to

eradicate communalism.

Aspects of the multi-pronged approach to de-communalize Gujarati society and

government may mirror the approach and some of the tactics used by the communalists

due to their success rates, effectiveness, as well as the polity’s and government’s

receptiveness to them. Moreover, anti-communal efforts must tackle the communal

18 John Paul Lederach,Building Peace- Sustainable Reconciliation In Divided Societies. (1997) Washington DC, United States Institute of Peace.

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design at every level and juncture in order to impede its burgeoning growth. Ultimately

the anti-communal movement must expose the true agenda of the communalists’ by

deconstructing their tactics of trickery and disguise in order to prevent Gujaratis from

being hoodwinked into misinterpreting their saffron propaganda as everyday

commonsense.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER 2

METHODOLOGY

Communal violence in India between Hindus and Muslims has an unfortunate

long history and a dangerous current presence. In 2002, in the State of Gujarat, between

February and March one of the most brutal instances of communal violence between

Hindus and Muslims was waged. In fact it has been labeled an ethnic pogrom as well as

genocide, and not a spontaneous series of ‘riots’.19 The 2002 Gujarat genocide is the

example of communal violence that is employed as the case study.

My primary research question is: What are the causes of communal violence and

how can the awareness of these causes aid in the development of policies and actions to

prevent and contain future communal violence?

The purpose of this study is to investigate the causes of communal violence

between Hindus and Muslims in India, using an action research case study design. The

study will result in proposed actions to improve relations between Hindus and Muslims,

suggesting recommendations on how to prevent and contain communal violence.

Communal violence will be defined generally as violence committed by a particular

ethnic or religious group against another rooted in communalism.

19Human Rights Watch, “We Have No Orders to Save You:” Hindu-Muslim Violence in India,” 7

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Hypothesis

I hypothesize that this analysis will reveal the deep communalization of the state

of Gujarat and its negative impact: on inter-communal relation between Hindus and

Muslims, how it has normalized communal violence, and instituted discrimination against

minorities stripping them of their constitutional rights. I expect to find that the only

efforts to resist communalization are from Non Governmental organizations and Muslim

associations, a sprinkling of middle level actors, and no involvement of state or

government actors. Also, I anticipate that Muslims in Gujarat are repressed, traumatized,

and increasingly disenfranchised. In addition to that, I expect to find little or no signs of

justice or reconciliation with regards to the victim/survivors and perpetrators of the 2002

genocide. Moreover, I expect that neither the state government nor the majority of

Hindus in Gujarat acknowledge the violence in 2002 as a state sponsored genocide

carried out by the majority Hindu community against the minority Muslim community.

However, in order to prevent and contain communal violence from occurring in

the short-term and communalization from occurring over a longer period, the state and its

institutions as well as other actors namely non-governmental organizations must engage

in a variety of activities including but not limited to: punishing perpetrators and

accomplices of communal violence through the use the of legal system -thereby making

significant attempts at instilling justice, working to eradicate injustices and bridge the

huge levels of disparity in society, and promoting more inclusive nonreligious definitions

of Indian identity. In other words, the state and the citizens must uphold the rights of all

Indian citizens enshrined in the constitution regardless of caste, religious affiliation,

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gender, sexual orientation, and or age to create an atmosphere or society in which

communal violence would not only not be employed but would not be tolerated.

Collecting the Data

This study examines communal violence in India in Gujarat. While there may be

similar trends in communal violence in other parts of India the findings of this research

can not necessarily be generalized to all other instances of communal violence. This is

because each case study is context dependent in that each focuses on the particularities of

the specific case. Thus, conclusions from one case may not be applied directly to another

case because no two cases are identical. Although the sample size is sufficient for the

purposes of this study, it was limited by the duration of the fieldwork as well as the way

in which I gained access to most of the respondents. I stayed in India for five months

from February - June 2005. The majority of the time was spent in Gujarat conducting

interviews and observing material culture however I also conducted research in Mumbai,

Jaipur, and Delhi. The majority of the interviewees were access through several key

contacts originally identified by Dr. Ashgar Ali Engineer in Mumbai and Father Cedric

Prakash in Ahmedabad. Through those contacts, I networked and gained access to

additional respondents throughout Gujarat. However, most of the individuals formally

interviewed can be divided into two categories: (1) victims/ survivors of 2002 communal

genocide and (2) individuals, mostly who identify themselves as activists who founded,

ran, or worked with NGOs, authors, and academics who all worked for social justice.

Additionally, I gained informal access to members of the majority community who

supported the B JP and they made it clear that the 2002 pogrom and ethnic cleansing was

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“not that bad” that it was “a media hype” that “the Chief Minister (Modi) was only doing

his job and he the right thing” and in fact, that “the Muslims deserved it because they are

all criminals.” The access to communalists, or to individuals who are deeply

communalized, was limited and informal; the topic of the research and my Muslim

identity was not disclosed. As a result of Gujarat inhabiting the latter stages of the

processes of communalization, polarization had taken hold. In this stage Muslims suffer

from extreme discrimination and are not allowed to live in many parts of Ahmedabad, or

in Gujarat as a whole if the areas had been deemed ‘Hindu only’. Similarly, the

concealing of my Muslim identity also put up roadblocks and warning signs when

considering my options in terms of figuring out what was needed to acquire access to

officials or leaders of political parties, being that the same party who unleashed the brutal

genocide and pogroms against the minority community remained in power. This instilled

fear in me that I felt could pose a threat to my well being in the sense that in the case that

I did interview any of these individuals and they happened to find out that I was not

disclosing my identity to them and was trying to find out information about them and

their communalist agenda and attacks on Muslims.

The Significance of Studying the Genocide and Communalization of Gujarat

Communal violence in India does not receive the attention it deserves by world

news media. When this type of violence does make the news, it is often misconstrued and

portrayed as an anomaly or something rare or alien to Indian culture; however, while the

20 All of these comments were documented in fieldnotes describing daily happenings and informal conversations with residents o f Vastrapur, the neighborhood that I lived in.

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scale of instances may vary, the very occurrence of this kind of violence is consistent to

the extent that it is unfortunately commonplace. India has the second largest population

of the all the countries in the world’s largest democracy. These two facts alone are

reasons enough for the rest of the world to be interested in the affairs of India, especially

when they include genocide, fundamentalism, fascism, systematic use of rape as a

weapon of war against women and girls just to name a few. In addition to this, those

interested in ethnic relations, international peace and conflict resolution, political

movements, and parties and South Asian studies will find this research useful.

The lack of awareness, interest, and scholarship within North American

scholarship on international peace and conflict resolution on the topic of about inter-

communal relations and violence in India implies the lack of empirical research in this

area. However, this is not the case in India. In addition to this, I had been invited to

accompany the researchers at the Center for the Study of Society and Secularism to read

and reflect on communalism and communal violence. The CSSS library boasts a

comprehensive collection of literature on communalism, secularism, inter-communal

relations, violence, and other related topics. In fact, there are volumes written on these

subjects and in this study some of the most prominent theses on the topic will be tested

with the aim of uncovering possible other explanations and reflect on them

comparatively. This study is instrumental, emancipatory, and enlightening. It is

instrumental in that the findings may potentially aid in the process of developing policy

to prevent and contain communal violence. It has emancipatory potential given that the

development and implementation of these policies could benefit a large proportion of the

participants many of whom are victims of communal violence. There are questions

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specifically designed to instigate the process of reflection within each respondent

regarding their role in the violence. However, no perpetrators of violence were

interviewed. Finally, the research is meant to enlighten because it contributes to the

general knowledge on communal violence, with the aims of enhancing the understanding

of it. Perhaps the findings which offer a different perspective on communal violence will

“become part of the general culture, incorporated into accepted concepts, beliefs, and

values that naturally influence any decision making in that arena.”91

Research Paradigm

The research paradigm is characterized by a combination of critical realism and

critical humanism within the radical change side of the spectrum.22 While this study is

not solely focused on the individual it does recognize the power the individual has to

make change. The heart of this study lies in critical realism, as the case studies

demonstrate that the power relations in Gujarat and in India in general, are embedded

within political and economic structures. This paradigm is interested in radical social

change with the ultimate goal of more equitable distributions of power and wealth. This

study aims to let the voices of the victims/ survivors, as well as those of the internally

displaced people, be heard and validated. This failed to happen in any official sense,

largely, as a result of the same brutal government remaining in power that designed and

executed the pogroms as well as the larger genocide. It also aims to find ways to bring

21 Rossman, Gretchen B. and Sharon F. Rallis. Learning in the Field: An Introduction to Qualitative Research. 2nd Edition. (Thousand Oaks: SAGE, 2003), 21.

22 Rossman and Rallis define several research paradigms in: Rossman, Gretchen B. and Sharon F. Rallis. Learning in the Field: An Introduction to Qualitative Research. 2nd Edition. (Thousand Oaks: SAGE, 2003).

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about justice, perhaps in the form of reparations and reconciliation to the table. This study

takes the form of a critical case study in that there is oppression and domination of

Muslim victims of the carnage, to the extent that many of them are refugees and

internally displaced people and still have never received any reparations or compensation.

In addition to this, they lack the ability to engage in fair process through which they can

seek justice and engage in truth telling by sharing their story of victimization and perhaps

also of becoming a survivor.

Methodological Design

Overall Approach and Rationale

The research is designed as a case study design. The case study design is best

suited for the study of communal violence because it assumes complexity and provides

the opportunity for multiple layers. The focus of this case study is on Gujarat locales

where communal violence has occurred. The descriptions or explanatory manner

produced by this approach - in which events, processes, and perspectives are depicted as

they unfold - often builds an explanation for those events or outcomes that is appropriate

for analyzing the crimes against humanity that are discussed here. Case studies are

methodologically eclectic meaning that a variety of techniques for data gathering are

employed, including; interviews, questionnaires, archival records, observing, and

analyzing documents. R.K. Yin has written extensively on the case study approach.23

All of the prominent scholars in the field of communalism, Varshney, Brass, Tambiah,

Wilkinson, and Engineer, employ the case study design. In addition to this, many of the

23 Robert K. Yin, Case Study Research - Design and Methods 3rd Edition, (Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2003).

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reports by organizations on communal violence almost always use the case study

approach and focus on a particular instance of communal violence: the Human Rights

Watch report mentioned previously is an example of this.

Site and Sampling Strategies

Gujarat state is the chosen location for the case study. Within the state, there are

many locations where research was conducted including: closed relief camps, newly

reconstructed homes for Muslims who were forcibly exiled, neighborhoods, schools,

universities, organization offices and homes etc. Each of these environments revealed

various and significant details about daily life and/or material culture that when observed

present information in unique ways and offer helpful insight into the issues at hand. For

example, the newly constructed housing blocks for Muslims, that were largely built and

funded by Muslim relief organizations illustrate quite clearly the neglect of the

government in rehabilitation of the affected people. In addition to this, all of the new

housing for Muslims, who had been internally displaced by the 2002 violence, prevented

them from returning to their original villages, many of which were inter-communally

mixed housing both Hindus and Muslims, are only for Muslims. People who had

previously lived in mixed areas now advocated for separate areas. Many Muslims who

lived in mixed areas had been threatened and many killed, because there was no

protection for them when the violence erupted. These Muslims living in mixed areas

numbered fewer and were easier, softer targets for the mobs. Although in some cases

Muslims’ longtime Hindu neighbors saved the former from mob violence by hiding them

in their houses when the mobs came to attack. Sadly, however, large numbers of

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Muslims told stories of how their Hindu neighbors, they believed to be their friends not

only pointed out their houses (Muslim houses), to the mobs, but joined in the assault on

their families, burnt their houses, and looted their property.

The sampling strategy is not random but purposeful. The sample was largely

determined by accessibility and interest. Fifty-five formal interviews were conducted:

this number was not predetermined. The number of informal interviews or conversations

was not document despite the fact that these were useful and provided insight into the

inter-communal dynamics of a particular neighborhood, society, or city. The relationship

between the researcher and the respondent was neutral as Grant McCracken recommends

in order to, strike “a balance between formality and informality.”24 The respondents were

largely victims/ survivors, NGO workers, and scholars in the field. Unfortunately,

interviewing individuals who had been implicated in the violence, as noted above it

would have posed serious risks to my safety and well being, given my Muslim identity.

The violence affected all economic classes, thus the respondents represented various

economic and social strata. While women were systematically targeted in this instance of

violence, many of the female respondents interviewed found it difficult to recount their

stories. To interview these women ethically, without causing additional harm, a special

skill set - trauma counseling, as well as more planning time than was available would

have been required. The snowball effect did take hold in that, initial respondents

introduced and recruited new respondents. There was a balance between depth and

breadth, in that there were a reasonable number of respondents who committed to in-

depth interview times - in some cases lasting several hours. A rough sampling frame was

24 Me Cracken, Grant. The Long Interview. (Newbury Park: SAGE, 1988), 26.

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created and I was fortunate enough to have access to almost all the respondents that were

chosen from within the guidelines that I set.

Data-Gathering Procedures

Several data gathering techniques were employed for this case study. A translator

was hired to conduct interviews in Hindi and or Gujarati with respondents who did not

speak English; in every case, I was present for the interviews to observe body language

and take notes. The translator suggested a line-by-line method of interviewing which I

adopted because she held that it was the way that she could most easily and clearly pose

questions and translate the responses. First, I would pose the question in English to the

translator, while looking at the respondent; then the translator would pose the question

into Gujarati to the respondent; then, the respondent would reply in Gujarati, which she

would either write down or ask them to repeat, one line at a time, so she could then

translate the sentences into English, and relay them to me. This system worked quite

well. It was aided by a recording device - a mini-disc player - and a good quality

microphone.

Data was primarily gathered data through interviewing, observing, and reviewing

material culture, such as documents, artifacts, records, photos and video footage of the

violence. There were both formal and informal interviews, which included prefigured,

open-ended questions, as well as survey questions. The formal interviews were a

comprised of standardized open-ended and dialogic questions and began with an

introduction of myself and an overview of the study, including the purpose, as well as

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informing the respondent of their rights (detailed on the consent form in Appendix A).

The audio files were transcribed after the fieldwork culminated in India.

Observations

Observations were made about the social system: the formal and informal patterns

of interaction, the ways people organize themselves, tacit rules in operation, recurring

events, and “down-time”. In addition to this, activities and actions were observed so that

a full sequence of events, time sampling, rituals and ceremonies, crises, and unplanned

activities could be documented.

Field Notes

Field Notes were taken to systematically record my impressions, insights, and

emerging hypotheses. Field notes consisted of two major components. First, there was

the running record which contains the descriptive data of the observations. The second set

of data is observer- commentary which was written descriptively, including the location,

who was there and not there, what happened, when events happened, why events took

place. Also specific and concrete details were noted, e.g. the use of evocative adjectives,

action verbs, and specificity and the avoidance of evaluative language. Notes were

written up as soon as possible after observations were made.

Studying Material Culture

Studying Material Culture served as a supplement to observation and

interviewing. There are some organizations that work on communal violence and that

specifically had been active in Gujarat at the time of the violence in 2002. The written

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records of these organizations, as well as policy statements, were gathered and analyzed.

Literature from NGOs whose employees were interviewed (e.g. their mission statements,

an overview of their programs) were collected. During the violence, the RSS distributed

pamphlets advising Hindus not to associate with Muslims; this material featured a photo

of the charred bodies of pilgrims from the Sabarmati express at Godhra, and declared an

economic boycott against Muslim businesses and employees. While original copies of

these flyers could not be found, copies of the text (translated into English) were located in

some of the books on communal violence published in India. These flyers helped to

bring the researcher into the context of the violence and as well as the process of

communalism.

A content analysis approach was employed in order to systematically examine the

forms of communication and to objectively document patterns. There were several

political speeches made by the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi and a few by

Prime Minister Vajpayee that were performed at the start of the carnage, during the

attacks, and then after the massacres the end which would be extremely interesting to

analyze. Studying local media; newspaper and magazine articles during the carnage also

proved useful especially in aiding the understanding of the media as an institution being

communalized. Through reading reports on the financiers and ownership of the media

was helpful in understanding or exposing the financers of the communal project.

Because this study is based in a critical paradigm, the incorporation of video footage,

news clippings, documentaries and political campaign materials, such as election posters

25 One of the books that includes the text of an RSS propaganda pamphlet released during the time of the 2002 genocide is, Siddarth Vadarajan, Gujarat- The Making of a Tragedy. (Penguin Books India: Delhi), 2002.

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and pamphlets of the BJP (for the election that took place post 2002 genocide) provide

insight into how the “riots” were used as an overt campaign tool. Moreover, these types

of material culture can be used as tools in voter education awareness programs for the

upcoming state election in 2007 as one part of a multi effort plan to prevent Modi and the

BJP from engaging in another round of communal bloodbath to maintain the

communalist power in Gujarat.

Data Management and Analysis Procedures

The overall approach for data analysis incorporated the various kinds of data

gathered for this case study. This study employs a combination of categorizing and

holistic strategies. Particular sections of the qualitative data, including narratives and

stories were analyzed to evoke themes and patterns in the recurrence of words and

phrases demonstrating the immense power of words in cooptation. The focus is

holistically on the carnage in Gujarat. Some of the themes or categories that emerged

from the holistic analysis of the data were segregation: forced migration, complicity of

state and police in violence, communalization of institutions, resistance to

communalization, prevention, human rights and constitutionally enshrined rights of all

Indian citizens, pre-2002 inter-communal relations in rural areas, and ghettoization.

The analysis consisted of three integral stages. First, there was a deep immersion

in the interview transcripts, field notes, and other materials that were collected. The

second stage consisted of systematically organizing these materials into salient themes

and patterns. Here there was a combination of inductive and deductive with the inclusion

of indigenous categories. To further aid the process of generating themes I engaged in

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concept mapping on large sheets of paper with colored markers. The second stage of data

analysis, organization is a similar process to sorting, categorizing, grouping, and

regrouping the data into piles or chunks that are meaningful. Some of the data falls into

more than one category. Next the data was grouped and regrouped several times

throughout the analysis process. Each grouping highlighted different aspects of the data

and enriched the understanding and the insight of the knowledge acquired. The third

stage is interpretation which involved bringing meaning so that the themes tell a coherent

story. After all of this, the research was written up so that others can share the findings

and knowledge generated.

Trustworthiness and Methodological Limitations

This study was competently and ethically conducted. In order to ensure credibility

and rigor I employed triangulation in that I conducted research in different locales, and

had access to many years of data at the Centre for the Study of Secularism and Society

where I worked reading and researching, had access to another database from Prof.

Wilkinson and Prof. Varshney, and used some of the examples of material culture stated

above. Secondly, as often as possible but especially in cases that appeared to require it I

employed the method of participant validation to ensure that their transcripts were correct

and that they had the opportunity to elaborate on anything they previously mentioned.

Third, I used the community of practice since I was based out of the Centre in Mumbai

and I had access to Dr. Ashgar Ali Engineer, one of the leading scholars in the field and

to his staff who all have been working in this area for a considerable lengths of time and

who offered insightful and fresh perspectives on communal issues. In addition to this, I

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had two thesis advisors from American University, Prof. Mertus and Prof. Abu-Nimer

who were available for consultation and guidance on methodological and other matters.

Ethical Considerations

In order to ensure the safety of the respondents, the method of coding data had to

ensure confidentiality and was approved by AU’s Institutional Review Board for the

Protection of Human Subjects. Similarly the consent form used was also approved by the

review board. Assessments were made regarding the possible consequences to

individuals for participating in this study. In this case the topic is extremely sensitive so

in order to protect the respondents the appropriate measures were taken to ensure that

confidentiality took precedence. In certain cases this affected where we decided to

conduct the interview. It proved best to ask them where they would feel most

comfortable talking about these issues. However, in certain instances the freedom to

change locations did not exist. In these cases I approached the questions differently

especially concerning their account of where they were during the carnage to the extent

that this may not have been asked. The rights that must be protected and my

responsibilities to protect these rights are outlined in the consent form (Appendix A).

I made effort into taking the participants needs and interests into equal

consideration. I reminded myself periodically to be aware of the needs and interests of

the less powerful participants. In some cases I did this by assessing through discussing

with them how much they are losing financially for partaking in this study and

reimbursed them for it with a stipend or perhaps a meal, transportation somewhere they

need to go, or medicine. A few NGO founders acted as research facilitators and gave me

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contacts to other founders and staff of NGOs in neighboring districts that they sometimes

work in conjunction with and participants of their programs most of whom are victims/

survivors. They also provided me with documents in the form of reports on issues

pertinent to my thesis topic that their organization had worked on, invitations to events

put on by and for those working against communalization that I would otherwise have not

known about, taking me to project sites, to interview affected people, and offered

valuable insight and unique perspectives bom out of their years of working in and

studying this field resulting in intimate understandings of the intricacies of the elements

of communalization and its impact on inter-communal relations.26

Ethical Dilemma Rooted in Disguise of Identity: Suffering Discrimination While Conducting Research

The primary ethical dilemma was the necessity of deceiving the participants.

Disclosing my Muslim identity would have meant that some potential respondents would

likely refuse being interviewed. However, interviewing these individuals enriches the

discussion and understanding of the phenomena and would add the breadth of those who

supported or were implicated in the violence. Therefore, I concealed my religious

identity based on ability to gain access and personal safety. If I did not conceal my

identity and they found during the interview I may be in physical danger and or other

dangers as well. In addition to this, due to the intensification of the communalization

process, polarization has taken a hold of Gujarat, segregating the polity, rendering areas

26Although these founders maintained that this was not help to me but that it is their duty to help me in my quest to understand these subjects, I assessed the costs incurred to the NGO as a result of driving me to the mral areas to conduct interviews, the costs for food, as well as the reimbursements paid to the interviewees for both transportation costs and for missing work and in some cases made donations to the organization before I left that city or in some cases after I had been back in U.S. for a while.

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solely Hindu or Muslim with the former monopolizing many of the newly developed

middle and upper class localities, pushing the latter to the fringes resulting in the

ghettoization of the minority community. Residing in Ahmedabad, in this climate of

normalized hate and institutionalized discrimination to conduct research for this study,

while taking into account my Muslim identity for which my physical appearance and

dress do not resemble traditional or stereotypical Muslim attire but my name did, left no

doubt about whether to take this approach.27 Thus, it had been suggested to me by a

trusted mentor upon arrival in Gujarat that given the political climate and the topic I was

there to research, I should consider changing my name to something similar but that was

regarded to be a Hindu name. I complied and it turned out be interesting but at times

frightening journey living in a well-to- do neighborhood, in West Ahmedabad,

undercover. I quickly realized that if I had not changed my name I would not have been

accepted to rent the room in the society I lived in because Muslims are banned from this

society / apartment complex, as well as the whole neighborhood. In fact, if Hindu tenants

had Muslim friends which, unfortunately is not very common in Ahmedabad, those

Muslim friends were barred from visiting their Hindu friends. It was in this setting that I

had gained access to supporters of Modi and the BJP, and to those who did not

acknowledge that brutal atrocities were unleashed against innocent members of the

Muslim community in 2002 but who maintained that Modi was “just doing his job”, that

“it (2002 genocide) was not that bad” and that in fact “the Muslims deserved it because

27In fact in India there are no physical features that discern who belongs to a particular group which makes communal violence seem even more ridiculous. It is largely determined by dress, style of grooming, religious symbolical adornment to body parts, and of course by name.

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they were all criminals or polygamists.” Being privy, to the perspectives and opinions

of these fervent communalists proved to be extremely beneficial for my research in many

ways. Through living there my understanding of how deeply communalism is entrenched

in society heightened and it became clear that people do not think of communal rhetoric

and saffron ideology as separate from common sense.29

28 These words and sentiments are all taken from informal conversations I had with individuals in the upper caste all Hindu pro-BJP neighborhood I resided in West Ahmedabad.

29 Ram Puniyani,Communal Politics (Sage Publications: New Delhi, 2003), 12. He brings to light how the communalists have pervaded and penetrated society so deeply that their ideologies, myths, and hate have continually moved closer towards common sense to eventually take over so that their campaign of hate has been normalized and can be found in mainstream in Hindu majority culture in movies, music, literature, school curricula, among other facets o f life.

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THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO INTER-COMMUNAL

CONFLICT AND RELATIONS IN GUJARAT

The field of International Peace and Conflict Resolution encompasses scholars

and academics, practitioners, students, participants, organizations, and institutions that

are focused and dedicated to studying conflict in terms of why it happens, how to

manage, contain, prevent, and resolve it. Some of the mechanisms and tools of conflict

resolution are: negotiation and mediation skills, tribunals, criminal courts,

international law, truth telling, amnesty, forgiveness, and reparations etc. In addition to

this, those in the field explore, assess, and come up with theories that provide the mental

stepping stones necessary for moving beyond conflict to coexistence as well as including

ideas of how coexistence would translate into everyday norms and occurrences.

Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention Theory

In this chapter a broad overview of a variety of concepts, definitions, and theories

from various areas within the field of peace and conflict resolution will be presented in

order to situate this study’s central research question. The literature on ethnic conflict,

peacebuilding, reconciliation, justice (both retributive and restorative), reparations,

trauma, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and pogroms will help inform the findings of this

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research. Specifically this section demonstrates how these theories are applicable to the

inter-communal conflict in Gujarat between Hindus and Muslims in the 2002 genocide.

Where the theories are problematic and or less applicable there is discussion that

addresses these queries.

Conceptualizing Peace

Similar to other concepts discussed here, “peace” is relative. In other words what

peace means to one person may be completely different than what it means to someone

else. Commonplace notions of peace include; no war, no violence, and absence of deaths.

Peace often evokes popular symbols which include; doves, peace signs, hippies in the

sixties protesting the Vietnam War, and olive trees among others. In the growing body of

peace and conflict studies literature there are a plethora of definitions and understandings

of what peace is and how to attain it.

Galtung’s Positive and Negative Peace

Johan Galtung, the father of peace studies, introduced several fundamental

concepts in the discipline. In understanding the essence and complexity of peace as a

-3f) concept, Galtung pioneered the notion that peace can be positive or negative.

“Negative peace” connotes the absence of violence, whereas, “positive peace” connotes

f -5 1 , the “capacity to deal with conflict nonviolently and creatively.” In addition to this,

envisioning positive peace evokes an image of a society that is free of structural violence.

30 Johan Galtung, Peace by Peaceful Means

31 Johan Galtung, “After Violence, Reconstruction, Reconciliation, and Resolution- Coping with Visible and Invisible Effects of War and Violence” inReconciliation, Justice, and Coexistence-Theory and Practice, ed. Mohammed Abu-Nimer (Lanham: Lexington Books), 2001, 3.

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Structural violence, in essence, is any kind of institutionalized discrimination including:

economic, social, and/or cultural. Thus, within negative peace, violence may still be

present. However, it would not be physical violence, but rather structural violence.

Whereas, in contrast, in a state of positive peace, all violence: physical and or structural

would be eradicated. Galtung’s theory that peace can be positive or negative is highly

significant to the field of IPCR as it expands the perception of scholars, practitioners, and

those embroiled in conflict or engaged in peacebuilding believe is possible. In addition

to this, it prevents those working for peace from halting their efforts once violent conflict

subsides. This continuation of work is crucial to restoring justice or creating a

sustainable peace which, if achieved, could significantly decrease the chance that violent

conflict will rear its ugly head again.

Peace in Gujarat - Linking Peace to Rights

In an interview with Father Cedric Prakash, a Jesuit priest and human rights

activist, he connects peace to rights, which in terms of Galtung’s definitions would favor

the positive peace approach. Prakash asserts that:

it is not a matter of saying I love you, you love me, the matter of handshakes and of hugs all that we have. Peace is when I am able to have my rights when I am able to exercise my rights freely where I can live in this end of the city as a Muslim with my beard, with my cap, with my Burkha. I may not agree with the dress you wear. For the simple reason is that I feel that in today’s society we should, but if you want to make that dress I have to be able to respect you, you are right, okay. So one thing is agreement and another is respect okay provided it does not go again with the law and order mechanism. It is like for example, I cannot quarrel that what car you have with what bike you drive, provided you do not start turning your car unnecessarily in my driving lane.32

32 Interview #28:4, by author with Father Cedrick Prakash, Prashant office, Ahmedabad.

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Father Cedric Prakash’s idea of society aligns itself with Galtung’s notion of

positive peace, through the shared notion, that a rights based culture is fundamental. The

link is twofold, the absence of physical violence as well as a society free from

institutionalized economic, social, or cultural discrimination. In other words, equality is

normalized and institutionalized and all citizens’ human rights are upheld and honored.

Prakash paints a picture of this by stating that “basically we are here to ensure that we are

able to build together with others a society, which is more just, which is more human,

more equitable and more peaceful. We have a firm conviction that, that society is

possible, but that society is possible only if we address it to the frameworks of human

rights of justice.”33

Prakash’s Rights Based Concept of Peace: A Fit for Mertus’s Human Rights Culture?

Prakash’s rights based concept of peace bares a similarity to the human rights

culture that Julie Mertus advocates for in the United StatesBait in and Switch - Human

Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy34. While she acknowledges that we presently do not live

in a human rights culture, which she understands is “the vehicle through which a

particular set of shared beliefs and understandings-human rights norms-take root in and

influence a population.”35 In addition to that, Mertus makes it clear that “only when

people throughout society deploy a human rights lens when they try to make sense of

33 Interview #28:4, by author with Father Cedrick Prakash, Prashant office, Ahmedabad.

34 Julie Mertus, Bait and Switch - Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy. (Routledge: New York, 2004).

35 John Witte, “A Dickensian Era of Religious Rights: An Update if Religious Human Rights in Global Perspective,”William and Mary Law Review 42 (2001): 707, 712 in Julie Mertus,Bait and Switch- Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy. (Routledge: New York, 2004), 212.

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events does a human rights culture exist.”36 Thus, taking into account the above

statements by Father Cedric Prakash, where, he does exactly that, it appears as though a

human rights culture exists in Ahmedabad. While the state authorities and most of the

Gujarati polity do not share Prakash’s rights based idea of peace, the fact that he lives

there but asserts a human rights centered perspective of things, in particular, conceptions

of peace, does not declare Gujarat today a human rights culture. However, it indicates

that within society at large there are small examples of living human rights cultures, for

example, Prakash’s sphere, which is largely made up of activists, NGOs and religious

institutions that are human rights based and or employ a human rights framework.

Peacebuilding

Lederach states that “peacebuilding: should be understood as a process made up

of roles and functions rather than as an activity that resides in the person of the mediator

or intermediary team.”37 Lederach as well as other researchers and practitioners offer this

process centered definition of peacemaking, in contrast, to the personality focused

definition, often advocated or promulgated in the media which, “centers on the

personality of the peacemaker, rather than on what is needed to sustain a constructive

process.”38 Laue and Cormick open the definition up as well by promoting diverse

“conflict intervention roles that includes activists and advocates, as well as mediators and

36 Julie Mertus, Bait and Switch - Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy. (Routledge: New York, 2004), 212.

37 John Paul Lederach, Building Peace- Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies (Washington, United States Institute of Peace Press, 1997), 66.

38 Lederach, 66.

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enforcers.”39 Similarly, Louis Kriesberg endorses “a series of intermediary “activities”

that are performed by different people at different times in the development of an overall

process.”40 In addition to that, Keashley and Fisher hold that “intermediary work can be

conceived of as strategies that are matched to different stages of escalation and de-

escalation of the conflict.”41

Lederach’s Pyramid of Peacebuilders

Lederach proposes looking at the “leadership in the population affected by a

conflict in terms of a pyramid”42 that “lays out the leadership base in three major

categories: top level, middle range, and the grassroots”43 representing all the actors and

the roles they play in peacebuilding. While the top level leadership represents the fewest

people, it is comprised of central political and military leaders in the conflict that emanate

from both the government and the opposition. They receive a lot of media attention and

publicity as well as an elevated status, at times, to the level of a celebrity. Their

approaches to peacebuilding include: “high-level negotiations, emphasizes cease-fires”,

and these efforts are usually “led by a highly visible single mediator.”44

39 James Laue and Gerald Cormick, “The Ethics of Intervention in Community Disputes,” in Gordon Bermant, Herbert C. Kelman, and Donald P. Warwick, eds., The Ethics of Social Intervention (Washington, D.C.: Halstead Press, 1978), 212 quoted in John Paul Lederach,Building Peace, 66.

40 Louis Kriesburg, “Formal and Quasi-Mediators in International Disputes: An Exploratory Analysis,” Journal of Peace Research 28, no. 1 (February 1991): 19-27 quoted in Lederach,Building Peace, 67.

41 Loraleigh Keashley and Ronald Fisher, “Toward a Contingency Approach to Third-Party Intervention in Regional Conflict: A Cyprus Illustration,”International Journal 45 (spring 1990): 424-453 quoted in Lederach, Building Peace, 67.

42 Lederach, Building Peace - Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies, 37.

43 Lederach, Building Peace- Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies, 38.

44 Lederach, Building Peace- Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies, 39.

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The second level is the middle range leadership which consists of people “who

function in leadership positions within a setting of protracted conflict, but whose position

is defined in ways not necessarily connected to or controlled by the authority or structures

of the formal government or major opposition movements.”45 Lederach holds that there

are four lines middle-range leadership can be pulled from: (1) persons who are highly

respected as individuals and /or occupy formal positions of leadership in sectors such as

education, business, agriculture, or health (2) primary networks of groups and institutions

that may exist within a setting, such as those linking (formally or otherwise) religious

groups, academic institutions, or humanitarian organizations (3) identity groups in

conflict including middle-range leaders among people who are well known as belonging

to a minority ethnic group, or who are from a particular geographic region within the

conflict and enjoy the respect of the people of that region but are also known outside the

region (4) people from within the conflict setting but whose prestige extends much

farther- for example, a well known poet, or Nobel laureate.46 One of the most important

features of the middle range leadership is that they “are positioned so that they are likely

to know and be known by the top level leadership, yet they have significant connections

to the broader context and the constituency that the top leaders claim to represent.”47

Middle-range approaches to conflict include “problem-solving workshops, training in

conflict resolution, peace commissions, and insider-partial teams.”

45 Lederach, Building Peace- Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies, 41.

46 Lederach,Building Peace- Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies, 41.

47Lederach, Building Peace- Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies, 41.

48 Lederach,Building Peace- Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies, 39.

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The third level is grassroots leadership “represents the masses, the base of

society” and “life at this level is characterized, particularly in settings of protracted

conflict and war, by a survival mentality” and in the most extreme cases “the population

at this level is involved in a day-to-day effort to find food, water, shelter, and safety.”49

Leadership, in the grassroots level, consists of, “people who are involved in local

communities, members of indigenous nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) carrying

out relief projects for local populations, health officials, and refugee camp leaders” and

they “understand intimately the fear and suffering with which much of the population

must live; they also have an expert knowledge of local policies and know on a face-face

to basis the local leaders of the government and its adversaries.”50 Grassroots approaches

to the conflict include: local peace commissions, grassroots training, prejudice reduction,

and psychosocial work in postwar trauma.”51

Peacebuilding in Gujarat from the Middle Out and the Bottom-Up

Among the panoply of peacebuilding approaches that Lederach discusses from

each of three levels, the approach that tackles inter-communal conflict in Gujarat best is

the middle-out approach. Through interviewing peacebuilders in Gujarat it is clear that

Lederach’s pyramid applies, in that, there are a dearth of top level leaders, a significant

number of middle-range leaders, and a plethora of grassroots leaders. In addition to this,

the positions they hold, as well as the characteristics and attributes they possess match

Lederach’s delineations for each level. As a result, the middle-out approach in

49Lederach,Building Peace- Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies, 42. 50 Lederach, Building Peace- Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies, 41-41. 51 Lederach, Building Peace- Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies, 39.

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combination with the bottom-up approach stand out as the method which most accurately

describes the reality of peacebuilding in the state as well as the approach that is most

appropriate for the challenges of the conflict there.

While there have been some examples of top down approaches of peacebuilding

working in Gujarat, they are few and far between. This is because most positions of

authority in the state are held by fervent communalists or Hindutva loyalists who are

largely responsible for the high level of communal conflict in the state. One of the

notable, top down examples, is how the Mumbai High Court, had some of the most

extreme and high profile cases moved from the Gujarat court to the Mumbai High Court.

They did this because the cases may have been closed, like the scores of others, that the

Gujarat court decided to systematically throw out on the basis of discriminating against

those bringing the cases because they were Muslim lacking any legal base of termination.

However, the success of this top down approach also involved many lawyers and retired

judges who represent middle-range leadership.

The middle-out approach “is based on the idea that the middle range contains a set

of leaders with a determinant location in the conflict who, if integrated properly, might

provide the key to creating an infrastructure for achieving and sustaining peace.” Of

the three categories that Lederach suggests here, problem solving workshops, conflict

resolution training, and peace commissions the latter two apply. Currently, the problem

solving workshop model does not exist in Gujarat and due to a host of factors the

likelihood of it taking root and developing as a viable method is doubtful at least until the

state government is not run by communalists. Much of the anti-communal work going on

52Lederach, Building Peace- Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies, 46.

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in Gujarat at the middle-range leadership level fits the description that Lederach provides

for the second category, the conflict resolution training. The programs raise awareness

by educating people about the conflict and also develop skills to tackle the conflict.

There are many challenges that these types of programs face in a highly

communalized society like Gujarat. A central concern is the low participation of

members of the majority community. In an interview with a lawyer and human rights

activist, in Ahmedabad, who sets up workshops for members of both communities to

come and engage in discussion on communal conflict and learn about the other, as well as

organizes demonstrations to condemn human rights abuses and to promote all citizens

rights through the constitution, the low levels of participation of the majority community

are exposed. She expresses this sentiment by stating:

You organize the demonstrations and rallies or anything, but minorities will come, but we need majority to come out and say that we did wrong. So you see any meeting or any demonstration or any rally, it is hardly majority communities people are there, very few. So these are some very serious observation among the groups also and they feel very that I am one sided and as I said I am ready to take that excuse also on my case that I am one sided and biased. I do not care for them. But we need to take certain bold stand.53

The third category that Lederach suggests is forming peace commissions, which

in some ways is already present in Gujarat. However, there is need for further

development of this model. After the genocide of 2002, the Concerned Citizens Tribunal,

put together a report documenting human rights abuses that took place during the

genocide. There have been other examples in the state of peace committees ormohalla

committees, which engage in similar activities of a peace commission, but solely at the

53 Interview # 1 part two: 18 by author with Sophia Khan, at her home, Juhapura, Ahmedabad.

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local level. There is an active peace committee in Ram Rahim Nagar, in Ahmedabad,

and has been for many years. In fact, it is through the creation and maintenance of this

body and the continued pursuance of its tactics and methods, that Muslims and Hindus

continue, to live peacefully, in this inter- communal enclave. While there have been

other commissions of NGOs and activists that have come together to impact specific

issues in Gujarat, the formation of a long lasting peace commission with different levels

of activity like state, city, and district all under a cohesive board or steering committee

could have a much larger impact. In fact, if established and run accordingly, the peace

commission could operate joint communication centers to monitor, and where possible

preempt community violence, possibly threatening peace by “identifying key people in

critical locations who, working through a network, would begin to build an infrastructure

capable of sustaining the general progression toward peace.”54 Overall the middle out

approach “holds the potential for helping to establish a relationship - and skill-based

infrastructure for sustaining the peacebuilding process.”55

Obstacles to the Success of the Middle-Out Approach

Despite the fit of the middle-out and Gujarat’s communal conflict there are many

aspects of this approach that are missing, that must be emphasized more strongly, or that

are simply unattainable given the level of communalization of the state. For example, the

first and second lines of focus for the middle range leadership that Lederach

recommends, pose problems in the context of Gujarat, because, they both call for the

recruiting of middle-range peacebuilders who hold power wielding positions in a variety

54 Lederach, Sustainable Peace, 51.

55 Lederach, Sustainable Peace, 51.

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of institutions namely: education, business, agriculture, and or health. This is

problematic because a major casualty of communalization is the infiltration and

occupation of institutions by communalists and Hindutva loyalists who are diametrically

opposed to any kind of peacebuilding work. The origin, development, and implications

of this development on inter-communal conflict in Gujarat are discussed in detail in

Chapter 5 Communalization of Institutions. Although the other parts, of the networks, of

groups that Lederach requests, in the second line of focus for middle-range leadership,

which include; leadership from religious groups and humanitarian organizations, are

fulfilled without the link to leadership from institutions, the intended impact fails to

occur. This impairs the peacebuilders ability to effect change deeply and poses

challenges to the long term sustainability of their efforts.

Grassroots Approach

The high levels of poverty in India and Gujarat focus the attention of the masses

on acquiring basic necessities of living for day to day survival making peace and conflict

resolution an unattainable luxury despite that “unresolved human conflict is a central

cause of their suffering.”56 However, activities at this level are extremely significant for

a variety of reasons, including that it is often the poor masses that are exploited by the

communalists to commit violence. Understanding the grassroots approach, is akin, to

realizing that any positive change that has occurred in society was in most cases, not

initiated by the top level of leadership, despite that they maybe the individuals who

legislate it. Why would top level leaders make changes that alter the status quo? In most

56 Lederach, Sustainable Peace, 52.

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cases they would refrain from this, as their status and power is dependent on the

maintenance of the status quo. However, when there is pressure for change from below

for a sustained amount of time, change, eventually takes hold. It is not easy to bring

about change from below, and often attempts are not successful, however, with a

concerted effort usually over longer rather than shorter periods of time, change occurs.

The abolition of slavery in the United States or women gaining suffrage did not happen

because top political leaders felt that it was time that these changes should occur. There

were sustained, organized efforts, and movements working diligently and patiently for

these changes over lengthy periods of time.

There are numerous grassroots activities taking place in Gujarat and some of them

are discussed in Chapter 6 Resistance to Communalization: The Anti-Communal

Movement. An important contribution of Lederach in this area is the notion of

“programmatic peace efforts” whereby, important peacebuilding efforts are viewed

“chronologically according to whether they were launched before or after a formal peace

structure had been achieved in a conflict situation.”57 Many issues are addressed through

grassroots level programs ranging from religious conceptions of war, peace, justice,

reconciliation, rehabilitation, livelihood, gender equity, breaking down stereotypes and

discrimination, humanization of the other, building relationships across religious lines,

tackling polarization, ghettoization, reparations, human rights, Indian identity, health,

education, issues, impact of violence, trauma, and trauma healing. If a non-communal

party wins the Gujarat 2007 state election and begins to de-communalize the state from

above, these positive changes will fail to have an impact, unless there are parallel or

57 Lederach, Sustainable Peace, 53.

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similar changes that de-communalize Gujarat from below. Thus, the middle-out and

bottom-up approaches in combination are essential for the success of peacebuilding

activities, to weaken the strength and endorsement of tactics that heighten communal

tensions and increase the risk of violence being unleashed and justified.

Conflict Theory

Conceptualizing Conflict

What images does the word ‘conflict’ conjure up? Although conflict is often

assumed to be violent and warlike, there are nonviolent ways to wage to conflict.

Conflict can also occur and/or be waged at different levels or between a multitude of

conventional and non-conventional actors for varying lengths of time with some

recurring over months, protracted for decades while others may only last hours or days

and never escalate into violent war more than once.

Militaries and conventional lethal weapons including heavy and lightweight

military aircraft and missiles are unfortunately the most common way for states, militias,

dictators, and or guerillas to wage violent bloody conflicts with large numbers of

fatalities and injuries. Gene Sharp,58 the leading authority on strategic nonviolent

resistance offers many nonviolent tactics and strategies to wage conflict that are not

bloody and in most cases would not result in deaths. Mahatma Gandhi also advocated

nonviolence and civil disobedience and amassed a huge nonviolent movement that

eventually succeeded in ousting the British from the subcontinent and declaring Indian

independence. However, many economies around the world are intrinsically linked to the

58Gene Sharp, Power and Struggle - The Politics of Nonviolent Action. (Boston: Porter Sargent Publishers), 1973.

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arms industry. This militarization of economies perpetuates the notion and practice that

violent wars are still viable ways to resolve conflicts. As a result of the hegemonic

position of the global military paradigm, all other methods of waging conflict have been

placed on the backbumer and neglected by not being invested in financially or even

conceptually. In fact, the global military paradigm is so prominent and normalized that

many people would have trouble accepting strategic nonviolent resistance as a reliable

method of waging conflict. Simultaneously fascinating and disconcerting is the

pondering of the question, that if all the countries in the world that possess militaries

would have spent 1 percent of their military/defense budget per year since 1947 which

commemorates the success of nonviolence in India (India gained independence through

employing nonviolent tactics) on the research and development of (strategic) nonviolent

methods to wage conflict imagine how different the world would be?

In terms of different levels and actors, there can be international conflict between

nation-states, regional conflict, within a country, within a particular region of a country,

like the case at hand, the 2002 genocide all took place inside the state of Gujarat. There

are also theories in the field that focus on group conflict where the group does not

represent a particular ethnic, religious, or national identity but is formed around some

other common denominator. Last but not least there is a lot of literature within the field

of conflict resolution that focuses on inter-personal level of conflict.

Lederach’s Process - Centered Definition of Conflict & Adam Curie’s Progression of Conflict Theory

Lederach views conflict as process centered. He contends that because conflict is

not static and that it is dialectical and relational so that it is constantly changed by human

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interaction and in turn it changes the people who give it life as well as the social

environment in which it is bom, evolves, and perhaps ends. In addition to this, Lederach

shows the benefit of viewing conflict as progression by demonstrating how this allows a

conflict to be situated in different stages ie. latent or overt, which “helps to indicate

which potential peacebuilding and conflict resolution functions and activities may be

appropriate.”59 Lederach builds on Adam Curie’s Progression of Conflict Theory in

which Curie suggests “that conflict moves along a continuum from unpeaceful to

peaceful relationships.”60

Inter-Communal Relations in Gujarat and Conflict as a Progression

In analyzing inter-communal relations in Gujarat between Hindus and Muslims

through Adam Curie’s61 Progression of Conflict Theory it is clear that their relations are

stuck in stage / quadrant 3 ‘the confrontation stage’ where conflict comes to the surface

so that “it is no longer hidden” and it is waged in violent, nonviolent or both manners.

