Annexure II

Annexure II
Letter From Justice A.N. Divecha

A.N. DIVECHA, M.A., LL..M.
Judge (Reid.), High Court of Gujarai
Chairman (Reid.), M.R.T.P. Commission
Chairman Exnert Committee (Government of Guiarat)
Telephone: 6851500
4 High Court Judges' Bungalow
Bodakdev
AHMEDABAD- 380054

21st. March 2002

The Hon 'ble Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission
1 Sardar Patel Bhawan
Parliament Street
NEW DELHI-11 0001

Sub:

Respected Sir,

Travails of Communal Riots in the State of Gujarat

I am indeed obliged to the Hon'ble Chairman for having fixed a separateappointment for me at the Raj Bhavan Annexe in Ahmedabad on 19th March 2002 at 7.30 p.m. and having given tome a patient hearing with respect to the traumatic experience my wife and I had undergone in the wake ofcommunal rights that broke out in the State of Gujarat on and from 27 February 2002.

Incidentally, by virtue of one Interim Order passed by the Hon'ble SupremeCourt on 16th February 2002 in SLP (Civil) No.13658 of 1996, the Government of Gujarat has constituted oneExpert Committee with Members drawn from different fields like hydrology, soil erosion, environment, forest,and geology and mining and I was appointed its Chairman. The status of a sitting High Court Judge wasconferred on me. An official car was also placed at my disposal. On my request, the Office of the ExpertCommittee for my functioning as its Chairman was located at my residence. My staff included one part-timestenographer, one part-time clerk, 2 part-time daily wagers peons and one driver for the official car providedfor me. The Government had also placed at my disposal for my official work one Fax Machine and one Computerwith a Printer and certain required furniture. In view of the tense situation on 27th February 2002, 1contacted my staff on phone to inform them not to report for work on 28th February 2002 in the wake of thecall of Gujarat Bandh on that day.

Since the Hon'ble Chairman is fully aware of what happened to people at largein Ahmedabad and elsewhere and more particularly to us on 27t/i and 28th February 2002, I need not repeat themin detail. In a nutshell, I have to say that my wife and I were blissfully ignorant of the Godhra carnage thatoccurred on 27th February 2002 till about 5.30 p.m. on that day when our opposite door neighbour informed usof it and requested me for using my good offices to provide protection in the wake of likely reaction andrepercussions, more particularly in Ahrnedabad. I contacted Government Pleader Shri run Oza and our CharteredAccountant friend Shri Sanjay Shah. Shri Arun Oza was good enough to arrange for police patrolling in thearea. However, at about 11 p.m. 011 that day, about 50-60 people .gathered around our building on 1heirmotorbikes and scooters and hurled patrol bombs at our building. They dispersed within less than 10 minutes,presumably on spotting a police mobile van in the nearby area. I again contacted Government Pleader Shri ArunOza and my Chartered Accountant friend Shri Sanjay Shah and infoi;ned them of the frightful incident. It needsno telling that we were quite scared on that account. Shri Arun Oza arranged for sending one DeputyCommissioner of .Police, Shri Parghi, at our residence at about 11.30 p.m. He assured us intensive policepatrolling in the area. We requested for an armed police point near our building but that was not done, may bebecause of shortage of police personnel minding the so-supposed law and order situation in the city. Nountoward incident occurred during the night in view of intensive police patrolling in the area.

In the morning on 28th February 2002, the milkman delivered to us our usualquota of milk pouches and the newspaper man brought to us newspapers of the day. On inquiry, both of themindicated to us that the situation was normal. In view of the previous night's frightening incident, thewatchman of our building had fled. Since the situation was found normal, certain occupants of other flats inour building started going for their work. At about 11 a.m. on 28th February 2002, again about 70-80 peoplegathered around our building on their two-wheelers, mostly motorbikes and scooters, and started throwingstones at our building. Some miscreants flung open the compound gate with sticks, spears and swords and brokethe glasses of the cars parked in the parking lot. Our building stands on pillars and the ground floor is usedfor parking vehicle. My official car was also damaged by certain miscreants. The crowd dispersed within about10 minutes for some unknown reason, may be on spotting some police vehicle. I again contacted GovernmentPleader Shri Arun Oza on his mobile and my Chartered Accountant friend Shri Sanjay Shah, again on his mobile.My friend along with his wife immediately ran down to us and insisted on our leaving the house for safety athis residence. In the meantime, other occupants of the flats in the building were also panic- stricken and allof us decided to leave our respective houses for safety. Around 12.30 p.m. we left the house with a pair ofclothes in a bag locking most rooms and the main door and the grill outside. A lock was applied each to thestaircase grill and the compound gate.

