“Godhra” The word is more than just the name of a town located in Panchmahal district in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word used also indicates an event. A mind-numbing one. A horrifying one. An unimaginable one. A barbaric one. The word “Godhra” records the gruesome killing of some 59 innocent people, including 25 women and 15 children and injuries to 40.
Independent India saw many horrors. This was one of the worst of them. This mind-numbing
horror was also the cause of many more horrors, many more events, many more riots, many
more political changes. It was also the immediate cause of rioting, which left some 1169 people dead (including those killed in police firing). But this was not the first time, nor the last time, that the town witnessed communal vandalism. The town had a long history of bloody communalism.
It was well-known for it. Let us take a brief look at the town’s long history of bloody communal
riots. Communal History of Godhra for the Record Godhra is the main centre of Panchmahal
district, which is considered to be communally very sensitive.
Chronology of a few communal riots/atrocities, as reported by Vishwa Samvad Kendra, Gujarat is appended below:
1927-28: Murder of P.M. Shah, a leading local representative of Hindus.
1946: Mr. Sadva Hazi and Mr. Chudighar, pro-Pakistani Muslim leaders were responsible for
attack on a Parsi Solapuri Fozdar during communal riots. After partition, Mr. Chudighar left for Pakistan.
1948: Mr. Sadva Hazi conspired an attack on the District Collector, Mr. Pimputkar in 1948
but his bodyguard saved him at the cost of his own life. After that, Mr. Sadva Hazi also left for
Pakistan in 1948.
On 24th March, 1948, one Hindu was stabbed to death near a mosque in Jahurpur area. Around 2,000 houses of Hindus were burnt, besides Hindu temples. District Collector Pimputkar could save the remaining areas belonging to Hindus by imposing curfew, which lasted for six months.
1965: Shops belonging to the Hindus were set ablaze near police chowki No. 7 by throwing
incendiary material from the nearby two Muslim houses, viz. Bidani and Bhopa. It could be
possible allegedly because of the Congress MLA belonging to the minority community. PSI
of this police chowki, which was near the Railway Station, was also attacked by anti-social
elements.
1980: A similar attack was made on the Hindus on 29th October, 1980, which started from the Bus Station of Godhra. This attack was planned by Muslim miscreants who were involved in anti-social activities near the Station Road area. Five Hindus including two children of five and seven years of age were burnt alive. A Gurudwara was also set on fire, in Shikari Chal of this area. Forty shops belonging to the Hindus were also set on fire in station area. Due to these communal riots, Godhra was put under curfew for a year, which severely affected the business and industries.
1990: Four Hindu teachers, including two women teachers, were murdered (cut into pieces)
bymiscreants in Saifia Madarsa in Vhorvada area of Godhra on 20th November, 1990 in front of children. One Hindu tailor was also stabbed to death in this area. All this was done by anti-social elements allegedly at the instance of the Congress MLA of the area.
1992: More than 100 houses belonging to the Hindus were set on fire near the Railway Station in the year 1992 to snatch away this area from Hindus. This area in 2002 was lying vacant as most of the Hindu families had shifted elsewhere.
2002: The bogies of Ahmedabad-bound Sabarmati Express were set on fire on 27th February, 2002 by Muslim miscreants. S-6 coach carrying karsewaks returning from Ayodhya was targeted as a pre-meditated plan/ conspiracy. 59 innocent men, women and children died and 40 sustained injuries. The attackers had a plan to set on fire the entire train but could not do so because the train was late for four hours and they could not take the advantage of darkness of night.
2003 September, Ganesh idol immersion saw stone pelting and conflicts between Hindus and Muslims.
This was reported by rediff.com and The Times of India, but was forgotten by everyone,
including the Sangh Parivar leadership.
All the above details of Godhra (except the 2003 stone pelting) are also mentioned in an article titled “Godhra in Ferment even before Independence” in the Milli Gazette magazine on 16 March, 2002. This magazine is considered as a voice of Muslims in India. This is the Indian Muslims’ leading English newspaper and it has also published these details about Godhra.
After the 2002 Godhra carnage, the Nanavati Commission was appointed to probe the carnage which was a full-fledged Commission of Inquiry under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952. It submitted its report on the Godhra carnage in September 2008. The report said: “Godhra town is a very sensitive place. There is a high percentage of Muslim population in various places in the district. Communal riots had taken place in Godhra in the years 1925, 1928, 1946, 1948, 1950,1953, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992. The communal riots that had taken place in 1948 were very serious.