This is because there has been little if any acknowledgement by the majority community

that injustices were systematically perpetrated against the minority community in 2002

and continue to occur as a result of the stmctural violence committed daily as a result of

the entrenchment of communalization in institutions in Gujarat. As Lederach explains

for the conflict to move to the next stage which is ‘negotiation’ or for change to happen

“a rebalancing of power in the relationship by which all those involved recognize one

59 Lederach, 63 - 64.

60 Lederach, 64.

61 Adam Curie, Making Peace (London: Tavistock Press, 1971)

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another in new ways”62 is required. In addition to this, Lederach points out that “such

recognition will increase the voice and participation of the less powerful in addressing

their basic needs and will legitimate their concerns.”63 While there are many

organizations and individuals (community leaders) working for this type of change to

occur there is not the will by the state government (top level leaders) for this. In fact, the

state government in this case actively works for the confrontation stage to remain and

endorses both violent and nonviolent tactics and ways of waging conflict.

Horowitz on Ethnic Conflict

Donald L. Horowitz’s Ethnic Groups in Conflict is the seminal work on ethnic

conflict. This masterpiece is comprehensive, encompassing multitudes of enlightening

ways of viewing ethnicity, group relations, conflict, identity, motives for conflict, and

many more pieces that are crucial in attempting to put together the puzzle of ethnic

conflict. In fact, after reading Horowitz there is no easy way to define ethnic conflict.

However, I contend that this is one of the points Horowitz makes, in that through

realizing that most preconceived notions and commonplace ideas about ethnic conflict

and what it is or looks like are in fact falsities or at best may consist of partial truths.

Hence, the very existence of ‘ethnic conflict’ comes into question.

Although the whole book in its entirety is pertinent to any scholar of international

peace and conflict resolution, comparative regional studies, area studies, social and or

62John Paul Lederach,Building Peace - Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies (Washington DC: United States Institute of Peace, 1997), 65.

63 Lederach, J. P. (1997). Building Peace - Sustainable Reconciliation In Divided Societies. Washington DC, United States Institute of Peace.

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group behavior studies, and tens of other disciplines there are a few points that became

increasingly salient and of interest to me as my research on communal conflict in India

and Gujarat progressed. The more I dug the more I began to come into contact with

realities that matched Horowitz’s ideas and insights about ethnic groups in conflict.

Although I had read sections of Horowitz’s masterpiece during the course of my

undergraduate days at the University of Toronto in the Peace and Conflict Studies

program, expanding my understanding of international conflict, and instructing the

analysis of cultural epics, creation myths, and or collective histories it was not until much

later that I truly began to appreciate Horowitz’s contribution to the field. In fact, it is

embarking on the theoretical chapter or underpinnings of my Master’s thesis research that

I have begun to understand the essence of what Horowitz says about ethnic groups in

conflict. In addition to this, before delving into Horowitz and finding the exact theories

and ideas that I needed to back up my findings in Gujarat I began to feel a bit distanced

from the field. This encroaching distancing between me and my beloved discipline IPCR

instigated a nagging worry that my choice of Gujarat may not have been a good one

because a large number of the most common causal theories and perspectives did not

account for the kind of conflict that took place in Gujarat 2002.

On the one hand Paul Brass’s The Production o f Hindu-Muslim Violence in India

comforted me in the sense that I was on the same page as Brass, but on the other hand it

was disconcerting because he was not an IPCR theorist but rather a political scientist,

directing his theories and perspectives clearly outside of the IPCR framework from which

I was to work and make sense of the conflict.

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Once in India the volumes of literature I had desperately sought unsuccessfully in

the U.S. and Canada on communal violence and communalism all of sudden were in

abundance and begged my attention. I found that in the literature on communal violence

and or communalism there are two distinct categories. In this recognition my research

progressed because what I found was that the first category is made up of communal

literature written by communalists to portray communalized versions of everything from

history to modem day realities and is in fact one of the communalist tactics I discuss in

detail in Chapter 4 Communal Violence and Communalism namely communalist

propaganda. The second category consists of literature similar to Brass’s analysis of the

situation although not limited to an academic style or methodology, often centered

universally accepted concepts like citizenship, human rights, detailed accounts of past

instances of communal violence, international humanitarian law terms and concepts,

equality, secularism, non-fundamentalist brands of religion, modernist, socialist, left

leaning, and Indian identity as inclusive.

The communalist versions of history aim to indoctrinate readers with falsified

accounts of the past in which, all Muslims and Hindus hated each other and where

Hindus were on the receiving end of attacks by Muslim mlers and masses. However,

upon traveling to rural areas and interviewing victims/survivors of communal violence in

2002 in rural Gujarat I discovered that many of these people had never known of the

notion of communal violence prior to this and that they had had great inter-communal

relations with their Hindu neighbors for decades. I became aware of how organized the

RSS is and began to realize that something of this scale could only occur if people

actively worked for it. In addition to this, all of the claims of Hindu unity revealed

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themselves as ploys to recruit and exploit Dalits to commit the murders and violence that

the upper caste Brahmins did not want to dirty their hands with. I realized that all of this

was simply to maintain and perpetuate the status quo and that Muslims are in a sense the

casualty of this project. Furthermore, I realized that in order to maintain the status quo it

must be profitable. Similar to the caste system, the production of communal violence and

communal conflict is profitable in that upper castes or particular vested interests profit

from others, either Muslims, Dalits, or Adivasis misery.

Often when ethnic groups in conflict are discussed in the news or books the

conflicts are described as resurgence or a new round of violence based in deep seated or

ancient animosities. Horowitz states that “ethnic conflict is not just the persistence or

recrudescence of earlier antagonisms”64 referring to an early part of the book where he

illustrates how “many ethnic groups are rather new creations.”65 He further explains that

“as the groups are not themselves traditional, they could not have had traditional rivalries

among themselves.”66 Furthermore, he states that “just as some traditional antipathies

persist, others lose their relevance.”67 He then provides an example that is pertinent to

our case study:

The Maharashtrian Hindu folk hero, Shivaji, who led the armed struggle against Muslims in the seventeenth century was invoked once again in the twentieth, in the form of the Shiv Sena (Army of Shivaji). But this militant Maharashtrian movement directed its animus mainly against recently arrived immigrants to Bombay-not Muslims, except secondarily, South Indian Hindus. Here, then is an adaptation of historical memory to fit a wholly new conflict. History can be a

64 Donald L. Horowitz, Ethnic Groups in Conflict, (University of California Press: Berkeley, 1985), 98

65 Donald L. Horowitz, Ethnic Groups in Conflict, (University of California Press: Berkeley, 1985), 98

66 Donald L. Horowitz, Ethnic Groups in Conflict, (University of California Press: Berkeley, 1985), 98

67 Donald L. Horowitz, Ethnic Groups in Conflict, (University of California Press: Berkeley, 1985), 98-99.

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weapon, and tradition can fuel ethnic conflict, but a current conflict cannot generally be explained by simply calling it a revived form of an earlier conflict.68

Discovering that several theorists including Brass, Horowitz, Akbar, Engineer,

Bock, and Brown contend that there are motives for conflict that include economic

incentives and political gain provided analyses that lent themselves to my findings in

Gujarat. This relieved the previous worries that had cast doubt on the applicability of

IPCR theories as well as other relevant theories to underpin my findings. In Chapter 4

Communal Violence and Communalism in India there is a section on vested interests and

some of Horowitz’s views on economic incentive and interests as conflict motives are

discussed in addition to the above mentioned theorists.

Frustration-Aggression Theory

This theory differs from the other conflict theories discussed in that the others

attempt to account for sources of conflict while this theory hones in on one aspect of

conflict in particular, aggression. John Dollard et al contribute to the field by providing a

deeper understanding of specific concepts often pertinent to conflict like frustration and

aggression.69 Perhaps by understanding these aspects of conflict in their entirety, theories

as to how to circumvent or prevent these from occurring could be proposed potentially

ridding conflict of aggression and or frustration essentially making conflict nonviolent.

This study embraces the notion that “aggression is always a consequence of

frustration” as a given. Dollard et al, contend that “the occurrence of aggressive behavior

always presupposes the existence of frustration and, contrariwise, that the existence of

68 Donald L. Horowitz, Ethnic Groups in Conflict, (University of California Press: Berkeley, 1985), 99.

69 John Dollard et al,Frustration and Aggression, (Yale University Press: , 1971), 166-180.

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frustration always leads to some form of aggression. From the point of view of daily

observation, it does not seem unreasonable to assume that aggressive behavior of the

usually recognized varieties is always traceable to and produced by some form of

frustration.”70 Fundamental concepts to this theory include: an instigator, the strength of

instigation, goal-response, reinforcing effect, frustration, substitute response, and

aggression. Frustration is defined as an “interference with the occurrence of an instigated

goal response at its proper time in the behavior sequence.”71 Attempting to make sense

of the frustration-aggression theory David Barash, posits that “people who have been

unsuccessfully seeking something-food, political freedoms, access to a disputed territory,

union with others who practice the same customs- or who have obtained partial success

only to be prevented from achieving their ultimate goals.”72 In addition to this, Barash

notes that “frustration theory has subsequently been modified to recognize that frustration

creates a predisposition or readiness for aggression, by producing an intervening

emotional state: anger.”73 However, “an individual’s learning experiences and society’s

expectations are recognized to exert a powerful influence on the connection between

frustration and aggression.”74 Lastly, Barash clearly indicates that “other responses to

frustration are also possible, namely, submission, resignation, alienation, withdrawal,

70 John Dollard et al, Frustration and Aggression, (Yale University Press:, 1971), 166-180

71 John Dollard et al, Frustration and Aggression, (Yale University Press:, 1971), 166-180

72 David Barash,Introduction to Peace Studies, (Wadsworth, 1991), 146.

73 David Barash,Introduction to Peace Studies, (Wadsworth, 1991), 146.

74 David Barash,Introduction to Peace Studies, (Wadsworth, 1991), 147.

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avoidance, or even acceptance, but this does not in itself argue against the potency of the

ffustration-aggression link.”75

Burton’s Basic Needs Theory

John Burton’s ‘Basic Needs Theory’76 is often used to analyze international

conflicts including conflicts being waged within a single state that is home to two or

more identity groups. Although there is no single definition of basic needs that satisfies

all, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights77 does maintain a standard for all

individuals. While there may be some contention over the declaration having a Western

bias, there is an overwhelming acceptance of it throughout the world. Moreover, there

are needs of survival which “have been regarded as basic needs, e.g. shelter, food, sex

and reproduction, the satisfaction of which leads to other needs such as participation and

recognition.” 7R In the basic needs theory there are eight human needs: response,

stimulation, security, recognition, distributive justice, rationality, meaning of response,

and control. Burton considers the first four to be fundamental psychological needs, while

the last four are considered to be significantly helpful needs. The main aim of the basic

needs school is to overcome the relativism previously mentioned that exists when

defining universal human needs, without including a bias towards a particular culture.

The main basic needs theorists aside from Burton are Johan Galtung, C.B. Macpherson,

75 David Barash,Introduction to Peace Studies, (Wadsworth, 1991), 147.

76 Burton, John. Deviance. Terrorism and War. St. Martin’s, 1979, 58.

77 Universal Declaration of Human Rights

78 Burton, 58.

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and Paul Streeten who contend that there are definitive human needs which are systemic

to being human are necessities, in that no society can survive without these needs.

Burton contends that if humans do not get these needs satisfied, they are not free

and will become malfunctioning units.79 In addition to this, he argues that a healthy

society is based on satisfying individuals leaving coercion and socialization to only prove

successful for a limited amount of time and a result will not solve the societal deviance

and its implications. Moreover, he contends that attempts by the government to

implement institutional restraint through socialization or coercion could lead to further

deviance and resentment.

Edward Azar’s Theory of Protracted Social Conflict

Edward Azar defines protracted social conflict as the type of conflict that is “on

-going and seemingly unresolvable.”80 He lays down ten propositions on protracted

social conflict that detail features and characteristics of these conflicts as well as the

causes, and reasons for recurrence. In addition to this, Azar emphasizes that “the most

useful unit of analysis in protracted social conflict is the identity group - racial, religious,

ethnic, cultural, and others. It is more powerful as a unit of analysis than the nation-state.

The reason is that “power” finally rests with the identity group.”81 Using the identity

group as a unit of analysis works with the conflict at hand because there are two distinct

identity groups involved Hindus and Muslims. It is true that these groups remain

79 Burton, 60.

80 Edward Azar, “Protracted Social Conflicts” inConflict: Readings in Management and Resolution, (St. Martin’s Press, 1990) 145-155. 81 Edward Azar, “Protracted Social Conflicts” inConflict: Readings in Management and Resolution, (St. Martin’s Press, 1990) 147-148.

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overtime longer than others, which is evident in the nation-state. However, there is

danger in solely using identity groups as the unit of analysis. It lies in the reality that in

the case of Gujarat the state government under the BJP is a central player in sponsoring

communal violence and institutionalizing communalization and thus, the structural

violence executed against the minority group on a daily basis. This is true to the extent

that not taking the state into account at all times when considering this conflict would in

effect be deliberately pulling wool over ones eyes thereby, obfuscating the truth. While

there was communal violence in Gujarat before the emergence of the RSS, in 1969 when

the Congress Party was ruling, Ahmedabad witnessed “riots” that were extremely brutal

claiming around 1,000 lives of mostly Muslims, it has taken on a completely new life.

Alternately one could simply group the Hindu nationalist communalist

government with the Hindu identity group in an attempt to comply with Azar’s protracted

social conflict stipulation that identity group must be the unit of analysis. This merging

together poses other problems which would make analysis or conclusions based on this

reasoning murky and unclear. Once the majority Hindu identity group and the

communalist Hindu run state government are combined where do other castes fit in to the

picture? Specifically where do Dalits and Adivasis fit in? Although the communalist

forces in Gujarat continue their efforts by sponsoring large scale conversions of Dalits to

Hinduism, through the systematic indoctrination of Adivasis’s into believing that they

were always Hindu and by hoodwinking masses of Dalits to buy into the false notion that

despite their low caste they will now be accepted by mainstream Brahmin dominated

Hindu sects. The communalists aim here is to ensure that the Dalits maintain their belief

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in the false promise long enough to enlist them in the Bajrang Dal, as the foot soldiers or

perpetrators of violence during the next instance of communal violence.

The Limits of Varshney’s Units of Analysis

Ashutosh Varshney is guilty of this type of problematic analysis. He employs

identity groups as his units of analysis and examines them by assessing their civic

networks to explain communal violence in several states in India, including Gujarat. His

book Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life - Hindus and Muslims in India and its thesis that,

“the pre-existing local networks of civic engagement between the two communities stand

out as the single most important proximate cause. Where such networks of engagement

exist, tensions and conflict were regulated and managed; where they are missing,

communal identities led to endemic and ghastly violence,”82 appealed to many non

Indians in the International Peace and Conflict Resolution field. However, scholars of

communal violence in India, both non Indians and Indians, as well as most people in

India working against communalization were not seduced by it and in fact, raised a lot

objections to his thesis, findings, and overall approach. Paul Brass, a prominent

communal violence scholar Varshney quotes and who he had worked with in the past in

raised sharp public critique of his book. The critique is in the same vein as the other

critiques in that it is centered on Varshney’s complete neglect in analyzing the state’s

unmistakably huge role in planning, executing, as well as failing to contain or prevent

communal violence. In fact, Brass astutely points out that given the ruling political

party’s involvement in and complicity with other communal forces in the violence it is

82 Ashutosh Varshney,Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life- Hindus and Muslims in India (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002), 9.

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astounding and very troubling that for Varshney’s 371 paged book “the index contains

only three references to the RSS and the VHP, of which only one includes a very brief

description of the organizations, from which one learns that their “activities” include

running ideological camps for the youth, schools and dispensaries for the tribals and

scheduled castes, and organizations for women” and “we learn that their activists also do

“relief work” at times of heavy floods. The Bajrang Dal, the principal organization for

violence in the Sangh Parivar receives no mention at all.”83 As a result of Varshney

deliberately ignoring the specific roles the RSS, BJP, Bajrang Dal, VHP and the overall

role played by the Sangh Parivar which makes them all complicit in the 2002 genocide

Brass has labeled him a “BJP/RSS apologist.”84

In light of these criticisms and the state sponsored pogrom that took place in 2002

in Gujarat, one of the states included in his analysis, Varshney attempts to address this by

inserting a conciliatory disclaimer in the preface to the second edition of the book which

came also came out in 2002. He asserts that since there has been so much attention on

the role of the state in communal ‘riots’ he will reiterate his view on the matter. Despite

this late acknowledgement of the state’s role in communal violence he lets the state off

the hook. He states that “during periods of communal tension and violence, the state

does play an important role, but one cannot bet on the state to preserve law and order and

keep peace, even though it is one of its constitutional obligations.”85 In addition to this

he claims that while it is important to criticize the state for their part in communal

83 Paul R. Brass, “Paul Brass’s Response to Ashutosh Varshney” http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader- list/2003-December/003283 .html 3 Dec 2003.

84 Paul R. Brass, “Paul Brass’s Response to Ashutosh Varshney” http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader- list/2003-December/003283.html 3 Dec 2003. 85 Varshney, x

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violence, “that no amount of critique since 1947 has yet brought about durable changes in

the behavior of the state on Hindu-Muslim relations” and that “if as a result of such

criticism and pressure, the state corrects itself on major faultlines, it should be viewed as

a happy outcome of citizen activism, not something one can bet on.”86 Furthermore, he

turns the focus to his thesis and claims again that “working on, and building, integrated

civic networks is a better bet.”87

By claiming that working to build civil networks is a better bet than holding the

state accountable does not hold up for a few reasons. First, although he claims that

citizens should still criticize the state he is very skeptical that this will cause change so he

does not place emphasis on it however if citizens all around the world gave up on holding

their governments accountable we would not have had any of the developments in

international law, war crimes tribunals, or truth and reconciliation commissions,

governments would maintain dictatorships. War criminals and those who have

committed atrocities and egregious crimes against humanity must be brought to justice

and the only way that happens is when there is a constant dedicated citizenry who

continue to fight or struggle until this happens. Narendra Modi and all the other guilty

war criminals who actively partook in the pogrom must be brought to justice.

Second, although it is important to try to forge networks and associations across

ethnic divides it must be purposeful and transformative. I find it very odd that Varshney

spent time in Gujarat but fails to see or acknowledge the numerous challenges that lay

ahead for anyone involved in that. In addition to this, the civic networks Varshney

86 Varshney, xi

87 Varshney, xi

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espouses have to do more than get Hindus and Muslims in contact with each other

participating in social events every so often. The high level of polarization in Gujarat of

the two communities as well as outright communalization of the state poses a lot of

challenges for people simply visiting each other’s homes if they are different religions.

This is because there is an almost complete apartheid taking place there to the extent that

many Hindus in their daily routine will not come into contact with a single Muslim and it

is the same for Muslims not seeing Hindus. Moreover, there is no acknowledgement in

the majority community that they committed heinous crimes against Muslims. Varshney

fails to address how individuals from the opposing communities would deal with any of

these issues. After this kind of violence there must be some kind of justice as well as

reconciliation before normalcy in relationships can return. His failure to address these

issues makes his thesis extremely problematic. The level of communalization is so high

that many people in the majority community feel that “it was not that bad” that “the

media hyped it up,” that “chief Minister Modi was simply doing his job”, and

disgustingly that “the Muslims deserved it because they are involved in criminal

activities,” and viscously that “the score was on our side and that those were good days

for us,” and also “the Muslims are foreigners,” and that “they should go back to

Pakistan.” With these kinds of attitude as the norm, whichever civic networks that could

potentially develop across the Hindu-Muslim divide would not be very meaningful until

these issues are resolved or have even begun to be addressed. Furthermore, Varshney’s

thesis fails to take into account the stories of Muslim survivors of communal attacks

committed by their Hindu neighbors who they thought were their friends of many years

but who succumbed to mobs and joined in because of their loyalty to Hindus that they

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largely did not previously know. While there were also stories of Hindu neighbors

saving their Muslim neighbors from the mobs the fact there are so many Hindus who did

not save their Muslim neighbors but who joined in attacks on them is extremely

disconcerting and leaves much to be desired with regards to the mere plausibility of

Varshney’s civic network thesis. In conclusion, Varshney’s thesis appears to be an

accessible, attractive, quick fix to a host of complex and deeply entrenched multiple

stages and types of conflict between two completely polarized communities that hold

negative images of the other. Gujarat does not need a quick fix that turns a blind eye to

the intense social and political processes that perpetuate injustices on a daily basis.

Making the state accountable and getting the B JP out of power are paramount. People

across the religious divide working for justice are creating a different kind of civic

network than Varshney envisioned albeit a much more meaningful one.88

Why Azar’s theory of Protracted Social Conflict and Burton’s Basic Need’s Theory Fail to Fully Explain the Conflict in Gujarat between Hindus and Muslims

While there are many features of Hindu-Muslim conflict in Gujarat that are

aligned with Azar’s theory there are a few things which raise some doubt as to whether it

is kind of conflict Azar thought of when he characterized a protracted social conflict. In

88 The difference between the civic network Varshney envisions and what is required to make profound and long lasting change bares striking resemblance to the meeting between Israeli Jewish women and Palestinian women during the first Intifada that Simona Sharoni discusses in Gender and Israeli- Palestinian Conflict. She emphasizes how Israeli Jewish women often wanted to focus on relationship building whereas Palestinian women wanted to focus on taking action together to demand justice either in the form of protest or taking other measures to oppose the occupation. In this case Varshmey’s civic network or engagement would resemble the Israeli Jewish women’s relationship building whereas the Hindus and Muslims working together to bring the Modi government to justice and oust them from power would align with the Palestinian women’s working against occupation and demanding justice. Simona Sharoni, Gender and the lsraeli-Palestinian Conflict- The Politics of Women’s Resistance. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1995.

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fact, the discussion on protracted social conflict inContemporary Conflict Resolution

reaffirms this doubt when describing this type of conflict “wars of the third kind” in

which “communities seek to create their own states in wars of ‘national liberation’, or

which ‘involve resistance by various peoples against domination, exclusion, persecution,

or dispossession of lands and resources, by the post-colonial state.”’89 The Muslims in

Gujarat are not trying to create their own state through any kind of war. While there is a

resistance movement against the domination by the Hindutva communal forces it is

small, grass roots based and largely nonviolent.

The second major contention in labeling Hindu-Muslim conflict in Gujarat as a

protracted social conflict lies in the latter part of Azar’s second proposition as well as in

his third proposition. In the latter part of the second proposition he expounds that “the

source of protracted social conflict is the denial of those elements required in the

development of all people and societies, and whose pursuit is a compelling need in all.

These are security, distinctive identity, social recognition of identity, and effective

participation.”90 In a similar vein the third proposition asserts that “it is the denial of

human needs, of which ethnic identity is merely one, that finally emerges as the source of

conflict, be it domestic, communal, international or inter-state.”91

In the case of Gujarat and the communal conflict between Hindus and Muslims,

the denial of human needs is not the main source of the conflict. Here certain identity

groups namely, the Dalits (the particular sections of Dalits that were hired or bribed to do

89 Holsti in Hugh Miall et al,Contemporary Conflict Resolution (Polity Press:Cambridge), 2000, 69.

90 Edward Azar, 146.

91 Edward Azar, 146.

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the killing or looting during a particular instance of communal violence) could assert that

they are actively involved in the conflict because of deprivation of these human needs.

The majority Hindu group can not claim these reasons for actively participating in

conflict waged against Muslims because they are the dominant ruling group they are not

denied these human needs. In the case of the minority Muslim group, due to the

institutionalized injustices they continually face including their second or third class

status as well as the extremely high percentage of Muslims who are considered to be

living beneath the poverty line they can like the Dalits claim that this is why they are

waging conflict. However, in all the literature on communal violence throughout the

decades whether it is “riots” or a state sponsored pogrom Muslims always bare the

heaviest burden when it comes to casualties as well as other types of losses. While there

are many instances of communal violence where Muslims have killed Hindus or inflicted

other losses upon them, waging this type of conflict is not to Muslims benefit but, rather,

to their utter detriment. The realization that Muslims are ultimately the losers and do not

benefit from communal violence poses serious challenges to the commonplace

allegations asserting that they are the initial instigators and that they purposely and

strategically plan attacks on Hindus and devise ways to wage communal conflict with the

aim of taking over India, implementing Islam, displacing Hinduism, persecuting Hindus,

and destroying Hindu culture.

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Vested Interests and Elites and Individuals: The Missing Source of Conflict and Unit in Conflict Analysis

Vested Interests

Although conflicts between different religious groups or ethnic groups often

appear like modem versions or manifestations of age old hostilities this is usually not the

case. While past wars or animosities create tensions between communities that carry on

into the present there is usually another reason that conflict between identity groups

erupts. Unfortunately in many cases the catalyst for the latest round of conflict is often

deliberate. In fact, although the conflict appears to be waged between two identity

groups because of an incident between individuals of the opposing groups, in reality there

are other people who are profiting from the violence and who actually take the time to

devise plans to ensure that violence erupts. Sometimes these war profiteers share the

identity of the group in power but they do not have to. Also, these individuals may be

aligned with a political party, movement, or association that plans, carries out and

benefits from the conflict.

Individual, Government, and Corporate War Profiteering

No individual, group of individuals, organization, institution, corporation, or

government should profit from violence. However, many individuals, organizations,

corporations, and governments make huge profits from all sorts of conflicts as well as

institutionalized physical and structural violence. The current international economic

system awards values in accordance with the mling countries or superpower deem

worthy, making people, labor, currency, products, real estate, and services from the mling

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countries worth gargantuan amounts while at the same time devaluing those same things

from the countries they dominate. In addition to this, in order to maintain the status quo

in the global economic hierarchy, the ruling countries perpetuate the dependence of the

‘subordinate’ countries on expensive products made by huge industries in the ruling

countries to continue fueling their economies and widening the disparity in the world.

Unfortunately, one of the major industries that maintain US global economic and political

hegemony is the military industry, and this ensures the profitability of war.

The Militarization of the U.S. Economy: Illustrating the Profitability of War

First, the weapons and arms industry is at a highpoint in sales and has no plans of

shutting down. For example, in the American economy, the weapons and arms industry

is intricately connected, generating huge portions of sums that make up economy.

Thousands of Americans are employed by companies that develop military technology

and manufacture military machinery. The U.S. government has federal contracts with

many of these corporations. In addition to this, the U.S. government often gives ‘aid’ to

countries it has strategic geopolitical alliances with in the form of weapons or military

machinery. As long as the American economy is militarized enabling America to be the

superpower in charge of Empire there will continue to be more wars all over the world

waged with increasingly deadlier weapons.

Restrictions on the Arms Trade

There are some restrictions or rules regarding the trading of arms however they

are not strong enough, lack fair enforcement, and do not include the long term goal of

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prohibiting the manufacturing of new arms and the banning of trading of old or new

arms. Often the countries that have the biggest stake in the success of this industry are the

same ones setting the protocol and rules for all transactions. There should be restrictions

on the further development of this industry in general. Also, there should be restrictions

that prohibit any single country from selling arms to both or all countries engaged in war

with each other, thereby prohibiting a country from having the ability to profit from a war

endlessly no matter which country is winning or losing.92

Arms Export Control Act

The Arms Export Control Act is a federal law in the U.S. that bans the sale of

weapons from the U.S. to countries where these weapons will be used on civilian

populations. Despite this law sales of weapons to dictators whose reign of terror includes

assaulting its population with these American weapons, as well as to countries who are

recognized officially as democracies but whose policies are ones of a brutal occupier

using American weapons to oppress those it has occupied, secure land and resources it

has stolen, destroy the homes, livelihoods, and nature of those it holds captive continues

unabated.

The Case of Gujarat and Conflict Stakeholders

In most of the literature on communal violence emanating from India it is noted

that there are those with vested interests that may or may not be working in conjunction

or connected to those who are waging the conflict. There are various kinds of vested

92 The U.S. states sold arms to both Iran and Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s that lasted eight years and claimed the lives o f tens o f thousands of people including large numbers of civilians and military personnel.

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interests. Conflict stakeholders, who have in recent times come to be dubbed rather

astutely, as war or disaster profiteers are often; politicians, business owners, real estate

developers, religious and or social movement leaders as well as arms dealers. In fact, Dr.

Ashgar Ali Engineer the most prolific writer and one of the foremost scholars of

communal violence, contends, that in every instance of communal violence there are

beneficiaries.93

In Akbar’s Riots he details many instances of communal violence through the

decades. He makes it clear that there are lots of “people with vested interest in violence:

businessmen, traders, politicians, goondas, leaders of cultural organizations”.94 In

Sharpening Conflict Management - Religious Leadership and the Double-Edged Sword

Joseph G. Bock provides a detailed case study of Hindu-Muslim communal violence in

India “that illustrates how religion is used to ‘promote’ violence by those who benefit

from it.”95 Bock clearly articulates the existence of “violence-promoting leaders who are

“at the helm” usually with a following” and who “may or may not get directly involved in

the more seedy aspects of fomenting bloodshed.”96 In addition to this, Bock outlines

three categories of violence-promoting leaders: (1) politicians because instances of

communal violence are politically useful (2) real estate developers because violence is

useful to them “inasmuch as it results in people vacating the conflict-ridden area to

93 Engineer, Dr. Ashgar Ali. “On Comprehensive Law on Communal Riots” (Online, http://www.csss- isla.com/archive/20Q4/iulvl6 ) 2 Aug 2004.

94 M. J. Akbar,Riot After Riot- Reports on Caste and Communal Violence in India, (New Delhi: Penguin Book India, 1988), 18.

95 Joseph G. Bock, Sharpening Conflict Management - Religious Leadership and the Double-Edged Sword, (Westport: Praeger, 2001).

96 Joseph G. Bock,Sharpening Conflict Management - Religious Leadership and the Double-Edged Sword, (Westport: Praeger, 2001), 6.

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escape harm” which paves the way for bulldozers to demolish homes of residents of these

areas and “in the process, real estate developers bypass “squatters rights” - legal

protections under Indian law that otherwise protect the slum dwellers’ claims” (3)

bootleggers “who run lucrative illegal operations in areas where liquor is outlawed” find

violence useful in the orchestration of it “as part of “turf-wars,” not unlike the those of

rival drug peddling gangs in the United States.”97

Basic Needs versus Vested Interests

What sets Hindu-Muslim conflict in Gujarat apart from other examples in which

Azar’s theory applies is adequately raised above by theories Akbar and Bock outline as

well as by Brass through his theory of ‘“riot” production’ in India between Hindus and

Muslims. Although in every conflict there are those with vested interests in violence

occurring, in the case of Hindu- Muslim violence Kashmir aside it appears that these

interests are the instigators and perpetuators of the conflict. In the overwhelming

majority of cases of Hindu- Muslim violence those who are waging the conflict or

instigating it are not those who are disenfranchised or whose human and basic needs98 are

not being met although the organizers of the violence often prey on those whose needs

are not being satisfied in the hopes that in their desperation they will accept a bribe to

carry out the violence.

97 Joseph G. Bock, Sharpening Conflict Management - Religious Leadership and the Double-Edged Sword, (Westport: Praeger, 2001), 7.

98 The concept of ‘basic needs’ emanates from Burton’s Basic Needs theory which will be discussed in this chapter. John Burton, Deviance, Terrorism, and War: The Process of Solving Unsolved Social and Political Problems (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1979).

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While Azar’s theory of PSC like Burton’s Basic Needs and many other theories in

the field of conflict resolution are crucial in understanding causes of conflict, highlighting

actors like the state, different identity groups, escalation or conflict and many other facets

often their levels or units of analysis completely overlook those individuals and elites

who profit and or gain from the conflict and thus incite it. This gets to the heart of why

many of the IPCR theories do not apply in entirety to Hindu-Muslim conflict in Gujarat

and in other parts of India. In fact, Miall et al highlight the criticism of the conflict

analysis style that Azar’s PSC represents contending that “a focus on international level

(contextual), state level (structural) and conflict party level (relational) types of analysis

may make conflict appear to be a natural or inevitable process, and fails to lay blame

squarely on the shoulders of the individuals and elites who are usually responsible”99

similarly to other conflict analysis theories.

Role of the State in Protracted Social Conflict

Azar does mention that states are involved in these protracted social conflicts,

however, in this cases there is just one state, India, which is involved. In Azar’s

understanding of the state’s role in PSC fits with the state government of Gujarat as well

the federal government with regards to 2002. Azar makes it clear that “the state has been

endowed with authority to govern and use force necessary to regulate society, to protect

citizens, and to provide collective goods.”100 In addition he claims that it is the state and

its governance that determine whether the basic and human needs will be satisfied or

deprived. He holds that in less stable countries, states and their power “tends to be

99 Miall et al,Contemporary Conflict Resolution (Cambridge: Polity), 2000, 88.

100 Azar (1990, 10), in Miall et al,Contemporary Conflict Resolution (Cambridge: Polity), 2000, 74.

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monopolized by the dominant identity group or a coalition of hegemonic groups which

use the state to maximize their interests at the expense of others.”101 Miall et al taking

this in account contend that “both through the mobilization of group interests and

identities by ruling elites, and through the reactive counter-identification of excluded

‘minorities’ the ‘communal content of the state’ becomes basic to the study of PSC.”102

The individuals and elites responsible for the conflict are often government

officials and or leaders. Their tools for inciting conflict include, “discrimination which

favors a dominant group and marginalizes a minority, the defining of political rights in

terms of ethnic rather than civic nationalism, the fanning of communal hatreds through

media, and deliberate organization of murder squads.”103 In the case of the state

government of Gujarat under the communal party the BJP all of these and more tactics

were used to design, plan, and execute the ethnic pogrom they unleashed on Gujarat’s

Muslims.

Brown on Elites and Individuals as Missing Units in Conflict Analysis

Brown agrees with the critique of this school of conflict analysis claiming that

there is a lot of emphasis on larger levels or units of analysis leaving little room for the

uncovering and analysis of “the role played by elites and leaders in instigating violence.”

Unfortunately, this results in a “‘no-fault’ history that leaves out the pernicious effects of

influential individuals.” Brown contends that the main causes of major internal conflicts

101 Azar in Miall et al, Contemporary Conflict Resolution (Cambridge: Polity), 2000, 74.

102 Miall et al, Contemporary Conflict Resolution (Cambridge: Polity), 2000, 74.

103 Miall et al, Contemporary Conflict Resolution (Polity: Cambridge), 2000, 90.

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“are triggered by internal, elite-level activities- to put it simply, bad leaders - contrary to

what one would gather from reviewing the scholarly literature on the subject.” He offers

three variations of why individuals and elites behave in this manner: “genuine ideological

struggles over how the state should be organized, criminal assaults on state sovereignty to

secure control of assets, and factional power struggles when elites lacking legitimacy and

threatened by loss of power play the ‘communal card’ and appeal to ethnic or

nationalistic rhetoric.”104 In addition to this, he offers two reasons as to why people

follow these elites or individuals: “the existence of antagonistic group histories” and

“mounting economic problems.” Brown further contends that “all three factors -

irresponsible leaders driven by intensifying elite competitions; problematic group

histories; and economic problems - must be present for this kind of conflict to

explode.”105 Miall et al point out that Brown’s three factors account for explanations of

conflict at all levels of analysis at elite/individual level, conflict party level, and state

level.106 In the case of India other areas must be defined in terms of why people follow

these types of leaders. Although economic problems and antagonistic group histories

may provide some insight into why people follow they fall short of providing a

comprehensive explanation. Uncovering other reasons why this happens is extremely

important because perhaps if this is understood more deeply, ways to prevent this from

occurring may also be uncovered which could result in preventing large scale communal

conflicts. In the case of Gujarat Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat and

104 Brown (1996, 597) inContemporary Conflict Resolution (Polity: Cambridge), 2000,

105 Brown, (1996, 596) in Miall et al,Contemporary Conflict Resolution (Polity: Cambridge), 2000,

106 Miall et al, Contemporary Conflict Resolution (Polity: Cambridge), 2000, 90-91.

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architect of the pogrom and his communal BJP party would not have been able to get the

disastrous results they got without getting the majority Hindu community as well as large

parts of the Dalit community to actively support the pogrom. The whole state was

embroiled in the violence. If further research could be done on why people followed

Modi and the BJP on its communal quest to destroy the Muslims and out of these

findings prescriptions could be put into action then perhaps the chance of this type of

large-scale state sponsored pogrom would decrease maybe even significantly.

Perhaps Burton’s theory of Basic Needs and Azar’s Protracted Social Conflict

theory could apply to Gujarat more aptly if the cycle of violence continues as a result of

the minority community and or particular groups (Dalit/ Adivasi) are continually

deprived of their needs. In fact, Siddarth Varadarajan, a journalist and scholar of

communal violence, eludes to this in outlining the essence of rehabilitation. He states

that rehabilitation is not just about providing houses and jobs but also about belonging

and inclusion, empathy and solidarity. It is about standing up for justice and decency.”107

Most of these things have still not happened in Gujarat. In the event that they did happen

they were small scale acts by individuals and were not common. The government did not

facilitate any of these positive interactions or inclusions of the minority community.

A question to ponder about Basic Needs theory: does the conflict lie in the

disparity between groups and lack of basic needs of some groups or is it rooted in the

notion that these deprived groups will act out because of this deprivation (both perceived

and real)?

107 Siddarth Vadarajan,Gujarat- The Making o f a Tragedy. (Penguin Books India: Delhi), 2002, 332.

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Reconciliation and Justice

As conflicts are resolved and peacebuilding takes hold questions begin to arise

that involve justice and reconciliation. If a party to the conflict chooses the path of

reconciliation are they for going justice? Do reconciliation and justice work together or

at odds with the other? Should one come before the other? What does reconciliation

look like? What does justice look like? Through what processes can desirable outcomes

be met? To answer these questions a brief overview of concepts as well as a discussion

of how these work together will be included.

Abu-Nimer in his introduction toReconciliation, Justice, and Coexistence -Theory

and Practice notes how the much of the early focus of the field of peacebuilding has

been on “the first two conflict phases: (1) the prenegotiation phase, in which

researchers and practitioners focus on strategies and ways to get parties to the table; and

(2) the negotiation phase, in which the main focus is on formulating effective strategies

and overcoming obstacles for productive negotiation, facilitation, or mediation

processes.”108 He also notes how as a result of the changing phases of many deep-rooted

conflicts in the 1990s like South Africa, Israel-Palestine, Northern Ireland, Bosnia,

Guatemala, and Nicaragua so too did the attention of the researchers and practitioners of

peacebuilding. The political agreements made in many of the above noted conflict areas

catapulted these conflicts into the postsettlement phase which also became the next phase

108 Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Reconciliation, Justice, and Coexistence - Theory and Practice. (Lexington Books: Lanham, 2001), ix. The description of the phases of conflict in this sentence he refers to Fisher 1993, Kelman 1993, Montville 1990.

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the field of peacebuilding began to focus to on. Abu-Nimer states that “in this phase,

researchers and practitioners focus on ways of overcoming new political stalemates and

innovative methods of transforming the conflicting parties’ relationship become core

themes in this phase” and “processes of reconciliation and contradictory perceptions of

justice constitute the main challenges facing the parties in their attempt to resolve their

conflict.”109

Defining Reconciliation

Galtung interprets reconciliation “as the process of healing the traumas of both

victims and perpetrators after violence, providing a closure of the bad relation” and “the

process prepares the parties for relations with justice and peace.”110 According to Fisher

reconciliation “involves reestablishing harmony and cooperation between antagonists

who have inflicted harm in either a one-sided or reciprocal manner.”111 Kriesberg views

reconciliation as “the process by which parties that have experienced an oppressive

relationship or a destructive conflict with each other move to attain or to restore a

relationship that they believe to be minimally acceptable.”112 Fisher notes how

Kriesberg’s outlining of reconciliation is a beneficial addition to the literature on the

subject because it “identifies several basic elements of reconciliation, including the units

involved (individuals, officials, groups, peoples), the dimensions of reconciliation

109 Abu-Nimer, Reconciliation, Justice, and Coexistence - Theory and Practice.., ix

110 Johan Galtung “After Violence, Reconstruction, Reconciliation, and Resolution” in Reconciliation, Justice, and Coexistence- Theory and Practice, ed. Mohammed Abu-Nimer (Lexington: Lanham) 2001, 3.

111 Ronald J Fisher “Social Psychological Processes” inReconciliation, Justice, and Coexistence-Theory and Practice, ed. Mohammed Abu-Nimer (Lexington: Lanham) 2001, 26.

112 Louis Kriesberg, “Changing Forms of Coexistence” inReconciliation, Justice, and Coexistence- Theory and Practice, ed. Mohammed Abu-Nimer (Lexington: Lanham) 2001, 48.

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(acknowledgement, acceptance, apology, redress of forgiveness), and the possible

degrees of reconciliation (full or partial, accommodation, coexistence).”113 Lederach

contends that reconciliation is “the place where Truth and Mercy, Justice and Peace

meet.”114

In Gujarat the overwhelming majority of the units involved lack all of the

dimensions of reconciliation that Kriesberg discusses because there is no

acknowledgement, acceptance, apology or redress of forgiveness. If any of these exist

within any units they are individuals and do not represent the state or majority. Thus, the

degrees of reconciliation whether full or partial, accommodation, or coexistence remains

absent. In an interview with Sophia Khan a lawyer and human rights activist in

Ahmedabad she makes this clear:

I feel that there is no sense of remorse in this society. And that is something very dangerous, very dangerous strain. Normally you read any conflict situation, anywhere in the world you can see and you can feel that sense, but here that is completely missing. So I do not know how to tackle that. There is no acknowledgment. There is no guilt. I mean many people come to meet me. I just tell them that you go to any part of the Allahabad shop and you just say that whatever happened in Gujarat what do you think about it and the person will you know show his happiness and satisfaction. Yes, we did the right thing and these minorities Muslims they deserved this. They will say this only. So this is something very horrible situation we are facing now. There is complete hate violence.115

What is Justice?

113 Louis Kriesberg in Ronald J. Fisher’s “Social-Psychological Processes” inReconciliation, Justice, and Coexistence - Theory and Practice, ed. Mohammed Abu-Nimer (Lexington: Lanham), 2001, 27.

114 Lederach, Building Peace — Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies (United States Institute of Peace Press: Washington DC) 1997, 29.

115 Interview #2 part two: 3 by author with Sophia Khan, at her home, Juhapura, Ahmedabad.

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Defining justice is not an easy task. Justice is relative in that what one may define

as justice another would not. According to Kriesberg justice is “a multifaceted, ongoing

set of processes moving toward social relations that are regarded as equitable by the

people engaged in them” and that “justice is never fully realized, involving as it does

contradictory qualities and changing standards.”116

Lederach holds that justice “represents the search for individual and group rights,

for social restructuring, and for restitution, but it is linked with Peace, which is

underscores the need for interdependence, well- being, and security.”117 In addition to

the different definitions of justice there are different types of justice. There is retributive

or punitive justice and restorative justice.

Restorative Justice

While there are diverging perspectives on the essence of restorative justice and

how and where it should be employed there are some basic premises which are inherent

in any understanding of it. Gerry Johnstone states that restorative justice,

“revolves around the ideas that crime is, in essence, a violation of a person by another person (rather than a violation of legal rules); that in responding to a crime our primary concerns should be to make offenders aware of the harm they have caused, to get them to understand and meet their liability to repair such harm, and to ensure that further offences are prevented; that the form and amount of reparation from the offender to the victim and the measure to be taken to prevent re-offending should be decided collectively by offenders, victims and members of their communities through constructive dialogue in an informal and consensual process; and that efforts should be made to improve the relationship

116 Louis Kriesberg, “Changing Forms of Coexistence” Reconciliation,in Justice, and Coexistence-Theory and Practice. Ed. Mohammed Abu-Nimer (Lexington: Lanham) 2001, 48.

117 John Paul Lederach,Building Peace- Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies (United States Institute of Peace Press: Washington DC) 1997, 29.

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between the offender and victim and to reintegrate the offender into the law- abiding community.”118

In a paper for the Law Commission of Canada on restorative justice Llewellyn and

Howse tout Tony Marshall’s definition as “a workable description of restorative justice in

or practice: restorative justice is a process whereby all the parties with a stake in a

particular offence come together to resolve collectively how to deal with the aftermath of

the offence and its implications for the future.”119

Restorative justice is victim centered in that in the process of ‘making things

right’ “those affected by the harm in question seek to reach an agreement whereby the

needs of the person(s) harmed, the victims/survivors are taken into account to the fullest

190 ... . extent possible.” This is in contrast to the retributive or criminal justice system which

focuses on the state and the criminal. Sullivan and Tifft employ Zehr to illustrate this by

making it clear that “those who seek to encourage and/or regain interpersonal harmony

restoratively know that it is not the state that has been physically harmed when

interpersonal violence takes place, but persons; it is not the law that needs to be restored

but people’s lives.”121 In addition to this, the victim/survivor is encouraged to tell their

story so that the truth can be heard. In fact “the greatest hope of restorative justice

118 Gerry Johnstone,Restorative Justice - Ideas, Values, and Debates (Willan Publishing: Portland), 2002, ix. 119 Tony Marshall quoted in John Braithwaite, “Restorative Justice: Assessing an Immodest Theory and a Pessimistic Theory” http://www.aic.gov.au in Jennifer Llewellyn and Robert Howse’s “Restorative Justice - A Conceptual Framework” for Law Commission of Canada. 1998. http://www.lcc.gc.ca/includes 27 November 2006.

120 Dennis Sullivan and Larry Tifft, “Introduction: The Healing Dimension o f Restorative Justice- One World Body”, ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 1.

121 Howard Zehr (1990) in Dennis Sullivan and Larry Tifft, “Introduction: The Healing Dimension of Restorative Justice- One World Body”, ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 3.

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advocates is that those who have been traumatized by harm will want to participate in the

process by telling their story as well as by listening to the story of the person who has

harmed them so as to gain a better sense of who that person is.”122 The South African

Truth and Reconciliation Commission that took place in 1995 is the most famous

example of this aspect of restorative justice.

