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GUJARAT CARNAGE

PRIME minister Vajpayee’s attempt to blame the people of Gujarat — and their supposed lack of “harmony” — for the mass killings in their state is a disingenuous manoeuvre aimed at absolving himself, his party colleagues and the state machinery they control, of any responsibility for the crimes.

Instead of using national television to tell the people of Gujarat that the genocidal mobs would be put down with a firm hand — and that policemen failing to protect the life and liberty of all would be punished — Mr Vajpayee delivered a sermon on the need for religious tolerance. Considering that it took him two whole days and over 300 deaths to come up with such tepid fare, he might at least have used his poetic skills to compensate for the lack of political will. Who knows, if the poet Amrita Pritam could have delivered her ‘Waris Shah’ on television in 1947, she might have shamed a killer or two into dropping his weapon. Sadly, our prime minister could not even do that much. Though he has described the violence as a “blot on the nation”, there was little passion or feeling in what he said, no words of succour for the victims, no anger or opprobrium for the killers. If Vajpayee the statesman failed the nation, Vajpayee the poet fared no better.

Like Rajiv Gandhi in November 1984 and Narasimha Rao in January 1993, Mr Vajpayee will go down in history as a prime minister who preached the virtues of tolerance even as his cohorts turned a blind eye to the massacre of innocent citizens. Had he gone on television to denounce those using the Godhra incident to justify attacks on Muslims — including chief minister Narendra Modi, who said, ‘‘Har kriya ki pratikriya hoti hi hai (Every act produces a reaction)’’ — he would have alienated a handful of fanatics but earned the gratitude of the entire nation in return. One Arab and one Sikh were murdered in the US following the terrorist massacre of over 3,000 people at the World Trade Center and the public outcry forced president Bush to state that anyone attacking Muslims and other minorities would be severely dealt with. In India there was much self-righteous anger when a Sikh in the US was ‘mistakenly’ killed for being an Arab. In Gujarat, however, more than 450 Muslims have been hunted down and murdered after Godhra — that too by elements inspired by his own partymen with the complicity of the state government and police — yet Mr Vajpayee could not bring himself to say, as the leader of India, that he would not allow anyone to attack Muslim citizens, as Mr Bush did in the US context.

There have been communal massacres before but never has such a concerted attempt been made to destroy not just a minority community but its economic foundations as well. Already, more than 450 Muslims have been killed. Tens of crores of rupees worth of property has been torched, and when the ashes settle, it may well be that no Gujarati Muslim business — from the smallest tea stall to large hotels and film studios — will have survived. Muslims from all walks of life have been targeted and even prominent members of the state and ruling apparatus — sitting high court judges, senior police officers and politicians — have not been spared. The fact that the BJP government in Gujarat devalued Muslim lives is well known; but by announcing compensation of one lakh rupees per riot victim as compared to two lakh rupees for the Godhra victims, Narendra Modi has arithmetically quantified his bias

Ever since the hijacking of IC-814, the prime minister has become something of an expert in the fine art of capitulating to blackmail. Today, his government is indulging in ‘negotiations’ on the Ayodhya issue with a group that is responsible for the pogroms of Gujarat and openly flaunts its contempt for the law.

Press reports are piling up by the day that the mobs were led and orchestrated by local leaders of the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Whether the ban on the Islamic group SIMI was justified or not, there was certainly no incriminating evidence against it of the kind that is publicly accumulating against the VHP. If suspicion and intent were grounds to ban SIMI, why is the Union government unwilling to move against a group that is a walking advertisement for mass violence?

Asked by a citizens’ delegation last week why his government could not ban the VHP when General Musharraf had managed to ban several religious extremist groups in Pakistan, Mr Vajpayee is said to have replied, ‘‘(Musharraf) is a dictator and can ban anyone. We are a democracy’’. This appeal to ‘democracy’ has an uncomfortable resonance with the controversial remark Mr Vajpayee made last month during the final phase of campaigning for the Uttar Pradesh elections. Speaking at a rally in Allahabad, he urged Muslims to vote for his party but added that the BJP was going to win even without their votes. Though Mr Vajpayee subsequently went out of his way to stress that he did not mean to say the BJP wasn’t interested in Muslim votes, the import of his message to Indian Muslims couldn’t have been clearer: You are either with us or you are against us. It could have been interpreted as a velvet-gloved threat, which the Bajrang Dal and VHP in Gujarat have come good on.

Even at this late stage, Mr Vajpayee can work to retrieve the situation. First, he must use his party channels to dismiss Narendra Modi as chief minister and replace him with a man who will arrest those leaders, political activists and police officials who through their action, inaction and incendiary speeches have led to so much carnage. Second, the law of the land must be made to apply to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and all other organisations which are involved in inciting hatred and violence. Far from giving the VHP respectability, the Centre should state unequivocally that there is no question of giving in to blackmail over Ayodhya, now or in the future.

