Author: B. P. Singhal
Publication:
Date: October 29, 2007
[Note: Emphasis in the original text as received.]
They - THE SECULARISTS - are at it once again.
"It was a well planned 'GENOCIDE'",
"it was 'POGROM'", "it was state sponsored 'TERRORISM'",
is what they had said in screaming headlines day after day after day in 2002,
in the Delhi based "SECULAR" English dailies and the "SECULAR"
electronic media. So complete was the Goebblesian propaganda and so effective
was the concealment of truth, that even the Supreme Court lost its judicial
balance and without verifying what steps the Government of Gujarat had taken,
it went on to write on page 72 of its judgement in the Best Bakery Case that,
"The modern day NEROS were looking elsewhere when Best Bakery and innocent
children and helpless women were burning ...........".
It was media power at its worst that caused
this unwarranted outburst from the Hon'ble Supreme Court. All the Gujarat
language dailies were giving truthful accounts which were at complete variance
with the Delhi based Media.
"The Hindu", the leading-most South
India daily reported on 1st March 2002 : "The Chief Minister Modi frantically
asked for the Army units to be called in." On 2nd March 2002 'The Hindu'
reported : "Unlike February 28 when one community was entirely at the
receiving end, the minority backlash on 1st March has further worsened the
situation .......... and the Army staged a flag march in Ahemedabad on 1st
March 2002 at 9.00 A.M."
It was therefore truly shocking that on 25.8.2007,
"Aaj Tak" harped on the same old refrain that "Modi did not
call the army until three days had passed". Even more outrageous was
their insistance on this point. When "Aaj Tak" contacted me on phone
to get my response, I told the anchor that the GODHRA carnage took place on
February 27th 2002, that the Hindu backlash commenced on February 28th and
the Army was doing flag march on the forenoon of March 1st ............ He
cut me short by saying that "this is exactly what we had said, no action
was taken by Modi on 29th, 30th and 31st thus giving three clear days to the
murderers ........" I had to cut him short by reminding him that the
date 28th was 28th of February 2002 and there was no 29th, 30th or 31st in
that month. The phone was of course disconnected. However, it has to be said
to the credit of "Aaj Tak" and "Headlines Today" that
they called me for a full length studio debate the next day. But the details
of that debate shall have to wait. For the present, however, it is imperative
that certain facts are stated to prevent perpetuation of the
LIES propagated in 2002.
Fact 1: That SHOOT AT SIGHT ORDERS had been
given by the Government on 28th itself.
Being an Ex-DGP and also a Member of Parliament
at that time, I was personally in touch with the office of DGP Gujarat and
the Commissioner of Police Ahemedabad. I was keen to tell them, (a) To call
in the Army at once and (b) To issue "SHOOT AT SIGHT" orders to
all officers of the rank of Sub-Inspectors and above. It was very comforting
to learn that the Government of Gujarat had already taken both those steps
by 2.30 P.M. on 28th February itself. In fact the State Government had also
requested for Armed Police reinforcements from neighbouring states, besides
calling for the Army.
Fact 2: On the 28th February itself 10 Hindus
had been shot dead and 16 Hindus had been wounded by POLICE BULLETS.
Fact 3: On the next day i.e., 1st March an
additional 24 Hindus were shot dead and 40 Hindus wounded by POLICE BULLETS.
Fact 4: In the entire period of riots total
Hindu casualties were 80 shot dead, and 207 wounded by POLICE BULLETS alone.
(But no Delhi-based media showed any interest in giving coverage to these
casualties.)
Fact 5: The Muslim counter attack which commenced from 1st March 2002 was
no less ferocious. In the first three days alone, out of a total of 611 deaths,
101 were caused by POLICE FIRING. Of these, 61 were Hindus
and 40 were Muslims.
Fact 6: As on 5th of March, as many as 40,000
Hindus had had to be given shelter in Relief Camps. (There was plenty of media
coverage given to the plight of Muslims in relief camps but no Delhi-based
media
covered any Hindu relief camps.)
Fact 7: In answer to the Parliament questions,
the UPA Home Minister gave the figures of casualties during Gujarat riots.
There were Muslims killed 790, Hindus killed 254, wounded 2500 in all missing
223. Thus this proves the lies that what happened in Gujarat was a one-sided
affair for every three Muslims who died in Gujarat, one Hindu was also killed.
Such heavy casualties in riot control are
UNPRECEDENTED in the entire history of Indian Police. The figures of casualties
caused by Police firing in the first three days alone indicate the FEROCITY
of Police action. (And the "SECULAR" PARTIES and their MEDIA cohorts
even to this day proclaim unabashedly that Modi ordered the Police "to
look the other way" to give a free hand to murderers for three days).
If they have any respect for TRUTH, they can cross-check the casualties with
the records of the concerned hospitals. The Police is duty bound to carry
the dead or the wounded in Police firings to the concerned Government hospitals.
