2002 | Umang Dehdia

Godhra Massacre : The starting point for the barbarism and massacre of Muslims that followed in India. Thousands of hindu pilgrims had gone from Gujarat to Ayodhya to take part in a religious ceremony at the disputed Babri Masjid. On 25 February 2002, hindu pilgrims boarded the Sabarmati Express which was bound for Ahmedabad. On 27 February 2002, the train made its scheduled stop at Godhra Station. The train was attacked by a mob of around 2,000 people. After some stone-pelting, four coaches of the train were set alight, trapping many people inside. 59 people including 27 women and 10 children were burnt to death. Miscreants had kept the petrol-soaked rags ready for use. The sky was covered with smoke coming out from all the burning. This triggered deadly communal riots between Hindu and Muslim spreading across the state. The weeks of violence that followed left over 1000 people dead, most of them Muslim. Qutubuddin Ansari, a tailor, the face shown in centre with hands begged for mercy and eyes filled with tears pleading with security forces as an angry mob approached was photographed by a journalist during riots. He became the face and symbol of the carnage. Gujarat was burnt into the fire. Today, wounds are healed but the scars remain