By Shahid Shah

It was 27 Feb 2002, when the dreadful act of “Train Burning” in Godhra took place when two carriages of Sabarmati Express carrying cadres of the Hindus accidentally caught fire killing 59 Hindus. The train while crossing a Muslim town Godhra was ignited with fire from someone who was inside the train. Without a comprehensive inquiry against the incident happened at the train station, Muslims were deliberately blamed following a retaliatory bloodbath. This rumor pervaded across the state and Hindu extremists filled with anger rampaged on the Muslim neighborhoods seeking vengeance. It was widely believed that the innocents were convicted after years of proceedings and the real perpetrators are still free. It is also on record that an official inquiry headed by a former Supreme Court judge has also confirmed that the real culprits are still free in India. 

Hindu violent mobs under the patronage of Political elite torched the houses abd businesses of Muslims. Mosques & graves were erased; men, women, and children were killed. Kerosene was poured down the throats of Muslims and then lit with matches. Muslim women were brutally raped.

As the figures are concerned, some reports claim that more than 2000 muslims were brutally torched by these violent extremists in a so called secular state,  although the human rights groups claimed later that the number of Muslim casualties were much higher. 

Narendra Modi who was then termed as “Butcher of Gujrat”, as he was the Chief Minister of Gujrat during the 2002 Gujrat Riots is currently the Prime Minister of the presumed secular state of India. His role was not more than spilling more fuel to the fire that could have easily doused. Narendra Modi turned a blind eye towards the ongoing massacre in Gujrat that resulted in the mayhem against Muslims.

Post this incident, Modi was blacklisted for a decade by the European Union and United States. However, no action was taken against the relevant authorities primarily Narendra Modi who was the chief executive of Gujrat at that time. The day till now is celebrated as a black day due to the havoc it caused.

*Opinions expressed in this article are the writer 's own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of The South Asia Times 

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