Issues faced by people of Gujarat.

The Muslims of Gujarat are now facing a new threat. The nexus of accused, police & public prosecutors are creating a new hurdle in the field of legal battle.       

In fact, Sangh Parivar was preparing itself to terrorize minorities, especially in Gujarat since long. They were in search of an excuse for Muslims backlash. In first phase after Babri Masjid demolition, the BJP government was defeated in Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan. In second phase, they lost U.P., Punjab & Uttaranchal. The by-election of Gujarat had shown the same trend. In order to save their power in Gujarat they needed polarization. They were in search of an opportunity, and the Godhra incident was used as an opportunity for the revenge and polarisation. (Later on this has been proved by the election results)

Nothing has been done by the state & central governments except handing out promises. Instead the State Government is putting all its efforts to cover-up its lapses and the criminal doings of the communal forces.

2.    Out of 62 major relief camps, all of them have been established and are organized by NGO's

3.    No compensation packages for the commercial losses are offered.

4.    Formalities have been done in the name of compensation for residential losses. In many cases one cannot even buy a door for the house from the compensation amount paid to them.

5.    In 1992 compensation for death was Rs. 2 lacs. After 10 years   Rs. 1lac & 50 thousand was announced in Gujarat. More than 50% death cases have not been recorded by the police, instead   they are treated as missing. Therefore no compensation for them

6.    The violence is still continued till November. Small businessmen and workers are unable to start day- to- day business because of these fears.

7.    Camps have been closed down forcefully by the government without even providing the inmates any rehabilitation. Victims  were forced to move either to their original places or to seek shelter in private places.

8.    Thousand of families have flown from Gujarat and migrated to other states.  

We must emphasize that neither every officer is biased nor every Hindu is communal. Many a non Muslim NGO's are working with us with full zeal. Today Muslims are their target, tomorrow there could be others. In our view the communal forces are having following motives in their mind,

  Ø     To polarize the majority community on communal grounds for the election purposes and to grab maximum power.

  Ø     To demoralize opponents in general and Muslims in particular, to inculcate in them an inferiority complex, so that they should not even think of any resistance against their immoral programs, what so ever it may be.

What Muslims should do? In the wake of the above-mentioned scenario, are we not going towards a circular path, where relief and rehabilitations are followed by violence and vice versa?

  The recent state sponsored communal riots at Gujarat, needs immediate action to establish future course of our aims, objects & policies. All of us are very well aware of the whole Gujarat episode. In a democratic country of the 21st century we have seen the barbaric action & inhumanity of the stone era and that to in an organized manner. We must at least learn some lessons and analyze the motives of these communal forces active behind the Gujarat carnage. We have to formulate the policies of our security under the legal framework.

  Post independence history of our country, speaks of a lengthy tale of communal disturbances. At times thousands of such minor and major incidents have taken place, while                                            the Gujarat tragedy has a different impact, in comparison to the past riots. According to our analysis, following are the causes of the recent carnage.........

  State Government & its machinery have given a boost to communal forces fully or partially. People have seen that ruling party leaders were leading & mobilizing the masses for looting and murdering.

  The state police, who are supposed to protect the life & property of their citizens, were not only meek spectators, but in a number of cases they were themselves involved in or had instigated the rioting.

  The statement of the state and central ruling party government has given a clean chit to the concerned authorities & organizations involved in the riots. A clear-cut message and indication to authorities involved that no action will be taken against the culprits.

During the past, we have witnessed that short-term relief was well provided in almost all the cases, but unfortunately we failed to do anything concrete where long term relief is concerned, in fact we could do nothing for the long-term relief. We don’t have any recognized and specialized legal body to take care of long-   term relief at state or country levels. In some cases district level committees had taken the initiatives in this area, but it ended up with no results. We have seen that when normalcy is restored, our efforts become static.

As a result, the whole process ends up with demoralization of the victim’s community and motivation of communal forces. This is what has encouraged the communal people of Gujarat. If these communal forces had even slightest fear of punishment, they would not have committed such crimes. Unfortunately, neither the government nor the Muslims have done this in past. If we look in broader spectrum, these disturbances require following relief actions from minorities in general and Muslims in particular.

Ø     Relief for the camp refugees, staying in temporary camps, for the security of their lives. We appreciate that it has been done in the past.

Ø     Compensation for death, the state government is compensating the families of death victims an amount of Rs. 2 Lacs. In most cases, majority of victims get this amount.

Ø     The compensation for the missing people, when although it is clear that the person was killed during the riots, but unfortunately the body was either missing or cremated as an unidentified body.

Ø     Enhancement of amount in death cases.

Ø     To protect innocent Muslims registered by the police.

Ø     Compensation for the loss of business and residential setup.

Ø     Punishment to the hard-core criminals directly involved in the looting and murder cases.

Ø     Negligence of police & administration.

Ø     To device & implement schemes for rehabilitation of riot victims & create psychological atmosphere for their safety including peace and solution for the root causes of permanent disturbances at a particular place.

