The bomb blasts in Ahmedabad last week were truly horrific. The number of casualties was of course substantially less than in Mumbai’s serial blasts of 1993, but that does not make Ahmedabad’s tragedy any less important. It is a city I have lived in for over three years and the people there have had to go through a lot. Certainly, this century has not, it seems, been kind to Ahmedabad — the earthquake of 2001, the riots of 2002, and now these bomb blasts.
What has also been on people’s minds however is cause and effect - were the blasts in Ahmedabad somehow connected to the riots of 2002? It is a tough question. The connection between the post-Babri Masjid riots of 1992-93 and the serial blasts on March 12, 1993 in Mumbai seemed fairly clear then and now. Elements of Mumbai’s underworld — specifically those connected to the Dawood Ibrahim gang — were upset that Mumbai’s Muslim community was targeted by rioters and decided on this course of revenge. Of course, the blasts affected people of all communities and Mumbai decided it had had enough destruction and chose — by the collective unconscious if nothing else — to get on with life (the now clichéd “spirit of resilience”).
But were the Ahmedabad blasts a backlash to the riots? The scale of the riots in north and Central Gujarat — with Ahmedabad as the centre — was several times more horrific than the Mumbai riots. Although the official explanation was that the riots were a spontaneous reaction to the burning of the coaches of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra (chief minister Narendra Modi’s infamous reference to Newton’s action-reaction law of physics), there was also evidence, for instance, that mobs walked around with lists of shops and establishments that were Muslim-owned or Muslim-partnered - surely, not an overnight arrangement. Ahmedabad has a long history of riots and society was already fractured along Hindu/non-Hindu lines, with Muslims bearing the brunt of majority anger. Unlike in Mumbai, where the city came out to help riot victims to some extent, in Ahmedabad, thousands of Muslim riot victims had to depend only on other Muslims and some NGOs. The government and civil society stayed away and apparently was in full agreement with the ongoing torture and death. The victims were shattered rather than vindictive. “Hindus” — I would personally hesitate to give them that defence because it elevates them and diminishes Hinduism — egged on by brutal propaganda and active help from Hindutva parties and organisations reacted instantly to the train episode at Godhra. As a result over 2000 people died. Why did the Muslims of Gujarat take a full six years to react to 2002? How would it serve their purpose? Is this just one more way to give the Muslim community a bad name and hang it?
It took Gujarat a good three years to recover from the riots. Nationally and internationally, its image as an industrious, well-run state took a beating. Regardless of the hype around Modi as Gujarat’s best chief minister, history will show that Gujarat has regularly topped the charts as far as industrialisation, entrepreneurial ability and good administration are concerned. Modi took it a few steps back before it moved forward again. Several multinationals and Indian companies held back their investments in the state. It has to be remembered that the United States has consistently refused Modi a visa, a cause of significant embarrassment for those who want to forget the enormity of the 2002 riots.
From all reports, Ahmedabad has been shaken by these blasts. The viciousness of the planning in the way that it targeted hospitals, for instance, made everyone feel vulnerable. Ahmedabad’s ghetto mentality creates a false feeling of security — the “other” has been tucked away out of sight and cannot enter general territory. Is it likely that some attempt at truth, reconciliation and justice will emerge out of these blasts for Gujarat? One can only hope.
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