The Naroda Patiya massacre took place on 28 February 2002 at Naroda, in Ahmedabad, India, during the 2002 Gujarat riots. 97 Muslims were killed by a mob of approximately 5,000 people, organised by the Bajrang Dal, a wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, and allegedly supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party which was in power in the Gujarat State Government. The massacre at Naroda occurred during the bandh (strike) called by Vishwa Hindu Parishad a day after the Godhra train burning. The riot lasted over 10 hours, during which the mob plundered, stabbed, sexually assaulted, gang-raped and burnt people individually and in groups. After the conflict, a curfew was imposed in the state and Indian Army troops were called in to contain further violence.
The communal violence at Naroda was deemed "the largest single case of mass murder" during the 2002 Gujarat riots; it accounted for the greatest number of deaths during a single event. Survivors faced socio-economic problems; many were left homeless, orphaned and injured. A number of shrines were destroyed and many schools were adversely affected, cancelled exams or closed entirely. The surviving victims were given shelter in relief camps provided by both the state and central government, and efforts were begun to restore destroyed properties and shrines. The state government formed a "Gujarat state commission of inquiry" for citizens to have a forum in which to make recommendations and suggest reforms. Mainstream media criticised the Gujarat government's handling of the riots; it was remarked that a number of news reports were exaggerated, and "inflammatory headlines, stories and pictures" were published, resulting in anti-Muslim prejudice among the Hindu readership.
Allegations were made against the state police, state government and the chief minister Narendra Modi, alleging that government authorities were involved and various police personnel played a role in the massacre: a number of eyewitnesses reported police officers favouring the mob by allegedly injuring or killing Muslims and damaging public and private property. However, none of the allegations were proven and the government and police were cleared of wrongdoing by a Special Investigation Team. The initial report on the case was filed by the Gujarat Police, accusing 46 people, all of whom the Special Court deemed unreliable. In 2008, the Supreme Court of India formed a Special Investigation Team to investigate the case. In 2009, the team submitted its report, which accused 70 people of wrongdoing, 61 of whom were charged. On 29 August 2012, the Special Court convicted 32 people and acquitted 29 due to insufficient evidence. Among those convicted were Maya Kodnaniformer Cabinet Minister for Women and Child Development of Gujarat and former Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Narodawho was sentenced to 28 years imprisonment, and Bajrang Dal's Babu Bajrangi, who received a life sentence.
Background
On 27 February 2002, the Godhra train burning incident initiated a series of riots in Gujarat. Vishva Hindu Parishad and Kar Sevaks pilgrims returning from Ayodhya on the Sabarmati Express train were killed in a fire while stopped at Godhra station, causing the death of 58 Hindus, including 25 women and 15 children. The cause of the attack has not been proven conclusively.: "The fire was widely understood to have been started by Muslims, although this has never been conclusively proven.": "The cause of the initial fire has not been determined, but it was almost certainly not deliberately set by Muslims on the station platform, as Hindus frequently alleged."
Following the attack, false rumours were spread by a senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader that Muslims had kidnapped three Hindu girls during the incident. Retaliatory attacks on Muslims began the same evening; a number of incidents in which Muslims were attacked and killed were reported in various cities in Gujarat before the Naroda incident.
The first attacks on the Muslim community occurred at Ahmedabad, where Hindu mobs began throwing stones and later burnt Gulbarg Society, a Muslim housing complex. Violence spread to the largely rural districts of Panchmahal, Mehsana, Kheda, Junagadh, Banaskantha, Patan, Anand and Narmada the next day.
The massacre At the time of the riots Naroda Patiya and Naroda Gam, a suburb from Naroda Patiya; both of which constitute the municipality of Naroda, located in Gujarat's largest city, Ahmedabad, had around 2,000 daily wage-earning Muslim inhabitants, and many immigrants from Karnataka and Maharashtra. On the evening of 27 February 2002, Vishva Hindu Parishad declared a statewide strike in response to the Godhra train burning incident, starting from 28 February. On the first day of the strike, a mob of approximately 5,000 people, allegedly led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Bajrang Dal, attacked and attempted to burn the entire Muslim community of Naroda Patiya. The rioting began at 9 am when the Noorani Mosque was destroyed by exploding liquified petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders.
Cases of hacking, looting, stabbing and sexual assaults including public gang-rapes in which the victims were burnt, were reported. Many people were burnt alive, individually or in groups by "chasing them into huge pits" and setting fire to them using LPG cylinders. Burnt bodies were also thrown in a dry well. Women and girls were sexually assaulted, raped and killed by burning or by stabbing. Babu Bajrangi and a few others supplied weapons to the crowd, and Suresh Chara and others raped and killed women. LPG cylinders were used to destroy a number of buildings in the residential and working areas. The massacre lasted for over 10 hours and finally a curfew was imposed in 27 towns and cities across Gujarat.
