MINORITIES - 2002 - Indian Social Institute

17 th April
Four killed in Modi’s ‘peaceful’city (7)
April 16: Four people were killed and at least 18 injured in fresh violence in Ahmedabad on Tuesday when
mobs of both communities clashed in various areas. Violence was also reported from Viramgam in
Saurashtra. However, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi claimed the situation in Gujarat was
"peaceful" and appealed to people "not to make mountains out of molehills." One person was killed and at
least five injured when the police had to open fire as violence flared in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur area early
on Tuesday. According to the Vejalpur police, the incident occurred near Yash. Complex when people of
two communities started throwing hand-made rockets and crude bombs at each other after 1 am. The
police had to fire 35 rounds and 22 tear gas shells to disperse the mob hi which Jamil Bagwan, 36, a
resident of Mom Park at Juhapura, was killed. (Asian Age 17.4.02)
17 th April
Swallow the truth, BJP tells bod Food Minister (7)
ISOLATED and silenced at the BJP's Goa executive, Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Shanta
Kumar who condemned the Gujarat carnage will be asked to explain his "indiscipline" after which "suitable
action" will be taken, party chief Jana Krishnamurthy said today. Kumar broke his silence to The Indian
Express on April 6. This was two days after Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee himself, during his visit to
Ahmedabad, had said he was ashamed of what had happened there and had urged Chief Minister
Narendra Modi to follow rajdharma. Kumar said he was "pained and disgusted" at what was going on and
urged the party to take strong action against those in the VHP and the BajiajigJDal -who are trying to
"destroy the very fabric of the country." (Indian Exp 17.4.02)
18th April
Fearing EC, Modi keeps polls on hold (7)
AHMEDABAD: The perception that the Election Commission in New Delhi would not allow assembly
elections in Gujarat at this juncture forced the Gujarat cabinet to skip the issue of dissolution of the state
assembly at its meeting here on Wednesday. Sources said that the friends of chief minister Narendra
Modi in New Delhi had got indications about the reluctance of the Election Commission through informal
channels and advised him to stay put on the matter for the time being. These powerful friends of Modi are
now exploring ways and means through which the Election Commission could be convinced that, the
setting was not inappropriate in Gujarat for holding elections. (Times of India 18.4.02)
18 th April
MEA wants its missions to say all is well in Gujarat (7)
New Delhi, April 17: Pushed back to the wall by the graphic coverage of the Gujarat violence in the
international media and several governments expressing concern over the widespread killings, the
ministry of external affairs has asked its missions abroad to spread the message that all is well in the
state. The ministry, echoing what the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have been saying, has sent a note to
the missions in different countries explaining the Gujarat situation. According to the note, all is well in
Gujarat and the state has been functioning normally. The ministry has substantiated the claim by
projecting that the panchayat elections have taken place in the state successfully and lakhs of high school
students had appeared in the high school examination. (Asian Age 18.4.02)
17 th April
Ribeiro sees communal virus in police (7)
New Delhi, April 16: Former Mumbai police commissioner Julio Ribeiro said successive riots and the latest
blood-letting ; in Gujarat have shown that the Indian state has abdicated "its responsibility to defend every
citizen irrespective of his or her caste and creed" and upholding the promises made in the Constitution.
Making a presentation to members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Home Affairs last month
when Gujarat was bleeding, Ribeiro said the nation has time and again failed to protect its citizens when
they were under attack: during the anti-Sikh riots in 1984, the Mumbai riots in 1992-93, in Ahmedabad and
Vadodora in 1985 and -now in Gujarat. He said during the 1985 riots in Mumbai, he saw for the first time
minorities arming themselves because they realised the police were as "afflicted by the communal virus as