Although the term “restorative justice” was coined in 1977 by Albert Eglash in an

article he wrote called “Beyond Restitution: Creative Restitution” he was referring to

concepts of justice that had already been in existence. In fact the concepts and ideas

found in restorative justice have a much longer past than concepts common to retributive

justice. A prominent voice in the field of restorative justice as well as a criminologist,

John Braithwaite makes for a rare combination of knowledge sources on justice asserts

that “restorative justice has been the dominant model of criminal justice throughout most

of human history for all the worlds’ people.”123

Restitution According to Retributive/Punitive Justice, Common Law and Restorative Justice

In Llewellyn and Howse’s “Restorative Justice - A Conceptual Framework” for

the Law Commission of Canada they demonstrate how, restitution, depending on how it

is defined is directly linkable to both restorative justice and or retributive/ punitive

justice.124 When working with retributive/ punitive justice restitution can be interpreted

122 Mika et al (2003) in Dennis Sullivan and Larry Tifft, “Introduction: The Healing Dimension of Restorative Justice- One World Body”, ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 2.

123 John Braithwaite, “Restorative Justice: Assessing an Immodest Theory and a Pessimistic Theory” 1997 Australian Institute of Criminology Home Page http://www.aic.gov.au

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in three ways: (1) spending time in jail or prison, engaging in community service, paying

society back for this crime, (2) as a deterrent in that crime does not pay, thus, resulting in

the impounding or seizure of assets bought with illegal money made from committing

crimes, (3) rehabilitation of the individual criminal, instilling a sense of responsibility.

Conceptually according to common law, restitution “denotes the idea that a gain

or benefit wrongly taken or enjoyed should be returned”125 and that by returning what

was taken the perpetrator is “righting their wrong”. The understanding of restitution in

conjunction with restorative justice highlights the central positioning of the victim rather

than the state. In addition they both focus on the wrongdoer’s act and how it affects the

victim. “In other words, restorative justice and restitution are both outcome focused,

directing their attention to the results of an action and not some inherent nature of the

action itself.” One clear difference between the two is that while restitution focuses on

the victim, restorative justice goes further, including “the perpetrator and the community

in attempting to respond to the harm done to the victim.”1 Of, Thus, although restitution

and restorative justice share common elements the danger in equating them is an

extremely limited concept of justice. Justice is more than simply returning what one took

illegitimately from another. For example, the victim has been given back what was

physically taken by the person who took it, hence restitution has occurred. However, this

action has failed to restore the sense of safety and security to the victim that they had

124 Jennifer Llewellyn and Robert Howse’s “Restorative Justice - A Conceptual Framework” for Law Commission o f Canada. 1998. http://www.lcc.gc.ca/includes 27 November 2006. 125 Jennifer Llewellyn and Robert Howse’s “Restorative Justice - A Conceptual Framework” for Law Commission o f Canada. 1998. http://www.lcc.gc.ca/includes 27 November 2006.

126Jennifer Llewellyn and Robert Howse’s “Restorative Justice - A Conceptual Framework” for Law Commission of Canada. 1998. http://www.lcc.gc.ca/includes 27 November 2006.

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previously enjoyed leaving much to be desired in the way of justice. Restorative justice

in this case would attempt to figure out a way to restore the victim’s sense of safety and

security by restoring “the relationships between the parties involved to an ideal state of

social equality” and “it stands juxtaposed to the backward focus of restitution as it

attempts to address a wrong by transforming the relationship between those involved

such that the same situation could not arise again.”127

Rafi’s Experiments with Restorative Justice and Restitution in Gujarat

In Gujarat, any kind of justice is a rarity. However, it does occur from time to

time. One of the interviewees, Rafi and his wife, Meera, founded a Nongovernmental

organization that worked against the spread of communalization and for communal

harmony. 198 Through the organization he ran conflict resolution programs for Dalit and

Muslim youth who had been affected by the violence in 2002 either by perpetrating

crimes or by suffering through them. The participants knew each other and were aware

of who had vandalized their house or whose material objects they had looted. After

engaging in trust building activities, the negative stereotypes of the other had dissipated,

and they began to build relationships with each other. There was acknowledgement by

the perpetrators of what they had done to the victims. There were also apologies by the

perpetrators to the victim and their family. Some of these apologies came in writing.

These were followed by acceptance of the perpetrators apology by the victim. In addition

to the apology there were promises by the perpetrator to “make things right” by either

127Jennifer Llewellyn and Robert Howse’s “Restorative Justice - A Conceptual Framework” for Law Commission of Canada. 1998. http://www.lcc.gc.ca/includes 27 November 2006. 14.

128 Interview #21:12 with Rafi by author, Shah Alam, office.

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giving back what they had stolen or looted or by replacing it. These actions were taken.

Furthermore, the youth who had been the perpetrator and the youth who had been the

victim worked together on a project through which they could change their situation by

generating income. They opened a small business together with a loan that they received

from the nongovernmental organization that they became friends through. Thus, there

are examples in Gujarat whereby restorative justice practices have been employed

successfully to help heal the relationships between Muslims and Dalits.

Like the case that Rafi brings to light in which restorative justice worked there are

many other cases in Gujarat in which restorative justice would also be successful. This is

because many of those who committed violence did so because they were bribed to do it

and some even openly regret that they were involved. In addition to that, restorative

justice would work in some of these cases far more efficiently and unbiased then the

punitive system in Gujarat because it is so communalized and those that support the

violence are found in the judicial system. In fact, Dennis Sullivan and Larry Tifft bring

this point home in their discussion of how restorative justice is at its base a “form of

insurgency and subversive in nature.”129 They claim this because “it is a process that

competes with the state’s way of doing business not only in ways to respond to harm

(non-violently, restoratively) but also in defining what harms we need to give attention to

in• the first place.”1 TO Moreover,• it applies to cases of victims of the pogrom in Gujarat

129 Dennis Sullivan and Larry Tifft, “Introduction: The Healing Dimension o f Restorative Justice- One World Body”, in ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 2.

130 Dennis Sullivan and Larry Tifft, “Introduction: The Healing Dimension of Restorative Justice- One World Body”, in ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 2.

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most aptly because “restorative justice sees the pain and suffering of all as worthy of our

collective attention while the state discriminates between those worthy of the

community’s attention and those not”131 in the case at hand the Muslim minority victims

are not worthy of Hindu majority community’s attention because they are considered to

be inferior and “unwanted people.”132

However, as noted previously the majority community in Gujarat has largely not

recognized or acknowledged the massacre of Muslims as a something that should not

have happened. Therefore, in most cases a paradigm of restorative justice would not

work. In Gujarat for the victims/survivors of the carnage of 2002 justice in any capacity

is extremely hard to come by. Some contend that if those who perpetrated heinous

crimes against the Sikh community in Delhi in 1984 were punished and brought to justice

this would have created a deterrent for potential criminals and perhaps Gujarat 2002

would not have happened.

Retributive/ Punitive Justice

Howard Zehr one of the leading scholars on restorative justice contends that the

some of the problematic aspects with retributive/ punitive justice stem from the way the

crime and justice are defined according to the state. He states that crime “is a violation of

the state and its laws and that justice “establishes blame and administers pain through a

contest between offender and state.”133 Within this definition of crime and justice there is

131 Dennis Sullivan and Larry Tifft, “Introduction: The Healing Dimension o f Restorative Justice- One World Body”, in ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 2.

132 Article on Juhapura, quoted from a Hindu resident of neighboring Vejalpur

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not much room for attention or focus on the actual victim because the state is the victim.

In addition to this, unlike restitution and corrective justice which are both limited by their

commitment to the notion of transfer as the means to achieve equality, retributive justice

does not. While retributive justice and restorative justice both hold the “establishing/re

establishing social equality between the wrongdoer and the sufferer of wrong”134 their

individual notions of how to do this diverge.

Reparations

As a result of conflict there are great losses suffered by the victims / survivors as a

result of the attacks by the perpetrators. There are a plethora of strategies for resolving

conflicts. In most cases there is a sense that justice must prevail in order for relations

between the groups to move to another stage. As noted above, this can be tricky because

of the different and at times diametrically opposed definitions of justice that the

conflicting groups possess or hold true.

In most cases it is the dominant group, usually the majority, controls the state and

its apparatus and thus is in the position to commit gross human rights abuses against the

minority group during conflict. The idea that the group or individuals who suffer at the

hands of the aggressor losing everything can request or demand something, monetary or

otherwise back from the perpetrators along with the admitting of their guilt and perhaps

their jail sentence is commonly known as reparations. The most well known example is

of the reparations the German government had to pay the Jewish survivors of the

133 Howard Zehr, “Justice: Retribution or Restoration?” http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/pwork/0499/049910/htm 134 Jennifer Llewellyn and Robert Howse’s “Restorative Justice - A Conceptual Framework” for Law Commission of Canada. 1998. http://www.lcc.gc.ca/includes 27 November 2006.

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Holocaust or their children. Although the reparations to Holocaust survivors are widely

known about the challenges they faced to receive them remain largely unknown. In fact,

the process of retrieving the reparations in this case was so negative and taxing that

Danieli likens it to a kind of second type of trauma that is unleashed at the survivors who

are still reeling from the initial attacks.135

Although not all victims/ survivors support receiving reparations or compensation

for the atrocities committed against them by the perpetrators for valid reasons, there is

increasing recognition and acknowledgement in the international community and its

institutions that this is an important part of resolving conflicts. In fact, in an attempt to

answer tough questions about how to deal with international human rights law violations

and those who committed them in 1989 the United Nations Sub-Commission on the

Prevention of Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities commission Special

Rapporteur Van Boven to report on the issue. Nine years later Cherif Bassiouni was

appointed by the Commission on Human Rights to do a further revision of the earlier

developed principles of Van Boven on the right to reparations for victims of gross

violations of human rights.

The United Nations General Assembly is expected to adopt the Basic Principles

and Guidelines on the Right to Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Violations of

International Human Rights and Violations of Humanitarian Law which in its 29

principles assert that human rights must be respected and enforced internationally and to

135Yael Danieli, “Essential Elements of Healing After Massive Trauma - Complex needs voiced by victims/ survivors” in ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 347.

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solidify “the right to afford remedies to victims within the scope of this obligation.”136 In

addition to this, the principles are victim-centered and “aim to identify and provide

mechanisms, modalities, and procedures to implement existing obligations to victims,

and in this sense also aim to rationalize a consistent approach to the means by which

victims’ needs can be addressed.”137 The concept of a victim is defined, the treatment of

victims is set out emphasizing that the state should prevent re-traumatization, and the

victim’s right to remedy is conceptualized along four axes: “access to justice, reparation,

access to information and non-discrimination among victims.”138

The principles hold the state ultimately responsible for reparations for their own

violations as well as for others violations who for various reasons fail to provide the

reparations required. Cunneen outlines the four detailed sections that address the query

of how to repair: (1) restitution which should restore the victim to the original situation,

(2) compensation should be provided for any economically assessable damage including

but not limited to mental harm, pain, suffering, or harm to reputation or dignity, (3)

rehabilitation should include medical, psychological, legal and social services, and (4)

satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition includes the termination of ongoing

violations, public disclosure of the truth about what happened, apology including the

public acknowledgement of the facts and acceptance of responsibility, the search for the

whereabouts of the disappeared and for the bodies of those killed, and assistance in

136Chris Cunneen “Reparations, Human Rights, and Restorative Justice” ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry Tifft Handbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 358. 137 Chris Cunneen “Reparations, Human Rights, and Restorative Justice” ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry Tifft Handbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 358.

138Chris Cunneen “Reparations, Human Rights, and Restorative Justice” ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry Tifft Handbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 358.

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recovery, identification and reburial of the bodies in accordance with cultural practices

among many other things.139

Reparations Through Different Lenses of Justice

There are different lenses through which to view reparations in terms of justice

systems. From the perspective of the retributive or criminal justice system criminal

prosecution of the alleged war criminals is required for three reasons: it is the duty of the

state to prosecute offenders, that this will strengthen legal institutions and the rule of law,

and to provide a deterrent to potential offenders.140 In contrast when looking at

reparations through the lens of restorative justice Garkawe holds that prosecution is not

required but that the state is still obligated to uncover the truth about the abuses, to

prevent recurrence of abuses, and to facilitate and ensure reparations for victims.141

Taking the latter approach is useful and necessary in some cases namely transitional

states where criminal court procedures could pose a risk to the viability of the new order

especially if those who were victims previously are not victors because the conflict ended

in an stalemate as in the case of South Africa, hence the employment of the Truth and

Reconciliation Commission. Despite this one of the above mentioned obligations of the

state in a system of restorative justice is to prevent abuse from recurring again is

139 Chris Cunneen “Reparations, Human Rights, and Restorative Justice” ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry Tifft Handbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 358.

140 Orentlicher (1994) in Chris Cunneen, “Reparations, Human Rights, and Restorative Justice” ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justive (Routledge: London), 2006, 360.

141 Garkawe (2003a) in Chris Cunneen “Reparations, Human Rights, and Restorative Justice” ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 360.

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problematic. If the state is the perpetrator of the abuse which is often the case then how

are they going to be able to prevent this from happening again when the state has an

interest in the continuation of this kind of violence because they benefit from it? The

state and its apparatus in most cases can contain communal and or ethnic violence if the

will is there. The problem lies in the fact that they find these instances of violence

desirable for any of several reasons: political gain ie. election, financial gain - they reap

in the economic losses of the attacked community, more authoritarian -they become

more powerful through controlling what goes on and orchestrating mass violence , in

other words the whole polity must acknowledge they are a force to be reckoned with. In

addition to this, the state government has control over the police and could order them to

do their job and protect all citizens. However, if the state government is corrupt there is a

significant chance that the police force is also corrupt, in that, they take bribes from

politicians along with their orders regardless of whether they call for actions to be taken

by the police that completely contradict their job description and pose serious challenges

to officers fulfilling their responsibilities or exercising their rights.

In the case of Gujarat the state government is totally complicit in the 2002 ethnic

pogrom against the state’s Muslims, in fact the Chief Minister Narendra Modi was the

architect of it with the ruling BJP assisted by the RSS executing the heinous crimes. Modi

and the BJP are still in power in Gujarat and they have maintained the communalization

of every institution in the state to the point that the discrimination and repression of the

minority communities is the order of the day. In terms of the justice system in Gujarat

the level of communalization and corruption is so high that several cases of the 2002

carnage had to be moved to the Mumbai High Court after being thrown out of the Gujarat

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High Court. Aside from the reality that Gujarat is nowhere near the place required to

adopt restorative justice approaches because there is still no sense of acknowledgement

on the part of the Hindu majority community that the minority Muslim community had

been brutally attacked by the majority community, this system is still not advisable as the

sole means of addressing the injustices that were carried out. That being said there have

been some instances where restorative justice practices have been used successfully

between individual members of different communities, albeit these cases are low profile

and mostly deal with vandalism or looting of property rather than the brutal killing,

burning, and raping that the carnage of 2002 is known for.

Another reason restorative justice is not the favorable choice in this case is that

the state is supposed to ensure reparation and compensation of the victims. The Modi

government planned and carried out the pogrom. They are not interested in the well

being of minority communities. The central government which was also BJP at the time

of the violence142 allocated a certain amount of funds for the ‘rehabilitation’ of victims.

However, the state government did not spend much of this money on victims and

returned it to the central government claiming that they had rehabilitated the victims

adequately. From the reports from the victims/ survivors as well as the relief

organizations the government gave very little money to a small section of the affected

people and this only happened late in the process. For example, the few victims who

were given funds from the government received pitiful amounts that fell short of any kind

of ‘rehabilitation’, for someone who lost their house in the violence the government gave

142 That both the central and state governments were both run by the BJP caused much criticism which asserted that because of this there were no proper checks and balances in place as there should be. Thus, because the BJP is a communal party they both has an interest in the pogrom against the Muslims.

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the equivalent of $50 US. Moreover, the Modi government has not fulfilled any of the

recommendations in the Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to Remedy and

Reparation for Victims of Violations of International Human Rights and Violations of

Humanitarian Law. To go through every one and explain how it has not been granted or

even attempted would be a tedious task taking up a considerable amount of space, thus,

three examples will be employed to illustrate the scenario. In the document of principles

and guidelines for remedy and reparation in Principle 25, the fourth heading in the

questions of how to repair, is satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition which includes

many items. However, the three that are pertinent here are: (1) the search for the

whereabouts of the disappeared and for the bodies of those killed, and (2) assistance in

the recovery and identifications and, (3) the reburial of the bodies in accordance with the

cultural practices of the families and communities. The Modi government has not

assisted with or offered any help to the victims/ survivors with any of these three tasks.

In fact, the Modi government has charged victims/ survivors as well as activists for

carrying out the recommendations stated above. In Vadodara on 2 January 2006 “Raees

Khan of the Citizens for Peace and Justice (CPJ) was among 12 persons booked .. .by the

Panchmahals police. The charges were allegedly ‘instigating’ Muslims and carrying out

unauthorized digging at the spot where the bodies of 28 Muslims from Pandervada

village, killed during the 2002 riots, had been buried by the administration.”143 The

municipality sanitary inspector Subhashchandra Pandya launched an FIR claiming that

the Khan, an activist along with some local Muslims “exhumed and then reburied the

143“Rights activists among 12 booked for exhuming bodies”The Indian Express 3January 2006 http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=85175

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victims’ remains on December 27 without the permission from the Lunavada

municipality or the Panchmahals police” committing “a serious offence by trying to

influence proceedings going on in court by exhuming the bodies and tampering with

evidence.”144 In addition to that, Pandervada used the FIR as an opportunity to counter

the claims of the Muslims that the administration had not released bodies by alleging that

in October 2002 “eight bodies were exhumed and handed over to relatives who

approached the administration”145 adding that there were no subsequent claims made.

The activist Raees Khan in remarking on that day’s incident held that that it was

“intended to prevent me and my colleagues from assisting the relatives of the deceased

fighting for justice” but maintained the importance of the action was “for the truth to

come out” asserting that they had “exposed to the world the truth which the

administration kept under wraps for the last four years.”146

Addressing Reparations in International Criminal Tribunals: The Coexistence of Elements of Restorative and Retributive Justice

Despite the differences between the perspectives of justice in their treatment of

reparations Chris Cunneen points to the convergence of the opposing systems in

contemporary international criminal proceedings where key elements of restorative

justice are central to the process. He mentions the International Criminal Tribunal for the

144 “Rights activists among 12 booked for exhuming bodies”The Indian Express 3 January 2006 http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=85175

145 “Rights activists among 12 hooked for exhuming bodies”The Indian Express 3 January 2006 http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=85175

146 “Rights activists among 12 booked for exhuming bodies”The Indian Express 3 January 2006 http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=85175

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former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and

the International Criminal Court (ICC) as examples of this merging by emphasizing the

victim centeredness of these tribunals in that victims and witness units to assist and

support victims were set up, they were granted “powers to develop special procedural

rules and measures for the protection of victims and witnesses, and vulnerable victims

(particularly women and children) were given special consideration” and in addition to

that provoked the initial attempt of an international criminal court to organize the

reparation or compensation of victims.147 In addition to this, Tuomas Forsberg contends

that the concepts of reparation and compensation do not adhere strictly to one system of

justice or the other but are more flexible. He explains this by arguing that “reparation can

be a form of punishment; and compensation can be a bribe to the victim to keep quiet

about the past” but that “both can be essential parts of an apology that aspires to elicit

forgiveness.”148

Transitional Justice and Human Rights Violations

Trauma: The Aftermath of Violence - Danieli’s Theory of Fixity

When resolving a conflict there are many things that must be considered for the

resolution is going to be long lasting. Yael Danieli interviewed victims/ survivors of

massive trauma to identify the necessary components for healing. Danieli organized the

147 Garkawe (2003b: 349) in Chris Cunneen “Reparations, Human Rights, and Restorative Justice” ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 360.

148 Tuomas Forsberg “Dealing with the Past” ed. Nigel BiggarBurying the Past - Making Peace and Doing Justice After Civil Conflict (Georgetown University Press: Washington DC), 2003, 70.

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responses of the survivors / victims in four categories (1) individual, (2) societal, (3)

national; and (4) international perspectives:

(1) the reestablishment of the victim’s equality of value, power, esteem, (dignity), the basis of reparation in a society or nation. This is accomplished by: compensation, both real symbolic; restitution; rehabilitation; and commemoration; (2) relieving the victim’s stigmatization and separation from society. This is accomplished by: commemoration; memorials to heroism; empowerment; and education; (3) repairing the nation’s ability to provide and maintain equal value under law and the provisions of justice. This is accomplished by: prosecution; apology; securing public records; education; creating national mechanisms for monitoring, conflict resolution; and preventive interventions; (4) asserting the commitment of the international community to combat impunity and provide and maintain equal value under law and the provisions of justice and redress. This is accomplished by: creating ad hoc and permanent mechanisms for prosecution (e.g. ad hoc tribunals and ultimately and International Criminal Court); securing public records; education; and creating international mechanisms for monitoring, conflict resolution, and preventive interventions.”149

The carnage that took place in Gujarat 2002 was one of the worst and most brutal

instances of communal violence that took place in the history of India. This mass scale

state sponsored tragedy created huge numbers of Muslims in Gujarat that experienced

mass trauma. As noted previously the inter-communal relations or conflict in Gujarat is

stuck in one single stage, the confrontation stage, of Curie’s conflict as progression

theory. There has been no official process of healing. There has not even been real

acknowledgement from the majority Hindu community about what happened. The

experience of the Muslims in Gujarat fit with Danieli’s theory of “trauma exposure and

‘fixity’ which she explains by stating that “trauma exposure can cause a rupture, a

possible regression, and a state of being ‘stuck’ in this free flow.”150 Danieli holds that

149 Yael Danieli, “Essential Elements of Healing After Massive Trauma - Complex needs voiced by victims/ survivors” in ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 343.

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“identity involves a complex interplay of multiple systems”151 some of which are

communal, familial, economic, cultural, religious etc. and that “these systems coexist

along the time dimension” and “one should have free psychological access to and

movement within all these identity systems.”152

Another part of Danieli’s theory of fixity applies to the victims/ survivors in

Gujarat. She contends that fixity can be intensified by what she terms the “conspiracy of

silence” 153 by society • which • she discusses • with regard to Holocaust survivors and the

reactions of society towards them regarding the experiences they suffered during the

Holocaust and the resulting trauma. These societal responses (society in general,

including healthcare and other professionals) to survivors consist of “indifference,

avoidance, repression, and denial of the survivor’s trauma experiences.”154 In addition to

this, “the conspiracy of silence is detrimental to the survivor’s familial and sociocultural

(re)integration by intensifying their already profound sense of isolation and mistrust of

society” as well as by impeding “the possibility of their intrapsychic integration and

1S0Yael Danieli, “Essential Elements of Healing After Massive Trauma - Complex needs voiced by victims/ survivors” in ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 346.

l51Yael Danieli, “Essential Elements of Healing After Massive Trauma - Complex needs voiced by victims/ survivors” in ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 346.

152 Yael Danieli, “Essential Elements of Healing After Massive Trauma - Complex needs voiced by victims/ survivors” in ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 346.

153 Yael Danieli, “Essential Elements of Healing After Massive Trauma - Complex needs voiced by victims/ survivors” in ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 344.

154Yael Danieli, “Essential Elements of Healing After Massive Trauma - Complex needs voiced by victims/ survivors” in ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 346.

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healing” making the “mourning of their losses impossible.”155 As noted above societal

responses in Gujarat to victims/ survivors have included all the responses Danieli

attributes to the ‘conspiracy of silence’.

In analyzing Danieli’s fixity theory to the trauma of the victims’ survivors in

Gujarat it is clear that it applies accurately. In addition to providing an explanation of

how trauma works and how it increase she also offers insight into the management of it.

She makes it clear that returning to normal is not an option even if the rupture is repaired

and a free flow returns and that if victims/ survivors are expressing this kind of sentiment

this may be indicative of the “denial of survivors’ experiences and thereby fixity.”156

Furthermore, she holds that “integration of the trauma must take place in all of life’s

relevant (ruptured) systems and cannot be accomplished by the individual alone” but may

in fact require repair of the systems, “in his or her community and nation, and in their

place in the international community.”157

Defining Attacks on Minorities and Crimes Against Humanity

Huge power imbalances between the different groups are characteristic of ethnic

conflicts. In fact, in many cases attacks are planned by the ruling group, who at times, is

the majority, against the subordinate group, who sometimes, is the minority, with the

155Yael Danieli, “Essential Elements of Healing After Massive Trauma - Complex needs voiced by victims/ survivors” in ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 346. 156 Yael Danieli, “Essential Elements of Healing After Massive Trauma - Complex needs voiced by victims/ survivors” in ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 346.

157 Yael Danieli, “Essential Elements of Healing After Massive Trauma - Complex needs voiced by victims/ survivors” in ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry TifftHandbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 346.

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intention of diminishing their population in order to take their land or resources or to

manipulate elections and or election results. These kinds of attacks are categorized as

pogroms, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. In the case of Gujarat the violence which took

place in 2002 has been characterized as all three; a pogrom, ethnic cleansing, as well as

genocide. Although these three concepts describe similar kinds of attacks there are

differences. What are the differences between these three concepts? The following

definitions provide deeper understandings of the essence of each of these concepts while

still delineating the distinctions that separate them.

Pogrom

According to Wikipedia, pogrom derives from Russian meaning to wreak havoc

to demolish violently and “is a form of riot directed against a particular group, whether

ethnic, religious or other, and characterized by destruction of their homes, businesses and

religious centers.”158 In addition to this, pogroms are often characterized by physical

violence in the form of murder or massacre against a group of people. Historically

pogroms have been known to describe “extensive violence, either spontaneous or

premeditated, against Jews, but has been applied to similar incidents against other mostly

minority groups.”159

Ethnic Cleansing

According to the European Journal of International Law the relationship between

ethnic cleansing as a policy and international humanitarian law can be viewed in three

158 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogrom 30 November 2006

159http://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogrom 30 November 2006

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different but non exclusive ways: (1) the Geneva Conventions (2) Crimes against

Humanity (3) Genocide.160 First, it breaches the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977

Additional Protocols. Second, the crimes against humanity are detailed in the Charter of

the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg however the on the Statute of the

Tribunal of former Yugoslavia the UN Secretary General asserted that crimes against

humanity target civilians and lists “murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation,

imprisonment, torture, rape, persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds, and

other inhuman acts”161 as examples. Thus, “a policy of ethnic cleansing aimed at the

elimination of a population from a given territory, without precise designation of the

target group and without any clear intention of their destruction as a group could fit into

the definition of crimes against humanity.”162

Genocide

In the Convention on the Punishment of Prevention of the Crime of Genocide,

Article II states that “genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to

destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such: (a)

Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of

the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring

about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to

160 “Ethnic Cleansing - An Attempt at Methodology” at http://www.eiil.org/ioumal/Vol5/No3/art3-03.html 30 November 2006. 161 “Ethnic Cleansing - An Attempt at Methodology” at http://www.eiil.org/ioumal/Vol5/No3/art3-03.html 30 November 2006.

l62“Ethnic Cleansing - An Attempt at Methodology” at http://www.eiil.org/ioumal/Vol5/No3/art3-03.html 30 November 2006.

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prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another

group.”163 In terms of clause (b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of

the group theEuropean Journal of International posits Law that this “could be achieved

by torture and terror in concentration camps, the siege of towns, rape, and destruction of

national symbols such as cultural and religious monuments”164 stressing that “vulnerable

groups such as women and children are particularly affected.”165 Article I asserts that

genocide “whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under

international law which they (the contracting parties) undertake to prevent and punish.”166

In addition to that Article III lists punishable acts including: genocide, conspiracy to

commit genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, attempt to commit

genocide and complicity in genocide.

Frank Chalk and Kurt Jonassohn define genocide as “a form of one-sided mass

killing in which a state or other authority intends to destroy a group, as that group and

membership in it are defined by the perpetrator.”167 Whereas Barbara Harff and Ted R.

Gurr claim that “genocides and politicides are the promotion and execution of policies by

a state or its agents which result in the deaths of a substantial portion of a group” and that

“in genocides the victimized groups are defined primarily in terms of their communal

163 Convention on the Punishment and Prevention of the Crime of Genocide http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/documents/gncnvntn.htm 164“Ethnic Cleansing - An Attempt at Methodology” at http://www.eiil.org/ioumal/Vol5/No3/art3-03.html 30 November 2006. 165 Sixth Mazowiecki Report in “Ethnic Cleansing - An Attempt at Methodology” at http://www.eiil.org/ioumal/Vol5/No3/art3-03.html 30 November 2006 166 Convention on the Punishment and Prevention of the Crime of Genocide http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/documents/gncnvntn.htm. 167 Frank Chalk and Kurt Jonassohn,The History and Sociology o f Genocide (1990) in “Social Scientists’ Definitions o f Genocide” Institute for the Study of Genocide- International Association o f Genocide Scholars, http://www.isg-iags.org/references/def_genocide.html

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characteristics i.e. ethnicity, religion, or nationality.”168 In addition to this, ethnic

cleansing was declared as a form of genocide in the UN General Assembly Resolution

47/121 of 18 December 1992 in paragraph of the Preamble. However, ethnic cleansing

considered to be a form of genocide must possess intent. Destruction, specific

characteristics of a target group, and intention are the three elements that are deduced out

of the Genocide Convention’s definition of genocide as the intentional destruction of a

group, in whole or in part.”169

Magnanimity of Injustice: Genocide

On the website of the International Campaign to End Genocide it states, sadly that

“genocides and other mass murders killed more people in the twentieth century than all

the wars combined.” 1 70 In addition to that, it conveys the challenges in tackling genocide

without the international community possessing a rapid response force with which to

intervene and stop the attacks which are usually executed by the national military or

police forces which is why the regular justice system can not stop it. Thus, more effort

must be made on every level to prevent and eradicate genocide.

In “Preventing Genocide: The Role of the International Community” Dr.

Christian P. Scherrer outlines systematically the tasks, procedures, institutions, and voids

that are essential in the struggle to combat and eliminate genocide, dividing them into six

distinct groupings: (1) Genocide Alert and Early Warning System, (2) Early Action: The

168Barbara Harff and Ted R. Gurr, “Toward empirical theory of genocides and politicides,”International Studies Quarterly 37, 3, 1988. 169“Ethnic Cleansing - An Attempt at Methodology” at http://www.eiil.org/ioumal/Vol5/No3/art3-03.html 30 November 2006.

170 The International Campaign to End Genocide, http://www.genocidewatch.org/internationalcampaign.htm

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Creation of a Rapid Reaction Mechanism, (3) Prosecution and Deterrence: international

and domestic, (4) Enforcing International Law, (5) Pressure, Vigilance, and Protection,

(6) Anticipating Dangers and Learning Lessons from Past Experiences.171

Gujarat 2002: Pogrom, Ethnic Cleansing, or Genocide?

Was the violence that took place in the state of Gujarat an attack on a single

community or was violence waged by both communities against each other? Although

Muslims were completely displaced from numerous localities not all of them were killed,

some victim/survivors of the genocide lost everything, becoming internally displaced,

even still five years later some remain displaced, forced to live as refugees in their own

land despite that they are Indian citizens.172 Does this question the applicability of term

genocide? The print outs of maps and documents that the communalist factions used to

determine which houses and businesses to target based on whether they were Muslim or

Hindu owned. The blueprints of genocide were discovered in addition to other pieces of

evidence which could be used to demonstrate the planning and execution of the attacks.

Stockpiles of gasoline cylinders were found and since fire was one of the primary

weapons resulting in the horrific burning to death of thousands of innocent people along

with vast rupees worth of property: homes, businesses, and other assets, all point to

171Christian P. Scherrer, “Preventing Genocide: The Role of the International Community” http://preventgenocide.org/prevent/scherrer.htm 30 November 2006 172 Internally displaced people are people who have suffered from persecution on the basis of their religious, ethnic, political, and or economic identity dining conflict or have been negatively impacted by a natural disaster, who ultimately have been forcibly removed or threatened off o f their land, in effect, becoming refugees. However, the term IDP is used instead of refugee because in the former case the landless person or peoples remain within the borders of the country o f their citizenship. Whereas, refugee, also connotes, a person who has been persecuted because of religious, ethnic, economic or political identity or a victim of a natural disaster, who also has been forced off of their land, becoming displaced but who travels or is forcibly pushed beyond the borders of the country of their citizenship into another, often neighboring country seeking temporary relief or refuge or long term asylum.

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preplanned attacks. Does this evidence of intent to attack a particular group

systematically, clearly make this a case of genocide?

According to the definitions above it is clear that the violence that was perpetrated

in Gujarat 2002 falls into the category of genocide because all three elements;

destruction, intention, and specific characteristics of a target group deduced from the

definition in the Convention of Genocide are present. There was on the part of Modi and

his BJP Gujarat state government along with their accomplices the intention of destroying

the Muslim population of Gujarat. Although there is persistence in India to talk of the

genocide in Gujarat in 2002 as ‘riots,’ which is problematic in that it places it in the same

category as other instances of communal violence that may share some similarities to the

violence that took place in Gujarat in 2002 but are definitely not considered instances of

genocide. In doing this it takes away from the horror and brutality of this planned attack

unleashed on innocent citizens. In addition to this, by diminishing the stature of this as

genocide it also neglects to view both, the perpetrators and victims/ survivors by the

international charters, conventions and laws that pertain to it. For example, by persisting

on the use of the term ‘riot,’ other notions that are usually tied to the idea of a ‘riot’ are

assumed even though they are completely absent here. The idea that the ‘riots’ were

spontaneous, emerges regularly, impeding the truth, that in fact, the attacks were pre

planned by the communalists, makes these notions the complete opposite of each other.

Another notion that is connected to the idea of communal ‘riots’ is that there are two

groups committing violence against each other which is not true in this case, whereby, the

genocidal attacks were designed, planned, and executed by the state ruling party and its

apparatus which is the dominant Hindu majority community against the Muslim minority

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community. While in some cases individual Muslims may have defended themselves

causing some injury to Hindus there were no reported large scale attacks by Muslims

carried out against Hindus. The communalist forces in Gujarat; the ruling government

and its saffron network attempted to make the train burning incident at Godhra appear as

though Muslim mobs from nearby Signal Falia viciously lit the train car on fire to kill the

kar sevaks on their way to Ayodhya. The media sold the story to the people of Gujarat

stoking communal flames and creating the pretext for the BJP’s genocide. What could

provide more justification than pictures of the charred bodies of the innocent Hindu

pilgrims shown on the news and reprinted in the newspaper, ad nauseum, with the blame

on those dirty foreigner cow killing terrorist polygamists, the Muslims? The forensic

investigations into the train burning revealed that there was no way that the train could

have been lit on fire from the outside the way the media and the government had claimed.

In fact, the report concluded that the train fire was not intentionally done but that all the

evidence pointed to it not being foul play at all but rather an unfortunate accident as a

result of a small gas stove that a passenger had brought on the train for cooking.

Although the communalists rejected these findings there was solid scientific evidence on

the other side. Therefore, there were no comparable attacks on Hindus by Muslims and

thus, the term ‘riot’ unequivocally, does not apply. However, communalists and their

supporters continue to use this inaccurate term, in an endless barrage of attempts to

obfuscate the facts and distort the truth about what happened in late February and early

March of 2002 in the Western state of Gujarat.

The European Journal of International holds Law that in light of the existence of

the Convention on Genocide that “it is now unrealistic to expect to find evidence, in the

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written materials and public statements of officials, about someone’s intention to commit

genocide” and that “for this reason it is necessary to take into consideration other

significant elements to determine intent.”173 Significant elements that determine intent

include: the failure of the government to prevent or punish the perpetrators of crimes

“given the widespread participation of government authorities in the atrocities

committed”, the designation of particular groups as the ‘enemy’ in public statements

“could imply intent of war against those groups.” In addition to this in specific situations

other elements aid the process of assessing intent and they include:

“the profile of the population killed (sex, age, social position, specific categories, level of education, etc.), characteristics of individual crimes committed (brutality, cruelty, humiliation, etc.), the systematic nature of certain crimes (rape, destruction of property and objects necessary for survival of population, destruction of places of worship, prevention of delivery of humanitarian aid etc.)”174

Upon examining the details of the case of Gujarat there is not one element listed

that fails to determine intent. Every one of these elements can be explained in detail so

that the violence carried out in Gujarat 2002 is unequivocally considered genocide.

Ethnic Cleansing: A Form of Genocide

As noted above ethnic cleansing can be a form of genocide. Thus, particular

activities that resulted in the minority community being forced out of their original

neighborhood or village by the majority community either by brutal attack, threat of

attack or intimidation exhibit the policy of ethnic cleansing. In fact, ethnic cleansing

173“Ethnic Cleansing - An Attempt at Methodology” at http://www.eiil.org/ioumal/Vo!5/No3/art3-03 .html 30 November 2006. 174“Ethnic Cleansing - An Attempt at Methodology” at http ://www.ei il. org/i oumal/Vol5/No3/art3 -03 .html 30 November 2006.

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occurred systematically on such a grand scale that the communalist goal of polarization

of the state through a brutal policy of segregation is nearing completion.

Pogrom: No Intention of Destroying the Group

The similarities are that these all involve violence perpetrated usually by the

majority group against a particular ethnic or religious group who are most often also a

minority group. Also, the kinds of violence wreaked against the minority community are

similar including destruction of homes, businesses, places of worship, as well as murder,

and large scale massacres. In addition to that, in many cases those in power at local,

state, or national level of government often encourage and or participate in these attacks

on the minorities.

There are several differences between pogroms and genocide as well as ethnic

cleansing. As noted above intent is a requirement for genocide whereas for a pogrom the

violence can be either spontaneous or premeditated. While in a pogrom a particular

group is targeted with violence and destruction of property including murder or massacre,

there is no stated goal of destruction of the targeted group whereas in genocide

destruction of the other group is one of the essential elements.

Gujarat’s Final Verdict: Genocide vs. Pogrom or Genocide and Pogrom?

Thus, because of the possibility that a pogrom could be spontaneous the violence

in Gujarat as a whole could not be considered a pogrom because while there may have

been particular episodes of violence that took place that were spontaneous the

overwhelming majority of episodes of violence in Gujarat at that time were premeditated

with the intention of destroying as many Muslims as they could throughout the whole

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state. Therefore, the communal violence that took place in Gujarat in 2002 from late

February to mid March can be characterized as genocide, as a result of the preplanned

destruction of Muslims, accompanied by a wide reaching and systematic policy of ethnic

cleansing including some episodes of violence that took the form of pogroms in that they

may have been spontaneous.

Getting to Coexistence

When thinking about peace and justice the concept of coexistence becomes very

salient. Where there are groups of people of various ethnicities and religions the meaning

of coexistence holds a crucial place. In order for inter-group conflicts to be resolved the

groups must be able to coexist in order to have peaceful nonviolent relations unless they

opt for segregation or population transfers. However, there is no guarantee that by

separating people war is averted. For example, many Muslims of India immigrated to the

newly created Pakistan which is a state created for Muslims in 1948 during the partition

of India. However, India and Pakistan have fought several wars. Thus, separating people

does not guarantee that they will not engage in violent conflict against each other.

Moreover, in some cases separating them could further exacerbate tensions as well as

increase the power in terms of military might of each side making the ensuing conflict

more dangerous and perhaps lethal than it would have been if they had not separated.

What does coexistence mean? Is it merely two groups living in the same place

who may have volatile relations or does it connote something more akin to two groups

living peacefully together in the same place? What is the relationship between

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coexistence and justice? Abu-Nimer raises this question with regards to Israel-Palestine,

“do people want coexistence without justice?” How can this be considered coexistence?

In Gujarat there are a few examples of coexistence which include: Ram Rahim

Nagar, and Salatnagar. These are areas where Muslims and Hindus live together

peacefully and have for many years. In these enclaves of peaceful coexistence members

of both communities have engaged in resistance to communalization and have preserved

inter-communal harmony together. These areas are discussed in detail in later chapters.

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COMMUNAL VIOLENCE AND COMMUNALISM IN INDIA

Communal Violence

Throughout the world there is communal violence: violence involving groups who

define themselves through their differences in religion, ethnicity, language and or race.

In fact, the epidemic of communal violence is one of the paramount human rights

problems of today. Policies that fuel communal violence include; reinforcement of

intolerance, excusing the harassment of targeted communities, as well as active

governmental promotion or direction of violence against those communities.175

Communal violence is often viewed as the product of “deep-seated hatreds” or “ancient

animosities” that have been unleashed by the collapse of authoritarian structures that had

previously contained them. Supporters of this view include journalists who fail to find

the more complex causes, governments who favor this notion so that the violence will be

seen as a natural phenomenon that outsiders can not condemn or try to prevent, as well as

members of the international community since inaction in the face of communal violence

is more easily excused if the source of that violence is understood to be beyond

control.176

However, extensive field research by human rights organizations, like Human

Rights Watch and scholars like Brass, Wilkinson, Engineer, Horowitz, and others show

175 Human Rights Watch, vii. 176 Ibid. 99

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that “communal tensions per se are not the immediate cause of many of today’s violent

and persistent communal conflicts. While communal tensions are obviously a necessary

ingredient of an explosive mix, they are not sufficient to unleash widespread violence.

Rather, time after time, proximate cause of communal violence is governmental

exploitation of communal differences.”177

Introduction to Communal Violence in India

After the partition of India in 1947 and the creation of Pakistan there were

significant population transfers of Muslims to Pakistan from Indian and of Hindus from

Pakistan to India. In fact, the population transfer that occurred during the Partition is

noted as the largest population transfer recorded in history. While Pakistan was created

on a religious basis, India is a state that is based in secularism. There are many religious

groups in India: Muslims 12%, Christians 2.3%, Sikh 1.9% and other groups including

Buddhist, Jain, Parsi 2.5% with Hindus as the majority making up 81.3% of the

population.

The secularist model that India has its roots in, if upheld and maintained would

provide protection and equal rights for all of its citizens regardless of religion. However,

there are fundamentalist and communalist trends within the Indian political realm that do

not lend themselves to creating an atmosphere of tolerance and understanding but quite

contrarily promote ignorance and narrow mindedness. It is in this setting that much

violence has taken place against minority groups and is not only condoned but also

177 Ibid, viii.

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India’s rsigtmis diversity

I Hindu

I Muslim

Christian

Sikh

Buddhist, Parsi, Other 178

Figure 1. India’s Demographics

actively propagated by the Indian state and its apparatus. In fact, most if not all Indian

political parties regardless of whether they boast a communalist or secular platform have

at some time all exploited communal identities to gain political power.

While communal violence in India is often reported as if it is a rare occurrence,

that it is sporadic, and spontaneous, for the overwhelming majority of cases it is the

opposite. The term “riot” perhaps conjures up and or perpetuates these false notions. A

deeper analysis of the term “riot” will appear later in this chapter. Although Jawaharlal

Nehru, India’s first prime minister believed that once the partition took place that

178 Laura Dudley Jenkins, Pie Chart of India's Religious Diversity, available at: http://homenages.uc.edu/thro/shahbano/sb-raiiv.htm

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communal violence would disappear he was very mistaken.179 In fact, communal

violence continues unabated post independence putting the most prolific scholar on the

subject, Dr. Ashgar Ali Engineer’s estimate of the number of communal incidents until

2002 at around 13,952, with around 14,686 persons killed and 68,182 persons injured.180

History of Communal Violence in Gujarat

Upon studying the history of communal violence in Gujarat several themes

emerge which became more severe or acute in the genocide in Gujarat in 2002. The

recurrence of particular trends showing increasing intensity as the years and instances of

communal violence occur is indicative of the concept that communalization is a process.

Here we see that communal violence which is a result of the communalization process

intensifies as time passes. The recurring themes include: (1) the pre planning of

communal violence (2) police inaction or participation in violent attacks against the

minority (3) instigation of Hindu-Muslim violence used to divert lower castes attention

away from their own struggle for liberation from the caste system by the upper castes in

order to maintain the hegemonic power (4) the outright burning and brutality of attacks

against the minority (5) little or no resistance from individual Hindus who are present for

brutal assault on Muslims (6) very little or no relief from the state for those affected

victims/ survivors of communal violence (7) perpetrators of violence not prosecuted, no

reparations or compensation paid, no tribunals where victims/ survivors stories can be

told and heard publicly and thus, no sense of justice exists (8) the instrumental use of

179 Rajani V. Aithal, “Police and the Minorities” inIndian Journal o f Secularism - A Journal of Centre for Study of Society and Secularism. Vol. 9 no. 1 (Apr. - Jun., 2005) 42- 69,42.

180 Dr. Ashgar Ali Engineer,Communal Riots After Independence A Comprehensive Report. (Shipra Publications: Mumbai) 2004, 1, 224.

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processions and religious festivals as triggers for the planned instances of communal

violence.

Gujarat has suffered tremendously from communal violence both in terms of the

number of actual instances of communal violence, the duration in terms of days, and the

level of severity of the violence in terms of casualties, injuries, internally displaced

people, and loss of and damage to property in terms of crores of rupees. “From 1961 —

71, 16 districts in Gujarat were rocked by communal violence recording some 685

incidents in urban and 114 in rural areas. Of the 685 incidents recorded in urban Gujarat

for the decade, 568 occurred in 1969 alone, during the worst riots in that ten year period.

Starting with Ahmedabad, the worst affected city, violence spread to other places

including Vadodara.”181

1969 Ahmedabad Burning

In 1969 in Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarat large scale attacks of communal

violence including massacre, burning, and looting were brutally and deliberately carried

out with the Muslim community suffering the majority of losses. In fact, “the violence

took over 1,100 lives and property worth several crore rupees was destroyed.”182 It is in

this year of 1969 that the first ‘planned riots’ were executed in Vadodara evidenced by

the “shops of Muslims, marked out in advance for easy identification were systematically

destroyed, suggesting pre-planning and organization.”183

181 Concerned Citizens Tribunal - Gujarat 2002,12.

182Concerned Citizens Tribunal - Gujarat 2002, 13.

183Concerned Citizens Tribunal - Gujarat 2002, 13.

