Retaliatory Attacks on Hindus

Updated on: 1 May 2002 12:00 am

V.Retaliatory Attacks on Hindus

Hindus have also suffered greatly from the violence in Gujarat. In addition tothe fifty-eight people killed during the torching of the Sabarmati Express in Godhra on February 27, 2002,over ten thousand Hindus have also been made homeless as a result of post-Godhra violence.¹⁴⁹Many also fear retaliatory attacks by Muslims communities-promoted in some areas by false reports in the locallanguage media -or fear of being mistaken for Muslim by Hindu mobs.¹⁵⁰To provide some protection from the latter, some Hindus, and possibly some Muslims, resorted to adorning theirhomes and places of business with prominent Hindu symbols, including pictures of Hindu gods and goddesses,both during and since the initial attacks.

An adjoining Hindu home stood unscathed in the row of burned Muslim homes inNaroda Patia, a site visited by Human Rights Watch on March 22. The Hindu residents had a picture of the Hindugoddess Saraswati and a saffron flag, the representative flag of the Hindutva groups, on prominent display atthe entrance of their home. On an outside facing wall, the words Jai Ram, Jai Ram appeared in big boldletters. They told Human Rights Watch that they needed to identify themselves as Hindu for protection.¹⁵¹Homes and commercial establishments throughout Ahmedabad and elsewhere have taken to "wearing theirreligion on their sleeve."¹⁵² According to anarticle in the Times of India:

"Jai Shri Ram" and posters of Hindu gods and goddesses have becomepasswords to survival for those who live in mixed localities or have controversial names that can be mistakenas belonging to that of the minority community.... The humble mango leaf is suddenly in demand as well....Others have fallen back on simple symbols. Fresh swastikas [a traditional Hindu symbol], the symbolic Om andJai Shri Ganesh [Praise Lord Ganesh] surfaced overnight on rusted shutters of mechanics and greengrocers atNaroda, Bapunagar and Memnagar. In Vadodara, a number of houses have Ram inscribed on doors and shopkeepershave hung boards proclaiming: "This shop belongs to a Hindu". Others have resorted to decoratingdoorways with coconuts on a kalash near their doorsteps. In Karelibaug, even housing societies have pastedposters of Hindu gods and goddesses at the main gates.¹⁵³

An India Today article contained the followings accounts of retaliatoryviolence against Hindu communities, though the list is far from complete:

In Ahmedabad, violence broke out on March 17 when Dalits in the Danilimda areawere attacked by Muslims. On March 19, it was Modasa, a town in Sabarkantha district. A police officer's sonwas stabbed and two communities went berserk.... The stories only got more macabre. In Himmatnagar, a youngman who went to a Muslim-dominated area to do business was found dead, with his eyes gouged out. In Bharuch,the murder of a Muslim youth led to mass violence. Next the Sindhi Market and Bhanderi Pole areas of Ahmedabad,hitherto calm, were attacked by mobs. This phase, really, was one of Muslim mobs attacking Hindus. By the time[Prime Minister] Vajpayee arrived [on April 4] the Hindu throngs were looking for blood again. The cycleseemed unending, at least for the immediate future.¹⁵⁴

On March 21, fifty shops in Revdi Bazaar-a market place for wholesale cloth inthe Panchkuva area of Ahmedabad-were set ablaze. According to former BJP corporator (local official) and localshop owner Balram Thavani, "Since morning, there were instances of stone-throwing and abortive attacks onlocal shopkeepers and their residences. Matters turned worse after a mob attack on the Sindhi Market wasfoiled by SRP personnel stationed at the site. The mob then turned its fury on the Revdi Bazaar and startedsprinkling acid, oil, petrol, and inflammable chemicals on cloth shops. The next thing we knew, our shops wereablaze."¹⁵⁵

Mahajan No Vando, Jamalpur
Human Rights Watch visited Mahajan No Vando, a fortified Hindu residential areasituated within the Muslim dominated area of Jamalpur, on March 23. Mahajan No Vando was the site of a retaliatory attack by Muslims on March 1.

According to residents, approximately twenty-five people were injured in theattacks and at least five homes were completely destroyed. Residents closer to the periphery of the fortifiedcompound and its entrance also suffered extensive property damage. Muslim residents attacked the compound fromthe higher Muslim-owned buildings that surrounded it using light bulbs filled with acid, petrol and crudebombs, and bottles filled with kerosene and set some Hindu-owned houses on fire. According to the residents,who had collected and saved the remnants of what was thrown in and showed them to Human Rights Watch,"There was acid in the glass bottles and in the light bulbs that were thrown in. They used solventpetrol, kerosene, and acid. They filled some Pepsi bottles with them."¹⁵⁶

Like many Muslim victims of attacks, the Hindu residents of Mahajan No Vandowere surprised at the overnight animosity of their neighbors. One resident told Human Rights Watch:"There were no problems before February 27. On the 28^th, the VHP declared all of Gujaratclosed. We didn't attack anyone. We are all poor people, we live on our labor."¹⁵⁷

The appointed head of the community described the method of attack:

