Relief Camps And Rehabilitation

VIII.Relief Camps And Rehabilitation

The government of Gujarat has said that some 98,000 people were displaced bythe communal violence and are now living in one hundred make-shift relief camps in different parts of thestate.²⁴² An overwhelming majority of the internallydisplaced in Gujarat are Muslims. Human Rights Watch visited two relief camps in Ahmedabad that together held11,100 people. The information below is based on interviews with internally displaced persons (IDPs) in thecamps, as well as representatives of nongovernmental and humanitarian agencies, reports by NGOs, and thepress.

The state government of Gujarat has failed to provide effective and equitableprotection and assistance to those displaced by the violence. Security in the camps remains precarious, andthere have been serious delays in the delivery of assistance, compensation, and rehabilitation support. Thecamps continue to lack sufficient medical support and there are reports of discrimination in the delivery ofassistance to Muslims, as compared to Hindus affected by the violence.

Government authorities are reported to be absent from many camps. In sharpcontrast to the international and Indian community's response following a massive earthquake in the state inJanuary 2001-when millions of dollars of international and civil society aid poured into the state²⁴³-theonus of providing food, medical support, and other supplies for victims of violence rests largely on local NGOand Muslim voluntary groups. Members of the victims' community are managing many camps' day-to-day operations.The Indian government has not acknowledged requesting any international or U.N. relief agencies to provideassistance and protection to those displaced by the violence.

In responding to the crisis of the displaced, the state government has failedto adhere to the standards laid out in the U.N. Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (GuidingPrinciples) and with international human rights standards.²⁴⁴

Conditions in the Camps

One of the camps visited by Human Rights Watch, at Dariyakhan Ghummat in theShahibaug area of Ahmedabad, was formerly a municipal school for first to seventh graders and has been hostingpeople since February 28. The school was also used as a camp during the 1985 riots. As of the fourth week ofMarch, the camp housed a total of 5,100 people though the numbers rose and fell depending on securityconditions outside. Between March 16 and 19 for example, immediately after the March 15 events in Ayodhya thatmany feared would lead to more attacks, the camp absorbed 2,500 more people. Each classroom in the municipalschool building, approximately fifteen by fifteen feet in size, housed fifty to sixty people, mostly women andchildren. The men slept outside under makeshift shelters. For over a week following the attacks, residentslived and slept in the same clothes in which they fled. Many left their homes without even shoes.

At Chartoda Kabristan, Gomtipur, the second camp visited by Human Rights Watchin Ahmedabad, residents were living in the most inhumane conditions. The camp is situated in a Muslim cemetery(kabristan). Many of its 6,000 residents were literally sleeping in the spaces between the graves. Oneresident remarked, "Usually the dead sleep here, now the living are sleeping here."²⁴⁵

Both camps were receiving assistance from NGOs and Muslim organizations inGujarat, as well as limited food rations from the government. No police posts had been set up in themajority-Muslim camps in Ahmedabad and no security had been provided to camp residents, leaving residentsunprotected and unable to register formal complaints-to be recorded as FIRs-with the police.

Protection and Security of IDPs

Principle 3 of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement stipulates that,"national authorities have the primary duty and responsibility to provide protection and humanitarianassistance to internally displaced persons within their jurisdiction." Principle 10 adds that displacedpersons must be protected from attacks on their camps or settlements.

Residents of both camps visited by Human Rights Watch complained of the lackof security and protection both in the camps and in the neighborhoods from which they fled. As a result, manywere unable to leave the camps for fear of being attacked or arrested by the police, who have been conductingcombing operations in Muslim neighborhoods that were damaged or destroyed by mobs, and arbitrarily detainingMuslim youth returning to collect their belongings or assess the damage to their homes (see above). With nofreedom of movement, the lack of police posts in the camps made it particularly difficult for residents tolodge FIRs with the police.

