We Have No Orders to Save You - Human Rights Watch

A resident of Naroda Patia who lost nine family members in the violence told Human Rights Watch: “They keep
going on about Muslim terrorists, but who are the terrorists? Those who torture Muslims so much should be
punished a bit. In a family of nine, I am the only survivor. Whom should I live for now?” 170 Fliers in circulation
in Gujarat for years before the attacks cautioned Hindus to “beware of inhuman deeds of Muslims.... Muslims are
destroying Hindu Community by slaughter houses, slaughtering cows and making Hindu girls elope. Crime,
drugs, terrorism are Muslim’s empire.” 171 Similar fliers depicting Muslims as terrorists and sexual deviants are
now in circulation in Rajasthan where the BJP is contesting elections later this year (see Chapter XI).
The labeling of Muslims as terrorists has also seeped into civil society. Teesta Setalvad, prominent Indian
journalist, activist, and editor of the journal Communalism Combat explained:
The absolute horrifying fact of the violence was the paralysis and complicity of civil society in
Gujarat, barring the few very brave and noble exceptions. This huge mass consensus that the
discourse of the right wing has got, is really mirrored to a large extent in Gujarat, particularly in
Ahmedabad city. So there is discourse about terrorist being used as an alternative to Muslim,
where Kashmir is invoked to decide what should happen to Gujarati Muslims, as a payback.
After the genocide the chief minister of Gujarat says, “why should I run relief camps, are they
baby-making factories?” So this whole demonization of the Muslim community with no basis
and rationality, no basis in fact, can really be observed in civil society in Gujarat. Civil society
let this carnage take place, let the genocide take place, and even justified it in the name of
Godhra. 172
Members of the VHP and Bajrang Dal have also targeted Hindus for helping refugees, most notably Hindu
doctors. Concerted attempts to communalize the medical and legal community in Gujarat may have obstructed
the delivery of much-needed medical and legal aid following the violence. 173 Journalists too have come under
attack for their unflinching reporting of the events in the country’s English media. On June 11, 2002 Chief
Minister Modi issued a blatant threat against such journalists stating that, “Those journalists who cover Gujarat…
may meet the fate of Daniel Pearl… Cover communal riots at your own risk, look at Daniel Pearl.” 174 Human
rights defenders and peace activists have also come under attack, harassment, or intimidation. Threats are made
publicly and privately. In December 2002 VHP General Secretary Praveen Togadia declared, “All Hindutva
opponents will get the death sentence and we will leave it to the people to carry this out.” 175
Godhra’s victims
While the government continues to fumble the Godhra investigations, the relatives of the Hindus killed in the
attack are battling poverty and expressing their frustrations with the rhetoric of the VHP. Eighty-year-old
Girishchandra Rawal, whose son and wife were killed in the Godhra attack, told reporters:
The VHP has cheated us in the name of Lord Ram…. What do I gain from supporting the Ram
temple movement in Ayodhya? Even if the temple is built there my future remains insecure… I
have already lost my wife in the Godhra carnage and the son who was the sole breadwinner of my
family to the ensuing violence. The state government announced an ex-gratia (compensation) of
Rs. 200,000 [U.S.$4,255] for the kin and later it reduced it to Rs. 100,000 [U.S.$2,128]. My son
has left behind his wife and daughter, how long can I feed them on this meagre amount?
170 Human Rights Watch interview with Khalid Noor Mohammed Sheikh, Ahmedabad, January 5, 2003.
171 Human Rights Watch, “We Have No Orders to Save You,” p. 43.
172 Human Rights Watch interview with Teesta Setalvad, Mumbai, December 21, 2003.
173 Concerned Citizens Tribunal, Crime Against Humanity, vol. I, p. 210.
174 Concerned Citizens Tribunal, Crime Against Humanity , vol. II, p. 31; “Cover communal riots at your own risk, look at
Daniel Pearl - Gujarat govt.,” Indian Express, June 11, 2002. For more on attacks on the media in Gujarat see Human Rights
Watch, “We Have No Orders to Save You,” p. 34.
175 Neena Vyas, “Hindutva storm will not be - limited to Gujarat - Togadia,” The Hindu, December 18, 2002.
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 35 JULY 2003, Vol. 15, No. 3 (C)