TWENTY-FOUR people have been convicted in the case of Gujarat Muslim massacre of 2002. The prosecution has sought death penalty for the convicts who were charged with hacking and burning 69 Muslims who had taken shelter in a residential complex in Ahmedabad, India.

Back in 2002 the world was appalled at the level of violence perpetrated by the majority against the minority. When a majority harbours hostile feelings, it can lead to massacres such as the world witnessed in Gujarat.

The mobs have generally no fear of the repercussions and they commit crime to its deadliest level.

That venting caused hundreds to lose their lives in the most brutal manner one can imagine. The state police didn’t intervene for almost five days. Mobs and goons had all the freedom to kill, burn, hurt and rape anyone (read Muslims) at their whim and fancy.

All the commissions formed for the investigation of this unfortunate event were chiefly composed of extremely critical remarks passed by judges against the Modi administration that ruled Gujarat at the time. These remarks and decisions are now part of judicial and journalistic history of India.

But out of these unfortunate events, some strange coincidences also took place. Narendra Modi, who was the most criticised person across India and the world, after the Gujarat carnage also turned out to be an implicit winner of the situation.

Though initially known for his hard-line Hindu credentials, he somehow manoeuvred the situation to his advantage and eventually became the unopposed candidate for the BJP leadership — a position that landed him in the slot of prime minister of the world’s largest democracy.

Bahadar Ali Khan

Toronto

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2016