As Shakeela Bano went through her chores in her single-room home in Ahmedabad’s Naroda Patiya neighbourhood earlier this month, a television news programme announced that Bhartiya Janata Party leader Narendra Modi would run for the Lok Sabha from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The next item featured accusations that Modi’s close aide Amit Shah had made communally provocative statements in Muzaffarnagar, the area of UP that had been buffeted by religious riots in September. A CRPF jawan knocked on the door to check on her. Shakeela smiled and nodded, “Ha ha, koi baat nahi” as she let him take the rest of the day off.
Like many of her neighbours, Shakeela Bano has been following political developments in UP with an increasing sense of despondency. Shakeela Bano Firoz Ahmed Ansari, 38, is one of 200 witnesses to the massacre that occurred in Naroda Patiya on February 28, 2002. Official records show that a mob killed 97 Muslims here in ten hours. The victims included eight members of Shakeela’s family. As a result of the testimonies of Shakeela and others, BJP MLA Mayaben Kodnani and Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi have been convicted for their role in the murders. To prevent retaliation against the witnesses, Shakeela and the others have been provided with constant protection by the CRPF. But still, the thought of Gujarat’s chief minister becoming prime minister fills Shakeela Bano and her neighbours with anxiety.
“Hum toh pehle se bata rahe the ki 2002 ka danga BJP ke logon ne karvaya,’’ she said. “We have always said that the 2002 riots were engineered by the BJP.” The riots, which followed the burning of a train in Gujarat that left 59 Hindus dead, resulted in the murders of 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus across the state. Muslim neighbourhoods were attacked and community members were burnt, raped and hacked to death. More than 20,000 Muslim homes and businesses and 360 worship places destroyed. The Gujarat police said its personnel were outnumbered in the mob frenzy.
The Gujarat government has made little effort to rehabilitate the 150,000 people – most of them Muslim – who were displaced from their homes by the rioters. More than a decade after the violence, these victims continue to live in more than 70 relief colonies set up by religious institutions and non-government organisations.
Modi has been unapologetic about his inability to contain the violence. He has defended his government, saying, “We used our full strength to set out to do the right thing.”
Twelve years on, watching the news of Modi’s campaign, Shakeela said it was painful to see the state chief minister being given a real shot at becoming the next PM, even as his lieutenant from Gujarat, Amit Shah, was plotting his election strategy in the key state of UP.
Since Modi began campaigning, the BJP’s attempt to polarise the electorate on communal lines has been obvious from the hate speeches that sparked violence between Muslims and Jats in Muzaffarnagar last year. Shakeela recognised this strategy as being similar to the tactics the BJP used in Gujarat in 2002, when the riots were followed by state elections that resulted in a huge victory for Modi. The chief minister convinced the Hindu majority that the BJP was only party that could protect them from Muslims.
“Now that these people have left Gujarat for UP, there are riots happening there too,” Shakeela said. “Seeing this, I fear that if he becomes prime minister, there will be riots all over India.”
Shakeela’s husband, Firoz, described UP’s chief minister Akhilesh Yadav as “chota Modi” – or little Modi. Yadav’s Samajwadi Party government has been under attack for its poor handling of the riots in which 60 were killed and over 50,000 forced out of their homes.
But Shakeela noted that unlike Modi, who refused to acknowledge the intensity of the communal violence in Gujarat, Yadav at least visited the relief camps for the victims. “Modi even went from Gujarat to meet the victims of Patna blast [in October] in a special helicopter,” Shakeela said. "But we the victims of Naroda Patiya have been here in Ahmedabad from the last 12 years and he did not come here even once during his term as a CM."
Shakeela has not been motivated enough to vote in any election since the Gujarat riots and she doesn’t think she will change her position when Ahmedabad goes to the polls on April 30. “We don’t want any special treatment from the government but Modi should have at least come to meet us,” she said. “Hamare jakhmo pe marham to lagao. At least he should put ointment on our wounds."
A few lanes away, her neighbour Shamsuddin Sahabuddin Rathod spoke of the time before 2002 when he used to campaign for the local BJP corporator. “I accompanied the corporator through Naroda Patiya and asked Muslims to vote for him, the person, not the party,” said Rathod, who was the first man to step out of hiding after the long massacre in 2002 and led the police to escort Muslims to safety. Rathod supported the BJP man because he thought the politician could help the community to build a cemetery on an open plot behind Naroda Patiya, since the nearest graveyard was 6 km away. "But in 2002,’’ Shamsuddinbhai said, “they made all of Naroda Patiya a burial ground."
He added, “In all the riots, neither Hindus nor Muslims benefit. But in this violence the Gujarat government did not even give us our compensation.”
Naroda Patiya and nearby Naroda gaon, which was also attacked on the same day in 2002, are part of the Ahmedabad East constituency from where the BJP has fielded actor-turned-politician Paresh Rawal. But Rawal has failed to visit either of the areas.
Despite this, the BJP did not hesitate to invite advocate Yusuf Malik, a witness to the Naroda gaon massacre that left 11 Muslims dead, to share the stage with Rawal at a recent rally on the area’s outskirts. “They wanted me to wear the cap and bring few Muslim supporters and felicitate Rawal,” Malik said. “This would mean that 2002 victims supported the BJP. I can’t defame by community’s name as I know what happened during the riots.”
Khatoon bibi Sheikh, who lost her home in Naroda Patiya and now lives in Citizen Nagar in Ahmedabad, next to the city’s biggest landfill, says she missed Rawal’s rally in Naroda gaon by few hours because she was away on work. She’s a big fan of Rawal in Nayak: The Real Hero. She specially likes the speech his character delivers urging common man Anil Kapoor to become the chief minister, noting that the people need a clean leader to fight the forces of evil. When the corrupt and wicked politician (played Amrish Puri) is killed, Rawal justifies the death, saying he deserved it.