I received a phone call from my neighbour residing in a nearby area at about 4p.m. on that day that my flat was set on fire. We tried to contact the Fire Brigade for help but in vain. Mychartered accountant friend is a BJP active worker and he has good connections with certain Ministers. Heimmediately contacted Health Minister Shri Ashok Bhatt for help. About an hour later, Shri Ashok Bhattinformed my friend that the fire in my flat was extinguished. At about 6.15 p.m. on that day, I again receiveda phone call from an acquaintance from the nearby area that all the flats in the building were set on fire andwere in flames. My friend and I tried to contact Government Pleader Shri Arun Oza and other Ministersincluding Health Minister Shri Ashok Bhatt, Revenue Minister Shri Haren Pandya and the like for help, but tono avail. It appears that they were also helpless and could not provide any help to us. Since the Computerplaced at my disposal for my official use for storing the relevant data with respect to the Expert Committee'sfunctioning was located in the office room at my residence,: I thought of retrieving it if possible with aview to saving the data stored therein. On my .request, Government Pleader Shri Arun Oza arranged for somemilitary escort and in their company we visited our residence at about 10 p.m. on that day.' To our dismay,we could see that the outer grill was pulled out as the lock applied thereon could not be broken open bymiscreants and the wooden door was set on fire and it was reduced to ashes, again because the lock appliedthereon could not be broken open. The refrigerator and the dining table and the chairs were in flames. Thesofa set and one diwan in the drawing room were found reduced to ashes. The colour TV was found missing, sowas the cordless telephone in the drawing room. Since the dining table with chairs and the nearby refrigeratorwere in flames, we could not move further to our kitchen or bedrooms. With the help of military personnel, wecould retrieve the Computer and it was found completely blackened by the smoke emanating from flames. We havestill not been able to ascertain whether or not it is in a working order and the data stored in the , harddisk would be in tact. The official car parked in the ground floor parking lot was found burned, so alsocertain two-wheelers belonging to other occupants of certain flats in the building. Our residence was wideopen as the outside grill was pulled down and the wooden frame of the door was also in flames. 11 wascompletely dark as all electric meters of the building were broken and burnt down. My wife had a traumaticshock on seeing the condition of her house. With heavy heart we came back to our friend's residence.

Government Pleader Shri Arun Oza was good enough to arrange for military escortand police protection for our visit during the day time the next day, that is, ~h 2002, at about 10.30 a.m. Atthat time we found that the house was littered with glasses all over and nails used for fixing sofa sets andother wooden articles were also found littered throughout the house. The refrigerator was found completelyburnt and the dining table and the chairs were reduced to ashes. Our kitchen was also found ransacked andhousehold kits therein were damaged and destroyed or useful articles like the grinder- cum-mixture and otherkitchenwares etc. were found missing, presumably removed by miscreants. To our good fortune, the locks appliedto bedrooms were found in tact and only the lock of one bedroom was found tampered with as it could not beopened with its key. Since we had military escort and police protection, we picked up our clothes, someimportant documents, our bank papers and returned to ou1friend's residence.

The then Hon'ble Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court (Hon'ble Mr. Justice D.M.Dharmadhikari who has since been elevated to the Supreme Court on and from 5th March 2002) was informed on 1stMarch.2002.of the tragedy that had befallen us in the previous evening and he immediately rang me up at myfriend's house and on my oral request he was good enough to allot to me a bungalow in the Complex of theBungalows meant for Hon'ble Judges of the High Court of Gujarat. Its possession was handed over to me on 2ndMarch 2002. Under the cover of police protection, we could shift from our ransacked residence whateverhousehold kits and furniture that escaped fire to our. new residence. We have now started residing in it afterputting most things in order.

