Gujrat Riots
Gujrat Riots 2002
Gujrat riots are also known as Gujrat Pogrom/ Godhra train burning. On 27 February 2002, a train carrying mostly Hindu pilgrims arriving from Ayodhya after attending a religious ceremony which took place at the demolished Babri Masjid was attacked and burned near Godhra, killing 56 karsevaks.
After the demolition of Babri Masjid, which was the birthplace of Lord Ram, many Hindu devotees go there and provide their help to rebuild the Ram temple. These people are called karsevaks.
Source:-https://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/02/29/the-2002-gujarat-riots-key-cases/
This was a planned incident. This incident further led to three months long violence in Gujrat and an year-long violence against the Muslims. Women and girls were raped and mutilated. Children were burnt alive. Incidents like the Naroda Patiya massacre, where 97 Muslims were killed, took place. It was the biggest since the Godhra massacre.
After the incident, Modi called it a terror attack by local Muslims in a public statement. The next day, Vishwa Hindu Parishad declared for a bandh, which spread Hindu Muslim violence in the region. Government’s decision of moving the dead bodies of train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence, killing 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus. Approximately 150000 people were driven to refugee camps.
Modi was found innocent due to lack of evidence by the court. He was criticized not only domestically but internationally. But nothing could affect his confidence in his Hindu nationalist beliefs. He was being pressurized to resign. After all the controversy, he was able to survive in the next two elections. And played a major role in inducing investment in Gujrat making it economically strong.
Gujrat riots are one of the heinous massacres in the history of India.
