Godhra Case Bio

The 2002 Gujarat violence describes a series of communal riots between Hindus and Muslims that took place in the Indian State of Gujarat between February and May 2002. The riots occurred after the Godhra train burning, and many claim as a result of itAccording to official figures tabled in the parliament, more than a thousand people were killed (790 Muslims and 254 Hindus) in the violence after the train incident. More than one hundred and fifty thousand people were displaced (about 100,000 Muslims and 40,000 Hindus). Organizations such as Human Rights Watch criticized the Indian government for failure to address the resulting humanitarian condition of people, "overwhelming majority of them Muslim," who fled their homes for relief camps in the aftermath of the events. Many of the investigations and prosecution of those accused of violence during the riots have been opened for reinvestigation and prosecution. According to an official estimate, 1044 people were killed in the violence - 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus including those killed in the Godhra train fire. Another 223 people were reported missing, 2,548 injured, 919 women widowed and 606 children orphaned. About 100,000 Muslims and 40,000 Hindus were in relief camps The large-scale, collective violence has been generally been described as riots or inter-communal clashes. The perpetrators of the violence as well as Sangh parivar leaders and the Gujarat government maintain that the violence was a spontaneous, uncontrollable reaction to the Godhra train burning. Going by the numbers, several people have termed it a massacre and an attempted pogrom or genocide[ of the Muslim population, emphasizing that the violence was largely directed against defenceless people, indiscriminate with regard to age or sex and alleging that it was pre-planned, organised and aided by the local authorities and political leaders