An organizer for the Chartoda Kabristan camp in Ahmedabad told Human RightsWatch that a lack of security was one of the biggest problems facing camp residents:

"We want to apply for security to be able to leave the camps. Themilitary has helped to put the brakes on a little bit. But there is still violence in certain pockets. Justyesterday, two crowds of Hindus and Muslims began confronting each other."²⁴⁶

In the first week following the attacks, displaced persons in Ahmedabad alsofeared for their security within the camps. In some cases, the police did not intervene to stop attacks orincitement to violence, in direct violation of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement that state thatinternally displaced persons shall be protected against threats, incitement, and acts of violence intended to"spread terror" (Principle 11). On March 18, the Odhav camp in Ahmedabad was reportedly attackedwith stones and petrol bombs. Camp residents told reporters that several similar attacks had taken place sincethe camp was set up on February 28. The police failed to intervene during the attacks, resulting in thedeployment of army troops for the camp's protection.²⁴⁷

The insecurity in camps has been compounded by reports of loudspeakers blaringmessages inciting Hindus to anti-Muslim violence from neighborhoods surrounding the camps. Citizens forJustice and Peace-a coalition of citizens from Mumbai and Ahmedabad that includes prominent human rightsactivists-has, among other activities, issued frequent appeals and updates since the start of the attacks.²⁴⁸In their March 7 appeal the coalition reported that in certain camps in Ahmedabad in the week following theinitial attacks camp residents were traumatized by "cassettes...played late at night, from the home ofthe perpetrators of the crime living in nearby societies, sending out the war-cry: `Looto, kato, maro, JaiSri Ram!' (Loot, attack, kill, [Praise Lord Ram!])."²⁴⁹An organizer for the Shah-e-Alam relief camp, one of Ahmedabad's largest camps, told reporters that the policewere ignoring these new terror tactics.²⁵⁰

A lack of protection has also resulted in the forced isolation of Muslimsstill residing in their homes. Afraid to leave their ghettoes to get more supplies, many are facing acute foodshortages in Ahmedabad.²⁵¹

Threats of Forcible Return of DisplacedPersons

In blatant violation of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement(Principle 15(d)) a local civil supplies minister in Ahmedabad, Bharat Barot, threatened to close down threecamps and forcibly return camp residents to places where their security could not be guaranteed. The ministerargued that the predominantly Muslim camps were breeding grounds for terrorism.

An organizer at the Dariyakhan Ghummat camp told Human Rights Watch:

Bharat Barot, who is minister for the area, lives half a kilometer away buthas not come to the camp.... He wants to remove the camp, but where would we go? We cannot go set up a camp inPakistan. In many areas Hindus have pushed him away saying don't create animosity here. He is giving pressreleases saying that there are terrorists here. If they were terrorists then they wouldn't have died, theywould have killed and fought back.... Whoever is here is completely helpless if they close and defame thecamp. We're not going to send them home; we won't let them close the camp.²⁵²

In the third week of March, Barot wrote a letter to the Minister of State forHome, Gordhan Zadaphia, asking him to dismantle the three camps in his constituency housing 6,000 people. Morethan three-quarters of the camps' inhabitants are Muslim and many are residents of Naroda Patia and GulmargSociety. Although no incidents had been reported between the camp and area residents, the letter stated thatthe Hindus living near these camps-in Dariapur-Kazipur-were feeling insecure because of the presence of somany riot victims. Barot also conveyed his demand to Chief Minister Narendra Modi.²⁵³Barot's plea was turned down due to severe national criticism of the role of the state government in theviolence.²⁵⁴

A thirteen-member All-party Committee on Relief and Rehabilitation (theCommittee) was set up by the state government on March 16, following an announcement by Prime MinisterVajpayee in the Lok Sabha (House of the People, Indian parliament).²⁵⁵At the first meeting of the Committee, held under the chairmanship of Governor Sunder Singh Bhandari in lateMarch, Chief Minister Modi said that contrary to his initial proposal to close the camps by the end of March,²⁵⁶the state would not close the camps and that the victims would not be forced to return to their homes.²⁵⁷The Committee also agreed to deal with rehabilitation measures and proposed that they be implemented throughnongovernmental organizations. The reversal was reportedly prompted by pressure by the opposition Congressparty.²⁵⁸

Access to Humanitarian Assistance

A serious problem facing internally displaced persons in Gujarat is the lack ofaccess to humanitarian assistance. Problems have included unacceptable delays in government assistancereaching relief camps, inadequate provisions of medical, food, and sanitation supplies, and a lack ofprotection for relief workers seeking to assist victims of violence. Under Principle 18 of the GuidingPrinciples, internally displaced persons are guaranteed the right to an adequate standard of living. Principle18 states that "competent authorities" should provide internally displaced persons with essentialfood and potable water, basic shelter and housing, appropriate clothing and essential medical services andsanitation "regardless of the circumstances, and without discrimination." The state government ofGujarat has so far failed to comply with these standards.

