Godhra verdict today, Nervous citizens rules out violence

On the surface, it appears to be business as usual in Godhra. Even a day before the court is supposed to announce the verdict on the Godhra train carnage — 59 passengers of the Sabarmati Express were killed on February 27, 2002 — there is little here that suggests that this is the same city where one of the most gruesome chapters in Gujarat’s modern history took shape.

“Even though everything began in Godhra, the city witnessed negligible violence during the 2002 riots. So why should there be any tension now?” Kishorilal Bhayani said. He was the president of the Godhra Municipal Corporation from 1989-91. Bhayani is actively involved in the district administration’s peace committees.

Ramzani Jujaru, the district chief of the BJP’s minority cell, concurs with Bhayani. “There has been no violence for the last nine years, so why should anything happen now? Hindus and Muslims have close business ties with each other here. Both communities understand that violence and riots will be harmful to everyone.”

However, the reasons for the seemingly calm approach of the two communities are vastly different. Most Hindus appear to be unconcerned with the verdict. “The verdict doesn’t really matter to the Hindus of Godhra as none of their own was killed in the tragedy,” Jivraj, a shopkeeper, said.

For the Muslims, it is an entirely different matter though. All the 134 accused were from Godhra and included prominent members of the community such as corporators Farooq Bhana and Mohammad Hussain Kalota and cleric Maulana Hussain Umarji.

“The importance of the judgment is that it will prove the innocence of Godhra’s Muslims who have been facing the stigma for the last nine years,” a resident of Signal Falia area, which is adjacent to the spot where the carnage took place, said.

The anxiety of the Muslims and the significance that the community attaches to the verdict is evident from the fact that after the khutba (sermon) during last Friday’s prayers, Maulvis in all the mosques in the city issued instructions that no one should speak to the media or say anything pertaining to the trial.

The difference between Hindus and Muslims can also be seen in the matter relating to the culpability of the accused. Most of the Muslims here assert that the accused are innocent. BJP leader Jujaru shares a similar opinion. “I am sure the accused are innocent.

They might not get acquitted tomorrow. But justice will triumph eventually,” Jujaru said. However, Rajesh, a wholesale dealer and a friend of Jujaru said, “The accused deserve punishment.

The fact that the police arrested them and that they spent so many years in jail proves that they are guilty.” Pintu Soni, a jewellery shop owner, voices similar sentiments. However, both Rajesh and Soni asserted that there is no chance of any violence, irrespective of the verdict as neither communities want to destroy this phase of general prosperity in the city.