[Reader-list] Experiments with violence in Gujarat

[Aditi thorat]

May 3rd, 2006

Dear all,

Greetings to those of whom I have been out of touch with. This description
(not mine, but by Smita Vasudevan, I think) of Dionne Bunsha's book (see
below) really shook me up. Have any of you read it? I am not normally a
supporter of highly emotive reporting on issues related to communal
violence, but here Bunsha has ventured out of regular press into a narrative
form, which allows for more freedom. Again, I find it slightly suspect to
see NDTV take on a crusader role (similar to their role in the Jessica Lal
etc) case, but I am torn between that feeling and the feeling that the press
also do need to take a position. Also, I am not clear in the description
given below, why DSP Pande did not respond to the information on violence.
After seeing something of how states work from the inside, I am figuring out
that these are not necessarily only moral actions of individual
bureaucrats/police men, but could be directly related to the way in which
the bureaucrat/IPS officer-politician nexus/es operate, something the
passage below does capture.
Therefore my question is are moral judgements useful with regard to changing
these situations?

I am also coming around to a feeling that perhaps what we need is more
forgiveness, more tolerance, more peace, and less anger, less violent
imagery, less hate. And here we all have a role to play, I think. The Truth
and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa was based on this premise and
despite its arguably Christian basis, is it not possible to start from
that/similar premise of forgiveness? Of course, I am conscious that I was
not involved in the Gujarat massacre- I did not lose my life or honour or
property and I speak from a position of privilege and wealth and security.

Would be good to hear what all of you think,
Aditi


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mirza Meher meher.mirza at gmail.com



  Last week I read the book 'Scarred – Experiments with violence in Gujarat'
by Dionne Bunsha.
I read about a pregnant woman whose womb was cut open, the unborn child
pulled out and thrown into the fire before her eyes. She was then burnt
alive. Her crime? Only that she prayed to a different God (or the same God
by another name?).
Ahsan Jafri was sitting in his house when the mob entered. They stripped him
and cut off his fingers. Half dead, he was paraded around the neighborhood
and asked to say 'Jai Shri Ram'. After which his hands and legs were cut off
and he was thrown in the fire to roast alive. Jafri had called up the Police
Chief Pande, asking for help much before the mob got there.
Pande knew what was happening. But he just let innocent people die. Why?
Perhaps he believed that they deserved to die because they were Muslims,
perhaps it's because the little children being burnt alive were not his own
or just maybe it was because he knew he'd be rewarded for this one day. And
that day has finally come. On the April 28 2006, Modi promoted Mr. Pande to
the position of DSP.
The only people fighting this injustice are a bunch of social workers and
the families of those killed. In all probability this man will go scot-free.
But it doesn't have to be that way. Not if each of us takes a 5 minutes off
to write to anyone who can do something. Just pick up your phone and SMS
NDTV at 6388. Go to their website www.ndtv.com and pen down a note of
protest in the 'Feedback' section. Make them cover the issue in-depth so
that more people raise a noise. Take 5 minutes off to pen down a note and
send it to letters at thehindu.co.in
Please forward this mail to everyone that you know. The more people protest,
the more they will be heard.
Today it was someone else's mother that was raped, someone else's sister who
was burnt alive, and someone else's child that was hacked to pieces. What if
it had been your own?
Over a 1000 people died in Gujarat. Help their families get justice.

- ------------------------------
New Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Call regular phones from your
PC<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail_us/taglines/postman5/*http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=39666/*http://messenger.yahoo.com>and
save big.



- --
" Oh my god! They killed Kenny"


- --
I am Piglet, beware my wrath!


- --
Aditi Thorat
Officer on Special Duty to Chief Minister
Government of Rajasthan
0141-5116629 (Tele/Fax)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20060503/8451dc5e/attachment.html