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Ahmedabad 1969 and Gujarat 2002: Similarities in the Devastation of Communal Violence

Ahmedabad, the capital city of Gujarat witnessed countless acts of communal

violence. Around 600 people were killed and over 1000 people were injured in this spate

of violence. In addition hundreds of people were arrested, and thousands of houses and

shops were completely destroyed. About 6000 families lost their belongings and shelters

making them internally displaced. “The value of property destroyed ran into crores of

rupees. The total loss of properties is estimated to be about Rs. 4,23,24,069.54. The

number of religious places destroyed or damaged was 37 Mosques, 50 Darghas, 6

Kabrasthans and 3 temples.”184

Upon reading the Report of the Commission of the Inquiry of the “riots” in 1969 I

am struck by the high number of similarities there are between the communal violence

that took place in Ahmedabad in 1969 and in the whole of Gujarat (save Kutch) in 2002.

Perhaps if the violence that took place in Ahmedabad in 1969 had been dealt with

properly, the violence in Gujarat in 2002 would not have happened. This assertion is

similar to the idea that many hold, that if the violence executed against the Sikhs in Delhi,

in 1984 in which 12,000 people were killed, was dealt with appropriately, Gujarat 2002,

and many other instances of communal violence that took place during that period as well

as the present examples would not take place so frequently, would not be as deadly, and

would not be unleashed as though the lives of members of minority communities hold

184 Ashgar Ali Engineer,Communal Riots After Independence - A Comprehensive Account. (Shipra/ Center For Study of Society, and Secularism: Mumbai) 2004, 41.

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little or no value. Thus, in the same vein the chance of communal violence occurring in

general would greatly decrease.

The realization that in 1969 the Gujarat government did not care to save Muslims

from dying indicates the precarious position that Muslims inhabited back then.

Moreover, the fact that there have been many instances of communal violence in Gujarat,

between 1969 and 2001, and then of course the 2002 the state sponsored genocide-

pogrom also indicates the increasing level of insecurity that Muslims experience in

Gujarat today.

In addition to this, the 1969 report in many instances raises the discord between

the statements of the government and the victims. With regard to the ‘Relief Measures in

the Districts-4 - in Baroda, Kaira, and others the government claims that it gave help and

support to those in relief camps, which victims from those areas dispute. The same

discord in accounts holds true for Baroda where no one received help from the

government although the government claimed that they gave it.

The government did not help villagers like those, from Karavan, who were forced

out to come back to the village. Also, in the report they augmented the apparent number

of Muslim families residing there by decreasing the number of families claiming that

there were only 25 families when in fact, the Panchayat recorded there being 75 families

on the 25th of September, 1969.

Thus, upon examining the data from 2002 and 1969 there are two prominent

similarities in terms of relief measures. First, is that the government did not give much if

any help to citizens who were forced out of their villages. They did not help them return.

Second, Muslim relief organizations largely set up, funded, and orchestrated the relief

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camps. In 1969 the Central Muslim Relief Committee and the Jamaat-i-Islami, both

Muslim, were the main organizations that ran relief camps. Through the interviews with

survivors as well as those active in working against communalism it is clear that a similar

trend occurred in Gujarat in 2002. Although in the case of 2002 there were other

organizations that were not Muslim that provided relief, the initial response to the attacks

on Muslims were by Muslim relief organizations. Also, the bulk of relief efforts in the

entire state were taken on by Muslim relief organizations.

High Frequency of Communal Violence in Gujarat

Throughout the years the there has been a high frequency of instances of

communal violence in Gujarat. Aside from Ahmedabad 1969 and Gujarat 2002, the two

most brutal instances of communal violence, in both of which mobs predominantly made

up of the majority community unleashed heinous atrocities at the minority community

many of which were pre-planned, there have been many other cases of communal

violence. In fact, beginning in 1981 the communalists used communal violence to ensure

that there was no split among Hindu caste lines. Communal violence took place in 1981,

82, 83, 85, 87, 89, and 90. In the Concerned Citizens Tribunal report an overview of the

history of communal violence in Gujarat is provided:

Between 1987 and 1991, 106 communal incidents took place in Gujarat. Political rivalry and conflicts during elections were responsible for triggering around 40 percent of these ‘riots.’ Tensions related to ‘religious processions’ were responsible for another 22 percent of these clashes. It was from Gujarat, in September 1990, LK Advani led hisrath yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya leaving a nationwide trail of violence in its wake. In 1990, there was major violence in Gujarat because of Advani’syath ratra. Starting from Somnath the yatra traversed through the heart of Gujarat. The Chief architect of that yatra was Narendra Modi. During the years of communal violence in 1986, 1987, 1989 and 1990 Modi was the General Secretary of the BJP. That is when the

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Ramjanmabhoomi campaign became a central issue in Gujarat. Men, women, and youngsters from Gujarat, constituting possibly the largest contingent from anywhere in the country, participated in the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992. Surat, a town with an unblemished record of communal harmony, joined other centres in Gujarat which had a more fractured history of inter-community relations. Violence spread to rural areas that had hitherto been largely unaffected.185

The Relationship between Caste and Communal Violence

In the Concerned Citizens Tribunal, the twisted, contrived relationship between

caste violence and communal violence is exposed. Although as noted above there was a

severe case of communal violence in 1969 in Ahmedabad it was in fact caste violence

that had taken the lead leaving communal violence in the shadows for the communalist

politicians to exploit later. The Congress party who was in power between 1974- 1980

implemented a policy called KHAM (K as in Kshtariya -the non upper castes, H as in

Harijan, A as in Adivasis and M as in Muslims) that brought together a huge portion of

the population creating a large voting bloc. It began taking up the concerns of

constituents with reservation being one of the principle issues. However, the upper caste

Hindus and the Patels, the intermediate caste that possesses tremendous economic and

political power were dismayed and outraged by how Congress through KHAM “swept

the polls in the 1985 polls, winning many more seats in the Assembly than it had in 1 86 1980.” The Patels set out to destroy KHAM and to weaken Congress beginning the

onslaught with attacks on the Muslims.

The upper caste Hindus and the Patels refused to accept that the Congress party

had motioned to increase reservation quotas which are stipulated numbers or percentages

185Concerned Citizens Tribunal - Gujarat 2002, 14-15.

186Concerned Citizens Tribunal — Gujarat 2002, 13.

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of positions that must be filled by individuals of groups like: the Other Backward Castes

OBCs, Dalits, Adivasis, and Muslims who the state and society inherently discriminate

against and treat unfairly and are denied access to the same educational and other services

that upper castes enjoy. In fact, the upper castes refusal to accept any social mobility for

these lower castes and communities acted as a politically mobilizing force that displayed

hostility and violence. This violent rejection of KHAM by upper castes and the Patels is

known as the 1981 anti-reservation agitation. Although it emerged out of the caste

struggle for increased social mobility and the attempt to repress that in order to maintain

status quo for the upper caste Hindus it “was re-channelised into a major communal

conflagration, in a shrewd bid to check the sharp polarization taking place among Hindus

1 o*7 along caste lines.” In fact, the RSS splinters, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal were

ironically founded around the same time that the lower castes were moving toward an

uprising. Instead of liberation or upward mobility they offered the lower castes the false

promise of “Hindu unity” to attract them to these outfits with the intention of exploiting

their vote as they needed higher percentages of representation especially of lower castes

otherwise they would never gain power. The upper castes reconfirmed to themselves that

in order to set the agenda they must remain in power to secure the longevity of their

dominance.

Gujarat Carnage 2002

In February 2002 violence between Hindus and Muslims erupted in Gujarat,

Gandhi’s native state. Neither the government nor the police took action to stop the

187Concerned Citizens Tribunal - Gujarat 2002, 13

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violence. Instead their failure to take a stand against the violence in combination with

their support of it ensured its continuation. The pogroms that took place have been noted

as some of the most brutal incidents of communal violence the country has ever

witnessed. Between 2,000 and 4,000 people, mostly Muslims were killed in the state of

Gujarat during this period. As a result of the attacks, tens of thousands of people are

homeless and displaced. Scores of Muslim shops, homes, restaurants, and places of

worship were looted, burned, and stolen. In addition to that there was the systematic rape

of over 1,500 girls and women, which was often followed by mutilation and burning to

death.

Unfortunately the pogroms in Gujarat are consistent with attacks on minorities in

India. There is a pattern in which there have been previous cases of large-scale

communal violence. A lot of research has been done which indicates that although the

Gujarat government cloaked the pogroms in rhetoric which led many to believe they were

‘riots’ and that the violence was a “spontaneous reaction” to the Godhra incident, in fact

much of the violence perpetrated against Muslims was,

“planned well in advance of the Godhra incident, and organized with extensive police participation and in close cooperation with officials of the Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian People’s Party, BJP) state government.”188

The Systematic Raping of Women as a Weapon of War

Despite the consistency with other incidences of communal violence there are a

couple of factors that are unique to Gujarat and hopefully they will remain that way. The

systematic sexual violence unleashed against young girls and women is one of the

188 Human Rights Watch. “We Have No Orders to Save You”: Hindu- Muslim Violence in India,” in Human Rights and Religion - A Reader. Ed. Liam Gearon. (Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2002), 295.

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“distinct, tragic and ghastly features of the state sponsored carnage.”189 An estimated

1500 women were raped many of who were mutilated and then burnt to death. The

report of the Concerned Citizens Tribunal describes how women have suffered the most

bestial forms of sexual violence, including rape, gang rape, the insertion of objects into

their bodies, stripping, and molestation.

Nowrojee and Ralph discuss how rape is regularly used in conflict and is an

“effective weapon with which to terrorize and degrade individuals and their communities

in order to achieve a specific political end.”190 In the case of Gujarat those perpetrating

the acts of violence against Muslim women wanted to ensure that this community would

now feel scared of returning to their homes or businesses and that this would finalize the

Muslims’ lower status or third class citizenship. Nowrojee and Ralph highlight that the

“terror inflicted by the rapist is meant not just to degrade the individual woman but also

to strip the humanity from the larger community of which she is a part.”191

In every culture there is an emphasis placed on women’s sexual virtue.

Unfortunately this fosters a stigma attached to rape, which further intensifies the lack of

justice around this issue. In fact, many women will not speak about the sexual abuse they

have suffered because they do not want to be labeled as a rape victim and ostracized from

their community nor do they want to dishonor their community. In Gujarat most of the

women that were targeted with weapons of sexual violence were also killed. However,

189Concemed Citizens Tribunal. “Crime Against Humanity” Concerned Citizens Tribunal. (Jan. 2003): 21. Online. Internet. 3. Mar. 2004. Available: http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Religion-communlaim/2003/guiarat- tribunal-report.htm. 7.

190 Nowrojee, Binaifer and Regan Ralph. “Justice for Women Victims of Violence: Rwanda after the 1994 Genocide” in The Politics of Memory- Truth. Healing and Social Justice. (New York: Zed Books, 2000), 163.

191 Ibid.

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there are many women among those who survived who have spoken out about the

attacks. Despite this, many women have been silenced for fear of further attacks and for

fear of censure from their own families and community. In fact, there are several cases in

which the women have testified and as a result have to lock themselves up in their homes

because the police fail to provide any kind of witness protection. In addition to this,

these crimes have been hugely underreported. Moreover, these “attacks have been

carried out in the presence of, in many instances even at the behest of, the police and

other state authorities.”192

Dalit and Adivasi Participation in Violence

The participation ofDalits193 and Adivasi194 is also a new phenomenon. The

Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a political Hindutva group actively recruited from among the

Dalits to participate in the post-Godhra carnage by attacking Muslims. A significant

number of Dalits complied with the request. However, as Darshan Desai has highlighted

many Dalits deeply regret their involvement in the killing of innocent Muslims.195 In

fact, many have converted to Buddhism to distance themselves from Hindu identity.

Many in the Dalit community in Gujarat have seen through the VHP and realize that they

will not be accepted as equals in the community as the VHP made it seem they would.

Desai notes how the “VHP started largescale recruiting of the Dalits after the anti

192 Concerned Citizens Tribunal. Crime Against Humanity: Report of the Concerned Citizens Tribunal. Mumbai, 2003, 9.

193 Dalits meaning the ‘oppressed’ are also known as the “untouchables” and are placed below the lowest caste in the caste system

194Adivasi are tribal groups in India who are not considered to be Hindu

195 Desai, Darshan. “Embracing Buddhism”, Counter Currents .Ore. (Jim. 2003) Online. Internet. Available: http://www.countercurrents.org/dalit-desai080503.htm

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reservation riots of 1985, realizing that major inroads was possible only if they inducted

them as their cadre.”196

Why did the Violence in Gujarat Occur?

Many social scientists seek to find the underlying causes of conflict. However, by

taking this approach, there are many factors that may have caused the conflict that are not

accounted for. To understand what happened in Gujarat it is necessary to retrace the

beginnings of the violence there. On February 27 2002 coach S-6 of the Sabarmati

Express at Godhra was lit on fire. It was carrying many Kar Sevaks on their way back

from Ayodhya. Initially it was assumed to have been lit on fire by a Muslim mob after a

quarrel broke out between a Muslim and a Hindu. Before there was any proof of this the

media and the government had indicted Muslims as killers of innocent holy Hindus. This

set the tone for the events to come in the following days where over 2,000 Muslims were

killed. Months later a report from the Forensic Science Laboratory completely debunked

the theories about the coach being set on fire by an angry mob which had mysteriously

collected outside the Godhra railway station. Instead the report concludes that “the coach

was set afire by someone standing in the passage of the compartment near seat number

72, using a container with a wide opening about 60 liters of inflammable liquid has been

poured and then a fire has been started in the bogie” and that it would have been

“virtually impossible to throw liquids into the train through the open windows that are at

a height of seven feet.”197 In addition to this, doubts have been raised over the idea that it

196 Ibid

197 Guruswamy, Mohan. “Who lit the fire?” Counter Current. Org. (Jul. 2002): 4. Online. Internet. 3 Mar. 2004. Available: http://www.countercurrents.org/guruswami.htm

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had it been an attack on the Kar / Ram Sevaks noting how just a single compartment was

attacked instead of the whole train that was full of these RSS devotees.

Economic Impact of the 2002 Genocide-Pogrom

Thousands of homes, shops, and factories were destroyed and looted during the

pogrom. In addition to this, there were curfews imposed in many Muslim localities

making it impossible for daily wage laborers and others to go out to work. For many

months after the violence tens of thousands lived in relief camps barely able to survive.

In fact, thousands of Muslims were starving during this period. Shaft Madani, the then

chairman of Islami Relief Committee-Gujarat commented at that time that “thousands are

now forced to starve in Muslim areas” and that “his people are trying to reach out to as

many people as they can, what they have at their disposal can hardly match the needs of

the affected people.”198

In addition to the direct losses of property and livelihoods of Muslims during the

days of the violence theHindutva forces decreed an economic boycott of Muslim

businesses and labor, “the VHP and Bajrang Dal are asking the Hindus not to go to

Muslim shops and restaurants, not to employ Muslims or use their services in any

198 S. Ubaidur Rahman, “No Business, no work, Gujarat Muslims left to their fate”The Milli Gazette Vol. 3 No. 9

199 S Ubaidur Rahman, “No Business, no work, Gujarat Muslims left to their fate”Milli Gazette Vol.3 No. 9

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Current Discourse on Communal Violence

The current discourse on communal ‘riots’ in India involves two opposing

perspectives. Ashutosh Varshney contends that where civic networks between Muslims

and Hindus exist, the chance of that area having a riot is not likely.200 Paul Brass

contends that there is ‘riot’ production and “institutionalized riot systems” in which

known persons and groups occupy specific roles in the rehearsal for and the production of

communal riots.”201

Do the events in Gujarat serve Varshney’s thesis? Ethnic In Conflict and Civic

Life - Hindus and Muslims in India Varshney advocates Muslims and Hindus living,

working, and building civic networks together and contends that these interactions will

have a positive impact on Hindus and Muslims by building inter-communal relationships

that will improve the dynamic between communities, ultimately decreasing the violence

between Hindus and Muslims. In other words if Muslims and Hindus live and work

together and are also part of the same civic networks than whatever ethnic tensions exist

can be dealt with and will not result in violence. While this thesis is appealing it is

problematic. There are several things that occurred in Gujarat which refute this idea.

First, in areas where Muslims and Hindus lived together Muslims were targeted and had

no protection from the government, police or other Muslims. While in some areas

Hindus hid their Muslim neighbors in their homes to protect them from mobs, and

200 Varshney, Ashutosh. Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life - Hindus and Muslim in India. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002), 9.

201 Brass, Paul. The Production of Hindu-Muslim Violence in Contemporary India. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2003), 32.

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together they protected dargahs or temples202 the majority of cases were not like this. In

fact, Muslims living in mixed areas were targeted first because their identification was

easily discemable, in that neighbors knew who was Muslim. In an interview with Zahir

Janmohamed who was working in one of the relief camps in Gujarat he highlighted the

example of Juhapura and Paldi 203 This case completely contradicts Varshney’s thesis

because in Paldi where Muslims and Hindus lived together Muslims were attacked right

away whereas in the Muslim ghetto of Juhapura the residents were not under immediate

attack.

The current crisis in Signal Falia is an example, which challenges Varshney’s

notion that if there are economic ties between the Hindu and Muslim community then this

network will prevent ethnic tensions from exacerbating. Signal Falia is the neighborhood

in Godhra where the supposed mob assembled to attack the Sabarmati Express. All of

the residents have been labeled ‘criminals’. The municipal authorities have stopped

coming to clean up the neighborhood and there is not much water or power supply. In

Signal Falia most people are wage earners and now “they are scared to go out for fear of

being arrested. People have stopped coming to shops owned by Muslims.”204 Despite a

history of communal discord the last decade was violence free and as a result economic

ties between the Muslim and Sindhi communities were strengthened. Since the Godhra

incident however, economic ties between the communities are nonexistent. This grim

picture is best illustrated by the words of Anwar a resident of the area, “most of my

203 JanMohamed, Zahir. Personal interview. 1 Mar. 2004.

204 “Gujarat Revisited.” Frontline. (Mar. 2003): 14. Online. Internet. 3 Mar. 2004 Available: http://www.flonet.com/fl2005/stories/20030314003004200.htm. 3.

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friends are Hindus. But we can’t visit each other’s houses anymore. I hardly meet them.

Sometimes, I bump into them on the street”. For months I have not been to the main

market, which is a Hindu area. Muslim children have been shifted out of schools in

Hindu localities.” In the words of a Babubhai Mavar, a Hindu restaurant owner, “Godhra

has been divided into two. It was not like this 20 years ago. In the last one year, the

division has been total. Fights still keep breaking out at the smallest excuse. People and

traders have stopped coming here. It is bad for everyone.”205

The town of Naroda Patiya, known to India as the town where a mob slit the belly

of a pregnant Muslim woman is another example of how the ties between Muslims and

Hindus did not prevent escalation of the conflict. In fact, most Muslims do not feel safe

enough to even sleep there at night, nor do children many of whom witnessed the grave

atrocities committed there feel safe enough to go school there. Some Muslims come into

Naroda Patiya for work and return to the Muslim area of Shah Alam at night and their

children have either dropped out of school to help their families financially by working or

have transferred to schools in Muslim dominated localities.206

Janmohamed begs the question, “if civic interaction is the panacea for communal

discord, why then did such networks not prevent the violence in Gujarat?”207 Varshney

fails to answer the question many Muslims have posed; “why and how their neighbors,

bosses, teachers, and colleagues could turn on them and afflict so much harm?”208

205 Ibid, 4.

206 Ibid, 6.

207 Janmohamed, Zahir. “A book review o f Varshney’sEthnic Conflict and Civic Life: Hindus and Muslims in India”

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Wilkinson’s Theory of Electoral Incentives and Communal Violence

Wilkinson contends that democratic states protect minorities when it is in their

governments’ interest to do so. His theory holds that “politicians in government will

increase the supply of protection to minorities when either of two conditions applies:

when minorities are an important part of their party’s current support base, or the support

base of one of their coalition partners in a coalition government, or when the overall

electoral system in a state is so competitive - in terms of the effective number of parties -

that there is therefore a high probability that the governing party will have to negotiate or

form coalitions with minority supported parties in the future, despite its own

preferences.”209

Brass’s Institutionalized Riot Systems

Paul Brass discusses how communal riots are produced and so contrary to

common perceptions are not spontaneous riots. While Brass is quick to state that “no

single causal explanation of Hindu- Muslim riots and anti-Muslim pogroms will explain

all or even most instances of collective violence in India”, he maintains that “where riots

are endemic, “institutionalized riot systems” exist in which known persons and groups

occupy specific roles in the rehearsal for and the production of communal riots. In such

systems a central role is played by “conversion specialists,” those whose task it is to

decide when a trivial, everyday incident will be exaggerated and place into the communal

Wilkinson, 6-7.

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system of talk, the communal discourse, and allowed to escalate into communal

violence.”210

The outline of the institutionalized riot system includes:

informants who carry messages to political group leaders of the occurrence of incidents that may affect the relations between Hindus and Muslims; propagandists who create messages to be conveyed to particular segments of society, to the press, to the general public; vernacular journalists who publish these messages in the form of “news”, poster plasterers who place them on walls, rumormongers who transmit them by word of mouth; recruiters who collect crowds from colleges and universities andgoondas (thugs) to kill, loot, and bum when the time is ripe.211

Brass demonstrates through his work the direct causal link between riots and

electoral/ political competition, such that Hindu-Muslim ‘riots’ are the products of

actions designed to consolidate one community or the other or both at the local, regional,

and national levels into cohesive political blocs.212 The BJP's 1991 nation wide election

campaign is an illustration of one the tactics that Brass discusses, in that is was one of

“the most expensive and most violent and most bmtal election campaigns in the history

of independent India”... “the campaign was marked by an unprecedentedly sharp and

communal tone, and on numerous occasions election rallies sparked off episodes of

communal violence that sometimes escalated into full-scale riots even in places that had

not previously experienced communal rioting.”213 In addition to this, Brass discusses the

importance of history and memory and their role in communal violence. There is the

memory of the communal violence that took place during partition. The “memory” of

210 Brass, Paul. 32.

211 Ibid, 33.

212 Ibid, 34.

213 Hansen, 166.

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Muslim conquerors destroying temples and replacing them with mosques has been kept

alive by the Hindu nationalist movement.

Tambiah and the Rise of Ethnonationalism

Stanley J. Tambiah gives many reasons for the rise of ethnonationalism and

provides several case studies of ethnonationalist conflicts from various South Asian

countries. In the case study of India he focuses on the destruction of the Babri Masjid

and the “riots” that followed in Ayodhya and Mumbai. He like many other scholars in

the field acknowledges the link of “riots” to political undertakings and organized

initiatives and notes that many people became aware of this brute “criminalization of

politics.”214 Unlike many other authors he draws a lot on the colonial past with the

British to understand the current phenomena. He notes the colonial origins of the word

“communalism” and how the British Raj considered the “rivalries and collisions of

religious, linguistic, regional and racial groupings all to be expressions of communalism

even if they stressed caste differences rather than religious ones. In addition to that, he

highlights how historians among others “have accused British administrators of

employing “communal” divide-and-rule tactics to foment local factionalism and thereby

perspective is on collective violence and the political psychology of crowds. He offers

insight into many aspects of “riots” like: mobs, primordial reasons for violent behavior

214 Tambiah, Stanley J.Leveling o f Crowds - Ethnonationalist Conflicts and Collective Violence in South Asia. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996), 254.

215 Tambiah, 23.

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during “riots” and how physically dense crowds produce psychic density, just to name a

few.

Engineer’s Communal Violence Benefactors and Opportunists

Dr. Ashgar Ali Engineer, the director of the Centre for the Study of Secularism

and Society in Mumbai is the most prolific scholar on communal violence in India. The

Centre produces theIndian Journal o f Secularism which contains articles on current

instances of communal violence and other related issues. In the first issue of 2004 Dr.

Engineer’s article chronicles the communal “riots” of 2003 which demonstrates that they

are commonplace contrary to notions that they occur, once every couple of years and are

isolated* •incidents. 'J 1 f \ In the descriptions of various “riots” Brass’s mechanisms of riot

production are evident and are clearly stated by Engineer. In a more recent article

Engineer discusses how the promise the United Progressive Alliance Government made

in its Common Minimum Programme to enact a law to prevent communal riots is more

concerned with post riot measures like reparations to victims, and special courts to punish

guilty than with preventative measures.217 He powerfully states that he has been

“investigating communal riots for the last four decades” and that he has “yet to see any

communal riot in which politicians have not played a direct or indirect role.”218 He

mentions examples of states that have taken successful measures to be “riot” free like

216 Engineer, Dr. Ashgar Ali. “Communal Riots - 2003” inIndian Journal of Secularism, vol.7 no.4 Jan- Mar 2004.

217 Engineer, Dr. Ashgar Ali. “On Comprehensive Law on Communal Riots” (Online, http://www.csss- isla.com/archive/20Q4/iulvl6 ) 2 Aug 2004.

218 Ibid

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Bihar and West Bengal and stresses that other states should learn from these examples.

In addition to this, he gives many suggestions that lawmakers should take into account

when developing laws on communal riots.

Communal Riots, Ethnic Pogrom, or Genocide

The events that took place in Gujarat fit with Brass’s thesis of riot / pogrom

production. In a report by a SAHMAT fact finding team to Ahmedabad it is clearly

stated that the events in Ahmedabad “do not fit into any conceivable definition of a

communal riot” and that “all evidence suggests that what happened there was a

completely one sided and targeted carnage of innocent Muslims, something much closer

to a pogrom or an ethnic cleansing.”0 10 Definitions of ethnic cleansing, pogrom, and

genocide are provided in chapter 3 in addition to an assessment of the violence in Gujarat

2002.

In the Human Rights Watch report, “We Have No Orders to Save You” it states

that “the attacks on Muslims are part of a concerted campaign of Hindu nationalist

organizations to promote and exploit communal tensions to further the BJP’s political

rule - a movement that is supported at the local level by militant groups that operate with

impunity and under the patronage of the state.”220 The groups directly responsible for the

violence against Muslims in Gujarat include the VHP, the Bajrang Dal, the ruling BJP,

and the umbrella organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteer Corps,

RSS), all of whom collectively form thesangh parivar (family of Hindu nationalist

219 SAHMAT Fact Finding Team To Ahmedabad. “Genocide in Gujarat.” Countercurrents.org. (Mar. 2002): 6. Online. Internet. 3 Mar. 2004. Available: http://www.countercnrrents.org/sahamatl.htm. 2.

220 Human Rights Watch. “We Have No Orders To Save You: Hindu - Muslim Violence in India.” in Human Rights & Religion - A Reader. Ed. Liam Gearon. (Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2002), 295.

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groups). A commonality among these organizations is that they all promote the notion

that India must be a Hindu state, highlighting that Hindus constitute the majority of

Indians. This idea is known as the Hindu Rashtra is state for Hindus whereby anyone

who is not Hindu is considered a foreigner regardless of the length of time their ancestry

originates outside of India. According to the central proponents/ advocates of the

concept of Hindu rashtra, Savarkar and Golwarkar, respectively, the second and third

ideologues of the Hindu Mahasabha, the organization that worked in parallel to the RSS

beginning in the 1920s, these ‘foreigners’ have only two choices if they remain in India.

The first option is conversion to Hinduism and the second option is staying in India as a

subservient, inferior or second-class citizens. Chris Jaffrelot, a renowned scholar of

communalism and Hindu nationalism, draws attention to the extremist, fascist outlook on

Muslims, “in one they [Muslims] must cease to be foreigners or may stay in the country

wholly subordinated to the Hindu nation claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far

less any preferential treatment, not even citizen’s rights.”221

The Rashtriva Swayamsevak Sangh RSS

The literal translation is the National Volunteer Corps started in 1925 to propagate

Hindu culture. It emerged during a period where communal tensions ran high as a result

of “riots” which occurred after the failure of the ‘Congress-Khilafat’ alliance and

Gandhi’s unilateral withdrawal of non-cooperation movement.222 Dalits had been

converting to other religions like Sikhism, Christianity, and Islam to liberate themselves

from the shackles of the caste system. These conversions prompted the emergence of the

221 Christophe Jaffrelot, The Hindu Nationalist Movement in India (Viking: New Delhi) 1996, 53-54

222Ram Puniyani,Fascism of Sangh Parivar (Media House: Delhi) 2004, 25

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Arya Samajs’ and their campaign of shuddhi or purification, in other words the attempt to

win them back to Hinduism.

Around this same time in Maharashtra which had earlier witnessed strong anti-

Brahmin movements of the backward castes the Brahmins began to feel insecure about

their position of power claiming that “their hegemony over the lower castes is slipping

and they can no more be relied for their subservient role.”223 This in addition to their

disappointment with Gandhi and his inclusion of elements not completely Hinduized

really meaning Brahminised into the political realm pushed them to found “an

exclusively upper caste male, dictatorial organization (following the principle of Ek

Chalak Anuvartita: Single Supreme Leader)”224 whose major influence came emanated

from fascism in two ways, in ideas and ideology but also in the way of “direct contacts

between the representatives of the (Italian) fascists regime, including Mussolini and

Hindu Nationalists.”225 In addition to this, “the RSS is elusive and shadowy” in that “it

maintains no membership records; it has resisted being registered with Government of

India as public-charitable trust; it has no bank accounts and pays no income tax.”226

223Ram Puniyani, Fascism of Sangh Parivar (Media House: Delhi) 2004, 26.

224 Ram Puniyani,Fascism of Sangh Parivar (Media House: Delhi) 2004, 26.

225 Ram Puniyani,Fascism of Sangh Parivar (Media House: Delhi) 2004, 26.

226 Sabrang Communications and The South Asia Citizens Web, “The Foreign Exchange o f Hate- IDRF and the American Funding of Hindutva” http://www.cac.ektaonline.org/resources/reports/sacw/part2.html

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How the RSS Works

In a concise and to the point manner Ram Puniyani provides an organizational

map that explains how the RSS functions as an overarching umbrella organization with

many splinter groups under it:

There is a division of labor between different RSS organizations. RSS is controller, planner and coordinator, BJP operates on the political arena, Vishwa Hindu Parishad brings together sadhus of different hues along with traders etc., Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram works in Adivasi areas to co-opt Adivasis into Hindu fold, Bajrang Dal specializes in street violence, Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad works amongst students, one of its tasks being to rein in the dissenting voices by physical threat as seen in the case of murder of Prof. Sabharwal. Apart from this many other RSS progenies work in the area of education, and every field of political life to push forward RSS agenda.227

What is Hindutva and How is it Different From Hinduism?

Ram Puniyani clearly differentiates the two by stating that “Hinduism is a religion

which has multiple streams, the most dominant of which is the Brahminical one.

Hindutva includes not only religion, race language, and geographical territory.”228 He

asserts how in history Hindutva played a role in “the politics of feudal elements in pre-

Independence times and it now represents the political agenda of the upper caste/ upper

class elite.”• 9 9 Q The goals of Hindutva also set it a part from Hinduism in that there are no

comparable goals in Hinduism. The principle goal of the RSS and or theHindutva

movement is the establishment of a HinduRashtra meaning a solely Hindu nation

“rejecting the composite Indian identity brought about by a synthesis of different cultures

227 Ram Puniyani, “RSS: Cultural or Political” Issues in Secular Politics October 2006 II

228 Ram Puniyani,Communal Politics — Facts vs. Myths (Sage Publications: New Delhi) 2003, 224.

229 Ram Puniyani,Communal Politics - Facts vs. Myths (Sage Publications: New Delhi) 2003, 224

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and faiths.”230 In this HinduRashtra, anyone who is not Hindu, referring to the

minorities in India are at best second class citizens and the ideology of Hindu

chauvinism, fascism, fundamentalism orHindutva is rooted in exclusion and

discrimination.

Communalist Tactics

The process of communalization has been taking place in Gujarat over the last

two decades. Throughout these years theHindutva -communalist movement has gained a

lot of ground. Much of the popularity they enjoy comes as a result of the successful

exercising of their tactics on the Gujarati polity. The communalists employ a host of

tactics and strategies. In addition to this, they appeal to various sectors of the ‘Hindu’

majority community231 by asserting a variety of claims that are attractive to a particular

group but which are often mired in falsities as well as brilliantly articulated offers that

boil down to bribes, most of which are not upheld.

The Conversion Irony

The Communalist factions have grievances and actively discriminate against all

minorities not just Muslims. A large part of their assault on Christians in India and

Gujarat is centered on the issue of conversions. They claim that Christians and the

church are still playing a colonial - imperial type role by trying to convert Hindus to

230Sabrang Communications and The South Asia Citizens Web, “The Foreign Exchange of Hate- IDRF and the American Funding of Hindutva” http://www.cac.ektaonline.org/resources/reports/sacw/part2.html

231 Here ‘Hindu’ majority community is put in quotations because the communalists propagate their communal message to groups that are not practicing Hindus or may not be Hindu at all for example, Dalits, and Adivasis by claiming that they have Hindu ancestry or that they will be accepted into the mainstream Brahmin dominated Hindu mainstream.

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Christianity. They hold that the Christian Church and its devotees prey on poor Hindus

by offering them material goods, education, healthcare, or homes on the basis that they

embrace the Bible and its teachings. In addition to this, the commundlist-Hindutva forces

attempt to harbor fear mongering tactics by promulgating the false notion that if

conversions to Christianity are not immediately halted the results will prove to be dire for

Hindus essentially making them a minority to the Christian population which will replace

them as the majority. Moreover, the communalist opposition to conversions to

Christianity is extremely aggressive and has at times been violently brutal. In fact, one of

the more gruesome attacks on Christians occurred in Keonjhar in the state of Orissa. On

the night of the 22 January 1999, Father Graham Stewart Stains, who worked with

leprosy patients, and his two children, Phillip and Timothy, ages, 9 and 7, respectively,

were sleeping in a jeep, when Bajrang Dal member, Dara Singh, set them ablaze, brutally

murdering them. This event was so atrocious that it caught global media attention.

The fear and opposition of conversions to Christianity by the RSS on the basis

that large numbers of Hindus are leaving their faith is unfounded. In an interview with

Father Cedric Prakash of Prashant, a Center for Human Rights and Social Justice in

Ahmedabad he dispels the myth that conversions to Christianity are happening on a large

scale in Gujarat or in any other part of India for that matter. In fact, the statistics

provided by Ram Puniyani support Prakash’s claim by making it clear that “despite 1950

232 Ram Puniyani, Communal Politics- facts versus myths, (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2003), 177.

233 Ram Puniyani, Communal Politics- facts versus myths, (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2003), 167.

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years of Christian presence and around 200 years of British rule, the population of

Christians was 2.56 percent in 1981 and 2.44 percent in 1991.”234

Infiltration. Intimidation, and Monitoring Of Non-governmental Organizations Working Against Communalism by Communalist Forces

In an interview with Hanif Lakdawala of Sanchetana, an organization that helps

impoverished people organize themselves and provides the tools for sustainable

development programs in poor localities making services accessible, communalist tactics

used against organizations fighting and or resisting communalization became apparent.

Lakdawala exposes these tactics by illustrating typical events that recur at the

organization:

Exactly we have not claimed, but we certainly know that we are sort of powerful example when we celebrated 21 years of Sanchetana and united some people for business and all that. There are some people from police and they told me that idea of intelligence bureau of Gujarat people they are keeping watch us from outside as to who is coming from the other group and coming and they always know. But if from consulate someone has come here and gone back to the US Consulate they observe the consulate. I would be informed the next day and they would ask me that all the things like in what did she come? What did you talk about? We are constantly watched. Another thing is Modi off and on makes this statement about five star NGOs. He tells us that we are all five stars NGOs. He means by that we are always in the office, but we do not know what the ground realities are. They do not know that we have been involved from 15-20 years in municipalities working on ground realities and then have been able to sit here. It is called five star NGOs, because we go on the Internet and go when the conference is there and move into lights (get media attention) and all that. The five star NGOs are the ones who are thought of that brought a bad name to Gujarat.235

234 Ram Puniyani, Communal Politics- facts versus myths, (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2003), 177.

235 Interview #23:7 with Hanif Lakdawala by author, Ahmedabad, Sanchetana office

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Like Sanchetana many other NGOs that are against communalism directly or that

simply work to improve the living conditions of Muslims are under continuous

surveillance and the staff suffer from intermittent harassment and targeting by communal

forces aiming to intimidate them to the point that they will stop their work fearing the

consequences of the saffron brigades. Father Cedric Prakash has suffered several

physical attacks on his person as well as continuous threats made over the phone or be

email. Despite the attacks, Prakash refused to employ full time security personnel.

When asked about the kinds of obstacles he faces in his work he responds by saying:

You have a lot. I think I am not sure whether there are others just now at my level of this thing a political level I think I have the only one who have had early to be beaten up thrice only one, which the government signed on my passport. Still they do not know what to do. The only one which has had so many of police, death threats and all kinds of things. The government wanted to send police to protect me 24 hours. I refused it, I do not want it. The state government of Modi and the society because this is a supreme court order. They want to give two policemen and I think finally these policemen will kill me. So I will not take any police protection.

When asked how he deals with this type of situation Prakash responds by stating that,

Yes for example I use a number, which is unlisted okay I need to use the number. I have to change my sim card constantly and my number constantly because all my phones are tapped recorded and I am not sure whether this office is bunked, but I have got some leak from the intelligence to check if they have done it phone tapping and all that. So I am very careful what I speak on the phone. I use other numbers. I usually people who are very important to me and to my work. I never speak to them over phone, never call them very, very rarely and go meet them elsewhere.237

In the face of all the intimidation techniques the communalists relentlessly

unleash against them, both Lakdawala and Prakash continue to work for what they

236 Interview #28:7 with Father Cedrick Prakash by author, Ahmedabad, Prashant office

237 Interview #28:7 with Father Cedrick Prakash by author, Ahmedabad, Prashant office

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believe in and grow their organizations promoting and upholding the values and ideals of

justice and equality they stand for.

Cooptation of Low Castes for Short-Term Gain

The pattern of communalist forces is that they attempt to co-opt sections of people

for temporary goals to be met. This includes the bribing of poor, disenfranchised castes

like the Dalits, to commit violence during planned communal disturbances. Puniyani lets

it be known that these poor castes “could be co-opted by the Hindu core politics for doing

the violence and other things, so these are the temporary phenomena” but that “by and

large it is the middle class, communal wise middle class, which is the proper base of

communal parties.”238

Silencing Commissions of Inquiry to Conceal the Truth

There are many instances in the history of Indian states where communal violence

was unleashed by the state of with its complicity or support and the state government

appointed a judicial commission of inquiry as a tool inhibit and contain public criticism

of the state. As a result of these criminal state governments appointing fellow

communalists, who happen to be judges (there are a lot of them) in most cases the reports

favor the state, absolving them of any responsibility in that specific series of instances of

communal violence. However, on the seldom occasions that the report is critical of the

state and holds it responsible for inciting or not containing communal violence it is

silenced in that it will not be released to the public. Moreover, the recommendations

stand no chance of being implemented. For example, the BJP government refused “to

238 Interview #45:4 with Ram Puniyani by author, Powai, at his home, May 2006

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adopt the Srikrishna Commission’s recommendations on the 1992-1993 Bombay ‘riots’”

which “singled out various state officials for their role in inciting violence against

Muslims.”239

The Return of the Divide and Rule Policy

In order for the communalists’ hatred and propaganda to be successful, Hindus

and Muslims can not have good relations with each other. If they did have good relations

then the negative stereotypes they inculcate about the ‘other’ would not last because they

would be checked through having friends of the other group that defy the negative images

they promote. The communalists plan to polarize Gujarat through a brutal policy of

segregation is detailed in the chapter on polarization and segregation. One of the main

ideas behind this other than the increased receptiveness to the spreading of hate about the

other is the further disenfranchisement of the minority population, partly through

ghettoization, which is meant to maintain the continually decreasing status of Muslims in

society while increasing their level of vulnerability. In addition to this, these policies also

perpetuate and deepen the notion that Muslims are foreigners and criminals who are not

equal to Hindus and thus, are not worthy of receiving equal rights even though they are

citizens and their rights just like all other citizens rights in India are enshrined in the

constitution.

239 Human Rights Watch, “We Have No Orders to Save You - State Participation and Complicity in Communal Violence in Gujarat” Vol. 14, No.3 (C) April 2002, 35.

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Saffron Colored History and the Creation of A Communalized Collective Memory

The communalists have engaged in a process of creating communalist versions of

every period of Indian history. Similar to other groups that identify with ethno and or

religious nationalism, the communalists maintain that there was a period in ancient Indian

history that was glorious. They contend that during this period there were no foreigners

and that everyone was pure Hindu.

The communalist versions of history are those that promoted the false idea that

every Muslim ruler destroyed and damaged Hindu temples simply because they were

Hindu places of worship. Communalists maintain that anyone who is not Hindu is a

foreigner and does not really belong in India. This is a ridiculous claim for many

reasons. One of the most obvious is that there are lots of Hindus who converted to other

religions to escape the oppression of the caste system.

These fabricated versions of history make everyone that is not Hindu, evil or

some kind of villain. In fact, they attribute negative qualities to Muslims and Christians

if they actually appear in historical stories. Since institutions have been communalized,

which is discussed in depth in chapter 5, so too, has the Ministry of Education and

schools in general. Communalization as a process penetrated the school system in such a

way that history textbooks have been altered so that communalist versions of history are

given. These communal versions demonize Muslims and label them as terrorists while

also slandering other minority groups.

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Propaganda: Spreading Hate in Convincing Wavs

The success of the RSS is their ability to spread their message of hate in a

systematic and wide reaching manner. They employ diverse types of propaganda to get

their message out. Their most favored and most successful type of propaganda is the

flyer. They usually give out flyers in times of high communal tension, spreading lies

about the other community possibly to incite more violence or the night before an

election to try to manipulate people into voting for them by promulgating outright lies

and falsities about the other religious communities and their candidates while also

proposing that their candidate should be voted for to ensure that these other groups are

not going to take over and threaten the place of the Hindu in Indian society. They thrive

on the successful execution and reception of their fear mongering tactics to the extent that

many vote for them under the guise that the BJP are going to protect them from the

‘threat’ the minorities pose to their survival and hegemony.

The communalists’ strategy of propagandizing society to the point, that now the

communalist perspective is the norm demonstrates the power they execute through their

skillfully crafted and designed manipulation of words including concepts and notions that

evoke communal sentiment, fear, and loyalty to the RSS. “Pracharaks function as

fulltime publicists or propagandists for the RSS spreading the message of Hindu

fundamentalism.”240

240 Kuldip Nayar, “Dilli’s Gang of Four”Indian Expressi October 23, 2001, http://www.indianexpress.com/columnists/kuld/20011023.html

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State Capacity and Involvement in Communal Violence

If violence breaks out in a State in India what is to be done? How have “riots”

been dealt with? The case study of Gujarat demonstrates how the police did not take

actions to stop the violence, they were complicit in it and in fact in many cases

committed violent crimes against the Muslim community themselves. However, there

are other cases, for example, West Bengal, which used to be a communally sensitive state

until the seventies when the Left Front government came to power and made it a ‘riot’-

free state. The Left Front implemented a two pronged policy to prevent communal

violence: (1) it does not mix religion with politics and does not indulge in any form of

communal rhetoric and (2) it has warned the police force that any lack of action to stop

communal violence within 24 hours will attract strong attention.241 Thus, government

policies can impact communal violence drastically. Figure 4.1 illustrates the differences

between three states: Gujarat, West Bengal, and Bihar and their respective state

government policies on communal violence and the impact of these policies on the

occurrence or incidence of communal violence while these policies are enforced.

In order to prevent, quell, or contain communal violence the police must play an

active role. In fact, it is India’s state governments, rather than the country’s national,

municipal, or district governments, that control the local police and paramilitary forces

and decide how much force to use to prevent or stop riots at the local level.242 If the state

government is run by a political party whose ideology and or policy promotes communal

241 Ashgar Ali Engineer, “On Comprehensive Law On Communal Riots,” available at: http://csss- isla.com/archive/2004/iulvl 6. 242 Wilkinson, 20.

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STATE GOVERNMENT’S STATE GOVERNMENT’S STATE GOVERNMENT’S ROLE ROLE ROLE

State sponsorship of State institutes a zero State declares that there communal violence & tolerance policy on will be no communal communalization communal violence violence

GUJARAT WEST BIHAR 2002 Genocide & BENGAL Apartheid State

HIGH LEVELS OF: VERY LOW OR NIL LEVELS VERY LOW OR NIL LEVELS OF: OF: 1. COMMUNAL VIOLENCE 1. COMMUNAL VIOLENCE 2. POLARIZATION No Large Scale Violence 1. COMMUNAL VIOLENCE 3. CASUALTIES 2. CASUALTIES 2. CASUALTIES 4. POLICE 3. POLICE COMPLICITY 3. POLICE COMPLICITY COMPLICITY IN IN VIOLENCE IN VIOLENCE VIOLENCE HIGH LEVELS OF: HIGH LEVELS OF: 1. IMMEDIATE POLICE 1. IMMEDIATE POLICE CONTAINMENT OF CONTAINMENT OF VIOLENCE if outbreak occurs VIOLENCE if outbreak occurs

FIGURE 2 THE STATE’S ROLE IN COMMUNAL VIOLENCE: TRI-STATE COMPARISON OF STATE COMMUNAL VIOLENCE POLICY AND IMPACT ON OCCURRENCE AND FREQUENCY OF INCIDENTS OF COMMUNAL VIOLENCE

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identity, communalism, or plays communal politics then the incentive to order the police

to stop communal violence is not there. In fact, in many cases, some of which have been

demonstrated the political party in power encourages the police to do the opposite of

preventing attacks on the minority community but instead to be complicit, to let it happen

and in some cases to carry out violence orders with the mobs. In addition to this, there

are many problems regarding this issue. First, the police force is mainly Hindu and does

not reflect representation of the minority groups proportional to their population in the

country. Second, according to Vibhuti Narain Rai who spent one year studying police

perceptions of neutrality in communal violence many police hold extremely negative

stereotypes of the minority communities in particular many contend that Muslims are

“untrustworthy, violent, dirty, and pro-Pakistani.”243

The Rise of Hindu Nationalism and the Failure of the Congress Party’s Secularism

In The Saffron Wave - Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India

Thomas Blom Hansen gives a history of the VHP, BJP, and the RSS. The Hindu

nationalist movement began in the 1920’s. Throughout the decades each of these groups

has served different functions but all with an ideology ofHindutva. Buruma discusses

how V.D. Savarkar’s “Hindutva: Who Is a Hindu?” published in 1923 was inspired by

Mazzini, Darwin, and Herbert Spencer, but how his main inspiration was fear - fear that

the “weak”, diverse disunited Hindus, who lacked an ideology, a dogma, a Mecca or a

243 Vibhuti Narain Rai, “Muslims and the Police in India: Yoginder Sikand interview with Vibhuti Narain Rai,” available at: http://www.islaminterfaith.org .

