MINORITIES - 2002 - Indian Social Institute

without us being forewarned is strange." (Indian Exp 7.3.02)
7 th March
Godhra can’t wait, burnt Gujarat can (7)
Ahmedabad, March 5: Over 3,500 people have taken shelter in Sahibaug Saraswati School. In the six
days since riots broke out in Ahmedabad, no one from BJP chief minister Narendra Modi's government or
party has visited them to see how they were getting by "No one has come here, neither government
officials nor local ML A," said M. Khan Raza who set up the camp for riot victims. About 17 such relief
camps have sprouted in the city. Neither the chief minister nor any of the six ministers who represent
constituencies in Ahmedabad has visited even a single relief camp. They have not visited their
constituencies either. Facing charges of inaction—even allowing rioters free play—Modi's government is
showing little sign that it intends to restore people's faith in the rule of law or of even being interested in
shepherding people displaced by the violence back to their pre-violence way of life. (Telegraph 6.3.02)
8 th March
Gujarat carnage cripples House (7)
New Delhi: THE GOVERNMENT and the Opposition have agreed to cancel the unscheduled leave on
Monday and discuss the Gujarat carnage in the Lok Sabha. A decision to this effect was taken at the
Business Advisory Committee meeting called by Deputy Speaker P M Sayeed. Senior Opposition leaders
who attended the meeting said the mode of discussion had not been decided but they would like to move
adjournment motion on the issue. The BAC also decided to discuss the President's Address on March 13
and 14, and the Union Budget on the 15th. The House, however, may witness on Friday the same kind of
uproar that was raised on Thursday as the Opposition would press for the resignations of Gujarat Chief
Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister L K Advani. (Pioneer 8.3.02)
8th March
Gujarat toll touches 616 (7)
AHMEDABAD: Forty-one more bodies were pulled out from under the debris of burnt houses and a
woman belonging to the minority community was stabbed to death here on Thursday pushing the death
toll to 616. Police said as many as 30 bodies, mostly burnt, were recovered from the houses in the city on
Wednesday which were set afire by a mob on February 28. Three bodies were found in Surat city and
another five recovered from houses in Sabarkantha district. Two persons of a minority group were
stabbed on Relief Road in the Walled City of Ahmedabad on Thursday evening, leading to the death of
one person. (Pioneer 8.3.02)
8 th March
Gujarat riots: AIR man paid the price too (7)
NEW DELHI, MARCH 8 SUNDAY, March 3: All India Radio (AIR) broadcasts a discussion critical of the
Gujarat government’s and the Centre’s handling of the communal riots. Wednesday, March 6, The
programme’s assistant news editor Rajinder Paul, is transferred to the general news pool, another AIR
unit. An inquiry is ordered by Director General News Harish Awasthi reportedly on pressure from the PMO
to look into how the programme was cleared for broadcast. And you thought this wasn’t a government
that believed in swift decision making. (Indian Exp 9.3.02)
8 th March
Godhra: for clues to attack, you can start visiting Signal Fadia (7)
GODHRA, MARCH 8: THE popular theory of what caused the violence at Godhra is that the attack was
premeditated. That's the only way, the theory goes, it would be possible — in the few minutes after the
train's chain was pulled — for a crowd of 2-3,000 to gather, armed with incendiary material, and carry out
the attack. It seems a plausible theory. Until you come to Signal Fadia. Everywhere, in this rabbit's warren
of alleyways and shanties, overrun by pigs and other stray animals, lie signs of how a mob can assemble,
arm itself and actually carry out such an attack in a matter of minutes. There's no proof yet that it actually
did act spontaneously but investigators are increasingly coming across bits of evidence — including the
fact that the chain was pulled twice, indicating that there may not have been a large enough crowd the first