The ground conditions in Gujarat are very complex. Police is the main instrument of the judicial process. The court works on the report (Charge Sheet) prepared by the police. Print & electronic media have already exposed the partisan role of the police.

Police and lower courts of Gujarat are working speedily. Charge sheets of many major cases have already been submitted and trial may start very soon.

          Under the above circumstances FFCL has decided

to take up the cases from the initial stage itself,

working as follows…

  (Because only a strong charge sheet will get relief in lower as well as higher courts. With out it even high court & Supreme Court may not be able to provide relief to victims.)  

Ø     Motivate victims to make their statements and pursue the Police Investigation officer, (IO) to take their statement.  

Ø     Follow-up to include the exact names of death cases and property losses.  

Ø     In case a victim knows the name of the accused, he must mention his name in the statement without any fear.  

Ø     File private complaints under Cr. P.C. 202 & Cr. P.C. 156(3), in case the police do not register a complaint.

Ø     In case police has tampered the victim’s statement, recording of victim’s statement in Cr. P.C. 164.  

Ø     Claim for death cases  

Ø     Offer minor and major legal education to the poor victims, so that they could watch their interest during the investigation process.  

Ø     Drafting notices and applications of victims for bail cancellations of named accused and for the issue of non-bail able warrants etc for absconding accused.  

Keeping an eye on above issues, we along with the senior legal experts decided our goal.

In India, the struggle for justice is just too hard for ordinary folk to bear with all the effort it entails. There is no limit to, how infected the system has become and just how difficult and tortuous it is to bring any justice to victims. With every riot there is a flurry of activity by concerned people and law based NGOs. Inevitably, there are Public Interest Litigation cases filed in the superior courts and this sometimes brings relief. But even this distant recourse comes after many years and recompense for violations of right to life are not always accompanied by findings of guilt. This must simultaneously be done in the lower courts. However, at the community level, no matter how obvious the guilt or terrible the crime, there is sometimes not even a single conviction and people must accept living without justice in the midst of communities infested with their tormentors. Worst of all, the examples of the past have built a culture of impunity within the government in particular, which encourages repetitions of events like Gujarat.

Access to justice in a country like India even under normal circumstances is a nightmarish process. But when the State and its agencies are involved with extra judicial killings, forced disappearances, hostage taking, custodial torture or State sponsored actions against minorities the entire exercise becomes even more difficult. State authorities avoid bringing colleagues and parallel agencies to account and either neglect or subvert the performance of their duties. Culprits already enjoying a degree of power by virtue of the uniform they wear or office they hold, they enjoy impunity, even as victims run from pillar to post within a closed and incomprehensible system. Those responsible for the killings are seldom prosecuted. A few who do face action get away with murder.  

The police can be effective in ensuring peace and stability in society provided that policing is thought of as a service function to the public at large rather than an institution deployed to serve the interests of people in positions of power. At present the police act as oppressive instruments of the State rather than as protectors of citizens’ rights. Growing criminalisation within the police force, lack of accountability, subversion of structures of control and supervision and deterioration in the methods of working all underpin widespread human rights violations and denial of justice. Impunity rules as people continue to get away scot-free because the law just never seems to catch up with them.  

Equally, the court systems are slow, expensive complex and distant. Victimised people are frequently unable to access the courts and in cases where they can, they fail in their quest for justice because they cannot understand the processes and the laws. Often unable to get legal assistance, and even when they do, they are at the mercy of incompetent and uncaring counselors. Yet the thirst for justice remains and the law in its theoretical form has a remedy for every wrong.  

The consequences of these systematic infirmities have been too well analyzed for reiteration here. The inability to access this is cutting away at the foundations of rule of law and is a denial of a citizen’s fundamental rights.

The riots in Gujarat unequivocally demonstrate the consequences of lack of access to justice and the cost in human terms of a dysfunctional system of courts and police.  The riots and their immediate aftermath have been widely publicized. However, now 10 months on, there is little attention paid to the continuing tragedy of broken lives and the machinations of the guilty to ensure their own impunity. Fewer and fewer NGOs and well-intentioned citizens can sustain the effort of assisting victims. The poor are pitted against the very powerful and there is no level playing field either in courts or in the threatening world outside. There is little outside help available and few expert legal resources.

a)  Indicate and document the ills that beset the criminal justice system at the grass root level and  

b)  To ensure that there are post-riot legal victories at the district level and to demonstrate that no matter how well protected the agencies of the state are, the law is higher than patronage.  

It is only through these actions that the faith of minorities and the ordinary silent majority will be restored and respect for the rule of law, rather than recourse to private justice find more support.

It is for these reasons that FFCL is determined to work in Gujarat over the several years that it will inevitably take to get justice in the lower courts. It is imperative that victories for victims be won in lower courts and that lower courts be moved to secure justice.  

There are many individuals who have lost several family members and are very serious about following their cases and getting justice. They are however aware of the infirmity of the system and the fact that their entire struggle will require support from external agencies and NGOs.  