With the Muslim counter attack commencing
from 1st March onwards till the riots were quelled altogether, what took place
in Gujarat was a full-fledged Hindu-Muslim Riot. It was no GENOCIDE, or POGROM,
or STATE TERRORISM against the Muslims of Gujarat. "No modern day 'NERO'
was looking elsewhere". The modern day Chief Minister was dealing with
the situation as best as was possible with the highly limited forces at his
command.
Because of the spontaneous conflagration at
scores and scores of locations, it is entirely possible that the Police or
Fire brigade may have failed to reach a scene for hours, OR, having been spread
so thin, the posse of Police that did reach the scene was deterred from intervening
by the sheer ferocity of violence at that point in time. But to say that Police
was restrained as a measure of Government POLICY is completely belied by the
sheer immensity of casualties caused by Police firings.
The insane FEROCITY and BRUTALITY with which
Ram Bhaktas including "innocent children and helpless women" were
roasted alive at Godhra set the benchmark for the equally insane ferocity
of the Hindu backlash and the ferocity of the Hindu backlash was followed
by an equally insanely ferocious counter attack by the Muslims.
The Delhi-based media made out as though the
whole of Gujarat was in flames. It concealed the fact that out of 18,600 villages,
240 Municipal towns and 25 Districts, the number of locations that were affected
by riots was just 60. Not a single man-day was lost in the 200 odd Industrial
townships by any Industry in Gujarat because of the riots. The examinations
in Schools, Colleges and Universities were conducted as per schedule during
the period of riots.
Irrefutable confirmation that it was a Communal
RIOT and not a GENOCIDE or POGROM, came from the verdicts of Courts in POST-GODHRA
riots cases:
(i) Deccan Herald reported on May 2004: Conviction
of 3 confessing Muslims for 7 years for attempted murder.
(ii) Indian Express dated 19.03.2006 reported:
7 Muslims convicted for life for the murder of Mukesh Panchaal.
(iii) Indian Express dated 29.03.2006 reported:
9 Muslims convicted for attempted murder and Arms Act with sentences ranging
from 10 years to 18 months.
(iv) Indian Express dated 19.05.2006 reported:
4 Muslims nailed by DNA tests and convicted for LIFE.
While the "SECULAR" PARTIES and
the "SECULAR" Delhi-based Media singled out the Hindu backlash for
mega-publicity, they BLANKED OUT the Godhra carnage, as well as the Muslim
counter attack for reasons best known to them. Nevertheless, not only the
MINORITY community of Gujarat, but the entire population of Gujarat had been
well aware of "GUJARAT KA SACH", ALL ALONG. As a result, all the
Goebblesian propaganda had to bite the dust when the BJP was not only returned
to serve Gujarat for a second term, by an overwhelming majority in the legislature,
in the Post-Godhra-Post-Gujarat elections, but also continued to win the Corporation,
the Municipal and the Gram Sabha elections with overwhelming margins. In a
DEMOCRACY, THE PEOPLE KNOW WHO IS WHAT. AND THE PEOPLE ARE THE FINAL ARBITERS.
Tehelka and the sponsors of Tehelka have once
again tried to vitiate communal harmony not only of Gujarat but of the entire
country. People overwhelmingly believe that the Tehelka "sting operation"
was sponsored by the Congress. If it is so, then, this would be the third
major attempt of the "SECULAR" Congress to stoke the communal flames
in the country. The first major attempt was made through the Sachar Commission
who ordered a headcount of Muslims in India's Defence Forces. Thanks to the
Army Chief who firmly put his foot down to prevent the communal virus from
infecting the Army. The second attempt was made when the Government of India
filed the affidavit in the Supreme Court, in the Sethusamudram case wherein
it QUESTIONED the very existence of Sri Ram. Now by sponsoring Tehelka, "Sting
operation" it made a despicable third attempt to communalize the Indian
Polity. What Tehelka "Sting operation" has done, clearly attracts
Section 153A of the IPC and if Congress has not sponsored this "Sting
operation" then it should not hesitate to prosecute Tehelka u/s 153A
IPC. As Tehelka as well as the T.V. Channels who aired those tapes are headquartered
at Delhi, it is the Delhi Police and consequently the Government of India
to take the legal action against them u/s 153A IPC.
Nobody could have had any grouse if "Tehelka"
and the T.V. Channels had passed on those tapes to the Supreme Court, for
suitable action, or even telecasted the so-called confessions of VHP activists
or the BJP MLA for the information of the people. And, if indeed, those confessions
are genuine and have any evidentiary value in them, then the law must take
its course against those whose guilt is stablished. The real MISCHIEF that
attracts Section 153A IPC is the JUXTAPOSITION AND INTERSPERSION of rising
flames and bellowing smoke with the earlier recorded bytes of the Gujarat
riots, accompanied with crashing cymbals, beats of drums, screaming voices,
and the highly provocative comments of the 'anchors' of the channels that
aired those tapes.
There is a clear intention to inflame communal
passions through what all was telecast in the name of "Gujarat ka Sach",
and it would be dangerous for the future of the country if such a nefarious
act goes unpunished by default of the UPA Government.
B. P. SINGHAL is IPS. (Retd.), Ex-MP Rajya
Sabha from the BJP