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universal church, would be swamped by “strong” Muslims and Christians.” 244 It is

precisely these kinds of feelings that driveasabiyya245 that can instigate hyper-asabiyya.

In Islam Under Siege Akbar Ahmed discusses the concept of asabiyya and how it relates

to the feelings of being under siege.246

Is the success in India of the Hindu nationalist movement a result of the failure of

the secularists? Did Nehru and the Congress party pave the way for the death of

secularism in India? Every time power dynamics shift there is a party waiting in the

wings to seize the moment of their opponents’ political mismanagement and fill the

political vacuum by quenching the thirst of the disgruntled population. When the

Congress party, who were in fact the first to put Ayodhya on the agenda as a mere tactic

to attract the votes of those religiously or communally minded they had no insight into

how this event essentially put the keys of Ayodhya and eventually of the country into the

hands of the BJP.

The secularism practiced in India was often extreme and at times offensive to

those who were religious. The opposite effect of what secularism intends, less division

based on religion or caste will occur in cases where there is a lack of acknowledgement

of differences in a positive way. Hence, not acknowledging the differences properly

forces communities to retreat into their own communities and form their own groups in a

kind of hyper-asabiyya which then translates into fundamentalism or in this case

244 Buruma, Ian. “India: The Perils of Democracy.” In India: A Mosaic. Ed. Robert B. Silvers & Barbara Epstein, (New York: The New York Review o f Books, 2000), 22.

245 Asabiyya is religious or tribal group loyalty. Ibn Khaldun theory ofasabiyya is one that glorifies religious or tribal loyalty.

246 Ahmed, Akbar S. Islam Under Siege. (Cambridge: Polity, 2003), 24.

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communalism. Buruma points out how Nehru’s idea of India prevailed for at least thirty

years after independence but how those, not in line with his vision were on the

periphery.247 Nehru pushed many Hindu chauvinists to the extremist fringe by securing

support for his Congress Party of most high-caste Hindus, including many traditionalists,

and of Muslims, whose interests he tried to protect.

While Congress did try to protect the rights of Muslims many perceived this as

the Congress party playing the ethnic or communal card and not as sincere effort to

improve relations between different groups in India. Was Congress not inclusivist

enough or too exclusivist? The answer may depend on who is posing the question,

minority groups in India, like Sikhs or Muslims may prefer the first answer while the

Hindu nationalists may opt for the second answer. This dichotomy can be seen as a

conflict as Armstrong does between the secularists and the fundamentalists.248 In fact she

contends that “frequently, modem society has become divided into “two nations”:

secularists and religious living in the same country cannot speak one another’s language

or see things from the same point of view.”249 Within this framework Janmohamed’s

notion of the “communalization of India” can be seen as the fundamentalists’ campaign

at work.250

In the case of Gujarat it is clear that the exclusivists are those propagating a Hindu

nationalist agenda of communalism, and those who aid them, for within their ideology

there is no room for anyone who is not Hindu and they have proven this by attacking

247 Buruma, 25.

248 Armstrong, Karen. The Battle For God - A History o f Fundamentalism. (New York: Ballantine, 2001).

249 Armstrong, 367. 250 Janmohamed, 2.

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Christians, Dalits and Adivasi. In fact, Hindu chauvinism has been compared to fascism,

or even Nazism. Moreover, Buruma notes how several important Hindu nationalist

ideologues admired Hitler, and were inspired by German ideas. 1 These ideas have been

demonstrated in Gujarat in the most egregious of crimes, an attempt to ethnically cleanse

Gujarat of Muslims, by killing thousands, displacing tens of thousands and instilling fear

in them not to return to their homes and by telling Muslims to “go back to Pakistan.”252

In Gujarat there are also inclusivists, individuals and organizations that, demonstrated

their beliefs by often risking their own lives to save others, and by aiding those who

needed help regardless of their faith.

Conclusion

In conclusion, majority of the scholars on communal violence concur that political

parties and or organizations are often entrenched in communal violence, casting doubts

on hypotheses like Varshney’s that miss crucial factors as a result of seeking or coming

up with new and interesting units of analysis. In addition to this, the description of the

development, of the Hindutva-communalist movement in Gujarat and in India at large

provides many answers to questions concerning the frequency, brutality, and popularity

of communal violence. The exploration of Hindutva ideology illustrates the intensity and

seriousness of the danger of this phenomenon catching on. If the reader had any doubts

about the damage that the Hindutva-communalist forces could wreak the black and white

revelations at the end of the chapter that connect this movement to fascism and Nazism

251 Buruma, 24.

252 Human Rights Watch, 296.

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should definitely sound off sirens. India is home to a lot of people, majority Hindus, and

thus the thought of communalism and Hindutva ideology spreading forecasts a very bleak

period of history in the future of India, unless the anti-communal / resistance to

communalization movement steps it up and prevents this dangerous ideology from

becoming contagious and attacking one state after the next. Although the B JP is no

longer in power at the center like they when the 2002 genocide took place they are still

gaining power state by state, and bringing ruin to inter-communal relations in Rajasthan

an Karnataka as these words are typed and most likely also while they are being read.

Finally, this chapter’s examination of the RSS as an organization through the various

types and level of impact of their tactics and strategies provides the background and sets

the stage for the next chapter which addresses further the communalists’ successful

infiltration of Gujarati society and all of its institutions.

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COMMUNALIZATION OF INSTITUTIONS

The Gradual Eradication of Resistance

While on a summer visit in Toronto, during the course o f working on my thesis, I

was explaining to friend, how Gujarat had been communalized over many years. He had

wondered how the average Hindu in Gujarat was not outraged by the events o f2002. I

had explained that it was because communalization was a process that deeply penetrated

Gujarati society, resulting in a shift, in the mindset, o f a large percentage o f the majority

Hindu community, to accept that Muslims are not equal to them and that they did not

need to worry about what had happened to them or that something like a pogrom or

genocide could occur. I had related what was going on in Gujarat to what had happened

in Nazi Germany referring to Milton Mayer’s253 work on the complicity o f the German

people in the plight o f German Jews.

In They Thought They Were Free: The Germans 1933-45 Milton Mayer discusses

in a very interesting manner, how the Nazi fascist regime o f Hitler, worked as a process

through which it gained the complicity o f the citizens.254 He illustrates how in 1933 non-

Jewish shops were marked by stickers labeled “German firm ” and how ten years later, in

1943, Jews were sent to the gas chambers. Through a process o f alienation, fear was

253Milton Mayer, They Thought They Were Free: The Germans 1933-45 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1966).

254Milton Mayer, They Thought They Were Free: The Germans 1933-45 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1966). 140

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instilled into the minds o f the Germans, so that, they refrained from taking any actions to

challenge the new status quo and this occurred over a period o f ten years. Therefore, the

ability o f the German public to protest the regime's heinous crimes in 1943 had already

been largely diminished.

After explaining the process o f how this phenomenon takes hold over time my

friend suggested that I title my thesis “Boiling Frog. ” He claimed that the processes of

communalization in Gujarat or Nazism-fascism in Germany were analogous to how if a

frog was placed in a pot o f boiling water so that only half of its body was submerged it

would not realize in time to save itself and jump out o f the water that it was boiling itself

to death. The frog is analogous to the Gujarati Hindu population as well as the German

non-Jewish majority population. The water is akin to the process o f communalization in

Gujarat and the Nazism-fascism in Germany.

Communalization as a Process

When viewing communalization as a process with different stages occurring over

time it is also important to see where different groups of people fit into this process and

why to get a more complete picture of the situation. For example, in an interview with

Ram Puniyani he notes how when communal ideologies began to take hold on the

subcontinent it was first the kings of each religious group and then the middle class

intellectuals who supported and shaped these. He raises the point that “the poor of

Muslims and the poor of Hindus, they never supported the communal ideologies at that

point and time.” This statement brings people into this process of communalization by

distinguishing particular groups some that became communalized early on in a sense

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those leading the movement towards communalism and those who resisted

communalization until a later date.

Puniyani’s Three Level Process of Communalization

Puniyani holds that communalization is a process in which there are three levels.

The first is the level of ideas, the second is the level of conflict, and the third is the level

of polarization. He contends that different states of India are at different levels of

communalization. Gujarat has experienced all three levels and the third level of

polarization has taken a hold of the state completely because previously the villages had

been insulated from it but after 2002 they were also communalized and polarized.

Zakia’s Indicators of The Stages of Communalization

Zakia Jowher, of Action Aid is a Muslim woman activist from Ahmedabad

whose dedication and commitment to working for social change was inspired by her

experiences working in a relief camp during the 2002 genocide. In an interview with her,

she shed some light on the intensity of the process of communalization in Gujarat by

providing examples of situations that clearly indicate that in fact, Gujarat is in the most

intense stage of communalization. First, she connects ills emanating from poverty and

the ability of large portions of Gujarati society to ignore Muslims in front of them

burning to death, in effect, letting them die without doing anything to help them try to

survive. She says,

You know we have people dying like flies, big floods, big accidents, train accidents.. .if you do the analysis of ills emanating out of poverty.. .it pervades the way your frame of mind is and if you acquire a mindset whereby human life is not important because you are so over populated and you are with so many ills or

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poverty it does not matter for a fight of five hundred people dying here or five hundred people dying there, it does not matter.255

In addition to this, she connects the apathy of large numbers of people in Gujarat to how people: are so busy in their individual personal pursuits. You know, Moksha. My Moksha is important to me, the whole world can go to hell.. .If it is a Hindu, it is his Moksha. If it is a Muslim, it is his seat in heaven. Let me be very pious, let me do the five times Namaz, let me do all the Rozas. So my seat is reserved in the heaven. My neighbor is dying, I can skip my Namaz and go and help my neighbor, but that spirit is not there. I am too much in my individual pursuit.256

To illustrate the connection between individualistic pursuits, complicity in

violence against others and the complete lack of acknowledgement or remorse by the

majority Hindu community in Gujarat that what occurred in 2002 was a genocide

committed by the communalists with the full fledged support of the majority Hindu

community against the minority Muslim community, Zakia recounts a disturbing but

telling story. During the carnage of 2002 she was driving on the highway when she

realized that, “two Muslims were half-dead and they are burning. The body was burning

and they were alive and hundreds and hundreds, you know, people who live there, people

who drive AC cars, girls and boys and men and women gathered and they all just say, oh,

oh and they do not do anything to help them.”257 These examples clearly indicate the

tight grip and negative impact the process of communalization is having on Gujarat.

255 Zakia Jowher, Interview with author, May 2005, Ahmedabad, Action Aid office.

256 Zakia Jowher, Interview with author, May 2005, Ahmedabad, Action Aid office.

257 Zakia Jowher, Interview with author, May 2005, Ahmedabad, Action Aid office.

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NGO Response to Kutch Earthquake vs. NGO Response to Communal Carnage in 2002

Zakia highlights how: When the Earthquake happened, there were dozens and dozens of International NGOs and thousands of Indian and Gujarati NGOs, but communal carnage happens, it is not more than 2-3 dozen NGOs. That is also for a brief period not for a long-term engagement. So the civil society has been a party to the violence by keeping quiet. There is no doubt about that.258

The silence of the NGO community is another example Zakia raises which

indicates the level of communalization. In this case it is clear that communalization has

penetrated Gujarati so deeply that it has been normalized. In addition to this through

Zakia’s discussions of the segregation of Ahmedabad and Gujarat in general as well as

the normalization of discrimination against Muslims the third level that Puniyani

mentions is evident.

When the BJP is in Control of the State

“Even without being in power it is able to control the politics through various mechanisms, by having a compliant state Government its agenda runs exponentially faster, the way Gujarat has demonstrated. In the states where BJP governments rule, the process of communalization goes on in top gear. With the employees being openly participating in RSS the divisive processes will move faster and running the administration on the lines of Indian Constitution will become all the more difficult. Despite knowing that such a provision is not legally tenable, Mr. Chouhan is implementing it for the purpose of giving the right signal to followers of RSS ideology and to the RSS controllers in the running feud with his rivals for the seat of power which he is occupying.”259

Communalist forces in Gujarat have been at work to propagating the Hindutva

movement for around15-20 years. The Sangh Parivar has been largely successful in

gaining ground to the extent that Gujarat has been dubbed the ‘laboratory of Hindutva’

258 Zakia Jowher, Interview with author, May 2005, Ahmedabad, Action Aid office.

259 Ram Puniyani, “RSS: Cultural or Political” Issues in Secular Politics, October 2 0 0 6 II

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and the BJP party which is a communalist party is in power at the state level in Gujarat

for almost a decade. In 1995 when the BJP first came into office “the state has stacked

its inner ranks with VHP and RSS members and other that shared and would actively

promote Sangh Parivar’s policies and programs.” Keshubhai Patel who was the Chief

Minister at the time actually “disbanded most of the advisory committees in the districts

and talukas, as well as the State-owned Boards and Corporations and packed the bodies

with people from the Sangh Parivar.” There was sometime in between Keshubhai’s two

periods as Chief Minister that the process ofsaffronization of the government slowed

down because one of the Chief Minister’s was more moderate. However, the “BJP

returned to power under Keshubhai Patel’s leadership in 1998”260 unleashing a more

rapid more intense process of communalization of the state than it had experienced three

years prior. In fact:

Importance was given to the cadres from the Sangh Parivar to dominate the numerous advisory committees at the district and taluka levels, including the Police Advisory Committee, the Social Justice Committee and others wielding enormous powers in the appointment and transfer of Government official. The recruitment of teachers at the village level, launched by the Waghela administration, was used by the Patel government to “infiltrate” the villages. Most of the 20,000 “vidya sahayaks” recruited to man the schools in the villages were picked from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad was encouraged to open schools in remote villages. The syllabus in the schools was often subtly changed to suit the saffron ideology.

Communalization has taken a hold of this Western Indian state through the

success of the communalist parties and forces in their endeavors. Their successes have in

turn had and continue to have disastrous impacts on inter-communal relations between

Hindus, Muslims, and Christians in the state. While many communalist tactics involve

260 Siddharth Varadarajan,Gujarat — The Making o f a Tragedy. (New Delhi: Penguin Books India, 2002), 10. 261 Manas Dasgupta, “NHRC indictment shocks Gujarat,”Hindu, April 3, 2002.

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propagation of their agenda through individuals these outfits have had their greatest

successes through infiltrating institutions. Moreover, by securing positions in all

institutions for their followers as well as making institutional and organizational changes

while they are in those positions many institutions in Gujarat have beensaffronized or

communalized.

Communalization of Institutions Fuels the Three Cycles of Negativity

It is the communalization of institutions that pushes the factors that fuel the cycle

of violence, cycle of injustice, cycle of poverty to propel. In turn these cycles push

Muslims in India into a more precarious predicament where they are more insecure as a

minority than previously. These cycles also affect Hindus because by altering the

condition of one community and their overall well being the other communities are also

affected. Communities or identity groups like many other facets of life are

interconnected.

The Saffronization of Education

The communalists infiltrated not only the Ministry of Education but have

penetrated every aspect and level of formal education in Gujarat with their saffron

ideology of hate to the extent that perhaps education could qualify as the institution most

damaged by the Hindutva forces. In realizing the power and reach of education and

educational institutions the communalists also assume that they must dominate and assert

power over it by entrenching their ideologies, mantras, and trickery into every curriculum

and thus mind that they are able to. KN Pannikar highlights this by recognizing that, “in

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class societies education is an ideological apparatus of the state and is designed and used

for the perpetuation and furtherance of its interests.”'y ( \ ) In addition to that, “the

ideological apparatuses by their very nature function with considerable finesse, obscuring

and universalizing partisan interests or imputing cultural or national explanations for their

initiatives.”263 Through the successes of their propaganda campaigns they are reassured

continuously of the importance of inculcating information into as many brains as possible

and how this is inextricably linked to maintaining the power they possess and gaining

more, in other words, controlling the minds of large portions of society is the key to

unfettered power.

There are several paths the communalists have undertaken and maintained to

accomplish this endeavor: rewriting revisionist Hindutvaized versions of history, taking

over the Ministry of Education with Hindutva loyalists and wide scale saffronization of

the curriculum, infiltrating research institutes and dictating agendas and redefining norms

and offering saffron educations to Dalits and Adivasis who would otherwise not have

access to education with the sole of purpose of indoctrination and conversion. While in

the field many observations were made that support and illustrate the literature as well as

the interview data of the respondents. These field observations are discussed in a field

note (Appendix D).

RevisionistHindutva Versions of History are the Only Versions

262 KN Pannikar,An Agenda for Cultural Action and Other Essays, (Three Essays Press, New Delhi), 2002, 71 263 KN Pannikar, An Agenda for Cultural Action and Other Essays, (Three Essays Press, New Delhi), 2002, 71

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KN Pannikar asserts in An Agenda for Cultural Action and Other Essays how

rewriting history is a methodology of subjugation and oppression to maintain the status

quo. In fact, he suggests that it is through sharing this type of parallel logic that

communalism and colonialism boast unmistakable similarities. However, he contends

that perhaps the communalists are more conniving in that they conceal their ambitions of

maintaining caste hierarchy from many loyalists under the guise of Hindu unity.

Pannikar’s discussion of this type of ‘rewriting’ of history is in a similar vein to

Howard Zinn’s understanding of it inA People's History of the United States.264 Both

Pannikar and Zinn are critical of the ‘accepted’ versions, in the case of Pannikar, the

Hindutva versions, and in Zinn’s case, the white colonial American versions of the same

period he writes on, because of past historians use of blotchy and incomplete

methodology. In fact, both Pannikar and Zinn emphasize the critical importance of

historians employing sound and disciplinary appropriate methodology. To illustrate this

Pannikar looks to the discipline of history and quotes, Marc Bloch, a French historian,

who highlights how a “historian’s craft” is “rooted in a method specific to history as a

discipline, most of which has evolved through philosophical engagements and empirical

investigations during the last several centuries.”265 Moreover, Pannikar warns of the

dangers of failing to employ appropriate and thorough methodological frameworks by

alerting how this “tends to erase the distinction between myth and history, which the

forces of the Hindu right wing, actively supported by the present government, is seeking

264 Howard Zinn, A Peoples History of the United States 1492- Present, (HarperCollins, New York), 1980, 7-11.

265 KN Pannikar,An Agenda for Cultural Action and Other Essays, (Three Essays Press, New Delhi), 2002, 51.

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to achieve.” Furthermore, Pannikar elaborates on this providing a thorough

explanation of how:

This integral connection between myth and history facilitates the transmutation of the latter into the former and through that change the existing historical consciousness in society. The rewriting of history the Sangh Parivar has undertaken with the connivance and collaboration of the government is essentially an attempt at communal mythification, which lends ideological support and legitimacy to the politics of cultural nationalism.267

Saffronization of Research Institutes

Part of the strategy to communalize education was to target educational

institutions and saffronize them. This process of Hindutvization transformed traditionally

secular institutions into beacons of communal fervor and zeal. It took many forms

including ousting secular scholars, values, research areas, and impartiality so that every

aspect of the research institutes furthers the goals of the Hindutva movement. Several

national research institutes have fallen victim to the forces of communalization which

includes but is not limited to: the Indian Council for Historical Research, Indian Council

for Social Science Research, and the Center for Advanced Studies. The guiding principle

of these institutions following the communalist take over, as the anti-secular, anti

democratic, right-wing agenda that has been bolstered for a considerable length of time

by past governments, current political parties and with the participation of various

splinters of the Sangh Parivar. Pannikar adds that “towards this end secular opinion has

been systematically eliminated from all research institutions and cultural organizations

266 KN Pannikar,An Agenda for Cultural Action and Other Essays, (Three Essays Press, New Delhi), 2002, 51

267 KN Pannikar,An Agenda for Cultural Action and Other Essays, (Three Essays Press, New Delhi), 2002, 52

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funded by the government and replaced by the activists or loyalists of the RSS.”268

Moreover, he leaves no room for ambiguity about the climate the communalists have

created in which:

...“freedom of expression is particularly under surveillance in the cultural field. No effort is spared to suppress the long cherished and historically evolved plural and secular traditions. The artists and cultural activists who follow such traditions have been under severe strain, of tern faced with threats and even physical attacks.269

The Panchavat: Empowering Voices through Organization or a Vehicle for Propagating Communalization

“OBC communities among the Muslims in Gujarat find it difficult to get certain certificates. The saffronisation of the bureaucracy and local power structures, points out scholar Achyut Yagnik, has meant that panchayats, co operatives, agrarian produce markets and government schemes have become sites for discrimination against Muslims.”270

The Panchavat System - An Overview

“‘Panchayat’ literally means assembly (yat) of five(panch ) wise and respected

elders chosen and accepted by the village community. Traditionally, these assemblies

settled the disputes between individuals and villages.”971

In addition to this, “Panchayat also refers to a council of elected members taking

decisions on issues key to a village's social, cultural and economic life: thus, a panchayat

268 KN Pannikar,An Agenda for Cultural Action and Other Essays, (Three Essays Press, New Delhi), 2002, 66

269 KN Pannikar,An Agenda for Cultural Action and Other Essays, (Three Essays Press, New Delhi), 2002, 67

270 Prashant Jha, “Every Man A Laboratory: Gujarat 2006 Is Deadlier Than 2002. Because Hindutva Has Manufactured A New DNA Beyond The Indian Constitution”

271 http://en.wikinedia.org/wiki/Panchavat 8 November 2006

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is a village's body of elected representatives. The council leader is namedsarpanch (in

Hindi), and each member is a panch. The panchayat acts as a conduit between the local

government and the people. Decisions are taken by a majority voteBahumat ( ), and are

generally welcomed by the villagers. It is said that in such a system, each villager can

voice his opinion in the governance of his village. The decisions are taken without

lengthy legal procedures and the process remains for the large part transparent.”272

During the reign of the British thepanchayat raj came about and it is explained below:

Raj literally means governance or government. Thus by coining the word panchyat raj, (in agriculture parallel with British raj) it is attempted that there is an institution of government at village level in similar manner to a government at the Centre. Mahatma Gandhi advocatedPanchayati Raj, a decentralized form of Government where each village is responsible for its own actions, as the foundation of India's political system. His term for such a vision was "Gram Swaraj" (Village Self-governance). It was incorporated into the state governments during the 1950s and 60s as various legislations were passed to establish Panchayats in different states. It found a backing in the Indian Constitution which was amended in 1992 to accommodate the Panchayat Raj Institutions. However political and caste undercurrents among the voters have prevented strong adoption of this concept. This has been accepted and effectively implemented in many states of India.”273

In an interview with the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, an NGO in

Gujarat that works with villages often through the Panchayat a brief overview of this

system of governance was provided. “The Panchayat system is local governing by the

village. The villagers elect one person from their community and it is called the

sarpanch. The sarpanch has their whole body, 7 - 8 people are involved in their body and

they are governing the village.”274 These 7 - 8 people who make up the Panchayat body

272 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchavat 8 November 2006

273 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchavat 8 November 2006

274 Interview #3:1 Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. By Author. Baroda, April 2005.

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are elected and they have a five year term. There is also one Deputy sarpanch.

Gandhiji275 advocated the Panchayat because he felt strongly that not all

governance should be in the hands of those in Delhi who are far removed from rural

villagers everyday realities but rather should start from the local or grassroots level. The

panchayat formally emerged in 1929 however the Panchayat Act came in 1960 albeit it

had no constitutional basis. Finally, in 1993 the Ammendment to the Panchayat Act was

enacted by the central government enshrining and adding many constitutional rights.

Thus, after 1993 the panchayat system actively took hold in many states in India.

The Communalization of the Panchayat

Although the Panchayat system is intended to broaden the base of participation in

governance thereby giving voice to many who would otherwise be disenfranchised it has

not withheld the ever reaching hand of communalization in Gujarat. Through interviews

with victims-survivors of communal violence it is clear that in fact the Panchayat like

most other institutions in the state is being used to perpetuate the inequalities between

different identity groups. Sadly it has been usurped by communalists as a tool to

dominate and intimidate the minority community. In fact, in some cases the sarpanch,

the council leader has not only failed to protect the villagers in their jurisdiction but have

inflicted injustices against them. Moreover, in the only case where the sarpanch was a

member of the minority group dining the carnage he was threatened and attacked by

275 In India the suffix“ji ” connotes a high level of respect for a person, in this Gandhi.

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members of majority community making it impossible for him to protect the village

leaving it a soft target for mobs of Bajrang Dal attackers approaching the village.276

In every interview where the Panchayat is mentioned there it is clear that there is

a definite bias of the Panchayat body and the sarpanch for the Hindu majority community

and against the Muslim minority community. This is evident in the interviews in terms of

representation of identity groups within the body and the position of the sarpanch. In

most cases these positions are filled by Hindus. For example in Veravil, home to one of

the main fisheries in Gujarat, communal forces infiltrated Hindu communities and

installed their own people on the panchayat body and as the sarpanch.277 “The Panchayat

decided all the rules and their decisions on behalf of this Kherwa community.. .60 percent

are Kherwa and 40 percent are Muslims.”278 It is clear that capturing and maintaining

control over this system is one of the tactics of the communalist forces.

The Panchayat system originally meant for organizing people and making voices

coherent and most importantly heard has become dictatorial and disempowering. To

illustrate this oppressively tight control of society is the reality that “if a Kherwa lady

wants to go out for some work, household work, she has to get permission from the

Panch.”279 Although the Kherwa community is Hindu the Panchayat extols complete

power over them. In this panchayat body there is no Muslim representation.

276 Interview #3:2 by author with Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative

277 Interview #21:3 by author with Rafi, Shah Alam, May 2005.

278 Interview #21:3 by author with Rafi, Shah Alam, May 2005.

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The Corruption of the Panchayat System

As noted above there are various other problems with the Panchayat other than

the communalist slant. In addition to this, there is evidence of corruption among some of

the members of particular panchayat bodies along with the sarpanchs. In fact, one of

these cases was explained in an interview exposing the corruption of a particularTalthi,

the secretary of the Panchayat who is appointed by the government to help the panchayat

body. In this case “because nobody is watching him (the talthi), nobody is asking him

questions, so he started to take bribes from the people and so many things happened

because people are not very educated.”280

The Police: Citizens’ Protection Force or an Armed State Communalist Perpetrator?

In every interview I conducted with victims/ survivors of the 2002 genocide-

pogrom when asked about police they stated that they called the police to help save them

from the mobs. Only one man of all the interviewees received police help in the form of

police escorting an evacuation caravan of cars of Muslim residents of Paldi who were

attacked by mobs to safety in an all Muslim area. This escort only took place about two

days after the first mob attacked. Every other statement about police was extremely

negative implicating them in violent attacks on innocent citizens whom they are to

protect.

279 Interview #21:4 by author with Rafi, Shah Alam, May 2005.

280 Interview #3:4 by author with Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Baroda, April 2005.

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In fact one of the interviewees from Salatnagar names the police officer as well as

narrates an unbelievable story of events that took place on the street in front of Salatnagar

essentially providing testimony explicitly linking the police officer with the VHP and

Bajrang Dal including shocking eyewitness accounts of this triangle of complicity and

corruption and perpetration of crimes and assault against innocent residents of Salatnagar

with the weapons gas tanks, and pipebombs in hand completely visible.

The fact that the police officer did not even attempt to conceal his identity or

connection or activity from the residents of Salatnagar who also happened to be the

victims/ survivors in this case exposes the high levels of corruption, and lawlessness as

well as the little or no consideration that perhaps the residents could press charges and

hold him accountable in a court of law. The criminal police officer is not worried

because in India he has more status and clout as a police officer than the residents of

Salatnagar who are daily wage laborers. In addition to clout and status the police officer

has money that he could use to bribe a judge or jury to make sure that he never will serve

time in jail for the crimes he has committed.

In addition, the police officer who is supposed to be protecting people instead is

carrying out the attacks on the people in broad daylight. The residents of Salatnagar,

who, fearing an attack during the carnage actually made 104 calls to the police station

and there was absolutely no response. In another interview I was made aware of how

“upper caste Hindus were caught on security camera looting at jointly owned Hindu-

Muslim owned business. The police put a call out to return merchandise that was looted

however the police failed to take any action against any of the criminals.

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Non-existent Police Protection for All Residents in Mixed Localities: Recipe for Segregation and Ghettoization

In an interview with a middle aged secular Muslim business man who had been a

resident of Paldi for 18 years and who had always advocated for inter-communal living I

uncovered why he now lives in an all Muslim area and advocates segregation. He was

attacked by the mob but also by his Hindu neighbors whom he had thought were his

friends because they had conducted themselves as such, visiting each other homes and

families. He had a factory but it was lost in the pogrom along with house in Paldi.

Although his home of 18 years in Paldi did not get lit on fire like so many others it was

looted and damaged however he has never returned there since the day he drove off in

caravan of cars with a police escort. Unfortunately, he only had life insurance so what

was damaged and looted in the carnage was really lost. He had called the police just like

his Muslim neighbors did but they did not come to protect this colony from the brutal

attacks of the mobs. The police escort happened only a day or so later. In addition to

this, he opted to not use the legal system by fighting a court case to get compensation

because he knows nothing will come of it. This realization by him and his expression of

this statement indicate the disempowerment and the insecurity members of the minority

community feel three years after the planned brutality was executed.

Due to the wholesale shirking of their duty, save some very brave and courageous

officers, the police in Gujarat by and large failed to protect their fellow citizens. In many

cases they joined the mobs and criminals to rape, kill, bum, loot, instill fear, and entrench

hate and mistmst in the minds and hearts of the state’s Muslims. Despite all of their

criminalities and blatant corruption no police officer in Gujarat has been brought to

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justice yet. Although they failed to fulfill their job descriptions and expected role as

protectors and enforcers of law they are not being prosecuted for this. In fact, no state

officials are on trial either, although they planned and orchestrated the genocide. The

path to justice is blocked because the war criminal Narendra Modi who was the architect

of the genocide and his saffron apparatus remain in power with the blood of Gujarat’s

minority community all over their hands.

Scholarly Research on Police and Minorities

In Minorities and Police in India, Engineer discusses how the negative images of

Muslims police hold impact their interactions with members of the minority community

in adverse ways diminishing any chance of their relations being civil or even positive.

He asserts that “we have to confront this stereotypical image of the Muslim community

and try to change it especially in the minds and psyche of the police force.”281 In addition

to this, police loyalty to the rule of law is shaky and comes after other loyalties. Engineer

highlights the communalization of the police force by revealing how “they even said that

their basic loyalty was not to the rule of law but to Shiv Sena.”989

In India spreading communal hate is illegal and police officers are entrusted with

enforcing the law and catching criminals in the act of breaking the law. If this is the case

Engineer presses for answers as to why no police officers have filed a case against the

Saamna, the Shiv Sena’s Marathi for breaking the law by spreading communal hate in

almost every issue?

281 Engineer,Minorities and Police in India (Manohar: New Delhi) 2006, 22.

282 Engineer,Minorities and Police in India (Manohar: New Delhi) 2006, 20.

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Police Methods of Training and Recruiting are Suspect

Similarly to how other institutions were saffronised in 1998 as a result of

Keshubhai Patel, a dedicated member of the RSS assumed power for a second time. He

did not hesitate to implement communalization as a rapid process within every institution

that he had anything to do with especially those that possessed a reasonable amount of

power. The police were not forgotten when it came to eliminating and moving around

officers so that the all the officers in the field represented the saffron color and all that it

stood for relegating any minority officers to desk jobs. In fact:

Not a single IPS [Indian Police Service] officer from the minority community is now on a “field posting”.. .All eight IPS officers in the state from the minority community.. .are working in insignificant “support systems” and not engaged in “active policing”.. .[Of] the 65 minority community officers of the rank of inspector in Gujarat, only two are handling field jobs. Most minority community officers below the rank of superintendent have been relegated to the CID [Crime Investigation Department]. According to norms, when an IPS officer is promoted he is given a field posting. However, in Gujarat, when an IPS officer from the minority community is promoted, he is sent to the computer section or given charge of police housing.

In addition to filtering out the minority officers to positions in which they would

never be on duty to protect citizens under the threat of mobs in an ethnic pogrom, officers

who took action against ‘rioters’ were transferred. Not even a letter from the Gujarat

Director General of Police, A.K. Chakravarty protesting the transfer of senior police

officers who had acted to halt the pogroms stopped their communal dictates from being

completed just the way they were intended to.

283 Rawat, “Minority hole in Gujarat police force.” http://www.telegraphindia.eom/archive/1020327/front_pa.htm#head7

284Rawat, “Minority hole in Gujarat police force.” http://www.telegraphindia.eom/archive/1020327/front_pa.htm#head7

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Can Demographic Representation of Different Groups Impact Institutions?

All of the institutions discussed above are largely dominated by the Hindu

majority community in terms of representation of the people that make up the institution

in terms of the employees. In addition to this, they all share an entrenched discrimination

against the Muslim and Christian minority communities and a bias for the Hindu majority

community which is expressed in their policies, procedures, and daily goings on. These

inherent discriminations have severe impacts on the minority communities, accessibility

to the services these institutions provide completely overlooking the fact that whether

they belong to a minority or majority community as long as they are citizens of India they

are all considered equal and possess the same rights which are enshrined in the Indian

TOC constitution.

One of the most common problems sited with the Indian police force in terms of

discrimination is the putridly low numbers of members of the minority communities on

the police force all over India. Some including Vabhuti Narayan Rai, a scholar on the

topic who conducted a year long research study on discrimination of the police force

against minorities, holds that multiple reforms of the police are imperative to rooting out

or diminishing discrimination by police officers. One of the recommended reforms is

higher representation of minority community police officers as well as more women

police officers. However, Laura Rosenberger in her study of inter-communal

peacebuilding in Kosovo asserts that simply changing the make-up of the institution by

285 The Indian Constitution was passed by the Constituent Assembly of India on November 26, 1947 and was enacted on January 26, 1950. It boasts the longest of any constitution in the world consisting of: 395 articles, 12 schedules, and multitudes of amendments totaling 117,369 words (English version), http ://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Constitution

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identity falls short of the sorts of changes that are crucial to ridding an institution of its

discrimination and fundamentally changing the institution.

Similarly Rosenberger holds the same for programs of nongovernmental

organizations, “the add “Serb and stir” approach is akin to the approach of adding women

to traditionally male institutions without active efforts to change the institutions

themselves and has had a limited impact on relations between ethnic groups both within

institutions and in Kosovar society at large.”286

Praveen Swami in his article “Bias and the police”287 in theFrontline issue on the

Sachar Report is also critical of the idea that simply adding more Muslims to the police

force will have an impact on communal violence. He claims that “representative policing

is a seductive slogan, offering a one-pill solution to an infinitely complex and apparently

incurable malaise” and that “at best, however, it is a placebo - not a prescription for

building professional police forces.”288 He demonstrates how although many claim that a

more representative force is “necessary to ensure that the police defend all communities

during riots rather than act as the self-appointed sword arm of sectarian interests” does

not hold up under the scrutiny of numbers. He compares the percentages of Muslims in

the total population of 13 states to the percentages of Muslims in the police forces of the

respective states. Then he discusses police bias and Rai’s perspective that the negative

perceptions that the majority of police officers held about Muslims helped to “explain

286 Laurie Rosenberger, thesis, 161.

287 Praveen Swami, “Bias and the police”Frontline. 33-36, December 15, 2006.

288 Praveen Swami, “Bias and the police”Frontline. 33. December 15, 2006.

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why police forces had failed to contain decades of anti-Muslim violence.”289 However,

he contends that attributing the differing levels of violence and containment solely to

“police bias, though, fails to explain why some States have done so much better than

others at containing communal violence.”290 In addition to that, he asserts that “there is

no evidence that the police forces of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh” (where there has been a

significant decrease in instances of communal violence and increase in efficient and

timely containment of flaring communal tensions) “have been subject to ideological

transformation since the rise of Laloo Prasad Yadav or Mulayam Singh Yadav.”291 Thus,

he suffices that,

political action, not police attitudes, then, could prove the key to explaining what determines police responses to communal violence - and to policy interventions that will help to ensure that the coercive resources of the State are used without bias.”292

Communalization of Politics

Shaheen Akhtar, a scholar at the Institute of Regional Studies in Islamabad claims

that “communalism has increasingly become an integral part of Indian politics and has

assumed alarming proportions during the last one decade.”293 She defines communal

politics as “the manipulation of social consciousness based on religion for political

289 Praveen Swami, “Bias and the police”Frontline. 35, December 15, 2006.

290 Praveen Swami, “Bias and the police”Frontline, 36, December 15, 2006.

291 Praveen Swami, “Bias and the police”Frontline. 36, December 15, 2006.

292 Praveen Swami, “Bias and the police”Frontline. 36, December 15, 2006.

293 Shaheen Akhtar, The State o f Muslims in India. South Asian Studies - VI. (Islamabad: Aziz-ul-Haque), 1996, 39.

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purposes.”294 K.N. Panikkar notes how communalism has “crept into all levels of Indian

polity and communal elements have acquired a substantial presence in the various

apparatus of Indian states.”295

Through testimonies of victims/survivors it is clear that a large proportion of them

claim that those involved in orchestrating the violence perpetrated against them were

members of the ruling political party and or local officials or authorities. During an

interview with a victim/survivor they were asked if they thought the government was

involved. This following is an excerpt from the interview of their response.

Interviewer: Do they think the government was involved? Respondent: 100%. In Mogri, the MLA of this area can answer. Dilip Mani was actively involved. Interviewer: He is part o f the BJP? Respondent: Yes, BJP, was actively involved in Mogri Town. Interviewer: I have asked did anybody see him? Respondent: Yes. He guided the people personally how to destroy Muslims. Interviewer: So people saw him? Respondent: Yes. He also saw him. Interviewer: What did he tell people, what did Dilip Mani say to the other people? Respondent: Dilip Mani had a discussion with one Raju Tantrik, is a main accuse of these riots. Interviewer: Oh yes? Respondent: He is a history-cheater, Raju Tantrik. Interviewer: Raju Tantrik? Respondent: Right. Yes, Raju Tantrik. Interviewer: Who is he? He is part o f the BJP? Respondent: He is a part of the BJP. He has eight FIRs launched against him 296

294 Shaheen Akhtar, The State o f Muslims in India. South Asian Studies - VI. (Islamabad: Aziz-ul-Haque), 1996, 39.

295 K.N. Panikkar, ed. Communalism in India: History, Politics, and Culture. (New Delhi: Manohar Publications), 1991, 8.

296 Interview #20:1-2 villager from Mogri by author, principal ’ s office at a school, District Anand

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Ayodhya and the Destruction of the Babri Masjid: The Final Approval and Solidification of the Communalization of Politics in India

Akhtar and other scholars of communal violence posit the Babri Masjid issue as

central to inviting and normalizing communal politics beginning in 1986 when Hindus

were allowed to worship at the Ram temple which was essentially the Babri Masjid. The

communalists made claims that the Babri Masjid has been built on the birth place of Lord

Ram. This is an extremely effective tactic since almost all Hindus respect Lord Ram and

hold him in high esteem. In fact, the BJP used this issue of the Ram Temple- Babri

Masjid which is located in Ayodhya as a central election issue. In addition to this, “in

late September 1989 the VHP began ceremonially collecting “holy bricks” from around

India with the intention of starting the construction of a new Ram temple at the disputed

site on 9 November 1989” and in the following years “dispute was portrayed as a

“national issue” and Ram a “national hero”, and the question of one’s support or

opposition to the movement was viewed in the context of one’s commitment to

nationalism.”297 Although Advani’s yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya instigated several

communal incidents, he was not able to complete his yatra because he was arrested on 25

October 1990 halting the yatra. However, this did not prevent Kar Sevaks from gathering

and damaging the Babri Masjid causing the Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Chief Minister of

the UP at the time to order police to take action which resulted in some deaths by police

fire.

Ram Puniyani provides a description of the assault on the Babri Masjid:

297 Akhtar,The State o f Muslims in India, (Institute of Regional Studies: Islamabad, 1996), 48.

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The Sangh Parivar issued a call for kar seva at the disputed site in Ayodhya on 6 December 1992. For the kar seva, nearly 3 lakh volunteers were mobilized from all over the country. The BJP Chief Minister of the state gave a written undertaking to the court that his government would protect the mosque. But when the demolition began, the police and other paramilitary forces withdrew from the site allowing the kar sevaks to vandalize the structure without any hindrance. The mosque was demolished within five and half hours the debris was thrown into the river Sarayu. A makeshift temple came up in day’s time and this was declared as the prelude to the construction of a grand temple to be built in the future. In the post-demolition period, massive ‘riots’ took place all over the country, especially in Mumbai, Surat, and Bhopal. The demolition led to the dismissal of the BJP governments in four states and workshops sprouted all over the country where artisans began to build the pillars and other parts of the temple. Since then, the Sangh Parivar has tried to drum up popular support for its temple agenda. Other groups affiliated to the RSS have tried to take this further by talking in different and contradictory voices about the need to pull down mosques and rebuild temples at Ayodhya, Kashi, and Mathura.298

Akhtar’s rich political analysis of the Babri Masjid - Ram Temple issue

highlights how:

the sustained campaign for Ram Temple paid rich dividends to the BJP. It extended its support base and increased its percentage of votes and seats in the 1991 elections. The party which had secured 11.49% of the votes and 88 seats in 1989, won 119 seats and doubled its popular vote to 23.4%. Significantly, in 139 Lok Sabha constituencies, the BJP candidates took second position” and “also achieved spectacular successes in UP and Gujarat, so much so that soon after assuming power in UP, the BJP’s chief Minister, Kalyan Singh, along with his party legislators, trooped to Ayodhya to offer prayers inside the disputed Babri Masjid complex before the idol, Ram Lala; and in Gujarat, the Hindutva c ampaign enabled the BJP to grab 20 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats with a phenomenal 50.67 share of the vote.299

Saffron or Secular: All Parties Have Played the Communal Card

Akhtar asserts that communal politics gained legitimacy in the mid 1980s under

Indira while her son Rajiv reiterates in a more comprehensive manner the specific role

298 Ram Puniyani,Communal Politics- facts versus myths, (Sage Publications: New Delhi, 2003), 123-124.

299 Akhtar,The State o f Muslims in India, (Institute of Regional Studies: Islamabad, 1996), 49.

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played by Rajiv in opening the door to Ayodhya that is discussed in Chapter 4 Communal

Violence and Communalism in India. Moreover, Akhtar contends that:

“this led to the phenomenal growth of communal forces which made deeper in roads into the political, social and economic processes, affecting both the Indian state and society and thereby the very mechanics of interaction between the tw o”300

Furthermore, many parties in India, particularly the BJP continue to use

communal strategies and issues to maintain popular support bases by manipulating the

masses into thinking that communal issues should be the central focus often at the cost of

issues that would impact their lives directly like human rights, economic opportunity and

equality.

300 Akhtar, The State o f Muslims in India, (The Institute of Regional Studies: Islamabad, 1996), 5.

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POLARIZATION AND SEGREGATION OF GUJARAT

Undercover in a Segregated Ahmedabad

Upon my arrival in Gujarat I was notified by someone at an NGO that perhaps I

should change my name for the course of my fieldwork given my topic in combination

with the fact that I am Muslim. In India a name says a lot. It tells which identity group

you belong to which in Gujarat determines many things including where you can live, go

to school, who you can marry. It denotes what caste you belong to, thus how you should

be treated, whether or not you are a first, second or third class citizen.

I decided to heed my mentor’s advice to change my name301 to one which

resembled my real name but did not sound Muslim, for three reasons. The first reason is

to get information from respondents without them altering it as a result o f my identity.

Secondly, taking into account my topic, Hindu-Muslim relations and communal violence,

and that a large scale instance o f this violence had taken place in Gujarat just three

years prior remaining fresh to many, safety was also a concern. Perhaps questions I

would ask, could prompt a reaction that would strip me o f my security and well being.

The third and most pertinent reason to change my name was the locality in which I was

3011 discuss this in the Methodology chapter under the subheading of Ethical Considerations. 166

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to live. I was a ‘paying guest’ in a society302 (apartment complex) in a satellite area o f

Ahmedabad that was almost all Hindu. There were a few Christian residents, but

definitely, no Muslims. In fact, it is through residing in this all Hindu upper class area

that I had access to many supporters o f the Modi regime. Through conversations with

fellow residents and neighbors of my society, I conducted informal interviews about

inter-communal relations, the pogrom o f2002, as well as images, stereotypes, and

notions o f the ‘other ’.

What Ifound in Gujarat was astounding. I had traveled to South Africa during

the apartheid era many times, being that my family is from there. I had no idea that when

I got to Gujarat I would witness many o f the same phenomena as I did in South Africa.

There was a full apartheid going on and no one was talking about it. This reaffirmed my

decision to study and write about inter-communal relations in Gujarat. All o f sudden I

realized, not only that segregation had happened, but that it continued to, sometimes

gaining supporters in the most unlikely places.

A State Segregated

After my initial realization that Ahmedabad is segregated into areas by religious

identity to produce neighborhoods that are Hindu only or Muslim only, I incorporated

into my interviews questions that address the issue of segregation. This helped to uncover

302 In Gujarat the term ‘society’ often connotes an apartment complex, or section or a neighborhood. Due to the intensity of the communalization process many ‘societies’ determine who can live there by caste, especially religious identity.