Government aid, mainly food rations, did not reach the camps until at least aweek after the onset of attacks. The amounts received have been inadequate to fulfill the camps' daily foodrequirements. Aid workers continue to report an acute shortage of food, cooking oil, sugar, medical supplies,clothes, and blankets in Ahmedabad. A report in the Hindustan Times added that camps housing thousandsof people had only six toilets each and people were receiving only sixty grams of wheat a day.²⁵⁹

In the week following the initial attacks police and members of the cityadministration obstructed the work of NGOs and other organizations attempting to deliver relief supplies torelief camps and to the walled area of Ahmedabad. A number of local and international NGOs were either refusedaccess or denied the protection they needed to be able to provide assistance,²⁶⁰in violation of Principle 26 of the Guiding Principles that calls on states to protect persons engaged inhumanitarian assistance, as well as their transport and supplies, from attacks or other acts of violence.

A Jesuit priest in Ahmedabad told reporters that government officials refusedto lend a single truck to deliver food to the camps. He added: "They won't give us police protection. Theother day, armed Hindu men stopped us as we were coming out of a Muslim neighborhood and held spears to ourthroats."²⁶¹

An organizer of the Chartoda Kabristan camp told Human Rights Watch that whilethe government had provided some food supplies, the amounts given were not enough to fulfill the camp's dailyrequirements. Moreover, in what was described as a "government boycott," the government refused totransport the rations to them and told them to get their own trucks and pick them up themselves.²⁶²Without security or transportation, this was often a difficult demand to fulfill. On the road leading to theChartoda Kabristan camp, Human Rights Watch saw numerous trucks owned by Muslims that had been completelydestroyed by fire during the attacks.

Muslim organizations have also been providing the camp with much neededsupplies. The organizer for the Chartoda Kabristan camp stated:

The government has given wheat, rice, milk and other things, but more has comefrom organizations and what the government gives is not nearly enough to complete the daily food requirements.Running the camp itself, or at least supplying food, costs Rs. 115,000 a day. The government also hasn't givenany wood for the fires or for cooking or given any dishes. Rs. 5 (about U.S.$ 0.10) per day per person wasalso allocated. This declaration was made on March 6but the money has not been received. All theIslamic movements are helping.²⁶³

On April 4 Prime Minister Vajpayee announced a federal relief package for the"riot victims" that included two months free rations for those families living below the povertyline in areas affected by violence. The package also included a free set of textbooks and a school uniform forchildren living in relief camps. When announcing the package, the Prime Minister warned that relief provisionsshould be distributed without discrimination based on communal lines (see below).²⁶⁴

Medical Care and Psychological and SocialServices

According to Principle 19 of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement,"all wounded and sick internally displaced persons shall receive to the fullest extent possible and withthe least possible delay, the medical care and attention they require without distinction on any grounds otherthan medical ones. When necessary, internally displaced persons shall have access to psychological and socialservices." Principle 19 (2) adds that, "special attention should be paid to the health needs ofwomen, including access to female health care providers and services... as well as appropriate counseling forvictims of sexual and other abuses." It continues in Principle 19 (3): "special attention shouldalso be given to the prevention of contagious diseases."