On March 1, at around 2:15 p.m. they surrounded us. There were so many peopleyou couldn't count them. They attacked us from all sides. There was a row of twenty-four houses on theperiphery of the vando [courtyard] and they burnt them all using petrol. Five or six were completely destroyedbut we saved some using water. They also burned other homes and tried to break down the houses and enter. Thiswent on for three-and-a-half hours. The police were few and couldn't really do much so they left. We aretrapped here. We haven't left here since then. Some organizations are helping us. The VHP and RSS have helpedus a bit as well. We are worried that once the protection lifts at the end of the month, what will happen tous? We cannot leave for work because it is difficult to come back after 6:30 p.m. No one was killed in thisarea but some were injured. NGO doctors also came.¹⁵⁸

Kerosene bottles were thrown in through the roof. They threw it through thewindows and the openings in the walls. We called the police thousands of times but they told us, "Sir isout". In the morning the mosques began announcing that Islam was in danger, that there was poison in themilk. This is their code word. We are the only Hindus here, poison here means us. The rioting lasted between2:15 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. First they destroyed the police stall outside. At 11:00 p.m. two police people to cameto us. We had to give them security.¹⁵⁹

Kankubhen Kanjibhai lives in the first home on the left next to the colonygates, where the attackers first started to force their way into the area. "Everything was burned,clothes, dishes, everything. I only have left what I am wearing."¹⁶⁰Her one-room house was completely charred. A few houses down, a Hindu shrine had also been destroyed.

A very elderly and frail woman called Ukibhen Sawaji told us: "I wassitting inside my home and everything started burning. They jumped in; they looted us also. They took ourdishes and our bedding that we had kept for the dowry."¹⁶¹Seven-year-old Bharat Rameshbhai showed us the raw exposed skin that covered his right arm: "They threwbottles down into our home, I was inside the house. The house started burning."¹⁶²Resident D. R. Rathod whose home was partly damaged in the attacks said, "Just like the train wasburning, that same way our homes burned too."¹⁶³

When asked about police response during the attacks, Human Rights Watch wastold:

After 5:30 p.m., the brigadier came in. The Rapid Action Force and themilitary said, "We got no message to come here. We have been close by for seven hours but got no messagethat there was any problem here." The police said, "We are on our way." They cut off our phonesfrom the outside. When the police arrived they threw tear gas inside here.¹⁶⁴

A strong police presence outside the colony that included several members ofthe Border Security Force (BSF) was helping to prevent further attacks. But residents feared what would happenonce the BSF protection was lifted. While they were frustrated with the pace of police investigations, theynoted that the police filed the complaints and even sent an acid bottle to be lab tested. One resident toldus:

There are twelve to thirteen people stationed outside. But they will leave onMarch 30. We don't know what will happen after that. After the first incident, another acid bottle was thrownin around March 15. Nothing has happened since then. The police took the acid bottle and sent it to the lab.We are working with the Gaikwaud police station. We have filed complaints with the police. The police notedeverything down but there is no combing of the areas.¹⁶⁵

Two members of the Ahmedabad Home Guard who were stationed at Jamalpur evenprior to the attacks entered the colony during Human Rights Watch's investigation. They encouraged us to takemore photos, carefully note down all the damage and visit each and every damaged home to talk to the resident.Their behavior stood in sharp contrast to that of police stationed near sites of destruction of Muslim homes,such as Naroda Patia, where a member of Gujarat intelligence worked diligently to note the comings and goingsof those viewing the damage interviewing remaining residents.

When asked where they were during the attack one noted: "The whole citywas in a storm, but this incident was the worst incident of Jamalpur. Everywhere else there was just a littlebit of stone throwing. These people cannot sleep, they are afraid that someone will come again."¹⁶⁶

On March 6, Chief Minister Narendra Modi visited Mahajan No Vando andaccording to the residents told them, "You will be taken care of." Still, the residents claim thatno arrests have been made.

¹⁴⁹Sanjay Pandey,"Riots hit all classes, people of all faith," Times of India, March 18, 2002.

¹⁵⁰See People'sUnion Civil Liberties, "The Role of Newspapers During the Gujarat Carnage."

¹⁵¹Human RightsWatch visit to Naroda Patia, March 22, 2002.

¹⁵²Amit Mukherjee,"Shops in Gujarat wear religion on their sleeve," Times of India, March 18, 2002.

¹⁵³Ibid.

¹⁵⁴Udhay Mahurkar,"Gujarat: End of Hope," India Today, April 15, 2002.

¹⁵⁵"Rioterstorch 50 shops at Revdi Bazaar," Times of India, March 24, 2002.

¹⁵⁶Human RightsWatch interviews, Mahajan No Vando residents, Ahmedabad, March 23, 2002.

¹⁵⁷Human RightsWatch interview (name withheld), Ahmedabad, March 23, 2002.

¹⁵⁸Human RightsWatch interview (name withheld), Ahmedabad, March 23, 2002.

¹⁵⁹Human RightsWatch interview, Harki Bhen, Ahmedabad, March 23, 2002.

¹⁶⁰Human RightsWatch interview, Kankubhen Kanjibhai, Ahmedabad, March 23, 2002.