303 An upper middle class Muslim secular business man I interviewed in Ahmedabad had lived for many years in a mixed Hindu-Muslim locality was now a staunch supporter of segregation. He had been attacked in 2002 by a mob in his home. His Hindu neighbors-friends of 18 years did not try to stave off the mob or protect him or Muslim residents but joined in the assaults against them by throwing rocks at them. Upon asking neighbors why they attacked they responded by saying that “they did this because he attacked Hindus (referring to the mob)” (Interview: Ahmedabad Apartments, Zafir Sheik, Ahmedabad, 2005).

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whether or not segregation was occurring or had occurred in the area where the

respondent resided and also if it was always like this.

I traveled throughout Gujarat to conduct interviews in both rural and urban areas

with a diverse sampling of people. Most of the people I interviewed lived in segregated

areas. In fact, what became apparent is that almost all of Gujarat save Kutch has been

segregated. There are only a handful of mixed localities that the hand of apartheid has

not yet been able to reach which include: Salatnagar, Ramrahim Nagar, Paldi. The nature

of inter-communal relations in the mixed localities varies and will be explored in this

chapter. There are many questions that arise around the issue of segregation thus the

chapter will be structured around questions raised through the interview process and

answers arising out of the data.

Was Gujarat Always Divided by Religion?

Although most respondents lived in segregated areas at the time I interviewed

them, this had not always been the case. In fact, most of the respondents had previously

lived in mixed areas either earlier in their life or right up until the pogrom of 2002. In

both rural and urban areas this is the case.

While most areas in Gujarat were not polarized or segregated along religious

identity group lines in the past there were some areas where people did live in groups.

However, their overall relations were amicable. They interacted socially in a positive

way and developed relationships and or friendships with each other. According to

Professor Abid Shamsi, a retired university professor, “communities have always lived in

groups. But they had friendly relations with each other. The idea of isolation didn’t exist

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until 1985.”304 In addition to that, he explains the process of segregation linking it to

communal violence, “with each subsequent ‘riot’, more refugees started moving to

ghettos” and that the violence in 2002 “added new dimensions to the marginalization of

Muslims economically and educationally.”305

In Ahmedabad and most other parts of Gujarat it is impossible for Muslims to buy

apartments of houses in predominantly Hindu areas. Well off Muslims are often forced

into Muslim areas often, ghettos. In addition to this, because Muslim areas are so

crowded the price of real estate in these areas has skyrocketed making planned

apartments or houses in these areas affordable only to wealthy Muslims.

Dionne Bunsha writes about segregation in Gujarat and she quotes Professor

Shamsi about how it breeds ignorance. “Exclusion is breeding extremism on both sides.

‘The youth have strange misconceptions about the ‘the other’ community. Right now,

the older generation still has warm relations with their Muslim friends and clients.

During the past three riots, my Hindu friends protected me in their homes. But in 10

years, that person-to-person contact may no longer exist,’ says Prof. Shamsi.”306 In fact,

prior to 2002 there were areas that were mixed meaning that both Muslims and Hindus

lived there together. However, almost all of these areas cease to exist and this includes

both urban and rural localities. It appears as though the communalists’ long term plan of

304 Dionne Bunsha “Ahmedabad’s Ghettos” http://www.hinduonnet.eom/fline/fl2020/stories/20031010003303900.htm

305Dionne Bunsha “Ahmedabad’s Ghettos” http://www.hinduonnet.eom/fline/fl2020/stories/20031010003303900.htm

306Dionne Bunsha “Ahmedabad’s Ghettos” http ://www.hinduonnet. com/ fline/fl2020/stories/20031010003303900.htm

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segregation and polarization of the polity of Gujarat became finalized in the 2002

genocide and its aftermath.

How Does Segregation Occur?

In the case of Gujarat, the project of the communalists/ Hindutva movement to

communalize the state and its polity has been going on for about 15-20 years. There are

several stages of the communalization process and they are outlined in the introductory

chapter to this first set of themes. Throughout the history of Gujarat there have been

many instances of communal violence which are listed in the literature review in Chapter

4 Communal Violence and Communalism in India in the History of Communal Violence

in Gujarat subsection.

With each instance of violence the minority community becomes more insecure

and increasingly vulnerable. Refer to Figure 6.1. to view a diagram which illustrates the

process of how segregation occurs, featuring the different stages that take place. In

bubble number 1 which is also the one farthest to the left and closest to the top of the

page symbolizes communal violence which can take the form of “riots”, pogroms, ethnic

cleansing, and or genocide. In bubble number 2, forced migrations of members of a

particular community take place. In this case, Muslims had to leave their original villages

or areas. In bubble number 3, the ghettoization of the minority community occurs. This

entails those internally displaced victims/survivors of communal violence

who were forced to leave their homes to end up moving to ghettos. In most cases as is

discussed below they move to these areas out of fear that if they attempt to return to their

homes they will be killed, also they feel safer with only members of their identity group,

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and lastly they have no other place to go as they are not accepted by society at large who

in most cases were the criminals who persecuted them. The ghettos that the

victims/survivors often move into, lack basic necessities including sanitation, running

Communal violence: “riots”, pogrom, ethnic cleansing, and or genocide

Forced migrations from oriainal villaaes

Ghettoization of minority community

Polarization, stereotypes abound unchecked, segregation

FIGURE 3 PROCESS OF HOW SEGREGATION OCCURS

water, and electricity among others resulting in a severe lowering in the standard of life

of the residents. This in turn increases their vulnerability in society where they already

occupy precarious position. In bubble number 4, polarization sets in, because now that

communities are no longer living together, and lack access to each other, stereotypes and

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rumors concocted by communalists are in abundance and flourishing benefiting from

remaining unchecked. These conditions solidify segregation as the level of inter-

communal hatred and misunderstanding skyrockets.

To further understand the process of how segregation occurs, select stories of

respondents who were victims/survivors of violence in the 2002 pogrom are included.

While each individual survivor of violence has a different story that must be honored the

stories chosen reflect many of the hardships and tragedies that a large portion of survivors

underwent.

The Story of Ali307 From the Village of Mogri: A Tale of Amicable Inter-Communal Relations Pre- 2002 and the Communalist Operatives Infiltration into the Village

Mogri is a Gujarati village in the district o f Anand. Before 2002 Mogri was a

mixed village in which both Hindus and Muslims lived together. In fact when asked

about inter-communal relations in Mogri before 2002 Ali described relations between

Muslims and Hindus by stating that “they were living like brothers before 2002. ”308

In recounting what had happened in Mogri in 2002 and why Ali made it clear that

the Member o f the Legislative Assembly of that area participated in the process leading

up to the pogrom. He states, “Dilip Mani (who was the MLA o f that area) was actively

307 Ali is a fictional name, however the story of Ali reflects the real story of a respondent from Mogri. This change of name is essential in order to protect the respondent’s identity due to the nature of insecurity of the minority community in India and Gujarat in specific.

308 Interview #20:3

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involved. The BJP was actively involved in Mogri. He guided the people personally (on)

how to destroy Muslims. ”309

Ali details the underlying economic issues of Mogri in terms of Hindu - Muslim

relations. He notes that before 2002 many Muslims in Mogri were rich and how others

were jealous because o f this.

Uthman T1 0 from Badran and his Testimony of Assault, Burnt Houses, and Forced Migration

Badran like Mogri also resides in the district o f Anand in Gujarat. There was no

violence in Badran during the exact time in 2002 when the rest o f Gujarat was burning.

However, about one month after the Godhra train incident during Muharramsllsome

Muslims from a nearby village called Vorsad killed a Hindu boy. After this killing o f the

Hindu boy in Vorsad, Uthman told o f how in Badran the “Hindus decided to burn all the

houses of Muslims.f *312 ” There were many forced migrations of Muslim families out of

Badran to Pepri where a majority o f residents are Muslim. In fact only less than half of

the Muslim families who previously resided in Badran resided there at the time I

conducted the interview with Uthman.

309 Interview #20:1

310 Uthman is a fictional name used here to conceal the respondent from Badran’s identity. The story of ‘Uthman’ is based on a real story of a respondent from Badran.

311 Muharram is a Shia Muslim holiday which commemorates and honors Ali, the Prophet Muhammed’s cousin.

312 Interview#! 8:2

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' l i o < Kareem from Nawli tells of Forced Migration, Displacement, Ethnic Cleansing and Dispossession, and Recognition of the Attackers

Nawli another village in the Anand District was enmeshed in the 2002 pogrom.

In fact, Kareem tells o f how “all 50 houses (of Muslims) were looted” and how the “50

houses were burnt totally ” by the attackers who were village people and who were

recognizable to the victims.314 In fact, the survivors and the attackers had known each

other for many years. It is clear that Nawli was ethnically cleansed o f Muslims through

Kareem’s statement that “all Muslims (who) resided at Nawli, were migrated” and that

“they have decided to finish Muslims from Gujarat. ”315

As illustrated in the stories above, episodes of communal violence led to Muslims

being thrown out of their villages, having their homes burned down, and in many cases

being attacked. These kinds of attacks by mobs of members of the majority community

caused members of the minority community who were under attack to be forced out of

the villages they had resided in. These forced migrations cause displacement of many

members of the minority community. During the time of the 2002 pogrom in the last

days of February and the beginning of March hundreds of thousands of Muslims were

internally displaced becoming refugees in their own land. Many Muslims with no where

else to turn flocked to public spaces like; cemeteries, mosques, or schools, that would

become relief camps. These relief camps were set up largely by Muslim relief

313Kareem is a fictional name for a real respondent from Nawli. The story o f Kareem is the story of a real respondent from Nawli.

314 Interview #19:1,2

315 Interview #19:1,2

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organizations. There was almost no help from government. The subject of relief,

rehabilitation, and reconstruction will be discussed in more detail in a subsequent chapter.

Although many Muslims wanted to return to their villages they could not for

various reasons. In some cases they were told to never come back and threatened that if

they did return they would be killed. Others were simply too scared to think about

returning. One older upper middle class business man from Ahmedabad who had lived in

Paldi before and during the 2002 violence never returned to his home of almost two

decades after he suffered an attack by a Hindu mob as well as by his Hindu neighbors

whom he had been friends with for around 18 years.316

Many victims filed FIRs and had cases pending against their perpetrators many of

whom they knew as fellow villagers or neighbors and this added to the insecurity of

returning to villages or areas where these criminals roamed free with the knowledge that

those who they attacked had filed cases against them. This highlights the issue of the

problems with the legal system, and its institutions and how they fail to provide essential

services to those who need them like, witness protection.

In the overwhelming majority of cases the economic losses during the violence as

well as the continued attack on the financial survival of the Muslim community severely

limited where Muslims could live. Dionne Bunsha refers to the disparaging findings of a

survey conducted in Juhapura and Rakhial by Samerth, a nongovernmental organization

which found that:

“Riot-affected people’s incomes fell by more than a third, on average. More than 20 per cent had to change their occupation because they lost their equipment in the ‘riots’. Six of ten migrations to ghettos took place after communal riots. Of

316 Interview #41 by author with Zafir Sheikh, Ahmedabad apartment building.

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those who shifted, 68 per cent were Muslim. The largest shift was during last year’s riots. Of those who migrated to ghettos since 1969, 43 per cent moved in 2002-03.”317

All of these factors add to the insecurity of the minority community in Gujarat

post 2002. Despite that some Muslims did get to return to their villages as a result of

peace meetings with the villagers318 most Muslims with no where else to go and no one

else to turn to looked towards each other as Muslims. Many Muslims decided that they

feel safer in numbers and together with other Muslims. They decided to move to areas

they would be accepted in other words, all Muslim areas. In fact, this movement of

Muslims, post the 2002 carnage to all Muslim areas instead of back to their original

villages or areas solidified the plans of the communalists to ethnically cleanse many areas

in Gujarat and to segregate the state by religious identity.

Ghettoization of the Minority Community

Not only did the state become more segregated and divided but the ghettoization

process of Muslims intensified greatly. With this movement of Muslims to all Muslim

areas come several factors which combine to produce the ghettoization of the minority

community. The forced migration, loss of homes, businesses, factories and property as

well as the continued persecution of Muslims through economic and social boycotts have

combined to sadly see the realization of Modi and his communal government’s policy of

317Dionne Bunsha “Ahmedabad’s Ghettos” http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2020/stories/20031010003303900.htm

318 There were peace meetings that took place between victims/ survivors and perpetrators as well as other villagers which in some cases enabled some Muslim villagers to return home. Some of the peace meetings were facilitated by local Muslim leaders and or by nongovernmental organizations.

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“Muslim free zones”319 in Ahmedabad materialize thereby pushing Muslims into areas

that were not as desirable pre-2002, and inspiring the burgeoning development and

growth of Muslim ghettos. This phenomenon of the ghettoization of Muslim is like a

second attack on the Muslim community and indicates the continuous and persistent

nature of the persecution they suffer in Gujarat at the hands of the communalized state

and a large majority of population.

Uncovering the Origins of the Term Ghetto

According to the Wikipedia a “ghetto is an area where people from a specific

racial or ethnic background or united in a given culture or religion live as a group,

voluntarily or involuntarily, in milder or stricter seclusion.”320 Historically the word

“referred specifically to the Venetian Ghetto in Venice, Italy, where Jews were required

to live; it derives from the Venetian gheto(slag from Latin GLITTU [M] cfr. Italian

ghetto (slag)), and referred to the area of the Cannaregio sestiere, the site selected for the

Ghetto Nuovo where a foundry cooled the slag (campo ghetto).321

Alienation, Increasing Insecurity, and Vulnerability while Maintaining a False Perception of Security in Numbers Accompanied by a Decreasing Quality of Life

Muslims moving to all Muslim areas in effect creates Muslim ghettos. Through

the stories it is clear that many Muslims choices in Gujarat concerning where they can

live are severely limited post 2002. Although Muslims are settling or have settled in all

319 Staff writer, “Gujarat Muslims Pour Out Woes” http://www.islamicvoice.com/March2006/Follow-Up

320 Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghetto

321 Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghetto

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Muslim areas and feel safer there they did not have much choice in the matter. Those

who committed violence and were implicated in it including the government had more to

do with the creation of Muslim ghettos than Muslims themselves. In addition to that,

because of the Modi government’s involvement in the 2002 carnage and their policy of

treating minorities like second and third class citizens they did not do much if any work

to try to aid Muslim survivors of the pogrom to resettle in their original villages by

providing financial or legal support either in the form of money, witness protection,

police protection, or any other means.

While providing a sense of security (false or not) living in all Muslim areas also

produces other undesirable effects. First, it further alienates Muslims physically,

socially, psychologically, politically, and economically. These all Muslim areas are

commonly referred to as ghettos for these reasons. These ghettos are cut off from the rest

of society.

Similar to some Jewish ghettos of the past in Europe the Muslim ghettos are

places of poverty where the residents do not have access to basic services that the

government provides to its citizens. In many cases these ghettos are overcrowded. They

lack running water, electricity, proper infrastructure like roads, schools, hospitals, public

transportation. Thus, the quality of life for all residents rapidly declines.

Although some of the residents of these ghettos may have been living in poverty

prior to the 2002 pogrom as a disproportionately high number of Muslims do in India

there are also many newcomers to these from various economic statuses who were not

living in poverty before 2002. This mixing of Muslims from diverse economic

backgrounds is an interesting by product of the creation of these Muslim ghettos in

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Gujarat. It will be interesting to see if this mixed income living arrangement could help

break down the class and or caste barriers within the Muslim community. Perhaps if it

does maybe lessons learned could be applied to the Hindu-Muslim divide.

Thus, the Muslim ghettos while offering the perception of security in numbers

with only Muslim neighbors in actuality they also further the alienation, increase

insecurity and vulnerability of the minority community because the standard of life

severely decreases.

To illustrate the plight of the minority community two mini case studies of two

Muslim ghettos are provided. The first is Juhapura, which claims the title of the largest

Muslim ghetto in Gujarat which is located next to Ahmedabad or could be considered a

suburb of Ahmedabad. The second is the Bombay Hotel area which is an area that

sprung up in the aftermath of the 2002 carnage to house Muslims who were too scared to

dare to return to their original areas or some who had attempted return unsuccessfully and

were attacked a second time. This area continues to develop into a Muslim ghetto.

The Indicators of a Ghetto

There are many factors which come into play when demarcating an area a ghetto.

Some of these indicators are: the residents of the ghetto are cut off from the rest of

society, the residents all identify as a single identity group (religious, ethnic, class, etc.),

poverty is abound, there is lack of access to basic necessities like water, electricity,

banks, schools, health care facilities, public or other transportation, proper infrastructure,

economically limited in terms of diversity, availability, and viability of employment, no

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room for economic mobility, little or no political representation, and a disenfranchised

populace.

Juhapura: A Glance into Gujarat’s Largest Muslim Ghetto

Juhapura, an area in Ahmedabad largely populated by Muslims has been dubbed

“mini-Pakistan” in a derogatory manner by the Hindu majority community. Prior to 2002

most of the residents here were not very well off. During the pogrom in 2002 many

Muslims of various economic and social backgrounds were forced out of their original

neighborhoods, losing everything they owned overnight. High percentages of displaced

people took refuge in areas that were all Muslim. They were drawn to these areas

because of the sense of security they felt in the presence of such large numbers of

Muslims. Juhapura is one of these areas. The population of Juhapura soared after the

2002 carnage to 300,000. With the high numbers of people came diversity in that there

are residents who are poor, homeless, wealthy, unemployed as well as a wide array of

professionals including; judges, IPS officers, executives and businessmen, lawyers and

bureaucrats.

Unfortunately, this growth has led Juhapura to become Gujarat’s largest Muslim

ghetto. Although Muslims feel safer in Juhapura there are many things about living here

that make the Muslim population more insecure. There are no health facilities, no public

transportation and no banks. In addition to this, there are limited livelihood opportunities

and an underdeveloped infrastructure. This bleak picture of reality in Juhapura is still the

case four years after the pogrom took place. This is evident in a appeal made by

prominent Gujaratis on the 7 of February, 2006 to the Justice Rajendra Sachar,

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Chairperson, Prime Minister’s High Level Committee to probe the Social, Economic, and

Educational Status of Muslim Communities in India when they visited Ahmedabad.322

Although Juhapura is almost completely populated by Muslims the neighboring

area Vejalpur is completely Hindu. In the past Muslims and Hindus could visit each

others area or shop there. However, after 2002 a wall dividing the two areas was erected

and the fear of the other is deeply entrenched. Hindus do not venture into Juhapura and

Muslims do not venture into Vejalpur. Rita, a Hindu woman resident of Vejalpur

confirms this by stating, “earlier we used to go across the road to shops in the Muslim

basti. But now we are too scared. We’ve even put grills on our doors.”323 Similarly

A.N. Ansari whose shop was destroyed built a high wall lined with glass pieces around

his house to protect his family recounts the change in inter-communal relations there. He

laments, “we had cordial relations with some Hindus. We used to celebrate festivals and

weddings together. There was a 100 per cent faith between us”.. .“but Rashtriya

Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) people from outside are creating trouble. They attacked us

from the Hindu society. During any festival, people on both sides are scared that a riot

will break out.”324

In many cases fear of the other is mixed in with prejudice, hatred, and complete

mistrust. One Hindu resident of Vejalpur, Tarun Dave had no hesitation in admitting that

he had no remorse about burning down Muslim houses. He made this clear by stating

322 “Gujarat Muslims: Appeal to Sachar Committee” The Milli Gazette Online http://www.milligazette.com/dailvupdate/2006/2Q060305 guiarat appeal PM.htm 27 November 2006

323 Dionne Bunsha “Ahmedabad’s Ghettos” http://www.hinduonnet.eom/fline/fl2020/stories/20031010003303900.htm

324Dionne Bunsha “Ahmedabad’s Ghettos” http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/ A2020/stories/20031010003303900.htm

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that, “if we don’t attack them, they will attack us. Moreover, these Muslims produce

children like cockroaches and even if some die it won’t make a difference to them. They

are unwanted people.”325 On the other side some Muslims believe that the Hindus that

died in the earthquake were being punished by God, “Allah is seeing all the atrocities. In

the recent earthquake, so many Hindus were killed in Ahmedabad, but only five Muslims

died. Allah knows everything and he punishes everyone at the appropriate time.”326

Despite the hatred of those who are separated by a wall the rare inter-communal

relations in Juhapura inspire a more optimistic feeling. Although there are not many

Hindus living in Juhapura the few that remain appear to have good relations with their

Muslim neighbors. In fact, the story of Madhuben Navnitlal and her two grown up sons

is uplifting, she tells how “in the past 30 years of our stay here, I have seen nine riots.

We continued to live here even after my husband died 15 years ago. And now, there is

no point in shifting somewhere else every time violence breaks out. Moreover, I would

have to shell out about Rs 3 lakh to buy a house in a Hindu-dominated area, something I

can’t afford.”327 Her son Ashok asserts that, “our neighbors are like parents to us. Not

only do they protect us, they also bring us food and rations during curfew. We feel safe

here.”328 Furthermore, they “had run away only during the post-Babri Masjid demolition

riots” and “their neighbors like Khatijaben and Khalifa and Anwarbibi have marked the

32S Syed Firdaus Ashraf, “Juhapura: Hemmed in by prejudices” http://www.rediff.com/election/2002/dec/06guj2.htm

326Syed Firdaus Ashraf, “Juhapura: Hemmed in by prejudices” http://www.rediff.com/election/2002/dec/06guj2.htm

327 Robin David, “Some Hindus Still Live in the Heart o f Juhapura” http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/articleshow7art id=13209594

328Robin David, “Some Hindus Still Live in the Heart of Juhapura” http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/articleshow7art id= 13209594

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house with some symbols of Islam so that no one targets it” as well as they “form a

protective cover around them.”329 Perhaps this Hindu family is one of those who had

originally settled in this area in the early seventies as part of rehabilitation project for

flood victims.330 Back then Muslims and Hindus actually chose to live next to each other

and did so rather peacefully. In that era people chose neighbors based on how close they

were to them not because of their religion. However, the communal violence that took

place in 1992 “accelerated the process of Hindus fleeing Juhapura” while also deterring

other Hindus from moving there.331

Bombay Hotel: The Aftermath of the “Muslim Free Zone” Policy also Known as Genocide

As Azar and Burton’s theories indicate there are links between conflict and needs.

Increasingly within the international peace and conflict resolution field there is the

acknowledgement that resolving conflicts involves and is intrinsically linked to

sustainable development. In Gujarat, a nongovernmental organization that I interviewed

called Sanchetana works with this link in mind. Hanif Lakdawala, the founder of

Sanchetana claims that their programs focus on health issues. Without hearing how he

defines health one would assume this is straight up development work. However, he

defines health as:

329 Robin David, “Some Hindus Still Live in the Heart of Juhapura” http: //timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/articleshow?art id= 13209594

330 Robin David, “Riots have Changed Juhapura” http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid- 13011262

331 Robin David, “Riots have Changed Juhapura” http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid- 13011262

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Health programs and we look at health is sort of not a medical problem, but it is a kind of political problem. So we look at what are the determinants of good health. So we think that there are five various terminals which decides the health of the society. So first is low buying capacity of the people that is one factor. Status of the women in the society is second factor, lack of education is third factor, irrelevant health services is the fourth factor and the sanitary and the hygienic conditions in poor communities. The five determinants of the healthful society and we need to tackle these problems we want to really improve them here in the society. At this point in time, we are trying to address various issues; low buying capacity you know is something the most difficult of all. You cannot know very much about that, but besides from these issues we have to work.332

What makes the programs Sanchetana works on, tie into the realm of conflict

resolution more is the demographic of those involved in their programs as well as the

make up of their staff which includes “men and women, Muslims and Hindus and Dalits”

and “is a symbol of the integration about which we are talking.”333 Some of their

programs focus directly on those affected by communal violence. In fact, I went to one

of the areas where they worked called Bombay Hotel. It is located close to Shah Alam

and had been recently populated by Muslims who were forced to migrate out of their

original villages and areas as a result of the 2002 carnage.

Upon visiting Bombay Hotel I realized that like Juhapura this is another Muslim

ghetto that had come into existence because of communal violence. Thisnagar appeared

to not have been populated previously and now it is home to approximately 50,000

Muslims. There is no running water, electricity, health services, or education system

here. The appeal for those Muslims who have relocated here is that it is all Muslims who

live here. Many of the residents of Bombay Hotel can not return to their villages either

because they have been threatened that if they come back they will be killed, they may

332 Interview #23 Hanif Lakdawala by author, Ahmedabad, Sanchetana office.

333 Interview #23 Hanif Lakdawala by author, Ahmedabad, Sanchetana office.

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have filed cases against those who attacked them but who still reside in the village, their

whole family was massacred there, and or their houses have been completely destroyed.

In fact, some of the residents here escaped the brutal attacks on their whole community in

Naroda Patia. It is clear that these survivors endured some of the worst violence

perpetrated in Gujarat carnage of 2002. Thus, the need for rehabilitation of all kinds

including, basic needs like shelter, food, livelihood, education, and healthcare are

imperative to implementing normalcy. In addition to this, there needs to be trauma

healing, psychological counseling, as well as legal services provided for each of the

survivors here. Although all of these services were not being met Sanchetana provided

the means for some of them. There was a health clinic which also acted as a counseling

center that many women visited regularly. In fact, it was in this dwelling that I conducted

my interviews with some of the survivors from this area.

Veravil and Kodinar: A Tale of Attempted Ethnic Cleansing, Gated Communities, and Ghettoization of the Minority Community

Veravil is the biggest fishing center in Gujarat. Kodinar is home to three cement

factories. The area that houses both of these towns is based in an agricultural economy.

Unfortunately, due to rises in salinity in the last 5-10 years there has been a significant

reduction in fishing. In addition to this, the number of crops farmers harvest annually has

decreased. The number of jobs provided by other local industries has also steadily

declined. This has led to a massive rise in unemployment in the area. It is this high level

of unemployment that is attractive to communal forces and communal political parties

because they have a lot of people who need paid work to do jobs that they otherwise may

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not do. Through employing the local people the communalist political parties are

infiltrating the area and spreading their communal doctrine.

Attempts to Cleanse Areas of Muslims

There have been several instances of communal violence in this area. In

concurring with the overwhelming majority of cases of communal violence the minority

community, the Muslims have been severely attacked. Rafi who runs an NGO focused

on stopping the communalization process is one of the only organizations working in this

region. He sadly told me of the plight of the Muslims there, “the Muslim area is in the

middle of this Kodinar, it is on the river bank also. So its cost, the land cost is very high.

So in the last three ‘riots’ they targeted Muslims assets like, shops, factories, houses,

mosques and all those things and they are trying that these Muslim fellows left this land

and settle to another place.”334

Segregation through Separate Infrastructure

The communalist forces infiltrated this area and took over the Panchayat and

other positions of power “capturing all the government resources as well as the

I l f cooperative money and resources to fulfill their agenda” which includes development

of separate roads for Hindus and Muslims. Rafi exposed how “in the last three years,

Talgarh to Veravil is covered by the Muslims and Junaghar to Veravil is covered by the

Hindus.”336 He remarks on how this pattern resembles “the battle of Ahmedabad”337

334 Interview #21:2 by author with Rafi, Shah Alam, May 2005.

335 Interview #21:3 by author with Rafi,

336 Interview #21:3 by author with Rafi

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through which the ghettoization of Muslims took place with the development Juhapura

and other pockets that were developed. Despite this Rafi is optimistic that this pattern

can be stopped and that “the roots of communalism’s reach is not as deepened as it is in

Ahmedabad. It is just starting there. So as soon as we stop it as soon we cut down from

any level of it.”338

Gated Communities and Ghettos

Increasingly in this region Hindus are living in gated in communities. For

example in Kharwabar “there are some points you have to like check-post when you enter

their area, they call you and they ask you where you want to go and with whom you want

to meet. They call on the phone that person who wants to meet you. Is it right or not?

Then he tells, yes it is right, then they allow him to come inside.” The houses inside the

check posts are all 2-3 floor houses which is indicative of the fact that the residents are

quite well off.

The counter part Muslim community does not live in an area guarded with check

posts. A far cry from 2 -3 floor houses with good infrastructure in the Muslim ghetto:

the main road is only 4 feet broad, this is the main road and if you enter in the house there is not any door or nothing is a just an open side where drinkers who were taking five rupees, ten rupees liquor per day they are sitting there. Then you find another door there are some sitting arrangements for the higher level people who are drinking about 40-50 rupees per day. They are sitting there and one stair goes for first and second floor. The family members have to pass from both those rooms to access their rooms including all the ladies and the children. Even no ambulance is able to enter their area because of the road they have to take the people from outside the area. The ambulance will stand outside of the area then they put the fellow in the ambulance and then the ambulance goes.”

337 Interview #21:3 by author with Rafi

338 Interview #21:3 by author with Rafi, Shah Alam, May 2005.

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Salatnagar: Island of Hope and Symbol of Resistance

Salatnagar is located in the larger area of Gomtipur. Gomptipur, a part of

Ahmedabad’s (ever extending) urban sprawl is commonly known as a one of the biggest

slums or informal settlements340 in Gujarat’s capital city. Of the 240 huts (dwellings/

homes) that makeup Salatnagar housing families about 80 percent are Muslims and 20

percent are Hindu. “In all the four ‘riots’... you know in 1969, and even in 2002, the

people over here have not fought internally. They have not fought.”341 In fact, the

dwellings of the residents who are mostly daily wage laborers do not merely share the

same piece of land but live together; they visit each other, play with each other, and even

celebrate their holidays together.342 Not only was this area one of the only mixed

identity group areas I had been to in Gujarat but it was an island of hope for inter-

communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims in India. In fact, this is precisely the

reason that I had been invited to visit Salatnagar.

339 Interview #21:6 by author with Rafi, Shah Alam, May 2005.

340 In the earlier part o f my fieldwork in Gujarat I used the term ‘informal settlement’ when discussing areas that are entrenched in poverty and are often not officially recognized by the government. These areas often come into existence because of the lack of affordable officially recognized housing in many parts of the world combined with the push-pull (source this term: look up in an ID book) factors which create large populations in urban centers who are left with little choice over where they live and who are overwhelmingly landless. In India, the NGO community employs the termslum, which is a loaded term that carries with it stereotypes and negative connotations. Although I tried my best to use a term which is more functional and less value laden I was not successful because for the most part people did not understand what I was talking about. Most people were not familiar with this term hence, I reverted to using the term ‘slum’ even though I tried to avoid this.

341 Interview #12:1 (Jansangharshmang)

342 Holidays and festivals in India as a whole and in Gujarat specifically often spark or are used to as the venues for manipulating and or igniting any communal tension that is present or perhaps lies dormant into communal violence. Hence, the partaking and joint celebration of religious holidays and festivals by Muslim and Hindu residents in Salatnagar is particularly remarkable.

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Jansangharshmanch Movement: The Creation and Sustenance of Inter-Communal Unity

I had been urged to meet with Mukhul Sinha, an advocate and avid fighter for

social justice by several other scholars and activists in Ahmedabad. During the interview

with Mukhul Sinha I learned of the movement for social justice that he and others

founded in Gujarat. Jansangharshmanch is the name of the movement Sinha spearheaded

to counter injustices including communalism by protesting and fighting for human rights

nonviolently.

While fighting for the rights of victims of injustices through the legal process

consumes a considerable amount of his time, Sinha through Jansangharshmanch

mobilizes people to protest and demonstrate and bring media attention to their plight with

aim of pressurizing the powers that be to alter their approach. While fighting for rights in

India nonviolently is not a new phenomenon and in fact is deeply rooted in the country’s

independence or raison d’etat, what is unique about the Jansangharshmanch movement is

the diversity and unity of the demographic of its members. In the height of communal

times Jansangharshmanch manages to attract the commitment of a wide range of

Gujaratis dedicated to protesting together. Hindus, Muslims, and Christians of various

castes demonstrate together against injustices committed against them in many cases by

the ruling party. The Jansangharshmanch movement raises the awareness of Hindus and

Muslims inspiring consciousness which instigates the realization that they should not

fight each other but rather fight together against the oppressions inflicted on them.

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Opposite of Divide and Conquer: Salatnagar’s Mantra is “United We Are Strong”

Through interviewing residents of Salatnagar I began to get an idea of what

Jansangharshmanch meant to most of the residents as well as to those spearheading the

movement as well as what the residents mean to the movement. What I discovered was

incredible. Through the interviews in Salatnagar several things became apparent: (1) one

person or a few people can have a huge impact on people, (2) perceptions of different

identity groups can remain positive despite negative surroundings, (3) bribery does not

always rule, (4) different identity groups living together ( in this case Hindus and

Muslims) and being close proves to be an obstacle for communalists in their campaign to

spread hatred through myths and stereotypes about the other group because both groups

are able to check the rumors and breakdown the stereotypes by spending time together

and developing relationships with each other that demonstrate that the communalist

ideology, myths, and stereotypes are unfounded and not based in reality, (5) empowers

residents to not be taken advantage of easily by the predator politicians.

Part 2: The Man Who Saved Their Lives

The residents of Salatnagar do not legally own the land that they live on although

they have lived there for decades. The Municipal Corporation of Ahmedabad legally

owns the land and has demonstrated this through outright aggression and threats to the

residents. In fact, it is through some of their worst turmoil that they have developed a

relationship with Mukhul.

The Municipal Corporation of Ahmedabad claims that the residents are ‘illegal

squatters’ and that because of this they must be forcibly evicted from the land that the

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Corporation owns. The Corporation threatened to bulldoze all the homes and reclaim the

land. Forced evictions of the poor which leads to homelessness and millions of internally

displaced people is not new in India. Where else are the disenfranchised of India

supposed to go? However, the Municipal Corporation did not want to address how the

residents of Salatnagar had ended up there or where they would go if that happened.

Despite that they were part of the government apparatus and were supposed to be

involved in projects for the public good they completely failed at protecting or even

inquiring into the needs of their citizens.

These threats came often from the Corporation against the residents of Salatnagar.

Some residents paid a visit to Mukhul Sinha knowing that he had a good tract record as

an advocate who fights for justice. Every time there was a threat and they contacted

Mukhul he made sure that the court produced stay orders which ensured that Salatnagar

residents could breathe a sigh of relief knowing that their neighborhood would not be

destroyed. In fact, these stay orders usually lasted for several months. When the current

stay order would expire he would work on getting another one. Mukhul Sinha single-

handedly saved Salatnagar at least three times. Through this series of actions Mukhul

and the residents of Salatnagar developed an empowering relationship whereby, he

learned of their plight which led to his commitment to them. In turn they learned of

Mukhul’s passion to work for equality and human rights and against the injustices in

society. In the International Peace and Conflict Resolution framework the work to win

the stay orders and ensure their enforcement, are Confidence Building Measures.343

343 In the field of International Peace and Conflict Resolution Confidence Building Measures are steps or actions taken by parties in a conflict to build confidence in one another and to develop trust in their relationship.

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CBMs are imperative because they build trust in parties working together to build peace.

Moreover, in this case these steps aided in the birth of the Jansangharshmang movement.

Furthermore, this movement inspires and furthers the development of relationships

between different religious identity groups in a positive nonviolent active manner. It

creates understanding where previously there was misunderstanding and myths standing

in the way of realizing potential strong bonds across communities that keep communal

tensions in check and directly prevent and or decrease the risk of violence occurring

between the communities.

The Blueprint that Saved Them344

Often in instances of communal violence, poor castes or communities are targeted

both to commit heinous acts of violence, usually for a bribe that consists of basic

necessities (essentially how communalists prey on poor to commit violence is also the

story of how the Bajrang Dal grew in number overnight) making it difficult to resist345 as

well, the poor, are also the target of attack. In addition to this, while a spectrum of

344 Human Rights Watch put out one of the first groundbreaking reports on the carnage/pogrom of 2002 implicating the Modi’s BJP state government in it. The sparse media attention and or international interest that the Gujarat 2002 carnage did receive was largely because of this HRW report which they accurately titled “We Have No Orders To Save You” referring to / highlighting the complicity and partaking in the violence by the police who were noted/ documented for claiming just that, that they had no orders to save Muslims, their fellow citizens whom it is their duty and responsibility to protect. Thus, the title of this subheading is a play on words addressing those criminal declarations by the police because Mukhul did design a plan to save the lives o f the residents of Salatnagar.

345 In Chapter 4 Communal Violence and Communalism in India the story o f Darshan Desai, a Dalit who was bribed to participate in the 2002 violence is mentioned noting that he later regrets his involvement in such crimes. The bribery and exploitation of Dalits and or Adivasis in India by communalists is in some ways analogous to how some fundamentalist violent resistance groups recruit suicide bombers. They prey on young, poor men who feel frustrated at the limits to their freedom imposed upon them and the oppression their whole society is suffering through. These recruiters led them to believe that they could do more for their family and for the struggle of their people by dying, promising them that sums of money would be given to their family and that they would be honored eternally by being martyred. Also they are reminded that if you a die a martyr you will ascend straight into heaven.

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minority castes from rich to poor often suffer in communal violence, the poor suffer the

most. This is because others in the middle or upper middle class usually maintain

possession of the ability not to, either through capital or connections, not lost in the

violence. In contrast, the disenfranchised do not possess much wealth or status prior to

the violence and will have even less or almost nothing after the violence.

Mukhul, aware of the utter vulnerability of Salatnagar and its residents devised a

plan to save everyone. Mohanbhai346 who has played a crucial role in solidifying and

sustaining the Jansangharshmanch movement by setting up and running an office type

center in Salatnagar for the residents executed Mukhul’s plan into action. In an interview

with Mohan bhai in Salatnagar he detailed the plan as well as the events as they unfolded

on that unfortunate 28th day of February in 2006 and the following weeks:

When the thing the Godhra Carnage news spread over here and the word that Muslims had ignited it. In Salatnagar, all the people you know even the Muslims and the Hindus together they thought that you know, something really bad had happened and they condemned it. But then what happened when the BJP said and called for a Bundh, even the BJP supported, the ruling party supported it. Then the people over here got scared. On 28th night, they were attacked for three to four times over here, then Jansangarsh Munch people thought that you know to stay back or not? You know and then they asked Mukul Sinha whether they should stay back and then they stayed back over here. He is telling that by 1st of March, nearly four attacks were done on this place. So then what he decided on 1st of March, he gathered all the families in the Salatnagar women, children, and men and he got them towards back side where there is a railway track and he moved all of them together even old men also. The young men stayed back here to protect this area whereas the women, children, and old people they all were taken out to the Kallupur Railway Station because that was a place, which would not be attacked. Right and I just asked him whether only Muslims were taken or only Hindus were taken and he said that they both were taken because they both did not want to separate from each other over here. From 28th morning to 1st March morning, he made 105 calls to the police station officially you know to the police control room to give them protection, but no police support was given to them.

346 Bhai is a both a Gujarati and Hindi term that literally translates as brother. However, it

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Yes. 105 calls. On 1st of March, only one police van came at 11:45 a.m., one police sub-inspector N. A. Modi was sitting from Gomtipur Police Station and six other policemen were sitting and he is telling that at the other side of the road, there were two to three thousand men. Yes, the jeep was there and at the other end of the road, there were two to three thousands mob with Trishuls.. .wearing saffron bands on their heads. Five to six BJP, Bajrang Dal people from that mob came over here towards the jeep and from this van and they had this big basilary Pepsi bottles and the police van provided them with diesel and petrol in it. Yes, the jeep was here. I made you right. There was one inspector named and six other and then the police jeep provided them with petrol and diesel and he is telling five BJP, Bajrang Dul people, okay. And then they gave best of luck thumb, they showed them each other. They showed this way to each other. Between the police and the VHP and Bajrang Dul people thumbs up. And then the police van went away and the whole mob said Jai Shriram and they attacked this area. They had a truck and in that truck it was loaded with petrol bombs and all, but then went short of petrol or diesel and the police van provided the mob with petrol and diesel. It (the truck) had petrol bombs. You know they make it in pipe and bottles. They burned all the 240 houses, complete 240 houses were burned. He is proud that first thing in the morning on the 1st of March, he had sent all the people away from here on the 1st of March. And not even a single casualty was there. Otherwise it would have been second Naroda Patia incident. In 240 households, the population is more than 3000. You know with stones and all. But when the young guys you know who were stayed back over here to protect this area, they learned that opposite mob had swords and crude bomb and petrol bomb and all. Then they also were scared and then they also ran away and at last on 1st of March at 3 o’clock, they both were the last people to leave this area. Yes 3 pm. By 3 pm everything was burnt, all the houses and nothing was lest, they both also ran away from here to save their lives. He is telling that you know they (the young men of Salatnagar who attempted to resist the mob) both were there and they both were also countered attacking them to prevent them from entering the territory, but when they learned that you know they were fully equipped with arms and they had only stones with them. Finally,

347 Naroda Patia is an area in Gujarat that is now known for the egregious atrocities carried out there during the 2002 pogrom. Between 91 and 200 people were massacred with scores of women brutally mutilated and raped. Naroda Patia is also the place where Kausarbibi, pregnant Muslim woman who was to give birth in two days was attacked in cold blood. Her belly was slit open and her unborn baby was taken out and flung onto a spire in a fire and burned to death. Kausarbibi was dragged away and then brutally mutilated and burnt to death.

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they both also went away and they both walk by the railway tracks towards the Kallupur Railway Station.348

Hindus and Muslims from Salatnagar Sustain Communal Harmony After the Attack in the Relief Camps

The mob did not spare even one dwelling. Since everything was razed the people

of Salatnagar were forced to seek refuge in a relief camp. Unlike most other relief camps

in Gujarat at the time their camp housed both Muslims and Hindus:

They opened a camp and they kept both Hindus and Muslims together in the camp and even when it was curfew, after that also they used to sit here or lean their office over here. Two kilometers from here and two kilometers from there, it is all curfew and not a single incident of violence, no stabbing and no murder took place because they used to sit over here, not a single day absent. Near Kallupur station, it is 1.5-2 kilometer from here. It was near the platform #12 of Kallupur Railway station. Ten to twelve thousand people were there in the camp and 3000 were from here only and other people were also there accommodated in the camp. They had officially got some funds from the collector and some NGOs also helped. Action Aid and Zakia, and UNICEF. Only one or two NGOs gave little support, to rebuild this. Their attitude was positive and they did not look at the people in the camp with as Hindus and Muslims, they had a humanitarian view the NGOs. She is telling that it took ten months and why it got delayed because the VHP and Bajrang Dal wanted to build and even tried to build a Shivshankar temple over here, but they resisted. They wanted that you bring back only the Hindus and do not bring back the Muslims over here in this area...... Bajrang Dal, RSS, and VHP all three.. .349

Resistance to Communalization

Through the words of Mohan Bhai the plan of resistance of Salat Nagar is detailed: Because the Jansangarsh Munch did not evacuate this place and 150 to 200 people were not comfortable in the relief camp over there and so they were staying here and they were cooking food and you know they had a mini camp kind of here

348 Interview #12: 1,2,3,4,5 by author with Mohan bhai, Jansangarshmang. Salatnagar, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

349 Interview #12: 1,2,3,4,5 by author with Mohan bhai, Jansangarshmang. Salatnagar, Ahmedabad, Gujarat

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also. You know 150 to 200 people who did not leave, came back and these people you know the RSS, VHP, and Bajrang Dal people tried to bribe them that take money and leave this place, but they were very firmed that no they are not going to leave the place. Four months back only in September, the Municipal Corporation came here to demolish this re-established housing over here along with more than 500 armed policemen. Four months ago that was in September. The Municipal Corporation again passed an order to demolish this place and policemen, he is telling the number was 500 armed policemen came here to get this place demolished and evacuated. He was beaten very badly. They threw nearly 47 tear gas (canisters) at them and they even threw stones at the police. People said that they are breaking our houses, so like people were picking up stones and they were trying to protect themselves. When this whole incident was happening, it was occurring in September. At the time, Mohan Bahi called the Mukul Sinha and on the spot, Mukul Sinha took a stay order from the court and that stay order is still going. The Nanawati Commission is not empowered to give such a stay order, and Nanawati Commission gave a three day of stay order on humanitarian basis that they are riot-effected people and within those three days, Chief Justice Bhawan Singh gave a stay order. For three days Nanawati Commission gave him stay order that was temporarily on humanitarian basis that they are riot-effected. Actually Nanawati Commission is not empowered to give such a stay order. But on humanitarian basis, it did. Within those three days again the Chief Justice gave a stay order over here formally. When Mukul Sinha was arguing about the Godhra Carnage in front of the Nanawati Commission, at that time he called up and Mukul Sinha immediately on the spot he took the stay order from Nanawati Commission. The stay order was temporarily, but now slowly they keep extending the dates. Now for vacation, they have got it till 29th of July because of vacation time.350

Attempts to Segregate Salatnagar and Destroy the Island of Hope and the Communal Harmony that Flourishes There

Not all of the residents of Salatnagar felt completely comfortable in the relief

camp. Some of them had returned to the land that had previously housed their dwellings.

The government approached both communities making offers to different pieces of land.

However, the residents of Salatnagar had no intention of separating. Some residents

350 Interview #12: 5,6,7,8. Mohan bhai. Jansangharshmang. Salatnagar, Ahmedabad, 2005.

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returned to the land they had previously resided on while others remained in the relief

camps. With the aid of Jansangharshmang they began to rebuild Salatnagar. Many of the

residents I spoke with vowed to never separate and to always continue celebrating each

others holidays and festivals with one another. Moreover, they emphasized that they

would not be fooled by the government’s ploys and claims that pit Hindus and Muslims

against each other. They have learned through time that the government makes false

promises, spreads rumors about specific groups, and gains from pitting Muslims and

Hindus against each other. Furthermore, the residents of Salatnagar realize that although

they may identify as different religious identities they have a lot in common in terms of

how they live, what they eat, what types of jobs they are able to do, and the types of lives

their children live, thus, they acknowledge that ultimately they are more similar than

different. Also, there is a strong sense of community among the residents of Salatnagar

which helps them remember that together they are stronger than they would be if they are

apart.

