Unknown Facts About 2002

You won’t find too many Ram temples in Gujarat. Don’t misunderstand this though. Gujaratis are as much Ram-Bhakts as any other Hindu. However, you will find plenty of Hanuman temples in almost every suburb of Gujarat. In a website that lists 16 famous temples of Gujarat, not one is a Ram temple. But because Gujarat is the adopted home of Lord Krishna (especially Saurashtra region), a vast majority of Gujaratis are bigger Krishna-Bhakts. Millions of Gujjus greet and part with “Jai Sri Krishna”. Even on telephone they answer and part with “Jai Sri Krishna”. You will find hundreds of Shiva temples as Somnath and couple of others are aligned with “Jyotirlings”. A whole town called Shamlaji near the Rajasthan border is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The whole town is full of nothing but hundreds of big and small temples.

So, the question is – how did so many Ram-Bhakts end up on the Sabarmati Express that was burned in Godhra? Therein lies the rub. To understand and answer this question, one must understand where the deadliest riots happened and why. 2002 wasn’t just a retaliation for the Godhra train-burning that killed 59 innocent men, women and children. The Hindu anger had psychologically built up over decades and 2002 was its most graphic expression. It was enhanced because of 24X7 TV which wasn’t there in many previous conflicts. Let’s reel out the facts that aren’t quite known to many outside Gujarat.

1.. While only one coach of the Sabarmati Express (SE) got burned, there is nothing to suggest that there wasn’t an attempt to burn more. 59 died and about 48 were injured in that one S-6 coach but there were 2000 Ram-Bhakts on that train returning from Ayodhya. Not all of them were Gujaratis. Many of them were from UP, Bihar, MP etc. That should tell you that many of these Kar Sewaks were from North India who worked in Ahmedabad or elsewhere in Gujarat.

2.. Take a good look at this two-part map of Ahmedabad. The city is divided into two parts by the Sabarmati river. The East is where the walled city is and also the farther eastern parts are all Industrial areas. Naroda, which came to prominence in the riots, is a vast industrial zone with thousands of small and big businesses. Naroda is where Reliance started its first textile mill (Vimal brand). In the past, Naroda also had the Coco-Cola plant, the Modern Bread plant and everything from tyres to marbles. Naroda naturally harbours a vast population of workers. And where do most of these labour come from? They come from the entire country. Mostly from UP, Bihar, MP etc. They live alongside other Gujaratis and the Muslims:

3.. The left image in the above map shows the stretch from Naroda to Vatwa. This entire belt is full of industries and the maximum violence happened in these areas. You can imagine why! Because the maximum number of labour from the North work and stay in these areas and are frequently subject to X community violence. Now, it doesn’t stop there. If you look at the right-side map, the route further down south, it extends from Vatwa right up to Surat. This corridor from Vatwa, passing through Nadiad, Anand, Baroda, Bharuch, Ankleshwar to Surat is among the most industrialised corridors in India. It shouldn’t take Einstein to guess that the maximum retaliatory violence happened along this corridor from Naroda to Surat – Baroda, Bharuch, Ankleshwar and Surat were also hotspots. Guess who most populates this corridor – labourers from the North along with Gujarati traders, workers and business owners.

4.. In the left map in the image above, you will also see the Sarkhej area to the left-bottom corner. That is where Juhapura, the biggest Muslim ghetto in Asia is located. During and after the riots, most of the targets left their homes and took shelter in Juhapura. Most of them never returned to their homes. The Hindus that have suffered most in past communal riots are labourers from all parts of India (especially UP, Bihar) and small Gujarati traders and factory-workers. They are the ones who live alongside Muslims in these industrial zones.

5. Abdul Latif was a well-known mafia wiseguy from Ahmedabad (Shahrukh Khan glorified this criminal in a movie called “Raees”). He was connected to the Mumbai Dawood gangs and also a pet of the Congress party during Madhavsinh Solanki rule. He wreaked havoc in the Eastern parts of Ahmedabad which had many of Modi’s “Mini Indias”. Traditionally, Rath Yatra is celebrated in Ahmedabad with great fanfare. But it was also regularly pelted with stones or faced some attacks as it passed through these Mini Indias. Here is the route that the Rath Yatra historically followed in Ahmedabad. The entire route is through multiple “Mini Indias” and the attacks on this Hindu celebration grew worse each year. Abdul Latif ran his mafia operations and liquor distribution at a mini Indo-Pak border called Popatiyawad located at Dariapur (which was on the route of the Rath Yatra):