In the wake of insistence the part of Vishwa Hindu Parishad on bhoomipoojanand/or shiladan at Ayodhya on 15th March 2002, the situation in Ahrnedabad were found to be tense from 13 thMarch onwards. In order to see that our presence at his house would not put my chartered accountant friend tojeopardy qua his life and property, we thought of going to my brother's place residing in Juhapura, apredominantly Muslim habitat in Ahmedabad. My friend was however reluctanL He .contacted Health Minister ShriAshok Bhatt for guidance. To his credit, Shri Ashok Bhatt talked to me on phone and assured me not to worryabout our safety or that of my chartered accountant friend Shri Sanjay Shah during the period by staying athis residence. Shri Bhatt was good enough to .offer accommodation in his residence at Gandhinagar if we werequite scared or in the alternative in the Circuit House with full security cover. We therefore continued tostay at our friend' s house during the period. Newspaper reports indicate that communal riots resulted invirtual-carnage and holocaust in Ahrnedabad and elsewhere in the State, So many persons ;were roasted alive.Countless persons were rendered homeless and many lost all their belongings and had to take shelter in reliefcamps. A large number of people lost their business premises and their belongings therein were gutted in fire.They suffered colossal economic loss on both counts inasmuch as they were rendered homeless and left withoutany source of livelihood. During the Hon'ble Chairman's visit to this area, the Hon'ble Chairman and his teamhad a first hand account of their sufferings.

In view of my personal relations as also my present position, friends didprovide us timely help and took us to safety and we could retrieve some important documents, our bank papersand clothes and the like, but one may shudder to think the plight of people who have lost everything includingthe source of eking out a living. Some of them could be belonging to good families and they had to takeshelter in relief camps at the mercy of organizers. One wonders whether or not they would be in a position toget two square meals a day when the situation becomes normal and when they have to leave the relief camps. Thetragedy is too ghastly to describe in words; it would beggar description.

It is reported that conditions of persons taking shelter in relief camps are quitepathetic and pitiable. The food that they get is often of sub-standard quality. Besides, it is reported thatmeals served to them are also not adequate. Sanitation conditions therein are highly deplorable. Medicalfacilities are reported to be simply out of question. They live like animals put together jn some open spacerather than human beings with proper c~on with human~ treatment. If some epidemic breaks out, it would furtheradd to their woes. .

Almost all persons taking shelter in relief camps have no work to do. It is amatter of common sense that they might be ruminating over what has happened to them. The whole episode ofransacking their houses or business premises and setting on fire their belongings would be very much beforetheir eyes. It would therefore be necessary to find out some solution to keep them engaged in some kind ofeconomic activities which would enable them to keep their minds preoccupied as also to give them a source ofearning their livelihood. In cases of natural calamities like famine, floods, earthquakes and the like, theGovernment often undertakes relief works. That provides self- sufficiency to victims of such calamities. Theyhave also to feel a sense of dignity by eking out their own living. Their minds would remain preoccupied withsome kind of activities. In the case of victims of communal riots, whether Hindus or Muslims, it would benecessary to evolve some kind of relief work under the cover of security so as to generate in them the senseof dignity of toiling for their bread. Besides, that would result in no idle minds and there will not be anydevil's workshop operating in their idle minds. Similarly, female members ill such relief camps may also beengaged in some kind of , gainful activities of stitching, knitting, and the like. In my humble suggestion,the State 1 Government's attention may be drawn on this aspect of the issue or the problem.

A question of rehabilItation of persons taking shelter in relief camps wouldalso deserve proper consideration. Those who have seen their houses or businesS premises ransacked andtheir belongings set on fire ther~in might be scared to go back to their \original places for residence orwo~k. Their rehabilitation need not result into segregation or division of two main communities, Hindus andMuslims, in water-tight compartments.

