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Elsewhere
in Gujarat, the problem was broadly similar. The state police force is
about 43,000 strong, though only 12,000 of them are armed. The SRP numbers
14,000. The mobs which targeted Muslims in rural areas ranged in strength
from 500 to 10,000. In Sardarpura, where 29 people were burnt to death,
the mob was over 500-strong while in Pandarwada, where more than 50 were
burnt to death in their homes (the police says only eight died) the mob,
drawn from people of nearby villages, numbered over 5,000. Gujarat Minister
of State for Home Gordhan Jhadaphiya says "there is ample evidence
to show that the police resorted to effective firing against rioters".
Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley stated in the Rajya Sabha that the police
fired 2,000 rounds which killed 98 rioters. In addition, 4,000 people
were arrested for rioting in the past week.
The problem, according to former director-general of police M.M. Singh,
one of the finest officers Gujarat has seen, began in Godhra on February
27. He says the police should have immediately cordoned off the area from
which the attackers came and taken strong action instead of allowing the
culprits to flee. This, he says, would have pacified Hindu feelings to
some extent right at the very outset. "Where any act is bound to
lead to communal violence the police should always take strong steps against
the group which has committed the act. That invariably has a salutary
effect." Another former police officer feels this didn't happen because
quite a few officers in Ahmedabad and other places were too political
and partisan towards the Hindutva cadres.
There's also much criticism over the delay in calling for the army's
help. According to Modi, he had officially called for the army by 4 p.m.
on February 28. By 6.30 p.m. a formal request had landed in Delhi. By
1 a.m. on March 1, George Fernandes had landed in Ahmedabad at Modi's
behest. At great personal risk, he bravely took to the streets next morning
to check the violence. At 11.30 a.m. the army was staging a flag march
in Ahmedabad. (see box)
Significantly, Modi tried to ensure that the bodies of the victims were
cremated near the hospital where they were brought for post-mortem at
3.30 a.m. on February 28 from Godhra. The Sola Civil Hospital is on the
western outskirts of Ahmedabad where the Muslim population is negligible.
Cremating the bodies there, Modi thought, would have helped contain the
anger.
Some VHP leaders present at the spot were also under instructions to
convince the relatives of the victims to agree to the proposal. But the
moment the proposal was floated, the kin of the dead flared up and accused
the BJP "of acting in a manner worse than the Congress". Vishnu
Sathwara, a VHP worker shouted: "After using us to climb to the top,
the BJP leaders have now left us at the mercy of the wolves."
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OUT OF HIS STATE: Opposition
members led by Sonia demand Modi's resignation
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The retaliatory violence began almost as soon as the bodies reached the
homes of the Ram sevaks. So, a single action which, had it succeeded,
could have contained violence never took off. Says political analyst Arvind
Bosmia: "It is beyond the means of the Sangh Parivar to lead such
an upsurge. It was largely a spontaneous reaction to the Godhra killings.
And not just Modi but the entire Sangh Parivar has been put on this strident
path. In fact Modi has been swept up in this militancy."
Says another party worker alluding to the fact that Modi was, until
last fortnight, unwilling to take action on issues relating to Hindutva
for fear of jeopardising the future of the BJP-led NDA Government at the
Centre: "Ever since he took over Modi was hell bent upon becoming
a Vajpayee but the people have swept him in the direction of Sardar Patel."
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SEE NO EVIL: As thousands-strong mobs took to the streets
in revenge attacks everywhere, policemen were reduced to bystanders
98 people were killed in police firing in the state.
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There's another story doing the rounds about which few are keen to talk
about. According to it, Modi was given an ultimatum on February 27 itself
by the VHP leadership to act against the perpetrators of the Godhra carnage
by evening or else face the music. By evening that day the police had
detained two of the six main accused besides 50 others. That was found
to be inadequate by the VHP because the number of attackers in Godhra
was over 1,000. Modi, of course, denies this altogether sticking to his
stand: "Had the police been inactive how could I have controlled
riots in just three days? Just look at Gujarat's history of communal riots.
The riots have continued for several days in the past after having once
begun."
The polarisation along communal lines is total at the moment. As the
secular lobby plays up the anti-Muslim violence more and more while underplaying
the Godhra tragedy which was actually the cause of the violence, Modi
and the BJP reap more and more benefits at the ground level from the consolidation
of the Hindu vote.
Says Kalpesh Shah, an Ahmedabad businessmen: "How can those who
are demanding the dismissal of Modi forget that it all began with the
Godhra incident? If the anti-Muslim violence was unprecedented the Godhra
incident too was unprecedented in independent India. The more the secularists
gun for Modi the more popular he will become among the Hindus."
At present, Modi is clearly the unwitting beneficiary of the Hindu backlash.
No wonder there are whispers that the next assembly poll due in February
2003, might happen this June. The political dividends might well accrue
to the BJP but the March riots will continue to haunt Modi. He will have
to live down the image of a man who gained politically from the deaths
of innocent people.
with Shishir Gupta
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CURRENT
ISSUE MARCH 18, 2002
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