Residents of relief camps in Gujarat are in desperate need of medicalattention and trauma counseling. In some camps, babies have been delivered without any medical support.²⁶⁵Seven days after arriving at the Dariyakhan Ghummat camp in Ahmedabad, the residents were finally providedwith sanitation facilities such as toilets, that too from a local nongovernmental organization. During thefirst weeks there was an outbreak of gastroenteritis in the camp and camp residents suffered from diarrhea andvomiting. Private doctors finally reached the camp a few weeks after it was set up to stem the outbreak.²⁶⁶

By mid-April measles had broken out in the relief camps in Ahmedabad, raisingfears of an epidemic. The overcrowded and unhygienic conditions in the camps-which include a shortage oftoilets-have made it impossible to quarantine victims. According to a senior heath ministry official in Delhi:"People are being forced to defecate in the open,"²⁶⁷a breeding ground for mosquitoes and fleas. "In the absence of enough tents," he added, "peopleare sleeping outside, exposing themselves to the virus."²⁶⁸The Gujarat government and the union health ministry have started working with voluntary organizations tolaunch vaccination drives in the camps.²⁶⁹ Withtemperature soaring above 40 degrees celsius (105 degrees farenheit), the threat of summer diseases also loomlarge. The spread of cholera, gastroenteritis, jaundice, as well as respiratory infections and dehydration isalso feared.²⁷⁰ The federal government announced inmid-April that it would sanction medicine worth Rs. 82.6 million for use in the camps, as requested by theGujarat government. Although government agencies have also begun setting up medical camps, the infrastructureis reportedly inadequate.²⁷¹ The Indian Red CrossSociety has also been providing medical relief in violence-affected areas.²⁷²

The psychological impact on victims of the communal violence is immense. Aidworkers have cited an urgent need for counseling to help the victims cope with their trauma.²⁷³Sociologist Susan Vishwanathan told Channelnewsasia, "The psychological degradation that comesfrom watching people closest to you being killed, raped, mutilated, ravaged. These [are] far greater than thatof loss of material possessions."²⁷⁴ Rapevictims are also in desperate need of psychological support.

U.N. Agencies and International HumanitarianOrganizations

The Indian government has not as yet made a public request to the U.N. orinternational humanitarian organizations to provide assistance and protection to those displaced by thecommunal violence. Without such a request, it is difficult for U.N. and international humanitarianorganizations to provide relief assistance to the internally displaced in Gujarat.

As of April 16 the Indian government had not made any requests to the UnitedNations Development Programme (UNDP), a leading U.N. agency in India,²⁷⁵or to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (UNOCHA) to provide assistanceto the relief camps.²⁷⁶ Officials from theseagencies told Human Rights Watch that they were unaware of any efforts by the U.N. to address the humanitarianneeds of those affected by the violence in Gujarat.

Discrimination in the Distribution ofCompensation and Relief

Nongovernmental organizations have accused the state government of discriminatingagainst Muslim victims of violence who are being looked after almost exclusively by Muslim organizations andlocal NGOs.²⁷⁷ Although the vast majority of thevictims of the violence belong to the Muslim community, reports indicate that the few camps in Ahmedabad whichare hosting Hindus are visited more frequently by government authorities and receive more regular rations.²⁷⁸While larger camps housing Muslims have virtually no official support, the Kankaria camp for Hindu victims,for example, is run by a deputy collector (local government official).²⁷⁹Authorities have also reportedly stopped relief trucks sent by Muslim charities to the camps, citing allegedreports that the trucks might be smuggling arms.²⁸⁰

There is also evidence of discrimination in the distribution of compensation.Soon after the Godhra attack, the Gujarat state government announced that the families of Godhra victims wouldreceive Rs. 200,000 (U.S.$4,094) as compensation. Their decision to then issue only Rs. 100,000 to Muslimswhose family members were killed in revenge attacks came under sharp criticism from numerous NGOs and Indianofficials outside the Gujarat state government, including two former prime ministers.²⁸¹The amount of compensation for the families of Godhra victims was later reduced to parity with thecompensation for revenge attack victims, but only after VHP activists stated they would be satisfied iffamilies of Hindu victims received the lower amount.²⁸²

The federal relief package announced by Prime Minister Vajpayee during hisvisit to Gujarat on April 4 included the following provisions. Each family that lost a member would receive Rs.150,000. Rs. 100,000 would come from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund while Rs. 50,000 would come from thestate.²⁸³ In addition those who suffered permanentdisability would be given Rs. 50,000.²⁸⁴ As aresult of the Prime Minister relief announcement, the Gujarat government decided to reduce its compensationamount for families of deceased victims from Rs. 100,000 to Rs. 50,000. The National Minorities Commission hasstrongly urged the state government to compensate victims at the amount the government originally stated itwould.²⁸⁵

