People's Democracy

How many lives did the ongoing state sponsored genocide claim so far in Gujarat? This questioned cropped up repeatedly during the course of People's Front leaders visit to Ahmedabad. While the "official" toll is somewhere between 790 and 800, many independent, credible agencies working in the relief effort put the figure between 2,500 and 3,000.

Father Cedric Prakash of Citizens Initiative - a prominent NGO working hard to provide relief and document the atrocities as far as it could - said that apart from the bodies counted, there are large number of persons who are missing after the violent incidents, especially in rural areas. As per the information they have collected from various sources the figure of such missing persons could be 2,000. He requested the People's Front leaders to bring pressure on Modi government to come out with a comprehensive list of such missing persons in the state.

Earlier when the Muslim leaders delegation met the leaders, Mulayam Singh asked them about the death toll. Misaar Ahmed Ansari replied that according to the information collected by various Muslim bodies the figure could easily be around 2,500.

"Aur Bada Tola Aayega - Tum Sabko Jalaayega " (A still bigger mob will come - It will burn you all) -- these chilling slogans are written on the walls of the roads leading to Bapunagar camp, housing the victims of the genocide. After the April 23rd violence by a 5000 strong mob demanding closing down of Dariakhan Ghummat relief camp, minorities and social workers have taken these slogans seriously. This mob had indulged in arson both inside and outside the Commissioner of Police office demanding shutting down of the relief camp. The mob had almost reached the doorstep of the camp. Many believe there is nothing to stop the mob from entering the camp next time.

The state ministers have openly demanded that these camps must be shut down as they are inhabited by anti-socials. A concerted effort is on to target these relief camps. All this has led to real fears of another round of genocide in Ahmedabad. Our car driver, a Muslim, says in a hushed voice "I have heard that the next round of attacks may start as soon as the board exams are finished on April 27".

April 27 or not, with the current levels of support being received from Vajpayee and the NDA allies, Narendra Modi & Co. may well try to put those slogans into action.