Khatoon bibi wanted to meet the actor on stage and ask him, “By standing with Modi, you are doing the opposite of your role in the movie. If you can imitate your act in Nayak for real, I will support you.’’
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Like many of her neighbours, Shakeela Bano has been following political developments in UP with an increasing sense of despondency. Shakeela Bano Firoz Ahmed Ansari, 38, is one of 200 witnesses to the massacre that occurred in Naroda Patiya on February 28, 2002. Official records show that a mob killed 97 Muslims here in ten hours. The victims included eight members of Shakeela’s family. As a result of the testimonies of Shakeela and others, BJP MLA Mayaben Kodnani and Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi have been convicted for their role in the murders. To prevent retaliation against the witnesses, Shakeela and the others have been provided with constant protection by the CRPF. But still, the thought of Gujarat’s chief minister becoming prime minister fills Shakeela Bano and her neighbours with anxiety.
“Hum toh pehle se bata rahe the ki 2002 ka danga BJP ke logon ne karvaya,’’ she said. “We have always said that the 2002 riots were engineered by the BJP.” The riots, which followed the burning of a train in Gujarat that left 59 Hindus dead, resulted in the murders of 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus across the state. Muslim neighbourhoods were attacked and community members were burnt, raped and hacked to death. More than 20,000 Muslim homes and businesses and 360 worship places destroyed. The Gujarat police said its personnel were outnumbered in the mob frenzy.
The Gujarat government has made little effort to rehabilitate the 150,000 people – most of them Muslim – who were displaced from their homes by the rioters. More than a decade after the violence, these victims continue to live in more than 70 relief colonies set up by religious institutions and non-government organisations.
Modi has been unapologetic about his inability to contain the violence. He has defended his government, saying, “We used our full strength to set out to do the right thing.”
Twelve years on, watching the news of Modi’s campaign, Shakeela said it was painful to see the state chief minister being given a real shot at becoming the next PM, even as his lieutenant from Gujarat, Amit Shah, was plotting his election strategy in the key state of UP.
Since Modi began campaigning, the BJP’s attempt to polarise the electorate on communal lines has been obvious from the hate speeches that sparked violence between Muslims and Jats in Muzaffarnagar last year. Shakeela recognised this strategy as being similar to the tactics the BJP used in Gujarat in 2002, when the riots were followed by state elections that resulted in a huge victory for Modi. The chief minister convinced the Hindu majority that the BJP was only party that could protect them from Muslims.
“Now that these people have left Gujarat for UP, there are riots happening there too,” Shakeela said. “Seeing this, I fear that if he becomes prime minister, there will be riots all over India.”
Shakeela’s husband, Firoz, described UP’s chief minister Akhilesh Yadav as “chota Modi” – or little Modi. Yadav’s Samajwadi Party government has been under attack for its poor handling of the riots in which 60 were killed and over 50,000 forced out of their homes.
But Shakeela noted that unlike Modi, who refused to acknowledge the intensity of the communal violence in Gujarat, Yadav at least visited the relief camps for the victims. “Modi even went from Gujarat to meet the victims of Patna blast [in October] in a special helicopter,” Shakeela said. "But we the victims of Naroda Patiya have been here in Ahmedabad from the last 12 years and he did not come here even once during his term as a CM."
Shakeela has not been motivated enough to vote in any election since the Gujarat riots and she doesn’t think she will change her position when Ahmedabad goes to the polls on April 30. “We don’t want any special treatment from the government but Modi should have at least come to meet us,” she said. “Hamare jakhmo pe marham to lagao. At least he should put ointment on our wounds."
A few lanes away, her neighbour Shamsuddin Sahabuddin Rathod spoke of the time before 2002 when he used to campaign for the local BJP corporator. “I accompanied the corporator through Naroda Patiya and asked Muslims to vote for him, the person, not the party,” said Rathod, who was the first man to step out of hiding after the long massacre in 2002 and led the police to escort Muslims to safety. Rathod supported the BJP man because he thought the politician could help the community to build a cemetery on an open plot behind Naroda Patiya, since the nearest graveyard was 6 km away. "But in 2002,’’ Shamsuddinbhai said, “they made all of Naroda Patiya a burial ground."
He added, “In all the riots, neither Hindus nor Muslims benefit. But in this violence the Gujarat government did not even give us our compensation.”
Naroda Patiya and nearby Naroda gaon, which was also attacked on the same day in 2002, are part of the Ahmedabad East constituency from where the BJP has fielded actor-turned-politician Paresh Rawal. But Rawal has failed to visit either of the areas.
Despite this, the BJP did not hesitate to invite advocate Yusuf Malik, a witness to the Naroda gaon massacre that left 11 Muslims dead, to share the stage with Rawal at a recent rally on the area’s outskirts. “They wanted me to wear the cap and bring few Muslim supporters and felicitate Rawal,” Malik said. “This would mean that 2002 victims supported the BJP. I can’t defame by community’s name as I know what happened during the riots.”
Khatoon bibi Sheikh, who lost her home in Naroda Patiya and now lives in Citizen Nagar in Ahmedabad, next to the city’s biggest landfill, says she missed Rawal’s rally in Naroda gaon by few hours because she was away on work. She’s a big fan of Rawal in Nayak: The Real Hero. She specially likes the speech his character delivers urging common man Anil Kapoor to become the chief minister, noting that the people need a clean leader to fight the forces of evil. When the corrupt and wicked politician (played Amrish Puri) is killed, Rawal justifies the death, saying he deserved it.
Khatoon bibi wanted to meet the actor on stage and ask him, “By standing with Modi, you are doing the opposite of your role in the movie. If you can imitate your act in Nayak for real, I will support you.’’