[Reader-list] Godhra carnage vs. Pandits exodus

[Partha Dasgupta]

Dear Pawan,

Somehow the matter of Godhra being a 'healed wound' doesn't fit in - just as
you forwarded the details of a young Kashmiri abroad who has never been in
Kashmir and remembers his grandfather's death on leaving the valley, making
him compose a rap song. Godhra is still alive in the hearts of those who
lost family and friends in that episode.

That aside, the Delhi riots on Indira Gandi's death, Nandigram and Godhra
are worrisome as state 'approved' violence when the very government(s) that
are sworn in to save lives sheds it's skin and shows a dirty underbelly that
rukes by rape, killings and subjugation of voices which it presumes are
against it's views.

The Godhra issue is not about '58 Hindu Kar Sevaks' or the subsequent
violence. Both incidents are reprehensible. However, in the second incident,
the state allowing it to happen after the first flare up and condoning it is
completely against the reason that we elect politicians to lead the state
towards peace and prosperity. That is irrespective of whether the victims
were Muslims (as in the 2nd incident at Godhra) or a mix of religions in
Nandigram (though I should point out that I'm unaware of any mention of
religion in that episode). Nor do I believe that the violence that rose in
Godhra due to the killing of 58 Sevaks is justified - as your statement
seems to mention.

And if you truly believe what seems to be a closure by mentioning -

"*The question is what was the need to reopen healed up wounds. If it was
needed at all, why 'publicity' was not given to these killings six months
earlier? What was done is done; cannot be undone. No sane person will gloat
over the killings or justify them.*"

Then the Kashmir issue is far older, and should have healed far more
completely with generations born out of the shadow of the valley.

This is not a retribution game where we say xx Hindu's were killed so kill
yy Muslims, or Bitta Karatay was freed by the Supreme Court so free those
responsible for the Godhra riots.

Maybe that's not what you said, but the wording used seem to denote that.

Rgds, Partha
....................

On Nov 29, 2007 11:23 PM, Pawan Durani <pawan.durani at gmail.com> wrote:

