User:Neo./Log

Godhra train burning

On the morning of 27 February 2002, 58 people including 25 women and 15 children were burnt to death in a fire inside the Sabarmati Express train near the Godhra railway station in the Indian state of Gujarat. The cause of the fire is disputed. There are basically two theories. First theory state that the mob of around 2000 people, allegedly Muslims, attacked the train and set the train compartment on fire. Second theory states that the fire originated inside train compartment accidently.

Attack by a mob

The Sabarmati Express train carrying Hindu activists to and from Ayodhya had scheduled daily halt at Godhra railway station. Godhra railway station is situated in pre-dominantly Muslim locality. In the morning of 27 February, Sabarmati express arrived at Godhra station at around 8 am local time. The exact sequence of events after this is unclear. Most of the sources report that Hindu activists alighted on platform for refreshment and a altercation started between Muslim vendors on platform and Hindu activists over paying of bill. The activist were shouting Hindu nationalist slogans and refused to pay refreshment bill until Muslim vendor say "Jai Shri Ram" or "Praise Lord Rama". Shortly after train left platform, someone pulled emergency chain to stop the train. A 2003 Human Rights Watch report states that "a Muslim mob soon gathered and surrounded the train compartment which was then set on fire". A 2002 United States Department of State report on International Religious Freedon state that "On February 27, 2002, Muslim mobs attacked a train in Godhra". In May 2002, European Parliament adopted a resolution which states that:

Condemns in the strongest possible way all the sectarian violence in India which followed the burning to death of 58 Hindu pilgrims on the train in Ghodra on 27 February 2002 by Muslim extremists and the ensuing violence in which Hindus indiscriminately targeted Muslims as reprisals

A 2003 Amnesty International report state that "On 27 February, a train in Godhra, Gujarat, was attacked and 59 passengers believed to be Hindus were killed". In a 2004 article for Social Science Research Council, Ashutosh Varshney writes that "according to credible press reports, the train was attacked by a Muslim mob". A 2007 United Nations Human Rights Council report writes that "the state's Muslim population was targeted in retaliation for an attack by a Muslim mob on a train carrying Hindu militants returning from Ayodhya." A 2011 United States Commission on International Religious Freedom report states that, "In February 2002 in the state of Gujarat a train fire reportedly set by Muslims resulted in the death of 58 people returning from disputed site in Ayodhya." A 2012 TIME magazine article writes that "In February 2012, a train full of Hindu pilgrims and activists was set on fire by an allegedly Muslim mob in the town of Godhra, killing 59". A 2012 Wall Street Journal article writes that "the train was set on fire by a mob of Muslims".