Having seen Godhra’s history of violence, let us now see the exact horrible, lurid details of the massacre of 27 February 2002 with the background.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had organized a ‘Purnahuti Yagya’ in the holy Hindu city of Ayodhya in February-March 2002. It declared 15th March 2002 as the date for the beginning of the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya. People participating in this ‘Yagya’ had simply participated and gone home. They did not stay in Ayodhya until 15 March 2002 for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya at the undisputed site (majority of the undisputed land was owned by VHP and affiliated bodies and the Supreme Court of India in its order of 1994 had said that the undisputed land can be given to its owners).
People from all parts of the country went to Ayodhya, participated in this event, i.e. the Purnahuti Yagya and returned home from mid-February to 27 February 2002. A trainload of such people called ‘karsevaks’ or ‘Ramsevaks’ were returning to Ahmedabad in Gujarat from Ayodhya after participating in the Purnahuti Yagya. Whether they were all members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad or just ordinary people supporting the VHP’s stance on the Ram temple in Ayodhya is not known to the author.
The train, the Sabarmati Express was supposed to reach Ahmedabad early in the morning. It was running more than four hours late (Source: India Today, dated 11th March 2002). Shortly after the train left the Godhra railway station at 7: 48 a.m., a mob (the estimates of the numbers of which have ranged from 500 to 2000) stopped it. This was 500-700 meters away from the Godhra railway station, at Signal Falia area. The train was not burnt at the railway station, but at Signal Falia. That is why the attackers could not burn the train from outside. Had it been on a railway platform, they would not have found it too high. But at Signal Falia, it was too high. Hence, some of them entered the train cutting the vestible from the side coach no. S-7 and set it afire from inside and then went out again.
The mob was reportedly armed with petrol bombs, acid bombs and swords. The attackers poured petrol into the compartment and then set it afire. Two thousand people were standing on all sides to prevent the karsevaks from running away and saving their lives from the fire [they stoned the train to ensure that]. The karsevaks were literally caught between devil and the deep sea. There was fire inside and armed Muslim attackers outside. 59 karsevaks were horrifically burnt to death. 57 bodies were recovered in the day on 27 February and a child’s body late night while one injured died on 3 April 2002 to make the toll 59. The bodies were charred. The victims included 15 children, including babies and toddlers and some old people of above 65.
Teesta Setalvad said on that day: “While I condemn today’s gruesome attack, you cannot pick up an incident in isolation. Let us not forget the provocation. These people were not going for a benign assembly. They were indulging in blatant and unlawful mobilization to build a temple and deliberately provoke the Muslims in India.”
This was absolutely wrong. The people were not at all doing anything illegal or unlawful. They had every right to visit Ayodhya, take part in the Purnahuti Yagya, and return home. They were not forcibly occupying the disputed land, or forcibly trying to build Ram temple at the disputed land, or for that matter, at the undisputed land. They were not going to Ayodhya, but returning from Ayodhya simply after participating in the Yagna and having done nothing wrong in Ayodhya. Also, the demand for Ram temple construction was at the undisputed land, not the disputed land where the disputed structure called as Babri Masjid stood. The undisputed land was owned by VHP and affiliates, and they have every right to do whatever they wanted there. The Supreme Court also gave a verdict in 1994 saying that the undisputed land can be returned to the rightful owners.
Some more details are given in the book. To know the full details, read the book.
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