Vajpayee also announced that those whose homes were completely damaged inrural areas would receive Rs. 50,000 while those whose homes had suffered partial damage would receive Rs.15,000. In urban areas rehabilitation measures would be worked out after a comprehensive survey. Vajpayeeadded that victims would not be resettled along communal lines. The federal government will also bear all theexpenditure for the reconstruction of damaged homes. Those who lost shops and commercial establishments wouldalso be compensated.²⁸⁶

Press reports indicate that a majority of the family members of those killedhave yet to receive their compensation disbursements. A coordinator for the Shah-e-Alam camp in Ahmedabad toldthe Times of India that only seven out of the 131 families in the camp who lost family members hadreceived compensation. An organizer for the Dariyakhan Ghummat camp added that Rs. 40,000 of the Rs. 150,000to be allotted each family had reached 40 percent of the victims in his camp.²⁸⁷

The disparate provision of relief and rehabilitation for Muslim and Hinduvictims of violence was similar to the Gujarat government's treatment of victims along communal and castelines following the January 26, 2001 earthquake in the state. Within days of the country's worst naturaldisaster in recent history at least 30,000 were declared dead and over one million were left homeless. In themonths after the earthquake, residents of the state of Gujarat were besieged by man-made problems: caste andcommunal discrimination in the distribution of relief and rehabilitation, corruption in the handling of aid,and political squabbling that did little to help the earthquake's neediest victims.

Six weeks after the earthquake, Human Rights Watch visited the towns of Bhuj,Bhijouri, Khawda, Anjar, and Bhachau in Kutch, the state's most devastated district. In all areas visited byHuman Rights Watch, Dalits and Muslims were segregated in camps from upper-caste Hindus. Several residents andsurvivors told us, "We are surviving the way we lived, that's why we are in separate camps." Whilethe government had allocated equal amounts of monetary compensation and food supplies to members of allcommunities following the earthquake, Dalit and Muslim populations did not have the same access to adequateshelter, electricity, running water, and other supplies available to others. This was apparent in severalcities near Bhuj, including Anjar and Bhachau, where the government had provided far superior shelter andbasic amenities to upper-caste populations.

A nineteen-year-old male resident of Dariyakhan Ghummat camp, fearing thatinternational aid would not reach the Muslims, alluded to corruption and communal bias in the distribution ofaid following the January 2001 earthquake:

How will we get our hard earned savings back? Here there's been crores [tensof millions] worth of looting and damage. Even now they're looting our homes.... It looks like a ghost town, agraveyard, where we used to live. Our Hindu neighbors took us in then told the attackers to loot us. Foreigncountries should help but the help should come straight to us. The help usually goes through everyone andnothing comes through to us. Even during the earthquake imported things went to Hindus. The Saudis sent theseamazing tents where you wouldn't even feel hot, but those also went to the Hindus. We're the ones who used togive when people are in trouble, now we're the ones asking. There is no government help.²⁸⁸

Rehabilitation and Return

Principle 28 of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement state that it isthe responsibility of the authorities to establish the condition and provide the means to allow internallydisplaced persons to return voluntarily and in safety and dignity to their homes, and to permit the fullparticipation of the internally displaced to plan and manage their return or resettlement. Principle 29 of theGuiding Principles on Internal Displacement also states that it is the responsibility of the authorities toassist returned or resettled internally displaced persons to recover, or obtain compensation or reparationsfor their property and possessions that they lost or dispossessed of during displacement.

