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BBC: British inquiry held Modi ‘directly responsible’ for 2002 Gujarat riots

BBC: British inquiry held Modi ‘directly responsible’ for 2002 Gujarat riots

Damning BBC series examines the 2002 riots and allegations of the Indian prime minister’s role in the ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Muslims

ISLAMABAD: A documentary from the BBC claimed a team sent by the British government to investigate the 2002 riots in the western state of Gujarat in India found Narendra Modi, who was the chief minister at the time, “directly responsible for a climate of impunity” that led to the pogrom.

The two-part documentary, called “The Modi Question”, was, however, removed from YouTube on Wednesday. It said the team had sent a report to the UK government, which has never been published.

The riots were a series of violent incidents that took place in Gujarat following the burning of a train carrying Hindu pilgrims, which killed 58 people. The violence resulted in the deaths of approximately 1000 people, mostly Muslims, making it one of India’s worst outbreaks of religious violence. Modi has always denied any wrongdoing.

A closure report by a special investigation team (SIT) appointed by India’s Supreme Court in 2012 claimed there was no evidence to suggest Modi or his government had any involvement in the riots. The court also dismissed a petition challenging the report in June of last year.

The documentary featured a former senior diplomat and member of a British government investigation team claiming the riots were planned by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, an affiliate of the militant Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) group.

The RSS is the fountainhead of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and believes in a Hindu-first ideology.

The British government inquiry team had previously said the VHP and its allies “could not have inflicted so much damage without the climate of impunity created by the state government.”

The documentary also alleged that Modi met with senior police officers on February 27, 2002 and “ordered them not to intervene” in the rioting.

The team’s report also concluded the violence during the riots was “much greater than reported” and had “all the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing,” including “widespread and systematic rape” of Muslim women.

Jack Straw, who was the British foreign secretary at the time of the riots, called the allegations against Modi a “stain on his reputation.” The United Kingdom had imposed a diplomatic boycott on Modi for his alleged failure to stop the violence, which was lifted in 2012.

The United States also denied Modi a visa for the same reason from 2005 to 2014.

Modi has defended his actions during the riots, stating that his government “had used its full strength” to “do the right thing.”



from World – Pakistan Today https://ift.tt/s8Q4Vrh

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