Initially, the Muslims had burnt 869 houses of Hindus. Thereafter, the Hindus had burnt 3,071
houses of Muslims”.
The Entire Happenings in Godhra—
How the Massacre Occurred We have seen the bloody communal history of the town. Now
let us see the exact horrible, lurid details of the massacre of 27th February, 2002 with the
background. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had organized a ‘Purnahuti Yagya’ in Ayodhya in February-March 2002. It declared 15th March, 2002 as the date for the beginning of the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya. People participating in this ‘Yagya’ had simply
participated and gone home. They did not stay in Ayodhya until 15th March, 2002 for the
construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya at the undisputed site (majority of the undisputed
land was owned by VHP and affiliated bodies and the Supreme Court of India in its order of
1994 had said that the undisputed land can be given to its owner). People from all parts of the country went to Ayodhya, participated in this event, i.e. the Purnahuti Yagya and returned home from mid-February to 27th February, 2002. A trainload of such people called ‘karsevaks’ or ‘Ramsevaks’ were returning to Ahmedabad in Gujarat from Ayodhya after participating in the Purnahuti Yagya. Whether they were all members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad or just ordinary people supporting the VHP’s stance on the Ram temple in Ayodhya is not known to the author.
The train, the Sabarmati Express was supposed to reach Ahmedabad early in the morning. It was running four hours late (Source: India Today, dated 11th March, 2002).
Shortly after the train left the Godhra railway station at 7: 48 a.m., a mob (the estimates of the numbers of which have ranged from 500 to 2000) stopped it. This was 500-700 meters away from the Godhra railway station, at Signal Falia area. The train was not burnt at the railway station, but at Signal Falia. That is why the attackers could not burn the train from outside. Had it been on a railway platform, they would not have found it too high. But at Signal Falia, it was too high. Hence, some of them entered the train cutting the vestible from the side coach no. S-7 and set it afire from inside and then went out again. The mob was reportedly armed with petrol bombs, acid bombs and swords. The attackers poured petrol into the compartment and then set it afire. Two thousand people were standing on all sides of the compartment to prevent the karsevaks from running away and saving their lives from the fire. The karsevaks were literally caught between devil and the deep sea. There was fire inside and armed Muslim attackers outside. 59 karsevaks were burnt to death in a most horrifying manner. Many of the bodies were charred horrifically. The victims included 15 children, including some toddlers and some old people of above 65. They were all done to death in the most brutal manner.
Account of a 16-year-old Survivor On 27th February, Gayatri Panchal, a young eleventh class
student, was also amongst those who were returning from Ayodhya. She is a surviving witness to the inhuman atrocious cruelty in which right in front of her eyes two of her sisters and parents were burnt alive. Harshadbhai Panchal, a resident of Ramol in Gujarat, left for karseva at Ayodhya on 22nd February, together with his wife, Neetaben and three daughters, Pratiksha, Chhaya and Gayatri. His sister-in-law, her son, her neighbour, Poojaben and her would-be husband were also accompanying him.
All of them were returning to Ahmedabad along with several other karsevaks. Harshadbhai and his family, Poojaben and her husband were in one compartment, while his sister-in-law and her husband and their son were in another compartment. The only survivor out of these ten, Gayatri, says about this horrible event that, “On the 27th morning, at around 8 a.m. the train left Godhra Station. The karsevaks were loudly chanting the Ram Dhoon. The train had hardly gone a few meters, when it suddenly stopped. Somebody had perhaps pulled the chain to stop the train.
Before anybody could know what had happened, we saw a huge mob approaching the train.
People were carrying weapons like Gupti, Spears, Swords and such other deadly weapons in
their hands and were throwing stones at the train. We all got frightened and somehow closed
the windows and the doors of the compartment. People outside were shouting loudly, saying
‘Maro, Kato’ and were attacking the train. A loudspeaker from the Masjid (i.e. Mosque) closeby was also very loudly shouting ‘Maro, Kato, Laden na dushmano ne Maro.’ (“Cut, kill, kill the enemies of Laden”)These attackers were so fierce that they managed to break the windows and close the doors from outside before pouring petrol inside and setting the compartment on fire so that nobody could escape alive. A number of attackers entered the compartment and were beating the karsevaks and looting their belongings. The compartments were drenched in petrol all over. We were terrified and were shouting for help but who was there to help us?