While the Indian government has announced plans for the reconstruction ofhomes and places of business (see above), extensive government surveys of the extent of the damage have yet totake place.²⁸⁹

An organizer of the Dariyakhan Ghummat camp told Human Rights Watch in Marchthat no work had begun on the construction of new homes:

The government has done nothing for new homes. We're asking them not to sendpeople back to sensitive areas. They should be sent to safe areas. They should give them homes and land. Thereare NTC [National Textile Corporation] lands here that are lying empty.²⁹⁰Lots of people have also lost loved ones. We have a two-year-old orphan in this camp.²⁹¹

Activists in the state have also pointed to problems related to damageassessments of Muslim properties and homes. Speaking on conditions of anonymity, an attorney told Human RightsWatch: "The police panchnama [statement of witnesses] is being done in the victim's absence. Let'ssay I had two lakhs [Rs. 200,000] worth of damage in my home, the police will only write that there is Rs.25,000 worth of damage."

The process of rehabilitation has been further complicated by the destructionor loss of personal documents during the violence. Many relief camp residents told Human Rights Watch thattheir identification, education, and even medical certificates had been destroyed during the burning andlooting of their homes. At the time of Human Rights Watch's visit, no system was in place to systematicallydocument the numbers and identities of those residing in relief camps.

The insecurity and ongoing violence in the state has made it impossible formost displaced persons to return to their homes. Human Rights Watch was told numerous times that residents didnot feel safe in their neighborhoods. Some stated that their attackers were still roaming the streets.Residents also feared being arbitrarily detained by the police in their neighborhoods (see above). Pressreports also document instances in which Muslim families were threatened by Hindu mobs, armed with swords andother weapons, as they attempted to return to their homes.²⁹²

Until the government of Gujarat ends the environment of impunity, addressesthose responsible for the attacks, including police and state government officials, provides adequateprotection for all those affected by the ongoing violence, and ensures that those displaced can eitherrecover, or be fully compensated for their property and possessions lost during the violence, internallydisplaced persons will be unable to return to their homes.

²⁴²Manas Dasgupta,"No plan to close camps - Modi," Hindu, April 1, 2002.

²⁴³Vinay Menon,"Gujarat - A year after," Hindustan Times, January 27, 2002.

²⁴⁴The U.N.Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement were presented to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights (theCommission) in 1998 by the Special Representative of the U.N. secretary-general on internally displacedpersons, Francis Deng and unanimously adopted by the commission. Although non-binding, the Guiding Principlesare based upon and reflect international humanitarian and human rights law, which are binding. The GuidingPrinciples address all phases of displacement-providing protection against arbitrary displacement, ensuringprotection and assistance during displacement, and establishing guarantees for safe return, resettlement, andreintegration. The Guiding Principles have gained widespread international recognition and authority.Resolutions of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the General Assembly have described thePrinciples as a comprehensive framework for the protection of internally displaced persons, and have welcomedtheir use and encouraged U.N. agencies, regional organizations, and NGOs to disseminate and apply them. U.N.agencies and NGO umbrella groups in the U.N. Inter-Agency Standing Committee have endorsed them. Regionalbodies in the Americas, Africa, and Europe have endorsed or acknowledged them with appreciation. Individualgovernments have begun to incorporate them in national policies and laws and some national courts have begunto refer to them as a relevant restatement of existing international law. See

(accessed April 23, 2002).

²⁴⁵Human RightsWatch interview, forty-five-year-old male resident of Chartoda Kabristan camp, Ahmedabad, March 23, 2002.

²⁴⁶Human RightsWatch interview (name withheld), Ahmedabad, March 23, 2002.

²⁴⁷AmnestyInternational, "India: The state must ensure redress for the victims. A memorandum to the Government ofGujarat on its duties in the aftermath of the violence," March 28, 2002.

²⁴⁸See Sabrang (accessed April 17, 2002).

²⁴⁹Citizens forJustice and Peace, "A trained saffron militia at work?" March 7,2002 (accessed April 18, 2002).

²⁵⁰S.N.M. Abdi,"Muslim refugees face new horrors in camps," South China Morning Post, March 25, 2002.

²⁵¹"Threat ofstarvation looms large in Ahmedabad areas," Press Trust of India, April 6, 2002.

²⁵²Human RightsWatch interview (name withheld), Ahmedabad, March 22, 2002.

²⁵³MeghdootSharon, "Riot victims are security risk," Indian Express, March 22, 2002.

²⁵⁴Malekar,"Silence of the Lambs," The Week.

²⁵⁵"Committeeto oversee relief work in Gujarat," Press Trust of India, March 25, 2002.

