We Have No Orders to Save You - Human Rights Watch

To bring itself into compliance with domestic and international law, the Gujarat government must act now to
prevent further attacks, end impunity, and deliver meaningful assistance to those displaced and dispossessed by
the violence. Those responsible for attacks against Hindus and Muslims in Godhra, Akshardham, and Godhra’s
violent aftermath, including members of the sangh parivar and the BJP, must be brought to justice. Specifically,
Human Rights Watch makes the following recommendations to the Gujarat state and central Indian government.
A complete set of recommendations to domestic and international actors can be found at the end of this report.
To the State Government of Gujarat:
• Ensure that police register and investigate all cases of communal violence regardless of the religious
background of the victim. Establish women’s cells in police stations for the reporting and
investigation of sexual violence cases and other crimes against women.
• Act without delay to implement the recommendations of the NHRC on the violence in Gujarat.
• Turn over investigations implicating state and police officials to federal agencies such as the CBI. 2
Ensure that these investigations address the conduct of state officials, including police and Bharatiya
Janata Party leaders, who incited, took part in, or were complicit in the attacks.
• Suspend all police officers implicated in the attacks, pending investigation. Police found to have
violated their duties should be dismissed and prosecuted where appropriate. All officers who helped
stem the violence and have since been demoted or transferred should be reinstated to their original
posts.
• Provide integration assistance to individuals and families who were victims of the communal violence
and who are unable or unwilling to return to their homes. Such integration assistance should include
housing, employment assistance, food and water, and access to education and healthcare.
• Allocate compensation for family members of those killed or the reconstruction of homes and places
of business, and for the provision of food and other relief supplies for all persons displaced or
dispossessed in a nondiscriminatory manner and in accordance with international human rights law
and the U.N. Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.
• Reassess existing state and federal compensation packages that fail to cover all damage and
destruction suffered by victims.
• Take prompt and appropriate action against any government official, including elected representatives
and members of the state or local administration, who endorse, encourage, or otherwise promote
discrimination against Muslims or any other group.
• Adopt and implement measures to ensure safe return and continuing security for all urban and rural
families affected by the violence who wish to go back to their original residences and places of
business.
• Adopt and implement measures to ensure the security of human rights defenders, journalists, and
independent and secular NGOs working in Gujarat to promote human rights and non-discrimination.
To the Government of India:
The government of India should ensure that Gujarat state investigates and prosecutes perpetrators of communal
violence and, where necessary, cooperates with federal agencies such as the CBI in doing so. The government
should also take appropriate measures to ensure the security and safety of all citizens of Gujarat, including
assisting those who have been displaced or dispossessed by the violence. In addition, Human Rights Watch
recommends that the government:
• Investigate and prosecute officials of those organizations, including the VHP, RSS, BJP, Bajrang Dal,
Shiv Sena, and their affiliates, implicated in continuing violence against Dalits, tribals, and religious
minorities.
• Repeal the resolution that exempts trishuls (tridents) from the scope of the Indian Arms Act. Prohibit,
in conjunction with state governments, the distribution of tridents and swords by members of the
sangh parivar; and seize weapons that have already been distributed by these groups.
2 CBI is a federal investigative agency that handles cases of corruption and cases of interstate and other crimes of national
importance. CBI inquiries are often demanded in cases where local or state investigations are perceived to be biased.
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 9 JULY 2003, Vol. 15, No. 3 (C)