6.. This is the Teen Darwaza, one of the many old entrances to the walled city and a congested market area of Eastern Ahmedabad which has been declared a “Heritage city” now by the UN. Teen Darwaza directly faces the famous Bhadra Kali temple and further down its road is Jama Masjid. Close to Teen Darwaza is the only fully non-veg street in Ahmedabad – it is known as “Bhatiyar Gali”. That street is hardly a stretch of 200 metres or so. This entire area is dominated by residents and traders from the X community who live in a 5 km radius in this Eastern part of Ahd. Hindus have suffered frequent attacks of robbery, mugging, attacks with razor blades in the past and in 1985 a whole family and their house was burned down in Dabgarwad (Just 2 kms away from Teen Darwaza). That incident is infamous history. The Dabgarwad Massacre and burning killed 8 Hindus (3 women and 5 children). Most adult Gujaratis have never forgotten that attack. All 63 accused were acquitted for lack of evidence. Imagine the pain and vengeance that anyone would carry. The hand of Abdul Latif gang in this carnage is known to all but never established. It is a psychological scar that Hindus have carried for very long. So, burning people alive is not new to such criminals.

7.. Gujaratis are usually peace-loving, non-violent people. And it is not merely some Gujaratis but a lot of labour folk from the North that had frequently suffered from attacks by the X community. Consequently, it is a mixed population of Hindus that most retaliated for Godhra in the 2002 riots. This is the history of communal riots in Gujarat which is populated by a mixed-demography wherever industrial zones are located.

8.. The retaliation for Godhra was so swift and severe that it was all over in 3 nights. Neither the Modi Govt nor the police had a clue to the mass uprising. Modi was elected for the first time to the Gujarat Assembly (from Rajkot) just 3 days before the Godhra incident. After the first 3 days and nights, the riots were sporadic and had done enough damage to match a Category-5 hurricane. Most of the Hindus killed were killed in police firing as were a few Muslims. In the Western parts of Ahmedabad, shops and establishments of the X community were burned to the ground overnight on February 27. The deaths were mostly in the Eastern parts and along the industrial corridor from Ahmedabad to Surat.

9.. After 2002, all the attacks on Rath Yatra and other routine attacks on Hindus have more or less stopped. There are still stray incidents of stone-pelting on Ganesh processions but they have been quickly controlled to restore peace. The biggest scoundrels that also inflamed the riots were from the media, particularly Barkha Dutt and Rajdeep Sardesai. So much that their channels (then Star TV) had to be banned for a few days by the Gujarat Govt. The media made the faces of Qutubuddin Ansari and Ashok Parmar famous as the victim and offender of 2002. However, those in the know are aware that these images were “posed” for the media and are not LIVE shots from incidents. Today, Ansari and Parmar are reportedly friends:

10.. To summarise, 2002 was not retaliation for Godhra incident alone, although that served as the trigger. Hindus had psychologically suffered a lot of attacks and violence from the X community with direct support of the Congress govts of the past. Madhavsinh Solanki was the worst of the lot and that is what brought about the end of Congress rule in Gujarat. Secondly, Gujaratis are not the only ones who retaliated. The Hindus that retaliated included certain Gujarati sections but also a good number of industrial workers from the North. The Ram-Bhakts on Sabarmati Express were not all Gujaratis, they were a mixed bag from across India.

11.. Peace and harmony cannot be achieved by constant dialogue or friendly overtures. There has to be a limit to how much atrocity one can tolerate. 2002 made Modi prominent nationally and internationally. It also paved the path for him to eventually become PM. 2002 revived Hindu assertiveness in Gujarat and other parts of India. 2002 ensured no politician or party that is anti-Hindu will find favour in Gujarat and in many other states. Modi also turned into a hardcore Hindu icon in Gujarat though he may not be necessarily so. The compulsions of Hinduness in Gujarat made him so.

In present day India, Hindus are again facing violent attacks from the X community across the country. This is worse in BJP-ruled states. Sadhus, Pujaris, innocent Hindus are being killed just for being Hindus. Today, Modi is more or less an anti-Hindu and is more Sickular than Congress. In his pursuit of rectifying his personal image and self-glorification he has become the most extreme Muslim-appeaser that India has seen since Independence. As was the case in Gujarat, Hindus across India are currently experiencing a psychological let down. There is one simple message that 2002 sent to political parties in Gujarat – If you are not good for Hindus, you are not good for Gujarat. A similar message needs to reach all political parties – If you are not good for Hindus, you are not good for India.

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