²⁵⁶Manas Dasgupta,"Gujarat police top brass want a `free hand,'" Hindu, March 24, 2002.

²⁵⁷Manas Dasgupta,"No plan to close camps - Modi," Hindu.

²⁵⁸Ibid.

²⁵⁹"Muslimrefugees face new horrors in camps," South China Morning Post.

²⁶⁰AmnestyInternational, "India: population of Ahmedabad, Gujarat," Urgent Action, March 5, 2002.

²⁶¹"Muslimrefugees face new horrors in camps," South China Morning Post.

²⁶²Human RightsWatch interview (name withheld), Ahmedabad, March 23, 2002. See also, Malekar, "Silence of theLambs," The Week.

²⁶³Human RightsWatch interview (name withheld), Ahmedabad, March 23, 2002.

²⁶⁴"PMAnnounces Relief Measures for Riot Victims," rediff.com, April 4, 2002 (accessed April 17, 2002).

²⁶⁵Bose,"Ethnic Cleansing in Ahmedabad."

²⁶⁶Human RightsWatch interview, relief worker at Dariyakhan Ghummat camp, Ahmedabad, March 22, 2002.

²⁶⁷SutirthoPatranobis, Rathin Das, "Measles outbreak in camps," Hindustan Times, April 17, 2002.

²⁶⁸Ibid.

²⁶⁹Ibid.

²⁷⁰Thomas KuttyAbraham, "India riot relief camps face health problems," Reuters, April 3, 2002.

²⁷¹"Refugeesin Gujarat camps pray for more relief aids," Channelnewsasia, April 16, 2002.

²⁷²"Indiangovt to provide measles vaccine to prevent epidemic," Press Trust of India, April 18, 2002.

²⁷³"Muslimrefugees face new horrors in camps," South China Morning Post.

²⁷⁴"Refugeesin Gujarat camps pray for more relief aids," Channelnewsasia.

²⁷⁵Human RightsWatch interview, UNDP representative, April 16, 2002.

²⁷⁶Human RightsWatch interview, UNOCHA representative, April 16, 2002.

²⁷⁷"Muslimrefugees face new horrors in camps," South China Morning Post. Principle 4 of the GuidingPrinciples on Internal Displacement stipulates that the principles must be applied without discrimination ofany kind, including discrimination based on religion.

²⁷⁸AmnestyInternational, "India: The state must ensure redress for the victims."

²⁷⁹Bose,"Ethnic Cleansing in Ahmedabad." In addition, the VHP has announced plans to reimburse the medicalexpenses of members of the majority community injured in the violence, and provide financial aid to thoserendered homeless. "VHP to compensate violence-affected members of majority community," rediff.com,April 2, 2002.

(accessed April 10, 2002).

²⁸⁰"Muslimrefugees face new horrors in camps," South China Morning Post.

²⁸¹"Gujral,VP Singh Want Equal Compensation for All," Economic Times, March 8, 2002

²⁸²NHCRproceedings, para. xii,

²⁸³"Don'tdiscriminate-PM tells Modi," Times of India, April 5, 2002.

²⁸⁴"PMAnnounces Relief Measures for Riot Victims," rediff.com.

²⁸⁵Anita Joshua,"Raise Compensation for Victims, Restore Confidence," Hindu, April 7, 2002

²⁸⁶"Don'tdiscriminate-PM tells Modi," Times of India.

²⁸⁷SouravMukherjee, "Give us peace and then ask for votes, say relief camp inmates," Times of India,April 17, 2002.

²⁸⁸Human RightsWatch interview, nineteen-year-old male resident of Dariyakhan Ghummat camp, Ahmedabad, March 22, 2002.

²⁸⁹"Refugeesin Gujarat camps pray for more relief aids," Channelnewsasia.

²⁹⁰Ahmedabad isknown as the "Manchester of India," although its textile mills are now in aslump.(accessed April 10, 2002).

²⁹¹Human RightsWatch interview (name withheld), Ahmedabad, March 22, 2002.

²⁹²See for e.g.,Maria Abraham, "India's riot-hit Muslims fearful of going home," Reuters, March 22, 2002.

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