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Compounding Injustice: India

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Compounding Injustice: India INDIA 350 Fifth Ave 34 th Floor New York, N.Y. 10118-3299 http://www.hrw.org (212) 290-4700 Vol. 15, No. 3 (C) – July 2003 Afsara, a Muslim woman in her forties, clutches a photo of family members killed in the February-March 2002 communal violence in Gujarat. Five of her close family members were murdered, including her daughter. Afsara’s two remaining children survived but suffered serious burn injuries. Afsara filed a complaint with the police but believes that the police released those that she identified, along with many others. Like thousands of others in Gujarat she has little faith in getting justice and has few resources with which to rebuild her life. ©2003 Smita Narula/Human Rights Watch COMPOUNDING INJUSTICE: THE GOVERNMENT’S FAILURE TO REDRESS MASSACRES IN GUJARAT 1630 Connecticut Ave, N.W., Suite 500 2nd Floor, 2-12 Pentonville Road 15 Rue Van Campenhout Washington, DC 20009 London N1 9HF, UK 1000 Brussels, Belgium TEL (202) 612-4321 TEL: (44 20) 7713 1995 TEL (32 2) 732-2009 FAX (202) 612-4333 FAX: (44 20) 7713 1800 FAX (32 2) 732-0471 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] PURL: https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/c6a310/ July 2003 Vol. 15, No. 3 (C) COMPOUNDING INJUSTICE: The Government's Failure to Redress Massacres in Gujarat Table of Contents I. Summary............................................................................................................................................................. 4 Impunity for Attacks Against Muslims................................................................................................................ 5 Inadequate Assistance for Victims and Continued Anti-Muslim Discrimination................................................. 6 Communalism as a Political Strategy .................................................................................................................. 7 II. Main Recommendations to Indian Authorities................................................................................................... 8 To the State Government of Gujarat.................................................................................................................... 9 To the Government of India................................................................................................................................. 9 III. Background to the Violence ........................................................................................................................... 10 Overview of the Violence.................................................................................................................................. 10 State Complicity in the Attacks ......................................................................................................................... 11 The Sangh Parivar............................................................................................................................................. 12 Distribution of Weapons and Training by the Sangh Parivar........................................................................ 13 Foreign Funding of Sangh Parivar Activities................................................................................................ 14 IV. Impunity for Attacks against Muslims............................................................................................................ 15 The Naroda Patia Case ...................................................................................................................................... 17 The Gulbarg Society Case ................................................................................................................................. 20 Non-Prosecution of Rape Cases......................................................................................................................... 22 Bias in the Courts .............................................................................................................................................. 25 The Shah-Nanavati Commission of Inquiry....................................................................................................... 26 V. Police Shootings and False Charges against Victims....................................................................................... 27 Police Shootings ................................................................................................................................................ 27 False Charges Against Victims.......................................................................................................................... 29 VI. The Godhra Investigation ............................................................................................................................... 30 The Godhra Massacre........................................................................................................................................ 30 The Prevention of Terrorism Act....................................................................................................................... 32 Uses of “Terrorism”........................................................................................................................................... 34 Godhra’s victims ............................................................................................................................................... 35 VII. Attack on Akshardham.................................................................................................................................. 36 VIII. Inadequate Relief to Victims........................................................................................................................ 38 Failure to Provide Humanitarian Assistance...................................................................................................... 39 The Forcible Closure of Relief Camps .............................................................................................................. 40 Ongoing Insecurity of Returnees ....................................................................................................................... 40 IX. Lack of Government Compensation for Victims............................................................................................ 41 Compensation Guidelines.................................................................................................................................. 42 Compensation for Damages to Homes............................................................................................................... 43 Compensation for the Death of Family Members.............................................................................................. 45 PURL: https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/c6a310/ X. Economic Marginalization of Muslims............................................................................................................ 47 “Ghettoization”.................................................................................................................................................. 47 Discriminatory Economic Boycotts................................................................................................................... 48 The Effect on Children’s Education and Identity............................................................................................... 50 XI. Communalism as a Political Strategy ............................................................................................................. 52 The BJP Victory in Gujarat State Elections....................................................................................................... 52 Criminal cases against elected officials ......................................................................................................... 54 Post-election violence in Gujarat....................................................................................................................... 55 The Targeting of Christians in Gujarat .............................................................................................................. 55 Anti-conversion legislation............................................................................................................................ 56 Government-sponsored surveys of Christians................................................................................................ 57 Renewed attacks against Christians ............................................................................................................... 57 The Recruitment and Targeting of Dalits and Tribals........................................................................................ 58 The Sangh Parivar’s recruitment of Dalits and tribals................................................................................... 58 Attacks against Dalits .................................................................................................................................... 62 Replicating the “Gujarat Experiment” in Other States....................................................................................... 63 The Ram Temple Campaign in Ayodhya........................................................................................................... 64 XII. Recommendations to Indian Authorities and the International Community.................................................. 65 To the State Government of Gujarat.................................................................................................................
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