Released March 16, 2002
The Wisdom Fund, P. O. Box 2723, Arlington, VA 22202
Website: http://www.twf.org -- Press Contact: Enver Masud

5,000 Killed, 50,000 Homeless in India 'Pogrom'

Former Indian Navy Chief Demands Ban on Extremists, Dismissal of Chief Minister

An independent reporters group claims 5,000 Muslims killed, 50,000 made homeless, hundreds of mosques, and dozens of hotels, shops, and villages destroyed during riots in the Indian province of Gujrat.

Former Chief of the Indian Navy, L. Ramdas, in an open letter to the Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, has condemned the anti-Muslim violence in India describing it as genocide and a "pogrom." Mr. Ramdas demanded that the Chief Minister of Gujrat be dismissed for his involvement in the anti-Muslim riots, and a ban on "extremist rightwing organizations like the VHP, Bajrang Dal, and the RSS."

"Clearly this appears to be the culmination of a planned series of attacks on our minority communities by the extremists within the Sangh Parivar," wrote Mr. Ramdas. "The entire list is too long to cite here, but to name only a few, the past decade has witnessed the destruction of the Babri Masjid in 1992, which led to the Mumbai bomb blasts and the subsequent massacre of innocent Muslims; the burning alive of Father Staines and his sons in Orissa; and the attacks on Christians and their places of worship in Gujrat and elsewhere."

Hindu extremeists, armed with swords and rifles, are reported to have "exploded houses and mosques" with LPG and oxygen cylinders, and are reported to have been supplied with trucks loaded with gasoline and gas cylinders. They are also reported to have been paid Rs 500 ($12.50) per day, and provided food, water, wine, and medical aid. If arrested, their legal expenses were to be covered by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and if they were killed, it is reported, their families would be given Rs 200,000 ($5,000).

Based on "actual field surveys and counts in the state of Gujrat," the independent reporters group estimates the toll of death and destruction as follows:

- More than 5000 dead, 40 to 50 thousand homeless in 25 relief camps, including 72 people burned inside their homes in Gulmarg society, 29 people killed in Mehsana village, 46 people killed and burned in a truck on Lunawada highway, 18 people burned in the "Best Bakery" in Baroda, 350 Muslim dead thrown in a well near Naroda Patiya, young girls and women molested and raped before burning.

- Mosques destroyed: 12 in Baroda, 10 in Ahmedabad, all in the villages affected by riots, and several converted into Hindu temples.

- Completely burned areas of Ahmedabad: Ansar Nagar, Chamanpura, Nutan Mill, Gulmarg Society, Maryambibi's Chawl, Barasancha's Chawl, Darji's Chawl, Anupam Cinema's area, Lent Wada, Pannalal's Chawl, Niranjan's Chawl, Jhalampura's Chawl, three societies of Vatwa, three societies of Narol, Guptangar (Juhapura), Naroda Patiya, Mai Fatehshah (Shahpur), Premdarwaja.

- All the property of small Muslim villages, approximately 200 hotels, two cloth markets (Nawa Bazar and Mangal Bazar with 163 shops) were destroyed.

"The entire nation is shocked at the callousness and inefficiency displayed by the law and order machinery of the Government of Gujarat," said Mr. Ramdas, "which not only failed to perform its duty to its citizens, but also stood by and in several cases actually incited what can best be described as a 'pogrom'. Compare this to the scene indelibly imprinted on my mind, when I saw Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, hop out of an official car and chase away looters and rioters, who were killing Muslims and looting their properties in Connaught Place in August 1947."

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Joseph Kay, "Report exposes role of government in communal violence in India," WSWS, May 8, 2002

Rukmini Callimachi, "The scars of nationalism," Daily Herald, May 7, 2003

"'Babri Masjid demolished at Advani's behest'," Times of India, June 7, 2003

["The primary message of speeches by Acharya Dharmendra and his colleagues was that the holy duty of Hindu youths was to kill and finish off the Muslims . . .

"Muslims breed like rabbits and their population would soon overtake that of the Hindus. Until now, we Hindus had been moderate in our demands but now we will be demanding all the 30,000 masjids."--Rajmohan Gandhi, "Blah, blah, blood," Hindustan Times, July 4, 2003]

[After completing a five-month excavation, government archeologists say they have found no evidence of an ancient Hindu temple under the ruins of a 16th century mosque in the northern Indian town of Ayodhya.--"No Hindu Temple Found Under Ruins of Mosque," Times Wire Reports, August 16, 2003]

Javeed Akhter, "Muslim Legacy In India: Do Muslims Deserve The Hatred Of Hindus?," Media Monitors, November 25, 2003

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