Such an attempt might keep the communal tension alive and burning. They shouldbe persuaded to go back to their original places under the cover of proper security. Their neighbours may alsobe persuaded to take care of such persons so that they feel safe and secure and may not remain frightened orscared any longer in settling down in their original places. If such an attempt is not made, it might resultin creation of separate pockets of habitation of the main two communities, namely, Hindus and Muslims. Thatwould be a dangerous proposition. Any attempt to allow them to settle for residence and business in theiroriginal places in a harmonious manner would result in building up communal harmony in the society. It mightalso result in mitigating economic losses that such victims might have suffered on account of loss, temporaryor otherwise, of cover over their head or source of livelihood; else their sufferings on account of economicloss would be aggravated inasmuch as they will have to dispose of their properties practically at throwawayprices. If the victim of communal violence is a Hindu residing or carrying on business in a predominantlyMuslim locality may not be in a position to dispose of his property to any Hindu because no Hindu would liketo purchase such property in that area and a Muslim purchaser would like to acquire it at a throwaway price.So would be the case of a Muslim victim of communal violence residing or carrying on business in apredominantly Hindu locality. The best course for the Government would be to cultivate and to develop a publicopinion for peaceful existence in communal harmony. It is certainly' a long drawn process difficult to realizein a near future but is not an impossibility.

It is everyone's common knowledge that this time communal violence has spreadin far-f1ung areas including in rural areas. The victims of such communal violence might be scared of livingin their original villages. That might result in building up separate rural habitats for different communitieslike Hindus and Muslims. In our secular country such segregation in rural areas is highly undesirable. Suchsegregation might result in treating each other as enemies rather than friends. In this case also the StateGovernment could playa vital role in allowing the victims of communal violence in rural areas to settle downin their original places either for residence or for business or for both under the cover of proper securityfor the time being. Again, an atmosphere of peaceful co- existence: with communal harmony need be developed bycultivation of public opinion in that regard. This is not impossible in view of the mass appeal that can becreated with the help of visual media.

Our State of Gujarat is known for its industrial peace. In order to maintainsuch industrial peace it is necessary to establish communal harmony between the two main communities, namely,Hindus and Muslims. If this is not done, industrial entrepreneurs might not be inclined to have theirindustrial activities in our State of Gujarat. The prospects of foreign investment for industrial activitiesin our State might have considerably dwindled on account of recent communal riots. It is therefore necessaryfor the state Government to take necessary remedial measures for establishment of communal harmony
in the State anywhere and everywhere irrespective of caste, creed or religion. This would result in taking bigstrides in recouping the loss suffered by our State of Gujrat on account of large-scale communal riots inrecent times which have put the State at least a decade behind on the economic front as well.

In my humble opinion, since the law and order machinery had almost completelyfailed during the early period of riots for nearly 72 hours resulting in loss of life and property by victimsthereof, the State Government should provide adequate compensation not only to bereaved family members of thedead but also to those aer rendered homeless, whose properties are destroyed or gutted in fire and those whohave lost their sustence on account of setting there business premises on fire. Victims of the communalviolence could be both Hindus and Muslims. No descrimination need bepermitted to be made for providingadequate compensation to them for whatever loss they have suffered. I humbly suggest that the National HumanRights Commission itself or through its comitee, if any, may survey the damage and assess the loss in eachcase and recommended adequate compensation for victims of communal riots in the state. The state Governmentneed not to permitted to escape its liability on that score. The whole issue may be likened to " no faultliability " as in the case of certain motor accidents. The State Government need not be permitted toclaim any immunity under any pretext. I need not carry coal to the New Castle by stating that the primaryfunction of the State is to protect its citizens and other residents from internal disturbences. The conceptsof Welfare State need not obliterate its primary concepts of Police State. For the traumatic shock undergoneby victims of communal riots as also for economic loss on be ngrendered homeless as also loss of substance,some formula may be evolved for the minimum compensation may be worked out on assessment of loss in each caseby the Hon'ble Commission or tis commitee, if any. This is my humble suggestion to the Hon'ble commission .

I express my great sense of gratitude for giving me patient hearing in theevening of the 19th march, 2002 in the Raj Bhavan Annexe and i look forward to kin and sympatheticconsideration of my humble sugestion stated here in above by the Hon'ble Commission and I again express mydeep sense of gratitude and thankfullness in anticipation.

Respectfully Yours

A. N. Divecha

(Reproduced as an OCR without corrections from NHRC site)