Global InformationGodhra train burning information
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| Godhra train burning | |
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| Location | Godhra, Gujarat, India |
| Coordinates | 22°46′41″N 73°35′52″E / 22.77806°N 73.59778°E |
| Date | 27 February 2002 7:43 a.m. |
| Target | Hindu Karsevaks returning from Ayodhya |
| Deaths | 59 |
| Injured | 48 |
| Part of a series on |
| Violence against Hindus in independent India |
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The Godhra train burning occurred on the morning of 27 February 2002: 59 Hindu pilgrims and karsevaks returning from Ayodhya were killed in a fire inside the Sabarmati Express near the Godhra railway station in the Indian state of Gujarat.[1] The cause of the fire remains disputed.[2][3][4] The Gujarat riots, in which Muslims were the targets of widespread and severe violence, occurred shortly afterward.[3]
The Nanavati-Mehta commission, appointed by the state government in the immediate aftermath of the event, concluded in 2008 that the burning was a pre-planned arson committed by a thousand-strong Muslim mob.[5] The one member Banerjee commission, instituted by the then rail minister Lalu Prasad Yadav of the Ministry of Railways, characterized the fire as an accident in 2006:[6] however, the Gujarat High Court found its appointment to be unconstitutional and quashed all findings.[7] An independent investigation by a non-governmental organization also supported the theory of the burning being an accident.[8] Scholars remain skeptical about the claims of arson.[2][4][9]
In February 2011, the trial court convicted 31 Muslims for the burning, relying extensively on the Nanavati-Mehta Commission report as evidence.[10] In October 2017, the Gujarat High Court upheld the convictions.[11]
- ^ "Eleven sentenced to death for India Godhra train blaze". BBC News. 1 March 2011. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Barbara D. (2012). A Concise History of India (PDF). Cambridge University Press. pp. 299–300. ISBN 978-1107026490. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 April 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.: "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."
- ^ a b Ghassem-Fachandi, Parvis (2012). Pogrom in Gujarat: Hindu Nationalism and Anti-Muslim Violence in India. Princeton University Press. pp. 31–33, 93–100. ISBN 978-0-691-15176-2.
There are competing versions as to how exactly the fire started in the train bogies. While the Nanavati commission of inquiry (NCI), instated soon after the Gujarat pogrom and completed in 2008, declared that the fire in the train bogies was a premeditated act by Muslim conspirators, the Banerjee commission, instated in 2004, questioned the theory of premeditation and called the incident an accident. The Gujarat High Court ruled the latter commission illegal in 2006. Both commissions of inquiry are regularly derided as "politically motivated" by respective opposing political constituencies. Uncertainties surrounding the incident remain.
- ^ a b Jaffrelot, Christophe (2021). Modi's India: Hindu nationalism and the rise of ethnic democracy. Princeton University Press. pp. 39, 476. ISBN 9780691206806.
Hundreds of Muslims then allegedly attacked with stones and torches, particularly the two wagons where the fifty-nine victims were found. The facts must be stated with caution here, because expert reports and counter reports have continued to contradict each other ever since [..] The idea that the attack was "pre-planned" has never been substantiated by the slightest piece of evidence.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
NDTV 2011was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Godhra train fire accidental: Banerjee report". The Times of India. 4 March 2006. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
- ^ "HC terms Sabarmati Express panel illegal". The Financial Express. 14 October 2006. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
- ^ "More light on Godhra fire". frontline.thehindu.com. 10 February 2005. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
- ^ Narula, Smita (2010). "Law and Hindu nationalist movements". In Lubin, Timothy; Davis, Jr., Donald R.; Krishnan, Jayanth K. (eds.). Hinduism and Law: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. p. 247. ISBN 978-0-521-88786-1.
Because the fire was immediately preceded by a skirmish between the Hindu passengers and Muslims at the train station, the police – despite a lack of hard evidence – proceeded on the assumption that the fire was the result of a Muslim conspiracy.
- ^ "Guilty verdict". frontline.thehindu.com. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
- ^ Mandhani, Apoorva (11 October 2017). "Godhra Train Carnage: Gujarat HC Commutes Death Penalty Of 11 Convicts; Awards 10 Lakh Compensation To Victims' Kin". Retrieved 1 June 2018.