On 27 February 2002, Sabarmati express was torched by a Muslim mob of around thousand. 59 people died in that who were Hindu Karsevaks returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony on the disputed site of Babri Maszid. Under controversial circumstances, four coaches of the train caught fire, trapping many people inside. In the resulting conflagration, 59 people, including 25 women and 25 children, were burned to death. This event acted as the trigger for the violence that spread all across Gujrat and in some parts of Rajasthan. According to official figures, the riots resulted in the deaths of 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus; 2,500 people were injured non-fatally, and 223 more were reported missing. Some sources estimate that up to 2,500 Muslims died. There were instances of rape, children being burned alive, and widespread looting and destruction of property.

Narendra Modi was the newly appointed Chief Minister of the state and was naive in terms of handling the event. But he did everything he could possibly do. I will highlight some events that followed –

  • He asked the states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh(as they were the nearest) for sending their police force. All these states were Congress ruled and they rejected the request. That caused some delay in reinforcement. He had to take military action immediately. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qcuMkMSJozU
  • The reporters like Rajdeep Sardesai and Barkha Dutt(responsible mostly for degrading his image without any proof) did the most insensible journalism one could do. Barkha went to a posh area in Surat and was telecasting live that there was no security or police force there (directly inviting rioters to come there). Rajdeep was in Kachchh, showing a Hanuman temple and said that it was attacked(again pouring fuel in the fire). It was nearly impossible for police to reach in those remote areas in any situation of mishaps. Narendra Modi called them personally to stop spreading fire to which they denied, following which Modi had to ban news channels for a week. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kdxmz5vGcss
  • Modi did everything to bring peace to the state, the result is that there had been no riots since then.

P.S. – Gujarat had been a very aggressive state earlier, many riots took place here before 2002, but it is the most peaceful and safest place to live currently.

The power of media is immense. So is the power of half information. Unfortunately, the gullible viewer is powerless. Media houses failed to highlight the riots as a reaction to the action that took place at Godhra railway station and particularly in coach S6. People were burnt alive and the riots were a reaction to that incident. The media houses only saw the reaction and not the action.

Modi, who was the CM of Gujarat then, was classsified as the villain since he failed to control the subsequent riots. The media only gave half information since the government had sent SOS messages to the neighbouring governments in Rajasthan, MP and Maharashtra for backup police force; this is a procedural norm. All these states were governed by Congress and they refused to help. No one highlighted this since they were busy showcasing the Modi govt as villain.

Our decisions and views are based on the information we get. Unfortunately we got half information and many of our views are based on it. https://www.opindia.com/2019/04/mea-culpa-rajdeep-sardesai-finally-admits-modi-wasnt-responsible-for-2002-and-that-media-sensationalised-the-riots/

If we look for timeline of army being called on 1st day and riots majorly in control within 3–4 days, has never happened in India before along with over 450+ convictions.

Even UK MP in their parliament praised how effective the action was considering only 7000 policemen were there (most with lathis, not guns) .. even UK couldn’t control the riots within that period of time.

It’s really unfortunate that people always discuss, criticise and blame Modi, the then Chief Minister of the BJP government in India, about the post Godhara Gujrat riots in 2002 , in which many of innocent Mushlims were killed by Hindu masses which went on rampage while Gujrat government and police remained just a spectator, whereas no one discusses about how the Mushlim Mob from the nearby village, attacked a railway coach of Sabarmati express train, full of Hindu passengers and killed hundred of the passengers mercilessly, burnt them alive by putting the railway coach on fire spreading the petrol. It was such a brutal and heinous crime by the mushlim mob at Godhara against the innocent hindu passengers, returning back from their pilgrimage, that incited the emotions of Hindu majority in Gujrat and ignited the Gujrat riots.

Although no any killing of any innocent person, whatever religion one belongs to, a hindu, a mushlim or whosoever, can be justified on any reason, any account, but certainly it hurts and anguishes that certain so called secular political parties in India, in their lure and lust to win the support of mushlim votes to their party’s favor they can stoop to any low level of appeasement towards the minority community, even sometimes not hesitating to support and protect even the antinational elements belonging to the minority community. It’s really unfortunate highly for the nation and the great concern for the nation from the point of its safety and security.

Thus the so called secular political parties in their selfish move to apease the minority votes in their favor, indulge in double speaks and the double standards. When an atrocity happens over the Hindu community from the other community these political parties just ignore it, never bother to rake up the atrocities inflicted over the people belonging to Hindu community, either its Kashmir or Gujrat or West Bengal, whereas if any incident, the small or big happens from the Hindu community against any minority community, thes these political parties try to blow the matter out of proportion, they ensure the issue gets highlighted longer and longer, so they can harvest the benifits of the communal division, and the vote support of the minority community in their favor largely.

Much has been written about the chain of incidents and horror that happened in Gujarat in 2002. The Big question is this: would it have happened if the Muslims of Godhra, under the leadership of local Congressmen had not killed 59 Hindus, traveling in a reserved coach? The fire was not accidental as many people want you to believe. It was a reserved coach, completely occupied with valid tickets, by those who were returning from an event in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. If the fire was accidental, it could have started from a small source and there were opportunities for the occupants to douse the fire or escape. The fire did not start when the train was running. The train was deliberately stopped. The criminals had come with full preparation with petrol cans. They successfully blocked the exits so that none of the occupants escaped.

Yet, you want to blame Modi Government? I repeat, the Gujarat riots would not have occurred had there been no Godhra incident. If what happened in Gujarat was genocide, Godhra butchery on Hindus was the main cause. We need to address the cause and not effect.

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