Great expectations

Justice Nanavati8217;s statement 8212; that the commission has found little evidence so far against the Gujarat police or administration o...

Justice Nanavati8217;s statement 8212; that the commission has found little evidence so far against the Gujarat police or administration or any VHP/Bajrang Dal leader indicating their involvement in the communal violence in Gujarat 8212; casts doubt over the neutrality of the investigation. This categorical statement has punctured the hopes of concerned citizens, especially of the victims, that were raised after the riot probe panel was revamped to a two-member commission with Justice Nanavati as the head.

In its investigation by noted journalists, the Editors8217; Guild found hate literature, calling for the economic boycott of Muslims, circulated by the VHP after Godhra. Pamphlets like, 8220;Your life is in danger, you can be murdered any time8230; We are collecting funds for securing the interests of the Hindus8230; there are thousands of more Godhra carnages being planned8221;. The VHP8217;s Gujarat treasurer admitted the distribution of the same to at least two newspapers including this one. Even a secret RSS circular suggesting ways of killing or debilitating minorities, was said to be found.

Besides neglecting such clear evidence, the investigation has seemingly been done according to a plan, taking the less affected areas first, rather than the worst hit areas such as Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Bharuch and Narmada. While the government claimed that 8220;the major incidents of violence were contained within the first 72 hours8221;, it also said that scheduled hearings in the worst hit areas were disrupted because of the sensitive communal situation prevailing in those areas at the time of the investigation. Further, when the Chief Election Commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh postponed elections because the situation was not perceived as suitable for a free and fair election, the government objected to the decision.

The government8217;s reluctance to come clean was evident last year when the it delayed the issue of visas to representatives of Amnesty International AI, which has criticised Chief Minister Narendra Modi8217;s role in the riots and the passing of POTA. Amnesty wanted to conduct an independent inquiry into the riots and interpreted the stalling of visas as the government8217;s attempt to cover up the involvement of its officials.

Keeping in mind that the investigation has sparked another controversy, negating reports of various other inquiry panels such as the National Human Rights Commission NHRC, the National Commission for Minorities NCM, the Editors8217; Guild and the Concerned Citizens8217; Tribunal, the central government and human rights organisations need to ensure that the Justice Nanavati commission proceeds independently and that it does not meet the same fate as the Jagmohan Reddy and Nusserwanji Vakil Commission of Inquiry instituted in 1969 to probe Hindu-Muslim violence, the Dave Commission to look into communal violence in 1986 and the Chauhan Commission to investigate the violence in Surat in 1992. All lie incomplete today.