Sectarian violence erupts after peace rally - World - Ahmedabad, Gujarat - Brief Article

National Catholic Reporter, May 10, 2002 by Gill Donovan

INDIA: Seven people were killed in violence that erupted hours after about 1,000 Hindus, Muslims, Jains and people of other communities marched for peace April 28 in Ahmedabad, the capital of the state of Gujarat. The rally was led by federal Defense Minister George Fernandes.

Ahmedabad is the capital of the state of Gujarat. Since Feb. 27, communal violence in the state has claimed more than 900 lives, mostly Muslims. Unofficial records put the toll at 2,000. The killings started after suspected Muslim extremists set fire to a train compartment killing 59 Hindus.

The hour-long peace rally, which passed by burned and looted shops and houses along a three-kilometer route, ended with a public meeting.

Fernandes, a former Catholic seminarian, addressed the meeting urging people to "join hands and make the best efforts to forget the past and take steps to build the future."

State Chief Minister Narendra Modi also addressed the meeting saying the Feb. 27 incident had set "Gujarat on fire." In the violence that followed, he said, "everyone's lost something, but Gujarat has lost humanity, which we need to restore."

Modi's pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (known as the BJP, the Indian people's party) and its socio-cultural associate groups have been accused of perpetuating violence against Muslims.

Modi and the state machinery have consistently refused to hold any Hindu militant group responsible for violence, which they maintained was a "natural reaction" from Hindus who carried out "revenge attacks."

Briefs, gathered from news services, correspondents and staff, are compiled and edited by Gill Donovan.