Taking a Stand against Violence in Gujarat
April 1, 2002
How UUA Holdeen India Partners are Responding to Religious Riots
By Kathy SreedharExecutive Director, Unitarian Universalist Holdeen India Program
April 1, 2002, Washington, D.C.
Over the last weeks, people all over the world have been moved by reports of the religious riots taking place in the Indian state of Gujarat, where Hindu extremists have attacked Muslim residents, burned and looted their crops, houses and shops, and murdered hundreds of adults and children. What is less well known is how many courageous members of Indian non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) are working feverishly to provide help to victims and draw up plans for relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation. Several of these NGO’s have been receiving financial and moral support from the Unitarian Universaslists Association (UUA) for many years, through the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Holdeen India Program (UUHIP). The Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), DISHA, The Disaster Mitigation Institute and the Navsarjan Trust, especially, have members and workers in the riot-torn areas.
As the executive director of UUHIP, I was in India to confer with our partners and colleagues, when the riots erupted on February 27th, just after my departure from Gujarat. Since my return to the States in March, I have been receiving emails and phone calls from our Indian partners, reporting on the deteriorating situation and documenting the horrors of the past month. These accounts tell of Hindu mobs roaming the streets of large cities like Ahmedabad, small towns and rural villages, singling out the houses and shops of Muslims and burning them down, often with their owners inside. Gangs of young men from extremist Hindu organizations torture, rape and kill Muslim women and children.
"A Failure of Governance"
India is no stranger to violence between religious or ethnic groups, but this outbreak is regarded as one of the worst. The international media initially portrayed the conflict as one between Hindus and Muslims; the Indian media don't usually take sides in "communal" disputes. This time, however, they are reporting on the complicity of the state in sponsoring mob violence and showing footage of Hindu gangs attacking Muslims.
Most disturbing are reports that many police and government officials not only condoned the violence and but also have assisted the attackers by providing vehicles, flammable liquids and weapons. The Chair of National Human Rights Commission, a state agency, spent several days in Gujarat investigating the outbreak and concluded that a "failure of governance" had occurred.
To comprehend why the authorities acted in this way you only have to look at politics. The national government is controlled by the BJP Party, which is based on Hindu extremism and Indian ultra-nationalism. Basically the party rules by dividing people from each other—lower-class Hindus from lower-class Muslims, in this case—so that instead of recognizing common interests, they fight each other. UUHIP partners report that Hindu fundamentalist groups have paid money to Dalits and Tribals to attack Muslims.
While the BJP has barely managed to control the national legislature, it has failed to gain power in the states—except for Gujarat. With this background in mind, it is easier to see why the police in Gujarat, who are all under direction of the state government, did not attempt to prevent the violence, and may have helped the rioters in some cases, as well as why the authorities have been slow to act at the first outbreaks and in succeeding weeks. A representative from our partner DISHA, who spoke with many of the victims declared: "Everyone got betrayed. Some by their neighbors, some by their old friends, some by their landlords. But everyone was betrayed by the state and police."
Officially, about seven hundred have died in the attacks, but the real number is surely many times higher. Some 100,000 families have fled to refugee camps set up by the government; the government has been unable to provide children with schools or care centers or adults with livelihoods. Hundreds of thousands of Indians are now refugees in their own country. Weeks after the initial attacks, it is not safe for Muslims to frequent many areas, and even Hindus feel insecure. Extremists still terrorize some areas. A curfew remains in effect in many Muslim areas. Gujarat's economy has nosedived and is now losing 5 billion rupees daily (about $U.S. 100 million). Hindu extremist groups have organized boycotts of Muslim shops.
How UUA Holdeen India Partners are Helping
Neighboring states, like Maharashtra and Rajasthan (which are not under BJP Control) have managed to stop the spread of violence, but even in those areas residents are nervous. Meanwhile, our partners have refused to be intimated. Instead they have formed, with twenty-five other groups, a Citizen's Initiative to support and advocate for the victims.
- DISHA, founded almost twenty years ago by "tribals," (indigenous people outside the caste system), began distributing clothes and toiletries in the refugee camps. Its director, M.D. Mistry, advised government officials about establishing secure areas and providing emergency housing, clothing, and medical care.
- SEWA has intimate knowledge about conditions in Ahmedebad and other towns and villages in Gujarat, with Hindu, Muslim, and Christian membership. SEWA's representatives visited affected rural areas and twenty-two emergency camps. They are providing food, child care, "activity centers" where children can play in a safe and constructive environment, and health centers. They have also ensured that camp residents receive raw materials for their work and have buyers for their products.
Beyond immediate relief efforts, our HIP partners understand that long-term assistance will be needed to restore people to their homes and livelihoods. SEWA has used its assessment of affected members to map out a plan for replacing tools and equipment, compensating victims for loss of income, and establishing a "livelihood security fund" to protect the marketing, storage, and other needs of self-employed women. DISHA is urging that victims receive help in filing criminal complaints against their attackers and compensation claims for their losses. It is also asking for an inquiry into whether the riot was premeditated and involved official collusion.
A third partner in the riot areas is:
- Navsarjan Trust, an organization of poor Dalits ("untouchables"), directed by Martin Macwan, who is also leader of the National Campaign for Dalit Rights. Macwan received the 2001 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and was honored at the annual Human Rights Watch dinner in New York City. Macwan has been using his extensive contacts to urge the Indian federal and state governments to aid Muslim refugees and investigate and prosecute the attackers. Macwan has written to the Indian National Human Rights Commission, demanding that they establish a blue-ribbon committee of inquiry to investigate a range of issues, such as whether the violence was pre-planned and had official complicity. He has also urged the commission to order creation of a state task force, including Muslim members, to design relief and rehabilitation efforts.
What You Can Do
The riots in Gujarat have been particularly difficult for the many thousands who suffered loss of loved ones and possessions during the terrible earthquake last year. Many had barely finished rebuilding their dwellings, only to see them destroyed again, this time by peoples' actions. If you wish to help pressure the government to act, you may sign an online petitions now circulating.
For more information contact info @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
