India was thrown into chaos last week as another spate of communal violence gripped Gujarat. Murad Bukhari wonders if this is just the tip of the iceberg Click to view caption Gujarat was the homeland of Mohandas Gandhi, a man of supreme religious tolerance and possibly the greatest pacifist of the 20th century. Yet, in recent times, it has seen some of the worst communal and inter-religious violence in India's post- Independence history. On the evening of Tuesday, 24 September, the flames of communal violence erupted once more. This time at the 23 acre Akshardham Swaminarayan Temple Complex in Gandhinagar, the state's capital. According to one eyewitness, two armed Muslims walked into the complex, spraying bullets indiscriminately. Thirty- one were killed and scores more injured in the ensuing melee. Shots, screams and explosions pierced the usually calm and serene evening air. After a siege lasting 12 hours, the two were finally shot dead by government commandos. The following morning the site of the massacre was littered with the human debris of the dead and wounded. Blood stained the walls of the temple and its, normally pristine, sandstone walls were riddled with bullets. In a temple that normally bustled with the faithful, the silence was deafening. Although the Indian government was quick to suggest a Pakistani hand in the killings, the rhetoric was soon replaced by calls for calm and national unity. Fearing yet more communal violence in the aftermath of the massacre, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, stressed "the trend of killings and counter-killings in Gujarat must stop and the people of Gujarat should fight terrorism by peace and harmony." However, the reaction of Hindu nationalist leaders and groups, including Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, has sought to divide, rather than unify, India's diverse polity. In the past, Modi has been accused of manipulating communal tension between Muslims and Hindus to bolster his own hard-line position on Gujarat's Muslim minority. Indeed, many blame him, albeit indirectly, for inciting the anti-Muslim riots that took place in the aftermath of February's Godhra train massacre. Some say that Modi, a member of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been playing the hard-line Hindu card for the upcoming Gujarat state elections. However, Outlook India magazine has quoted one BJP leader as saying that before the temple massacre Modi's political position was looking tenuous, but now "Narendrabhai [Modi] need only sit back and relax. The elections are already won." Other Hindu nationalists have also been engaged in inflammatory rhetoric since last Tuesday. Despite mounting evidence that the temple massacre was carried out in revenge for the treatment of Muslims in the aftermath of Godhra, the World Hindu Council has steadfastly demanded that action be taken against Pakistan. BL Sharma, of the Council said, "there can be no peace in India as long as Pakistan exists. We demand that the government end its inaction." Even when evidence that the massacre was an act of revenge seems compelling, the Hindu nationalists are intransigent. When confronted with notes carried by the two perpetrators of the massacre stating that they were seeking revenge for the post-Godhra massacres of Muslims, Chief Minister Modi stated "they carried the notes knowing well that there are people willing to buy this story. They know what sells." The two identical notes, written in Urdu, identify the two as members of the Tehreek-e-Kasas (Movement for Revenge) and categorically state, "we will never rest in peace if we do not take revenge for the killings of our people." It seems that, if this was a revenge attack, Gujarat's BJP government might be implicated for its inaction, amounting to tacit approval of anti-Muslim riots in the aftermath of Godhra. It would also have to shoulder the responsibility for not ensuring adequate security at Hindu temples. Far simpler to blame Pakistan. But how has communal violence in Gujarat affected relations between Hindus and Muslims in the rest of India? Aakif Merchant, a Muslim student in India's cosmopolitan financial hub, Bombay, feels that Muslims reap what they sow. He believes that India's under-educated and economically unsuccessful Muslim community has been increasingly radicalised and infiltrated by pro-Pakistani propaganda. This has coloured the way Hindus view Muslims. "Hindus do look at Muslims with great suspicion and link them to Pakistan, now more so than ever before." He believes that the only way forward is through the education and economic development of India's Muslim minority. "At the grassroots level the educational process of the Muslims must change. We have to make ourselves economically more viable, only then will we be able to walk with our heads held high." Nishita Mehta, a Gujarati businesswoman based out of Bombay, is pessimistic about the future. "I feel that [Hindu-Muslim enmity] is deeply rooted in the hearts and psyche of many Indians -- Hindu and Muslim alike." Mehta also feels that the combination of increased communal violence and government complacency only exacerbates an already dangerous situation. "There are many like myself who don't have any ill feeling or hatred for Muslims. However, there are many more, Hindus and Muslims alike, whose hatred for each other is only growing exponentially. And events like that of last week only act as a catalyst for more animosity. Any such act of terrorism is promptly blamed on Pakistan! It has become so convenient. It's like India doesn't need to introspect anymore!" Gandhi, or the Mahatma (Great Soul), as he was commonly called, was a deeply religious Hindu. Yet he was once quoted as saying "I am a Hindu. I am a Muslim. I am a Jew. I am a Christian. I am, after all, a human being, and I am connected to all my fellow human beings!" India, with Gandhi at the helm, was founded as a secular state. A state where people of all religions could co-exist peacefully. Today, one must posit the question: Is Gandhi's legacy being drowned in the blood of Gujarati communal violence?