Finally, the prime minister must realise that what has happened in Gujarat is not abstract, amorphous violence but the targeted killing of Muslim citizens with the tacit backing of the state administration. Godhra was a terrible crime but the government at least did not help the murderers; what happened afterwards, however, suggests official complicity. Unless the guilty are punished, the Central government will have relinquished its moral right to hold office.

Notice To The Government Of India

It is time that the Tanzeem Aimmae Masajid consisting of several Ulemas and Muslim organizations puts on notice the fact that the Indian Government, notably the Gujarat Government has totally failed to preserve the secular fabric of the country and the constitution as we see the systematic continuation of massacares of innocent Muslims most of whom are being roasted alive in almost all parts of Gujarat. Their properties, establishments and places of worship being destroyed while all the Law enforcing machinery is watching as by-standers simply expressing its helplessness as the Hindu Zealots have been let loose on a rampage. Inevitably, we must warn that the consequences of these horrific and terrorizing acts of Genocide will only bring about natural reaction of revenge and reprisals, which would certainly be termed as Terrorism by the Government forces but in our view it will then be considered a rightful act of Self Defence.

The way killings of innocent Muslim civilians are being allowed with unabated deliberance it may lead the Muslims of India to resort in desperation to suicide attacks which cannot then be controlled even by voices of reason like those of our organizations despite the fact that we always preach Peace, Restraint and Reason. It is for one and all to see that State Terrorism practiced with impunity by Sharon in Israel has sidelined and muffled the voice of restraint by President Arafat who has lost complete control on the militants who justify the acts of violence as measures of self defence and security. Similar times seem inevitable in India when Muslim masses may be inevitably compelled to take their defence into their own hands, which would embroil into a never ending cycle of reprisals from both sides thus engulfing India into flames of Destruction and disintegration.

We are now pleading you to immediately control the violence in totality in every part of Gujarat and elsewhere before it is too late!

Also we warn the VHP / RSS / Bajrang Dal that even if they succeed by force to unlawfully build the so-called Ram Temple on the site of the Babri Masjid then too the Muslims of India and the world shall continue the counter struggle until that Temple is again demolished and replaced by a Mosque. This decision is irreversible and non negotiable. The completion of Ram temple on the site of the Babri Masjid will by no means be the end of the Muslim struggle but in fact it will be the beginning of an era of violence, turmoil, anarchy all of which may lead to the unfortunate but inevitable disintegration of India and for this only the Hindu Fundamentalist Forces and the Indian Government will have to take the blame.

Last but not the least, the resolve, determination and the willingness for Martyrdom of Muslims should not be misjudged or else it could spell out a Historic Miscalculation for our Nation the foundations of which have already been shaken to weakness on 6th December 1992 when the Babri Masjid was unlawfully and immorally demolished. It is unfortunate that the Indian Government has learnt nothing from the past reactions of the Muslims in India and by the reactions of Palestinian Muslims in Israel.

We Demand the following from the Government.

1. Immediate ban on the VHP / RSS and Bajrang Dal

2. Immediate dismissal of the Narendra Modi Government of Gujarat and action against the Chief

Minister for instigating and abetting violence in Gujarat.

3. Immedaite dismissal and subsequent filing of case against the Gujarat Police Commissioner and all

those Police officers involved in abetting the perpetrators of communal riots.

4. CBI enquiry into nexus between Central Home Minister Mr. L.K Advani and Gujarat Chief Minister

Mr. Narendra Modi for systematic massacares of the minority community in Gujarat.

5. Immediate Relief and compensation of rupees 5 lacs to the families of the deceased and rupees 2 lacs

to those injured in the communal riots. Also the loss incurred due to the burning of shops and

Establishments to be borne by the Government.

6. Arrests of innocent people to be stopped with immediate effect and those arrested for no cause except

being from the minority community should be released immediately.

We hope that these demands are fulfilled immediately so that the Centres Mask of Secularism is preserved in the eyes of the Nation.

For Tanzeem Aimmae Masajid

Hazrat Maulana Musannah Miyan (Chairman)

Raza Academy (Gen Sect - Mohammed Saeed Noori)

All India Sunni Jamiatul Ulema (Gen Sect – Maulana Mansoor Ali Khan)

All India Sunni Tableeghi Jamaat (President – Maulana Saiyad Siraj Azhar)

All India Tableeghe Seerat (President – Maulana Waris Jamal Qadri)

Tanzeem Aimmae Masajid (Sect – Maulana Khalilurrehman Noori)

Sunni Tehreek e Aimmae Masajid (Sect – Maulana Abdus Sattar)

Anjuman Barkaate Raza (Sect - Maulana Mehmood Aalam Rashidi)

Anjuman Gulshane Madina (Sect - Maulana Abdul Qader Habibi)

Muslim Council of India (Convenor – Ebrahim Tai)