A few policemen were later seen approaching the compartment but they were also whisked
away by the furious mob outside. There was so much of smoke in the compartment that we
were unable to see each other and also getting suffocated. Going out was too difficult, however, myself and Pooja somehow managed to jump out through the windows. Pooja was hurt in her back and was unable to stand up. People outside were trying to hold us to take us away but we could escape and run under the burning train and succeeded in crawling towards the cabin. I have seen my parents and sisters being burnt alive right in front of my eyes.” Luckily, Gayatri was not hurt too badly. “We somehow managed to go up to the station and meet our aunty (Masi).
After the compartments were completely burnt, the crowd started withering. We saw that even amongst them were men, women and youngsters like us, both male and female. I returned here after evacuating the dead bodies of my family members at Godhra Station. Out of 18 of us, ten had laid their lives.” Gayatri’s father was a carpenter, whereas, her mother worked in theMadhyanha Bhojan Yojna (i.e. Mid-day meal scheme), her elder sister, Pratiksha was serving in the Collectorate. In spite of what had happened, Gayatri still feels that she would any time once again venture to go for karseva. She says, “I shall not allow the sacrifice of my parents to go in vain.” (Source: VSK, Gujarat and various English dailies such as The Indian Express dated 28th February, 2002) A foreign daily Portsmouth Herald reported: “Sixteen-year-old Gayatri Panchal saw her mother, father and two sisters die before her eyes in the train fire as they returned home after participating in a religious ceremony at Ayodhya. ‘We were sleeping and I opened my eyes when I felt the heat. I saw flames everywhere. My mother was in flames, her clothes were on fire,’
she said. ‘Someone pulled me out of the compartment and then I saw my father’s body being
taken out. He was covered in black. Then I fainted.’”
Among some details of the brutality, an event that reveals the killing of a Dalit karsevak in the
Godhra massacre is worth reproducing. Umakant Govindbhai of Saijpur was 25 years of age
and working in the Collector’s Office. Umakant, who was trying to break the closed door and get away, was pelted with stones by the attackers and pushed with the bamboos inside the coach according to an article by Dr. Suvarna Raval in Marathi daily Tarun Bharat dated 21st July, 2002.
The Times of India reported 1 year later, on 27 Feb 2003: “For the four Panchal sisters — Komal (20), Avani (19), Gayatri (17) and Priyanka (15) — the last year has been full of tears. Their father Harshad Panchal, mother Mita Panchal, sisters Pratiksha and Chhaya fell prey to the barbarity in Godhra on February 27. And, life was never the same again. The result. Gayatri, a topper in SSC, today is sickly and struggling with education at grade XII. Lost without their parents the girls often go to bed in tears, as memories of the tragedy come flooding back every day. Said Komal, “We are trying to get on with life but it is difficult. Life seems meaningless without the love and affection of parents.” This sort of massacre was not seen anywhere in independent India. Nor could this compare with any other event—such as the murder of Indira Gandhi, or any of the brutal murders of opponents in Kannur district of Kerala state of India, which is known for violent clashes. The terrorist attack on the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar of 24 September 2002 or various other temples in India or deadly bomb blasts in various places could, in no way,
compare with this horrific massacre.
Godhra was by no means an act of sudden eruption of violence or terrorism. Most people say it was terrorism, from the Nanavati Commission, to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. But terrorism is completely different. The terror is temporary, the pain is momentary. Indira Gandhi (1917-1984) was shot dead by bullets. It was a case of murder, but of a very big leader- the then Prime
Minister of India. Murders occurring anywhere are mostly the result of stabbing or bullet shots. But Godhra was not that. It was much worse. It was an act of a pre-meditated conspiracy of barbarism and not real terrorism. ‘Terrorists have no religion’ is a statement parroted many times in the media by many people. But Godhra was not done by one or two terrorists. It was done by a mob, a mass mob of 500+ people, ordinary people, not terrorists undergone training in training camps. Not terrorists armed with AK-47, AK-56 rifles or grenades. They were locals, not foreigners. The local Muslims did the barbaric, communal and criminal act of Godhra to further a premeditated
Comments