Most of the homes of Muslims in Naroda were burnt while Hindu homes remained undamaged. As the riots ended, it was estimated that around 125 people had been killed in the violence. After the rioting, 94 bodies were recovered; three more people were reported missing and were later declared dead. More than 30 people were found injured. The deadall Muslimscomprised 36 women, 35 children and 26 men. The incident is considered to be the "most gruesome of all post-Godhra violent incidents" and "the largest single case of mass murders", and claimed the highest number of lives of all the events during the Gujarat riots.
Attacks against women A number of women and girls were raped, sexually assaulted and killed during the incident. Reports presented by Citizen's Initiative, and Human Rights Watch stated that out of the 36 women killed in the Naroda Patiya massacre, most were sexually assaulted before their deaths; surviving women also reported being assaulted. According to Human Rights Watch, women and girls were "brutally raped before being killed". Most of the rapes took place in public, and the victims were then killed and their bodies burnt. Among the women surviving in the relief camp, many suffered forms of sexual violenceincluding rape, gang rape, mass rape, stripping, insertion of objects into their bodies and molestation. Citizens' initiative's report stated that "A majority of rape victims have been burnt alive. There is evidence of State and Police complicity in perpetuating crimes against women. No effort was made to protect women. No Mahila (Women) policewomen were deployed. State and Police complicity is continuing as, women survivors continue to be denied the right to file FIRs. There is no existing institutional mechanism in Gujarat through which women can seek justice".
According to Human Rights Watch, the abdomens of three pregnant women were cut open and the foetus removed and thrown into a fire. However, as per post mortem report of Kasur Bano it was reported that Bano died of shock and burn injuries also there were no external injuries found on her body, her fetus remained intact inside her womb. In an incident that came to light in 2007, Suresh Dedawala (Richard) alias Langado was caught on camera in a Tehelka sting operation talking to Bajarangi about slitting the belly of pregnant Muslim Kausar Banu, removing her foetus and killing it with a sword. In 2020, the judge trying the case rejected the claim that Bajrangi had killed a foetus, while stating that Bajrangi had killed Kausar Banu.
Aftermath By the evening of 28 February, a curfew was imposed in 27 towns and cities of the state in an attempt to curb the violence. Over the next two days, Bharuch, Rajkot and later Surat were hit. Approximately 151 towns and 993 villages in 16 of the state's 25 districts were affected by the post-Godhra violence, which was particularly severe in six districts. The violence raged heavily between 28 February and 3 March 2002, slowed briefly, then restarted on 15 March and continued until mid-June. Northern and central Gujarat and the north-eastern tribal beltwhich are closer to Godhra Citywere the worst affected while Saurashtra and Kutch remained relatively peaceful. 1,000 Indian Army troops were flown in by the evening of 1 March to restore order. Intelligence officials alleged that the state government deliberately delayed the deployment. On 3 May, former Punjab Police DGP Kanwar Pal Singh Gill was appointed as security adviser to Modi. The Government of Gujarat transferred several senior police officers, who had taken steps to contain and investigate violent attacks, to administrative positions.
According to an official estimate, 1,044 people were killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots790 Muslims and 254 Hindus. Another 223 people were reported missing, 2,548 were injured, 919 women were widowed and 606 children were orphaned. When people missing after the riots were declared dead after seven years, total deaths rose from 1,044 to 1,267 Unofficial estimates put the death toll closer to 5,000, with Muslims forming the majority. Police records say that 298 dargahs, 205 mosques, 17 temples and three churches were damaged during the riots.
Opposition parties and three coalition partners of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government demanded the dismissal of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for failing to contain the violence, with some calling for the removal of Union Home Minister L. K. Advani as well. On 18 July 2002, Modi asked the Governor of Gujarat, Sunder Singh Bhandari, to dissolve the state assembly and call fresh elections. The Indian Election Commission ruled out early elections, citing the prevailing law and order situation, a decision the Union government unsuccessfully appealed against in the Supreme Court. Elections were held in December and Modi returned to power.
Rehabilitation of victims Residents left homeless by the massacre were given shelter in relief camps constructed by the state government. On 16 March 2002, the state government formed an all-party committee consisting of 13 member and chaired by Bhandari to provide relief and rehabilitation to the victims of the riots. Modi proposed to close the camps by the end of March but later decided not to close them. Under pressure from the opposition party, the Indian National Congress, the all-party committee reached a consensus to implement rehabilitation measures suggested by various non-governmental organisations which were to aid people to build houses.
Effects on children and education