Public Complaint Centre (President – Abdul Razaque Maniyar)

2nd March 2002

Demand for Immediate Relief and Compensation to the victims of the worst riots ever witnessed in Indian History and Dismissal of Narendra Modi led Government

The Raza Academy has faxed a letter to the Prime Minister of India seeking immediate relief and compensation to the victims of Gujarat riots and Dismissal of the Narendra Modi led government for its total failure in controlling the communal riots on the contrary it was a party in instigating the riots. The letter is as follows which you are kindly requested to publish in your Esteemed Newspaper

Honourable Prime Minister,

The Raza Academy calls upon your good self to announce an immediate relief package and compensation to the victims of the Gujarat violence. It was indeed one of the worst riots ever seen in the Indian History and the way the state machinery responded clearly showed the intentions of the Chief Minister Mr. Narendra Modi to inflict as much harm as possible on the minority community. Though the scars left by the rioters and the government will never heal yet atleast there could be some sort of first aid given to the victims in the form of relief and compensation.

The Academy demands immediate compensation of Rs 5 lacs to the families for the deceased and 2 lacs for those injured. Also all those homes, shops and establishments destroyed in the riots should be built by the state government with the aid of the Centre.

The BJP government has lost all morality to rule the state as well as the Centre when it failed miserably in controlling the Gujarat Riots and before being forced to resign it should do it on its own which may make a place in the hearts of the citizens. But we doubt that the power greedy politicians may let you take such a decision.

Though we have already demanded Presidents Rule in Gujarat we hereby demand the immediate dismissal of the Narendra Modi led government by your good self which by all norms and means is totally justified.

We hope that you will kindly accede to our request and do the needful thereby preserving your secular image among the masses.

For Raza Academy

Mohammed Saeed Noori (Gen Sect)

28th Feb 2002

Godhra Tragedy

We, at Raza Academy and the Muslim Community of India deeply regret the tragedy that befell upon the religious zealots ( Kar Sevaks ) returning from their fanatical and unlawful mission in Ayodhya where an unlawful attempt is being made to replace the demolished Historic Babri Mosque by a Hindu Temple much against the law of the land and other universal norms.

It is beyond doubt that the train incident in Godhra was unpleasant, tragic and most unfortunate but it should not be forgotten that the inmates of that tragic train were as responsible for the tragedy as were the reactionary forces who reacted in a way they did .

It is high time that the socalled Kar Sevaks and their masters the (VHP) acknowledge the damage caused to the Indian society as a whole, both to Muslims and Hindus alike. It is equally important to warn the Indian Government to immediately control and curb any violent backlash by the VHP and its affiliates otherwise we may possibly have to live with the endless cycle of violence and counter violence, the like of which we see in the Middle - East on a daily basis. It should also be put on notice that total responsibility to control the situation rests squarely on the shoulders of the Indian Government which could be held accountable in case the cycle of violence goes beyond its present level.

Consistant with the ongoing International War on terrorism we must coordinate our efforts to stamp out terrorism in all its forms and manifestations including the type unleashed by the VHP on the Ayodhya issue and by the reactionary forces because none of us desire to restart a new cycle of violence that could have grave consequences for the country as a whole. We on our part are prepared to contribute to peace as best as possible provided the Government acts promptly and fairly in the best Interest of our nation and people.

For Raza Academy
Mohammed Saeed Noori (Gen Sect)

25th Jan 2002

Raza Medical Camp and Draw of the Raza Quiz Contest.

Inauguration of 4 books translated in English written by Aalahazrat.

The Raza Academy has organized the Raza Medical Camp on the 27th of January 2002 at the Kesar Baug, Dongri as part of the ongoing celebrations of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Aalahazrat Imam Ahmed Raza.The Camp shall start at 10 am to 2.30 pm and shall be attended by renowned Doctors for Lung and Bronchitis Check up and also an Eye Camp. Arrangements have been made to give away free spectacles to those who need them.

On Saturday, the 26th of January 2002 at the same Venue the Draw of Raza Quiz Contest will be take place from 7 pm to 10 pm where in the First winner will be awarded with the Hajj Pilgrimage or 11 Tola Gold while the second winner will be awarded with the Umrah pilgrimage or 6 Tola Gold whichever they choose. Apart from these 20 consolation prizes will also be announced. Four books written by Aalahazrat which have been translated in English will be inaugurated in this Function. The Books are “Divine Vision”, Beacons of Hope”, “The Permissibility to recite Azaan on the graveside” and “The Validity of Saying Ya Rasool Allah”. After the Function Dinner will be served to all those attending the Function.

You are kindly requested to send the Reporter / Photographer / Correspondent of your Esteemed Newspaper to cover this event and thereby pay your tributes in the Holy Court of Aalahazrat.

For Raza Academy

Mohammed Saeed Noori (Gen Sect)

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