MINORITIES - 2002 - Indian Social Institute

Shaik Mahboob Ali and M.A. Majid, president and vice-president respectively of the DJS, at a press
conference here on Wednesday. (Hindu 28.2.02)
1 st March
140 killed as Gujarat bandh turns violent (7)
Ahmedabad: At least 140 people were killed, 60 of them burnt alive in two housing colonies here today as
mob frenzy reached its crescedo during the Gujarat bandh called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and
supported by the ruling BJP in protest against Wednesday’s torching of the Sabarmati Express. At least
30 others were killed in police firing stabbing and other incidents in different parts of the city while the
casualty in other cities and towns in the State was put at over 50. Shops and business establishments
belonging to Muslims were targeted by mobs. About 40 were feared killed when 15 houses in Gulmarg
Society in Meghaninagar locality here were set afire. At least 20 people were feared trapped in abuilding
set ablaze in Naroda industrial area. (Hindu 1.3.02)
1st March
Muslims’ property attacked and looted (7)
Ahmedabad: We have burnt it and we will see to it that no shop belonging to a Muslim is spared, an
arsonist said proudly after torching the Tasty restaurant near Judges Bungalow, on Thursday morning
during the Gujarat bandh. Gas cylinders inside the restaurant were about to burst and there was no sign of
the police. Ironically the Judges Bungalows police station is just opposite the restaurant. The city burnt as
people of one community went berserk with vengeance against the minority community. No shop
belonging to the Muslim community was spared and the emotionally charged mob did not even spare a
cameraman of a news channel near the burning restaurant. (Asian Age 1.3.02)
2 nd March
3 die as violence spreads (7)
New Delhi: Three persons were killed and many others were injured as the violence in Gujarat spilled over
to other parts of the country on Friday. Incidences of arson, communal clashes, demolition of shrines and
police firing marked the bandh called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). Violence was reported from
various parts of UP, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana. In the communally sensitive district of
Aligarh two persons were killed. Rapid Action Force was deployed soon after and although no curfew was
declared, security forces restricted the movement of traffic. Sporadic incidents of violence were also
reported from Kanpur, Gorakhpur amd Etawah. (Times of India 2.3.02)
2 nd March
200-strong mob tries to set fire to police station (7)
Hyderabad: Mob attacks on a police station and fire station, both in the old city, the opening of fire in the
air to disperse rioting mobs and stone pelting after Friday prayers marked the nation-wide bandh call given
by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in the city on Friday. The police fired a few rounds in the air to save the
Bhavani nagar police station from being burnt by miscreants. The miscreants most of them below the age
of 25, divided themselves into groups and took different routes after they failed to create any major
disturbance of Charminar after noon prayers. (Asian Age 2.3.02)
2nd March
After 250 die in Gujarat, Delhi stirs (7)
Ahmedabad: Riots, arson, mob rule and mass murders, all targeted against the minority community,
continued well into the day on Friday all over Gujarat. The toll after two days of lumpenism and
governmental inaction – both Central and State – shot up to a nerve numbing 250, Shamefully,
Ahmedabad the financial and political heart of the state, accounted for most of the dead as rioters,
unchallenged by the police, continued their rampage into Friday afternoon. (Times of India 2.3.02)
3 rd March
29 burned to death in Mehsana massacre (7)
Sardarpura (Gujarat), March 2: A MOB attacked a Muslim quarter in Sardarpur village in Mehsana district
killing 29 villagers by setting them on fire and injuring 22 others. Sardarpur is just 15 km from Chief