New Delhi (dpa) – The 10th anniversary of deadly religious riots in India's western Gujarat state was marked Monday with a number of events including peace rallies and prayers as campaigners demanded justice for the victims. The 2002 riots were triggered after a train carrying Hindu pilgrims was attacked and set on fire by an alleged Muslim mob in Gujarat's Godhra town on February 27. At least 59 passengers died. More than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed during weeks of sectarian violence in the wake of the train attack. Survivors prayed for those killed and read verses from the Koran at the Gulbarga housing society, one of the places in Gujarat's commercial capital of Ahmedabad, where 69 people were killed, broadcaster NDTV reported. Hindu groups also honored those killed in Godhra, according to the report. Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed to prevent any outbreak of violence. Across the state, peace rallies comprising of Hindu and Muslims groups, screenings of documentaries and exhibitions were organized by non-governmental groups. Rights campaigners and survivors accuse the Gujarat government under Narendra Modi, a senior leader of the Hindu right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party, of direct involvement in the riots. Although a decade has passed, judgements have been pronounced only in a few riot cases. Modi has consistently rejected allegations that he failed to control the violence, or was involved in the riots. The riots were the among the worst of its kind in India since its 1947 independence from Britain. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/xb2rx Tags: Anniversary, Gujarat, India, Prayer, Riots Section: Culture, Latest News, South Asia