Paldi: An Example of the Dangers of Living Together with Hatred and No Security

Paldi is one of the few neighborhoods in Ahmedabad that is mixed. Both Hindus

and Muslims live in there, although many Muslims have moved out of this area

immediately following instances of communal violence. I interviewed two Paldi locals

who are both Muslim although one of them had vowed never to return there after being

attacked in 2002 and the other was still a resident of the area.

There is no peace committee in Paldi and while there had developed friendships

over the years across religious lines these bonds were often not strong enough to save

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neighbors from the onslaught of the attacking mob. In fact in the case of one resident his

Hindu neighbors and those he considered friends of over 18 years instead of protecting

him they also joined in and attacked him. He lost everything in the pogrom and he

vowed never to return to Paldi after leaving in a caravan of cars of Muslims escorted out

of there to safety in 2002 by a police man after hours of waiting for protection and

suffering attacks.

Although the other resident of Paldi that I interviewed remains there he too has

been a victim of communal violence. During the communal violence that took place in

1992 after the demolition of the Babri Masjid he suffered a violent attack and he and his

family lost their house. It was after this that they moved to Paldi. Although, he, nor his

family suffered attacks in the 2002 violence they still do not feel completely safe or

secure but are not planning to move.

Economic and or social status played no part in preventing attacks on residents in

Paldi. In fact one’s service to community made no difference to the mobs that attacked

Muslim homes and residents there. The story of Justice A M Divecha illustrates this. On

the first day of the pogrom the home of retired High Court judge Justice A M Divecha in

Paldi was attacked.351 This traumatizing experience forced him out of the mixed

neighborhood Paldi and into the all Muslim area turned ghetto, Juhapura.

Inter -communal relations in Paldi signify the importance and crucial need for

proper security and protection for citizens. In fact, it is because of this lack of security

that many in the minority community do not want to risk their lives and live in mixed

351 “Heard of a place called Juhapura?” http://www.indiadisasters.org/humanmadedisasters/riots/2002/juhapura.htm

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communities. This aids the process of ghettoization of the minority community while

also making segregation a desirable option. A former resident of Paldi who was attacked

and vowed never to return now advocates segregation.

Communal Harmony in an Enclosed Area: Ram Rahim Nagar

There is an island of communal harmony in Ahmedabad city. In 1969 a peace

committee was formed to maintain peaceful relations in this enclave. The committee’s

tactics of guarding the area during high tension times to prevent outsiders from coming in

boasts success. The elders in the enclave work hard to ensure that the same values and

ideals that keep them committed to inter-communal harmony are instilled in the youth.

The RSS have made attempts to infiltrate Ram Rahim Nagar by attempting to lure the

youth into their fold through tempting them with lucrative activities. So far these tactics

have not worked and this area has remained peaceful, however, some residents worry that

if the economic situation does not improve it will be easier to attract the younger Hindus

to their Hindutva movement.

Divide and Conquer Saffron Style

It is interesting to note that the method of oppression to divide and conquer

continues to thrive in India, especially in Gujarat whereby Communalist outfits like the

RSS, VHP, BJP, and Bajrang Dal employ divide and conquer policies and tactics

maintain control of the state.

Modi divided and conquered Gujarat’s polity in 2002 through the brutal execution

of religious pogroms against the Muslims. He captured popular Hindu support by

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manipulating the majority community into using the Godhra train fire as a justification

for attacks against Muslims. Their justification often was ‘Muslims deserved it because

they killed innocent Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya’, which many scholars and

anti-communal activists have touted as another example of a BJP concocted issue that

provides some type of justification for the ensuing massacre of Muslims.

The policy of divide and rule inherited from the British continues in Gujarat post

2002 resulting in the segregation of Hindus and Muslims. In this aftermath there has

been no justice, no reconciliation, and no reparations in other words no

acknowledgement. The apartheid that is dividing Hindus and Muslims and Christians

today boasts a success story for the communalists because with little or no contact with

each other, Hindus and Muslims are perfect targets for the promulgation and fostering of

the communalist instigated stereotypes and myths of the other. In this context these

stereotypes and myths flourish in over abundance and remain unchecked thereby

poisoning society by breeding hatred and intolerance furthering the institution and

perpetuation of polarization, and hierarchy.

Legislating Apartheid

During my fieldwork in Gujarat I was often reminded of South Africa and the

Apartheid that occurred there for many decades. Having traveled there many times while

the Apartheid regime was in power as well as doing research on the subject I became

aware of how this segregation was legislated and enforced by law. In South Africa,

during the Apartheid regime there were laws pertaining to every aspect of life which were

entrenched in the doctrine of segregation and division of groups covering a whole

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spectrum of things from where different groups were permitted to live and study, what

sections of public transport particular groups were to sit on, what parts of the beach you

could swim and lay on, a hierarchical pay scale which put whites at the top and blacks at

the very bottom with Indians and ‘coloreds’352 somewhere in between. In Gujarat, I

noticed that although there is an institutionalized communalization and thus an inherent

discrimination against Muslims there was is legal justification for this. In fact, according

to the Indian Constitution which asserts secularism as India’s raison d’etre and one of the

core values that espouse no discrimination based on caste, gender, or religious affiliation.

In addition to this, in the Indian Penal Code sections 153,153(A), 295, and 505 render

the promotion of religious animosity illegal and can be used against any one making such

provocative speeches. Despite that that these laws are hardly ever used they exist and

thus provide legal support for communal harmony, and equality. Taking all of this into

account I was shocked and dismayed when I read the newspaper in Gujarat in April 2006

to find an article stating that the Supreme Court of India had ruled that a society,353

residence community can discriminate based on caste; religion, or socio-economic caste

who is permitted to live there. The case which brought about the ruling was one in which

a Parsi354 community was trying to preserve a society which had originally been a Parsi

352 The ‘official’ term used in South Africa during the Apartheid regime to identify a person who was of mixed / both African and European descent.

353 The term society in India is commonly used to refer to the residents of a particular apartment complex, or section of residences.

354 Parsi’s are an identity group in India who believe in the Zorasterian faith. They speak farsi and have a long history in India but their roots originate in Persia or what is modem day Iran. While there are still communities of Parsis in India in particular in urban areas, especially Mumbai they have been decreasing in numbers because many Parsis went emigrated out of India in past decades. Parsis were often counted on as being a neutral party in past Hindu-Muslim communal disputes. Although the Zorastrian religion forbids

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colony but had over time dwindled in the actual number of Parsis living there due to the

decreasing numbers of Parsis in India in general. The society was attempting to make a

policy of only allowing residents to move in if they were Parsi in order to preserve this as

a Parsi colony.

Although the decision of the Supreme Court can be looked at as one that is

attempting to preserve India’s cultural diversity and protecting a minority group from the

dominant culture taken out of this specific context it is the perfect justification for those

societies that are racist and who aspire to make or maintain their societies as “ethnically

pure’’ discriminating against innocent members of other communities. In Gujarat this

ruling marked the legislation of the Apartheid that was occurring there. It gave the Hindu

communalists the green light to go ahead from the center that they no longer had to make

excuses as to why they did not want Muslims to live in the same neighborhoods and

attend the same schools as they did. The Supreme Court made a blunder by not including

a clause on to their ruling that stipulated this should be the case only if a community is

one which is under threat of extinction and quantified this by stipulating the dismal

percentage of the population the group would have to be for this to apply.

marrying outside of this group one of the prominent Parsis in India was married to Jawaharal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, also the mother of India’s first female prime minister, Indira Gandhi.

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RESISTANCE TO COMMUNALIZATION

“Fighting it means fighting to win back the minds and hearts of people. Fighting it does not mean asking for RSS shakhas and the madrassas that are overtly communal to be banned, it means working toward the day when they’re voluntarily abandoned as bad ideas. It means keeping an eagle eye on public institutions and demanding accountability. It means putting your ear to the ground and listening to the whisper of the truly powerless. It means giving a forum to the myriad voices from the hundreds of resistance movements across the country” as well as “fighting displacement and dispossession and the relentless, everyday violence of abject poverty” and “it also means not allowing your newspaper columns and prime-time TV spots to be hijacked by their spurious passions and their staged theatrics, which are designed to divert attention from everything else.” 355

The BJP are in control of the state governments in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and

Kamatika. In all of these states they attempt to do what they do best, flare up communal

tensions. In fact in 2006 there was communal violence in Mangalore, Karnataka. In

Rajasthan, communalism is infiltrating society via multiple angles simultaneously as a

result of the BJP being in power at the state level. The harassment and attacks on

minorities are increasing. In 2005, in Bhilwara, there were brutal attacks carried out by

RSS operatives against Muslims. Although the attack was carried out on a small scale it

still resulted in deaths, ethnic cleansing, displacement and disenfranchisement for the

minority community. In 2006, in Rajasthan, discriminatory laws were put into place

requiring anyone wishing to convert religions to have to receive approval from the

355 Arundhati Roy, War Talk (South End Press:Cambridge), 2003, 37-38. 203

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political authorities. Also in the last few months the laws in Karnataka changed so that

civil servants can also be members of the RSS. For anyone who monitors or closely

watches the actions of these communal forces and or the spread of communalism these

above mentioned observations about (1) increases in communal violence (2) laws being

enacted that benefit the communal agenda, should sound off warning bells or more

accurately alarm sirens that warrant immediate action to prevent another Gujarat from

happening.

In fact, Puniyani a scholar and anti-communal activist feels so strongly about the

dangers of communalism spreading to other states for example Rajasthan once the BJP

assumed power there at the state level that he argues that NGOs focusing on human

rights, and anti-communalization work need to focus intensely on the stemming the

growth of communalism there. He contends that “at the moment we have to spend a lot

of time in Rajasthan as much as possible that should not go out in any direction which

happened in Gujarat.”356

How do we resist what Milton Mayer’s details happened to the Germans in Nazi

Germany that made them complicit in Hitler’s persecution of Jews and other groups?

How in the face of the RSS’s program of communalization do citizens stand up to this

hate and resist?

There are many ways to resist the communalization process in Gujarat. Some of

these mechanisms involve legal avenues, raising awareness while dispelling communal

myths, humanizing the “other” by breaking down stereotypes while others advocate

embracing strategic nonviolent resistance. Father Cedric stated in an interview that a

356 Interview #45:14 Ram Puniyani by author, Powai, at his home, May 2006.

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multi-pronged approach is required to combat communalism and stop the spread of

communalization. Similarly, Ram Puniyani termed this a “multilayer struggle.” In this

chapter a plethora of examples of how individuals and organizations are resisting

communalization in Gujarat are analyzed through Curie and Lederach’s conflict and

peacebuilding as progression theory. The timing of the activity as well as the type of

peacebuilding activity determines what stage of peacebuilding and or conflict it is in.

Moreover, in order to combat the communalization process the anti-communalization

process must tackle it head on in a sense mirroring some of the communalist tactics but

with the aim of using the truth to liberate society from the communalists clutches, filled

with lies, historic falsities and inciting hate.

Anti-Communal Strategies Need to Mirror Communal Strategies

In chapters 4 and 5 communalist strategies are assessed in terms of not if they are

successful but rather regarding the level of success. Also communal strategies are

remarked about because of how widespread their reach is and also how effective they are

in terms of garnering support among different castes. As stated in the paragraph above

some contend that questions concerning the type of strategy the anti-communalization

movement should embrace lie in the communalist’s strategy. For example, in the

interview with Sophia Khan she discusses how in Dalit areas after the textile mills closed

down and there was rampant unemployment the BJP and or the Bajrang Dal set up

Mandals in each area that people who were feeling disempowered and whose egos had

been impacted because they were no longer the breadwinner could be a part of, could

even govern with a title, like Secretary. This makes them feel important again, suddenly

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they are very committed to whatever the Bajrang Dal’s cause is less because of what it is

and more because of how they feel at that moment in time. Thus, anti-communalization

groups need to mirror their strategy by offering an alternative group to be a member of

and even more appealing is one that will aid you in a livelihood project so that you can

earn again and maybe even resume being the breadwinner.

Although the communalists are successful and their strategies work to convince

people of whatever they want them to believe is not something to aspire to and sheds

light on how emulating the strategies of those that you are attempting to resist is

problematic in more than one way. A great example that typifies this is of the

communalists most favored and most successful tool, propaganda. They create and hand

out all forms of propaganda ranging from their famed spreaders of hate, the pamphlets, to

posters, to influence and control over a portion of the news media, as well as websites

strewn with racist prejudiced slander. Their timing in delivering their pamphlets is

calculated to produce their desired results of more hate. For example, “in early

September 1999, on the eve of the national parliamentary elections in Gujarat, the VHP

distributed inflammatory pamphlets in the slum areas of Ahmedabad” and “among the

many attacks on minorities contained in the pamphlets was the charge that Muslim men

were trapping Hindu girls into marriage” and that “the populations of Christians and

Muslims in the country since independence have increased at a far greater rate than the

population of Hindus, and that voters should think twice before handing the country back

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to a Christian foreigner-namely the Italian-born Congress Party president Sonia

Gandhi.”357

Through the citing of this example of material culture it is the reason for some of

the successes of their technique are revealed to be manipulation. That they chose an

informal settlement as their target the night before the election is clearly manipulation but

goes even further to represent the communalists as vested interests in maintaining

communities of poor disenfranchised Hindus for their gain in political elections and other

such campaigns. Unfortunately by rousing the emotions of those who live in the informal

settlement by fabricating statements about other communities growth rates increasing a

too rapid a pace they are instilling a false fear that somehow the minority communities

will overtime pose a threat to Hindus in terms of numbers.

Why did the communalists not deliver these to a posh West Ahmedabad

neighborhood the night before the election? The communalists manipulating schemes

would not have worked so effectively there for several reasons. First, most people in an

upper class neighborhood in West Ahmedabad they are already certain who they are

going to vote for perhaps because in India the rich constituents would have already been

canvassed with the aim of getting donations or financial backers for their political

campaigns. In addition to this, in this area there are majority Hindus with a tiny

sprinkling of Christians and they are wealthy which makes it is easier to determine who

they may vote for. Moreover, the blatant lies about the disparity in population growth as

well as the baseless claims alleging that Muslim men are trapping Hindu girls into getting

357 Human Rights Watch, “We Have No Orders to Save You- State Participation and Complicity in Communal Violence in Gujarat” Vol. 14, No. 3 (C) April 2002.

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married would not have been so easily believed here because it is common knowledge

that Hindus in India are the largest population group in the country and that because of

the high numbers of Indian Hindus, Hindus constitute one of the largest religious groups

in the world. However if for some reason they thought that there may be some truth to

statement about growth rates they have access to tools to check the validity of this

information online or by referring to records of past national census’ and doing some

calculations.

Thus, the successes of their strategies boasting widespread support in light of the

above stated revelation should be clear that it indicates not simply the success of great

well designed strategy that aspires to be emulated but one that once examined closely

exposes their continual preying upon the poor Dalit caste by maintaining hollow

manipulation tactics as notions of unity symbolizing acceptance into mainstream Hindu -

Brahmin dominated society and false promises of entry for the first time into a Brahmin

temple. Hence, those who propose that the anti-communalization movement strategy

mirror the communalists’ strategy must think again taking all of the above stated

problems into account. Furthermore, there are rich traditions and histories of freedom

fighters, resistance movements, and nonviolence movements to draw strategies as well as

358 Although the caste system was officially abolished in India it is still alive and well and bares no signs of extinction. This unjust system of social oppression is normalized in many ways for example one’s caste determines the kinds of jobs you are permitted to have, there is no room for social or class mobility in that the aim is to maintain status quo keeping those with power at the top of the caste hierarchy and those who are powerless beneath the lowest caste, the Dalits formerly known as untouchables. The caste system is based in particular interpretations of Hinduism, however the Brahmin priest dominated temple system in India dictates which caste is suitable to enter which temples and which castes are not even though they are all considered to be Hindu especially by the communalists. However this concept of Hindu unity that the communal manipulators like to promote creates a misperception on the part o f the low caste Hindus that they are finally going to be accepted by the high caste Hindus which is not meant to be taken lightly however these hopes are always shattered by the reality that they were lied to and exploited again.

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ideals or values that they were trying to uphold like, justice, truth, and nonviolence from

and emulate in India’s recent past.

Conflict and Peacebuilding as a Process in Gujarat

Adam Curie’s progression of conflict theory contains four quadrants that

represent four stages of conflict as it progresses while also indicating whether conflict is

latent or overt as well as showing the awareness of conflict level along a scale with the

left end signaling low awareness and the far right end signaling high awareness.359 The

diagram also indicates for each quadrant- stage of conflict whether power is unbalanced

or balanced and if relations are more unpeaceful and static or in between unpeaceful and

peaceful making them unstable or if they are peaceful and so dynamic. In the first

quadrant and stage of conflict the awareness of conflict is low which makes sense

because it is latent in this stage. In addition to this, in this latent stage of conflict power is

unbalanced and relations are unpeaceful and static. Curie also labels this first stage as

education contending that is what is required early on to erase ignorance and increase

awareness about the inequalities in relations as well as the “need for addressing and

-5 /TA restoring equity” from the perspective those suffering from injustices.

In the second quadrant and stage of conflict is confrontation in which it is overt

and can be either violent or nonviolent depending on how concerns are expressed and

responded to. There is a high awareness of conflict and power is still unbalanced but

359 Adam Curie, Making Peace (London: Tavistock Press, 1971) in John Paul LederachBuildingPeace- Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies (Washington DC, United States Institute of Peace), 65.

360Adam Curie, Making Peace (London: Tavistock Press, 1971) in John Paul LederachBuildingPeace- Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies (Washington DC, United States Institute of Peace), 65.

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depending on how conflict is waged may be rebalanced. Relations are unstable and not

peaceful and are most likely unpeaceful.

The third quadrant and stage of conflict, negotiation occurs if movement from

stage two includes “awareness of their interdependence through mutual recognition.”361

Power is balanced and relations appear to be more stabilized. Quadrant and stage four is

sustainable peace where power is balanced and relations are dynamic and peaceful. Curie

posits that “successful negotiations and mediation lead to a restructuring of the

relationship that deals with the fundamental substantive and procedural concerns of those

involved” he refers to this as “increased justice” and or “more peaceful relations.”362

Lederach maintains that “understanding peacebuilding as a process made up of

multiple functions, roles, and activities corresponds directly with the view of conflict as

progression.” In fact Lederach demonstrate this visually by attaching Mitchell’s wide

range of roles and functions at the corresponding location in the process. For example

the roles of educator, researcher, and advocate are aligned with only the first two

quadrants-stages. Next, the roles of mediator, guarantor, facilitator, and moderator are

aligned with the first quadrant -education stage, the second quadrant - confrontation

stage, and the third quadrant- negotiation stage. The roles of reconciler, enhancer,

rehabilitator, and developer encompass all four quadrant- stages including the fourth

quadrant - sustainable peace stage.

361 Adam Curie, Making Peace (London: Tavistock Press, 1971) in John Paul LederachBuildingPeace- Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies (Washington DC, United States Institute of Peace), 65.

362 Adam Curie, Making Peace (London: Tavistock Press, 1971) in John Paul LederachBuildingPeace- Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies (Washington DC, United States Institute of Peace), 65.

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As noted in theoretical chapter inter-communal relations remain in the second

quadrant- confrontation stage. Although the heavy pre planned violent attacks on the

Muslim minority community by the Hindu majority community have ceased there

continues to be high levels of structural violence and injustice perpetrated against the

minority community. There was no movement to any kind of negotiation, reconciliation

or justice. This is because there is still no acknowledgement from the majority

community that genocide was planned and carried out against the minority community.

Without this or any other type of reparation or compensation offered the collective

trauma as well as many individual members of minority community’s trauma may still

not have been dealt with.

Despite the stagnation in the confrontation stage there has been a lot of

peacebuilding work that has been engaged in by NGOs. In fact, even before the violence

started when the conflict was still latent there were peacebuilding activities going on. I

created a table (Table 7.1. Peacebuilding Activities of NGOs in Gujarat in the Three

Stages of Conflict) that exhibits the different NGOs and the types of peacebuilding

activities they engage in. I have grouped the activities of the NGOs into three categories,

the first one being the education stage in which conflict is latent and the second one is in

the confrontation stage during physical violence, and the third one is also in the

confrontation stage however it is post physical violence but during structural violence.

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Table 1 Peacebuilding Activities of NGOs in Gujarat in the Three Stages of Conflict

Latent Conflict -Education Confrontation Stage Confrontation Stage Post Stage During physical Physical violence violence Center for the Study of Society Action Aid- relief Prashant - worked on a draft and Secularism - produce camps for victims of of a bill on prevention of scholarly journal on communal communal violence, communal violence violence - organize genocide- provided food -put out press releases conferences and shelter documenting and exposing - communal harmony -creation the continued injustices and workshops-raising awareness of community peace structural violence about the other by dispelling warriors known as myths and stereotypes - police Amanpathiks training on sensitivity to minorities St.Xavier’s Social Services - Jansangharsh Manch - Jansangharsh Manch- got a conflict resolution programs devised and put into stay order issued and helped for Hindus and Muslims to go action a plan that saved support the rebuilding of through a process of the people of Salatnagar Salatnagar so that the Hindu humanization of the ‘other’ from the mobs and Muslim residents could stay together Ekta/ Committee Against Safar - relief work Helping Hand - reconstruction Communalism- communal -constitutionally based of new houses for internally harmony workshops- raising citizens rights approach displaced Muslim victims of awareness about the other by violence, -grants and dispelling myths and scholarships for Muslim students -offers computer stereotypes classes, esp. for girls Latent Conflict - Education Confrontation Stage Confrontation Stage Post Stage During physical Physical violence violence Sabrang Communications- Jamaat-i-Islami- set up Anandi- livelihood programs offer noncommunalized media and ran relief camps for affected women ie. and documenting of the plight chicken work embroidery of minorities as well as human rights and social justice issues Khoj - educational programs Citizens for Peace and incorporated in some schools Justice- legal approach to for children to get beyond establishing justice use identity labels constitution as base, help victims unearth mass graves

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Table 1 continued to find bodies of family members that were killed Humwatan- produces pamphlets that dispel myths about Muslim kings destroying Hindu temples -preventing communalist leaders from giving speeches full of hate

The Institutionalization of Anti-Communalization and Equality

While the anti-communalization work NGOs and civil society engage in is vital

and does make an impact it is limited. Funding problems as well as the lack of ability to

reach all (larger percentages of the populace) people and children consistently are some

of the shortcomings and or limitations that these programs face. To illustrate this, the

relationship between a NGO and a donor, in most cases they are a foundation will be

highlighted. The program coordinator at the NGO has a great idea for a project that fits

with the ideals and mission statement of the organization however there is no money for

this within the organization so they write a grant proposal to compete for money from the

donor or foundation. The foundation likes the proposal overall. They win the funds

however the donor offers them the funds on the condition that they augment a particular

part of the program because it does fit in with their political stance on a specific issue.

Although the NGO does not want to change this part of the program because of the

donor’s political stance they comply because they need the funds to run the program.

The NGO rationalizes this surrender of one their ideals as worth it by maintaining that a

changed program is better than no program. However, they have just entered into the

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beginning of relationship which is marked by a power imbalance in which the donor is

powerful because they have the money and the NGO is subservient and will have to

continue to sacrifice their ideals to maintain the flow of funds from the donor.

In some cases the programs are completely cut off once the money allotted to that

specific program is depleted. Sometimes the funds can be renewed. This poses huge

problems for those who participate in the programs, who they are intended for. In terms

of the subject at hand which is anti-communalization programs the duration and

consistency of the programs are both crucial in terms of the impact of the program as well

as the achievement of the goal of the program. In addition to this, the accessibility of the

program is also important. In a state like Gujarat where communalization has spread

throughout the state programs that aim at de-communalization must be far reaching and

easy for people to participate.

While the NGOs and civil society have firmly located or established a place for

anti-communalization work at all three levels of peacebuilding to significantly decrease

the chance of communal violence occurring as well as to stop the communalization

process from spreading further and becoming continuously more deeply embedded in

Gujarati society anti-communalization activities, policies, and ideals must be

institutionalized. This is an example of the notion stated above that the anti-

communalization strategies and tactics should mirror the tactics of the communalists and

thus the process of anti-communalization will take a hold of Gujarat in a similar manner

to the way the process of communalization did. The communal forces gained a lot of

ground when the BJP came to power in 1988 because they took advantage of their

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position of power and strategically infiltrated every institution with those who are loyal to

them as a party and who are fervent communalists.

If programs that raise awareness about injustice, human rights, as well as

dispelling the communal myths about the other in history as well as breaking down the

stereotypes furnished by the communalists about the other in the present are part of the

regular school curriculum supplanting the previous communalized one the impact would

be wide reaching and long lasting. It would be the first time that concepts of justice and

equality would be the state policy and liberating them from the fringes of society and

thereby liberating society from the previously perpetuated hierarchies based on caste,

communal, and gender inequality that engender injustice and institutionalize

discrimination. Moreover, these ideals and values will become part of the permanent

social, psychological, and educational landscape of Gujarat transcending the previous

non-progressive ideals and values.

Mechanisms, Tools, and Methods of Resistance to Communalization

Legal Realm

The recent case of Kamatika government or civil servant workers being able to

participate in RSS activity openly by the chief minister simply changing the law bares a

striking resemblance to what happened in Gujarat in June of 1999 when Keshubhai Patel

the then leader of the ruling BJP “wrote to the Centre seeking advice on whether the RSS

could be deleted from the list of the thirty-two political or quasi-political organizations

state government employees were prohibited from joining. Within days, the reply came:

There was no problem, since the Unlawful Activity (Prevention) Tribunal had cleared the

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RSS as a lawful organization.”363 It is through the subversion of or overturning of laws

that aimed to prevent just this type of communalization of society that this process of

hatred was unleashed. This highlights the significance of the law and how it can facilitate

or circumvent this type of phenomenon from taking hold.

It is clear that the law must be used to prevent the communalization of society. It

should not have been as facile as it was for the RSS to be taken off of the list of political

organizations that government employees were prohibited from joining. However,

because the BJP was ruling at both the state and national level there were not enough or

proper checks and balances between the two. There should also be laws enacted or if in

existence upheld that apply when the same party is in power at all or two levels of power

that ensure the checks and balances required to create transparency and balance while

also diminishing the chances of favoritism or party loyalty.

Basing the Anti-Communal Struggle in a Legal and Constitutional Rights Framework

Within the anti-communal movement there are many activists that base their work

on a legal framework. Despite the flaws with the justice system in India and Gujarat in

particular these legally minded activists use the legal system and the constitution to fight

against communalism. Although not every effort they make through the legal channel is

met with success or is completed in a timely manner individually and in some cases

together they boast many significant successes.

363 Siddarth Varadarajan, Gujarat -The Making of a Tragedy. (London:Penguin Books India), 2002, 10 and Rajesh Joshi, “Test flights o f the Hindutva dream: For the Sangh, Gujarat is ideal turf for its saffron experiments,’ Outlook, 24 December 1999.

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Despite that there are many hurdles to overcome in the Indian legal system,

corruption being one of the most challenging these activists traverse the laws and rights

granted to citizens in the constitution in pursuit of justice. Their persistence and

perseverance in these efforts is significant for the long term success of the legal system in

India diminishing corruption, restoring rule of law, and serving justice to victims/

survivors as well as holding perpetrators accountable.

Empowerment Through Constitutional Rights

Father Cedric Prakash emphasizes the importance of obeying the laws and rules

by asserting how the police and the state in Gujarat “still have to work within a legal and

a constitutional framework.”364 Sophia Khan also lawyer and human rights activist in

Ahmedabad is the founder of Social Action Forum Against Repression spent a lot of time

in the interview stressing the importance of arguing for equality and rights for Muslims

and women from a strictly citizens rights based position. She holds that all citizens of

India are granted the same rights in the constitution and that these must be upheld and

honored. She suggests that the focus must be on constitutional rights instead of minority

rights stating, “I am a citizen of this country. I am not asking to because I belong to a

minority community, because the other person will tell me that, okay, that it is not out

fault you belong to a minority so what can we do, but you can definitely do something if I

say that I am also a citizen of the country. There is a constitution of this country.”365

364 Interview #28: 8 by author with Father Cedric Prakash, Prashant office, Drive-In Road, Ahmedabad.

365 Interview #1:4 part one by author with Sophia Khan, her home, Juhapura, Ahmedabad.

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Upholding the Laws366 Against Spreading Communal Hatred through Public Speeches

Javed Annand and Teesta Setalvad, the founders of Sabrang, Communalism

Combat, Humwatan, Khoj, and Citizens for Peace and Justice use the court system to win

many battles against communalists and their continuous efforts to perpetuate and

establish injustice and inequality whereby justice is duly served. In fact Annand gives a

brief description of what Citizens for Peace and Justice are essentially about:

Well Citizens for Justice and Peace on one level is legally speaking a registered society and a registered trust and NGO in common parliaments of civil society action group. And its aims are not quite broad but have to do with the question of communal harmony coming back through resistance, tolerance, etc, etc. But the main focus of activities in the last three years has been and to say that we need to go the courts and we need to invoke the Constitution of India and we need to ask where, is the rule of law? Where are the fundamental freedoms? Where is the Constitutional commitment to equality before law and equal protection of law? Is that what happened in Gujarat, so that is what we did and are pursuing.367

One example that stands out from the interview with Javed Annand that I had in

fact been aware of prior to the interview from reading the Sabrang website is the instance

where they prevented Praveen Togadia, one of the leaders of the VHP from delivering a

speech rife with communal antagonisms written with intention of stoking communal

flames in the holy city of Madurai in Rajasthan.368 HumWatan succeeded in this effort

by setting up a network of over 100 local and non-local organizations that were against

366 In the Indian Penal Code sections 153, 153(A), 295, and 505 render the promotion o f religious animosity illegal and can be used against anyone making such provocative speeches.

367 Interview #25:3 by author with Javed Anand - Sabrang Communications, Communalism Combat office, Juhu Beach, Mumbai.

368 Interview #25:17 by author with Javed Anand - Sabrand Communications, Communalism Combat office, Juhu Beach, Mumbai.

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spreading communal hatred and wanted to ensure that no communal was incited, by

creating and updating a website of archives of communal tensions and violence, and by

these local organizations alerting the local police as to what was about to occur backing

up their claims with information and past accounts of Praveen Togadia’s activities from

the archives on the website. Each of HumWatan’s tactics materialized and together

prevented Togadia from spreading communal hatred through the delivery of a speech in

public space. In fact, not only was Togadia’s speech cancelled but he was arrested by the

police.

Mukhul Sinha, a well respected advocate and social justice activist in Ahmedabad

uses his skills to aid the social movement for social justice, calledGujarat Jan Andolan

which literally translates as the Gujarat peoples struggle or agitation that he and others

are trying to build. Sinha believes that the malaise and injustices being unleashed in

Gujarat including the pogrom of 2002 are “political” and therefore “will not get corrected

by purely legal methods” and this is why he places more emphasis on “building up a

movement.” However, Sinha represents many of the young Muslim boys who were

arrested, jailed, and charged with violating the Prevention of Terrorism Act,370 which is

the Indian version of the Patriot Act.

369 Interview #39:1 by author with Mukhul Sinha, at his home, Ahmedabad. 370 The Prevention o f Terrorism Act POTA had replaced the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act TADA which had lapsed in 1995. One of the main problems with “POTA is that suspects can be kept in custody for a period o f 180 days without being charged, and custodial confessions are admissible in court.” Anupama Katakam, “Pushed to Crime” inFrontline 23-24, vol. 23 no. 24 December 15, 2006. However, the repressive POTA was successfully repealed in 2004.

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Pressuring the Government to Implement the Commission Inquiry Report Recommendations

In an earlier chapter, the deliberate non-implementation of the judicial

commissions of Inquiry into large scale instances of communal and or caste violence is

mentioned. By not implementing the recommendations that are specifically for the state

government in many cases the state criminals are simply able to obfuscate the justice

system and not respect the rule of law. These actions or inaction by the state government

is infuriating, devastating, and criminal. If any of the recommendations of any of the

commission inquiry reports had been implemented then thousands of innocent lives could

have been saved. In the recommendations there are all kinds of provisions but the key

goals are to: expose the truth, hold the criminals responsible, protect the victims/

survivors as well as offer and facilitate the process of reparations and or compensation

among others and change the position of the police so that they do their job and protect

all citizens equally regardless of their religious identity.

There are a multitude of reports and their recommendations that have been

deliberately ignored dating back to another tragic large scale instance of communal

violence again where mostly Muslims were targeted and killed in Ahmedabad in 1969.

There is another report and its recommendations emerging out the violence of 1985

which has also not been implemented and sadly in all likelihood never will. Moreover, in

1992-1993 Bombay was embroiled in communal violence and like the others the

Srikrishna report and its recommendations were rejected by the BJP government this time

outright most likely because of the strong criticism against those who they held

responsible for causing the violence in Bombay to the extent that they “singled out

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various state officials for their role in inciting violence against Muslims.”371 There must

be a law passed specifically pertaining to state governments and the implementation of

recommendations of commission inquiries stipulating that if they are not implemented

within a certain number of months (less than 4 months) that the state government will be

suspended or that the central government will have to intervene to determine why this is

happening and how to implement the recommendations.

Preventing Communal Violence: Creating a Deterrent by Holding the Guilty Accountable

The discussion above about the failure of the state government to implement

recommendations and getting away with it raises the issue of accountability of the

perpetrators in the carnage of 2002. One of the best ways to resist communalization and

communal violence is to hold the perpetrators of the egregious human rights violations

accountable in some kind of criminal court. Due to the communalization of the judiciary

and court system in Gujarat these cases must be held elsewhere but must put on trial the

state government and those who it bribed into killing for them, this includes the architect

of the pogrom Narendra Modi. Although Modi was denied a visitor visa to the U.S.

because of his track record as someone who has committed crimes against humanity it

would be desirable for Modi to be apprehended and arrested the next time he travels

outside of India’s borders. This is how Pinochet the longtime dictator of Chile who is

also guilty of crimes against humanity was jailed and eventually extradited and tried in a

Chilean court for all of the injustices he committed there over the years. In other words,

371 Human Rights Watch, “We Have No Orders to Save You - State Participation and Complicity in Communal Violence in Gujarat” Vol. 14 No. 3 (C) April 2002, 35.

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if those responsible for committing communal violence or being an accomplice to it were

tried and convicted this would be a deterrent for any potential mass murderers or any

criminals on the loose that if you commit violence against innocent people you will be

caught and incarcerated and traveling overseas and hiding in another country as though

you were innocent is no longer an option but another risk of you being caught and locked

up for life. For example, in 2005, a war criminal from Rwanda, a genocidaire, who was

hiding in Canada was caught and extradited to Rwanda to be tried for war crimes.

In 1984, in Delhi, immediately following the assassination of Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi, scores of Sikhs were killed. This is one of the worst and most damning

examples of communal violence the country had ever seen. In this case the federal

government was complicit in the atrocities unleashed on the Sikhs in the aftermath of the

temple affair and then the assassination of Indira Gandhi by one of her Sikh bodyguards.

However, there was a commission of inquiry with recommendations none of

which have been implemented and not one individual has been held accountable for this

atrocious blight in India’s history. There are many critics of the Indian state as well as of

the political parties that claim that if those who planned and carried out these heinous

crimes against innocent Sikhs were brought to justice then a precedent would have been

set that attributes value to lives of innocent Indian citizens who are not Hindu. In

addition to that, communal violence would not be as profitable to the criminals who

disguise themselves as businessmen or real estate developers but who really profit from

the misery calculatedly unleashed on innocent people in which they lose everything they

have worked hard for becoming penniless and displaced while the criminals who engage

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in this cruel scheme more recently known as ‘disaster profiteering’372 line their pockets

with cash, women’s jewelry,373 or the plot of land where a family’s house once stood but

was razed to the ground during the violence. Decreasing or eradicating the profitability

of communal violence is possible however it would require new laws that threaten harsh

punishments like long or life sentences accompanied by exorbitantly debilitating fines

(some of which goes back to community that was attacked) and systems of monitoring of

land and looted goods as well as the mechanisms by which these would be returned to the

original owner by employing restorative justice practices.

Propaganda: Uplifting the Truth and Correcting the Revisionist Communalist Version of History

The communalist forces biggest success is their intimate understanding of how

propaganda works. They employ a broad spectrum of mechanisms and strategies

thoroughly and systematically getting their message to masses of people consistently on a

372 Disaster Profiteering is when particular individuals have a vested interest in a tragedy occurring. They profit from someone else’s misery. Current examples include the Bush administration. Some of the members of the executive level of government own companies, like Haliburton, that won reconstruction contracts in Iraq as a result of the American invasion of Iraq and the subsequent and ensuing destruction that continues unabated right now. Haliburton and Bechtel, are the same companies that got contracts in Iraq to rebuild and also got contracts to rebuild New Orleans post hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina put pressure on levies that the U.S. federal government as well as the Louisiana state government did not maintain, and suspected would break, but failed to take any action to prevent the devastation and flooding of New Orleans, and parts o f Mississipi, Alabama, and Texas. In addition to that, the US federal government, including FEMA, and the Louisiana state government also failed to evacuate people in an appropriate or timely manner, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Americans and the loss of whole parts of New Orleans to the submerging under water.

373 In India the jewelry of a woman serves various purposes. Similar to most other parts of the world jewelry decorates the face and body of a woman. In some art forms in India namely classical Indian dancing anklets act as instruments everytime the dancer moves her feet. The most significant use of jewelry for Indian women is that it acts as a kind of insurance policy so that in case tragedy or hard times befall her or her family she can sell it and make enough money to sustain herself for a limited amount of time or a long time depending on the quality of gold and stones, the quantity o f pieces, as well as the weight of the gold. However, a woman selling her jewelry is not desirable unless it is absolutely necessary. It is the last resort.

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daily basis. Although the communalist outlook claims to serve Hindus it is really the

elitist Brahmin agenda that is being served. However, their propagandists are skillful at

manipulating and packaging messages to appeal to different Hindu castes speaking of a

sense of Hindu unity. Despite these claims about unity in Hinduism the upper caste

Brahmins who run the communalist camp/ sector think of this more a consolidation of

caste and a way to get the numbers on their side because without Dalits, low caste Hindus

on their side they would not be able to maintain their position. This cooptation involves

bribery and the Bajrang Dal recruits poor, low caste Hindus, Dalits and increasingly

Adivasis to commit violence based on the promise that they will be able to enter and

worship at an upper caste Brahmin temple that they would never be let into otherwise and

in most cases are still not let into. Aside from the permission of entrance at an upper

caste Brahmin temple they are made to feel as though if they commit this violence and

kill Muslims they will be working towards the ‘fake’ goal of Hindu unity and that they

will be accepted into mainstream Hindu society. For people who have for their whole life

been discriminated against and been made to feel that they are lowest people on earth

with no value other than cleaning open sewage latrines, called scavengers, in India (a

certain percentage of Dalits are forced to do this job their whole life being told that this

what God wanted them to do) these kinds of false promises are like a dream come true

because they have no idea that those who they are supposed to look up to simply because

they are above them in the caste system are lying to them wholesale. These upper caste

Brahmins are misusing their status as priest class to perpetuate the endless cycle of abuse

and exploitation that the Dalits have been ‘bound’ to from the day they were bom and

will remain until the day they die. In the caste system there is no social or class mobility

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making devoid any possibility of altering your occupation. This is how the powerful and

rich in India maintain the status quo and keep the powerless and poor down despite the

large numbers of poor and small numbers of rich which would in many other societies

create ripe conditions for the overthrowing of the old system of domination and

oppression in the hopes of bringing in a new system where equality, freedom, and justice

reign.

Education

The communalist forces through their systematic and continuous output of

propaganda they infiltrate the minds and hearts of the people. Their revisionist historians

have created communalist versions of every period of history of the subcontinent. Thus,

in confronting this, the anti-communal movement has challenged these saffronized

versions of history with non-communal versions of history. This has occurred in a

plethora of mediums including, scholarly literature, pamphlets given out at historic sites

(where communalists have claimed false attacks in the past), history textbooks, websites,

and magazines.

Ram Puniyani conducts workshops with adults and children to debunk myths and

stereotypes the communalists have indoctrinated society with. When commenting on his

workshops with children he states that “the topics I choose are more related to stories of

harmony between different religions, stories of kings and stories of saints” ... “and to this

I always add the things related to freedom movement, but freedom movement I see as one

of the defining moments of this country or nation.”374

374 Interview #45:15 Ram Puniyani by author, Powai, at his home, May 2006

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Puniyani and Humwatan, debunk the communal myths that the RSS uses to

engender hatred and animosity between Hindus and Muslims, they do workshops on this,

write books, put out pamphlets in vernacular languages, make educational dvds about

these issues. These versions of history and perspectives on Indian society need to be

institutionalized into the education system through inclusion in the curriculum.

Stopping the Spread of Communalism through Textbooks: Reconstituting the Education System

Father Cedric stresses the importance of the education system in the struggle

against communalization by highlighting the issue of textbooks with communalized

versions of history. There is an active campaign in the anti-communal movement

tackling this issue head on. He contends that before anything like peace education is

instituted in the curriculum institutionalized discrimination must be rooted out. He states

“having peace education becomes very cosmetic. Not that you should not have it. But it

is all cosmetic exercise unless you revamp further. I am not thinking it should not be

done, but unless there is a clear revamp of the full educational system about the country,

which includes looking in our textbooks at the way we demonize the Muslims,” and

“glorify Hitler” and so on.” Although at the time of the interview the ministry of

education had not yet edited the discriminatory depictions of Muslims and outright

communalized versions of history out of the books those NGOs and activists that

launched this campaign had applied enough pressure that authorities pledged to change

the books by the following year.

375 Interview 28: 15, by author with Father Cedric Prakash, Ahmedabad, Prashant office.

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Altering the Socialization of Children: Transforming the Pedagogy of History in Schools

In the introduction ofPeoples History o f the United States Howard Zinn discusses

the reasons it was imperative for him to write this book and for others to read this account

of American history.376 He discusses how although there are, other versions of this

period of history written by other historians that are highly acclaimed that they have not

told the whole story and have only told the events from the colonizer’s perspective. He

illustrates how one famous account of this period makes mention of the indigenous

peoples that were brought as slaves back to Europe but only in a tiny footnote and is

never elaborated on or mentioned again. This kind of omission leads readers of this

account to be ignorant to whatever details no matter how insignificant or important the

historian chooses to leave out. In a sense the historian has the opportunity to rewrite

history, and because in most cases history is written by the victors it is inherently biased

and can not claim to paint a picture of the whole scenario. Despite this, accounts like this

are often taken to be accurate descriptions of the past.

Sophia Khan contends that “we need to change the school curriculum like what

children learn in school and the way history is taught”.. .’’definitely I think that the

socialization process can change the communal issue because it starts from your home

and (not) from the school.”377 She suggests that the education system should be changed

so that “there is nothing like religion, caste and these things. As a human being, we need

376 Howard Zinn, Peoples o f The United States, (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1980).

377 Interview 1:3 (part one) by author with Sophia Khan, at her home, Juhapura, Ahmedabad

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to highlight human identity. It is possible.”378 In addition to this, she makes it clear that

the biases against Muslims must be take out especially the popular notion that all

“Muslims are terrorists.”379

Growing the Anti-Communalization Movement

If the anti-communalization or secular movement spent a similar amount of

money of propagating their messages of unity, understanding, tolerance, embracing

difference, and equality that the RSS extols on hate just imagine what India would be

like. Where does the RSS and Hindutva movement get their budgets from? A lot of

money comes from affluent NRI’s in the United States. There needs to be stricter laws

and investigations into these transactions. There is an organization called Stop Funding

the Hate that raises these issues. In a similar vein there are many NRI’s who expound

secular values and who do not support communalization that would be willing to donate

funds to uphold these causes. These resources need to be tapped into. Networks need to

be set up to raise these kinds of funds. The RSS gets funds through organized networks

that are set up in the U.S. and other countries.

Anti-Communal Media

Javed Anand of Sabrang Communications more commonly known for the premier

anti-communal magazine Communalism Combat highlighted the media and its role in

communal violence. Like other activists and writers who express anti-communalism

through words Anand advocates fighting communalism through journalism which offers

378 Interview 1:3 (part one) by author with Sophia Khan, at her home, Juhapura, Ahmedabad

379 Interview #1:3 (part one) by author with Sophia Khan, at her home, Juhapura, Ahmedabad

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an alternative to the communal messages abundant in the mainstream and right wing

communalist media sources. Anand relayed how as journalist in the mainstream press he

became frustrated and decided to open new roads in journalism,

We were working in the mainline press until early 1993. As part of our journalism work we also among other things found ourselves increasingly covering communal riots in different parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat and as journalist we started to inform forum in Bombay before 1992. We along with the few other journalists trying to fight the growth of communal riots within section media itself. We also had a few meetings here and there, but after the demolition of the Babri Masjid after the program of this Muslims in Bombay 1992 we felt that we have to focus and concentrate our energies to the question of religious intolerance and communal violence and communal issues. So we give it our jobs and started this magazine beside worked for it in the middle of 1993, but it started coming out in August 1993.380

Replacing the Pedagogy of Hate with the Pedagogy of Justice: Reconstituting the Police

Recruitment and Training Must Include Conflict Resolution and Identity Sensitizing Workshops

Given the rampant dysfunction and institutionalized discrimination of the police

system Engineer who has conducted communal violence and minority sensitivity

trainings with the police force in Mumbai advocates three new approaches. First, he

proposes a system whereby “training course must be conducted at the stage of

recruitment itself’381 to prevent communally minded applicants from being hired.

Second, he emphasizes the need for the composite culture of India to be part of the police

training claiming that “only if these communal stereotypes and ingrained prejudices are

drained out and a healthy attitude towards the minorities inculcated, the police force can

380 Interview #25 by author with Javed Anand, Sabrang Communications, outside Communalism Combat office, Juhu Beach, Mumbai.

381 Engineer, Minorities and Police in India (Manohar: New Delhi) 2006, 22

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serve the society in a far more efficient and productive manner.”382 Third, he argues for a

more diverse police force and one that reflects the diverse Indian polity because he

contends that this will aid in the decrease of stereotypes as a result of the increased

contact with each other. Also, perhaps the minority community will be comforted by the

presence of police officers who share their identity. I contend that cities and states in

India should push for these types of police reforms to become required by law without

this there is no real incentive on the part of the police officers themselves to reform their

institution and or their behavior.