> http://www.kashmirherald.com/main.php?t=OP&st=D&no=341
>
> On-again, off-again nature of talk about 2002 Gujarat riots, on the heels
> of
> Godhra carnage, is preposterous. It is outrageous and disgusting to raise
> such issues, rendered irrelevant with the passage of time, to tarnish the
> image of India, booming with economic activity. It is disrespectful to the
> nation of one billion people.
>
> The so-called 'Tehelka expose' has, in fact, exposed the hollowness of
> pseudo-secularists, who flourish on such 'gossip'. Such loose discussions,
> brought to the fore repeatedly, should be put to an end once for all. The
> drum-beaters of secularism are deliberately orchestrating of what they
> call
> 'sting operation', when the Assembly elections in Gujarat are approaching.
> It is the height of stupidity to claim that the 'expose' just 'coincided'
> with the announcement of the Assembly poll in Gujarat.
>
> In the first instance, such 'exposures' are politically-motivated. The
> 'power hungry' Congress politicians know when and how to operationalise
> their 'mischievous designs', how to indulge in dirty tricks and how to
> mould
> public opinion. They raise the bogey of Gujarat riots, without bothering
> to
> mention about Godhra mayhem, in which 58 Hindu Kar Sevaks were roasted
> alive
> while they were traveling in the Sabarmati Express. The reaction to Godhra
> was Gujarat riots.
>
> The question is what was the need to reopen healed up wounds. If it was
> needed at all, why 'publicity' was not given to these killings six months
> earlier? What was done is done; cannot be undone. No sane person will
> gloat
> over the killings or justify them.
>
> But raising such issues repeatedly cannot be justified. More so since the
> secularists across the country did not bother to talk about the gruesome
> killings of nearly 1200 Kashmiri Hindus in early 1990 and later in
> sporadic
> incidents of ethnic cleansing. These killings and the resultant mass
> exodus
> of 5, 00,000 Hindus from Kashmir Valley are a blot on the Indian
> democracy.
>
> Hardly 15,000 Hindus are left in the valley now. Have they no right to
> live
> in their land of birth? Have they no democratic rights? The Human Rights
> organizations and the Amnesty International are just feigning ignorance
> about the apathetic conditions of the Kashmiri Hindus. So far the Indian
> Government's internal policy priorities are concerned human rights of
> Kashmiri Pundits have been locked in the boot.
>
> Since there is so much talk about post-Godhra carnage by secularists, may
> I
> ask them why they are not equally strident in the case of Kashmiri Hindus'
> plight. Why don't they pause for a while to wonder what was the fault of
> the
> Kashmiri Hindus to be marginalised and neglected in their own country?
> What
> crime had they committed against the majority Muslim community in the
> Valley?
>
> After the mass exodus, their houses were looted and set on fire. Temples
> and
> other places of worship were burnt down. The Hindus were compelled to
> dispose off their properties at throwaway prices, so that they don't dare
> to
> return to the Valley. Is this secularism? Is this democracy? No eyebrows
> were raised about the pogrom of the Kashmiri Hindus.
>
> For Kashmiri Hindus, secularism has been buried in the graveyards of
> Kashmir. The moderate Muslims were helpless as the radicals are holding
> the
> sway. And they just advised the 'Hindu brethren' to leave for lack of
> security.
>
> To cap it all, some maverick writers believe that killings of Muslims in
> Gujarat, as exposed by Tehelka, should not be suppressed. Does it mean,
> what
> has happened to Kashmiri Hindus and non-Kashmiri Hindus, who had also
> settled there for decades, should be suppressed? It is shameful. Why was
> not
> any commission set up to go into the killings and forcible exodus of
> Kashmiri Hindus?
>
> Why are there one-sided sting operations? Is it not a new weapon in the
> hands of the secularists to divide the society on communal lines, keeping
> in
> mind the vote bank policy?
>
> The authorities in Godhra, soon after the mayhem, had made an unsavoury
> statement that those who had burnt alive the karsevaks were "uneducated,
> without jobs and poor. Most of them, called Ghanchi Muslims, live in
> poverty
> and have no economic activity" How amazing? The Godhra officials were
> forced
> to make confusing statements to suppress the truth about Godhra.
>
> These tactics are sure to boomerang and destroy the age-old residual
> communal harmony. They should realize such exposures will retaliate on
> them,
> just like terrorism has boomeranged on Pakistan. Dr Sachidananda Sinha has
> well said: "Where there is no vision, the people perish".
>
> Maverick writer Farzana Versey argues that the cause of Kashmiri Hindus
> has
> been romanticized. In a recent news paper article, "Fission Kashmir"
> (September 7, 2007) she remarks: "Unlike the 140 terrorist groups, the
> Pandit lobby is strong. It can organize itself. Displaced Pundits are now
> demanding reservations in the Jammu and Kashmir legislature and government
> jobs, as well as setting up of three townships in the Valley for their
> rehabilitation". What is wrong in making these demands?
>
> Unlike Versey, some Pakistan journalists appear to sympathise with
> Kashmiri
> Pundits. They visited the migrant camps in Jammu and saw things for
> themselves. They have taken up the cudgels for speaking the truth. For the
> past 17 years, the Pundit community has lost its cultural moorings. They
> have lost their identity as an ethnic group, and are unable to preserve
> their traditions and customs.
>
> Some Indian journalists are talking about 'nailing the guilty of Gujarat'.
> Their response is based on Tehelka's investigations, which, according to
> them, has 'provided evidence on tapes 'of stories relating to the Muslims'
> killings by top functionaries of the BJP and Sangh Parivar.
>
> Well, if that is indeed the case, what about nailing known JKLF activist
> Bitta Karatay, who, in a recent TV interview had claimed responsibility
> for
> killing scores of Hindus, with many more on his hit-list. He was in jail
> for
> 16 years on the charge of murdering a score of Kashmiri Hindus.
>
> The Supreme Court has released Karatay recently for 'want of evidence'.
> _________________________________________
> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
> Critiques & Collaborations
> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with
> subscribe in the subject header.
> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
> List archive: &lt;https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>




-- 
Partha Dasgupta
+919811047132