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Muslims Burnt To Death In Anti-Muslim Riot In Gujarat
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An Indian rioter hits a burning rickshaw with a stick in Ahmedabad, the main city of the western state of Gujarat |
By
IOL South Asia correspondent
AHMADABAD,
India (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Sectarian riots sweep Indian state
more than 40 people die in Gujarat state, including 22 Muslims burned to death
in one home, in riots triggered by a train arson attack, news agencies reported.
Angry
Hindus set fire to homes in a Muslim neighborhood Thursday February 28 and then
kept firefighters away for hours, dragging out one former lawmaker and burning
him alive.
Police
appeared outnumbered or unwilling to stop the violence in western Gujarat state.
They stood in bunches, watching as groups of Hindus, wielding iron rods and cans
of gasoline or kerosene, roamed Ahmadabad, attacking Muslims in their homes,
shops and vehicles.
The
government promised to send the army to Ahmadabad, the region's main city, to
quell the rampage. But there were fears violence would spread Friday, when Hindu
nationalists called for a nationwide strike.
In
Thursday's worst attack, 38 people — including 12 children — died when some
2,000 Hindus set fire to six homes in an affluent Muslim neighborhood.
Some
trapped residents made frantic telephone calls to police and firefighters. But
police said they arrived two hours later and firefighters were delayed by more
than six hours because of blockades by rioters.
The
violence took place during the state-wide strike organized by the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad (VHP), which is spearheading the Temple movement. Troops are being
flown in from Delhi and will reach the region Friday morning.
Miscreants
burned down offices of the Gujarat Waqf Board and Gujarat State Minority Finance
Development Corporation offices in Ahmedabad. The buildings, located just
half-a-kilometer from the chief minister's office, were burnt down today by
about forty miscreants armed with lethal weapons. "All records, including
cash, check books and computers, were burnt", said an eye-witness.
Victims
of the anti-Muslim violence include Ehsaan Jaffrey, 65, a former member of the
Indian parliament from Ahmedabad city. He was burnt alive at his residence at
the Gulberg Society in Chamanpura. A big mob is reported to have stormed the
locality and attacked around 10 people, including Jaffrey, who was set ablaze.
Another
victim is the noted human rights activist Professor JS Bandukwala whose house
was attacked by an irate mob. "About ten people came on motorbikes, torched
my car, broke the entrance gate and lobbed burning rags and pelted stones at my
house," Professor Bandukwala said.
He
added that his neighbors, belonging to Hindu community, came out of their houses
and pacified the mob. "My neighbors took me and my family to safety,"
Bandukwala said.
A
large crowd attacked a mosque in Ahmedabad Thursday, sparking a running street
battle with police and Muslim residents. Up to 100 young people pelted the
mosque in a Muslim-dominated residential area of Ahmedabad with stones, bricks
and glass bottles.
Police
arrived on the scene and managed to disperse the crowd, which then regrouped and
renewed its assault as locals came out of their houses and tried to beat the
assailants back. The mob also managed to start fires in two residential
buildings adjoining the mosque.
According
to a PTI report, Border Security Force personnel have already been deployed in
the troubled cities of Gujarat. A total of 26 towns in the Gujarat state are now
under curfew following violent clashes, arson and looting.
However,
Narendra Modi, chief minister of the state, who represents the BJP, said the
people have exercised restraint. "I believe that the reaction of the people
is that of restraint compared to what the terrorists did in Godhra, which was
clearly a terrorist attack on innocent train passengers".
While
the central government has asked all states to prevent VHP volunteers from
proceeding to Adyodhya, the Gujarat chief minister stated that "we will now
start giving protection to the volunteers in trains".
Compared
to the swift condemnation of yesterday's train attack, no voices were heard
today when VHP hoodlums went on the rampage, killing and burning innocent
people.
In
New Delhi Home Minister LK Advani told Parliament that all states have been put
on alert following the attack on the Sabarmati Express and the violence in
Gujarat.
He
made the statement following repeated demands by the Opposition. "The
Gujarat government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident and more
than 40 people have been arrested," said Advani. "The Center and state
are inquiring who did this. We apprehend that such an incident can happen
anywhere and all states have been put on alert."
"No
words are too strong to condemn this act. The government is trying to make sure
that there is no communal problem. Everybody should condemn the incident,"
said Advani. He reiterated that the government is also investigating whether
there is any other angle to the incident.
Abdullah
Bukhari, Imam of the Delhi Jama Masjid, met the Prime Minister Thursday evening
and said the Gujarat government wasn't doing enough to contain violence in
Gujarat. The Imam said that he was worried about the situation in Gujarat since
Chief Minister Modi had been unable to do anything to contain the violence in
the state.
He
said that Modi had no right to continue as the chief minister. He also accused
the Modi administration of being hand-in-glove with the VHP. Condemning the
violent incidents of Wednesday and Thursday, Bukhari said that the Modi
administration should have banned the VHP.
On
the other hand, a top Hindu leader has attacked VHP for its tactics and has
blamed it for the violence. Shankaracharya Swami Shri Aadhog Shajananda of Shri
Govardhan Math, one of the top Hindu religious leaders, said in a statement:
“After failing in UP to capture power by politicizing the Temple issue, VHP is
resorting to create communal unease in Gujarat and other parts of the country as
a political strategy.”
“During
communal riots of Gujarat in July 1999 indulgence of the workers of VHP and
Bajrang Dal had also surfaced,” he added. “The administrative machinery was
pressured by Shri Praveen Togadia of VHP through the Home Minister of Gujarat,
to take no action against the activists of VHP and Bajrang Dal.”
“The
Shocking events of Gujarat should be an eye opener for the administration of
Gujarat and the center,’ said the Hindu pontiff. “They should undertake all
appropriate steps immediately without caring about political affiliations and
interventions in order to save the unity and religious-minded people from the
rowdy elements.”
He
said that if the Prime Minister thinks he is unable to tackle the situation and
his party is not paying heed to him, he should step down.
Forty one persons have been arrested by the Railway Police from Godhra in
connection with the attack on Sabarmati Express on Wednesday. They have been
charged with murder and attempt to murder. These arrests, officials said, are
apart from the 22 persons arrested by the Godhra police, which include two
municipal councilors.
As
if not satisfied with the violence in Gujarat, the VHP had now called for a
nationwide strike tomorrow, Friday, March 1. There is every likelihood that
violence will be perpetrated against Muslims on a wider scale as a result.
Making
a call for a nationwide strike, Onkar Bhave, joint general secretary of the VHP
said, "We have told our kar sevaks go to Ayodhya and if they are going to
get arrested, we have told them to get arrested. It is the sants [Hindu
religious leaders] who will decide the course of events at Ayodhya."
Making
a personal attack on the Prime Minister, Bhave said, "The sants are more
important and more trustworthy than the Prime Minister. The government has not
done anything for two years and now there is no going back on the Ayodhya
campaign."
Meanwhile,
the Andhra Pradesh state unit of the VHP has totally rejected Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee's appeal to suspend the temple movement in the wake of
Wednesday’s train attack. Vajpayee and State Chief Minister N Chandrababu
Naidu had appealed to VHP to suspend the temple movement after the killing of 57
karsewaks [volunteers], returning from Ayodhya.
''Any
attempt by the Center and the State Government to stop Ram sevaks from
proceeding to Ayodhya for the yagna, will not be tolerated,'' they warned.
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