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Religious tension between Hindus
and Muslims has long plagued the Indian subcontinent. In the northwestern
region of Gujarat, this tension exploded into numerous outbreaks of communal
violence over the past eighteen months. Over 2,000 people have lost their
lives since February 2002, while others have been victims of rape, mutilation,
and intimidation. Furthermore, numerous homes, businesses, and places of
worship were destroyed, and over 100,000 people displaced by the
violence. Although Muslims and Hindus are mutually hostile, Muslims have
been the targets of pre-planned, well-orchestrated attacks, and therefore
constitute the overwhelming majority of victims. This large-scale
organized violence has been facilitated by the compliance and complicity of the
Hindu nationalist-dominated state government. The political activity of
Hindu nationalists not only exacerbates communal violence, but also threatens
the administration of justice in the aftermath of the attacks. Corruption
of the judicial process in favor of the Hindu majority aggravates tensions in
the region, thus setting the stage for increased hostilities.
Additionally, the recent institution of religious restrictions on minority
groups threatens the stability of relations between Hindus and members of other
religious organizations.
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Types of Abuse and Danger |
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Massacre of unarmed civilians (Human Rights Watch (HRW); Center for the
Prevention of Genocide (CPG) Country Report)
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Systematic rape and targeting of women (Indian Express Online; CPG Special
Report)
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Inflammatory reporting by local media
(Rediff.com, HindustanTimes.com)
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Arbitrary arrest and detention (HRW)
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Retaliatory violence (The
Hindu Online)
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State complicity and compliance (CPG Country Report, HRW)
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Corruption of the judicial process (Amnesty International, NHRC – India)
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Failure of the government to provide for internally displaced persons (HRW)
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Restriction of religious rights of minority groups (BBC News, HRW)
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Field Contacts Verification |
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International Contacts:
United States Contacts:
Foreign Ministries:
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Non-Governmental Organizations / Other:
National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) – India
People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) – Delhi, India
Indian Institute for Peace, Disarmament and Environmental Protection – Nagpur,
India
Center for Dialogue and Reconciliation – Haryana, India
Institute for Conflict Management – New Delhi, India
Institute for Development and Communication – Chandigarh, India
PRASHANT – Ahmedabad, India
The Washington Post
Washington Times
LA Times
Chicago tribune
New York Times
BBC
CNN
Reuters
Associated Press
United Press International
The Times of India
The News India Times
The
Hindustan
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