Connecting the Cycle of Poverty To the Cycle of Violence

In Chapter 5 the perpetuation of the cycle of poverty, the cycle of injustice, and

the cycle of violence are attributed to communalization in general and the

communalization of institutions in particular. The frustration- aggression theory poses

that if a person’s needs are not satisfied they will become frustrated. In addition if this

neglect in satisfying their needs or pacifying them in some ways persists their frustration

will remain and out of this frustration will act out in aggression. In our case of communal

violence Burton’s Basic Needs Theory is also applicable. In addition to this, Azar’s

theory is also useful. All of these theories are explained in chapter 3 theoretical

approaches to inter-communal relations in Gujarat.

In the interview with Dr. Ashgar Ali Engineer he connects the cycle of poverty

with the cycle of violence through the frustration- aggression theory. When asked what

the best way to tackle communalism is he responded by stating that one way to do this is

382 Engineer,Minorities and Police in India (Manohar: New Delhi) 2006, 26

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by removing poverty and backwardness. The greater the rate of employment the more peace you can ensure because if there is more unemployment frustrated youth can easily be made to participate in communal violence. If they are employed they will think ten times before taking part in such violence. Now Gujarat observed that most of those who participated they are frustrated Dalit youth, tribal youth or backward class Hindu youth who are extremely poor and frustrated. They have no prospects in life. They think even otherwise we are starving, so we will loot and get something and they were also promised money and liquor for killing Muslims.”383

Gauging Effectiveness of the Programs

Due to the nature of the programs tackling societal issues at individual or group

levels it is often difficult to gauge the impact. In addition to this, there are countless

factors that impact the effectiveness of the programs. Ensuring that those the program

was designed for have access to it, that participants engage in dialogue and give feedback

whenever they deem necessary that will be taken into account by those designing and

executing new programs or restructuring existing ones, that the programs are sustainable

by the community they are intended for, that the programs and activities address the

overarching spread of communalization, and that they achieve what they set out for, are

some of the factors that must be taken into account when attempting to evaluate the

effectiveness of the programs.

Within the field of International Peace and Conflict Resolution there are many

programs that address global issues or conflicts through individual and group level units.

Due to the magnitude of these conflicts it is very difficult to state unequivocally how a

particular program impacts the conflict at large. It is for this reason that some are

skeptical about the purpose of some IPCR type programs. In fact, some criticisms of the

383 Interview #32:2 by author with Dr. Ashgar Ali Engineer, CSSS office, Santa Cruz, Mumbai.

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approach of the IPCR field in general are rooted in this same notion that questions the

usefulness of peace and conflict resolution programs for individual members of

conflicting groups. If any one person contends that these types of interactions with

members of the “other” community would resolve the international or even internal or

domestic conflict the groups they belong to are waging this would suppose a certain

amount of naivety and idealism. Simply interacting and even positively interacting with

members of the “other” group does not resolve the larger conflict between the groups.

Although these types of interactions can definitely decrease negative stereotypes of the

other and allow for a deeper understanding of other community through a process of

humanization of the other they leave much to be desired in terms of the way power,

resources, and land is distributed. In past research I examined whether these types of

programs or what I called building social capital crossed ethnic divides to impact the

larger conflict. It proved to be a difficult task because these types of interactions affect

individuals differently. In my study the overwhelming majority of participants claimed

that their perceptions had changed about the other group and this had had an impact on

how they view the conflict. However, only a small number out of that larger group were

impacted so deeply that their following decisions concerning whether or not they would

serve in the army were altered as a result. Three of the female respondents I interviewed

had come to the decision after going through the program that they would not participate

in the army but rather resist this by being conscientious objectors because they no longer

believed that their country should engage in military conflict. In his work on Arab-Israeli

encounter programs in Israel Mohammed Abu-Nimer provides a rich and thorough

analysis of a certain kind of these interactions through employing the contact hypothesis.

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He provides a lively discussion on the use, impact, and limits of these types of encounter

programs including a wide array of IPCR theorists perspective’s on this issue.384

Evaluation of Programs

As the IPCR field grows practitioners and scholars in the field want to ensure that

it strives to be as transparent, beneficial, and useful as possible. One way they have

attempted this process is by instituting and promoting evaluations of programs.

Unfortunately, many organizations spend a large portion of time working to get a hold of

the capital by writing grants to fund their projects and a much lesser portion of their time

following up on projects, maintaining the relationships formed, nurturing the process

(that manifests,) and attaining the goals of the project beyond convincing the donors of

what a great job they did and how this makes them eligible for the next grant available.

Within the field there are both internal and external types of evaluation. The former is

done by people within the organization but perhaps not the people that worked on that

specific project. The latter refers to people in the field who specialize in evaluation and

who are hired either by the organization themselves or by another party to conduct an

evaluation of the organization as a whole/ in general and of specific programs in

particular.

There is a wide range of perspectives on how to measure the effectiveness,

impact, and success of peacebuilding and or conflict management or resolution programs.

Rather than provide many of these perspectives here we hone in on a single IPCR

practitioner. In his work on Arab- Israeli dialogue, intervention, and encounter groups

384 Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Dialogue, Conflict Resolution, and Change- Arab- Jewish Encounters in Israel, (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999), 1-10.

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Mohammed Abu-Nimer discusses what success means in terms of evaluation. However,

through reading his chapter on the “Perception of Success and Impacts of the Encounter

Models” it is clear that simply defining success is no simple task.385 Success to the

intervenors differs from that of the participants and within each of these categories there

is another split between Arab and Jewish intervenors as well as Arab and Jewish

participants.386 In addition to this, Abu-Nimer delineates between four criteria: (l)criteria

related to experience, (2)criteria related to perceptional changes, (3) criteria related to

practical behavior, (4) criteria related to program implementation.387

Promotion of Inter-Community Relations

Puniyani believes that promoting positive interactions between different groups is

one way to counter the negative interactions the communalists have been endorsing for

years. He contends that “religious festivals, social occasions, and international events

can be used as a platform to bring together different communities in harmony.”388 In

addition to this, he stresses the importance of “finding organic linkages” between

different communities to build unity between them that has longevity. He defines organic

linkages as “where each others interests are mutually supplementing them in an economic

-50Q social level” as well as being “psychologically and socially linked together”

385 Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Dialogue, Conflict Resolution, and Change - Arab-Jewish Encounters in Israel, (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999), 115-130.

386 Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Dialogue, Conflict Resolution, and Change - Arab-Jewish Encounters in Israel, (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999), 115-130.

387 Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Dialogue, Conflict Resolution, and Change - Arab-Jewish Encounters in Israel, (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999), 117-119.

388 Interview #45:6 Ram Puniyani by author, Powai, at his home, May 2006.

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NGOs or Social Movements

While Puniyani sees the benefit of the work NGOs are doing and points to their

strength in terms of how they can establish work in particular areas or be a starting point

he cautions that “by themselves they can not be the miracles of social change” and that

“ultimately, we have to rebuild the social movements.”390 In addition to Puniyani

endorsing the growth of social movements to combat communalism, other activists

discussed earlier in this chapter as well as in previous chapters including Mukhul Sinha,

Javed Anand, Father Cedric Prakash, and Sophia Khan concur that there is a lot of power

in people fighting for social justice together across caste and religious lines. Moreover,

this chapter in a sense dissects the anti-communal movement in Gujarat, thus making it

clear that the overall approach to resisting the spread of communalism closely resembles

that of a social movement.

Conclusion

In this chapter a wide array of forms or resistance to communalization are touched

on some in more detail than others. Through this description and analysis of the tactics

and strategies of resistance against communalism in Gujarat some of the most effective

and well known advocates and social justice activists are introduced. It is evident that

there are multitudes of activities and programs that aim to halt the negative impact of

communalization that are being engaged in many parts of the state. However, one of the

most important aspects in the campaign to stop communalization is ousting the current

389 Interview #45:9 Ram Puniyani by author, Powai, at his home, May 2006.

390 Interview #45:7 Ram Puniyani by author, Powai, at his home, May 2006.

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BJP government, without this the numerous efforts being enacted will not enjoy the

success they would if the ruling government was non or anti-communalist. Thus, it is

imperative for the anti-communal /resistance to communalization movement to mobilize

large sections of the Gujarati polity to not vote for the BJP no matter what ploys they

cook up and orchestrate in the months and weeks before the 2007 election. Part of these

efforts could consist of NGOs creating wide reaching voter awareness and education

programs throughout the state of Gujarat.

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CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

While there are many factors which impact the intensity and duration of

communal violence in Gujarat, the state, is the principal source. The state has the power

and resources to design, plan, and execute, violence wholesale, while making it appear as

though it happens for other reasons, namely, inherent communal tensions. These alleged

tensions exist because minorities are foreigners and so, do not belong in India - what they

consider to be a Hindu Rashtra. The state government, its communal network of

organizations, and militias work with much dedication towards achieving the goal of

India as a state for Hindus only.

The fact that the organizers and inciters of the 2002 genocide-pogrom carried out

against Muslims have not been held accountable by any kind of system of justice

continues to impact the state in adverse ways. With no sense of justice or reconciliation

the minority community remains vulnerable; physically, socially, and psychologically to

a barrage of attacks, discrimination, and condemnation by the majority community.

Similarly, with no sense of compensation or reparation the notion that Muslims are

second class citizens has become deeply embedded into the psyche of this state’s

populace. Egregious crimes against this community have gone largely unpunished

resulting in the further diminishing of any value or worth members of the minority

237

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community held previous to 2002. According to conflict theories, discussed earlier, those

affected by violence and stripped of their rights are suffering from deprivation of their

rights and thus their basic needs. This often leads to further violence spurring off another

round in the cycle of violence.

The longer Gujarat waits to address issues of injustice and discrimination it

wreaks against parts of the population, the more entrenched all communities will be in

conflict, thus, making it more challenging, to later resolve issues that are long standing

and have accumulated high rates of hatred and mistrust on both sides. In acknowledging

the state government’s role in communal violence, under the BJP party, as well as the

maintenance of the conflict in the confrontational stage, the most paramount task for the

anti-communal movement in Gujarat is to ensure that the BJP does not get reelected. The

upcoming state election in 2007 is fundamental in determining the fate of Gujarat. While

relief organizations and NGOs have helped some of those affected, survive and in some

cases, improved their lives in limited ways there will not be any reconciliation or justice

if those who perpetrated the crimes are not held accountable, in addition to the victims/

survivors being able to have their needs met. The current state government is an obstacle

on the path to justice and reconciliation. It is clear that the institutions that maintain and

perpetuate discrimination against minorities and favor the majority community by

clearing their names of guilt, instituting the blame of the victims/ survivors as well as the

inferior status of minority communities must be purged of these repressive policies as

well as the oppressors who put them into action daily. Once the power is out of the hands

of the communalists, those perpetrators, must be stripped of their positions of power,

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terminated from their positions (if they worked for the government) and all made to

testify, admit guilt, and take responsibility for these crimes against humanity.

Without some kind of a process of justice and reconciliation Gujarat will remain

stagnant, divided, and vulnerable to more large scale atrocities. This is not speculation,

but observable through the pattern of communal violence in the state. As noted in an

earlier chapter, had the attack on the minority community in Ahmedabad in 1969 or any

of the other years been dealt with appropriately the chance of the carnage of 2002

happening would have greatly decreased. Oases of violence free zones in Gujarat, like

Salatnagar or Ram Rahim Nagar are microcosms of communal harmony that

compellingly demonstrate what is possible. The reasons for their success are powerful

and must be incorporated into the overall approach of containing and preventing

violence.

While Lederach’s middle-out approach is applicable here the influence of middle

level as well as grassroots peacebuilders, to not vote for Modi and the BJP takes

precedent for all of the months leading up to the election. It is important to remember

that this same period five years ago was when the criminal communal forces unleashed

the attack against the minority community, using it as an electioneering tool by appealing

to the communal senses of the majority community, to win an election that they had been

predicted to lose. In addition to this, especially during this period it is fundamental for

the anti-communal movement in Gujarat to heed recommendations, in the charters and

movement to prevent genocide, by incorporating mechanisms of prevention for example,

an early warning system. Networking with Indian NGOs outside the state of Gujarat as

well as international NGOs and communicating with them frequently in diverse ways is

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also crucial, especially because communal violence in Gujarat does not receive adequate

media attention. Therefore these groups must act as the worlds’ monitor for the events in

Gujarat. In turn the awareness of this type of monitoring may decrease the attractiveness

of another attack on the minority communities to win the election. Moreover, the anti-

communal movement should appeal to human rights organizations and activists

throughout the world to come to Gujarat to create an international presence, in the

months preceding the elections, to decrease the chances that the state government will use

brute force to impact election outcome.391 Furthermore, the anti-communal movement

must request international, as well as, non-Gujarati Indian election observers for the

upcoming election to ensure a free and fair election.

Recommendations

Effective Counter Measures to Eradicate the Economic Boycott of Muslims

As noted above the rule of law must be established and upheld. A campaign to

tackle the VHP’s declaration of an economic boycott of Muslims must take hold and

cover various angles. First, there must be counter propaganda because the economic

boycott was declared through pamphlets and posters. The counter pamphlets and posters

must address every issue raised in the original economic boycott declaration. In addition

391 The notion that international observers can decrease the chance the violence occurring is not a new phenomena. However the individuals who are considered appropriate to do this job has changed dramatically. Previously individuals representing international institution like the United Nations were solely looked upon to fulfill this type of position but increasingly recently individuals some of whom represent a particular organization focused on doing this type of work and activists that are independent of an organization but who hold human rights, nonviolence, and equality as fundamental to all people are filling this role. Their involvement has expanded the meaning of international presence to include acting as a human shield and participating in strategic nonviolence against the oppressors. Current examples of this include the Christian Peacemakers in Iraq and Palestine and the International Solidarity Movement in Palestine.

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to this, the VHP must be charged for spreading communal hate as this is illegal under

Indian law.

Banning of Communal Parties

Communal political parties should be banned and the RSS should be put back on

the blacklist - the list of organizations that employees of the government are prohibited to

be members of. The legal grounds for banning these parties, is based in their anti-

constitutional behavior, particularly, the spreading of hate and inciting communal

violence. In fact, the BJP have recently been accused of trying to ignite communal

flames through the release of communal propaganda in the form of a video compact disc

VCD with the aim of winning the upcoming state elections in the state of Uttar

Pradesh. This has prompted NGOs and individual citizens to petition the Election

Commission, to deregister the BJP, banning them from running in the 2007 state election.

In addition to this, due the communal contents of VCD “the Election Commission has

directed the registration of an FIR against a veteran State party leader who launched the

VCD, the party’s national president, and some others.”393

Witness Protection

There must be witness protection for witnesses of cases that are sensitive and in

which their lives could be in danger. By the state providing witness protection they are

392 The BJP VCD is reported to have been replete with propaganda about the minority communities and thus, in violation of the constitution on the grounds that it is spreading communal hatred and has the potential to instigate communal violence.

393 “What the BJP’s election campaign CD ‘Bharat ki Pukar’ presents - excerpts from the transcript”The Hindu 4 April 2007, httD://www.thehinduonline.com/2007/04/07/stories/2007040722201600.htm

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not only protecting the lives of the witnesses but also upholding and bolstering the rule of

law in India and in their particular state. This is because with witnesses under the

protection of the state they can not be bought off or intimidated to change their testimony,

leaving the case intact and to be settled in court.

Minority Representation and Adherence To The Constitution

At all institutions, NGOs, and associations minority representation should reflect

the minority demographic of the area they are located in. In addition to this, minorities

should be represented at every level of employment not just at the lower levels. Also,

institutions, NGOs, and associations should honor the constitutional rights of all Indian

citizens, regardless of caste, gender, or religion. In addition to this, their policies and day

to day business should reflect the values and laws of the constitution as well.

Repeal the Supreme Court Ruling that Legislated Apartheid

Although distinct historic communities of India should be protected and their

culture and identity preserved the ruling upholding this should be clearly outlined and

must be not be used to discriminate against minorities from purchasing or renting homes

in majority dominated areas allowing landlords or property owners to claim that their

discrimination is upheld and sanctioned by the Supreme Court. The requirement for the

issuance of a clarification of this Supreme Court ruling should set a precedent for future

rulings to be more clearly outlined.

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Institution of a Day of Remembrance for Victims/Survivors Of the Gujarat Genocide

In writing on truth and reconciliation in Serbia Vesna Nikolic-Ristanovic394 she

proposes the establishment of a Day of Remembrance and Reflection or a Day of

Reconciliation as vehicles that can facilitate the process of acknowledgement and

reconciliation. Perhaps there can be a Day of Remembrance instituted to remember the

survivor/ victims as well as those who lost their lives in the Gujarat genocide. To include

all of those who have experienced communal violence in the whole country, it could

become a national day of remembrance for all those affected by communal violence

throughout the nation. On this day all institutions would have to program their activities

accordingly. For example, the education ministry would make a special lesson plan for

this day for each grade with the aim of raising awareness about the gruesome events that

took place in Gujarat in 2002. Media channels would have to do stories on communal

violence and show footage or documentaries on the topic as well.

Early Warning System

As discussed in the theoretical chapter 3, in the section on genocide, there is an

imminent need for an early warning system to be set up to detect the earliest signs of

potential genocide and to stop it before it occurs. The establishment of this effort must

come from all actors including local and state authorities, civil society; NGOs, research

institutes, and associations and individual citizens. The national efforts must also be

coordinated or communicated to other countries through groups that are also focused on

394 Vesna Nikolic-Ristanovic, “Truth and Reconciliation in Serbia” in ed. Dennis Sullivan and Larry Tifft Handbook of Restorative Justice (Routledge: London), 2006, 384.

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prevention of genocide. In order to achieve the success required to effectively prevent

atrocities these efforts must be funded adequately. Thus, a certain percentage of the

national budget must be allocated to this along with funds coming in from other countries

and or international organizations with the purpose of preventing genocide.

As part of this type of early warning system those organizations working against

communalization would be alerted to focus their attention on the dangerous

developments currently occurring in Rajasthan and Karnataka. As discussed in chapter 5

Communalization of Institutions, these two states are undergoing many of the same

changes that communalized Gujarat and eventually created the conditions for the

genocide to occur without difficulty. In addition to this, these developments also make it

possible for the perpetrators of the egregious human rights violations to walk away

without being punished. Currently, the anti-communal movement is not focusing

adequate attention on either of these states leaving communalism to become widespread

and normalized. This is hugely problematic and must be dealt with immediately. The

central government must intervene in both states by calling into question their

establishment of laws that are anathema or contradictory to the constitution. If the

national government or the Supreme Court do not uphold the Indian Constitution, who

will? India boasts itself as the world’s largest democracy, thus, since the central

government, the state governments, and the Supreme Court are all shirking their

responsibility to uphold the Constitution, the onus is on the Indian citizens that are in the

position to fight for their constitutionally enshrined rights as well as the rights of their

fellow citizens. However, the onus is also on global citizens with a conscious to raise

awareness about the plight of many people in India who are being stripped of their rights

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both as Indian citizens but also as fellow global citizens who all share the rights declared

in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as they apply to all the world’s citizens

recognizing no boundaries or borders.

Establishment of Monthly Nationwide Communal Harmony Workshops

In Chapter 7 Resistance to Communalization and the Anti-Communalization

Movement communal harmony workshops are discussed. Several of the NGOs that are

fighting communalism in India employ communal harmony workshops, as vehicles,

through which stereotypes about different groups are broken down and different identity

groups are humanized. These types of workshops are great and have positive impacts on

those who attend. However, the scope, in terms of percentages of people who attend

these workshops is limited. In order for these workshops to have a more profound and

widespread impact they must be instituted, enabling masses of Indian citizens to

participate in these perception altering exercises. Perhaps they could happen monthly in

schools, workplaces, and other public venues to raise the number of participants. In

addition to this, areas that are highly communally sensitive and that have suffered from

communal violence or that are headed in that direction should be given priority in terms

of the number and frequency of workshops as well as the diversity of locales they are

held in.

In relating this to Chapter 3 Theoretical Approaches to Inter-Communal Conflict

and Relations in Gujarat perhaps one of the impacts of the workshops would apply to the

section on reconciliation and justice. After the humanization process takes hold, and the

different identity groups perceive each other as people and not as sub-humans, the

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recognition of past atrocities and mistreatment of particular groups may follow. This

realization could lead to acknowledgement on the part of the majority community, of the

violence committed by their own community and may even lead to an apology to the

minority community. If these stages occurred, Gujaratis would find themselves on the

path to reconciliation.

Address Ghettoization, Impoverishment, and the Widening Gap between Identity Groups

Although the growth of ghettos in Gujarat is not something to look fondly upon or

to advocate, the state and local authorities must take responsibility for providing services

to all of their citizens including those who live in ghettos. There must be proper services

provided including: transportation, banking, educational facilities, hospitals, electricity,

running water, as well as construction and maintenance of infrastructure, including, roads

similar to other areas. By not providing these services the government is permitting or

enabling the ghettoization and impoverishment of its citizens. This leads to alarming

rates of disparity as the gap between identity groups widens, taking on an economic

characteristic where there may not have been one previously.

Forming a Coalition of Organizations Against Communalization

While many of the activities and projects that the Anti-Communal movement

engages in are beneficial they are not producing the widespread impact that is required to

combat communalism and halt its poisonous infiltration of society. The formation and

establishment of a coalition of organizations, that work against communalism could

coordinate efforts and use resources more efficiently, so that, if NGOs operate in the

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same area they would be made aware of this and could collaborate to save resources such

as, gas, and staff among other things. The funds saved by using resources more

efficiently could permit more projects and activities to happen in a wider range of

locations and perhaps for longer durations. In addition to this, rather than have several

people at different organizations doing the same work, the variety and concentration on

other types of work could be facilitated. These changes to the way organizations work

could make their efforts have a much deeper and wide ranging impact on society.

Decommunalization of Institutions: Exhaustive Purging of Hindutva Loyalists and Communalists

In chapter 5 the Communalization of Institutions is discussed in detail to

demonstrate that this process is fundamental to theHindutva movement maintaining

dominance and leaving minority communities insecure and persecuted. The complete

opposite to what occurred when the institutions were communalized must occur. In

effect, there must be a purging of the communalist elements andHindutva loyalists from

the institutions there is to be significant change. Without ridding the institutions of these

individuals, the discrimination and persecution the minority communities face in Gujarat

will continue unabated.

Strengthening the Rule of Law

As discussed previously without rule of law, justice is an illusion. War criminals

must be prosecuted to create a deterrent for potential perpetrators of violence and/or

architects of genocide. In addition to this, the victims/ survivors would attain a sense that

justice is served in some way, as well as, feeling that their lives have value and worth. In

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order to do this the legal system and judiciary must also be purged of communalists and

Hindutva loyalists. Also, a justice, truth, and reconciliation commi ssion must be set up.

Fortunately, the first part of this process has already occurred. The Concerned Citizens

Tribunal was established to document the grave human rights abuses and formulate a

report detailing them. In addition to this report, the recent release of the Sachar Report

by the Rajinder Sachar Committee also concurs that an Equal Opportunity Commission

must be set up “to look into the grievances of deprived groups.”395 The report makes

reference to the British Race Relations Act of 1976 as an example of what they are

recommending, stating that, “while providing a redressal mechanism for different types

of discrimination, (the Equal Opportunity Commission) will give a further reassurance to

minorities that any unfair action against them will invite the vigilance of the law.”396

Upholding the Constitution of India to Establish Justice: Holding Modi’s Ruling BJP State Government Accountable for Violating the Constitution

In the postscript of the 2003 edition ofThe Production o f Hindu-Muslim Violence

in Contemporary India Brass indicts both the Central BJP run government and the

Gujarat state BJP run government by implicating them in 2002 genocide/ pogrom in

Gujarat. He calls into question the failure of the Central government to take appropriate

actions by stating “most significant was the failure of the government of India to dismiss

the Gujarat government, under Article 356 of the Constitution of India, for its inability or

unwillingness to maintain to law and order.”397 In addition to this, he highlights how

395 Ventikesh Ramakrishnan, “Community on the Margins”Frontline. 4-8: 8. December 15, 2006

396 Ventikesh Ramakrishnan, “Community on the Margins”Frontline. 8, December 15, 2006.

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“indeed the situation in Gujarat was by the far the clearest case in post-Independence

India for the rightful imposition of that article, which has been misused countless times

during the past fifty years for inappropriate, partisan political reasons.”398

Learning from Examples of States that Eradicated Communal Violence

West Bengal and Bihar were both states that suffered from high levels of

communal violence. However, around two decades ago when the political power shifted

as a result of newly formed alliances between “ordinary Muslims and Other Backward

Castes OBCs and their leadership - a new mass base for strengthening secular politics”399

was created. Figure 4.1 in chapter 4 illustrates some of these changes. Leaders like,

Mulayam Singh Yadav in West Bengal and Lalu Prasad Yadav in Bihar enacted and

enforced laws that have contained and prevented communal violence from occurring.

One crucial aspect of these laws is that they put the onus on the police force by

stipulating that if any instances of communal violence are not contained within 24 hours

the police will be suspended. This law has proven to be effective and should be enacted

nationwide. Without the police protecting all citizens segregation is bound to occur and

will result in the polarization of the entire country if communal tensions and the spread of

communalism are not stopped.

397 Paul R. Brass, The Production o f Hindu-Muslim Violence in Contemporary India(University of Washington Press: Seattle) 2003, 390. 398Frontline 19, no.l 1 (May 25 - June 7, 2002) in Paul R. Brass,The Production o f Hindu-Muslim Violence in Contemporary India (University of Washington Press: Seattle) 2003, 390.

399 Javed Alam, “A turning point”Frontline. 9-13, 12. December 15, 2006.

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Inter-Communal Coexistence

Despite rapid rates of communalization and polarization there must be the

initiative by the state and local authorities to encourage, facilitate, and subsidize children

of different communities to go to school together, at institutions that endorse and educate

from a curriculum that is inclusive, nondiscriminatory, and non communal. In addition to

this, efforts must be made to encourage children of different communities and their

parents to participate in activities together which could include sports leagues,

community cleanup committees, art collectives, and music ensembles. The aim is to have

children of different identities playing on the same team together, playing music together

and creating art together, to instill the humanization process as well as to build

relationships across identity lines. Moreover, with the rapid rate of polarization in

Gujarat many children do not have access to individuals from different identity groups.

Stereotypes and hatred feed on segregation and since there is no way to check the

communal fabrications that often instill communal tensions, it is crucial to maintaining

contact between communities, especially, when whole states are segregated on communal

and caste lines.

De-communalization is Just One Front in the Battle to Bring Equality and Justice to the World’s Largest Democracy

In this study we focus on the plague of communalism in Gujarat and its tragic

implications for those who live there. As is witnessed in the chapters of this thesis

through testimonies of victim/survivor’s, illustrations of communalist infiltrations of

society, and the tireless efforts to impede these destructive forces, the destruction and

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long lasting negative impact of communalism and communal violence are apparent.

While communalism is responsible for tremendous amounts of suffering in Gujarat, as

well as, in the entire country, there are many other ailments that create comparable

tragedies. In a sense communal violence in India is indicative of many of the other

sicknesses that hold Indian society hostage to a perpetual state of inequality.

Any first time visitor to India is often struck and deeply impacted by the high

levels of poverty that are unavoidable to witness when in the streets, considering the

sheer number of homeless people; especially street children that walk the streets looking

for something to eat. India is home to over a billion people and included in that figure

are hundreds of millions of people living beneath the poverty line. Despite this, the

Indian government, like many other governments in similar situations spends large

portions of its national budget on military expenditures. The existence of a pyramid type

structure of economic classes in India is apparent with huge masses of poor people

representing the bottom of the pyramid, followed by a smaller but growing middle class,

which is then topped by a very small segment of the population that is extremely wealthy,

representing the top of the pyramid. The pyramid structure of economic classes is

synonymous with and indicative of rampant inequalities.

The inequalities that reveal themselves through studying communal violence

expose systems of inequality that are still in place, for example, the caste system.

Although the caste system was abolished decades ago it is still alive and well in India.

The caste system is a legacy of colonialism as well as of other periods further back in

history and has had the unfortunate effect of normalizing inequality through a lengthy

process of deep entrenchment. However, this must change so that inequalities are no

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longer accepted as a natural part of Indian society and thus, that these tragic patterns of

social relations between castes are recognized to be socially constructed caste relations

with the intent of maintaining the status quo, in which there is no room for social and or

caste mobility. Thus, repression manifests here, dictating the fate of people according to

the particular group or caste they are bom into and will die representing.

Connecting Communal Violence to the Larger Looming Malaise in India: The Caste System Connection

In analyzing India’s malaise through the lens of communal violence, and its

success in attacks on minorities, this signals a weak or failed state. This is because any

state that was strong or successful would not permit its citizens to be harmed. In addition

to that, the fact that the genocide in Gujarat was state sponsored is also indicative of the

high levels corruption at every level of power and this impedes justice. Also, the fact that

the judicial and legal system is completely communalized in Gujarat, demonstrates the

high level of lawlessness and that the rule of law is not very significant in terms of

justice. This is partly because many of the judges can be bribed by money or political

power and results in the subversion of justice and the erosion of any faith or tmst in the

justice system. In conclusion, similarly to how the struggle against communalism must

be a multi-layered, multi-pronged effort, the aim or vision of the anti-communal /

resistance to communalization movement should reflect a broad spectrum of concern

with regards to the plethora of ills that India faces. Furthermore, much like scholars and

practitioners recognizing the imperative link between IPCR and International

Development, so too, should the activists working against communalism and communal

violence and those working against gender inequality and caste inequality and caste

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violence make the connection between struggles. Lastly, both of these points lead to

connecting cycles of violence, injustice, and poverty, as well as working as a social

movement and or coalition. This is because power in numbers, along with individuals in

strategically and efficiently organized positions has the potential to produce deeper and

longer lasting impacts on the uplifting and instituting of justice and equality in society.

Limitations and Future Research

Although this study answered most of the questions it posed, it has also generated

a host of new interests and questions. In terms of limitations there are several. First,

because this was my first research project of this magnitude there are aspects in all stages

of the research that could be improved: design and research methodology could be more

fine tuned, my ability to conduct interviews significantly improved over the duration of

my stay in Gujarat, the knowledge and experience gained with regards to the turn around

time for the transcriptions, the methods of analysis, organization, and interpretation of the

data, and lastly the invaluable lessons I have learned about long writing projects will all

benefit any future research projects I embark on. Second, I was not able to do follow up

interviews as a result of not returning to Gujarat since I conducted the initial research.

Third, due to the safety issues mentioned in the ethical consideration section in Chapter 2

Methodology I did not have access to many active members of the RSS, BJP, or to

perpetrators of violence, thus, my knowledge base for that segment emanates mostly from

secondary sources, material culture, as well as, informal interviews conducted while I

was undercover in the all Hindu area where I resided, while in Ahmedabad. Fourth, due

to the limitations of time I was not able to conduct interviews with everyone that I wanted

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to, nor, was I able to visit all of the locations that I desired to in particular, I did not visit

Ram Rahim Nagar. Also there are places I feel I would have benefited from spending

more time there and in this case both Juhapura, and Bombay Hotel come to mind.

While there has been a substantial amount of research conducted on the causes of

communal violence and more recently including this paper on prevention of violence

there has not been enough work done on long term implications of communal violence on

victims and perpetrators. In terms of the work on prevention a cross case analysis of

states that have eradicated communal violence against those that are epicenters of

communal violence must be explored. In addition to this, there are many similarities

between communal and caste violence that have not been explored that would make for

very interesting research. In fact, examining the relationship between communal and

caste violence could lead to interesting and insightful findings on how to merge the

struggles which would be crucial in any attempt to overthrow or subvert the caste system.

Building on this theme, it would be interesting to include an IPCR lens, which could be

prove to be useful in engaging Advasis, Dalits, and Muslims in peacebuilding activities in

order for a strong alliance between caste and communal blocs to be forged. Employing a

human rights framework to call into question the grave HR abuses that are being

committed by state governments, in the world’s largest democracy, and failing to be

prosecuted in a court of law would offer the opportunity to become familiar with the

longest constitution in the world. Inevitably, corruption would have to be tackled. Lastly,

more work can be done with regards to communal violence in India, as well as, war and

violent conflict in general, that probes the question: how can we make violent conflict or

war less profitable?

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Although, in this study, we stress the importance of criminals being held

accountable for the violence they perpetrate, which would create a deterrent, making the

designing, planning, orchestrating, and or execution of violent attacks less appealing to

potential war criminals, we need to explore this area further, to create a whole spectrum

of disincentives that address each facet of the cycle that perpetuates communal violence.

For example, perhaps exorbitant fines and restrictions on future business transactions

including purchasing or possessing land need to placed on anyone that is guilty of

profiting from communal violence, regardless of whether it is a politician, a real estate

developer, or a business owner who played a part in burning down his neighbor’s store to

secure a monopoly over the market. In the abstract, we ask a question similar to: how do

we eradicate the ability of individuals or companies to profit from another’s misery? To

begin to address this issue of great magnitude, we must recognize that although

specialized laws must be enacted, including things similar to the exorbitant fines just

mentioned, other types of measures must also be taken. First, these measures must aim to

decrease the vast numbers of Indians living beneath the poverty level, whose misery is

often used to profit from. Second, these measures must vastly increase the worth of

masses of people living in poverty, who, are continuously perceived and treated as easy

targets and vehicles of exploitation by disaster or war profiteers. While there are many

reasons for this, the most apparent is that there is no worry on the part of the disaster/war

profiteer, of repercussions, for any or all of the atrocities committed against the poor

masses, because very few individuals in India are aware of the crimes committed against

these people. Moreover, even in the case that the profiteers were exposed for committing

crimes against the poor low castes, many middle and/ or upper castes would not advocate

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on behalf of the poor low castes or in the least, acknowledge the situation, as caste

inequality is completely normalized in Indian society. Thus, the majority of the middle

and/or upper castes would fail to perceive these crimes and human rights abuses as

extraordinary, but merely, as the fate of those individuals, because they belong to specific

castes, that are low castes, of which, abuse is not only accepted, but encouraged.

Finally, all of this points to the burning question which has been explored

partially in this study, but must be probed further, which is: ‘how can India reconcile its

caste inequalities, or how can the caste system, despite, its deep entrenchment, in all

levels and aspects of life, be completely eradicated’? Alas, once there is the realization

that the caste system and the communalization of societal relations were and continue to

be social constructs, we must ask: how can a new system of social relations be

constructed, developed, and established in India that are based on equality, freedom,

strong rule of law, social, economic and environmental justice, a culture of human rights,

and universal (all Indian citizens regardless of religion or caste) access to a transparent

democracy?

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CONSENT FORM

Hello, my name is Yasmeen Peer.I am a researcher on a project entitled: Communal Violence in Gujarat: Rethinking the Role of Communalism and Institutionalized Injustices in India. This project is being sponsored by the School of International Service at the American University. I am a Master’s Candidate in the International Peace and Conflict Resolution program and the principal investigator of this project and I may be contacted at this phone number (my local number Mumbai) should you have any questions. Thank you for your willingness to participate in this research project. Your participation is very much appreciated. Just before we start the interview, I would like to reassure you that as a participant in this project you have several very definite rights. First, your participation in this interview is entirely voluntary. You are free to refuse to answer any question at any time. You are free to withdraw from the interview at any time. This interview will be kept strictly confidential and will be available only to members of the research team. Excerpts of this interview may be made part of the final research report, but under no circumstances will your name or identifying characteristics be included in this report. I would be grateful if you would sign this form to show that I have read you its contents.

______(signature) ______(printed) ______(date)

Please send me a report on the results of this research project, (circle one) YES NO

Address for those requesting research report

257

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QUESTIONNAIRE

Date: Place: Time: Interviewer’s Name:

Subject’s Name /Code: Sex: Birth Date: Age: Birth Place:

This research is authorized by the American University. It’s important to get exact details on every question, even on those that may seem unimportant to you. This may take extra effort. Are you willing to think carefully about each question in order to give accurate info?

IF YES- CONTINUE

I will keep all the information you give confidential. The interview is voluntary. Should we come to any question which you do not want to answer just let me know and we’ll move on to the next question.

Since many people have not been in an interview exactly like this, let me read you a paragraph that tells a little bit about how it works. I am going to read you a set of questions exactly as they are worded so that every respondent in the survey is answering the same questions. You’ll be asked to answer two kinds of questions. In some cases, you’ll be asked to answer in your own words. For those questions, I will have to write down your answers word for word. In other cases, you will be given a list of answers and asked to choose the one that fits best. If at anytime during the interview you are not clear about what is wanted, be sure to ask me.

Questions

1. Do you live in an area that is solely Hindu, solely Muslim or mixed with Hindus and Muslims?

258

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2. Do you live in the same place you did before the “riots”? IF YES - Please describe briefly how that area has changed. IF NO - Please briefly describe where you lived before, how you ended up where you live now and also describe your new locale.

3. Can you recount where you were and what happened to you and or your family during the “riots” in Gujarat in February / March 2002?

4. What about your neighbors, could you recount their stories from the “riots”?

5. Why do you think these events occurred?

6. Do you believe that the “riots” were pre-planned? If yes, why?

7. Had you ever seen the attackers before? If yes please explain.

8. What role did the government play in the “riots”?

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9. Did the government supply any kind of aid to the “riot” victims during and or after the “riots”?

10. Have any organizations or individuals provided any kind of aid to the people in your community post “riots”? If yes, please provide some details.

11. Recently there has been a shift in the government from the BJP to the Congress, what kind of impact if any do you think this will have on Hindu - Muslim relations in Gujarat?

12. How would you describe Hindu-Muslim relations in your town today?

Excellent Good Fair Poor Terrible

13. How would you describe Hindu-Muslim relations in your town before the “riots”?

Excellent Good Fair Poor Terrible

14. How likely are you to vote in the next election?

Very likely Likely Not Sure Not Likely Very unlikely

15. The government should take a more active role in preventing and or stopping communal “riots”.

Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

IF STRONGLY AGREE OR AGREE -go to question #16. IF DISAGREE OR STRONGLY DISAGREE—skip Q #16and go to Q#17.

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16. What can the government, police, and or organizations do to prevent and or stop communal “riots”? Skip Q#17 & 18, go to Q#19.

17. Why should the government not take an active role in preventing and or stopping the communal “riots”?

18. How should communal “riots” be dealt with?

19. How many people do you think were killed in the “riots”?

None 5 0 -1 0 0 100-500 500-1000 1000+

20. To what extent did your experience in the “riots” limit your ability to go where you needed or wanted to go without fear?

21. To what extent did your experience in the “riots” limit your interactions with people of other religious groups?

22. To what extent did your experience in the “riots” limit you and your family from continuing with your life; schooling, working inside and outside of the home as it was before?

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23. To what extent did your experience in the “riots” limit your desire to participate in elections?

24. To what extent did your experience in the “riots” limit your ability to be healthy? Ability to be healthy; includes access to food and proper nutrition, to doctors, to medication or vaccines, and to mental and physical safety.

25. What role did the police play during the riots?

26. Did your experience in the “riots” change your perception of the rights of minorities in India?

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FIELDNOTE: BARODA, GUJARAT

GANDHIKATHA, MAY 2005

While in Baroda I spent time with Professor Bandukwalla and a European

journalist friend of his. They were both very helpful to me in my research endeavors.

They invited me to aGandhikatha, an event organized by Gandhians to celebrate

Gandhi’s spirit through his words and values.

I accepted the invitation and accompanied the Professor and his journalist friend

to the Gandhikatha. This event had a mixed attendance of Muslims and Hindus. I

think there were a higher number of Hindus in attendance than Muslims. It is

interesting because although Gandhi is from Gujarat there are many people in Gujarat

who hate him for exactly the reasons others love him. Hindu communalists hate

Gandhi and they accuse him of being a ‘Muslim lover’ among other things claiming

that he wanted to give the country away to Muslims.

What strikes me as kind of odd is that the Gandhians who organized this event

chose the kind of event, aKatha, which is what the communalists usually favor. In a

katha, there are songs and chants, usually they are religious, akin to hymns, in Indian

music they are called bhajans and are sung to praise a particular figure.

Because Gujarat is the laboratory of the Hindutva movement, kathas have become

quite common, even popular, thus, it appears as though the Gandhians by employing

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the katha for an anti-communal cause have in a sense subverted them and or their

tactic or ritual by reclaiming it.

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LIST OF INTERVIEWS400

Interview #1 Sophia Khan, (Parts One and Two)Social Action Forum Against Repression, her home, Juhapura, Ahmedabad.

Interview #2 Ila Pathak,Ahmedabad Women’s Action Group, the office, Ahmedabad.

Interview #3Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, the office, Baroda.

Interview #4 anonymous police officer, his home, Ahmedabad.

Interview #5 anonymous Muslim Paldi resident, victim/survivor of communal violence, his home in Paldi, Ahmedabad.

Interview #6 School Principal, at school, District Anand.

Interview #7 anonymous journalist, a restaurant, Ahmedabad.

Interview #8 Pushpa,JANVIKAS, office, Halol, District Pachmahal.

Interview #9 anonymous victim/survivor of communal violence, new housing project, District Anand.

Interview #10 Municipal Councilor, school, District Anand.

Interview #11 anonymous victim/survivor of communal violence, villager from Mogri, a school, District Anand.

Interview #12 Mohan,Jansangharshmanj, in front of Salatnagar, on street, Ahmedabad. ,

Interview #13 Salatnagar residents,Jansangharshmanj, in front of Salatnager, on

400 All o f the listed interviews were formal and took place between February and June 2005 in India. They were all recorded with a Hi Mini Disc Recorder and an attachable microphone. In addition they were all transcribed and printed as word documents and then analyzed categorizing sections from which themes emerged. Some of the themes resulted into chapters of the thesis. 265

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street, Ahmedabad

Interview #14 staff ofAmansamudha, office, Godhra.

Interview #17 women participant ofAnandi programs, Amansamudha office, Godhra

Interview #18 anonymous victim/survivor of communal violence, villager from Badran, a school, Anand District.

Interview #19 anonymous victim/survivor of communal violence, villager from Nawli, a school, District Anand.

Interview #20 anonymous victim/survivor of communal violence, villager from Mogri, a school, District Anand.

Interview #21 Rafi,Dalit-Muslim Library, office, Shah Alam, Ahmedabad.

Interview #22 Part one: Zubair Part two: Saira,JANVIKAS, office, new housing Project, Halol, Punchmahal District.

Interview #23 Hanif Lakdawala,Sanchetana, the office, Ahmedabad.

Interview #24 Zakia Jowher,Action Aid, the office, Ahmedabad.

Interview #25 Javed Annan,Sabrang Communications & Communalism Combat etc., office, Juhu Beach, Mumbai.

Interview #26 Kirit Bhatt,Peoples Civil Liberties Union, his home, Baroda.

Interview #27 Digant’oza, journalist, his home, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad

Interview #28 Father Cedrick Prakash, PRASHANT, office, Ahmedabad.

Interview #29 Chunikal Vaidya,Gandhi Ashram, Prashant office, Ahmedabad.

Interview #30 Suma Jonson, documentary filmmaker and activist, a restaurant, Mumbai.

Interview #31 D.K.Singh, journalist,Hindustani Times, a restaurant at the newspaper office, Jaipur

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Interview # 32 Dr. Ashgar Ali Engineer,Center for the Study of Society and Secularism, office, Santa Cruz, Mumbai.

Interview #33 anonymous women resp.l victim/survivor of communal violence, Bombay Hotel, Ahmedabad

Interview #34 anonymous women resp.3 victim/survivor of communal violence, Bombay Hotel, Ahmedabad

Interview #35 Shabnum Hashmi,Anhad, her home, Delhi.

Interview #36 Professor Bandukwalla, his home, Baroda.

Interview #37 Qutb, CSSS, researchers office, Santa Cruz, Mumbai

Interview #38 Shahnawaz,Helping Hand, office, Baroda.

Interview #39 Mukhul Sinha, legal advocate,Jansangharshmanj, Jan Andolan, his home, Ahmedabad.

Interview #40 Professor Patel, his office on the campus of University of Baroda, Baroda.

Interview #41 anonymous BBC journalist, his home, Ahmedabad.

Interview #42 Father Lancy Lobo, his office at the research institute he founded on the outskirts of Baroda.

Interview #43 Manjula,NAUSARJAN, office, Ahmedabad.

Interview #44 T.U. Mehta, retired justice, his home, Ahmedabad.

Interview #45 Ram Puniyani,EKTA, his home, Powai

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FIELDNOTE: OBSERVATIONS OF THE COMMUNALIZATION OF

EDUCATION GUJARAT: MAY 2005 & REFLECTIONS

ON MARCH 2002 TOUR OF HISTORIC TEMPLES

The infiltration of education and educational institutions by communalist forces is

so widespread and can be witnessed while visiting Hindu heritage sites in India. The

saffron tinge in the tour guides explanations is evident when they reiterate how temples

were damaged by Muslim rulers often while simultaneously pointing to damaged or

decayed areas of stone carvings on the temple. In addition to this, they note dates of

temple attacks by Muslims, while listing one duration time longer than the next of how

long it took for Hindus to rebuild the temples, often emphasizing how they lost money,

time, and lives, essentially how they were suffering persecution from the blood thirsty

Muslim barbarians.

Upon reading a wider array of literature on communalism and communal violence

Ram Puniyani is one of the primary scholars of communalism and he is also a prolific

writer. I concur with his analysis and perspectives on communalism and communal

violence in the present but also in the past. In fact, Puniyani notes how the communalists

never mention how many temples were built with funds from Mughal rulers or the

number of temples that were restored. In addition to this, the tour/ temple guides fail to

raise the fact that Hindus, who were part of an attacking army, and or Hindu rulers from

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other areas, also attacked these very temples. Moreover, a great cause for the destruction

of temples was not religion or religious identity but rather the power of the rulers and a

demonstration of their might to either conquer or resist attack on sacred places.

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