‘We lacked a civil society movement to halt the hatred in Gujarat’ By Melanie P Kumar
When minorities have no place in a state sworn to secularism, when freedom of speech and expression is curtailed, what vibrant Gujarat are we talking about, asks Father Cedric Prakash, human rights activist from Ahmedabad Fr Cedric Prakash is a Jesuit priest and currently the Director of Prashant, a centre for human rights, justice and peace in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Prakash founded Prashant in October 2001 as a response to the growing human rights violations all over Gujarat especially against the poor and vulnerable sections of society. In the wake of the Gujarat carnage of 2002, Prashant has been trying to ensure justice for the many victims. The centre has carefully documented various attacks on the minorities and has provided impetus for analysis and research. Prashant has also highlighted the growing communalisation of education in the state. Prakash himself has been a very visible and vocal critic of the Gujarat government’s role in the riots of 2002. He has testified on this issue before the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and has also succeeded in bringing to world attention the plight of the minorities of Gujarat and other parts of India. For his consistent work in the promotion of human rights, justice, communal harmony and peace, he has received several national and international recognitions which include the Kabir Puraskar from the President of India in 1995, the Legion of Honour from the President of France in 2006 and the National Minority Rights Award from the National Commission for Minorities also in 2006. You were among the few in Gujarat who spoke out against the Godhra carnage of 2002. How successful have you been in initiating criminal action against the accused? There are other voices of sanity that speak out against the Gujarat carnage of 2002. Yes, we are few but that does not mean to say we can be silenced. Recent rulings from the Supreme Court have provided a ray of hope! Hopefully, six fast track courts will be put into action soon. At this moment we are eagerly looking forward to a day when truth and justice will triumph in Gujarat. Would you say that you have been successful in creating public awareness in the state of Gujarat against the unjust actions of the government? It is not easy to do this in Gujarat. The vernacular press for one is generally biased and most of them fail to report important news concerning the situation of minority and other vulnerable sections of society. On the other hand, the Sangh Parivar consistently brings out patrikas which demonise the minorities and we really do not have an effective machinery to counter this false and malicious propaganda. What has been the role of the intelligentsia in Gujarat in raising their voices against injustice? In Gujarat some people have spoken out against the violence meted out to the minorities, especially the Muslims. However, we definitely lacked a civil society movement where top intelligentsia could have come out on the streets in order to halt this wave of hatred. In fact, politicians and petty criminals motivated by the government, the Sangh Parivar and their ilk, ruled the roost. That is another problem because here you directly have to confront the powers that in a way control your destiny. What is the situation of the average Muslim in Gujarat after 2002? In most parts of Gujarat today, a Muslim is treated as a second class citizen. He cannot hope to live in the upmarket areas of Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat. Neither can he involve himself in commerce like shops and other business ventures in all areas or have a choice of where to send his children to school. In other words, more and more the community is being pushed into ghetto-like situations. In Juhapura, we have one of the biggest Muslim ghettoes with over 400,000 Muslims living there. Even senior Muslim officials including those in the government must be willing to submit themselves for questioning at any given time. In some housing societies, there are bye-laws which clearly forbid the selling of one’s house to a Muslim. All these actions are in complete violation of a person’s fundamental rights. What about the land that is owned by Muslims? Most of them are making distress sales for fear of losing more money. Even brokers from their own communities are exploiting the situation to make a fast buck. Chief Minister Modi has also been clever enough to split up the Muslims who are a fragmented lot in the absence of good leadership. Many of the Dawoodi Bohras who take their directives from the Syedna at Burhanpur are supporting Modi in Gujarat. But you have to admit that Vibrant Gujarat is a reality and Modi’s suitability for the prime minister’s post has been endorsed by corporate czars like Ratan Tata, Anil Ambani and Sunil Mittal? ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ is one of the big lies in today’s India. We have several documents to bust this myth. Just because a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is signed, that doesn’t mean it has become actual investment in the state. On an RTI application, the Gujarat government has itself admitted that less than 40% of the promised investment has actually begun. Besides we also have to question this whole concept of ‘vibrancy’ and for whom; when people do not have food, clothing and shelter, when a sizeable majority have no access to clean drinking water and quality education, when infant mortality and female foeticide are on the rise, then we have to question this myth of vibrancy. Above all, when minorities have no place in a state which has been sworn to secularism, what are we talking about! Finally, freedom of speech and expression is curtailed. When Aamir Khan emphatically states that the tribal oustees of the Narmada dam should be humanely rehabilitated, his film Fanaa is banned from the state. So what Vibrant Gujarat are we talking about? It is easy for the corporate czars to endorse Modi as PM. Of course they would! When a few of them get land, water, electricity, infrastructure to maximise their profits at the cost of the state exchequer they certainly would want him as prime minister. Why would a corporation not be happy if free water and land is offered to them and tax-free loans for the next 99 years! What right has a chief minister to sell the state to a business house? But you have to admit the arrival of Modi has spelt financial prosperity for Gujarat? It is a matter of perception. Financial prosperity for whom? For the few rich and other vested interests. The waters of the Narmada dam for one are used by the people of Ahmedabad city and for the water parks frequented by the rich; whereas the parched lands of Kutch, Saurashtra and North Gujarat remain without water. The Adanis Project has destroyed the livelihood of thousands of fishermen in coastal Gujarat. Reliance Petrochemicals in Jamnagar have meant a great loss for the small agriculturists in that area. So once again, financial prosperity for whom? What would you suggest as an alternative? I am against the idea of freebies being offered to a select set of companies. The welfare of other sections has to be factored in too and there has to be a harnessing of local and natural resources for the good of all. How is the issue of conversion being dealt with in Gujarat? The Government of Gujarat in typical fascist style has also raised the bogey of conversion. In 2003, it passed the Freedom of Religion Act and five years later, in April 2008, they framed the rules necessary to govern the implementation of the law. Government permission has to be sought for changing one’s religion in Gujarat and the punishment against women, tribals and dalits is more severe for such an action than it is for a male particularly if he is from the topmost rung of the caste system. This law is really very draconian and is violative of Article 25 of the Constitution of India and Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. What do you think can help the state? The problem of Gujarat is the absence of a left movement. Even with the failure of so many mills and the loss of jobs in the 1980s, there was no trade union movement to take up the cause of workers. The two-party system has been a great disadvantage here. There has to be a local leader who understands the dynamics of Gujarat who must rise up and take on Modi. The Congress has not paid too much attention to building up its cadres. Would you say that the recent parliamentary election has conveyed a message to the Gujarat government? The result of the recent parliamentary elections is really a big blow to Modi. First of all much less then 50% of the total electorate cast their votes, which is already saying much. Secondly, there has not been a dramatic rise in the vote share of the BJP, as compared to the Congress. The interesting thing is that Modi was always boasting that he would win 25 out of the 26 seats in Gujarat; winning just 15 (just one more than last time) is in fact a big set-back and at least three of those who won for the BJP were candidates who are actually against him. Besides, at least two of those who lost the elections from the Congress lost by a very insignificant margin. So in fact, this election is a defeat for Modi. On the other hand, the Gujarat government very effectively sabotaged the NREGA which would have definitely been a blessing to the small rural person. With the election results in Karnataka, would you say that there is a danger of the state going the Gujarat way? I am really unhappy with the way things are shaping in Karnataka. The government here has presided over the bashing up of minorities; youth do not have the freedom to do what they want and even fall in love with the person they would like to. Freedom of expression and speech is also curtailed. This has resulted in a massive electoral triumph for the BJP. It is high time civil society woke up and protested the rise of fundamentalism and fascism in the state. Tomorrow may be too late! What would you say about the attacks on the Christian minorities in Karnataka? How conscious are the churches here about the threat? The fact that the Christians in Karnataka have been the target of systematic and vicious attacks is a matter of great concern. These are not sporadic attacks and they should not be taken lightly. They are being meticulously planned with the agenda of destroying the credibility of the work of the church here. Unfortunately, there has not been an adequate response from the church in Karnataka. The church has to get out of its ostrich-like mentality and being isolated within the walls of their compounds. They should have the courage to speak truth to power and to take on this current government of Karnataka which has presided over the attacks on the Christians. What do you feel civil society should do in Karnataka? Please do not be complacent. Spread the message of peace. Identify civil society groups across the state, which can band together under one leadership. Groups like the PUCL, which are minus any particular ideology, can play a big part in preventing the fascist juggernaut from taking a stranglehold in Karnataka. (Melanie Kumar is an independent journalist based in Bangalore) Infochange News & Features, July 2009