Most of the victims in these areas are extremely poor. They have lost everything from houses to livelihoods and have few support systems to depend upon. Knowledge about the legal system and its processes is negligible and faith in its fairness is dwindling. There is hardly any infrastructure that can sustain these people. There is also great pressure from the accused in terms of threats to withdraw cases. People remain displaced and away from local jurisdictions where their cases are pending. The lack of funds to fight the legal battle is sapping their will, especially where money is being offered by the accused to withdraw cases, give up the fight and accept compromise solutions which will force them to live second class lifes in the shadow of their tormentors. Despite the hurdles many are anxious to get justice.  

FFCL has been able to sustain their faith over the last few months. Moral support and constant interaction with the witnesses  not only have lessened their pain but also renewed the hope that their tormentors may not go unpunished. As a result cases have been filed, witnesses are giving their testimonies and there is some hope that justice though delayed will not be denied.  

Legal Data Base:

During the meeting it was felt that we must have a complete data-   base of riot victims along with legal data. So that we can judge the volume on which we are suppose to work. Depending upon volume and complexity of the issues we can draw action plan. The interested NGO’s may take necessary information from it.

Data Base & Documentation:

We immediately started data collection. A 14 pages form desgined under the supervision of Mr. Ejaz Maqbool (Supreme Court Lawyer) and Mr. Suhail Tirmizi (High Court Lawyer). A team of advocates, social workers & computer staff has been assigned the job, the team that has been working 24 hours and collecting the data along with affidavits. Initially it was easy, because majority of the victims were in relief camps. However the government closed the camps forcefully and the victims scattered. The task became more difficult. However, we have almost collected the data of major carnages and more than 10,000 victims have been interviewed during the campaign.

In between, the advocates under the supervision were busy in verifying the statements given by victims to us, and the statements recorded by police in their case diary.

It was really an acid test for us, police were trying to hush up these cases, while our team was putting pressure to correct the   statements.

We can not achieve the goal in toto, however this is the effort of FFCL team (along with few other activists), it became possible to run the trial in various cases, its was the efforts of FFCL that rape cases were recorded in police charge sheets, other wise the government was always denying about rapes during violence.

Ø    Training of Lawyers  :-There are very few lawyers in Gujarat who are actively participating in bringing relief to the victims & they are having sufficient trial Court experience also. However few more Trial Court lawyers need to be trained by these expert trial court lawyers. They have to be trained to deal with the Public Prosecutors some of them are office bearers of the VHP, defence counsellors and biased magistrates.  These lawyers need to be trained in order to be able devise and implement proper legal strategies and take prompt and appropriate action in each case.

 (We would like to give an example. In the 3^rd phase of Gujarat violence, the Pranteej town of Sabarkantha district was targeted. The victims of Pranteej, required an immediate legal first aid, however, because of scarcity of experienced and trained legal manpower, we needed to send a lawyer from Ahmedabad. Senior lawyer Mr. Munawaar Laliwala had courage to reach the town under curfew. The in time help of legal support, turned tables, a counter FIR was registered.)

Senior practising lawyers who are consultants for FFCL will conduct this training. These trainings will be for the lawyers who are working on the ground in the concerned areas. The training will enable junior lawyers to understand the cases better, equip them with the necessary know how and to act efficiently in subsequent developments in the case.  Without this there is a danger that even the best cases will be lost.   

Ø    Preparation of Witnesses :-There is also need for greater lawyer-witness interaction wherein witnesses will have to be coached and trained to present their testimonies in courts. Witnesses will also have to be primed and rehearsed and told what to expect in court especially when they are likely to be badgered by defense counsel. They need to be prepared to fight a battle, which will inevitably stretch for a number of years. Also they will have to be supported in some way (initially financial assistance to help them get back on their feet) so that the cases do not fall out within a year or so of their commencement.  

Ø    Awareness raising :-Awareness and sensitization of the public to the duties of the police will be another aspect of this program. Reform minded Senior Police Officials who are classic examples of a “good cop” will be invited to talk to the victims, the witnesses, the local lawyers and the public at large to inform them of their rights and the duties that the police are bound to perform. The level of awareness will in itself create a demand for reform.  

Ø    Community solidarity :-FFCL will attempt to create local victim groups who can be a source of solidarity for each other in their fight for justice. This will reduce a sense of helplessness and isolation and also lower the risks of cases falling through for lack of perseverance. From its previous visits the team has already developed a rapport with victims and witnesses and has a base in the communities in the districts. Future visits will strengthen these relationships and make this more possible. FFCL will be open to assisting intra community reconciliation or catalyzing it through other NGOs as well.  

Ø    Documentation :-This program will also include research and information giving.  In the course of its work FFCL will evolve a biannual report on the real life experiences of the witnesses and the obstacles they faced in accessing justice. Cases where there is even a measurable amount of success, will be documented as sample cases, which will be evidentiary proof of the fact that you have to push the system hard enough to make it work.

Ø    Field Work :-Sustaining victims, training of lawyers and paralegals, and documenting process will require frequent field visits to Gujarat. The team will try to be present at most court hearings and constantly evolve strategic follow-ups to sharpen its advocacy efforts.