Fact-finding
by
a Women's Panel
Syeda Hameed, Muslim Women?s Forum, Delhi
Ruth Manorama, National Alliance of Women, Bangalore
Malini Ghose, Nirantar, Delhi
Sheba George, Sahrwaru, Ahmedabad
Farah Naqvi, Independent Journalist, Delhi
Mari Thekaekara, Accord, Tamil Nadu

Sponsored by
Citizen?s Initiative, Ahmedabad [India]

April 16, 2002  

     Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

     Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world

     The blood-dimmed tide is loosed and everywhere

     The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

     The best lack all conviction, while the worst

     Are full of passionate intensity
     W.B.Yeats ?The Second Coming?
 

     Conclusions of the fact-finding team stem on the one hand from eyewitness accounts,
     interviews, research and data collection during our visit to 5 districts of Gujarat from
     March 27-31 2002, and on the other from India?s Constitution, which guarantees all
     Indian citizens the right to protection of life and personal liberty (Article 21), the
     prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion (Article 15) and the equality of all
     persons before the law (Article 14).
 

     Having unequivocally condemned the Godhra carnage and the barbaric acts of killing
     and terror wreaked on innocent Muslims by communalized mobs in Ahmedabad and
     other areas in Gujarat, we aver that what happened post-Godhra in Gujarat was in the
     nature of a pogrom in its essential design and has the makings of a larger agenda for the
     subjugation, crushing and elimination of religious minorities. While nothing can justify or
     rationalize inhuman acts such as the burning of the bogie near Godhra railway station, it
     is clear that the intelligence of the State Government failed in its responsibility to
     forewarn. Not only that. Its aforesaid failure enabled communal elements to take hold
     of the state. Our findings reveal that the post - Godhra carnage did not happen as a
     spontaneous reaction to burning one bogie of the Sabarmati Express but that it was a
     calculated response, the culmination of a hate campaign carried on for more than a
     decade to promote the Hindutva ideology.
 

     General Recommendations
     1. Immediate removal of the Chief Minister and imposition of President?s rule.
     2. Immediate conviction of all those criminals who killed, burnt, maimed and looted
     ordinary citizens, from the top down, not sparing high executives, senior public servants
     and police officials.
     3. Examination of the role of the State, including the political executive, in planning,
     abetting, or containing the violence in Gujarat after February 28th, 2002. Charges to be
     framed accordingly and action taken.
     4. Immediate setting up of Special Courts, with non-partisan judges from outside
     Gujarat, for trying the cases on a daily basis and delivering quick justice. The victims to
     be given state assistance for legal battles.
     5. CBI to be assigned for investigation into riots in the worst hit areas such as Godhra,
     Naroda Patia, Gulbarga Society, and Best Bakery,Vadodra.
     6. Set up and independent commission headed by a sitting Supreme Court Judge to
     enquire into both phases of violence - Godhra and post - Godhra.
 

     Recommendations pertaining to women
 

     1. The issue of sexual violence is grossly under reported, especially in rural areas.
     Testimonies from all the affected areas need to be recorded on an urgent basis to
     understand the nature and extent of crimes committed against women. This task must
     be done immediately as many of the victims may soon start leaving the camps.
     2. FIRs need to be lodged immediately. A special task force, comprised of people
     from outside Gujarat, to be set up immediately for taking cognizance of the context in
     which sexual violence has taken place and commence the task of filing FIRs. It should
     first examine the status of the existing FIRs. The task force should consist of people
     with legal expertise, women police personnel, women?s rights activists, and women
     leaders from the Muslim community and be headed by a senior woman IAS officer. A
     time limit should be set within which justice will be dispensed for cases of sexual
     violence.
     3. For cases of rape, medical examinations should not be treated as the basic evidence.
     Given the testimonies that many women were fleeing for several days and did not have
     access to medical facilities, medical examinations should not be asked for at all.
     4. The extraordinary circumstances under which crimes against women have been
     committed, and the evidence that the State machinery was not accessible to victims in
     terms of seeking justice, there is a need to make the ?normal?, technical requirements
     of a legal process contingent upon these factors. In cases where women are unable to
     lodge FIRs, their testimonies alone should be treated as the basis for further legal
     action.
     5. Counselling to be provided immediately, even before registering the cases so that the
     women are able to give essential information, which they have difficulty speaking about.
     People with expertise in trauma counselling need to be identified and assigned to this
     task.
     6. Women?s rights activists to be enabled to work freely among the survivors and
     police protection to be provided to them. Their harassers to be charged and brought to
     book.
     7. It is imperative that the appalling sanitary conditions be improved and better health
     care be provided in the camps. Adequate facilities to address the health needs of
     pregnant women and the trauma of all the camp residents, particularly women, must be
     provided.
     8. A comprehensive rehabilitation policy for rape victims and for their families (where
     the women are dead) needs to be announced urgently.
     9. Given the Government?s negligence and the negligence of the National Commission
     for Women to make itself available (until the writing of this report), the UN Special
     Rapporteur on Violence Against Women should be called in for investigation and
     assessment.
     10. Immediate assessment of the number of female-headed households and a
     rehabilitation package for livelihoods to be prepared by a panel of experts drawn from
     appropriate disciplines, with adequate support from the Government. Special
     provisions to be made for orphans and children of widows.
     11. In all the relief work, rehabilitation should be treated as a separate issue and not be
     confused with relief and immediate cash compensation.
     12. Evaluate the Government?s proposal to setup Peace Committees. In a situation
     where the Government lies discredited and implicated in the violence it is hardly likely
     that they would be in a position to undertake confidence-building measures.
 

     Recommendations pertaining to Police
 

     1. A task force to be set up to investigate police excesses against women and to take
     immediate action against the officers concerned.
     2. All police personnel named in the FIRs to be immediately tried and arrested.
     3. Urgent probe into the police firing where deaths have resulted and the accused be
     brought to book.
     4. An end to ?combing? operations, which are exclusive to Muslim areas and are being
     used to pick up Muslim youth; complete transparency in manner, methods, and charges
     against those arrested. Given the real fear of prejudical action by the Police, a Judicial
     commission to examine all cases where Muslims have been picked up during combing
     operations after Feb 28th, 2002. A system of accountability to be established for those
     who have ?disappeared? after being picked up by Police.
     5. Where there are testimonies of Police refusing to register FIRs, immediate action to
     be taken against the concerned officers. Absense of the Police to discharge its duties at
     a time of crisis to be treated as criminal culpability and attract punishment matching that
     charge, rather than merely attracting internal disciplinary action.
 

     Recommendations pertaining to UN Conventions

     Our preliminary analysis reveals grave violations of human rights norms, laws and
     treaties, some of which have been outlined in Section IV above. These violations
     should be tried and treated accordingly. Whereever necessary, the help of human rights
     groups, women?s rights groups and relevant UN Special Rapporteurs should be sought
     to examine the extent of the violation, and propose action in accordance with
     procedures provided in the Instruments, and in proportion to the crimes.