We Have No Orders to Save You - Human Rights Watch

The NGO Janvikas 236 conducted a survey on the implementation of compensation guidelines. Gagan Sethi, the
head of Janvikas, told Human Rights Watch that while the government had technically complied with its own
guidelines, the guidelines themselves were abysmally sub-standard. He stated, “It has been the worst since setting
such high standards of rehabilitation post-earthquake. In comparison this is shameful… Everything was done by
the rule and not a with a reparation or empathy mindset.” He added the following as an example:
There has been very little structural damage to the homes even though all the contents have blown
up. The compensation package is based on structural damage so nothing is payable when there is
no structural damage. The walls could be charred but if the home is structurally standing then
you get nothing. Above and beyond that there is corruption and bribery. As a result even if
someone has suffered a loss of Rs. 100,000 [U.S.$2,128], he may receive only Rs. 1,500
[U.S.$32]. It’s like losing your pants and being compensated with underwear, and even the
underwear has no elastic in it.” 237
For victims who were residing in rental homes, relief could only be obtained upon receipt of a certificate from the
landlord that he or she had no objection to the tenant claiming compensation for the destroyed property. Such
certificates, however, have not been forthcoming from landlords. 238 There have also been significant delays in
the processing of loans and advances to help victims resume their livelihood. 239
Compensation for the Death of Family Members
Survivors of the Naroda Patia and Gulbarg Society massacres in Ahmedabad spoke to Human Rights Watch about
their difficulties in claiming compensation for the deaths of their loved ones. Twenty-five-year-old Feroz Gulzar,
a former resident of Gulbarg Society, lost five family members in the violence—his parents, his sister, and his two
brothers. He now resides with his uncle in the Muslim-dominated Juhapura neighborhood. Gulzar told Human
Rights Watch that he only received Rs. 10,000 (U.S.$213) from the government for damages to their home and
added, “they gave me compensation money for my parents’ deaths, but not for my sister, or my two brothers.
They said they don’t give money to a brother for his brother or sister’s death. We also got Rs. 3,000 [U.S.$64] for
damages to our shop but we don’t go back there. We work at home. We have no hopes of going back and I am
all alone. I was about to get married before all this happened.” 240
Afsara, a Muslim woman in her forties, is a former resident of Naroda Patia. Her eldest daughter, Noor Jahan, her
father-in-law, and her brother’s wife and his two children were all killed on February 28, 2002. Afsara’s two
remaining children, her son Sharukh, 9, and daughter Shah Jahan, 18, survived but suffered serious burn
injuries. 241 They were immediately admitted to Civil Hospital where they remained for two months. The family
then moved to Shah-e-Alam camp for three months and finally into a home in a Muslim neighborhood allotted to
them by a Muslim charity. Afsara told Human Rights Watch that she received very little from the government:
We were supposed to receive Rs. 90,000 [U.S.$1,915] for each of the people killed in our family
but we have received only one check so far, for my daughter Noor Jahan. The rest we are still
waiting for. We don’t understand what’s happening with the money. Nobody is telling us
whether it will come, or when it will come. We have no news about that, when we go to the
collector’s [a local official] office we just get pushed aside…. We only got Rs. 3,000 [U.S.$64]
236 Since 1987, Janvikas has been providing training and support to individuals and voluntary organizations in the
development field, including legal, health, education, and agricultural training. See www.janvikas.org/aboutus.html
(retrieved June 1, 2003).
237 Human Rights Watch interview with Gagan Sethi, Ahmedabad, January 5, 2003.
238 Election Commission of India, “Press Note,” p. 35.
239 Ibid., pp. 35-36.
240 Human Rights Watch telephone interview with Feroz Gulzar, Ahmedabad, January 3, 2003.
241 Sharukh suffered burn injuries on his hand and foot while eighteen-year-old Shah Jahan is almost completely covered in
burns.
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 45 JULY 2003, Vol. 15, No. 3 (C)