Modi Wants to Give Muslim Women Their Rights. So Why Did He Abandon Bilkis in Her Hour of Need? BY SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN
In a speech last month, Narendra Modi
said he wants Muslim women to get the rights promised to them by
the constitution. Bilkis Bano is a reminder that he didn’t always want that. Just when the prime
minister thought the stain of 2002 was well and truly behind him, the
Bombay high court has upheld the conviction of 11 persons for the gangrape
of Bilkis Bano and mass murder of 14 Muslims in Limkheda and also
convicted the policemen and doctors who attempted to cover up the crime – one
of the most heinous to take place during the post-Godhra violence in Gujarat
that year.
For the record,
Bilkis’s charges were investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation, not
the Gujarat police, and the trial of the accused was held in Mumbai
because the Supreme Court decided a fair trial was not possible in Gujarat. So what does this have
to do with Modi, the BJP is likely to ask, apart from the fact that
he happened to be chief minister at the time. After all, the allegation that
Modi orchestrated the anti-Muslim violence was probed by a Special
Investigation Team set up by the Supreme Court but no evidence of his
complicity emerged. The SIT’s controversial
findings are being appealed by Zakia Jafri but as matters stand, Modi
still has the “clean chit” the SIT gave him in 2013. Only the Gujarat high
court, or the Supreme Court, can take that away from him. The BJP would
be right to note all this, but it would also be wrong.
Modi is not
the first Indian leader to face allegations of complicity in mass murder. In
1984, Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao, as prime minister and home minister of
India, respectively, had direct control over the Delhi police but did nothing to
protect the lives of thousands of Sikhs who were killed in the
national capital following the assassination of Indira Gandhi. The Delhi and
Gujarat pogroms had a lot in common: inflammatory statements by leaders,
including those at the very top; the political mobilisation of goons; the
refusal of the police to protect minority communities under attack; the
rewarding of politicians involved in the killings – people like H.K.L
Bhagat and Maya Kodnani – with plum cabinet
berths.
There may be no
evidence of direct criminal liability in the execution of the violence but
Modi confirmed his own guilt many times over by running a government that did
everything in its power to ensure the guilty got away and the victims were
denied justice. This is not the way a leader who has nothing to hide would
behave. And Exhibit Number One
is Bilkis Bano.
Long quest for
justice: Bilkis and her family
were attacked by a mob on March 3, 2002, as they fled their home in the wake of
the mass violence against Muslims that erupted across Gujarat following
the Godhra train incident in which 57 Hindu passengers were killed on
February 27. She was five months pregnant at the time, yet was subjected
to gang-rape, as were other women with her. Her three-year old child was
murdered along with 13 other family members. When Bilkis managed to reach a
police station, the police refused to include the names of the attackers in
the FIR. One year later, in March 2003, a local court in Limkheda
directed that her complaint be closed due to “inconsistencies”.
At this point, Bilkis
approached the National Human Rights Commission, which in turn moved the
Supreme Court. The minute the Supreme Court got involved, the Gujarat police
swung into action – not to conduct a proper investigation or go after the
accused men but to harass and intimidate Bilkis and her family. So much so that
on September 25, 2003, the Supreme Court was constrained to direct the
Gujarat police to keep away from the victim. Eventually, in December 2003,
a three-judge bench of the apex court, in a major vote of no-confidence in the
Gujarat government and police, asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to
take over the case.
‘Any place but
Gujarat’.. read more:
See also
Prajapati encounter case: Gujarat Police inspector Ashish Pandya reinstated in service
Gujarat reinstates another suspended cop after securing bail in Prajapati encounter case
DG Vanzara's letter - Times of India (2013)
Sumana Ramanan - clips of controversial Modi speeches made just after Gujarat riots (2014)
Gujarat reinstates another suspended cop after securing bail in Prajapati encounter case
DG Vanzara's letter - Times of India (2013)
Sumana Ramanan - clips of controversial Modi speeches made just after Gujarat riots (2014)
