|
 Gujarat carnage: Is there hope?
Dont miss: November 11th 2006 -
4pm to 7pm Delhi
The
Milli Gazette Online
10
November 2006
Gujarat
2002
witnessed an estimated killing
of 2000 people,
rape
of approximately
400 women, property
damage worth
Rs 3800 crores,
around
1100
restaurants destroyed,
563
religious places destroyed
or damaged. About
2.5 lakh
people were
directly
displaced.
Where do we
stand
today almost five
years down the
line?
The percentage
of compensation
compared to
the official damage comes to
a meager
7
%. To top it
all, the State
Government recently
decided to return
Rs 19 crores saying
that there was no
further need!
While a
maximum ceiling to
property damage
was pegged
at Rs 50,000.00 (well
below compared to other similar cases like anti-Sikh riots
package), less
than 10% people have
received over
Rs 30,000.00
! There are on the other hand,
numerous
cases where people
have
been paid as
low as Rs
60.00 - Rs. 500.00 ! Most
of it remains within
the range of
Rs.
1200.00 – Rs. 2500.00 !
Recent
surveys reveal
the shocking facts that
there are between
5000 to 10,000 families still living in
relief camps
(ranging
between 50 to 80)!
They are
not recognized by the State
Government and
remain without
any basic
civic amenities!
Out
of a total of 4252
FIRs lodged (very
minuscule compared to unofficial figures), 2208
cases were summarily closed and police
has shown unprecedented alacrity in releasing
those accused within one year of the carnage. According
to latest figures, 214
people
are still
languishing in jails
under POTA,
all Muslims
!
Severe
economic
and
social
boycott
continues
not only
against the
victims but
the minorities in general. In a recent case, 70
people were denied their BPL cards by the
State officials over the
charges that
they were
Bangladeshis.
An extreme sense of exclusion,
marginalization and
hopelessness remains
palpable among the
minorities. The
State
Government
on the
other hand continues
to accuse
those raising these issues for
trying to
divide five
crore Gujaratis !
Despite all this, there
seems to
be a
larger amnesia
about the continuing
plight of
the Muslims in Gujarat. This
panel discussion is another attempt to bring
Gujarat back into focus,
into the collective memory
of the
people. This
is crucial, as Gujarat
remains just one of the instances,
while the
rest
of the country
is on
its way to
becoming
the larger laboratory
of
the Hindutva.
If
you believe
in notions
like secular democracy, liberty, freedom,
equality, diversity, pluralism, be part of this process. For
this, Gujarat remains
the test case.
Shake
the conscience
of
civil
society
and
the
State
!
Spread
the word around....Join in large numbers.
GUJARAT
CARNAGE:
IS THERE HOPE?
| Date: |
November
11th 2006 |
| Time: |
1600
hrs to 1900 hrs |
| Venue: |
Hall
M2, World Social Forum India,
Exhibition
Ground, Jawaharlal Nehru Statium,
New Delhi |
| Speakers: |
Teesta
Setalvad
Swami
Agnivesh
Fr Cedric Prakash
Farah Naqvi
Kamalmitra
Chenoy
Siddhartha
Varadrajan
Sophia
Khan
Hiren
Gandhi
Lallubhai
Desai |
|
